I was up and watchful early the next morning; for although I had now obtained as much information in regard to my worthy guide's purposes as was necessary to enable me to shape my own plans thereby, I thought it better to prevent him, as far as possible, from organizing his scheme more completely with the landlord, and providing against contingencies. By seeing a bespattered horse standing in the yard, and the complacent countenances both of the groom and the landlord, I divined that their messenger had returned from Rennes, or from whatever other town they had sent to in search of officers to apprehend me, and that all their arrangements had hitherto been successful. Trusting, however, that they would find that such calculations, formed without the consent of so principal a party as myself, would be more difficult to execute than they anticipated, I took my breakfast in great tranquillity, and as soon as the horses were ready, paid my score and set out.
The groom was in great glee, which continued uninterrupted for four good miles of our morning's ride; but at length I began to see before us the division of the roads, with the finger-post that directed weary travellers towards their destination, and I now prepared myself for the execution of my design. Not knowing whether I might not have a severe struggle to effect it, I felt that my pistols were free in the holsters, and as we came to the carrefour, drew in my rein, and gazed up at the finger-post. There, written in large characters, certainly appearedRennes! Paris!pointing either way to the road towards which our horses' heads were turned, or to that which we had just travelled. On the right-hand board, however, was writtenSt. Malo, and as the groom was quietly riding on in the direction of Rennes, I shouted, "Holla! where are you going, good Pierre?"
He came back with a sweet complacent countenance, and told me that he had been going on the road to Rennes, which was the only one we could follow; but I took the liberty of differing with him in opinion, stating, that I thought the road to St. Malo would do just as well. He assured me that I was mistaken; that it would lead me at least ten miles to the right of the spot towards which my steps ought to be directed; that it was so bad our horses could not travel it; that it was infested by robbers of the worst description; and, in short, that every sort of evil under the sun awaited the unfortunate travellers who obstinately pursued that road.
I listened to the whole detail as calmly and attentively as possible; and then, much to his surprise, I informed him, that I loved robbers, delighted in bad roads, enjoyed a roundabout more than a straightforward track, and was contented to undergo all the evils that he threatened, for the sake of following the path to which I had a fancy. As the matter had now become serious, and the success or failure of his scheme depended upon the next ten steps, the worthy groom took it upen cavalier, put on a blustering aspect, stood up in the stirrups with the frown of a Sylla, and told me that he would submit to such whims no longer, but that go I must on the way which he thought right.
In reply to this I reminded him of one or two things which had occurred to me since I had become attached to Monsieur de Villardin, and in which my opponents had generally been worsted, when our contention came to manual operations. I believe, indeed, that I had established a very tolerable reputation for never suffering anything of the kind that I undertook to remain unfinished or imperfect; and, as I was both better armed and mounted than himself, my companion was easily convinced that it would be wiser to abandon every thing like compulsory measures towards me. He declared, however, that although he should certainly not attempt to force me to do what he thought right, he would take very good care not to follow me on such a road as that which I was determined to pursue.
Under some circumstances I might not have been very profoundly grieved at the idea of losing his company; for in general I had fully sufficient reliance on myself to be perfectly at my ease when I was quite alone. In the present case, however, as I strongly suspected that his design was not to deprive me of his society for long, but rather to restore it, augmented by the company of the officers from Rennes, I determined to entreat his stay with me; and, as the strongest inducement that I could hold out to him, I took one of the pistols from my saddle-bow, and levelling it at his head, with the distance of about ten yards between us, I ordered him to turn his horse up the St. Malo road without more ado, or I would shoot him on the spot. Though I saw him turn very pale at this intimation, he affected to laugh, declaring that I must be in jest; and I thought I perceived that he hesitated, whether to obey or to take his chance, and set spurs to his horse. The clicking of the lock of the pistol, judiciously timed, brought his doubts to a conclusion, and gave the preponderance to obedience. He said that he would obey, of course, if I positively directed him, for that the Duke had given him strict orders to follow my commands implicitly.
"Extremely well you have obeyed!" cried I; "but, without farther words, turn your horse up the road, for I am not to be trifled with any longer."
"Well, well," he replied, as he slowly drew his bridle in the direction that I pointed out, "it was only for your own good I spoke; and if you will take a bad and dangerous road, the consequence be upon your own head."
As I thought that there was no use in driving him to desperation, I did not choose to let him know how intimately acquainted I was with the good designs he entertained in my favour; but pausing, pistol in hand, till I saw him fully launched upon the St. Malo road, I then wheeled my horse and followed, determined to keep all my discoveries to my own breast till such time as I could confide them to Monsieur de Villardin. As soon as I became sure that retreat was impossible, and that my companion must go forward on the road which I pointed out, I dropped my hostile attitude, replaced my pistol in the holster, and joining him again, endeavoured to enter into conversation as if nothing had happened to disturb our equanimity; but, I believe, in this I expected more from human nature than human nature could afford; the man was disappointed of a good thousand crowns, besides what he had called the pickings of my saddle-bags; and he likewise laboured under the mortification of having been outwitted and bullied by a mere boy; so that he well might be, what he really was, savage and sullen for many miles of the road. In addition to his other causes of wrath, I soon perceived that he was not without some apprehension that I had discovered his designs; and I doubted not, that if he could have made himself perfectly sure that such was the case, he would have soon brought the matter between us to a struggle for life. I was accustomed to such things, however, and I did not make myself at all uneasy on that account; but keeping constantly on my guard,--for there is never any telling what may happen next in such affairs, I rode on, taking care that an interval of two or three yards should always exist between his hand and my bridle-rein; and where the road was not sufficiently wide enough for that purpose, I made him go on before, and followed a few steps behind.
That road, however, deserves a fuller description, for it was as pleasant a road as ever I travelled in my life, excepting a few spots, of each a mile or a mile and a half in length, where a sandy soil rendered it heavy and fatiguing. A little beyond the place where we first entered upon it, a low stone wall marked the ancient boundary of a forest. Even at that time, however, the large trees had retreated more than a mile from the extreme limit of the wood; and the space that intervened between the wall and the real forest, was covered entirely with the sort of brushwood, or, as the French call it,taillis, which rises on the cutting down of larger timber. This gave us a fair view of the kind of ground over which the forest extended, which was of so broken and irregular a nature--full of pits, dells, banks, and ravines, that it would have required infinite labour to render it productive of aught but that which then covered it. After the road began to wind in amongst the higher trees, some of which appeared of great antiquity, we lost all sight of the surrounding country, except where, every now and then, the ground had been cleared by some accidental circumstance, or where the track that we were pursuing ascended to some commanding height. On these occasions, indeed, we sometimes obtained a very splendid view beyond the forest, over tracks of rich and cultivated land; and as I was beginning about that time to find out that the face of nature was a very beautiful thing, and to enjoy the aspect of a fine country with a sort of romantic delight, I often paused to gaze for a moment on any prospect that thus caught my eye. While thus engaged, my companion generally rode on in sulky silence; but I never suffered him to go far without my society, lest any of the roads which intersected the forest, and which I could not, of course, be expected to know, should afford him an opportunity of deviating from the prescribed track before I thought fit to permit him to do so.
I had just made one of these pauses, and my companion had just ridden on, in the manner which I have described, when, on looking after him to see how far he had proceeded, I thought I perceived a brighter gleam of sunshine than usually enlivened the gloom of the wood, streaming across the road a little beyond the point at which he had arrived. Suspecting that it might be shining down a cross road, I set spurs to my horse, and was nearly up with him before he reached the little brake. I had just time, however, to gain a more accurate knowledge of the spot, and to perceive that it was a gap, but not a road, down which the light was streaming, when there came a quick, bright flash from the wood, and at the same moment the groom fell headlong to the ground, while his horse dashed on, masterless, along the track before us, and my charger, after rearing violently, rolled over, dyeing the sand with its blood.
These sort of surprises are generally followed by a speedy explanation; and the appearance of four stout, well-dressed, good-looking gentlemen, with firelocks in their hands, pistols in their girdles, and swords by their sides, at once gave me a clear insight into the whole affair. As my poor horse, panting in the agonies of death, lay heavy upon my foot and ankle, which he had crushed beneath him in his fall, I was in no condition to offer any resistance, even had it been wise to do so against such superior numbers. The groom, indeed, was still less capable of opposing any measures that our friends with the firelocks might judge expedient, as the ball, which was probably intended for his horse, had deviated a little from its course, and gone right through his head. I lay quite still also, for in all the many conflicts of one kind or another that I had witnessed, I had always remarked, that men, in working themselves up to such an action as that which our assailants had just committed, engender in their own bosoms a great deal more fury than is at all necessary to the accomplishment of their exact purpose. This superabundant energy breaks upon the first object opposed to it; but it soon evaporates, and those who would stab you the moment after they have fired the gun, or rushed to the charge, will be a great deal humanised within five minutes after the struggle is over.
The robbers rushed immediately upon the groom like hungry wolves; and turning him over, for he had fallen upon his face, took a hurried glance at his countenance. "Diable!" cried one of our assailants, as they did so, "we have made a mistake, Messieurs. This is not the courier, after all. Peste! you have killed him, too, Serjeant. Why the devil did you fire so high?"
"You have done the same for the other, Hubert," replied the one he addressed.
"I hope not," said the first; "I had his horse fair enough; but let us see."
On the assurance of these charitable expressions, I ventured a low groan, which, indeed, had long wanted utterance; for the pain I suffered by the horse lying on my leg was most intense, especially as he more than once made a dying effort to start up, and then fell back again upon me.
"It is a boy," said the leader of the robbers, as they came near. "Art thou dead or alive,mon garcon?"
"Not quite dead," I replied, "but I cannot get up, for the horse is upon my leg."
"Ah! so I see, poor boy," said the other. "Help us here, Serjeant, and let us get him out." This was easily accomplished; and finding that I could not stand with very great ease to myself, I sat down on the bank, rubbing my leg with both my hands, to recal it to some sensation, making up my mind, at the same time, to undergo the interrogatory which I saw was preparing for me.
The leader of the robbers gazed upon me for a moment or two with a sort of cynical grin, and then, turning to his companions, he remarked, "He takes it coolly enough, in all conscience. Come, tell us, who are you,mon beau page? and whither you were going?"
"I am the page of Monsieur de Villardin," replied I, "and was going to his castle of Prés Vallée."
The captain struck the butt of his firelock against the ground with a movement of impatient vexation. "This is unlucky enough," he said, "for I certainly did not want to quarrel with Monsieur de Villardin,--especially as I am such a near neighbour of his," he added, with a smile; "and pray who is that?" he asked, the next moment, pointing to the body of the groom.
"That is one of his grooms," replied I, "sent to guide me on the way."
"Worse and worse," cried the captain. "Why the devil, Serjeant, did you fire so high?"
"It is no great matter," answered I; "he has only shot a great rogue, who would have lived to be hanged, and whom I had nearly shot myself on the high road not an hour ago."
"Pardi! thou art a droll youth," rejoined the captain, "and, if thy tongue do not belie thee, no true Frenchman."
"No, but what is better," replied I, "a true Englishman."
"The better I deny," answered the captain; "but I blame not your bold love for your country. However, I must see more of you, my gay lad, before I determine on letting you go; so you will come along with me. You, Serjeant, bring those saddle-bags; there may be something worth having within; and you, François and Martin, try if you cannot bury the man down in the sand-pit yonder; and heave over the horse too, if you can get it done; but bring up the saddle and bridle, for they are too good to be lost. Keep a good watch for the courier the while: he may pass by yet, though it is late. Now, come along, my man," he continued, turning towards me again; "what, cannot you walk? then, good faith, you must limp!"
Of course I did as I was directed, and, limping on as well as I was able, followed my conductor through the wood for nearly a mile; at the end of which I found myself in the deepest part of the forest, and by the side of a rapid stream. A little farther up the river, I perceived the ruins of an antique mill crowning a high bank, with the remains of the wheel, long broken to pieces, now serving alone to render the waterfall by which it was formerly turned more picturesque to the eye.
Thither I was led by the robber, and on entering the old building, found that it was more dilapidated in appearance than in reality; or, at least, that its present tenants had contrived to render it very habitable. Three or four more personages, of the same cast as those I had already encountered, were found within the mill; but still it was apparent that the man who had conducted me hitherto was captain of the gang, and he was immediately assailed by a thousand questions concerning some courier, for whom it was evident these gentlemen had long been waiting.
My appearance in company with their leader, at first, made them conclude that the encounter they had been expecting had taken place; but they were soon undeceived, and my unhappy saddle-bags being brought in and laid down in the midst, I had the mortification of seeing more than one rapacious hand thrust into their bowels, while piece by piece all my wardrobe was drawn forth, and at length my little store of golden crowns appeared, causing a reflected sparkling to shine in the robbers' eyes.
"A better day's work than I thought," cried Hubert, their leader; "now, young gentleman, we are men of honour and humanity, and therefore we shall let you keep your wardrobe--"
"Except that lace-collar," cried one of his comrades, "which I claim for myself."--"And that embroidered band," said another, "for which I have a fancy."--"The pouch for me!" exclaimed a third; and it certainly seemed that my apparel, as well as my purse, was in a fair way to change hands. The captain, however, interfered to moderate the rapacity of his gang, and it was at length determined that not only my dress, but twenty crowns, which happened to be in my purse, should be left me. My saddle, bridle, and horse equipments, together with my silver-mounted pistols, became the property of the captain; and the only remaining question between us was, in regard to the packet of letters and orders with which Monsieur de Villardin had charged me for his farmers and agents in Brittany. These were wrapped up in a skin of leather to keep them from injury; but as soon as Master Hubert had satisfied himself that nothing but written papers were to be found within, he returned the bundle to me, saying, that he would not interfere with the discharge of my duty.
I was in hopes that this was but a prelude to my being set at liberty; but the captain did not suffer me to remain long in suspense, informing me candidly enough that I must stay with them a day or two; for that they had yet a coup-de-main to perform, which they trusted would enrich them sufficiently to render it both wise and expedient to change their lodging. "As soon as that is accomplished," he added, "we will despatch you upon your journey, but in the meantime we do not choose to trust to that quick tongue of yours."
As there was no help for it, I of course offered no resistance, very well understanding that the coup-de-main to which the captain alluded, was the contemplated attack upon the unfortunate courier from Paris to St. Malo, whose appearance, I had heard at the last inn, was daily expected. He did not show himself, however, so soon as had been anticipated, and I remained several days at the old mill, very well contented with the treatment I received from my new companions, who certainly lived upon the fat of the land, and seemed not to suffer any remembrance of the means by which it was acquired, at all to trouble its digestion. I acknowledge, too, that if I could have escaped the honour and reputation of the thing, I would very willingly have shared in some of their adventures; and I began to think that the profession of a robber, if properly conducted, might afford a very attractive sort of life.
Hubert, the captain of my new friends, was a man of a very intelligent and inquiring mind; and from the information I could give him in regard to the state of affairs in Paris, took great pleasure in my conversation. Nor did his questions alone refer to his own country, but one night he so besieged me with inquiries concerning England, its manners, customs, produce, trade, and situation, that I ended by asking him in return, if he thought of taking a trip to exercise his abilities in that country.
"Not, at least, in the manner which you suppose," replied he; and then, looking over his shoulder to see that all his companions were absent, he added, "you do not think, my boy, that my state of life has never been different from that which you now witness, or that this trade is to continue always?"
"No," replied I, quietly, "for it usually ends very speedily--at the gallows."
"It will not end so with me," answered the captain, somewhat fiercely; but the next moment his face again took on a smile, and he added, "this adventure, with what we have amassed already, will make my fortune sufficient to embark in a different speculation. The fellows who are with me may carry on their old trade if they like, but, for my part, I have had enough of it."
"I think you are very right," I replied; "it is always as well to leave off while the play is good."
"True," answered he; "but I have one warning to give you, my good youth. If, in the course of your life hereafter, you should ever meet me in a different station from that in which you now see me--such a thing may happen you know--and if ever you do, take good care that your memory be not too retentive, for if, by either word or look, you pretend to recognise me, I shall certainly remember my old profession likewise, and take care to keep you silent by sending a ball through your head."
Though he looked very fierce as he spoke, I only laughed at his menace, asking him what benefit would accrue to me by betraying him.
"I do not know--I do not know," he replied; "but you are warned; and so beware."
As we were engaged in such familiar conversation, I would fain have asked him what sort of connexion could exist between him and Monsieur de Villardin; but, reflecting that he might think the question somewhat impertinent, and thence argue no great discretion on my part for the future, I thought it most prudent to be silent, lest he should take means to put it out of my power either to ask more questions at the time, or make any observations at an after period.
Four days more passed without the appearance of the courier; and the robbers beginning to be apprehensive of his having taken another road, sent out to obtain intelligence, as their stock of wine and provisions gave signs of waxing low. Their messengers soon returned, but what tidings they brought I know not. Most probably their report went to show that the courier had arrived at the next town, and would be accompanied through the forest by an escort; for, almost immediately after their return, the whole band, in all nine men, set off, armed up to the teeth, taking care, in the first place, to lock me into a room which had no chimney, and was ventilated merely by a narrow window through which I certainly could not thrust my head.
They were absent about an hour; and as the wind set from the side of the high road, in less than twenty minutes after their departure I heard two smart vollies of musketry, followed by a few dropping shots.
I looked out eagerly as far as my confined casement would allow me, and at length beheld Hubert with only four of his companions on their legs, bearing along in their arms a sixth person, who seemed to be very dangerously wounded. He died, however, before he reached the mill; and the others, laying him down on the grass, came onward with a small leathern valise, which, by the manner in which they carried it, I judged to be very weighty. Their arrival was followed by long and eager conversations, and a great deal of hurry and noise, but to what all this bustle referred I do not know, as they did not think fit to let me out of durance for nearly three hours. During that time, I saw from the window nine of the horses which they possessed brought out, of which six were instantly saddled, and loaded with a portion of their moveables.
As soon as this was complete, to my surprise I beheld the captain come out, and, after shooting upon the spot the three horses that remained unsaddled, mount, together with his four men, apparently in order to depart. My first thought was that they were about to leave me shut up where I was, and I looked round for the means of forcing open the door when they were gone; but the moment after, as I turned towards the casement, in order to observe their further proceedings, Hubert called to me to draw back from the window; and, as I obeyed, he threw in, through the aperture, the key of the room in which I was confined. As I stooped to pick it up, I heard the sound of their horses' feet galloping away; and before I had opened the door, and arrived at the bank of the stream, the last horseman of the five was out of sight, though, with greater consideration than I had any reason to expect, they had left a horse saddled at the door for my use.
When my worthy acquaintance Hubert and his companions had departed in the manner I have described in the last chapter, I had time to look round me, and consider both my own situation and theirs who had just left me.
From everything I had seen I could not doubt that the encounter with the courier and his escort had taken place, and that the robbers had proved successful. It was evident, however, that the struggle had been severe; and from the slaughter of three of their horses, as well as from their leaving a fourth for myself, I was led to conclude that four of the gang had perished in the affray. At all events, no doubt could exist as to their having left their late dwelling for ever; and I certainly was not a little obliged to them for the care which they had taken to provide me with the means of pursuing my journey.
Nevertheless, I judged that it might be expedient to examine their habitation and its vicinity thoroughly before I quitted it; and, on doing so, I found that in the hurry of their departure they had left behind them my own saddle and accoutrements, which I instantly placed upon the horse instead of those with which they had furnished him, not knowing how far the fact of sitting in a thief's saddle might not compromise me with those who might chance to be in pursuit of the thief. Having added my own peculiar saddlebags to the load of my charger, I took such a general survey of the ground and the road which led to it as might be useful afterwards, and, bidding farewell to the old mill, made the best of my way back to the high road. As I never forgot a path that I had once travelled, I had no difficulty in retracing my steps to the exact point at which I had fallen into the hands of the robbers, and gladly found myself once more on the road towards St. Malo, free from any apprehension of fresh interruption.
The affray, however, with the courier and his escort, must have taken place farther up the road, for it could not have failed to have left bloody traces wherever it occurred; and I met with none such in my onward journey, which I now pursued in the same direction that I had been following when I was interrupted. To tell the truth, I was not at all sorry to have no direct knowledge of the affair, for in these cases concealment is almost as bad as the crime itself, and it must be remembered that I was not in a situation to put my head willingly into the jaws of justice. I was, therefore, well contented that the robbery of the courier, and the murder of his escort, had passed totally without my personal cognisance, although I had no doubt whatever of the facts. To put myself as far, too, from the scene as possible, I galloped on pretty quickly till I came to a carrefour, where the road I was pursuing was crossed by that from St. Aubin to Rennes. It was at the distance of at least ten miles from the scene of my late adventures; and as I came up to it I perceived, seated on the little mound of earth at the foot of the guide-post, a man in the dress of a pedlar, with his box of wares laid down by his side. At first he was turned in such a manner as to prevent me from seeing his face; but the sound of my horses' feet causing him to look round, he displayed a countenance garnished with a long black beard, an ornament which at that time was beginning to fall into great disrepute throughout all civilized Europe--so much so, indeed, that no such thing was to be seen in all France, except perhaps on the faces of Jews and Capuchins, and a few which had descended from the reign of Henri Quatre, and were, I suppose, valued by their owners on the score of their antiquity.
The one before me at present was voluminous and massy; but, nevertheless, it did not serve to conceal from me the identity of the wearer with an acquaintance whose face had boasted no such appendage a fortnight before. I affected not to recognise him, however, and, dismounting from my horse--which instantly betrayed its ancient habits by browsing the roadside--I sat down on the same mound with the other traveller, and began conversing with him as a peddling Jew. He spoke learnedly and lamentably upon the evils and inconveniences of his own profession, and ended by moralising so sagely upon the necessity of bearing our own portion of ills with constancy and calmness, that I could not help exclaiming, "Ah! my dear philosopher, you are now quite complete: when I knew you on the Quai des Orfèvres you wanted nothing of Socrates but the beard."
Jacques Marlot shook his head. "Can your eyes see through stone walls, little serpent," he cried; "but remark what your good crowns have done for me; procured me this box of trumpery, and a beard that is worth half the money."
"I am heartily glad to see you so well equipped," replied I; "although your imprudence, joined to my own, had very nearly procured me a journey to the Bastile, and has actually caused me to be stripped of a thousand crowns." I then related to the ci-devant printer all that had occurred to me since we last met, and I was glad to find that he sincerely felt for all the inconveniences I had suffered, and pressed me to take back again the sum of five crowns, which was all that he had remaining of the thirty I had given him. He declared at the same time that he himself could do very well without, for that the contents of his box, assisted by a fluent tongue and the gullibility of the peasantry, had proved quite sufficient, since he began his new trade, to maintain him as well as he could desire, though, to say the truth, his taste for the good things of life was not the most moderate.
I refused to accept his offer, of course, telling him that money was quite unnecessary to me, as I counted upon reaching the castle of Monsieur de Villardin in less than an hour.
"You are quite mistaken, my son," he replied; "whether you mean his castle of the Prés Vallée, or that of Dumont; the first being at the distance of at least twenty, and the latter nearly forty miles from the place where we now stand."
This intelligence surprised me a good deal, as I found that I had entirely miscalculated my situation, and had mistaken my road. Jacques Marlot, however, who, as well as his uncle, good Jerome Laborde, was a native of the country, and acquainted with every rood of ground round about, undertook to guide me on my way, and, walking my horse by his side as he trudged on, we arrived within a few miles of Rennes that night. The next morning, after sleeping in one of the neighbouring villages, we separated, he intending to proceed to St. Malo, to carry on his traffic with any of the seamen arriving from foreign ports, and I turned my steps in the direction of the Prés Vallée, to which he pointed out the road.
No farther accident or adventure occurred to delay my arrival, and, about ten o'clock in the morning, I reached the place of my destination. Here I was received with all due deference by the domestics who tenanted the house, and delivered all the letters which I bore to the farmers and receivers of Monsieur de Villardin.
Nothing could be more beautiful, though nothing could be more solemn, than the aspect of the castle, and the scene that surrounded it. It was a fortified house, of no great military strength, situated on a slight eminence, rising above the vast rich meadows that stretch for many miles along the borders of the Vilaine. These meadows were broken--for I cannot call it separated--by large belts of magnificent forest trees, which seemed to owe their planting to the hand of nature rather than to that of man, but which, nevertheless, had been so skilfully thinned, that the boughs of one never interfered with the boughs of another; and each grew up in liberty, protecting, as it were, under its branches, its own particular domain, without infringing upon the bounds of its neighbour. Each of these belts varied in shape and distribution; but each left from fifty to sixty acres of pasture ground clear and open within its circuit, with the river generally forming the boundary on one side, and the trees sweeping round on every other, so that each meadow seemed to be a spot of rich ground which had been cleared and cultivated ages ago, in the midst of a vast forest, the trees of which were still standing around. In fact, a person placed in the centre of any of these open spaces, saw nothing but wood beyond the meadow that surrounded him, till, walking on for a minute or two, under the shade of gigantic elms and oaks, he entered another wide pasture field like that he had just left.
The effect of the whole would have been gloomy, had it not been enlivened by the frequent turns of the river, and the sight of cattle and sheep feeding in the various savannahs, under the charge of their several herds, who most frequently were found cheering their occupation with a song. There was something calm, and simple, and patriarchal in the whole scene, which struck me greatly as I passed through it; and I could have fancied myself removed by thousands of years and thousands of miles from the countries and the times through which I had lately been moving.
The castle itself, built of cold grey stone, and covered in several parts with ivy, was in perfect harmony with everything around it; and the good taste of Monsieur de Villardin, who entered fully into the peculiar character of the scene, had left all the furniture and decorations of the house--which were rich and good, though in antique style and form--exactly as they had come into his possession.
As I propose to write down in this book the changes of my disposition and character as I advanced through life, as well as the various turns of fortune that attended me in my progress through the world, I must pause for a moment to speak of that which was passing within my own heart, while the events which I have described were working out my general fate.
A new spirit was about this time beginning to spring up in my bosom, and a taste for things that I never before enjoyed was every day developing itself more and more. Whether it was that Lord Masterton had first called my attention to the beauties of nature, or whether it was that before my acquaintance with him I never had time to think of them, I cannot tell; but certainly I began to feel a delight in the aspect of such scenes as the Prés Vallée, which formerly I had never experienced; and during the first two or three days, I fancied that I could remain there alone for ever.
I had not yet learned, it is true, to examine very closely what I felt, but I remember at the time thinking it strange, that whereas not two years before I could have passed through the fairest scenes in nature without giving them any particular attention, unless they were lighted up by pike and gun, I now stopped to gaze, without well knowing why, whenever anything that was fair or sweet met my eye. I might not, indeed, look at Nature's face with the feelings of a painter or of a poet; but I certainly did begin to experience great pleasure in the contemplation of a beautiful prospect, and would turn away when I had done so, pleased, but thoughtful,--I might almost say, sad.
I felt this more than I had ever felt it before in the solitude of my new dwelling, and many an hour I passed away in various sylvan sports, which, while they gave me active employment, still led me into the fairest scenes in the country round.
Nevertheless, I found myself bound in duty to Monsieur de Villardin to make him acquainted with all the incidents of my journey; and though at that time I loved not sitting at a desk, even as long as was required to write a short letter, yet, forcing myself to the task with a great effort, I detailed everything that had occurred to me, and despatched the epistle to St. Aubin,--for I would not trust it at Rennes--to go by the next ordinary courier to Paris. Nothing happened to disturb my tranquillity for the ten days that followed, and I remained fishing in the streams, or shooting the wolves and the boars, with very little intermission. On one occasion, indeed, having a letter to deliver from the Duke to his intendant at his other estate of Dumont, I rode over thither, and found a very different scene from that presented by the Prés Vallée--rocks and mountains, and streams and waterfalls, with a modern house, modern alleys, modern bridges, and modern furniture. In the mood which then possessed me, however, the Prés Vallée was more to my taste, and I returned to its calm shades as soon as possible, leaving the letter to be delivered to the intendant, who was absent at the time of my arrival.
At the end of ten days a courier reached the Prés Vallée from Paris, bringing a large packet addressed to myself, on opening which I found a short letter from Monsieur de Villardin, directing me to wait for a fortnight longer in Brittany for the purpose of bringing up the rents of several of his farms, and referring to another more voluminous paper contained in the same packet, which, as I soon perceived, expressed the will and pleasure of the King that no proceedings should take place against John Marston Hall, for the rescue of a prisoner from the hands of the criminal lieutenant, and authorized him to plead the royal grace and pardon in all matters referring thereto.
This, as may well be supposed, afforded a great relief to my mind, for it was by no means pleasant to go about the world with the fear of the Bastile hanging about the neck of one's imagination. Although I had now no apprehensions from the pursuit of justice, I soon began to feel the solitude of the Prés Vallée less delightful than it had seemed at first; and though, had there been any one to share my sports, or to occupy my time, I should still have enjoyed it much; yet the hours gradually became somewhat tiresome, shut up in an old castle, with nothing but solemn woods around one, and a library of old books for my sole companions. I now, however, found the Latin with which Lord Masterton had furnished me turn to some account; and after having read Ovid two or three times through, I dipped into Lucan, and pored over several other books, in order to while away the evenings.
At length, with infinite joy, I heard that the rents were all paid into the hands of the intendant, with the exception of a small sum, which was expected the next day; and I directed the courier, who had remained for the purpose of returning with me to Paris, to prepare for our journey on the third day. Scarcely had I given the order, however, when a letter reached me, brought by the King's ordinary to Rennes. It was in the hand-writing of Monsieur de Villardin, and contained but a few words, which were evidently written under feelings of agitation or haste. In this billet, for letter I can scarcely call it, he directed me to forbear my journey, as he himself and his whole household would be at the Prés Vallée in six days from the date of his letter; and he then went on to bid me communicate this fact to the various domestics in the château, in order that it might be prepared, as usual, for his reception.
This change of destination was not unpleasant to me, for all I now wanted was society and occupation; and, prevented as I had been, by my youth and my English birth, from entering into the debaucheries or factions of Paris, its routine had become wearisome to me even before I quitted it. All was now bustle in the château. As the autumn was coming on, fires were lighted in every apartment, and busy hands were engaged in removing the dust which, during the last two years, had accumulated in the untenanted rooms. My solitary residence of a month in the midst of such scenes as those around me had, I believe, done more to call forth whatever portion of imagination entered into the composition of John Marston Hall than all the events of his former life. Lord Masterton, as I had before said, had done a good deal, it is true; but even when I quitted him, my great thirst was for action, not for thought. Now a new ingredient seemed mingling with my nature: I began to view the things around me in a different light; and though I would fain have had some one to converse with, yet I could dream even alone. Thus, during the next two or three days, when the evening had closed in, and I was left in the old library by myself, after reading for an hour or two, I would rise, and without a candle, wander through all the dim vast halls and gloomy chambers of the Prés Vallée, watching the flickering light of the fires, kindled in each chamber to scare away the damp, as the flame flashed faintly from time to time upon the rich arras and dark hangings, and dreaming all the time of heaven knows what compound of scenes and adventures which those chambers might have witnessed in times past.
My conduct in these respects, indeed, was somewhat strangely misconstrued by an old female domestic who always remained in the house; but as the misconstruction was all to my advantage, I had no reason to complain. By a little civility and kindness, I had established with her the character of a complete ph[oe]nix of pages; and I afterwards found that old Marguerite assured Madame de Villardin, on her arrival, that I had every night made a complete tour of the château to see that the fires were burning, and the rooms properly aired. At length, after waiting two days in hourly expectation of the coming of Monsieur de Villardin, an avant-courier arrived, and in about two hours more the cavalcade appeared in the avenue. In Paris, where one never saw the whole household of the Duke collected, one was not aware of the numbers it contained; but now, when two carriages, each containing eight people, and drawn by six horses, were followed up to the gates by twenty-four horsemen, one begun to have a much more respectful idea of Monsieur de Villardin's establishment than one had formerly entertained. The Duke himself was on horseback; and, springing to the ground the first, he gave his hand to the Duchess, who appeared to me pale and languid. Both spoke kindly to me: but I could clearly perceive that something was wrong in the domestic comfort of the family; and I soon found that the defects of Monsieur de Villardin's temper and character had not been greatly improved since I had left Paris. Old Jerome Laborde was my principal oracle in these matters, and from him I learned, that for some weeks the Duchess had been very gay in the capital; had been out continually, except when she received company at home, and had been universally admired and praised. All this had been less agreeable to Monsieur de Villardin than it might have been to a man of a more happy disposition; and after becoming irritable and morose in a considerable degree, he had suddenly announced his determination of retiring to Brittany.
Madame de Villardin, unconscious of offence herself, and, as most women do, mistaking her husband's character, endeavoured to argue him out of his resolution. A discussion ensued, the particulars of which did not transpire, even to the all inquiring ears of soubrettes and valets de chambre; but the whole household perceived that it must have been bitter and severe, for when it was over, Madame de Villardin was found fainting, and bathed in tears. The arrangements for departure were hurried from that moment: and before three days were over, the whole party were on their way to the Prés Vallée.
As the old man told me this story spontaneously, I thought I might, at least, venture to ask whether he believed the Duke to have any real cause for the jealousy that he evidently felt.
"None on earth," replied the major-domo. "My lady is gay and lively, and loves well enough to be admired: but she loves my lord dearly, we are all convinced; and, depend upon it, no woman ever went astray yet without the servants finding it out."
For a time, the change produced on the domestic affairs of Monsieur de Villardin, by his retirement from Paris, was a great improvement. The Duke seemed to feel himself more at ease in the country than the description of good Jerome Laborde permitted me to believe he had been in the town; and Madame de Villardin, like a wise woman, making up her mind to what she could not avoid, seemed determined to dedicate herself wholly to rural occupations and to the wife's first task of making his home comfortable and tranquil to her husband. Matters thus soon assumed a new aspect. Monsieur de Villardin, who was naturally of a warm and affectionate disposition, gave way fully to all the better feelings of his heart; and I have never seen a more happy household than that which, for the month that followed, was presented by the château of the Prés Vallée, although Madame de Villardin herself had become far more grave and matronly than she had appeared in Paris. The Duke, with the natural eagerness and activity of his disposition, was, of course, obliged to find himself constant employment; but to a man so fond of field sports as he was, the country around us presented an unfailing source of amusement. Now it was a fishing party, now it was an expedition against the stags, the boars, or the wolves; now it was a walk to bring home a chevreuil, which furnished us with the day's entertainment; and, on most of these occasions, I was glad to find that Madame de Villardin, at her own request, accompanied her husband.
For my part, the whole was joy and satisfaction to me; for it was evident, that all those whose affections I coveted were daily growing more fond of me: the Duke was never tired of praising my method of conducting their sports; Madame de Villardin seemed to take a delight in seeing me play with her little girl; the servants, who were sure to meet all good offices and no evil ones from my hands, found a great difference between myself and such pages as they were accustomed to encounter, with whom the ordinary domestics of a house are generally in a state of open warfare. The two younger pages themselves were my pets and my protégés; and the only one who hated me, with a tolerable degree of malevolence, was my first enemy, Master Gaspard de Belleville, whose fear was the only restraint upon his animosity. Certain it is, that his dislike was not particularly diminished during our stay at the Prés Vallée. The increasing regard and confidence of our mutual lord towards myself, the frequent rebukes and mortifications that his awkwardness and inactivity in all our field sports called upon himself, as well as the total disregard with which I treated him, all served to increase and cultivate his original distaste towards me. It is true he never dared to show his hatred in such a manner as to give me an excuse for resenting it; but it peeped out in a thousand little words and actions, amongst which, one of the pettiest, but one which first showed his feelings, was a habit which he had of never calling me by my name when speaking of me to others, but always designating me--l'Anglais--l'Etranger,--the Englishman--the Foreigner. For all this I was very easily consoled, and indeed scarcely noticed it at all. Monsieur de Villardin, however, himself took notice of the latter circumstance I have mentioned, and one day sharply reproved him for not speaking of me by my name. "Call him, sir," he said, "by his proper appellation,--Monsieur Hall; and remember that he is better born, as well as better educated, than yourself."
Of another, and far more serious trait of his ill will towards myself, I received, about this time, proofs quite sufficient to satisfy myself, though perhaps they were not quite irrefragable.
Shortly after the arrival of the family at the Prés Vallée, the Duke took me out with him alone; and causing me to walk by his side, made me give him a far more full and detailed account of all my adventures on the road than I had been able to do by letter. When I had done, he asked me if I had been imprudent enough, before quitting Paris, to acknowledge to any one but himself the share I had had in the liberation of Jacques Marlot.
"To no one, I assure you, my lord," I replied; "even to his own uncle, Jerome Laborde, I never mentioned the facts; merely telling him--to quiet the old man's mind--that I had heard his nephew had been liberated, without adding one word which could induce him to believe that I had any share in the transaction."
"It is very extraordinary, indeed," said the Duke in reply; "but it is an undoubted fact, that between the time of your aiding to rescue the prisoner and my visit to the Hotel de Bouillon that night, the police had obtained the most perfect account of your person, appearance, dress, and situation. Can you remember," he added, "whether there was any one present when you related the circumstances to me?"
"No one, my lord," I replied, "as you may remember, but Gaspard de Belleville."
Monsieur de Villardin shook his head. "Indeed!" he said; "Indeed! Yet I cannot believe the boy would be either so base or so foolish as to betray such a conversation. However," he added, changing the subject abruptly, "of course, as you have suffered robbery while engaged in my service, I shall not allow you to lose by anything of the kind. The sum which was taken from you shall be repaid to you as soon as we return home; and, in the meantime, do not let any suspicion of Gaspard appear in your behaviour towards him."
"There exists so very little communication between us, my lord," I replied, "on any subject, that there is no fear of my betraying any such feeling; and certainly, more than ever, I shall take care to conceal it, since you desire me to do so."
The same evening, the Duke gave me an order upon his intendant for the full sum which I had lost; and, as a still greater proof of his regard, ordered an apartment in the immediate vicinity of his own, consisting of two very comfortable chambers, to be prepared for my sole use.
This state of things had continued about a month, when a rumour became prevalent in our little world that the Duchess was again pregnant; and, about the same time, after a deep and fearful fit of gloom, of which no one understood the cause, Monsieur de Villardin shut himself up almost entirely in his library and his bedchamber, and was hardly seen by anybody for several days. Madame de Villardin, too, was observed several times in tears, and everything appeared once more to be going wrong in the family. At the end of a few days, however, a change was wrought in the Duke himself, apparently by the exhortations of his confessor, who was frequently with him for several hours at a time. Of this excellent man I shall have occasion to speak more hereafter; and here it is only necessary to say, that the influence he possessed over the mind of Monsieur de Villardin was at all times extraordinary. His usual residence was at Rennes, and consequently he had not seen the Duke for more than two years: but his authority did not seem to have been at all shaken, nor the bold tone of his reproof at all softened by absence; for I remember once, on passing the library door, which was ajar, having unwillingly overheard him myself tax his penitent with absolute madness. However that might be, the Duke very soon resumed his usual habits; and it appeared to me that he endeavoured, by increased kindness, to efface from the mind of the Duchess whatever effect any harshness he had shown her might have produced. Most gladly did she seem to catch at every renewed proof of his affection; and the happiness of the family was again apparently restored for the time, when one morning, as we were about to set out to hunt in the neighbourhood, the young Count de Mesnil, who had rescued the Duke out of the hands of the butchers in Paris, and who had since been a frequent visiter at his house, rode up to the gates, and was received with a joyous welcome by both the Duke and his lady. He, like Monsieur de Villardin, had come into Brittany to spend some time on his estates; and as his dwelling was within seven miles of the Prés Vallée, his visits soon became very nearly as frequent as they had been in Paris.
At first the natural bent of Madame de Villardin's disposition led her into some of those little acts of gaiety and display from which a habitual love of admiration rendered it almost impossible for her to refrain; but very soon, and somewhat suddenly, her manner towards the young Count assumed an air of great coldness; and I easily divined the cause both of this change and of the great affection which Monsieur de Mesnil appeared to feel for the lord and family of the Prés Vallée.
Strange to say, Monsieur de Villardin, awake to the slightest word in other instances, and suspicious where there was no cause, was in the present case totally blind, long after Madame de Villardin herself had become aware of the designs of their visiter. He had known the Count de Mesnil as a mere boy, and he still looked upon him as such. This might be one cause of his blindness; but, in truth, I believe, there is also a sort of fatality in such cases, or rather a madness, which, to a suspicious mind, makes truth look like falsehood, and falsehood appear to be truth. I felt very much for Madame de Villardin, whose situation appeared to be painful in the extreme; and whose conduct towards the Count de Mesnil, as far, at least, as I could see, was now faultless; but, of course, I dared not say a word to open the eyes of my lord upon such a subject, without having some decided fact to warrant my interference.
In this state of affairs, nearly two months more passed over our heads, without any circumstance occurring to change my own situation or that of the other parties; Monsieur de Villardin continuing extremely partial to the society of his young neighbour, and the Duchess, on the contrary, treating him with a degree of cold haughtiness which approached towards rudeness. At length, one morning, shortly after the Count de Mesnil, who had been upon a visit at the Prés Vallée, had left the house, in order, as it seemed, to return home, Monsieur de Villardin set out on horseback, intending to proceed to Rennes, accompanied by myself, Gaspard de Belleville, and one or two grooms. When we were about a mile and a half from the château, however, he suddenly remembered that a packet, referring to the business which called him to the city, had been left on the table of his library; and, as it was of some importance, he directed me to ride back and bring it to him at Rennes. I accordingly lost no time in returning to the Prés Vallée; but was somewhat surprised, when about half a mile from the house, to remark a horse, which I very well recognised as that of the Count de Mesnil, tied to one of the old trees which I have before described. I had taken a short cut across the meadows, which deviation from the high road had led me through a part of the grounds that, lying at a distance from any of the ordinary paths, was generally very lonely: but, in truth, when I beheld this sight, I wished that I had pursued any other way; for I apprehended, and not without cause, that I might soon be placed in one of the most painful situations that it is possible to conceive. I had, however, but one task to perform--to do the errand on which I was sent; but, in order to see as little as possible, I rode to the back of the château, and, entering from the offices, went up by one of the back staircases into the library. That room, however, opened again into the small saloon, and the door by which I entered fronted the other, which was unclosed, and exactly opposite to which, on the wall of the saloon, was hung a large Venetian mirror in a silver frame. The moment I entered, I heard voices, and my eye involuntarily rested on the mirror, in which I beheld the reflection of two figures; that of the Duchess with her back to the glass, so that I could not see the expression of her countenance, and that of Monsieur de Mesnil, kneeling at her feet, and holding her hand with some degree of force in his own, while he pressed his lips upon it.
Although, as I have said, I could not see the face of the Duchess, her words, and the tone in which they were pronounced, were quite sufficient to show me that she was repelling indignantly the grossest insult that woman can receive from man.
"If you do not instantly quit me, sir," she exclaimed in a loud and vehement voice, "I will call those who can and will protect me against your daring insolence. Rise, sir, rise: I do not know which is the most to be despised, your affectation of love for a woman you insult, or your hypocrisy in pretending friendship for the man you endeavour to wrong."
The Count was not without all those ordinary arguments on the subject, by which men furnish women, who are already inclined to degrade themselves, with excuses for so doing; I did not allow him time, however, to make much use of his oratory; but by oversetting one of the tables in the library, gave him intimation that some one was near. Immediate and not very dignified flight was his resource, and taking his way through another door, he left the Duchess without any great ceremony in bidding her adieu. As I saw her approaching the library, I also made my escape by the back staircase as rapidly as if I had been upon some furtive expedition. The truth is, that my mind, for the first time in my life, I believe, was not made up how to act; and I did not wish to encounter Madame de Villardin until I had formed my determination. I had also obtained the packet for which I was sent, so that I had no cause to stay longer; and, mounting again in the back court, I rode forward towards Rennes.
Although I knew that Monsieur de Villardin waited for the papers, my pace was slow I confess; for I was embarrassed with meditations, which were not easily brought to an end. Had I been sure that the Duchess would have told her own story to her husband, I might have held my peace, and suffered the matter to take its course; but I clearly saw that the causeless jealousy of Monsieur de Villardin himself had so greatly alarmed his wife, that it was very doubtful whether she would open his eyes to the perfidy of his friend, not knowing what strange and violent effect the communication might produce. At the same time I remembered the promise I had made, never to see him wronged, without making him aware of the fact; but though this promise was decided, yet I felt afraid to perform it, and was long in considering how I might do so in such a manner as to fulfil my duty, and yet to guard against the slightest suspicion falling upon his innocent wife. It may be thought, indeed, that for this purpose, I had nothing to do but to tell all that I had seen, precisely as I had seen it; but Monsieur de Villardin was not famous for hearing any one to an end, and I therefore knew that the effect of the first part of my tale would, probably, be to prevent his attending to one word of its conclusion. Eventually, however, I both made up my mind to tell him what I had witnessed, and fixed upon the means of making him hear me out; and as soon as this was settled, I put my horse into a gallop, and never stopped till I was in Rennes.
The business which had taken him to the provincial capital detained him for several hours, but was ultimately settled to his satisfaction, and he returned homeward in a happier mood than any I had lately witnessed. He was more calm and placid than he had been for months, and met his wife with that confiding and affectionate air, which I hoped might induce her to open her whole heart to her husband at once. Had she done so, what misery she would have saved him! but she was too much afraid of him to act in the only manner that could have rebuked suspicion for ever. As I was almost constantly, on some excuse or another, in the saloon or library, I had sufficient opportunity of watching my lord's countenance, and I scanned it eagerly during the evening, to see whether the tale had been told. He was so cheerful and so gay, that his face, like a summer sky, would, in a moment, have betrayed the slightest cloud that came over him; but the day closed without any appearing, and it was clear that the Duchess, most weakly, had determined to conceal the insult offered to her by the Count de Mesnil from her husband.
The task then lay with me; and when Madame de Villardin had retired for the night, I entreated the Duke to grant me a few minute's audience. He first heard my request with a smile, and asked whether to-morrow would not do as well; but the next moment his demon woke suddenly up, a cloud came over his brow, and I could see that suspicion and distrust were once more alive. Starting up, he took one of the tapers, and beckoning me into the library, which was more retired and secure than the saloon, he shut the door, and casting himself into an arm chair, exclaimed, almost fiercely, "Now! boy! Now! What is it you have to say?"
I saw that he was dreadfully agitated, even by his own imaginations, for as yet I had not said one word to cause the slightest emotion: but still, as I have said, he was moved in an extraordinary degree; and I knew, that unless I took the means on which I had before resolved to gain an uninterrupted hearing, my story would be cut short in the midst. Advancing, therefore, as near as I well could, I knelt down before him, and said, "My lord, I have something to tell you; but you are so quick, that I am afraid of your not hearing it all. If you will give me your word of honour that you will hear every word I have to say without interrupting me, I will go on; but if you will not, I will hold my tongue, and, on my life, nothing shall ever make me open my lips."
He repaid me with a fierce glance for the conditions that I made; but as he knew that I was one to keep my word, he promised most solemnly to hear me to an end.
"Well then, my lord," I said, "I shall only farther claim, that as you give credit to one part of my story, so you shall give credit to the other; for every word that I am about to speak is equally true."
I then proceeded to recount all that I had seen in the morning after he had sent me back for the papers; and never did I see a more terrific struggle take place in a human being than that which agitated him during the recital. When I first spoke of Monsieur de Mesnil's horse tied to the tree, he had nearly broke forth; and when I came to relate the scene that first met my eye in the library, he started up from off his chair with every muscle of his face working under excessive emotion. He remembered his promise, however; and sitting down again, covered his eyes with his hand while I proceeded; but as I concluded with the words which his wife had uttered, he caught me by the arm, and gazed eagerly in my face, exclaiming--"Ha! did she say that?"
"On my honour! On my soul, she did," I replied; "as I hope in heaven!"
"Boy, you have saved me!" he exclaimed, sinking back in the chair; and to my astonishment, I saw a tear rise up in his eye and roll over his cheek. He brushed it hastily away, and then laying his hand kindly upon my shoulder, said, "John Marston, you have done your duty well and nobly, and by taking the means you have to make me hear you out, you have conferred an obligation on your lord that must never be forgotten. To a boy of your age I cannot speak as I might to others, of the vice and evil that reigns amongst our highest dames in Paris; but let it suffice, that a woman who so degrades herself becomes, to my mind, a thing of loathing and abhorrence; and if you can conceive what it is to love with the deepest intensity, you may understand what it would be to behold the beloved object suddenly change from the dearest jewel of your heart to the foulest object that earth can present to your eyes. It is worse, a thousand times, than to see the blighting change from life to death, but you have saved me; for the very suspicion of such a thing would be madness.--But you have saved me; and, after that noble speech, I shall never henceforth entertain a doubt or a fear."
How deeply, how sadly, he deceived himself, may easily be divined; for where was there yet a suspicious man that--ever laid aside his suspicions?
"As to the Count de Mesnil," he added, his lip curling both with scorn and anger, "I look upon him but as a worm: he is one of the many who think it honourable, and gay, and brilliant, to act, as she justly said, the hypocrite and the villain; and is contemptible. Nevertheless, he must not go unpunished, and must be cared for. On his account I will speak with you to-morrow; but in the meantime repeat once more what your lady replied."
I did as he bade me, and he marked every syllable attentively.
"You vary not a word," he said; "and I well know that your honour and your memory never fail. You have saved me from torments not to be told, and perhaps from deeds that might have brought greater torments still; you have acted wisely and nobly, and henceforth I treat you as my son. Now, leave me, my good boy, and to-morrow by six of the clock be here in the library, when we will speak of what farther steps are to be taken in this affair."
I left him without reply, and went to bed, satisfied with my own conduct, and gratified by the result. The next morning I was in the library as the clock struck the hour that he had named; but Monsieur de Villardin was down before me, and had probably been so some time, as there were several sheets of parchment before him, and he had just concluded the writing of a paper of some length as I entered. He looked up with a smile when he perceived me, and said, "General St. Maur, or, as I believe I ought to call him, Lord Langleigh, informed me that he and Lord Masterton had, in recompence for the services you had rendered them, assigned you a sufficient revenue from one of their farms to maintain you at ease in the station which you are destined to fill. Pray how much did they thus grant you?"
"A thousand crowns per annum, my lord," replied I; "and, indeed, in your house I do not know what to do with it."
"Oh, time will teach you plenty of uses for it," answered the Duke; "and for the service you have rendered me, I am about to add nearly double what you already possess. There is a small farm, which I bought lately, near my estates at Dumont, which produces about eighteen hundred crowns; and besides the farm-house, there is upon it the dwelling of the former proprietor, whose family is now extinct. It is called Juvigny. I give it to you for ever, holding only the right of guardianship over you and it, till you are of age by law to use it yourself. There are the papers, together with my directions to a notary in regard to the cession. Bid a groom take them to Rennes, and bring back the deed drawn up this evening, when I will sign it."
Warmly, most warmly, did I express my gratitude, fancying myself now richer than princes; for the sum of three thousand crowns per annum went far beyond any dreams which I yet had of expense. Monsieur de Villardin smiled at the enthusiasm with which I poured forth the thanks, and at the ideas I seemed to entertain of the boundlessness of my wealth.
"Well, well," he said, "you will learn to appreciate it more justly in time. Go now and give the groom the papers, with particular orders to bring back the deed to-night, for no one can tell what to-morrow may bring forth. Return to me as soon as you have given him your directions."
I immediately obeyed, and choosing one of the grooms who was my more especial favourite in the family, I gave him the papers, with injunctions to use all speed and diligence. I then returned to the library, and found that the Duke had just concluded a billet, on which he wrote the address of the Count de Mesnil; and after drawing a small cord of floss silk across the folds, he sealed the ligature at both ends, and put the note into my hands:--"You will take that," he said, with a calm smile, "to our good friend the Count de Mesnil; but do not go till after breakfast, nor let it seem by your manner that there is anything extraordinary in your mission; for, to my taste, things of this kind had better always be conducted as quietly as possible. Deliver it into the Count's own hand, when you have reached his dwelling, and bring me back his reply."
Of course I very well understood that I was charged with one of those cartels of mortal defiance which were then so common in every country of Europe. The matter certainly was nothing new to me, for many a very trifling dispute had I seen brought to the arbitrement of the sword when I followed the camp of the Cavaliers; but it did seem strange to me that the Duke so far departed from the general customs of the day as to send his defiance by a page, instead of by some man equal in rank and station to the person for whom it was intended. I found afterwards, however, that his irritable fear of ridicule, which was the next prominent characteristic of his mind to its susceptibility of the slightest suspicion, was the cause of anything that appeared irregular in his method of proceeding. However that might be, of course I did not object to the task, though it seemed to me doubtful how Monsieur de Mesnil would receive such a cartel from a page, and what might be his treatment of the bearer. Personal risk seldom entered into my calculation in these matters, and I ordered my horse to be ready after breakfast, and a groom to be prepared to accompany me, as gaily as if I had been going upon an errand of pleasure. Before setting out, however, I had an opportunity of seeing the behaviour of the Duke towards his wife, and it, I confess, was the first thing that gave me any pain in the business. It was so gentle, so affectionate, so different from what it had been on former occasions, that, as the thought flashed across my mind, that the first day of such tenderness might be the last of his life, I would have given more than all I had in the world to have prevented the proposed encounter from taking place. To do so was, of course, impossible; and accordingly after breakfast I mounted my horse, and rode away for Mesnil Moray, the dwelling of Monsieur de Villardin's adversary.
Though I was a little gloomy when I set out, old habits soon got the better of new feelings, and I readily brought myself to look upon the affair altogether as one of those matters which every man must undertake, at least, a hundred times in the course of his life. "Monsieur de Villardin," I thought, "will fight fifty more, I hope, before he has done with the sword," and with this consolatory reflection, I cantered on as fast as I could. Somewhat less than an hour brought me to the gates of the château; and, on demanding to see Monsieur de Mesnil, I was instantly admitted to his presence. I thought he turned rather pale when he saw me, but it might be merely imaginary; and certainly, throughout the whole, he behaved like a man of honour and courage. He took the billet, and, cutting the silk, read it attentively, with a slight frown knitting his brows. He then asked me in a calm tone, "Do you know the contents of this note, young man?"
The question puzzled me a little, for though I strongly suspected the general nature of what the billet contained, yet I knew none of the particulars, and could not even be sure of that which I imagined. I answered, therefore, that "I did not;" and the Count rejoined, throwing the note into the fire, "Well, then, as Monsieur de Villardin has been kind enough to send me an unceremonious request, I will send him an unceremonious reply. Tell him I will accept his invitation, with all its particulars, and that I am his very obedient servant. You may add, I would have written, but that I have a great deal to do between this and night."
Charged with this ambiguous message, I returned to the Prés Vallée, and found Monsieur de Villardin playing with his little girl, while Madame de Villardin was in her own chamber, preparing to go out with him for a walk.
"Have you brought any note?" he asked me immediately, taking advantage of his wife's absence, to inquire the result of my embassy in private. I replied that I had only received a verbal answer: upon which he formed a pretext to send away the little girl, and made me give him a detailed account of all that had occurred.
"Well, well," he said, as I concluded, "it is all well. Be prepared to go out with me at six o'clock to-night, and get a spade and pick-axe privately from the garden."