CHAPTER CXXVII.
KING LOUIS XIV.
The king was seated in his cabinet, with his back turned toward the doorof entrance. In front of him was a mirror, in which, while turning overhis papers, he could see with a glance those who came in. He did nottake any notice of the entrance of D'Artagnan, but laid over his lettersand plans the large silk cloth which he made use of to conceal hissecrets from the importunate. D'Artagnan understood his play, and keptin the background; so that, at the end of a minute, the king, who heardnothing, and saw nothing but with the corner of his eye, was obliged tocry, "Is not M. D'Artagnan there?"
"I am here, sire," replied the musketeer, advancing.
"Well, monsieur," said the king, fixing his clear eye upon D'Artagnan,"what have you to say to me?"
"I, sire!" replied the latter, who watched the first blow of hisadversary to make a good retort; "I have nothing to say to your majesty,unless it be that you have caused me to be arrested, and here I am."
The king was going to reply that he had not had D'Artagnan arrested, butthe sentence appeared too much like an excuse, and he was silent.D'Artagnan likewise preserved an obstinate silence.
"Monsieur," at length resumed the king, "what did I charge you to go anddo at Belle-Isle? Tell me, if you please."
The king, while speaking these words, looked fixedly at his captain.Here D'Artagnan was too fortunate; the king seemed to place the game inhis hands.
"I believe," replied he, "that your majesty does me the honor to askwhat I went to Belle-Isle to do?"
"Yes, monsieur."
"Well! sire, I know nothing about it; it is not of me that questionshould be asked, but of that infinite number of officers of all kinds towhom have been given an infinite number of orders of all kinds, while tome, head of the expedition, nothing precise was ordered."
The king was wounded; he showed it by his reply. "Monsieur," said he,"orders have only been given to such as were judged faithful."
"And, therefore, I have been astonished, sire," retorted the musketeer,"that a captain like myself, who rank with a marechal of France, shouldhave found himself under the orders of five or six lieutenants ormajors, good to make spies of, possibly, but not at all fit to conductwarlike expeditions. It was upon this subject I came to demand anexplanation of your majesty, when I found the door closed against me,which, the last insult offered to a brave man, has led me to quit yourmajesty's service."
"Monsieur," replied the king, "you still believe you are living in anage when kings were, as you complain of having been, under the ordersand at the discretion of their inferiors. You appear too much to forgetthat a king owes an account of his actions to none but God."
"I forget nothing at all, sire," said the musketeer, wounded by thislesson. "Besides, I do not see in what an honest man, when he asks ofhis king how he has ill served him, offends him."
"You have ill served me, monsieur, by taking part with my enemiesagainst me."
"Who are your enemies, sire?"
"The men I sent you to fight with."
"Two men the enemies of the whole of your majesty's army! That isincredible."
"You have no power to judge of my will."
"But I have to judge of my own friendships, sire."
"He who serves his friends does not serve his master."
"I have so well understood that, sire, that I have respectfully offeredyour majesty my resignation."
"And I have accepted it, monsieur," said the king. "Before beingseparated from you I was willing to prove to you that I know how to keepmy word."
"Your majesty has kept more than your word, for your majesty has had mearrested," said D'Artagnan, with his cold bantering air; "you did notpromise me that, sire."
The king would not condescend to perceive the pleasantry, and continuedseriously, "You see, monsieur," said he, "to what your disobedience hasforced me."
"My disobedience!" cried D'Artagnan, red with anger.
"That is the mildest name I can find," pursued the king. "My idea was totake and punish rebels; was I bound to inquire whether these rebels wereyour friends or not?"
"But I was," replied D'Artagnan. "It was a cruelty on your majesty'spart to send me to take my friends and lead them to your gibbets."
"It was a trial I had to make, monsieur, of pretended servants, who eatmy bread, and ought to defend my person. The trial has succeeded ill, M.d'Artagnan."
"For one bad servant your majesty loses," said the musketeer, withbitterness, "there are ten who have, on that same day, gone throughtheir ordeal. Listen to me, sire; I am not accustomed to that service.Mine is a rebel sword when I am required to do ill. It was ill to sendme in pursuit of two men whose lives M. Fouquet, your majesty'spreserver, had implored you to save. Still further, these men were myfriends. They did not attack your majesty, they succumbed to a blindanger. Besides, why were they not allowed to escape? What crime had theycommitted? I admit that you may contest with me the right of judging oftheir conduct. But why suspect me before the action? Why surround mewith spies? Why disgrace me before the army? Why me, in whom you have tothis time showed the most entire confidence--me who for thirty yearshave been attached to your person, and have given you a thousand proofsof devotedness--for it must be said, now that I am accused--why reduceme to see three thousand of the king's soldiers march in battle againsttwo men?"
"One would say you have forgotten what these men have done to me!" saidthe king, in a hollow voice, "and that it was no merit of theirs, that Iwas not lost."
"Sire, one would say that you forget I was there."
"Enough, M. d'Artagnan, enough of these dominating interests which ariseto keep the sun from my interests. I am founding a state in which thereshall be but one master, as I promised you formerly; the moment is comefor keeping my promise. You wish to be, according to your tastes or yourfriendships, free to destroy my plans and save my enemies? I will thwartyou or will leave you--seek a more compliant master. I know full wellthat another king would not conduct himself as I do, and would allowhimself to be dominated over by you, at the risk of sending you some dayto keep company with M. Fouquet and the others; but I have a goodmemory, and for me, services are sacred titles to gratitude, toimpunity. You shall only have this lesson, Monsieur d'Artagnan, as thepunishment of your want of discipline, and I will not imitate mypredecessors in their anger, not having imitated them in their favor.And, then, other reasons make me act mildly toward you; in the firstplace, because you are a man of sense, a man of great sense, a man ofheart, and that you will be a good servant for him who shall havemastered you; secondly, because you will cease to have any motives forinsubordination. Your friends are destroyed or ruined by me. Thesesupports upon which your capricious mind instinctively relied I havemade to disappear. At this moment, my soldiers have taken or killed therebels of Belle-Isle."
D'Artagnan became pale. "Taken or killed!" cried he. "Oh! sire, if youthought what you tell me, if you were sure you were telling me thetruth, I should forget all that is just, all that is magnanimous in yourwords, to call you a barbarous king, and an unnatural man. But I pardonyou these words," said he, smiling with pride; "I pardon them to a youngprince who does not know, who cannot comprehend, what such men as M.d'Herblay, M. de Valon, and myself are. Taken or killed! Ah! ah! sire!tell me, if the news is true, how much it has cost you, in men andmoney. We will then reckon if the game has been worth the stakes."
As he spoke thus, the king went up to him in great anger, and said,"Monsieur d'Artagnan, your replies are those of a rebel! Tell me, if youplease, who is king of France? Do you know any other?"
"Sire," replied the captain of the musketeers, coldly, "I very wellremember that one morning at Vaux you addressed that question to manypeople who did not answer to it, while I, on my part, did answer to it.If I recognized my king on that day, when the thing was not easy, Ithink it would be useless to ask it of me now, when your majesty isalone with me."
At these words Louis cast down his eyes. It appeared to him that thesh
ade of the unfortunate Philippe passed between D'Artagnan and himself,to evoke the remembrance of that terrible adventure. Almost at the samemoment an officer entered and placed a dispatch in the hands of theking, who, in his turn, changed color while reading it.
"Monsieur," said he, "what I learn here you would know later; it isbetter I should tell you, and that you should learn it from the mouth ofyour king. A battle has taken place at Belle-Isle."
"Oh! ah!" said D'Artagnan, with a calm air, though his heart beat enoughto break through his chest. "Well, sire?"
"Well, monsieur--and I have lost a hundred and ten men."
A beam of joy and pride shone in the eyes of D'Artagnan. "And therebels?" said he.
"The rebels have fled," said the king.
D'Artagnan could not restrain a cry of triumph. "Only," added the king,"I have a fleet which closely blockades Belle-Isle, and I am certain nobark can escape."
"So that," said the musketeer, brought back to his dismal ideas, "ifthese two gentlemen are taken--"
"They will be hanged," said the king, quietly.
"And do they know it?" replied D'Artagnan, repressing his trembling.
"They know it, because you must have told them yourself; and all thecountry knows it."
"Then, sire, they will never be taken alive, I will answer for that."
"Ah!" said the king, negligently, and taking up his letter again. "Verywell, they will be dead then, Monsieur d'Artagnan, and that will come tothe same thing, since I should only take them to have them hanged."
D'Artagnan wiped the sweat which flowed from his brow.
"I have told you," pursued Louis XIV., "that I would one day be anaffectionate, generous and constant master. You are now the only man offormer times worthy of my anger or my friendship. I will not be sparingof either to you, according to your conduct. Could you serve a king,Monsieur d'Artagnan, who should have a hundred kings his equals in thekingdom? Could I, tell me, do, with such weakness, the great things Imeditate? Have you ever seen an artist effect solid works with arebellious instrument? Far from us, monsieur, those old leavens offeudal abuses! The Fronde, which threatened to ruin the monarchy, hasemancipated it. I am master at home, Captain d'Artagnan, and I shallhave servants who, wanting, perhaps, your genius, will carry devotednessand obedience up to heroism. Of what consequence, I ask you, of whatconsequence is it that God has given no genius to arms and legs? It isto the head he has given it, and the head, you know, all the rest obey.I am the head."
D'Artagnan started. Louis XIV. continued as if he had seen nothing,although this emotion had not at all escaped him. "Now, let us concludebetween us two that bargain which I promised to make with you one daywhen you found me very little at Blois. Do me justice, monsieur, whenyou think that I do not make any one pay for the tears of shame I thenshed. Look around you; lofty heads have bowed; bow yours, or choose theexile that will best suit you. Perhaps, when reflecting upon it, youwill find that this king is a generous heart, who reckons sufficientlyupon your loyalty to allow you to leave him dissatisfied, when youpossess a great state secret. You are a brave man; I knew you to be so.Why have you judged me before term? Judge me from this day forward,D'Artagnan, and be as severe as you please."
D'Artagnan remained bewildered, mute, undecided for the first time inhis life. He had just found an adversary worthy of him. This was nolonger trick, it was calculation; it was no longer violence, it wasstrength; it was no longer passion, it was will; it was no longerboasting, it was council. This young man who had brought down Fouquet,and could do without D'Artagnan, deranged all the somewhat headstrongcalculations of the musketeer.
"Come, let us see what stops you?" said the king, kindly. "You havegiven in your resignation; shall I refuse to accept it? I admit that itmay be hard for an old captain to recover his good humor."
"Oh!" replied D'Artagnan, in a melancholy tone, "that is not my mostserious care. I hesitate to take back my resignation because I am old incomparison with you, and that I have habits difficult to abandon.Henceforward, you must have courtiers who know how to amuse you--madmenwho will get themselves killed to carry out what you call your greatworks. Great they will be, I feel--but, if by chance I should not thinkthem so? I have seen war, sire, I have seen peace; I have servedRichelieu and Mazarin; I have been scorched, with your father, at thefire of Rochelle; riddled with thrusts like a sieve, having made a newskin ten times, as serpents do. After affronts and injustices, I have acommand which was formerly something, because it gave the bearer theright of speaking as he liked to his king. But your captain of themusketeers will henceforward be an officer guarding the lower doors.Truly, sire, if that is to be the employment from this time, seize theopportunity of our being on good terms, to take it from me. Do notimagine that I bear malice; no, you have tamed me, as you say; but itmust be confessed that in taming me you have lessened me; by bowing meyou have convicted me of weakness. If you knew how well it suits me tocarry my head high, and what a pitiful mien I shall have whilescenting the dust of your carpets! Oh! sire, I regret sincerely,and you will regret as I do, those times when the king of Francesaw in his vestibules all those insolent gentlemen, lean, alwaysswearing--cross-grained mastiffs, who could bite mortally in days ofbattle. Those men were the best of courtiers for the hand which fedthem--they would lick it; but for the hand that struck them, oh! thebite that followed! A little gold on the lace of their cloaks, a slenderstomach in their _hauts-de-chausses_, a little sprinkling of gray intheir dry hair, and you will behold the handsome dukes and peers, thehaughty _marechaux_ of France. But why should I tell you all this? Theking is my master; he wills that I should make verses, he wills that Ishould polish the mosaics of his antechambers with satin shoes.Mordioux! that is difficult, but I have got over greater difficultiesthan that. I will do it. Why should I do it? Because I love money?--Ihave enough. Because I am ambitious?--my career is bounded. Because Ilove the court? No. I will remain because I have been accustomed forthirty years to go and take the orderly word of the king, and to havesaid to me, 'Good-evening, D'Artagnan,' with a smile I did not beg for!That smile I will beg for! Are you content, sire?" And D'Artagnan bowedhis silvered head, upon which the smiling king placed his white handwith pride.
"Thanks, my old servant, my faithful friend," said he. "As, reckoningfrom this day, I have no longer any enemies in France, it remains withme to send you to a foreign field to gather your _marechal's_ baton.Depend upon me for finding you an opportunity. In the meanwhile, eat ofmy best bread and sleep tranquilly."
"That is all kind and well!" said D'Artagnan, much agitated. "But thosepoor men at Belle-Isle? One of them, in particular--so good! so brave!so true!"
"Do you ask their pardon of me?"
"Upon my knees, sire!"
"Well! then, go and take it to them, if it be still time. But do youanswer for them?"
"With my life, sire!"
"Go, then. To-morrow I set out for Paris. Return by that time, for I donot wish you to leave me in future."
"Be assured of that, sire," said D'Artagnan, kissing the royal hand.
And, with a heart swelling with joy, he rushed out of the castle on hisway to Belle-Isle.