28. The Place Royale.
They proceeded silently to the centre of the Place, but as at this verymoment the moon had just emerged from behind a cloud, they thought theymight be observed if they remained on that spot and therefore regainedthe shade of the lime-trees.
There were benches here and there; the four gentlemen stopped near them;at a sign from Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnan sat down, the two othersstood in front of them.
After a few minutes of silent embarrassment, Athos spoke.
"Gentlemen," he said, "our presence here is the best proof of formerfriendship; not one of us has failed the others at this rendezvous; notone has, therefore, to reproach himself."
"Hear me, count," replied D'Artagnan; "instead of making compliments toeach other, let us explain our conduct to each other, like men of rightand honest hearts."
"I wish for nothing more; have you any cause of complaint against me orMonsieur d'Herblay? If so, speak out," answered Athos.
"I have," replied D'Artagnan. "When I saw you at your chateau atBragelonne, I made certain proposals to you which you perfectlyunderstood; instead of answering me as a friend, you played with me as achild; the friendship, therefore, that you boast of was not brokenyesterday by the shock of swords, but by your dissimulation at yourcastle."
"D'Artagnan!" said Athos, reproachfully.
"You asked for candor and you have it. You ask what I have against you;I tell you. And I have the same sincerity to show you, if you wish,Monsieur d'Herblay; I acted in a similar way to you and you alsodeceived me."
"Really, monsieur, you say strange things," said Aramis. "You cameseeking me to make to me certain proposals, but did you make them? No,you sounded me, nothing more. Very well what did I say to you? thatMazarin was contemptible and that I wouldn't serve Mazarin. But that isall. Did I tell you that I wouldn't serve any other? On the contrary, Igave you to understand, I think, that I adhered to the princes. We evenjoked very pleasantly, if I remember rightly, on the very probablecontingency of your being charged by the cardinal with my arrest. Wereyou a party man? There is no doubt of that. Well, why should not we,too, belong to a party? You had your secret and we had ours; we didn'texchange them. So much the better; it proves that we know how to keepour secrets."
"I do not reproach you, monsieur," said D'Artagnan; "'tis only becauseMonsieur de la Fere has spoken of friendship that I question yourconduct."
"And what do you find in it that is worthy of blame?" asked Aramis,haughtily.
The blood mounted instantly to the temples of D'Artagnan, who arose, andreplied:
"I consider it worthy conduct of a pupil of Jesuits."
On seeing D'Artagnan rise, Porthos rose also; these four men weretherefore all standing at the same time, with a menacing aspect,opposite to each other.
Upon hearing D'Artagnan's reply, Aramis seemed about to draw his sword,when Athos prevented him.
"D'Artagnan," he said, "you are here to-night, still infuriated byyesterday's adventure. I believed your heart noble enough to enable afriendship of twenty years to overcome an affront of a quarter of anhour. Come, do you really think you have anything to say against me? Sayit then; if I am in fault I will avow the error."
The grave and harmonious tones of that beloved voice seemed to havestill its ancient influence, whilst that of Aramis, which had becomeharsh and tuneless in his moments of ill-humor, irritated him. Heanswered therefore:
"I think, monsieur le comte, that you had something to communicate to meat your chateau of Bragelonne, and that gentleman"--he pointed toAramis--"had also something to tell me when I was in his convent. Atthat time I was not concerned in the adventure, in the course of whichyou have so successfully estopped me! However, because I was prudent youmust not take me for a fool. If I had wished to widen the breach betweenthose whom Monsieur d'Herblay chooses to receive with a rope ladder andthose whom he receives with a wooden ladder, I could have spoken out."
"What are you meddling with?" cried Aramis, pale with anger, suspectingthat D'Artagnan had acted as a spy on him and had seen him with Madamede Longueville.
"I never meddle save with what concerns me, and I know how to makebelieve that I haven't seen what does not concern me; but I hatehypocrites, and among that number I place musketeers who are abbes andabbes who are musketeers; and," he added, turning to Porthos "here's agentleman who's of the same opinion as myself."
Porthos, who had not spoken one word, answered merely by a word and agesture.
He said "yes" and he put his hand on his sword.
Aramis started back and drew his. D'Artagnan bent forward, ready eitherto attack or to stand on his defense.
Athos at that moment extended his hand with the air of supreme commandwhich characterized him alone, drew out his sword and the scabbard atthe same time, broke the blade in the sheath on his knee and threw thepieces to his right. Then turning to Aramis:
"Aramis," he said, "break your sword."
Aramis hesitated.
"It must be done," said Athos; then in a lower and more gentle voice, headded. "I wish it."
Then Aramis, paler than before, but subdued by these words, snapped theserpent blade between his hands, and then folding his arms, stoodtrembling with rage.
These proceedings made D'Artagnan and Porthos draw back. D'Artagnan didnot draw his sword; Porthos put his back into the sheath.
"Never!" exclaimed Athos, raising his right hand to Heaven, "never! Iswear before God, who seeth us, and who, in the darkness of this nightheareth us, never shall my sword cross yours, never my eye express aglance of anger, nor my heart a throb of hatred, at you. We livedtogether, we loved, we hated together; we shed, we mingled our bloodtogether, and too probably, I may still add, that there may be yet abond between us closer even than that of friendship; perhaps there maybe the bond of crime; for we four, we once did condemn, judge and slay ahuman being whom we had not any right to cut off from this world,although apparently fitter for hell than for this life. D'Artagnan, Ihave always loved you as my son; Porthos, we slept six years side byside; Aramis is your brother as well as mine, and Aramis has once lovedyou, as I love you now and as I have ever loved you. What can CardinalMazarin be to us, to four men who compelled such a man as Richelieu toact as we pleased? What is such or such a prince to us, who fixed thediadem upon a great queen's head? D'Artagnan, I ask your pardon forhaving yesterday crossed swords with you; Aramis does the same toPorthos; now hate me if you can; but for my own part, I shall ever, evenif you do hate me, retain esteem and friendship for you. I repeat mywords, Aramis, and then, if you desire it, and if they desire it, let usseparate forever from our old friends."
There was a solemn, though momentary silence, which was broken byAramis.
"I swear," he said, with a calm brow and kindly glance, but in a voicestill trembling with recent emotion, "I swear that I no longer bearanimosity to those who were once my friends. I regret that I evercrossed swords with you, Porthos; I swear not only that it shall neveragain be pointed at your breast, but that in the bottom of my heartthere will never in future be the slightest hostile sentiment; now,Athos, come."
Athos was about to retire.
"Oh! no! no! do not go away!" exclaimed D'Artagnan, impelled by one ofthose irresistible impulses which showed the nobility of his nature, thenative brightness of his character; "I swear that I would give the lastdrop of my blood and the last fragment of my limbs to preserve thefriendship of such a friend as you, Athos--of such a man as you,Aramis." And he threw himself into the arms of Athos.
"My son!" exclaimed Athos, pressing him in his arms.
"And as for me," said Porthos, "I swear nothing, but I'm choked.Forsooth! If I were obliged to fight against you, I think I should allowmyself to be pierced through and through, for I never loved any one butyou in the wide world;" and honest Porthos burst into tears as heembraced Athos.
"My friends," said Athos, "this is what I expected from such hearts asyours. Yes, I have said it and I now repeat it: our destinies areirrevocabl
y united, although we now pursue divergent roads. I respectyour convictions, and whilst we fight for opposite sides, let us remainfriends. Ministers, princes, kings, will pass away like mountaintorrents; civil war, like a forest flame; but we--we shall remain; Ihave a presentiment that we shall."
"Yes," replied D'Artagnan, "let us still be musketeers, and let usretain as our battle-standard that famous napkin of the bastion St.Gervais, on which the great cardinal had three fleurs-de-lisembroidered."
"Be it so," cried Aramis. "Cardinalists or Frondeurs, what matters it?Let us meet again as capital seconds in a duel, devoted friends inbusiness, merry companions in our ancient pleasures."
"And whenever," added Athos, "we meet in battle, at this word, 'PlaceRoyale!' let us put our swords into our left hands and shake hands withthe right, even in the very lust and music of the hottest carnage."
"You speak charmingly," said Porthos.
"And are the first of men!" added D'Artagnan. "You excel us all."
Athos smiled with ineffable pleasure.
"'Tis then all settled. Gentlemen, your hands; are we not pretty goodChristians?"
"Egad!" said D'Artagnan, "by Heaven! yes."
"We should be so on this occasion, if only to be faithful to our oath,"said Aramis.
"Ah, I'm ready to do what you will," cried Porthos; "even to swear byMahomet. Devil take me if I've ever been so happy as at this moment."
And he wiped his eyes, still moist.
"Has not one of you a cross?" asked Athos.
Aramis smiled and drew from his vest a cross of diamonds, which was hungaround his neck by a chain of pearls. "Here is one," he said.
"Well," resumed Athos, "swear on this cross, which, in spite of itsmagnificent material, is still a cross; swear to be united in spite ofeverything, and forever, and may this oath bind us to each other, andeven, also, our descendants! Does this oath satisfy you?"
"Yes," said they all, with one accord.
"Ah, traitor!" muttered D'Artagnan, leaning toward Aramis and whisperingin his ear, "you have made us swear on the crucifix of a Frondeuse."