CHAPTER XXV. THE DEED OF GIFT.
Father d'Aigrigny did not recognize Dagobert, and had never seenAgricola. He could not therefore, at first explain the kind of angryalarm exhibited by Rodin. But the reverend father understood it all,when he heard Gabriel utter a cry of joy, and saw him rush into thearms of the smith, exclaiming: "My brother! my second father--oh! it isheaven that sends you to me."
Having pressed Gabriel's hand, Dagobert advanced towards Fatherd'Aigrigny, with a rapid but unsteady step. As he remarked the soldier'sthreatening countenance, the reverend father, strong in his acquiredrights, and feeling that, since noon, he was at home here; drew back alittle, and said imperiously to the veteran: "Who are you, sir!--What doyou want here?"
Instead of answering, the soldier continued to advance, then, stoppingjust facing Father d'Aigrigny, he looked at him for a second with suchan astounding mixture of curiosity, disdain, aversion, and audacity,that the ex-colonel of hussars quailed before the pale face and glowingeye of the veteran. The notary and Samuel, struck with surprise,remained mute spectators of this scene, while Agricola and Gabrielfollowed with anxiety Dagobert's least movements. As for Rodin, hepretended to be leaning on the casket, in order still to cover it withhis body.
Surmounting at length the embarrassment caused by the steadfast lookof the soldier, Father d'Aigrigny raised his head, and repeated. "I askyou, sir, who you are, and what you want?"
"Do you not recognize me?" said Dagobert, hardly able to restrainhimself.
"No, sir--"
"In truth," returned the soldier, with profound contempt, "You castdown your eyes for shame when, at Leipsic, you fought for the Russiansagainst the French, and when General Simon, covered with wounds,answered you, renegade that you were, when you asked him for his sword,'I do not surrender to a traitor!'--and dragged himself along to one ofthe Russian grenadiers, to whom he yielded up his weapon. Well! therewas then a wounded soldier by the side of General Simon--I am he."
"In brief, sir, what do you want?" said Father d'Aigrigny, hardly, ableto control himself.
"I have come to unmask you--you, that are as false and hateful a priest,as Gabriel is admirable and beloved by all."
"Sir!" cried the marquis, becoming livid with rage and emotion.
"I tell you, that you are infamous," resumed the soldier, with stillgreater force. "To rob Marshal Simon's daughters, and Gabriel, andMdlle. de Cardoville of their inheritance, you have had recourse to themost shameful means."
"What do you say?" cried Gabriel. "The daughters of Marshal Simon?"
"Are your relations, my dear boy, as is also that worthy Mdlle. deCardoville, the benefactress of Agricola. Now, this priest," he added,pointing to Father d'Aigrigny, "has had them shut up--the one as mad,in a lunatic asylum--the others in a convent. As for you, my dear boy, Idid not hope to find you here, believing that they would have preventedyou, like the others, from coming hither this morning. But, thank God,you are here, and I arrive in time. I should have been sooner, but formy wound. I have lost so much blood, that I have done nothing but faintall the morning."
"Truly!" cried Gabriel, with uneasiness. "I had not remarked your arm ina sling. What is the wound?"
At a sign from Agricola, Dagobert answered: "Nothing; the consequence ofa fall. But here I am, to unveil many infamies."
It is impossible to paint the curiosity, anguish, surprise, or fear,of the different actors in this scene, as they listened to Dagobert'sthreatening words. But the most overcome was Gabriel. His angeliccountenance was distorted, his knees trembled under him. Struck by thecommunication of Dagobert which revealed the existence of other heirs,he was unable to speak for some time; at length, he cried out, in a toneof despair: "And it is I--oh, God! I--who am the cause of the spoliationof this family!"
"You, brother?" exclaimed Agricola.
"Did they not wish to rob you also?" added Dagobert.
"The will," cried Gabriel, with increasing agony, "gave the property tothose of the heirs that should appear before noon."
"Well?" said Dagobert, alarmed at the emotion of the young priest.
"Twelve o'clock has struck," resumed the latter. "Of all the family, Ialone was present. Do you understand it now? The term is expired. Theheirs have been thrust aside by me!"
"By you!" said Dagobert, stammering with joy. "By you, my brave boy!then all is well."
"But--"
"All is well," resumed Dagobert, radiant with delight. "You will sharewith the others--I know you."
"But all this property I have irrevocably, made over to another," criedGabriel, in despair.
"Made over the property!" cried Dagobert, quite petrified. "To whom,then?--to whom?"
"To this gentleman," said Gabriel, pointing to Father d'Aigrigny.
"To him!" exclaimed Dagobert, overwhelmed by the news; "to him--therenegade--who has always been the evil genius of this family!"
"But, brother," cried Agricola, "did you then know your claim to thisinheritance?"
"No," answered the young priest, with deep dejection; "no--I onlylearned it this morning, from Father d'Aigrigny. He told me, that hehad only recently been informed of my rights, by family papers long agofound upon me, and sent by our mother to her confessor."
A sudden light seemed to dawn upon the mind of the smith, as heexclaimed: "I understand it all now. They discovered in these papers,that you would one day have a chance of becoming rich. Therefore, theyinterested themselves about you--therefore, they took you into theircollege, where we could never see you--therefore, they deceived you inyour vocation by shameful falsehoods, to force you to become a priest,and to lead you to make this deed of gift. Oh, sir!" resumed Agricola,turning towards Father d'Aigrigny, with indignation, "my father isright--such machinations are indeed infamous!"
During this scene, the reverend father and his socius, at first alarmedand shaken in their audacity, had by degrees recovered all theircoolness. Rodin, still leaning upon the casket, had said a few words ina low voice to Father d'Aigrigny. So that when Agricola, carried away byhis indignation, reproached the latter with his infamous machinations,he bowed his head humbly, and answered: "We are bound to forgiveinjuries, and offer them to the Lord as a mark of our humility."
Dagobert, confounded at all he had just heard, felt his reason begin towander. After so much anxiety, his strength failed beneath this new andterrible blow. Agricola's just and sensible words, in connection withcertain passages of the testament, at once enlightened Gabriel as tothe views of Father d'Aigrigny, in taking charge of his education, andleading him to join the Society of Jesus. For the first time in hislife, Gabriel was able to take in at a glance all the secret springs ofthe dark intrigue, of which he had been the victim. Then, indignationand despair surmounting his natural timidity, the missionary, withflashing eye, and cheeks inflamed with noble wrath, exclaimed, as headdressed Father d'Aigrigny: "So, father, when you placed me in one ofyour colleges, it was not from any feeling of kindness or commiseration,but only in the hope of bringing me one day to renounce in favor of yourOrder my share in this inheritance; and it did not even suffice youto sacrifice me to your cupidity, but I must also be rendered theinvoluntary instrument of a shameful spoliation! If only I wereconcerned--if you only coveted my claim to all this wealth, I should notcomplain. I am the minister of a religion which honors and sanctifiespoverty; I have consented to the donation in your favor, and I have not,I could never have any claim upon it. But property is concerned whichbelong to poor orphans, brought from a distant exile by my adoptedfather, and I will not see them wronged. But the benefactress of myadopted brother is concerned, and I will not see her wronged. Butthe last will of a dying man is concerned, who, in his ardent loveof humanity, bequeathed to his descendants an evangelic mission--anadmirable mission of progress, love, union, liberty--and I will notsee this mission blighted in its bud. No, no; I tell you, that this hismission shall be accomplished, though I have to cancel the donation Ihave made."
On these words, Father d'Aigrigny a
nd Rodin looked at each other with aslight shrug of the shoulders. At a sign from the socius, the reverendfather began to speak with immovable calmness, in a slow and sanctifiedvoice, keeping eyes constantly cast down: "There are many incidentsconnected with this inheritance of M. de Rennepont, which appear verycomplicated--many phantoms, which seem un usually menacing--and yet,nothing could be really more simple and natural. Let us proceed inregular order. Let us put aside all these calumnious imputations; wewill return to them afterwards. M. Gabriel de Rennepont--and I humblybeg him to contradict me, if I depart in the least instance from theexact truth--M. Gabriel de Rennepont, in acknowledgment of the careformerly bestowed on him by the society to which I have the honor tobelong, made over to me, as its representative, freely and voluntarily,all the property that might come to him one day, the value of which wasunknown to him, as well as to myself."
Father d'Aigrigny here looked at Gabriel, as if appealing to him for thetruth of this statement.
"It is true," said the young priest: "I made this donation freely."
"This morning, in consequence of a private conversation, which I willnot repeat--and in this, I am certain beforehand, of the Abbe Gabriel--"
"True," replied Gabriel, generously; "the subject of this conversationis of little importance."
"It was then, in consequence of this conversation that the Abbe Gabrielmanifested the desire to confirm this donation--not in my favor, for Ihave little to do with earthly wealth--but in favor of the sacred andcharitable works of which our Company is the trustee. I appeal to thehonor of M. Gabriel to declare if he have not engaged himself towardsus, not only by a solemn oath, but by a perfectly legal act, executed inpresence of M. Dumesnil, here present?"
"It is all true," answered Gabriel.
"The deed was prepared by me," added the notary.
"But Gabriel could only give you what belonged to him," cried Dagobert."The dear boy never supposed that you were making use of him to robother people."
"Do me the favor, sir, to allow me to explain myself," replied Fatherd'Aigrigny, courteously; "you can afterwards make answer."
Dagobert repressed with difficulty his painful impatience. The reverendfather continued: "The Abbe Gabriel has therefore, by the doubleengagement of an oath and a legal act, confirmed his donation. Muchmore," resumed Father d'Aigrigny: "when to his great astonishment andto ours, the enormous amount of the inheritance became known, the AbbeGabriel, faithful to his own admirable generosity, far from repenting ofhis gifts, consecrated them once more by a pious movement of gratitudeto Providence--for M. Notary will doubtless remember, that, afterembracing the Abbe Gabriel with transport, and telling him that he wasa second Vincent de Paul in charity, I took him by the hand, and we bothknelt down together to thank heaven for having inspired him with thethought too offer these immense riches to the Greater Glory of theLord."
"That is true, also," said Gabriel, honestly; "so long as myself wasconcerned, though I might be astounded for a moment by the revelation ofso enormous a fortune, I did not think for an instant of cancelling thedonation I had freely made."
"Under these circumstances," resumed Father d'Aigrigny, "the hour fixedfor the settlement of the inheritance having struck, and Abbe Gabrielbeing the only heir that presented himself, he became necessarilythe only legitimate possessor of this immense wealth--enormous, nodoubt--and charity makes me rejoice that it is enormous, for, thanks toit, many miseries will be relieved and many tears wiped away. But,all on a sudden, here comes this gentleman," said Father d'Aigrigny,pointing to Dagobert; "and, under some delusion, which I forgive fromthe bottom of my soul, and which I am sure he will himself regret,accuses me, with insults and threats, with having carried off (I knownot where) some persons (I know not whom), in order to prevent theirbeing here at the proper time--"
"Yes, I accuse you of this infamy!" cried the soldier exasperated by thecalmness and audacity of the reverend father: "yes--and I will--"
"Once again, sir, I conjure you to be so good as to let me finish; youcan reply afterwards," said Father d'Aigrigny, humbly, in the softestand most honeyed accents.
"Yes, I will reply, and confound you!" cried Dagobert.
"Let him finish, father. You can speak presently," said Agricola.
The soldier was silent as Father d'Aigrigny continued with newassurance: "Doubtless, if there should really be any other heirs,besides the Abbe Gabriel, it is unfortunate for them that they have notappeared in proper time. And if, instead of defending the cause of thepoor and needy, I had only to look to my own interest, I should be farfrom availing myself of this advantage, due only to chance; but, as atrustee for the great family of the poor, I am obliged to maintain myabsolute right to this inheritance; and I do not doubt that M. Notarywill acknowledge the validity of my claim, and deliver to me thesesecurities, which are now my legitimate property."
"My only mission," replied the notary, in an agitated voice, "isfaithfully to execute the will of the testator. The Abbe Gabrielde Rennepont alone presented himself, within the term fixed by thetestament. The deed of gift is in due form; I cannot refuse, therefore,to deliver to the person named in the deed the amount of the heritage--"
On these words Samuel hid his face in his hands, and heaved a deepsigh; he was obliged to acknowledge the rigorous justice of the notary'sobservations.
"But, sir," cried Dagobert, addressing the man of law, "this cannot be.You will not allow two poor orphans to be despoiled. It is in the nameof their father and mother that I speak to you. I give you my honor--thehonor of a soldier!--that they took advantage of the weakness of my wifeto carry the daughters of Marshal Simon to a convent, and thus preventme bringing them here this morning. It is so true, that I have alreadylaid my charge before a magistrate."
"And what answer did you receive?" said the notary.
"That my deposition was not sufficient for the law to remove these younggirls from the convent in which they were, and that inquiries would bemade--"
"Yes, sir," added Agricola, "and it was the same with regard to Mdlle.de Cardoville, detained as mad in a lunatic asylum, though in the fullenjoyment of her reason. Like Marshal Simon's daughters, she too has aclaim to this inheritance. I took the same steps for her, as my fathertook for Marshal Simon's daughters."
"Well?" asked the notary.
"Unfortunately, sir," answered Agricola, "they told me; as they did myfather, that my deposition would not suffice, and that they must makeinquiries."
At this moment, Bathsheba, having heard the street-bell ring, left theRed Room at a sign from Samuel. The notary resumed, addressing Agricolaand his father: "Far be it from me, gentlemen, to call in question yourgood faith; but I cannot, to my great regret, attach such importance toyour accusations, which are not supported by proof, as to suspend theregular legal course. According to your own confession, gentlemen,the authorities, to whom you addressed yourselves, did not see fit tointerfere on your depositions, and told you they would inquire further.Now, really, gentlemen, I appeal to you: how can I, in so seriousa matter, take upon myself a responsibility, which the magistratesthemselves have refused to take?"
"Yes, you should do so, in the name of justice and honor?" criedDagobert.
"It may be so, sir, in your opinion; but in my view of the case, Iremain faithful to justice and honor, by executing with exactness thelast will of the dead. For the rest you have no occasion to despair. Ifthe persons, whose interests you represent, consider themselves injured,they may hereafter have recourse to an action at law, against the personreceiving as donee of the Abbe Gabriel--but in the meanwhile, it is myduty to put him in immediate possession of the securities. I should begravely injured, were I to act in any, other manner."
The notary's observations seemed so reasonable, that Samuel, Dagobertand Agricola were quite confounded. After a moment's thought, Gabrielappeared to take a desperate resolution, and said to the notary, in afirm voice--
"Since, under these circumstances, the law is powerless to obtain theright, I must ado
pt, sir, an extreme course. Before doing so, I will askM. l'Abbe d'Aigrigny, for the last time, if he will content himself withthat portion of the property which falls justly to me, on condition thatthe rest shall be placed in safe hands, till the heirs, whose names havebeen brought forward, shall prove their claim."
"To this proposition I must answer as I have done already," repliedFather d'Aigrigny; "it is not I who am concerned, but an immense work ofcharity. I am, therefore, obliged to refuse the part-offer of the AbbeGabriel, and to remind him of his engagements of every kind."
"Then you refuse this arrangement?" asked Gabriel, in an agitated voice.
"Charity commands me to do so."
"You refuse it--absolutely?"
"I think of all the good and pious institutions that these treasureswill enable us to establish for the Greater Glory of the Lord, and Ihave neither the courage nor the desire to make the least concession."
"Then, sir," resumed the good priest, in a still more agitated manner,"since you force me to do it, I revoke my donation. I only intended todispose of my own property, and not of that which did not belong to me."
"Take care M. l'Abbe," said rather d'Aigrigny; "I would observe that Ihold in my hand a written, formal promise."
"I know it, sir; you have a written paper, in which I take an oathnever to revoke this donation, upon any pretext whatever, and on pain ofincurring the aversion and contempt of all honest men. Well, sir! be itso," said Gabriel, with deep bitterness; "I will expose myself to allthe consequences of perjury; you may proclaim it everywhere. I may behated and despised by all--but God will judge me!" The young priestdried a tear, which trickled from his eye.
"Oh! do not be afraid, my dear boy!" cried Dagobert, with reviving hope."All honest men will be on your side!"
"Well done, brother!" said Agricola.
"M. Notary," said Rodin, in his little sharp voice, "please to explainto Abbe Gabriel, that he may perjure himself as much as he thinksfit, but that the Civil Code is much less easy to violate than a merepromise, which is only--sacred!"
"Speak, sir," said Gabriel.
"Please to inform Abbe Gabriel," resumed Rodin, "that a deed of gift,like that made in favor of Father d'Aigrigny, can only be cancelled forone of three reasons--is it not so?"
"Yes, sir, for three reasons," said the notary.
"The first is in case of the birth of a child," said Rodin, "and Ishould blush to mention such a contingency to the Abbe Gabriel. Thesecond is the ingratitude of the donee--and the Abbe Gabriel maybe certain of our deep and lasting gratitude. The last case is thenon-fulfilment of the wishes of the donor, with regard to the employmentof his gifts.
"Now, although the Abbe Gabriel may have suddenly conceived a very badopinion of us, he will at least give us some time to show that hisgifts have been disposed of according to his wishes, and applied to theGreater Glory of the Lord."
"Now, M. Notary," added Father d'Aigrigny, "it is for you to decide andsay, if Abbe Gabriel can revoke the donation he has made."
Just as the notary was going to answer, Bathsheba reentered the room,followed by two more personages, who appeared in the Red Room at alittle distance from each other.
BOOK VI.
PART SECOND.--THE CHASTISEMENT. (Concluded.)
XXVI. A Good Genius XXVII. The First Last, And the Last First XXVIII. The Stranger XXIX. The Den XXX. An Unexpected Visit XXXI. Friendly Services XXXII. The Advice XXXIII. The Accuser XXXIV. Father d'Aigrigny's Secretary XXXV. Sympathy XXXVI. Suspicions XXXVII. Excuses XXXVIII. Revelations XXXIX. Pierre Simon