CHAPTER V.
THE ARSENAL.
They both maintained a profound silence during the route. Thisadventure, which at first had presented itself under the appearance ofan amorous intrigue, had soon assumed a graver aspect, and appeared toturn toward political machinations. If this new aspect did not frightenthe chevalier, at least it gave him matter for reflection. There is amoment in the affairs of every man which decides upon his future. Thismoment, however important it may be, is rarely prepared by calculationor directed by will. It is almost always chance which takes a man as thewind does a leaf, and throws him into some new and unknown path, where,once entered, he is obliged to obey a superior force, and where, whilebelieving himself free, he is but the slave of circumstances and theplaything of events.
It was thus with the chevalier. Interest and gratitude attached him tothe party of the old court. D'Harmental, in consequence, had notcalculated the good or the harm that Madame de Maintenon had doneFrance. He did not weigh in the balance of genealogy Monsieur de Maineand Monsieur d'Orleans. He felt that he must devote his life to thosewho had raised him from obscurity, and knowing the old king's will,regarded as a usurpation Monsieur d'Orleans' accession to the regency.
Fully expecting an armed reaction against this power, he looked aroundfor the standard which he should follow. Nothing that he expectedhappened; Spain had not even protested. Monsieur de Maine, fatigued byhis short contest, had retired into the shade. Monsieur de Toulouse,good, easy, and almost ashamed of the favors which had fallen to theshare of himself and his elder brother, would not permit even thesupposition that he could put himself at the head of a party. TheMarshal de Villeroy had made a feeble and systemless opposition. Villarswent to no one, but waited for some one to come to him. D'Axelles hadchanged sides, and had accepted the post of secretary for foreignaffairs. The dukes and peers took patience, and paid court to theregent, in the hope that he would at last take away from the Dukes ofMaine and Toulouse the precedence which Louis XIV. had given them.
Finally, there was discontent with, and even opposition to, thegovernment of the Duc d'Orleans, but all impalpable and disjointed. Thisis what D'Harmental had seen, and what had resheathed his half-drawnsword: he thought he was the only one who saw another issue to affairs,and he gradually came to the conclusion that that issue had noexistence, except in his own imagination, since those who should havebeen most interested in that result seemed to regard it as soimpossible, that they did not even attempt to attain to it.
Although the carriage had been on the road nearly half an hour, thechevalier had not found it long: so deep were his reflections, that,even if his eyes had not been bandaged, he would have been equallyignorant of what streets they passed through.
At length he heard the wheels rumbling as if they were passing under anarch. He heard the grating of hinges as the gate opened to admit him,and closed behind him, and directly after, the carriage, havingdescribed a semi-circle, stopped.
"Chevalier," said his guide, "if you have any fear, there is still timeto draw back; if, on the contrary, you have not changed your resolution,come with me."
D'Harmental's only answer was to extend his hand.
The footman opened the door; the unknown got out first, and thenassisted the chevalier. His feet soon encountered some steps; he mountedsix--still conducted by the masked lady--crossed a vestibule, passedthrough a corridor, and entered a room.
"We are now arrived," said the unknown, "you remember our conditions;you are free to accept or refuse a part in the piece about to be played,but, in case of a refusal, you promise not to divulge anything you maysee or hear."
"I swear it on my honor," replied the chevalier.
"Now, sit down; wait in this room, and do not remove the bandage tillyou hear two o'clock strike. You have not long to wait."
At these words his conductress left him. Two o'clock soon struck, andthe chevalier tore off the bandage. He was alone in the most marvelousboudoir possible to imagine. It was small and octagonal, hung with lilacand silver, with furniture and portieres of tapestry. Buhl tables,covered with splendid china; a Persian carpet, and the ceiling paintedby Watteau, who was then coming into fashion. At this sight, thechevalier found it difficult to believe that he had been summoned ongrave matters, and almost returned to his first ideas.
At this moment a door opened in the tapestry, and there appeared awoman who, in the fantastic preoccupation of his spirit, D'Harmentalmight have taken for a fairy, so slight, small, and delicate was herfigure. She was dressed in pearl gray satin, covered with bouquets, sobeautifully embroidered that, at a short distance, they appeared likenatural flowers; the flounces, ruffles, and head-dress was of Englishpoint; it was fastened with pearls and diamonds. Her face was coveredwith a half-mask of black velvet, from which hung a deep black lace.D'Harmental bowed, for there was something royal in the walk and mannerof this woman which showed him that the other had been only an envoy.
"Madame," said he, "have I really, as I begin to believe, quitted theearth for the land of spirits, and are you the powerful fairy to whomthis beautiful palace belongs?"
"Alas! chevalier," replied the masked lady, in a sweet but decidedvoice, "I am not a powerful fairy, but, on the contrary, a poorprincess, persecuted by a wicked enchanter, who has taken from me mycrown, and oppresses my kingdom. Thus, you see, I am seeking a braveknight to deliver me, and your renown has led me to address myself toyou."
"If my life could restore you your past power, madame," repliedD'Harmental, "speak; I am ready to risk it with joy. Who is thisenchanter that I must combat; this giant that I must destroy? Since youhave chosen me above all, I will prove myself worthy of the honor. Fromthis moment I engage my word, even if it cost me my life."
"If you lose your life, chevalier, it will be in good company," said thelady, untying her mask, and discovering her face, "for you would lose itwith the son of Louis XIV., and the granddaughter of the great Conde."
"Madame la Duchesse de Maine!" cried D'Harmental, falling on one knee;"will your highness pardon me, if, not knowing you, I have said anythingwhich may fall short of the profound respect I feel for you."
"You have said nothing for which I am not proud and grateful, chevalier,but, perhaps, you now repent. If so, you are at liberty to withdraw."
"Heaven forbid, madame, that having had the honor to engage my life inthe service of so great and noble a princess, I should deprive myself ofthe greatest honor I ever dared to hope for. No, madame; take seriously,I beg, what I offered half in jest; my arm, my sword, and my life."
"I see," said the Duchesse de Maine, with that smile which gave her suchpower over all who approached her, "that the Baron de Valef did notdeceive me, and you are such as he described. Come, I will present youto our friends."
The duchess went first, D'Harmental followed, astonished at what hadpassed, but fully resolved, partly from pride, partly from conviction,not to withdraw a step.
The duchess conducted him to a room where four new personages awaitedhim. These were the Cardinal de Polignac, the Marquis de Pompadour,Monsieur de Malezieux, and the Abbe Brigaud.
The Cardinal de Polignac was supposed to be the lover of Madame deMaine. He was a handsome prelate, from forty to forty-five years of age;always dressed with the greatest care, with an unctuous voice, a coldface, and a timid heart; devoured by ambition, which was eternallycombated by the weakness of his character, which always drew him backwhere he should advance; of high birth, as his name indicated, verylearned for a cardinal, and very well informed for a nobleman.
Monsieur de Pompadour was a man of from forty-five to fifty, who hadbeen a minion of the dauphin's, the son of Louis XIV., and who had sogreat a love for his whole family, that, seeing with grief that theregent was going to declare war against Philip V., he had thrownhimself, body and soul, into the Duc de Maine's party. Proud anddisinterested, he had given a rare example of loyalty, in sending backto the regent the brevet of his pensions and those of his wife, and inrefusing for himself and th
e Marquis de Courcillon, his son-in-law,every place offered to them.
Monsieur de Malezieux was a man of from sixty to sixty-five, Chancellorof Dombes and Lord of Chatenay: he owed this double title to thegratitude of M. de Maine, whose education he had conducted. A poet, amusician, an author of small comedies, which he played himself withinfinite spirit; born for an idle and intellectual life; always occupiedin procuring pleasure for others, and above all for Madame de Maine,whom he adored, he was a type of the Sybarite of the eighteenth century,but, like the Sybarites who, drawn by the aspect of beauty, followedCleopatra to Actium, and were killed around her, he would have followedhis dear Benedicte through fire and water, and, at a word from her,would, without hesitation, and almost without regret, have thrownhimself from the towers of Notre-Dame.
The Abbe Brigaud was the son of a Lyons merchant. His father, who wascommercially related with the court of Spain, was charged to makeovertures, as if on his own account, for the marriage of the young LouisXIV. with the young Maria Theresa of Austria. If these overtures hadbeen badly received, the ministers of France would have disavowed them;but they were well received, and they supported them.
The marriage took place; and, as the little Brigaud was born about thesame time as the dauphin, he asked, in recompense, that the king's sonshould stand godfather to his child, which was granted to him. He thenmade acquaintance with the Marquis de Pompadour, who, as we have said,was one of the pages of honor. When he was of an age to decide on hisprofession, he joined the Fathers of the Oratory. He was a clever and anambitious man, but, as often happens to the greatest geniuses, he hadnever had an opportunity of making himself known.
Some time before the period of which we are writing, he met the Marquisde Pompadour, who was seeking a man of spirit and enterprise as thesecretary of Madame de Maine. He told him to what the situation wouldexpose him at the present time. Brigaud weighed for an instant the goodand evil chances, and, as the former appeared to predominate, heaccepted it.
Of these four men, D'Harmental only knew the Marquis de Pompadour, whomhe had often met at the house of Monsieur de Courcillon, his son-in-law,a distant relation of the D'Harmentals.
When D'Harmental entered the room, Monsieur de Polignac, Monsieur deMalezieux, and Monsieur de Pompadour were standing talking at thefireplace, and the Abbe Brigaud was seated at a table classifying somepapers.
"Gentlemen," said the Duchesse de Maine, "here is the brave champion ofwhom the Baron de Valef has spoken to us, and who has been brought hereby your dear De Launay, Monsieur de Malezieux. If his name andantecedents are not sufficient to stand sponsor for him, I will answerfor him personally."
"Presented thus by your highness," said Malezieux, "we shall see in himnot only a companion, but a chief, whom we are ready to follow whereverhe may lead."
"My dear D'Harmental," said the Marquis de Pompadour, extending his handto him, "we were already relations, we are now almost brothers."
"Welcome, monsieur!" said the Cardinal de Polignac, in the unctuous tonehabitual to him, and which contrasted so strangely with the coldness ofhis countenance.
The Abbe Brigaud raised his head with a movement resembling that of aserpent, and fixed on D'Harmental two little eyes, brilliant as those ofthe lynx.
"Gentlemen," said D'Harmental, after having answered each of them by abow, "I am new and strange among you, and, above all, ignorant of whatis passing, or in what manner I can serve you; but though my word hasonly been engaged to you for a few minutes, my devotion to your cause isof many years' standing. I beg you, therefore, to grant me theconfidence so graciously claimed for me by her highness. All that Ishall ask after that will be a speedy occasion to prove myself worthy ofit."
"Well said!" cried the Duchesse de Maine; "commend me to a soldier forgoing straight to the point! No, Monsieur d'Harmental, we will have nosecrets from you, and the opportunity you require, and which will placeeach of us in our proper position--"
"Excuse me, Madame la Duchesse," interrupted the cardinal, who wasplaying uneasily with his necktie, "but, from your manner, the chevalierwill think that the affair is a conspiracy."
"And what is it then, cardinal?" asked the duchess, impatiently.
"It is," said the cardinal, "a council, secret, it is true, but in nodegree reprehensible, in which we only seek a means of remedying themisfortunes of the state, and enlightening France on her true interests,by recalling the last will of the king, Louis XIV."
"Stay, cardinal!" said the duchess, stamping her foot; "you will kill mewith impatience by your circumlocutions. Chevalier," continued she,addressing D'Harmental, "do not listen to his eminence, who at thismoment, doubtless, is thinking of his Lucrece. If it had been a simplecouncil, the talents of his eminence would soon have extricated us fromour troubles, without the necessity of applying to you; but it is a bonafide conspiracy against the regent--a conspiracy which numbers the kingof Spain, Cardinal Alberoni, the Duc de Maine, myself, the Marquis dePompadour, Monsieur de Malezieux, l'Abbe Brigaud, Valef, yourself, thecardinal himself the president; and which will include half theparliament and three parts of France. This is the matter in hand,chevalier. Are you content, cardinal? Have I spoken clearly, gentlemen?"
"Madame--" murmured Malezieux, joining his hands before her with moredevotion than he would have done before the Virgin.
"No, no; stop, Malezieux," said the duchess, "but the cardinal enragesme with his half-measures. Mon Dieu! are these eternal waverings worthyof a man? For myself, I do not ask a sword, I do not ask a dagger; giveme but a nail, and I, a woman, and almost a dwarf, will go, like a newJael, and drive it into the temple of this other Sisera. Then all willbe finished; and, if I fail, no one but myself will be compromised."
Monsieur de Polignac sighed deeply; Pompadour burst out laughing;Malezieux tried to calm the duchess; and Brigaud bent his head, and wenton writing as if he had heard nothing. As to D'Harmental, he would havekissed the hem of her dress, so superior was this woman, in his eyes, tothe four men who surrounded her.
At this moment they heard the sound of a carriage, which drove into thecourtyard and stopped at the door. The person expected was doubtlesssome one of importance, for there was an instant silence, and theDuchesse de Maine, in her impatience, went herself to open the door.
"Well?" asked she.
"He is here," said a voice, which D'Harmental recognized as that of theBat.
"Enter, enter, prince," said the duchess; "we wait for you."