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81 - Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas · Twenty Years After

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: The arrest produced no sensation, indeed was almost unknown and
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: scarcely interrupted the course of events. To the deputation, it
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: was formally announced that the Queen would receive it accordingly.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: It was admitted to the presence of Anne, who, silent
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: and lofty as ever, listened to the speeches and complaints
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: of the deputies. But when they had finished their harangues,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: not one of them could say so calm remained her
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: face whether or not she had heard them. On the
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: other hand, Mazarin, present at that audience, heard very well
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: what those deputies demanded. It was purely and simply his
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: removal in terms, clear and precise. The discourse being finished,
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: the Queen remained silent. Gentlemen, said Mazarin, I joined with
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: you in supplicating the Queen to put an end to
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: the miseries of her subjects. I have done all in
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: my power to ameliorate them. And yet the belief of
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: the public, you say, is that they proceed from me
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: an unhappy foreigner who has been unable to please the French.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: Alas I have never been understood, and no wonder I
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: succeeded a man of the most sublime genius that ever
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: upheld the scepter of France. The memory of Richilieu annihilates
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: me in vain. Were I an ambitious man, should I
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: struggle against such remembrances as he has left. But that
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: I am not ambitious. I am going to prove to
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: you I own myself conquered. I shall obey the wishes
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: of the people. If Paris has injuries to complain of,
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: who has not some wrongs to be redressed. Paris has
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: been sufficiently punished, enough, blood has flowed, enough, misery has
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: humbled a town deprived of its king and of justice.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Tis not for me, a private individual, to disunite a
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: queen from her kingdom. Since you demand my resignation, I retire, then,
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: said Aramis in his neighbor's ear. The conferences are over.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: There is nothing to do but to send Monsieur Mazarin
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: to the most distant frontier, and to take care that
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: he does not return, even by that nor any other
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: entrance into France. One instant, sir, said the man in
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: a gown, whom he addressed a plague aunt. How fast
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: you go, one may soon see that you are a soldier.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: There's the article of remunerations and indemnifications to be discussed
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: and set to rights, Chancellor, said the Queen, turning to Segier,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: our old acquaintance, You will open the conferences there can
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: take place. Troe. The Cardinal has said several things which
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: have agitated me. Therefore I will not speak more fully
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: now as to his going or star, saying I feel
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: too much gratitude to the Cardinal not to leave him
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: free in all his actions. He shall do what he
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: wishes to do. A transient pallor overspread the speaking countenance
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: of the Prime Minister. He looked at the Queen with anxiety.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Her face was so passionless that he, as every one
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: else present, was incapable of reading her thoughts. But added
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: the Queen, in awaiting the Cardinal's decision, let there be,
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: if you please, a reference to the King. Only the
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: deputies bowed and left the room. What exclaimed the Queen,
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: when the last of them had quitted the apartment. He
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: would yield to these limbs of the law, these advocates,
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: to promote your Majesty's welfare, Madame, replied Mazarin, fixing his
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: penetrating eyes on the Queen. There's no sacrifice that I
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: would not make. Anne dropped her head and fell into
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: one of those reveries so habitual with her. A recollection
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: of Athos came into her mind, his fearless deportment, his words,
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: so firm yet dignified, the shades which by one word
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: he had evoked, recalled her to the past, in all
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: its intoxication of poetry and romance, youth's beauty, the ecla
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: of love at twenty years of age, the bloody death
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: of Buckingham, the only man whom she had ever really loved,
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: and the heroism of those obscure champions who had saved
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: her from the double hatred of Richelieu and the King.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Mazarin looked at her, and, whilst she deemed herself alone
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: and freed from the world of enemies who sought to
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: spy into her secret thoughts, he read her thoughts in
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: her countenance, as one sees in a transparent lake. Clouds
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: pass reflections like thoughts of the heavens. Must we then asked,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Anne of Austria, yield to the storm by peace, and
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: patiently and piously await better times. Mazarin smiled sarcastically at
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: this speech, which showed that she had taken the minister's
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: proposal seriously. Anne's head was bent down. She had not
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: seen the Italian's smile. But finding that her question elicited
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: no reply, she looked up, Well, you do not answer, Cardinal,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: What do you think about it? I am thinking, Madame,
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: of the allusion made by that insolent gentleman whom you
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: have caused to be arrested, to the Duke of Buckingham,
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: to him whom you allowed to be assassinated, to the
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: Duchess de Chevreise, whom you suffered to be exiled, to
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: the Duc de Beaufort, whom you imprisoned. But if he
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: made allusion to me, it was because he is ignorant
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: of the relation in which I stand. To you, Anne
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: grew up, as she always did when anything touched her pride.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: She blushed, and that she might not answer, clasped her
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: beautiful hands till her sharp nails almost pierced them. That
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: man has sagacity, honor, and wit not to mention likewise,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: that he is a man of undoubted resolution. You know
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: something about him, do you not, Madame? I shall tell
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: him therefore, and in doing so I shall confer a
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: personal favor on him. How he is mistaken in regard
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: to me what is proposed to me would be, in
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: fact almost an abdication, and an abdication requires reflection. An abdication,
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: repeated Anne. I thought, sir, that it was kings alone
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: who abdicated, well, replied Mazarin, And am I not almost
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: a king, king indeed of France? Thrown over the foot
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: of the royal bed, My simmer, Madame, looks not unlike
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: the mantle worn by kings. This was one of the
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: humiliations which Mazarin made Anne undergo more frequently than any other,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: and one that bowed her head with shame. Queen Elizabeth
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: and Catherine the Second of Russia are the only two
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: monarchs of their set on record who were at once
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: sovereigns and lovers. Anne of Austria looked with a sort
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: of terror at the threatening aspect of the cardinal. His
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: physiognomy in such moments was not destitute of certain grandeur, Sir,
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: she replied, Did I not say, and did you not
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: hear me say to those people that you should do
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: as you pleased? In that case, said Mazarin, I think
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: it must please me best to remain, not only on
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: account of my own interest, but for your safety remain, then, sir,
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: nothing can be more agreeable to me. Only do not
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: allow me to be insulted. You are referring to the
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: demands of the rebels, and to the tone in which
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: they stated them patience. They have selected a field of
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: battle on which I am an abler general than they
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: that of a conference. No, we shall beat them by
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: merely temporizing they want food already, they will be ten
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: times worse off in a week. Ah. Yes, good heavens,
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: I know it will end in that way. But it
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: is not they who taunt me with the most wounding reproaches.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: But I understand you mean to allude to the recollections
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: perpetually revived by these three gentlemen. However, we have them
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: safe in prison, and they are just sufficiently culpable for
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: us to keep them in prison as long as we
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: find it convenient. One only is still not in our power,
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: and braves us. But devil take him. We shall soon
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: succeed in sending him to join his boon companions. We
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: have accomplished more difficult things than that. In the first place,
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: I have, as a precaution, shut up at roue near me,
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: under my own eyes, within reach of my hand the
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: two most intractable ones to day. The third will be
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: there also. As long as they are in prison, all
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: will be well, said Anne. But one of these days
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: they will get out. Yes, if your Majesty releases them. Ah,
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: exclaimed Anne, following the train of her own thoughts. On
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: such occasions one regrets Paris. Why so on account of
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: the Bastille, Sir, which is so strong and so secure, Madame,
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: these conferences will bring us peace. When we have peace,
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: we shall regain Paris. With Paris the Bastille and are
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: full bullies shall rot therein. Anne frowed slightly when Mazarin,
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: in taking leave, kissed her hand. Mazarin, after this half humble,
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: half gallant attention, went away. Anne followed him with her eyes,
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: and as he withdrew at every step he took, a
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: disdainful smile was seen playing then gradually burst upon her lips.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: I once, she said, despised the love of a cardinal
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: who never said I shall do But I have done so,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: and so that man knew of retreats more secure than Reee,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: darker and more silent even than the bastie degenerate world.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: End of chapter eighty one