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022 - The Unforeseen Blow · Huguenot- A Tale of the French Protestants

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Speaker 1: Volume three, Chapter twenty two of The Huguenot by George
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Speaker 1: Payne Rainsford James. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
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Speaker 1: Chapter twenty two. The unforeseen blow to have judged by
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Speaker 1: the affable and agreeable smile which Louvois bore upon his
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Speaker 1: countenance as he passed the young Count de Morseux in
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Speaker 1: one of the ante rooms, A stranger to that minister
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Speaker 1: would have imagined that he was extremely well disposed towards
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Speaker 1: a gentleman whom he was in fact laboring to ruin.
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Speaker 1: No such error, however, could have taken place with regard
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Speaker 1: to the aspect with which the King received the young Count, which,
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Speaker 1: though not frowning and severe, was grave and somewhat stern.
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Speaker 1: The countenance and conduct of Albert of Morseill was calm,
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Speaker 1: tranquil and serene. And Lewis, who, intending to cut the
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Speaker 1: interview as short as possible, had Risen, could not help
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Speaker 1: saying within himself, that looks not like the face of
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Speaker 1: a man conscious of crime. As the King paused while
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Speaker 1: he made this remark to himself, the Count imagined that
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Speaker 1: he waited for him to begin and open the cause
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Speaker 1: of his coming and consequently he said at once, Sire,
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Speaker 1: I have ventured to intrude upon your majesty, notwithstanding your
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Speaker 1: intimation that you would send for me when your convenience served.
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Speaker 1: Inasmuch as I have matters of some importance to lay
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Speaker 1: before you, which will bear no delay, pray demanded Louis,
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Speaker 1: Pray Monsieur de Monsieur. Before you proceed further, be so
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Speaker 1: good as to inform me whether the matters to which
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Speaker 1: you allude refer to yourself or to the state, by
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Speaker 1: no means to myself, replied the Count, who was not
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Speaker 1: altogether satisfied with the King's tone and manner. They refer
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Speaker 1: entirely to the safety of the state and your majesty
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Speaker 1: on my own affairs. I would not have resumed to
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Speaker 1: intrude upon you. Again. Very well, then said the King drily,
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Speaker 1: since such is the case, you will be good enough
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Speaker 1: to communicate whatever you may have to say upon such
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Speaker 1: subjects to Monsieur de Luvois, Monsieur de Saint Alai, or
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Speaker 1: Monsieur Colbey de quasi, as the case may be, such
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Speaker 1: being the usual cause by which matters of importance are
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Speaker 1: brought to my ears. And now Monsieur de morsel, though
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Speaker 1: I have but a single moment to attend to anything
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Speaker 1: at this particular time, let me ask you one question,
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Speaker 1: is there or is there not any hope of my
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Speaker 1: receiving the great gratification of being enabled to show you
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Speaker 1: as much favor and distinction as I could wish by
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Speaker 1: your abjuring the heresy in which you have been unfortunately
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Speaker 1: brought up and seeking repose in the bosom of the
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Speaker 1: Catholic Church. The Count de Morseux felt that a crisis
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Speaker 1: in his fate had arrived, but with the question put
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Speaker 1: to him so simply and straightforwardly, he felt he could
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Speaker 1: not evade the decision, and he would not prevaricate even
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Speaker 1: for safety if Sire, he said, what your Majesty demands
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Speaker 1: is to know my own opinion upon the subject at
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Speaker 1: this moment. I means, sir, said the King, plainly, do
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Speaker 1: you believe that there exists a likelihood of your becoming
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Speaker 1: converted to the Catholic faith? I do not believe, so, Sire,
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Speaker 1: replied the Count, with deep and profound respect for your Majesty,
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Speaker 1: with much veneration and regard for Monsieur Bassuet, and with
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Speaker 1: all the advantage of being even now reading some of
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Speaker 1: his works upon religion. I should be deceiving your majesty.
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Speaker 1: I should be wronging myself. I should be showing myself
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Speaker 1: unworthy of the high opinion which Monsieur de Moe has
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Speaker 1: expressed of me. If I did not clearly and distinctly
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Speaker 1: state that I see no likelihood whatsoever of my changing
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Speaker 1: opinions instilled into me in infancy. Nay nay, cried the King,
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Speaker 1: considerably moved and struck by the calm, yet respectful dignity
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Speaker 1: of the young count's demeanor. Think better of it, in
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Speaker 1: God's name, think better of it. Let me hope that
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Speaker 1: the eloquence of Bossuet will prevail. Let me hope that
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Speaker 1: I may yet have the opportunity of conferring upon you
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Speaker 1: or those favors that I am most eager to bestow.
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Speaker 1: There was an eagerness and sincerity in the King's manner
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Speaker 1: which affected the Count in turn alas sire, he said,
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Speaker 1: what would I not do to merit the favor of
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Speaker 1: such a king? But still I must not deceive you.
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Speaker 1: Whatever hopes your Majesty is pleased to entertain of my
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Speaker 1: conversion to the established religion of the realm, may be
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Speaker 1: derived from the knowledge, from the powerful gratitude which your
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Speaker 1: Majesty's generosity and high qualities of every kind must call
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Speaker 1: up in your subjects and your servants. Or they may
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Speaker 1: arise from your knowledge of the deep and persuasive eloquence
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Speaker 1: of the Bishop of Meux. But they must not arise
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Speaker 1: from anything that I have said or can say regarding
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Speaker 1: the state of my mind. At this moment I grieve,
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Speaker 1: Monsieur de Morselles. I gree bitterly to hear it, replied
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Speaker 1: the King, and then he paused, looking down thoughtfully for
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Speaker 1: some moments, after which he added, let me remonstrate with
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Speaker 1: you that nothing may be left undone which I can
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Speaker 1: do to justify me in treating you as I could wish. Surely,
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Speaker 1: Monsieur de marsay, there can be nothing very difficult to
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Speaker 1: believe in that which so many, nay I may say,
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Speaker 1: or the holiest, the wisest, and the best, have believed
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Speaker 1: since the first preaching of our religion. Surely, the great
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Speaker 1: body of authority which has accumulated through out ages in
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Speaker 1: favor of the Catholic Church is not to be shaken
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Speaker 1: by such men as Luther and Calvin. You yourself acknowledge
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Speaker 1: that there are, and as there must ever be, when
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Speaker 1: heavenly things are revealed to earthly understanding, mysteries which we
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Speaker 1: cannot subject to the ordinary test of human knowledge or
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Speaker 1: the whole scheme of our redemption. You acknowledge it, and
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Speaker 1: yet with faith you believe in those mysteries, rejecting only
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Speaker 1: those which do not suit you, and pretending that the
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Speaker 1: Scripture does not warrant them. But let me ask you
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Speaker 1: upon what authority are we to rely for the right
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Speaker 1: interpretation of those very passages? Is it to be upon
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Speaker 1: the word of two such men as Luther and Calvin,
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Speaker 1: learned though they may be, or on the authority of
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Speaker 1: the Church throughout all ages, supported by the unbiased opinions
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Speaker 1: of a whole host of the learned and the wise
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Speaker 1: of every century? Are we to rely upon the opinion
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Speaker 1: of two men originally stirred up by avarice and bad passions,
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Speaker 1: in preference to the whole body of saints and martyrs
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Speaker 1: who have lived long lives of piety and holiness, meditating
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Speaker 1: upon those very mysteries which you reject. I am but
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Speaker 1: a weak and feeble advocate, Monsieur de morseur, and should
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Speaker 1: not perhaps have raised my voice at all, after the
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Speaker 1: eloquence of a bossuet has failed to produce its effect.
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Speaker 1: But my zealous and anxious wish both to see you
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Speaker 1: reunited with the Church and to show you that favor
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Speaker 1: which such a conversion would justify, have made me say
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Speaker 1: thus much. The young count was too prudent by far
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Speaker 1: to enter into any theological discussions with the King, and
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Speaker 1: he therefore contented himself with reply, I fear, sire, that
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Speaker 1: our belief is not in our own power. Most sincerely
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Speaker 1: do I hope and trust that if I be now
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Speaker 1: in the wrong, God may open my eyes to the truth.
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Speaker 1: At present, however, say no more, sir, Say no more,
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Speaker 1: said the King, bending his head as a signal that
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Speaker 1: the young nobleman might retire. I am heartily sorry for
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Speaker 1: your state of mind. I had hoped better things. As
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Speaker 1: to any other information you may have to communicate, you'll
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Speaker 1: be pleased to give it to one of the secretaries
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Speaker 1: of state, according to the department to which it naturally
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Speaker 1: refers itself. The King once more bowed his head, and
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Speaker 1: account with a low inclination, retired. I had better go
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Speaker 1: at once to the apartments of Louvois thought, for this
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Speaker 1: affair of Atreemont may be already on the eve of
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Speaker 1: bursting forth, and I would fain have the last act
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Speaker 1: of my stay in my native land one of loyalty
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Speaker 1: to the king who drives me forth. When he reached
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Speaker 1: the open air, then he turned to the right to
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Speaker 1: seek the apartments of Louvois. But ere he reached them,
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Speaker 1: he was met by the Chevalier de Rohan, whom we
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Speaker 1: have already mentioned, who stopped him with a gay and
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Speaker 1: nonchalant air, saying, oh, my dear count, you have made
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Speaker 1: my fortune. The hundred louis that you lent me have
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Speaker 1: brought good luck, and I am now a richer man
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Speaker 1: than I have been for the last twelve months. I
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Speaker 1: won ten thousand francs yesterday and doubtless will lose them
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Speaker 1: again to day. Answered the Count. I wish to heaven
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Speaker 1: you would change this life, But my dear Chevalier, I
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Speaker 1: must hasten on, for I am on business. When shall
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Speaker 1: I have an hour to talk with you? Count? Exclaimed
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Speaker 1: the Chevalier de Rohan, still detaining him. I want very
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Speaker 1: much to explain to you my plan for raising myself.
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Speaker 1: I am down low enough, certainly, just now, when next
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Speaker 1: we meet, Chevalier, When next we meet, said the Count,
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Speaker 1: smiling as he thought of his approaching departure. I am
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Speaker 1: in great haste now. But ere he could disengage himself
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Speaker 1: from the hold of the persevering Chevalier de Rohan, he
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Speaker 1: felt a hand laid gently upon his arm, and, turning round,
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Speaker 1: saw a gentleman whose face was not familiar to him.
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Speaker 1: Monsieur le comte de Morseurs, I believe, said the stranger,
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Speaker 1: and on the Count, bowing his head, he went on,
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Speaker 1: I have to apologize for interrupting your conversation, but I
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Speaker 1: have a word for your private ear of some importance.
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Speaker 1: The Chevalier de Rohan had by this time turned away
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Speaker 1: with a nod of the head, and the Count replied
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Speaker 1: to the other, I am in some haste, sir, Pray
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Speaker 1: what may be your pleasure. I have an unpleasant task
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Speaker 1: to perform towards you, Monsieur de Morseilles, said the stranger,
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Speaker 1: but it is my wish to execute it as gently
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Speaker 1: and delicately as possible. My orders are to arrest and
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Speaker 1: convey you to the bastille. The Count de Morceaux felt
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Speaker 1: that painful tightening of the heart, which every man thus
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Speaker 1: suddenly stopped in the full career of liberty, and destined
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Speaker 1: to be conveyed to long and uncertain imprisonment, to be
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Speaker 1: shut out from all the happy sounds and sights of earth,
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Speaker 1: to be debarred all the sweet intercourses of friendship and
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Speaker 1: affection has felt and must feel. At the same time,
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Speaker 1: all the various points of anxiety and difficulty in his
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Speaker 1: situation rushed through his mind with such rapidity as to
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Speaker 1: turn him dizzy, with the whirling numbers of such painful thoughts.
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Speaker 1: Clayments de Marlie, whose hand was to have been his
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Speaker 1: that very night, the good old pastor, his friends, his servants,
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Speaker 1: all might, for all he knew, be kept in utter
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Speaker 1: ignorance of his fate for many days. The hands too,
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Speaker 1: of the unscrupulous and feelingless instruments of the despotic power,
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Speaker 1: would be in every cabinet of his house and his chateau,
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Speaker 1: invading all the little storehouses of past affections, perhaps scattering
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Speaker 1: to the winds, all the fond memorials of the loved
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Speaker 1: and dead, the dark lock of his mother's hair which
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Speaker 1: he had preserved from boyhood, The few fragments of her handwriting,
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Speaker 1: and some verses that she had composed shortly before her death,
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Speaker 1: All his father's letters to him, from the time that
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Speaker 1: he first sent him forth a gallant boy, girt with
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Speaker 1: the sword of a high race to win renown through
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Speaker 1: all that period when the sun, growing up in glory,
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Speaker 1: shone back upon his father's name, the light that he
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Speaker 1: had thence received and paid amply all the cares which
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Speaker 1: had been bestowed upon him by the joy of his
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Speaker 1: great deeds, up to that sad moment, when with a
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Speaker 1: trembling hand, the dying parent announced to his son the
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Speaker 1: commencement and progress of the fatal malady that carried him
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Speaker 1: to the grave. All these were to be opened, examined,
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Speaker 1: perhaps dispersed by the cold, if not by the scornful,
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Speaker 1: and all the sanctities of private affection violated. Such and
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Speaker 1: a thousand other such feelings, rapid, innumerable, and in some
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Speaker 1: instances contradictory too, and opposing each other, rushed through his
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Speaker 1: bosom in a moment at the announcement of the officer's
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Speaker 1: errand the whole facts of his situation, in short, with
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Speaker 1: every minute particular, were conjured up before his eyes as
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Speaker 1: in a picture. By those few words, the first effort
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Speaker 1: of deliberate thought was made, while de Cantal went on
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Speaker 1: to say, as I have said, Monsieur de Morseilles, it
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Speaker 1: is my wish to save you any unnecessary pain, and
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Speaker 1: therefore I have ordered the carriage which is to convey
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Speaker 1: you to the Bastille to wait at the further end
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Speaker 1: of the first street. A couple of musketeers and myself
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Speaker 1: will accompany you inside, so that there will be no
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Speaker 1: unnecessary parade about the matter. And I doubt not that
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Speaker 1: you will be liberated shortly. I trust it may be so, sir,
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Speaker 1: replied the Count. And I am a blobliged to you
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Speaker 1: for your kindness. I have violated no law divine or human.
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Speaker 1: And though of course I have many sins to atone
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Speaker 1: towards my God, yet I have none towards my King.
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Speaker 1: I am quite ready to accompany you, But I suppose
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Speaker 1: that I shall not be permitted to return to my
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Speaker 1: own house, even to seek those things which may be
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Speaker 1: necessary for my comfort in the badstiale. Quite impossible, sir,
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Speaker 1: replied the officer. It would be as much as my
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Speaker 1: head is worth to permit you to set foot in
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Speaker 1: your own dwelling. The thoughts of the young count, as
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Speaker 1: may well be supposed, were turned at that moment, particularly
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Speaker 1: to Clements de Marlis, and he was most anxious on
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Speaker 1: every account to make his servants acquainted with the fact
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Speaker 1: of his having been arrested, in the hope that Driquet
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Speaker 1: would have the good sense to convey the tidings to
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Speaker 1: the hotel. De Roufrey. To have explained this in any
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Speaker 1: degree to the officer who had him in charge would
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Speaker 1: have been to frustrate the whole design, And therefore he replied,
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Speaker 1: far be it from me, sir, to wish you to
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Speaker 1: do anything but your duty. But you see, as I
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Speaker 1: have been accustomed throughout my life to somewhat perhaps too
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Speaker 1: much luxury, I should be very desirous of procuring some
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Speaker 1: changes of apparel that I am aware may be permitted
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Speaker 1: to me, unless I am to be in the strictest
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Speaker 1: and most severe kind of imprisonment, which the Bastille admits of.
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Speaker 1: You know by the orders you have received, whether such
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Speaker 1: is to be the case or not, And of course
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Speaker 1: I do not wish to deviate from your orders. Am
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Speaker 1: I to be kept au sucret, oh dear, no, not
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Speaker 1: at all, replied the officer. The order merely implies your
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Speaker 1: safe custody, and probably, unless some private commands are given farther,
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Speaker 1: you will have what is called the great liberties of
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Speaker 1: the bastille. But still that would not, by any means
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Speaker 1: justify me in permitting you to go to your own house. No,
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Speaker 1: replied the count, But it renders it perfectly possible, if
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Speaker 1: you are, as I believe, disposed to try a person
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Speaker 1: in my unfortunate situation, with kindness and liberality, for you
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Speaker 1: to send down one of your attendants to my valet
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Speaker 1: Jerome Riquet with my orders, to send me up in
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Speaker 1: the course of the day, such clothes as may be
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Speaker 1: necessary for a week. Let the message be verbal, so
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Speaker 1: as to guard against any dangerous communication, and let the
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Speaker 1: clothes be addressed to the care of the governor of
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Speaker 1: the prison, in order that they may be inspected before
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Speaker 1: they are given to me. Oh to that, of course,
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Speaker 1: there can be no objection, replied the young officer. We
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Speaker 1: will do it immediately, but we must lose no time,
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Speaker 1: Monsieur de Morselles, for the order is countersigned by Monsieur
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Speaker 1: de Louvois, and you know he likes prompt obedience. The
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Speaker 1: Count accompanied him at a rapid pace, deriving nose like
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Speaker 1: consolation under the unhappy circumstances in which he was placed,
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Speaker 1: at the idea of Clement's being fully informed of the
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Speaker 1: cause of his not appearing at the time he had promised.
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Speaker 1: At this but which Monsieur de Contale had mentioned, was
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Speaker 1: found a playing carriage with a coachman and lackey in gray,
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Speaker 1: and two musketeers of the guard seated quietly in the inside.
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Speaker 1: While the Count was entering the vehicle, the officer called
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Speaker 1: the lackey to his side and said, run down as
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Speaker 1: fast as possible to the house of the Count de Monseur,
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Speaker 1: and inquire for his valet. What did you say? His
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Speaker 1: name is Monsieur de Morseur, jeroamri Kay, said the count ay,
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Speaker 1: jyroamri Kay, said the officer inquire for his valet. Jeroamer Kay.
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Speaker 1: Tell him that the King has judged it right that
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Speaker 1: his master should pass a short time in the bastille,
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Speaker 1: and that therefore he must send up thither to night,
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Speaker 1: addressed to the care of the governor. What clothes he
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Speaker 1: judges the count may require. The house is next door,
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Speaker 1: but one to that of Monsieur de mort run quick
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Speaker 1: and take the little alley at the end of the street,
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Speaker 1: so that you may join us at the corner of
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Speaker 1: the road. The young officer then entered the carriage and
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Speaker 1: the coach drove on. But before they proceeded along the
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Speaker 1: high road, they were obliged to pause for a moment
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Speaker 1: or two in order to give time for the arrival
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Speaker 1: of the lackey, who, when he came, spoke a few
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Speaker 1: words through the window to Monsieur de Gontale, in the
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Speaker 1: course of which the word exempt was frequently audible. That
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Speaker 1: is unpleasant, said the young officer, turning to the count
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Speaker 1: I find that an exempt has been sent to your
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Speaker 1: house already to seal up your papers, I suppose, And
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Speaker 1: on hearing the man give the message to one of
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Speaker 1: your servants, he was very angry, it seems, sending word
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Speaker 1: to wait for him here. But as I am not
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Speaker 1: under his orders or authority, I think I shall even
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Speaker 1: tell the coachman to go on. He said this in
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Speaker 1: a hesitating tone, however, evidently afraid that he had done wrong.
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Speaker 1: And before he could execute his purpose of bidding the
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Speaker 1: carriage proceed, the lackey said, here comes the exempt, sir,
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Speaker 1: here he is in a moment after a tall, meager,
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Speaker 1: gaunt looking man, dressed in the peculiar robes of an
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Speaker 1: exempt of the court, with a nose extraordinarily red, scarcely
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Speaker 1: any eyebrows, and a mouth which seemed capable of swallowing
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Speaker 1: the vehicle that he approached and all that it contained,
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Speaker 1: came up to the side of the carriage and spoke
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Speaker 1: to the young officer through the window. The words that
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Speaker 1: passed between them seemed to be sharp and at length.
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Speaker 1: The exempt exclaimed in a louder tone, so as to
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Speaker 1: be completely audible to the count, although his articulation was
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Speaker 1: of that round, spluttering kind which rendered it very difficult
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Speaker 1: to make out what he said. I shall do so, however, Sir,
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Speaker 1: I shall do so, however I have authority for what
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Speaker 1: I do. I will suffer no such communications as these,
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Speaker 1: and I will not quit the carriage till I have
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Speaker 1: seen the prisoners safely lodged in the hands of the
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Speaker 1: governor of the bastille. Well, Sir, replied the officer, a
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Speaker 1: little heated. If you choose to overstep your duty, I
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Speaker 1: cannot help it, and certainly shall not attempt to prevent
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Speaker 1: your going the coachman. If you think fit in the
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Speaker 1: inside of the carriage, you shall not come, for there
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Speaker 1: I will guid my prisoner myself that you may do, sir,
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Speaker 1: if you like, cried the Exempt, shaking the awful massive
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Speaker 1: wig in which his head was plunged. But I will
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Speaker 1: take care that there shall be no more communications linen.
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Speaker 1: What the devil does a prisoner in the bastilee want
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Speaker 1: with linen? Why in the very first packet sent to
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Speaker 1: him there might be all sorts of treasonable things written
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Speaker 1: upon the linen? Have we not heard of ink of
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Speaker 1: sympathy and all manner of things? Well? Well, sir, exclaimed
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Speaker 1: the young officer. I saw no harm in what I
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Speaker 1: was doing, or else I should not have done it.
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Speaker 1: But get up if you are going to get up,
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Speaker 1: for I shall order the coachman to go on. The
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Speaker 1: Exempt sprang up the high and difficult ascent, which led
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Speaker 1: to a coach box of those days, with a degree
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Speaker 1: of activity which could hardly have been expected from a
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Speaker 1: person of his pompous dignity. The coach then drove on
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Speaker 1: upon its weary way to Paris, very violent and self
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Speaker 1: conceited person. Indeed, that seems to be said the Count.
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Speaker 1: Do you know him not, I replied the young officer,
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Speaker 1: though he threatens to make me know him pretty sufficiently
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Speaker 1: by complaining to Louvois about sending for these cursed clothes
20:19
Speaker 1: of yours. The officer was evidently out of temper, and
20:23
Speaker 1: the Count therefore left him to himself and fell into
20:26
Speaker 1: a fit of musing over his own situation. That fit
20:30
Speaker 1: of musing, dark and painful, as it was, lasted without
20:33
Speaker 1: cessation till the vehicle entered one of the suburbs of
20:36
Speaker 1: the great city of Paris. There, however, it met with
20:40
Speaker 1: an interruption of a very unexpected kind, For, in trying
20:43
Speaker 1: to pass between two heavy carts, which were going along
20:46
Speaker 1: in opposite directions, the coachman contrived to get the wheels
20:50
Speaker 1: of the carriage locked with those of both the other vehicles.
20:54
Speaker 1: And with such force was this done that the lackey
20:57
Speaker 1: behind was thrown down and hurt. The exempt himself nearly
21:01
Speaker 1: pitched off the coach box and obliged to cling with
21:04
Speaker 1: both his hands, while the coachman lost his hat and
21:07
Speaker 1: the reins. The idea of making his escape crossed the
21:11
Speaker 1: mind of the Count de Monceaux, but he evidently saw
21:15
Speaker 1: that even if he were out of the carriage, surrounded
21:17
Speaker 1: as he was by a great number of people, without
21:20
Speaker 1: any large sum of money upon his person, and with
21:23
Speaker 1: the eyes of the officer, the musketeers and the exempt
21:26
Speaker 1: upon him, it would be vain to make the attempt
21:30
Speaker 1: to render the situation of the vehicle as bad as possible.
21:33
Speaker 1: One of the horses, either irritated by the uncouth and
21:36
Speaker 1: not very gentle terms with which the coachman attempted to
21:39
Speaker 1: back out of the difficulty, or galled by part of
21:42
Speaker 1: the carriage pressing upon it, began to kick most vehemently,
21:47
Speaker 1: and Monsieur de Contale, the officer, having previously sent the
21:51
Speaker 1: two musketeers to aid the coachman and the exempt in
21:54
Speaker 1: disentangling the carriage, now showed a strong inclination to go himself.
22:00
Speaker 1: Looking anxiously at the Count de Morseux for a moment,
22:02
Speaker 1: he said, at length, I must either go and set
22:05
Speaker 1: those men right, or suffer a carriage to be kicked
22:08
Speaker 1: to pieces. If I go, Monsieur de Morseilles, will you
22:11
Speaker 1: give me your word not to try to escape? The
22:14
Speaker 1: Count paused for an instant, but then the same consideration
22:17
Speaker 1: returned upon him, and he replied, go, sir, go, I
22:22
Speaker 1: do give you my word. The officer then sprang out,
22:25
Speaker 1: but scarcely had he been away a moment when the
22:28
Speaker 1: head of the extent appeared looking in at the window.
22:31
Speaker 1: Isis Monsieur de Morsell, he said, in a voice totally
22:35
Speaker 1: different from that which he had used before, and which
22:38
Speaker 1: was wonderfully familiar to the ears of the count his tist.
22:42
Speaker 1: On the very first linen you receive, there will be
22:44
Speaker 1: information written for you. It will be invisible to all
22:48
Speaker 1: eyes till it is held to the fire, But the
22:51
Speaker 1: flame of a strong lamp will do. If you cannot
22:53
Speaker 1: sham an egg and get some wood to warm you.
22:57
Speaker 1: I can scarcely believe my eyes, said the count in
23:00
Speaker 1: the same low voice. Do not doubt them. Do not
23:04
Speaker 1: doubt them, said the exempt. I knew of your arrest
23:07
Speaker 1: before you knew of it yourself, but could not warn you,
23:10
Speaker 1: and was making all ready when the man came to
23:13
Speaker 1: the hotel. I have sacrificed much for you, Count, as
23:16
Speaker 1: goodly a pair of eyebrows as ever Valet had in
23:19
Speaker 1: this world. And I dare not blow my nose for
23:22
Speaker 1: fear of wiping off the paint. Louvois outwitted me this morning,
23:26
Speaker 1: and now I'll outwit him if I have but time. Heavens,
23:30
Speaker 1: how that beast is plunging and kicking the pin I
23:33
Speaker 1: ran into its stomach is sticky there? Yet I suppose
23:37
Speaker 1: ay she's quieter. Now Here they come, and I must splutter, messieur,
23:42
Speaker 1: he said, as the officer now returned to the side
23:45
Speaker 1: of the carriage. Monsieur, is is guarding your prisoner? Socurely?
23:49
Speaker 1: Is it not? Here? I come to the window and
23:51
Speaker 1: find not a single soul to prevent his escaping when
23:54
Speaker 1: he might have got out in a moment and run
23:56
Speaker 1: up the Rue de Biere and passed through the Rue
24:00
Speaker 1: de le Carls and across the Place de Lunuversente, and
24:03
Speaker 1: then down to the river, said the officer impatiently. Let
24:08
Speaker 1: me have no more of this impertinence, Sir. The count
24:11
Speaker 1: gave me his word that he would not escape. If
24:14
Speaker 1: I deliver my prisoners safely at the bastille. That is sufficient,
24:17
Speaker 1: and I will not have my conduct questioned. If you
24:20
Speaker 1: have any complaint to make, make it to the Monsieur
24:22
Speaker 1: de Louvois. Come get up, sir, don't answer the carriage
24:27
Speaker 1: is now clear, and enough of it left together to
24:30
Speaker 1: carry us to the Bastille go on coachman. The coachman, however,
24:35
Speaker 1: pertinaciously remained in a state of tranquility, till the exempt
24:39
Speaker 1: was once more comfortably seated by his side. And then
24:42
Speaker 1: the carriage, rolling on through the back streets of the capital,
24:45
Speaker 1: made a little turn by the Rue de Jean Beaucaille
24:49
Speaker 1: into the Rue de Saint Antoine, and approached the gates
24:52
Speaker 1: of that redoubted prison in which so many of the
24:54
Speaker 1: best and noblest in France have lingered out at different
24:58
Speaker 1: times a part of their existence. To few, to very
25:02
Speaker 1: few have the tall, gloomy towers of that awful fortress
25:05
Speaker 1: appeared without creating feelings of pain and apprehension. And however
25:10
Speaker 1: confident he might be of his own innocence, however great
25:14
Speaker 1: might be his trust in the good providence and protection
25:16
Speaker 1: of God, however strong he might be in a good
25:19
Speaker 1: cause and a firm spirit, it cannot be denied that
25:23
Speaker 1: Albert of Mosseaux felt deeply and painfully, and with an
25:27
Speaker 1: anxious and a sickening heart, his entrance into that dark,
25:30
Speaker 1: solitary abode of crime and sorrow and suffering. The carriage
25:35
Speaker 1: drew up just opposite the drawbridge, and the officer, getting out,
25:39
Speaker 1: left his prisoner in charge of the two musketeers, and
25:43
Speaker 1: went forward to speak to the officer on guard at
25:46
Speaker 1: the gates. To him, he notified in due form that
25:50
Speaker 1: he had brought a prisoner with orders from the King
25:53
Speaker 1: for his incarceration, and the carriage was kept for some
25:57
Speaker 1: time standing there, while the officer on proceeded to the
26:01
Speaker 1: dwelling of the governor to demand the keys of the
26:04
Speaker 1: great gates. When he had obtained them and returned, the
26:08
Speaker 1: doors were opened, the guard was turned out under arms,
26:12
Speaker 1: the great drawbridge let down, the bell which communicated with
26:16
Speaker 1: the interior of the building rung, and the vehicle containing
26:20
Speaker 1: the count slowly rolled on into the outer court, called
26:25
Speaker 1: the Cours du guvellement. There the carriage paused, the governor
26:29
Speaker 1: of the prison having expressed his intention of coming down
26:32
Speaker 1: to receive the prisoner from the hands of the officer
26:35
Speaker 1: who brought him, Otherwise the carriage would have gone on
26:39
Speaker 1: into the inner court. A short pause ensued, and at
26:43
Speaker 1: length the well known Besment was seen approaching, presenting exactly
26:48
Speaker 1: that appearance which might be expected from his character. For
26:52
Speaker 1: the tales of debauchery, levity and ferocity which distinguished his
26:57
Speaker 1: actual life, had stamped themselves his countenance in ineffaceable characters. Ah,
27:04
Speaker 1: A good day, Monsieur de Morseilles, he said, as the
27:07
Speaker 1: door of the carriage opened and the count descended, Monsieur
27:11
Speaker 1: de Contale, your very humble servant, gentlemen, both you had
27:15
Speaker 1: better step into the Courts de Guarde, where I will
27:18
Speaker 1: receive your prisoner, Monsieur de Contals and read the letters
27:21
Speaker 1: for his detention, Thus saying, with a slow and important step,
27:26
Speaker 1: he walked into the building, seated himself, called for Penham,
27:29
Speaker 1: dink and alight, and then read the King's letter for
27:33
Speaker 1: the arrest and imprisonment of the Count de Monseur Monsieur
27:37
Speaker 1: de Luvoise. Varying these letters every day, he said, one
27:41
Speaker 1: never knows what one is doing. However, there stands the
27:44
Speaker 1: King's name, and that is quite enough. So Monsieur de Morselles,
27:49
Speaker 1: you are welcome to the bastille. You are to have
27:52
Speaker 1: our great liberties. I suppose I must beg you to
27:55
Speaker 1: give me your sword, however, and also everything you have
27:58
Speaker 1: about your person, if you please, letters, papers, money, jewels,
28:03
Speaker 1: and everything else. In short, except your seal or your signaturing,
28:07
Speaker 1: which you keep for the purposes about to be explained
28:10
Speaker 1: to you. With very painful feelings, the Count unbuckled his
28:15
Speaker 1: sword and laid it down upon the table. He then
28:18
Speaker 1: gave up all the money that he possessed, one or
28:21
Speaker 1: two ordinary papers of no import and the other usual
28:24
Speaker 1: articles of the same kind which are born about a person.
28:28
Speaker 1: The note which he had received from Clements in the
28:31
Speaker 1: morning he had luckily destroyed. While this was doing, the
28:35
Speaker 1: governor continued to write, examining the different things that he
28:38
Speaker 1: put down before him, and he then said, is this all, sir?
28:43
Speaker 1: It is, replied the Count. Upon my word, one of
28:47
Speaker 1: the men must put his hands in your pocket. Count,
28:50
Speaker 1: said the governor. That is a ceremony. Every one has
28:53
Speaker 1: to undergo here. The prisoner shut his teeth hard, but
28:56
Speaker 1: made no remark and offered no resistance, though if he
29:00
Speaker 1: had given way to his feelings, he would certainly have
29:03
Speaker 1: dashed the man to the ground at once, who, with
29:05
Speaker 1: unceremonious hands now searched his person. When that also was over,
29:11
Speaker 1: Besmo wrote down a few more words at the end
29:14
Speaker 1: of the list of things he had made out and
29:16
Speaker 1: handed it to the count to read. The only observation
29:20
Speaker 1: that the young nobleman made was that the governor had
29:23
Speaker 1: put down his sword as having a silver hilt, when
29:26
Speaker 1: the hilt was of gold. Ah, it is of gold,
29:29
Speaker 1: is it? Said Besmo, taking it up and looking at it,
29:32
Speaker 1: while several of the attendants who stood round grinned from
29:35
Speaker 1: ear to ear. Well, we will alter it and put
29:38
Speaker 1: it down gold. Now, Monsieur de Morsell, will you have
29:42
Speaker 1: the goodness to sign that paper which with these letters
29:45
Speaker 1: we fold up? Thus? And now with the seal which
29:48
Speaker 1: you retain, you will have the goodness to seal them
29:51
Speaker 1: and write your name round the seal with all these forms.
29:56
Speaker 1: The count complied, and the governor then intimated to him
29:59
Speaker 1: that he was ready to conduct him into the interior
30:02
Speaker 1: of the bastille, the spot where they then were, though
30:05
Speaker 1: within the walls and drawbridge being actually considered as without
30:09
Speaker 1: the chateau here. Then I take leave of you, Monsieur
30:13
Speaker 1: de Marseilles, said the officer who had brought him thither,
30:16
Speaker 1: And I will do my best on my return to Versailles,
30:18
Speaker 1: to ensure that the clothes you want shall be sent
30:21
Speaker 1: notwithstand in the interference of that impertinent exempt, who took
30:25
Speaker 1: himself off on the outside of the drawbridge, and has
30:28
Speaker 1: doubtless gone back to lay his complaint against me before Louvois.
30:32
Speaker 1: I know the King, however, and knowing that he wishes
30:35
Speaker 1: no one to be treated with harshness or severity, have
30:38
Speaker 1: therefore no fear of the consequences. The count held out
30:43
Speaker 1: his hand to him frankly, and I am very much
30:46
Speaker 1: obliged to you, Monsieur de Contale, he said, for the
30:49
Speaker 1: kindness and politeness you have shown me. It is at
30:52
Speaker 1: such moments as these that kindness and politeness become real benefits.
30:58
Speaker 1: The officer took his hand respect for and then without
31:00
Speaker 1: more words, retired. The carriage passed out, The gates creaked
31:05
Speaker 1: upon their hinges, and the heavy drawbridge swung slowly up
31:09
Speaker 1: with a jarring sound of chains and heavy iron work,
31:13
Speaker 1: sadly harmonious with the uses of the building which they
31:16
Speaker 1: shut out from the world. The governor then led the
31:20
Speaker 1: way towards the large and heavy mass of gloomy masonry
31:23
Speaker 1: with its eight tall gaunt towers, which formed the real
31:26
Speaker 1: prison of the Bastille, and approached the gate in the
31:29
Speaker 1: center that looked towards the gardens and buildings of the arsenal.
31:34
Speaker 1: The drawbridge there was by this time down, and the
31:36
Speaker 1: gates were open for the admission of the prisoner, while
31:39
Speaker 1: what is called the staff of the Bastille stood ready
31:42
Speaker 1: to receive him, and the guard of the Grand Court
31:44
Speaker 1: was drawn up in line on either side. You see
31:48
Speaker 1: we have an extensive court here, said the governor leading
31:51
Speaker 1: the way. It is somewhat dark, to be sure, on
31:54
Speaker 1: account of the buildings being so high. But however some
31:57
Speaker 1: of our people, when they had been accustomed to it
32:00
Speaker 1: for a year or two, find it cheerful enough. We
32:03
Speaker 1: will put you, I think, Monsieur de Morseux, into what
32:05
Speaker 1: is called the Tower of Liberty, both because the name
32:08
Speaker 1: is a pleasant name, though it is but a name
32:11
Speaker 1: after all, either here or elsewhere, and also because it
32:15
Speaker 1: is close to the library. And as long as you
32:17
Speaker 1: have the great liberties, as they are called, you may
32:20
Speaker 1: go in there and amuse yourself. Most of you Huguenots,
32:23
Speaker 1: I believe, are somewhat of bookworms, And when a man
32:26
Speaker 1: cannot find many of the living to talk to, he
32:29
Speaker 1: likes just as well to talk to the dead. I
32:32
Speaker 1: do not suppose that like some of our inmates here
32:35
Speaker 1: on their first arrival. You are going to mope and pine,
32:38
Speaker 1: like a half starved cat or a sick hen. It
32:42
Speaker 1: is hard to bear at first, I acknowledge, but there
32:45
Speaker 1: is nothing like bearing a thing gaily. After all, this way,
32:48
Speaker 1: Monsieur de morsell This way, and I will show you
32:51
Speaker 1: your apartment. He accordingly led him to the extreme angle
32:56
Speaker 1: of the grand court on the left hand, where a
32:58
Speaker 1: large transverse massa architecture containing the library, the Hall of
33:02
Speaker 1: the Council, and various other apartments separated that part from
33:06
Speaker 1: the lesser court called the Court of the Well. A
33:10
Speaker 1: small stone doorway opened the way to a narrow spiral
33:13
Speaker 1: staircase which made the head dizzy with its manifold turning.
33:17
Speaker 1: And about half way up the steps, the governor paused
33:20
Speaker 1: and opened a door, which communicated by a narrow but
33:23
Speaker 1: crooked passage with a single tolerable sized chamber, handsomely furnished.
33:29
Speaker 1: You see, we treat you well, Monsieur de Morselle, said Besmond.
33:32
Speaker 1: And if anything can be done to make your residence
33:35
Speaker 1: here pleasant, we shall not fail to do it. There
33:39
Speaker 1: is but little use, if any, of causing doors to
33:41
Speaker 1: be locked or centries to be placed. Some of the
33:44
Speaker 1: guards or some of the officers of the staff will
33:47
Speaker 1: be very willing to show you as much as is
33:49
Speaker 1: right of the rest of the building. And in the meantime,
33:52
Speaker 1: can I serve you in nothing? I am afraid, replied
33:56
Speaker 1: the Count. I have neither clothes, nor baggage, nor anything
33:59
Speaker 1: else with me which will put me to some inconvenience
34:02
Speaker 1: till they send it to me. But I understand that
34:05
Speaker 1: orders have been given to that effect already, and I
34:07
Speaker 1: should only be glad to have any clothes and linen
34:10
Speaker 1: that may arrive as soon as possible. I will see
34:13
Speaker 1: to it. I will see to it, replied Besmo. You
34:16
Speaker 1: have dined, of course, Count, but to night you will
34:19
Speaker 1: sup with me if my stay here is to be long,
34:22
Speaker 1: said the Count, after thanking the Governor for his invitation,
34:26
Speaker 1: I should, of course be very glad to have the
34:28
Speaker 1: attendance of a domestic. I care not much, indeed, whether
34:31
Speaker 1: it be one of my own, or whether it be
34:33
Speaker 1: one which you can supply me for the time. But
34:36
Speaker 1: I am not used to be without some sort of attendance.
34:40
Speaker 1: The Governor smiled, you must not be nice in the
34:43
Speaker 1: bastille Monsieur de Moniseur, he said, we all do with
34:46
Speaker 1: few attendants here, but we will see what can be
34:48
Speaker 1: done for you. At present we know nothing but that
34:52
Speaker 1: here you are. The order for your reception is of
34:54
Speaker 1: that kind which leaves everything doubtful, but the fact that
34:58
Speaker 1: for the time you are not to be confined very strictly.
35:01
Speaker 1: And indeed, as the letter is somewhat informal, as everything
35:05
Speaker 1: is that comes from the hands of Monsieur de Louvois,
35:07
Speaker 1: I must write to him again for further information. As
35:11
Speaker 1: soon as I receive it. The whole shall be arranged
35:13
Speaker 1: as far as I can to your satisfaction. In the meantime,
35:17
Speaker 1: we will give you every indulgence as far as our
35:19
Speaker 1: own general rules will allow, though perhaps you will think
35:23
Speaker 1: that share of indulgence very small. The Count expressed his
35:27
Speaker 1: thanks in commonplace terms, well knowing the character of Besmeaux,
35:31
Speaker 1: and that his fair speeches only promised a degree of
35:34
Speaker 1: courtesy which his actions generally failed to fulfill. After lingering
35:39
Speaker 1: for a moment or two, the governor left his prisoner
35:41
Speaker 1: in the abode assigned to him and returned to his
35:44
Speaker 1: own dwelling without locking the door of the apartment there
35:48
Speaker 1: are states of mind in which the necessity of calm
35:51
Speaker 1: contemplation is so strong and overpowering that none of the
35:55
Speaker 1: ordinary motives which affect our nature have any influence upon
35:58
Speaker 1: us for the time. States in which even vanity, the
36:01
Speaker 1: most irritable, and curiosity, the most active of our moral
36:05
Speaker 1: prompts in this world, slumber inactive, and leave thought and
36:09
Speaker 1: judgment paramount. Such was the case with the Count de Mooseau.
36:14
Speaker 1: Although he had certainly been interested in everything concerning the
36:17
Speaker 1: prison which was to be his abode for an undefined
36:21
Speaker 1: length of time. Although all that took place indicative of
36:24
Speaker 1: his future destiny was of course not without attraction and excitement,
36:30
Speaker 1: he had grown weary of the formalities of his entrance
36:32
Speaker 1: into the bastille, less because they were wearisome in themselves
36:36
Speaker 1: than because he longed to be alone and to have
36:39
Speaker 1: a few minutes for calm and silent reflection. When he
36:42
Speaker 1: did come to reflect, however, the prospect presented was dark, gloomy,
36:47
Speaker 1: and sad. He was cut off from the escape he
36:50
Speaker 1: had meditated, the only thing that could have saved him
36:53
Speaker 1: from the most imminent dangers and difficulties, the only scheme
36:57
Speaker 1: which he had been able to fall upon to secure
36:59
Speaker 1: even the proper ability of peace and safety upon earth
37:02
Speaker 1: had now been frustrated. The charges likely to be brought
37:06
Speaker 1: against him, if once averred by the decision of a
37:09
Speaker 1: court of justice, were such as he well knew could
37:13
Speaker 1: not and would not be followed by pardon. And when
37:16
Speaker 1: he looked at the chances that existed of those charges
37:19
Speaker 1: being sanctioned, confirmed, and declared just by any commission that
37:24
Speaker 1: might sit to try him, he found that the probabilities
37:27
Speaker 1: were altogether against him, and that if party, feeling biased,
37:31
Speaker 1: the opinion of one single magistrate, his cause was utterly lost.
37:36
Speaker 1: In cases where circumstantial evidence is everything, and therein lies
37:40
Speaker 1: the horror and danger of judging by circumstantial evidence, so
37:44
Speaker 1: light a word, so small a turn, will give a
37:47
Speaker 1: completely different view to the whole circumstances of any case,
37:51
Speaker 1: will so completely prejudice the question and bias the minds
37:54
Speaker 1: of hearers, that he was quite aware of any zealous
37:57
Speaker 1: Catholics should be engaged in the task of persecuting him
38:01
Speaker 1: to the last, he could scarcely hope to escape from
38:04
Speaker 1: such serious imputations as would justify perhaps his permanent detention,
38:10
Speaker 1: if not his death he had been at the meeting
38:14
Speaker 1: of the Protestants on the Moor, which, though not illegal
38:16
Speaker 1: at the time, had been declared to be so since
38:20
Speaker 1: he had then addressed the people and had exhorted them
38:23
Speaker 1: to tranquility and to peace. But where were the witnesses
38:26
Speaker 1: to come from in order to prove that such was
38:28
Speaker 1: the case? He had gone unarmed to that meeting, but
38:32
Speaker 1: others had been there in arms, and with arms concealed.
38:36
Speaker 1: He himself, with his own hand, had struck the first
38:39
Speaker 1: blow from which such awful consequences had sprung. But how
38:44
Speaker 1: was he to prove the provocation which he had in
38:46
Speaker 1: the first instance received, or the protection which he had
38:50
Speaker 1: afterwards given to the base and unworthy young man who
38:53
Speaker 1: had escaped from death by his means, only to become
38:56
Speaker 1: a murderer the moment after. The only witnesses that he
39:00
Speaker 1: could call were persons of the party inimical to the court,
39:03
Speaker 1: who might now be found with difficulty when emigration was
39:07
Speaker 1: taking place from every part of France, who would only
39:10
Speaker 1: be partially believed if they could be heard, and who
39:13
Speaker 1: were placed themselves in danger by bearing testimony on his behalf.
39:19
Speaker 1: The witnesses against him would be the hired miscreants, who
39:22
Speaker 1: had fired into a body of unoffending people, but who
39:25
Speaker 1: were of the religion of the judges, the unscrupulous adherents
39:29
Speaker 1: of the cause to which those judges were bound by
39:32
Speaker 1: every tie of interest and of prejudice, and who were
39:35
Speaker 1: serving under a monarch that, on one terrible occasion, had
39:39
Speaker 1: stepped in to overrule the decision of a court of justice,
39:43
Speaker 1: and to inflict severer punishment than even his own creatures
39:46
Speaker 1: had dared to assign. Death therefore seemed to be the
39:50
Speaker 1: only probable end of his imprisonment, death or eternal loss
39:54
Speaker 1: of liberty. And the Count knew the court and the
39:57
Speaker 1: character of those with whom he had to deal too
40:00
Speaker 1: well to derive any degree of consolation from the lenity
40:04
Speaker 1: with which he was treated at first. Had he been
40:08
Speaker 1: now in heartened mind, as he was not very long before,
40:13
Speaker 1: when quitting the army on the signature of the truce,
40:15
Speaker 1: he had returned to the home of his ancestors, the
40:18
Speaker 1: prospect would have been far less terrible to him, far
40:21
Speaker 1: less painful. His heart was then in some degree solitary,
40:25
Speaker 1: his mind was comparatively alone in the world. He had
40:29
Speaker 1: spent the whole of his active life, in scenes of
40:31
Speaker 1: danger and of strife, he had confronted death so often
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Speaker 1: that the lean and horrid monster had lost his terrors
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Speaker 1: and become familiar with one who had seemed to seek
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Speaker 1: his acquaintance, as if in sport. His ties to the
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Speaker 1: world had been few, For the existence of bright days
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Speaker 1: and happy, careless moments, and splendid fortune and the means
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Speaker 1: of luxury and enjoyment at command are not the things
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Speaker 1: that bind and attach us to life. The tie, the strong,
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Speaker 1: the mighty tie of deep and powerful affection to some
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Speaker 1: being or beings like himself had been wanting. There were
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Speaker 1: many that he liked, there were many that he esteemed.
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Speaker 1: There were many that he protected and supported, even at
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Speaker 1: that time, But he knew and felt that if he
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Speaker 1: were gone the next moment, they would be liked and
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Speaker 1: esteemed and supported and protected by others, and would feel
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Speaker 1: the same or nearly the same towards those who had
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Speaker 1: succeeded as towards him when he had passed away from
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Speaker 1: the green and sunny earth and left them to the
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Speaker 1: care of newer friends. But now other ties had arisen
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Speaker 1: around him. Ties the strength, the durability, the firm pressure
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Speaker 1: of which he had never known before. There was now
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Speaker 1: a being on earth to whom he was attached by
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Speaker 1: feelings that can only once be felt, for whom he
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Speaker 1: himself would have been ready to sacrifice everything else, who
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Speaker 1: for him and for his love, had shown herself willing
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Speaker 1: to carve us from her all those bright and pageant
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Speaker 1: like days of splendor in which she had once seemed
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Speaker 1: to take so much delight. The tie, the strong tie
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Speaker 1: of human affection, the rending of which is the great
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Speaker 1: and agonizing pang of death, had twined itself round his
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Speaker 1: heart and bound every feeling and every thought. The great
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Speaker 1: that are passing quality of sentient being, the capability of
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Speaker 1: loving and being loved, had risen up to crush and
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Speaker 1: to leave void all the lesser things of life, but
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Speaker 1: also to give death terrors that it knew not before,
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Speaker 1: to make the grave the bitter parting place where joys
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Speaker 1: end forever, and to poison the shaft that lays us
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Speaker 1: low with venom that is felt in agony ere the dark,
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Speaker 1: dreamless sleep succeeds and extinguishes all. But was this all
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Speaker 1: that rendered his situation now more terrible than it had
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Speaker 1: been before? Alas, no, the sense of religion was strong,
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Speaker 1: and he might come vidently trust that, though earthly passion
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Speaker 1: ended with the grave, and the mortal fire of his
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Speaker 1: love for Clement de Marlis would there become extinct, he
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Speaker 1: might confidently trust that in another world, with his love
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Speaker 1: for her exalted as well as purified, rendered more intense
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Speaker 1: and sublime, though less passionate and human, they should meet again,
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Speaker 1: known to each other, bound together by the immortal memory
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Speaker 1: of vast affection, and only distinct from other spirits, bright
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Speaker 1: and happy as themselves by the glorious consciousness of love
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Speaker 1: and the intense happiness of having loved well, loved nobly,
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Speaker 1: and to the last. Such might have been his consolation
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Speaker 1: in the prospect of parting with her, who had become
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Speaker 1: so dear to him, if he had left her in
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Speaker 1: calm and peaceful security, in a happy land, and without
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Speaker 1: danger or difficulty surrounding her. But when he thought of
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Speaker 1: the religion she had embraced at the perils which surrounded
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Speaker 1: her at every step, of the anguish which would fall
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Speaker 1: upon her at his fate of the utterly unprotected, uncomforted,
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Speaker 1: unconsoled state in which she must remain the heart of
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Speaker 1: the strong warrior failed and the trust of the Christian
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Speaker 1: was drowned in human tears. End of chapter twenty two,