I could not but feel melancholy as I rode away from the château, and
passed by many of the spots which were engraven upon the tablet of my
memory by acts and feelings that could never suffer them to be
effaced. It was not, indeed, that I entertained any sad or gloomy
anticipation in regard to the future; for, through life, the noblest
blessing of all the many with which Heaven has heaped up my lot, has
been that indestructible hopefulness of disposition, which always
presents a bright prospect in the coming years: but it was, that
memory, as if stimulated by the act of leaving the place, called up
again, and passed in long review before my eyes, all those dark hours
and terrible deeds which had filled up my residence in Brittany. It
was against my will that these recollections swarmed upon me: but
there are moments when we have no power to bid memory cease her
recapitulations--when the heart, often from some mere trifling
accident, is cast prostrate before the past, and cannot struggle up
against the torrent of remembrances that pour over it; and such was
then the case with myself.
If I had given a world, I could not have banished from my thoughts
the violent death, the dying countenance, the bloody grave of the
Count de Mesnil, the gentle looks, the melancholy fate of Madame de
Villardin--the gloomy swimming down that fatal stream in the endeavour
to find her, the long torch-light search for her body, and the
terrible nights of watching I had spent by the bedside of her
delirious and culpable husband.
As memory would have way, I strove to turn it into some gentler
course, and tried to fix it upon something sweeter in the past. There
were only two or three acts, however, which I could recal, that
afforded a pleasant resting-place for thought in all that had occurred
to me since I first entered the house of Monsieur de Villardin. The
efforts I had made to remove from the mind of the Duke the wild
suspicions that he had then entertained of his wife, were now, of
course, most grateful in remembrance. Nor, indeed, do I recollect,
amongst all that I ever did in my life, anything which gave me greater
pleasure than I experienced at that moment, in calling to mind the
rescue of sweet little Laura de Villardin from the same stream that
had afterwards proved fatal to her mother, though, after all, it was
but the service of a water-dog. Neither, indeed, did the memory of all
the little kindnesses I had shown to Jacques Marlot prove at all
ungrateful to me, though, I confess, they had been done more in a
spirit of merriment, perhaps, than benevolence. One is almost always
beneficent when one laughs, with the exception, perhaps, of a few
human hyenas, who scarcely deserve the name of men; and,
notwithstanding all his misfortunes and distresses, the worthy printer
was always connected in my mind with associations of a gay and jocose
character.
It was upon him, then, by this train of associations, that my thoughts
last rested as I rode away from the château of Dumont; and as my
constant attendance upon Monsieur de Villardin had prevented my seeing
Maître Jacques for nearly six weeks, I was suddenly seized with a
great desire to take leave of him ere I went to Paris. The road by his
house was as near, though somewhat rougher, and I turned my bridle
thitherward almost as soon as his image rose up before my mind. At his
door I met with Father Ferdinand, whom I had left a couple of hours
before in the park; and, after explaining to the good Priest that I
was bound to Paris, on the business of Monsieur de Villardin, I
received his benediction and one or two injunctions in regard to my
conduct; and, while he pursued his way back to the château, I knocked
loudly with the butt of my whip at the door of the ci-devant printer.
He came out immediately, and but few words passed between us, as I had
not time to dismount. Nor, indeed, did he ask me to come in when he
found that I was bound upon an errand of importance, but, wishing me
all prosperity, and that I might live long enough to save a great
number of honest men from the gallows, he bade me adieu, and suffered
me to depart.
I have marked this visit, for, strange enough to say, it was the last
time that I saw the good printer for nearly six years; and, by the end
of that period, I need hardly say that we had both undergone many
changes, at least in personal appearance.
From Juvigny I rode on as fast as possible to the next post relay, and
there leaving my horse with the servant who had accompanied me, I set
out with my postillion for Paris as fast as I could go. Remembering
the directions which I had received, I certainly did not fail to make
all speed; and I found it no difficult thing to induce the post-boys
to put much more celerity into their beasts than the law required, or,
indeed, allowed. By this means, and by utter forgetfulness of all
personal fatigue, I reached Paris full two days sooner than I should
otherwise have done, and much earlier, I am convinced, than Monsieur
de Villardin himself anticipated.
The moment I arrived, I found out the residence of Gourville, who was
then lodging at a small house in the Rue St. Thomas; and, after some
difficulty, which showed me that he was not very much at his ease in
regard to his own situation, I was admitted to his apartments, and
found a young man of a shrewd, intelligent countenance, and simple but
not vulgar manners. Following a habit I had acquired of examining
every new face closely ere I said a word myself, I paused a moment or
two before I delivered the letter with which I was charged from
Monsieur de Villardin, and I could easily see that Gourville was
annoyed and alarmed by the visit of a person so completely a stranger
to him, and whose manners, I believe, appeared somewhat extraordinary.
The moment, however, that I had explained to him the object of my
coming, his countenance cleared, but still he said not one word which
could have committed himself in any way, till he had first read
Monsieur de Villardin's letter. Nor was he even satisfied with that,
without first speaking to me himself upon various matters which I very
well understood were more designed to draw out my character, and
ascertain whether I were really trustworthy, than to gain any
information of another kind. As it was not at all unlike the conduct
which I should have pursued myself under similar circumstances, I did
not certainly feel in the least offended; and, after about half an
hour spent in this sort of spider-like investigation, which did not
take place less upon my side than upon his, we began more clearly to
understand each other, and the conversation turned to the objects
which brought me thither.
"Well, Monsieur de Juvigny," said Gourville, at length, "plainly and
straightforwardly, what is it that you want to know?"
"Plainly and straightforwardly, then," I replied, "what I want to know
is, whether there is any chance of the liberation of the Princes, and
whether that chance is immediate or remote."
Gourville smiled, and paused for a moment or two, and then, assuming
an air of frankness, which I never saw put on suddenly but when it was
intended to deceive, he replied, "Oh! indubitably; there is every
chance of their liberation. The Princess Dowager, as you well know, is
every day presenting some new petition either to the Court or to the
Parliament, and undoubtedly her just complaints will be in the end
attended to: and the Princes will be restored to that liberty of which
they have been most unjustifiably deprived."
As I have said before, from the very air of candour with which he
began to speak, I had perceived that Gourville intended to deceive me;
and, therefore, I only smiled incredulously as a reply. "It is very
true, I can assure you," he added; and I saw that, either from
doubting my judgment, on account of my youth, or from some suspicion
of my character, he was so far determined to give me no real
information, that I must employ other means to extort it from him than
any I had hitherto used. As I knew, however, that he could be depended
upon for secrecy at least, I affected, at length, to receive what he
said as truth; and replied, "Well, well, since such is the case--and
of course I cannot doubt your word--I will immediately write to
Monsieur de Villardin, informing him that there is no necessity
whatever for his committing himself by joining the Princess and
Monsieur de Bouillon at Bordeaux, as the Princes are certain of
obtaining their liberation, without his taking a step which might
embroil him with many of his best friends, as well as with the Court."
This, of course, did not suit Gourville's plans at all, and, as I had
foreseen, it forced him into an explanation.
"No, no, sir! no, no!" he replied. "Do not do that too hastily. Wait
at least a day or two, that we may see the effect of the means we are
using at present."
"That, I am sorry to say," replied I, "is quite out of the question. I
came here, as you well know, to investigate for Monsieur de Villardin
what were the chances in favour of the immediate liberation of the
Princes; and I promised him to write immediately after I had seen you,
to give him such information as would determine the part that he was
to take. Come, come, Monsieur Gourville, you are not acting candidly
with me. If you speak frankly, you have nothing to fear. If you do not
speak frankly, you may prevent Monsieur de Villardin from throwing his
whole weight into the scale of the Princes. You may speak freely to
me, I assure you. I am not so much of a boy as I may seem."
"It appears not, indeed," replied my companion; "and, therefore, I
suppose I must speak frankly with you: but there is one thing, young
gentleman, I would have you remark, which is, that if I do admit you
to my confidence, you must take your part also in the schemes which I
am pursuing; and as I tell you that they are just as likely to conduct
every one concerned in them to the gallows, as to produce any other
result, you may judge whether this is the sort of confidence that you
would like."
I smiled at his reply; and said, that I was too much accustomed to
danger of all kinds to fear the gallows more than any other sort of
death.
"Well, well, if that be the case," he replied, "the matter will soon
be settled. Monsieur de Villardin here tells me to trust you entirely,
and Monsieur de Rochefoucault enjoins me to trust in him in the same
manner. So that, of course, I must obey, whatever be the consequences;
though I do not, I confess, like to confide secrets of such vital
importance to more people than necessary."
He then proceeded to inform me,--though with a great deal of
difficulty and hesitation, even after having made up his mind to do
so,--that a plan was, at that moment, in progress, for the liberation
of the Prince de Condé, by means of the soldiers of the guard in
garrison at Vincennes, where the Prince was at that time confined.
These men, many of whom had served under Condé, and all of whom
admired and loved him, Gourville represented as uniformly favourable
to the scheme; and I learned, that the execution of the whole was
merely put off till the Sunday following, in order that the attempt
might be made while the governor and officers were at vespers in the
chapel.
"The only difficulty," he continued, "which presents itself in the
course of the whole undertaking, is to prepare the Princes themselves
for the effort that is to be made in their favour. No one is allowed
to see them except Pallu, the surgeon of the Prince de Condé, who
visits him three times a week, in order to dress the wound in his arm.
Now Pallu is himself as much attached to the Prince as any man can be,
but he is as timid as a child; and, notwithstanding all my
persuasions, will not be the bearer of a message to his Highness."
"But cannot you contrive to introduce some one else?" I demanded. "I
should think that might be easily done."
"Indeed!" said Gourville, with a smile. "I have turned it in my head
in every way I can think of; and yet I not only do not see any easy
method, but I confess that I perceive no possible means of conveying
the information to Monsieur le Prince. We are, therefore, preparing to
execute our scheme as well as we can without."
I mused a moment ere I answered, and then merely asked what was the
post which Gourville intended to assign me in the matter, and which he
had declared was dangerous.
"Simply this," he replied; "and you will see at once, that it is not
more perilous than that of any other person concerned. We are about to
station twenty or thirty cavaliers in the different villages round
Vincennes, divided into parties of three or four, and each provided
with led horses, to afford the Princes the means of escape, whatever
direction they may judge fit to take. If any of the parties are
caught, they will be hanged, to a certainty, but each man must of
course make his mind up to his risk; and what I proposed was, that you
should be joined to one of these bodies, and act as guide to the
Princes into Brittany, in case that they should determine upon
pursuing that road; for I judge, by your tongue, that you are a
Breton, and doubt not that you know the country well."
"That I do, most assuredly," replied I; "but nevertheless I think I
can serve you better in another way--and not without exposing myself,"
I added, seeing a slight smile curl my companion's lip; "fully as
much, if not more, than any of you."
"And pray what do you propose?" he said.
"Simply," I answered, "to convey the tidings of our design to the
Princes themselves."
"Impossible," he replied; "depend upon it, that is quite impossible."
"Not near so much so, rest assured, as you imagine," I answered. "The
fact is, I know Monsieur de Pallu well, for he attended long upon a
gentleman to whom I was much attached, and I saw him regularly every
day. Now I know all his manners and his habits so well, that I could
fearlessly take upon myself to feign myself one of his assistants, and
to give such an account of himself and his person, if by any chance I
should be questioned, that I am certain I should escape detection. I
doubt not in the least," I added, seeing Gourville's countenance begin
to brighten as my plan developed itself, "I doubt not in the least
that, although he cannot be prevailed upon to deliver the message to
the Princes himself, he may easily be induced to neglect his visit to
Vincennes for one single day. As soon as that is determined, I will
take advantage of the fact, and dressing myself as a garçon
apothicaire, I will present myself at Vincennes, with dressings and
plasters, and, declaring that Monsieur de Pallu is ill, or called by
some urgent case elsewhere, will demand to see the Prince and dress
his arm."
"Bravo! mon cher Breton!" cried Gourville, catching me in his arms and
actually embracing me; "bravo! bravo! Pallu will consent, of course;
and if he do not, a little gentle force, or some good-natured _ruse_,
will easily bring the matter to bear, as far at least as he is
concerned. Diable! I would keep him in his house with a pistol at his
throat sooner than such a hopeful enterprise should fail.--But are you
sure, my good young friend, that your courage will hold out?" he
added, as he began to reflect; the very delight he felt at my proposal
making him apprehensive lest it should fail. "Remember, for Heaven's
sake, that Vincennes is a terrible looking place; and what with its
drawbridges, its guards, and its chains, its gloomy passages and
frowning stone walls, you may lose your presence of mind at the very
moment when it is most necessary; and not only forfeit your own life,
but overthrow our whole scheme."
"No fear! no fear!" I answered, smiling; "I am more accustomed to such
work than you know of, and have no apprehensions."
"Well, well," answered Gourville, "have your will then; though I must
say you look to me very young to have much acquaintance with
proceedings dangerous in themselves, and ten thousand times more
dangerous in their consequences. You cannot be above sixteen?"
"Not so much," I replied; "and yet for many a year I have lived
amongst scenes to which all that is passing in these foolish wars is
but child's play. But now let us concert our plans, that nothing may
go wrong."
After some more conversation on the subject, Gourville proceeded to
the house of Pallu, and finding him at home, went in, while I remained
in the street. On his return he informed me that all was arranged with
the worthy surgeon, who consented to show an apparent neglect to the
Prince de Condé; but required that, in order to screen himself
completely from the ire of the Court, in case of our detection, a
fictitious letter, demanding his immediate presence at St. Germain,
should be sent to him at the very hour in the evening that he usually
visited his patient in Vincennes.
All this was settled with the surgeon, and nothing remained but for me
to play my part. The time for executing my design was, of necessity,
three o'clock on the following day, as that was the usual period of
Pallu's visit; and having proceeded to the house of the well-known
fripier Martin, where every sort of dress under the sun was to be
procured for a little more than its real value, I furnished myself
with the complete equipment of a surgeon's élève. I spent the rest of
that evening in concluding my arrangements with Gourville, who gave me
all that minute information which was necessary to the accomplishment
of what I had undertaken.
On the following morning early, I rode out to St. Maur to see Lord
Masterton, but found that both Lord Langleigh and himself were absent
in Normandy. I saw the Lady Emily, however, and could not but feel
what a contrast her bright and smiling looks afforded to those which
had latterly appeared upon the countenance of poor Madame de
Villardin, once as gay and happy as her own.
On my return to Paris, it was nearly time to set out for Vincennes;
and, mounted on a little sturdy horse, which seemed made on purpose
for a surgeon's pony, furnished with ointments and plasters in
boundless profusion, and habited as a garçon chirurgien, I rode off
upon my expedition, and soon approached the prison of the Princes. The
castle had nothing very formidable in its aspect to my eyes; but,
nevertheless, in gazing up at the donjon, and remembering the purpose
of my visit, I felt more as I used to do in days of old than I had
done for some time. I was little "Ball o' Fire" all over; and I could
almost have fancied myself upon some of my expeditions during the
civil wars of England. This feeling tended to put me much more at my
ease than I might otherwise have been; and as there is nothing so
serviceable as effrontery under such circumstances, it proved of real
use to me.
On entering the gate, the first question asked me was by a
grim-looking guardsman, who came up as the sentry stopped me, and
demanded what I wanted there?
I answered, with all the naïveté in the world, that I wanted to see
the Prince de Condé.
"Indeed!" exclaimed the guard, not a little astonished at my coolness.
"And, pray, what may be your name, my good youth?"
"I am called Jerome," I replied; "and I am assistant to Monsieur de
Pallu, the surgeon, who sent me here, because he was obliged----"
"Oh, if that be the case," cried the soldier, interrupting me, "you
must come to Monsieur de Bar. We cannot let you in without his
authority, for we must not even speak to the Prince ourselves."
From the man's tone, I doubted not that this was one of the serjeants
of the guard, whom Gourville had spoken of as in the interest of the
Princes; but of course I had nothing to do but to go through with my
part as garçon apothicaire; and, therefore, assuming as stupid an air
as possible, I suffered myself to be led to the presence of Monsieur
de Bar, the governor. I never saw a less prepossessing fellow, or one
better framed by the hand of nature for a gaoler. As soon as I had
informed him that Monsieur de Pallu, having been sent for to St.
Germain on a case of life and death, had despatched me to dress the
Prince's arm, which he thought could not remain till the following
day, the governor knit his brows, and stared me all over with a heavy
frown, as if I had committed some offence. But, without taking any
notice, or showing the slightest agitation, I stood upon one leg, like
an awkward boy, and looked round the room with an air of stolid
curiosity, which completely deceived him.
"Monsieur de Pallu should not have gone away on any pretext," said the
governor, abruptly, when he had satisfied himself with his examination
of my person. "It is disgraceful of him to send a stupid boy like you
to dress the Prince's wound. I have a great mind to send you back."
I gazed at him for a moment with open mouth and eyes; and then
assuring him that I could dress the wound as well as Monsieur de Pallu
himself, I proceeded to detail exactly that surgeon's method of
proceeding, which I had watched attentively during his attendance on
Lord Masterton. The governor cut me short, with an oath, however; and
telling me that he did not want to learn surgery, rose, and took the
key of the apartments in which the Princes were confined.
Throwing open the door, he pushed me in by the shoulders, bidding me
to knock loudly at that same door when I had done, and not to stop
longer than necessary. I now found myself alone, in a little
ante-chamber; and as it had but one other door, of course I advanced
towards it, and entered the next room without ceremony. Here, seated
at a table, which was covered with pots of beautiful carnations, sat a
young man of about five or six and twenty, busily tending and
arranging his flowers. He was alone--though I heard voices in a
chamber beyond; and from the whole appearance of the apartment, the
neglect and poverty of the furniture, and the simplicity of the
young man's own attire, I might have imagined that he was some
valet-de-chambre, admitted to the prison in order to attend upon the
Princes, had he not looked up: as he did so, however, the eagle-eye
could not be mistaken, and I felt that I must be in the presence of
the great Condé.
"Who are you, my boy?" he asked, as soon as he saw me. "Good faith,
this is a pleasing novelty: I have not seen a new face these two
months; let me look at you;" and rising from his seat, he approached
the window near which I passed as I entered from the ante-room. He was
neither very tall nor very strongly made, but there was the promise of
extraordinary activity in every limb. His features were slightly
aquiline, and in general good, without being very striking. But his
eye was, indeed, remarkable. It was deep set, it is true, and not
particularly large; but there was a light, and a keenness, and an
intensity in its slightest glance, that are quite indescribable. It
was quick, too, as the lightning; and I observed, that at almost every
other word the corner of the eyebrow next the nose was drawn forward,
and rounded, as it were, so as to shade the eye in a degree, and to
cut off every ray of light but those which fell upon the object at
which he was looking.
"Who are you, my boy? Who are you--who are you?" he repeated, quickly.
"Has Monsieur de Bar forgotten himself, and learned to believe that
gentlemanly conduct is consistent with the office of a gaoler?"
For a moment I was in doubt how to answer; but as I still heard voices
in the other room, I thought it best to be cautious, and being obliged
to speak loud, on account of my distance from the Prince at the
moment, I told him the same story that I had passed upon the governor.
"Ha!" he said, "Pallu should have come to me first. He forgets that he
is my oracle as well as surgeon, and the only human thing that I see
from week's end to week's end, except the grim visages of my gaolers,
or the gloomy ones of my fellow-prisoners. However, if there was life
or death in the case, as you say, of course he could not come."
While he was speaking I advanced quietly to the table, and putting
down the packet of salves and dressings upon it, I approached closer
to the Prince without saying a word. He looked at me sharply as I did
so, seeming to comprehend at once that there was something
extraordinary in this man[oe]uvre; and when I was within about a yard
of him, he put out his hand to stop my further advance, saying, "Stay,
stay; no nearer, if you please, till I hear more of your business."
I bowed low, and replied, in a tone that could only be heard by
himself, "If your Highness will sit down and permit me to dress your
arm, or, at least, to seem to do so, I may prove more oracular than
Monsieur de Pallu. I come from your Highness's faithful friend and
servant, Monsieur de Villardin, and from your no less faithful
servant, Gourville."
"Hush!" he replied, "hush!" And advancing to the door which led into
the other room, he said, speaking to the Prince de Conti and the Duke
de Longueville, who were within, "Messieurs, I am going to have my
wound dressed; and therefore, unless you wish to learn surgery, you
may stay where you are for half an hour." He then closed the door, and
returning to his seat near the table, stripped off his coat, and
drawing back his sleeve, presented his arm to me, saying at the same
time, "Now!"
I, on my part, busied myself with the dressings, and while I did so,
proceeded to explain to him, in a low tone, but as distinctly as
possible, the measures that had been taken for setting him at liberty
on the Sunday following. I told him that the guards, who had entered
into our plan, were already provided with the means of fastening the
officers into the chapel during the vesper service, that horses would
be ready at each of the villages within four miles of Vincennes, that
the whole garrison was in his favour, and that nothing was wanting but
preparation on his part to take advantage of the opportunity when it
occurred.
"Fear not," he replied, in the same tone; "fear not that I will be
found unprepared. No, no; as soon as that door is open, I will be
quite ready to walk out of it. But tell me," he added, "who are you
that have been trusted with such an important communication, and have
had courage and address sufficient to execute it?"
"I am one, your Highness," replied I, "for whom you were kind enough
some time ago, at the intercession of Monsieur de Villardin, to obtain
some favours at the hands of the Court."
"What! the young Englishman," he cried, "who saved his daughter's
life!--Is it so?"
I replied in the affirmative; and he added, "Well, then, they were the
last favours that I obtained for any one, for not three days after my
arrest took place."
"Most grateful I am to your Highness," I replied; "and I thank Heaven
that the commission with which Monsieur de Villardin has intrusted me
enables me to be of some slight service to your cause."
"Of inestimable service, young gentleman," he replied; "for, in truth,
I know none, except yourself, and perhaps Gourville, who would have
undertaken the dangerous task which you have accomplished. Should you
be successful,--which I will not doubt, since the scheme is so well
devised and so well conducted--I shall not be found wanting in
gratitude to any who have served me, especially to one who has served
me so well as you have: and now, as it is clear enough that you know
nothing of dressing wounds, get you gone as speedily as possible, lest
Pallu himself should come, and worse should befal you."
"There is no fear, my lord," I replied; "we have taken good means to
keep Monsieur de Pallu away."
"Indeed!" he answered; "then it would seem you have forgot nothing;
but, nevertheless, I am anxious for your safety. Tell Gourville and
the rest that I shall be ready to a moment at the hour of vespers;
and, once beyond these prison-walls, the Court and Mazarin shall have
something to remember which they may find it not easy to forget. Fare
you well, young man; and be sure, that whether we succeed or not,
Condé will not be found ungrateful."
My errand was done, and of course I did not feel inclined to linger in
such dangerous circumstances.
Gathering up all the trumpery which I had brought with me on the
pretence of dressing his wound, I took my leave, and, retiring into
the ante-chamber, I knocked hard, as I had been told to do, in order
to call some one to the door. During nearly ten minutes, however, I
knocked in vain, and, of course, gradually increased the vehemence of
my application, till the whole passages rang again with the sound. At
length the governor appeared, and showered upon my head no mitigated
abuse for the noise which I had made. As it was necessary, however, to
proceed with the same caution in effecting my exit as I had employed
in procuring admittance to the prison, I resumed my air of stupidity,
and, muttering something about having knocked for ten minutes, I
glided past him as he locked the door, and walked on towards the
stairs. With a few more abusive epithets he suffered me to depart,
and, passing down into the court, the wicket gate was thrown open for
me to go out into the park.
As the soldier at the gate maliciously refused to open it any farther,
I was obliged to lead my pony through the wicket; and as the aperture
seemed much less than the animal conceived its own dignity and
magnitude required, it cost me nearly a quarter of an hour to force it
through. When this was at length effected, amidst the merriment of the
soldiery, I mounted, and proceeded on my way; nor did anything occur
in the course of my ride towards Paris which was worthy of remark,
except the fact of my meeting, at about twenty yards from the gate of
the château, one of the serjeants of the guard, who, with downcast
looks, and a rapid but unsteady pace, was returning towards the castle
which I had just left.