Still, at the time I believed it fully; and, after a few minutes given
to wild, confused imaginings, I sat down and forcibly collected my
thoughts, to bend them upon all the circumstances of my fate. My
mother's spirit must have appeared to me, I thought, as a warning,
probably of my own approaching death: but death was a thing that in
itself I little feared; and all I hoped was, that some opportunity
might be given me of distinguishing myself before the grave closed
over my mortal career. Now, all the trifles, which we have time to
make of consequence when existence seems indefinitely spread out
before us, lost their value in my eyes, as I imagined, or rather as I
felt, what we ought always to feel, that every hour of being is
limited. One plays boldly when one has nothing to lose, and carelessly
when one has nothing to gain; and thus, in the very fancy that life
was fleeting from me fast, I found a sort of confidence and firmness
of mind, which is generally only gained by long experience of our own
powers as compared with those of others.
While the thoughts of what I had seen were yet fresh in my mind, a
messenger announced to me that the prince desired my presence in the
great hall of the château as speedily as possible; and, without
staying to make any change of dress, I followed down the stairs. As I
was crossing the lesser court, I encountered my little attendant. He
had been straying somewhat negligently through the good town of Sedan,
and had been kept some hours at the gates of the citadel on his
return.
I had not time, however, to give him any very lengthened reprehension;
but bidding him go to my chamber and wait for me, I followed the
Count's servant to the council-hall.
It was a vast vaulted chamber in the very centre of the citadel; and
the candles upon the table in the midst, though they served
sufficiently to light the part of the room in which they were placed,
left the whole of the rest in semi-obscurity; so that when I entered I
could but see a group of dark figures, seated irregularly about a
council board, with several others dispersed in twos and threes,
talking together in various parts of the room, as if waiting the
arrival of some other person.
The words "Here he is, here he is!" pronounced more than once, as I
entered, made me almost fancy that the council had delayed its
deliberations for me; but the vanity of such an idea soon received a
rebuff, for a moment after, the voice of the Count de Soissons
himself, who sat at the head of the table, replied, "No, no, it is
only the Count de l'Orme. Monsieur de Guise disdains to hurry himself,
let who will wait."
Advancing to the table, I now found Monsieur le Comte, with
Bardouville, Varicarville, St. Ibal, and several others whom I did not
know, seated round the table, while the Duke of Bouillon was
conversing with some strangers at a little distance. But my greatest
surprise was to find Monsieur de Retz near the Count de Soissons,
though I left him so short a time before at Paris. He seemed to be in
deep thought; but his ideas, I believe, were not quite so abstracted
as they appeared: and on my approaching him, he rose and embraced me
as if we had known each other for centuries, saying at the same time
in my ear, "I hear you have received the true faith. Be a martyr to it
this night, if it be necessary."
I now took a seat next to Varicarville, who whispered to me, "We have
here an ambassador from Spain, and you will see how laudably willing
we Frenchmen are to be gulled. He will promise us men and money, and
what not, this Marquis de Villa Franca; but when the time comes for
performance, not a man nor a stiver will be forthcoming."
"Perhaps I may thwart him," replied I, remembering, at the sound of
his name, that I had in my hands a pledge of some worth in the
diamonds which Achilles had pilfered at Barcelona. Varicarville looked
surprised; but at that moment our conversation was interrupted by the
Duke of Bouillon turning round, and observing that the conduct of
Monsieur de Guise was unaccountable in keeping such an assembly
waiting in the manner which he did.
"To council, gentlemen!" said the Count, hastily. "We have waited too
long for this noble Prince of Loraine. To council!"
The rest of the party now took their seats, and the Baron de Beauvau
rising, informed the Count that he had executed faithfully his embassy
to the Archduke Leopold and the Cardinal Infant, who each promised to
furnish his highness with a contingent of seven thousand men, and two
hundred thousand crowns in money, in case he determined upon the very
just and necessary warfare to which he was called by the voice not
only of all France but all Europe--a war which, by one single blow,
would deliver his native country from her oppressor, and restore the
blessing of peace to a torn and suffering world. He then proceeded to
enter into various particulars and details, which I now forget; but it
was very easy to perceive from the whole that Monsieur de Beauvau was
one of the strongest advocates for war. He ended by stating that the
Marquis de Villa Franca, then present, had been sent by the Cardinal
Infant to receive the final determination of the Prince.
My eyes followed the direction of his as he spoke, and rested on a
tall, dark man, who sat next to the Duke of Bouillon, listening to
what passed, with more animation in his looks than the nobility of
Spain generally allowed to appear. He was simply dressed in black; but
about his person might be seen a variety of rich jewels, evidently
showing that the pillage which I had seen committed on his house at
Barcelona had not cured him of his passion for precious stones.
After the Baron de Beauvau had given an account of his mission, the
Duke of Bouillon rose, and said, that now, as the noble princes of the
house of Austria had made them such generous and friendly offers, and
sent a person of such high rank to receive their determination, all
that remained for them to do was, to fix finally whether they would,
by submitting to a base and oppressive minister, stoop their heads at
once to the block and axe, and add all the most illustrious names of
France to the catalogue of Richelieu's murders; or whether they would,
by one great and noble effort, cast off the chains of an usurper, and
free their king, their country, and themselves.
The Duke spoke long and eloquently. He urged the propriety of war upon
every different motive--upon expediency, upon necessity, upon
patriotism. He addressed himself first to the nobler qualities of his
hearers--their courage, their love of their country, their own honour,
and dignity; and then to those still stronger auxiliaries, their
weaknesses--their vanity, their ambition, their pride, their avarice;
but while he did so, he artfully spread a veil over them all, lest
shame should step in, and, recognising them in their nakedness, hold
them back from the point towards which he led them. He spoke as if for
the whole persons there assembled, and as if seeking to win them each
to his opinion; but his speech was, in fact, directed towards the
Count de Soissons, on whose determination of course the whole event
depended.
Varicarville did not suffer the Duke's persuasions to pass, without
casting his opinion in the still wavering balance of the Count's mind,
and urging in plain but energetic language every motive which could
induce the Prince to abstain from committing himself to measures that
he might afterwards disapprove.
It is a common weakness with irresolute people always to attach more
importance to a new opinion than to an old one; and Monsieur le Comte,
turning to De Retz, pressed him to speak his sentiments upon the
measure under consideration. The Abbé declined, protesting his
inexperience and incapability, as long as such abnegation might set
forth his modesty to the best advantage, and enhance the value of his
opinion; but when he found himself urged, he rose and spoke somewhat
to the following effect:--
"I see myself surrounded by the best and dearest friends of Monsieur
le Comte; and yet I am bold to say that there is not one noble
gentleman amongst them who has a warmer love for his person, or a
greater regard for his dignity and honour, than myself. Did I see that
dignity in danger, did I see that honour touched, by his remaining in
inactivity, my voice should be the first for war; but while both are
in security, nothing shall ever make me counsel him to a measure by
which both are hazarded. I speak merely of Monsieur le Comte, for it
is his interests that we are here to consider; it is he that must
decide our actions, and it is his honour and reputation that are
risked by the determination. To me it appears clear that, by remaining
at peace, his dignity is in perfect safety. His retreat to Sedan
guarded him against the meannesses to which the minister wished to
force him. The general hatred borne towards the Cardinal turns the
whole warmth of popular love and public admiration towards the Count's
exile. The favour of the people, also, is always more secure in
inactivity than in activity, because the glory of action depends upon
success, of which no one can be certain: that of inaction, in the
present circumstances, is sure, being founded on public hatred towards
a minister--one of those unalterable things on which one may always
count. The public always have hated, and always will hate the
minister, be he who he will, and be his talents and his virtues what
they may. He may have, at first, a momentary popularity, and he may
have brief returns of it; but envy, hatred, and malice towards the
minister are always at the bottom of the vulgar heart: and as they
could never get through life without having the devil to charge with
all their sins, so can they never be contented without laying all
their woes, misfortunes, cares, and grievances to the door of the
minister. Thus then, hating the Cardinal irremediably, they will
always love the Count as his enemy, unless his highness risks his own
glory by involving the nation in intestine strife. It is therefore my
most sincere opinion, that as long as the minister does not himself
render war inevitable, the interest, the honour, the dignity of the
Prince, all require peace. Richelieu's bodily powers are every day
declining, while the hatred of the people every day increases towards
him; and their love for Monsieur le Comte augments in the same
proportion. In the meanwhile, the eyes of all Europe behold with
admiration a Prince of the blood royal of France enduring a voluntary
exile, rather than sacrifice his dignity; and, with the power and
influence to maintain himself against all the arts and menaces of an
usurping minister, still patriotically refraining from the hazardous
experiment of war, which, in compensation for certain calamities,
offers nothing but a remote and uncertain event. Peace, then! let us
have peace! at least till such time as war becomes inevitable."
While De Retz spoke, the Duke of Bouillon had regarded him with a calm
sort of sneer, the very coolness of which led me to think that he
still calculated upon deciding the Prince to war; and the moment the
other had done, he observed, "_Monsieur le Damoisau, Souverain de
Commerci_"--one of the titles of De Retz--"methinks, for so young a
man, you are marvellously peaceably disposed."
"Duke of Bouillon!" said De Retz, fixing on him his keen dark eye,
"were it not for the gratitude which all the humble friends of
Monsieur le Comte feel towards you on his account, I should be tempted
to remind you, that you may not always be within the security of your
own bastions."
"Hush, hush, my friends!" cried the Count, "let us have no jarring at
our council-table. Bouillon, my noble cousin, you are wrong. De Retz
has surely as much right to express his opinion, when asked by me, as
any man present. Come, Monsieur de l'Orme, give us your counsel."
I replied without hesitation, that my voice was still for peace, as
long as it was possible to maintain it; but that when once war was
proved to be unavoidable, the more boldly it was undertaken, and the
more resolutely it was carried on, the greater was the probability of
success, and the surer the honour to be gained.
"Such also is my opinion," said the Prince; "and on this, then, let us
conclude to remain at peace till we are driven to war, but to act so
as to make our enemies repent it when they render war inevitable."
"Whether it is so or not, at this moment," said the Duke of Bouillon,
"your highness will judge, after having cast your eyes over that
paper"--and he laid a long written scroll before the Count de
Soissons.
The Count raised it, and all eyes turned upon him while he read. After
running over the first ordinary forms, the Count's brow contracted,
and, biting his lip, he handed the paper to Varicarville, bidding him
read it aloud. "It is fit," said he, "that all should know and
witness, that necessity, and not inclination, leads me to plunge my
country in the misfortunes of civil war. Read, Varicarville, read!"
Varicarville glanced his eyes over the paper, and then, with somewhat
of an unsteady voice, read the following proclamation:--
"_In the king's name!_[8] Dear and well-beloved. The fears which we
entertain, that certain rumours lately spread abroad of new factions
and conspiracies, whereby various of our rebellious subjects endeavour
to trouble the repose of our kingdom, should inspire you with vain
apprehensions, you not knowing the particulars, have determined us to
make those particulars public, in order that you may render thanks to
God for having permitted us to discover the plots of our enemies, in
time to prevent their malice from making itself felt, to the downfall
of the state.
"We should never have believed, after the lenity and favour which we
have on all occasions shown to our cousin the Count de Soissons, more
especially in having pardoned him his share in the horrible conspiracy
of 1636, that he would have embarked in similar designs, had not the
capture of various seditious emissaries, sent into our provinces for
the purpose of exciting rebellion, of levying troops against our
service, of debauching our armies, and of shaking the fidelity of our
subjects, together with the confessions of the said emissaries, fully
proved and established the criminality of our said cousin's designs.
"The levies which are publicly made under commissions from our said
cousin--the hostilities committed upon the bodies of our faithful
soldiers, established in guard upon the frontiers of Champagne--the
confession of the courier called Vausselle, who has most
providentially fallen into our hands, stating that he had been sent on
the part of the said Count de Soissons, the dukes of Guise and
Bouillon, to our dearly beloved brother, Gaston Duke of Orleans, for
the purpose of seducing our said brother to join and aid in the
treasonable plans of the said conspirators; and the farther confession
of the said Vausselle, stating that the Count de Soissons, together
with the dukes of Guise and Bouillon, conjointly and severally, had
treated and conspired with the Cardinal Infant of Spain, from whom
they had received and were to receive notable sums of money, and from
whom they expected the aid and abetment of various bodies of troops
and warlike munition, designed to act against their native country of
France, and us their born liege lord and sovereign;--these, and
various other circumstances having given us clear knowledge and
cognisance of that whereof we would willingly have remained in doubt,
we are now called upon, in justice to ourself and to our subjects, to
declare and pronounce the said Count de Soissons, together with the
dukes of Guise and Bouillon, and all who shall give them aid,
assistance, counsel, or abetment, enemies to the state of France, and
rebels to their lawful sovereign; without, within the space of one
month from the date hereof, they present themselves at our court,
wherever it may be for the time established, and humbly acknowledging
their fault, have recourse to our royal clemency. (Signed) LOUIS."
No paper could have been better devised for restoring union to the
councils of the Count de Soissons. War was now inevitable; and, after
a good deal of hurried, desultory conversation, in which no one but
the Duke of Bouillon showed any great presence of mind, my opinion, as
the youngest person at the table, was the first formally called for by
the Count de Soissons. I had not yet spoken since the King's
proclamation had been read, and had been sitting listening with some
surprise to find that men of experience, talents, and high repute,
carried on great enterprises in the same desultory and irregular
manner that schoolboys would plot a frolic on their master. I rose,
however, with the more boldness, while Varicarville muttered to
himself "the Spaniard will carry the day." I resolved, however, that
this prognostication should not be wholly fulfilled, if I could help
it; and addressing Monsieur le Comte, I said, "Your highness has done
me the honour of asking my opinion. There can be now, I believe, but
one. War appears to me to be now necessary, not only to your dignity,
but to your safety; and whereas I before presumed to recommend
inaction, I now think that nothing but activity can insure us success.
For my own part, I am ready to take any post your highness may think
fit to assign me. One of the first things, however, I should conceive,
would be to secure the capital; and the next, to complete the levies
of troops, so that the regiments be filled to their entire number.
Neither of these objects are to be effected without money; and as the
Cardinal Infant has promised a considerable sum, and the minister in
his proclamation gives you credit for having received it, I hope the
Marquis de Villa Franca comes prepared to fulfil, at least in part,
the expectations held out by his royal principal."
"Most unfortunately," replied the Marquis, in very good French, "at
the time of my departure, no idea was entertained that the French
government would so precipitate its measures, otherwise his highness,
the Cardinal Infant, would have sent the promised subsidy at the time,
and I know that no one will regret so much as he does, this
unavoidable delay."
Varicarville looked at me with a meaning smile; and indeed it was
evident enough, as it was afterwards proved by her conduct, that Spain
was willing to hurry us into war, without lending us any aid to bring
it to a successful determination. I therefore rejoined without
hesitation, feeling that the proverbial rashness of youth would excuse
some flippancy, and that I could not carry through my plan without--
"Under these circumstances, it seems to me very likely that Spain, our
excellent ally, will save both her money and her troops, for probably,
before her tardy succour arrives, we shall have struck the blow and
gained the battle."
"But what can be done, young sir?" demanded Villa Franca, hastily:
"Spain will keep her promise to the very utmost. On my honour, on my
conscience, had I the means of raising any part of the sum in time to
be of service, I would myself advance it, notwithstanding the immense
losses I sustained by the Catalonian rebels."
Many a man's honour and his conscience would be in a very
uncomfortable situation if the means of taking them out of pawn were
presented to him on a sudden. That consideration, however, did not
induce me to spare Monsieur de Villa Franca, whom I believed, from all
I had heard of him, to be as tergiversating a diplomatist as ever the
subtle house of Austria had sent forth. I replied, therefore, "If that
be the case--and who can doubt the noble Marquis's word?--I think I
can furnish the means whereby Monsieur de Villa Franca can fulfil his
generous designs, and put it in his power instantly to raise great
part of the sum required."
Every one stared, and no one more than the Marquis himself; but rising
from the council-table, I whispered to Varicarville to keep the same
subject under discussion till I returned; and flying across the courts
of the arsenal, I mounted to my own chamber. "Achilles," cried I, as
soon as I entered, "the Marquis de Villa Franca is here in the
arsenal; are you still resolved to restore him the diamonds?"
"I am resolved to have nothing to do with them myself," replied
Achilles; "for since the adventure at Lyons, I find that I had better
give up both gold and diamonds, and content myself with simple silver
for the rest of my life, if I would not be whipped through the
streets, and turned out in a grey gown: but as to giving them back,
all I can say is, your sublimity is a great fool, if you do not keep
them yourself."
"It will be of more service to me to give them than to keep them,"
replied I; "but I will not do so without your consent;" and having by
this time drawn them out of the valise, I held them out towards him.
"Give them, give them then, in God's name!" cried the little man,
shutting his eyes; "but do not let me see them, for their sparkling
makes my resolution wax dim. Take them away, monseigneur! if you love
me, take them away. My virtue is no better than that of Danäe of old."
I did as he required, and hurried back to the council chamber, where
all eyes turned upon me as I entered; and I found that the five
minutes of my absence had been wasted on conjectures of what I could
mean. "Monsieur de Villa Franca," said I, as soon as I had taken my
seat, "you said, I think, that if you had any means of raising even a
part of the sum required, in time to be of service, you would advance
it yourself, upon your honour and conscience. Now it so happened, that
a person with whom I am acquainted, was at Barcelona when your house
was plundered, and in that city bought this string of diamonds, which
were said to have belonged to you," and I held them up glittering in
the light, while the eyes of the Marquis seemed to sparkle in rivalry.
"He gave them to me," I proceeded; "and I am willing to return them to
you, upon condition that you instantly pledge them to three quarters
of their value, to the jewellers of this city; the money arising
therefrom to be poured into the treasury of Monsieur le Comte; and you
shall also give farther an hundred pistoles to the person who saved
them from the hands of the rabble of Barcelona, he being a poor and
needy man."
The proposal was received with loud applause by every one, except the
Marquis de Villa Franca, whose face grew darker and darker at every
word I spoke. "This is very hard!" said he, with the most evident
design in the world to retreat from his proposal. "Those diamonds are
family jewels of inestimable value to me."
"They are nevertheless diamonds which you shall never see again,"
replied I, "except upon the conditions which I mention. Nor do I see
that it _is_ hard. Monsieur le Comte will give you an acknowledgment
for so much as they produce, as a part of the subsidy from Spain,
advanced by you. Upon the sight of that, your own Prince will repay
you, deducting that sum from the amount which he is about to transmit
to Monsieur le Comte."
"Monsieur de l'Orme's observation is just," said the Duke of Bouillon.
"You expressed the most decided conviction, Monsieur le Marquis, that
his royal highness would instantly send us the subsidy; if so, the
Count de Soissons' acknowledgment will be as good as a bill of
exchange upon your own prince."
"But the proverb says," replied the Marquis, "Put not your faith in
princes."
"It should have said, Put not your faith in Marquises," rejoined I,
somewhat indignant at his attempts at evasion. "However, Monsieur le
Marquis, the matter stands thus: if you consent to what I propose, we
will send for the jewellers, the sum shall be paid, and you shall have
the Count's acknowledgment; then, if you can get the money from your
prince, you have the means of regaining the diamonds, with the sole
loss of a hundred pistoles. If your prince did not intend to pay the
subsidy, and you were not quite convinced that he would pay it, you
should not have promised it here, in his name, and backed it with your
most solemn assurances of your own conviction on the subject. At all
events, whether he pays it or not, you are no worse than when you
thought the diamonds were irretrievably lost; but so far the better,
that you have had an opportunity of showing how _willingly_ you
perform what you pledged your honour and conscience you would do if
you had the means."
A slight laugh that ran round the council-table at this last sentence,
I believe, determined Monsieur de Villa Franca to yield without any
more resistance, seeing very well, at the same time, that the only
existing chance of recovering his diamonds at all, was to consent to
what I proposed.
He felt well convinced, I am sure, that the Cardinal Infant had not
the slightest intention in the world of paying the sum which he had
promised; but, however, he had a better chance of obtaining his part
thereof than any one else; and therefore, as there was no other means
of insuring that his beloved brilliants would not be scattered over
half the habitable globe before six weeks were over, he signified his
assent to their being deposited with the jewellers of Sedan, in a tone
of resignation worthy of a martyr.
The syndic of the jewellers, with two or three of his most reputable
companions, were instantly sent for by the council; and during the
absence of the messengers, a variety of particulars were discussed,
and various plans were adopted for the purpose of commencing the war
with vigour, and carrying it on with success. Amongst other things,
the Prince announced his intention of intrusting all the steps
preparatory to a general rising of the people of the capital, to De
Retz and myself; and though I thought that there were one or two
dissatisfied looks manifested upon the subject, no one judged fit to
object. Probably, weighing the risk with the honour, they were quite
as much pleased to be excused the Count's enterprize, as discontented
at not having been distinguished by his selection.
At length the jewellers were brought before the council; and by their
lugubrious looks it was evident that the worthy citizens of Sedan
expected their noble and considerate Prince to wring from them a heavy
subsidy. Their brows cleared, however, when the diamonds were laid
before them, and their opinion of the value was demanded; and after
some consultation they named a hundred and fifty thousand crowns as a
fair price.
The farther arrangements were soon made; the merchants willingly
agreeing to advance a hundred thousand crowns, upon the deposit of the
jewels, before the next morning. As soon as this was concluded, the
Marquis de Villa Franca drew forth his purse, and counting out a
hundred pistoles, he pushed them across the table towards me, saying,
with a sneering smile, "I suppose, though your modesty has led you,
sir, to put the good deed upon another, it is in fact yourself whom I
have to thank for so generously saving my diamonds, amongst the
plundering banditti of Barcelona?"
The blood for an instant rushed up to my cheek, but it needed no long
deliberation to show me that anger was but folly on such an occasion;
and I therefore replied with a smile, "Your pardon, most noble sir!
the person who with his own right hand captured your diamonds is a
much more tremendous person than myself, so much so, that his enormous
size and chivalrous prowess have obtained for him the name of
Achilles. I will instantly send for him, and you shall pay him the
money yourself, when you will perceive, that had he been inclined to
keep your jewels with a strong hand, it would have been difficult to
have wrung them from him."
Achilles was brought in a minute; and when I presented the diminutive,
insignificant, little man to the Marquis, as the wonderful Achilles le
Franc, who had by the vigour of his invincible arm taken his diamonds,
the whole council burst into a laugh, in which no one joined more
heartily than Villa Franca himself.
Achilles received his pistoles with great glee, and I believe valued
them more than the diamonds themselves.
After this, it being late, the council broke up, and the Prince
retired to his own apartments, desiring to speak with De Retz and
myself, as he wished us to set out early the next morning for Paris.
When in his own chamber, he gave me an order for ten thousand crowns,
half of which he directed me to apply to his service amongst the
highly respectable persons to whom my mission was directed, and the
other half he bade me accept, as a half year's salary, advanced upon
the appointments of a gentleman of his bedchamber. It fortunately
happened, that the order directed his treasurer to pay the money out
of sums already in his hands; for I own that I should have entertained
some scruple in accepting the part destined for myself, if it had been
derived from the store of crowns which I had wrung out of the Marquis
de Villa Franca's diamonds. As it was, necessity put all hesitation
out of the question.
The Count had still a thousand cautions and directions to give, both
to myself and Monsieur de Retz, the only one of which necessary to
allude to here, was his desire that, while I remained in Paris, I
should inhabit the Hôtel de Soissons. This plan of proceeding was
suggested by De Retz, who laid it down as a maxim, that the sure means
of concealing one's actions was to act as nobody else would have done.
To insure me a kind reception, and full confidence from his mother,
the Count wrote her a short note, couched in such terms as would make
her comprehend his meaning without leading to any discovery, should it
fall into the hands of others. After this, we took our leave, and left
him to repose, retiring ourselves to make preparations for our journey
in the morning.