THE DRAGON VOLANT.
I took one look about me.
The building was picturesque; the trees made it more so. The
antique and sequestered character of the scene, contrasted
strangely with the glare and bustle of the Parisian life, to
which my eye and ear had become accustomed.
Then I examined the gorgeous old sign for a minute or two. Next I
surveyed the exterior of the house more carefully. It was large
and solid, and squared more with my ideas of an ancient English
hostelrie, such as the Canterbury pilgrims might have put up at,
than a French house of entertainment. Except, indeed, for a round
turret, that rose at the left flank of the house, and terminated
in the extinguisher-shaped roof that suggests a French château.
I entered and announced myself as Monsieur Beckett, for whom a
room had been taken. I was received with all the consideration
due to an English milord, with, of course, an unfathomable purse.
My host conducted me to my apartment. It was a large room, a little
sombre, panelled with dark wainscoting, and furnished in a stately and
sombre style, long out of date. There was a wide hearth, and a heavy
mantelpiece, carved with shields, in which I might, had I been curious
enough, have discovered a correspondence with the heraldry on the outer
walls. There was something interesting, melancholy, and even depressing
in all this. I went to the stone-shafted window, and looked out upon a
small park, with a thick wood, forming the background of a château,
which presented a cluster of such conical-topped turrets as I have just
now mentioned.
The wood and château were melancholy objects. They showed signs
of neglect, and almost of decay; and the gloom of fallen
grandeur, and a certain air of desertion hung oppressively over
the scene.
I asked my host the name of the château.
"That, Monsieur, is the Château de la Carque," he answered.
"It is a pity it is so neglected," I observed. "I should say,
perhaps, a pity that its proprietor is not more wealthy?"
"Perhaps so, Monsieur."
"_Perhaps_?"--I repeated, and looked at him. "Then I suppose he
is not very popular."
"Neither one thing nor the other, Monsieur," he answered; "I
meant only that we could not tell what use he might make of
riches."
"And who is he?" I inquired.
"The Count de St. Alyre."
"Oh! The Count! You are quite sure?" I asked, very eagerly.
It was now the innkeeper's turn to look at me.
"_Quite_ sure, Monsieur, the Count de St. Alyre."
"Do you see much of him in this part of the world?"
"Not a great deal, Monsieur; he is often absent for a
considerable time."
"And is he poor?" I inquired.
"I pay rent to him for this house. It is not much; but I find he
cannot wait long for it," he replied, smiling satirically.
"From what I have heard, however, I should think he cannot be
very poor?" I continued.
"They say, Monsieur, he plays. I know not. He certainly is not
rich. About seven months ago, a relation of his died in a distant
place. His body was sent to the Count's house here, and by him
buried in Père la Chaise, as the poor gentleman had desired. The
Count was in profound affliction; although he got a handsome
legacy, they say, by that death. But money never seems to do him
good for any time."
"He is old, I believe?"
"Old? we call him the 'Wandering Jew,' except, indeed, that he
has not always the five _sous_ in his pocket. Yet, Monsieur, his
courage does not fail him. He has taken a young and handsome
wife."
"And, she?" I urged--
"Is the Countess de St. Alyre."
"Yes; but I fancy we may say something more? She has attributes?"
"Three, Monsieur, three, at least most amiable."
"Ah! And what are they?"
"Youth, beauty, and--diamonds."
I laughed. The sly old gentleman was foiling my curiosity.
"I see, my friend," said I, "you are reluctant--"
"To quarrel with the Count," he concluded. "True. You see,
Monsieur, he could vex me in two or three ways; so could I him.
But, on the whole, it is better each to mind his business, and to
maintain peaceful relations; you understand."
It was, therefore, no use trying, at least for the present.
Perhaps he had nothing to relate. Should I think differently,
by-and-by, I could try the effect of a few Napoleons. Possibly
he meant to extract them.
The host of the Dragon Volant was an elderly man, thin, bronzed,
intelligent, and with an air of decision, perfectly military. I
learned afterwards that he had served under Napoleon in his early
Italian campaigns.
"One question, I think you may answer," I said, "without risking
a quarrel. Is the Count at home?"
"He has many homes, I conjecture," said the host evasively.
"But--but I think I may say, Monsieur, that he is, I believe, at
present staying at the Château de la Carque."
I looked out of the window, more interested than ever, across the
undulating grounds to the château, with its gloomy background of
foliage.
"I saw him to-day, in his carriage at Versailles," I said.
"Very natural."
"Then his carriage and horses and servants are at the château?"
"The carriage he puts up here, Monsieur, and the servants are
hired for the occasion. There is but one who sleeps at the
château. Such a life must be terrifying for Madame the Countess,"
he replied.
"The old screw!" I thought. "By this torture, he hopes to extract
her diamonds. What a life! What fiends to contend with--jealousy
and extortion!"
The knight having made this speech to himself, cast his eyes once
more upon the enchanter's castle, and heaved a gentle sigh--a
sigh of longing, of resolution, and of love.
What a fool I was! and yet, in the sight of angels, are we any
wiser as we grow older? It seems to me, only, that our illusions
change as we go on; but, still, we are madmen all the same.
"Well, St. Clair," said I, as my servant entered, and began to
arrange my things. "You have got a bed?"
"In the cock-loft, Monsieur, among the spiders, and, _par ma
foi_! the cats and the owls. But we agree very well. _Vive la
bagatelle_!"
"I had no idea it was so full."
"Chiefly the servants, Monsieur, of those persons who were
fortunate enough to get apartments at Versailles."
"And what do you think of the Dragon Volant?"
"The Dragon Volant! Monsieur; the old fiery dragon! The devil
himself, if all is true! On the faith of a Christian, Monsieur,
they say that diabolical miracles have taken place in this
house."
"What do you mean? _Revenants_?"
"Not at all, sir; I wish it was no worse. _Revenants_? No! People
who have _never_ returned--who vanished, before the eyes of
half-a-dozen men, all looking at them."
"What do you mean, St. Clair? Let us hear the story, or miracle,
or whatever it is."
"It is only this, Monsieur, that an ex-master-of-the-horse of the
late king, who lost his head--Monsieur will have the goodness to
recollect, in the revolution--being permitted by the Emperor to
return to France, lived here in this hotel, for a month, and at
the end of that time vanished, visibly, as I told you, before the
faces of half-a-dozen credible witnesses! The other was a Russian
nobleman, six feet high and upwards, who, standing in the centre
of the room, downstairs, describing to seven gentlemen of
unquestionable veracity, the last moments of Peter the Great, and
having a glass of _eau de vie_ in his left hand, and his _tasse
de café_, nearly finished, in his right, in like manner vanished.
His boots were found on the floor where he had been standing;
and the gentleman at his right, found, to his astonishment, his
cup of coffee in his fingers, and the gentleman at his left, his
glass of _eau de vie_--"
"Which he swallowed in his confusion," I suggested.
"Which was preserved for three years among the curious articles
of this house, and was broken by the _curé_ while conversing with
Mademoiselle Fidone in the housekeeper's room; but of the Russian
nobleman himself, nothing more was ever seen or heard! _Parbleu!_
when _we_ go out of the Dragon Volant, I hope it may be by the
door. I heard all this, Monsieur, from the postillion who drove
us."
"Then it _must_ be true!" said I, jocularly: but I was beginning
to feel the gloom of the view, and of the chamber in which I
stood; there had stolen over me, I know not how, a presentiment
of evil; and my joke was with an effort, and my spirit flagged.