In which De Blenau gets out of the scrape.
The silence that reigned in the audience-hall of the Bastille after the
scene we have described, endured several minutes, during which each
person who remained within its walls, commented mutely on the
extraordinary events he had just witnessed. De Blenau's feelings were of
course mingled, of surprise at the King's unusual conduct, and
gratification at his own deliverance. The Governor's thoughts were
differently employed, looking forward to the fall of Richelieu,
speculating in regard to his successor, and trying to determine who
would be the best person to court in the changes that were likely to
ensue. "Like master, like man," says the adage; and the inferior
officers of the prison, in compliance therewith, calculated upon the
removal of the Governor as a consequence of the ruin of the Minister
who had placed him there, and laid their own minor plans for securing
their places.
De Blenau was the first to break silence. "Well, my friend," said he,
addressing the Governor, "I am to be your guest no longer, it seems; but
be assured that I shall not forget my promises."
"You are infinitely good, Monseigneur," answered the other, bowing
almost to the ground. "I hope you will believe that I have gone to the
very extreme of what my duty permitted, to afford you all convenience."
"I have no doubt of it," replied the Count; "but let me ask what has
become of my good friend, Philip, the woodman? He must not be
forgotten."
The knowledge of the severity he had exercised towards poor Philip, in
the first heat of his anger, now called up a quick flush in the pale
cheek of the Governor; and he determined to shelter himself from the
resentment of his late prisoner, by telling him that the Woodman had
been liberated.
In those dangerous times, the acuteness of every one was sharpened by
continual exercise; and De Blenau's eye, fixing on the varying
countenance of his companion, soon detected that there was something
amiss, by the alteration which his question produced. "Monsieur le
Gouverneur," said he, "give me the truth. I promise you that every thing
shall be forgotten, provided you have not seriously injured him; but I
must know that the man is safe who has served me so faithfully."
"The fact then is this, Monseigneur," replied the Governor; "thinking it
best for all parties, I ordered this Monsieur Philip Grissolles to be
confined till after your examination to-day, lest any thing might
transpire that could injure you or me."
"You thought of yourself alone, Sir," answered De Blenau somewhat
bitterly; "but see that he be restored to that degree of liberty which
you were ordered at first to permit, or you will hear more of me--"
As he spoke, the door of the audience-hall, communicating with the outer
court, was thrown open so suddenly as to make the Governor start a pace
back, and Chavigni entered the room with a countenance, from which all
his efforts could not banish the anxiety of his mind. Naturally quick
and impatient, it often happened that his long training in the school of
political duplicity did not suffice to overcome the struggles of his
original disposition; and even the violent effort to conquer the native
earnestness and impatience of his character would sometimes produce more
visible marks of its working than if he had suffered his passions to
take their course. In the present instance, his fine features were drawn
and sharpened by the attempt to drive from them any expression of his
feelings, and his eye flashed with ill-subdued fire, as he irritated
himself with a thousand conjectures concerning the latent movers of the
recent occurrences. On entering, he pointed with his hand towards the
door for the Governor to leave them; and seeing that he did not
immediately obey, he exclaimed in no very placable voice, "Begone! I
wish Monsieur de Blenau's company alone.--What do you wait for? Oh,
there is the order for his liberation--There, take your pack with you."
And he pointed to the lower officers of the prison, who thus dismissed,
quickly followed the Governor as he shrunk away from the Statesman's
hasty and irritable glance.
"Monsieur de Blenau," said Chavigni, as soon as the door was closed, "it
was not worth while to detain you here for an hour or two, till such
time as the order could be sent for your emancipation; I therefore drew
it out in the lodge.--But you owe me nothing for that;" he continued,
seeing that De Blenau was about to thank him for the supposed service.
"I made it an excuse to stay behind, in order to seek an answer to a
question or two. Now, I make no pretence of asking you these questions
as a friend, for I know that you consider me not as such; but I do it
merely on my own account, wishing for information on some points
regarding which you alone can satisfy me. It is your business,
therefore, to consider before you answer, whether so to do be for your
interest or not. The only thing I will promise, which I do honestly, is,
not to let your replies go beyond my own breast."
"The method of your address is certainly extraordinary, Monsieur de
Chavigni," replied De Blenau: "but however we may differ on many points,
I give you credit for so much frankness, that I believe you would not
betray even your enemy if he relied on you: neither do I know, or rather
recollect, at this moment, any question I should hesitate to answer.
Therefore propose what you think fit, and I will satisfy you, or not, as
suits my convenience."
"Between you and me, Monsieur de Blenau, there is no need of fine
words. I have always found you strictly honourable, and therefore I rely
on what you tell me, as if it were within the scope of my own knowledge.
In the first place, then, you have been witness to an extraordinary
scene to-day.--Are you at all aware from what cause the King has acted
as he has done, so at variance with his conduct for fifteen years?"
"Particularly, I am aware of no cause, and can only conjecture that his
Majesty is tired of being dictated to by his servant?"
"Umph!" said Chavigni, in a tone of dissatisfaction; "there is no need
to triumph, Monsieur de Blenau. Am I to believe that you know of no one
who has instigated the King to take such singular steps in your favour?"
"Of none whatever!" answered the Count; "unless it were her Majesty the
Queen,--the effect of any application from whom, would be quite
different, I should conceive."
"No, no, no!" said Chavigni. "It was not on her that my suspicions
rested. I must have been mistaken. One word more.--Have you had any late
communication with Monsieur de Cinq Mars?"
"About three weeks ago I wrote to him from St. Germain, sending some
young hounds for the King's service; but that was long before I dreamed
of finding my way hither."
"I must have been mistaken," repeated Chavigni. "I thank you, Monsieur
de Blenau. This must be a whim of the King's own--God grant it! for then
the humour will soon pass."
"And now, Sir," said De Blenau, "that I have answered your questions,
there are one or two subjects on which you might give me satisfaction.
Are you inclined to do so?"
"If I can, without injuring myself or others, or disclosing any plan
that I am desirous to conceal," replied the Statesman.
"My questions shall regard the past, and not the future," said De
Blenau; "and are intended merely to gratify my own curiosity. In the
first place then, I once saw you at St. Germain, in conversation with a
demoiselle attached to Mademoiselle de Beaumont--to what did your
business with her refer?"
"I did not think you had seen us," replied Chavigni. "I might answer
that I was making love, and probably you thought so as well as she did
herself; but my conversation referred to you. I found that she had been
present when Seguin, the surgeon, brought the news of your having been
wounded to the Queen: and from her also I learned the words he made use
of to let her know that you had not lost the packet which you had upon
you in the wood of Mantes."
"Monsieur de Chavigni," said De Blenau, with more cordiality in his
manner than he usually evinced towards the Statesman; "the world is too
well aware of your domestic happiness for any one to suspect you of
degrading yourself to a soubrette; I thank you for your candour. Now
tell me, is a poor man, called Philip, the woodman, detained here on my
account? and why is he so?"
"He is," replied Chavigni, "and the reason is this:--he happened to
recognize amongst those who attacked you a servant of mine, and was fool
enough to tell it abroad, so that it reached the King's ears. Now,
though every thing is justifiable in the service of the State, I did not
particularly wish that business investigated, and I therefore put
Monsieur Philip in here to keep him out of the way for a time. You are
now of course aware why you were attacked. It was to secure the papers
on your person, which papers we supposed were part of a treasonable
correspondence between the Queen and the Spanish Government. All that is
now over; and therefore, if you will promise me not to stir the business
of that affray in any way--which indeed would do you no good--this
meddling Woodman shall have his liberty."
"I never had the slightest intention of stirring it," replied De Blenau;
"and therefore rest satisfied on that score. But at the same time I must
tell you that the whole affair came to the King's ears through me, and
not through the Woodman, I believe. I observed your servant, as well as
he did, and did not fail to write of it to several of my friends, as
well as speak of it openly on more than one occasion; and this, depend
upon it, has been the means by which it reached the ears of the King,
and not by poor Philip."
"Then I have done him wrong," said Chavigni, "and must make him some
amends.--Let me see.--Oh, he shall be Sub-lieutenant of the forest; it
will just suit him. And now, Monsieur de Blenau, as a friend, let me
give you one piece of advice. This country is in a troubled and
uncertain state, and there will be, doubtless, many plots and cabals
going on. Retire, as you are commanded, into Bourbon; and if any one
attempt to lead you into any conspiracy, so far from acceding, do not
even listen to them; for the Cardinal owes you something for what has
happened to-day, and he is not one to forget such debts. The eye of an
angry man is upon you!--so be as guarded as if you trod amongst vipers.
The time will come when you will say that Chavigni has advised you
well."
"And it is certainly advice which I shall follow, both from reason and
inclination. But let me ask--am I to consider the King's prohibition
strict in regard to communicating with any one at the Court?"
Chavigni thought for a moment, and De Blenau imagined that he was
considering the circumstances under which Louis's command had been
given; but it was not so. The mind of the Statesman rapidly reverted to
Pauline de Beaumont, all his precautions with regard to whom turned out
to be nugatory; and he now calculated the consequences which were likely
to ensue under the present state of affairs. He had no fear, indeed, in
regard to the responsibility he had taken upon himself; for it would be
easy to prove, in case of investigation, that Pauline had attempted in
disguise to communicate privately with a State prisoner in the
Bastille, which would completely justify the measures he had pursued;
but he wished on all accounts to let a matter drop and be forgotten
which had already produced such disagreeable events, and he therefore
determined boldly to inform Madame de Beaumont of what had been done,
and the motives for doing it; and then--certain that for her own sake
she would keep silence on the subject--to restore her daughter with all
speed.
Though the thoughts of Chavigni were very rapid in combination, yet all
these considerations occupied him so long, that De Blenau, perceiving
his companion plunged into so profound a reverie, took the liberty of
pulling him out by the ear, repeating his former question, whether he
was to consider the King's prohibition in regard to communicating with
the Court as strictly to be observed.
"Undoubtedly!" replied Chavigni: "beyond all question! You do not want
to get into the Bastille again, do you? Oh! I perceive it is
Mademoiselle de Beaumont you are thinking of. But you cannot see her.
She is neither in Paris, nor at St. Germain; but I will take care that
when she joins her mother in Paris, she shall be informed of your
safety; and you can write yourself when you get into the Bourbonnois."
The reader, who is behind the scenes, may probably take the trouble of
pitying De Blenau for the anxiety he would suffer on hearing that
Pauline was neither at St. Germain nor in Paris; but there is no
occasion to distress himself. De Blenau knowing that Pauline had
absented herself from the court for the purpose of conveying to him the
epistle of the Queen, naturally concluded that Chavigni had been
deceived in regard to her absence, and that she was at all events in
safety wherever she was.
In the mean time Chavigni proceeded. "You must of course go to St.
Germain, to prepare for your journey; but stay even there as few hours
as you well may. Remember, I have told you, the eye of an angry man is
upon you!--To-day is yours--to-morrow may be his--take care that by the
least imprudence you do not turn your sunshine into storm. That you may
make all speed, I will lend you a horse; for I own I take some interest
in your fate--I know not why--It shall be at the gates in an hour,
together with an order for the Woodman's liberation: so now, farewell.
I have wasted too much time on you already."
With this speech, half kind, half rude, Chavigni left De Blenau. Whether
the Statesman's motives were wholly friendly, or whether they might not
be partly interested, proceeding from a nice calculation of the
precarious state both of the Cardinal's health and of his power, weighed
with the authority the Queen might gain from the failure of either, the
Count did not stay to investigate, although a suspicion of the latter
kind flashed across his mind. In this, however, he did Chavigni
injustice. In natural character he was not unlike De Blenau himself,
frank, honourable, and generous; but education is stronger than nature;
and education had made them different beings.
On the departure of the Statesman, the Count returned once more to the
apartment he had occupied while a prisoner, with no small
self-gratulation on the change in his situation. Here he busied himself
in preparations for his departure, and took pains to ascertain that the
paper written by the unhappy Caply still remained in the book, as well
as that the file was yet in the position which it described. Having
finished this examination, which he looked upon as a duty to the next
person destined to inhabit that abode, he waited impatiently till the
hour should be passed which Chavigni had named as the time likely to
elapse before the horse he promised would be prepared.
Ere it had flown much more than half, however, the Governor entered the
chamber, and with many profound bows and civil speeches, informed him
that Monsieur de Chavigni had sent a horse for his use, and an order for
the immediate liberation of Philip, the woodman. De Blenau was gratified
by Chavigni's prompt fulfilment of his word in this last respect; and
remembering the thousand crowns which he had promised the Governor on
his liberation, he placed them in his hands, which brought him very near
to the end of the large sum of gold that his valise contained.
Now De Blenau was perfectly well convinced that the Governor was as
great a rogue as need be; but there is something so expansive in the
idea of being liberated from prison, that he could not bear the thought
of keeping his louis shut up in a bag any longer, and he poured them
forth into the Governor's palm with as much satisfaction as if he was
emancipating so many prisoners himself.
An _ecu courant_ was worth, in that day, about three francs, and a
_louis d'or_ somewhere about four-and-twenty (more or less, according to
the depreciation), so that eight ecus, or crowns, went to the louis;
and, consequently, the sum of one thousand crowns amounted very nearly
to one hundred and twenty-five golden louis, which was a very pretty
reward for a rogue to receive for being a rascal in a good cause:
nevertheless, the Governor, even when he had safely clutched the
promised fee, looked very wistfully at a little green silk bag, which De
Blenau reserved in his left hand, and which he calculated must contain
about the same sum, or more.
The Count, however, held it firm; and having given directions to whom,
and when, his baggage was to be delivered, he descended into the inner
court, and cast his eyes round in search of his faithful friend Philip.
But the Woodman had received at once his emancipation from the dungeon
where we last left him, and the news that De Blenau was free; and though
he lingered in the court to see the young Count depart, with something
both of joy and pride in his feelings, yet there was a sort of timid
delicacy in the peasant's mind, which made him draw back from
observation, amidst the crowd of prisoners that the court now contained,
the moment that he perceived the Governor, with many a servile cringe,
marshalling the late prisoner towards the gate of the Bastille; while
those less fortunate persons, still destined to linger out their time
within its walls, stood off with curious envying looks, to allow a
passage for him now freed from their sad fellowship. De Blenau, however,
was by no means forgetful of the Woodman, and not perceiving him amongst
the rest, he inquired where he was, of the obsequious Governor, who
instantly vociferated his name till the old arches echoed with the
sound. "Philip! Philip the woodman! Philip Grissolles!" cried the
Governor.
"Does he know that he is free altogether to return home?" demanded De
Blenau, seeing him approach.
"No, I believe not," replied the Governor. "I had the honour of waiting
first upon your Lordship."
Philip now came near, and De Blenau had the gratification of announcing
to him, unforestalled, that the storm had blown over, and that he might
now return to his cottage in peace. He also told him of the appointment
with which Chavigni proposed to compensate his imprisonment--an office
so elevated, that the gayest day-dreams of Philip's ambition had never
soared to half its height. But the joy of returning to the bosom of his
family, to the calm shelter of his native forest, and the even tenor of
his daily toil, swallowed up all his feelings--A throne would not have
made him happier; and the tears of delight streaming down his rough
cheek, brought a glistening drop too into De Blenau's eye. Noble and
aristocratic as he was, De Blenau felt that there was an aristocracy
above all--the nobility of virtue; and he did not disdain to grasp the
broad hand of the honest Woodman. "Fare you well, Philip," he said.
"Fare you well, till we meet again. I shall not easily forget you."
The Woodman felt something more weighty in his palm than the hand of De
Blenau, and looked at the heavy green purse which remained in it with a
hesitating glance. But the Count raised his finger to his lip with a
smile. "Not a word," said he, "not a word, as you value my friendship."
And turning round, he followed the Governor through the various passages
to the outer court, where stood Chavigni's horse caparisoned for his
journey. De Blenau sprang into the saddle with the lightness of
recovered freedom. The heavy gate was thrown open, the drawbridge fell,
and, striking the sides of his horse with his armed heel, the newly
emancipated prisoner bounded over the clattering boards of the
_pontlevé_, and with a lightened heart took the road to St. Germain.
His journey was soon made, and, as he approached the place of his
destination, all the well-known objects round about seemed as if there
shone upon them now a brighter and more beautifying sun than when he
last beheld them. At his hotel all was gladness and delight, and
crowding round their loved Lord, with smiles of welcome, his attendants
could scarcely be made to comprehend that he was again about to quit St.
Germain. De Blenau's commands, however, immediately to prepare for a
long journey, recalled them to their duty; and eager to accompany him
wherever he went, their arrangements were soon completed, and the
Majordomo announced that all were ready.
Not so the Count himself, who, notwithstanding the King's command, could
not resolve to quit St. Germain's without visiting the Palace. Sending
forward, therefore, his train to the entrance of the forest, he
proceeded on foot to the gate of the Park, and crossing the terrace,
entered the chateau by the small door in the western quadrangle.
Perhaps De Blenau was not without a hope that Pauline might have
returned thither from Paris; and at first, meeting none of the royal
servants, he walked from empty chamber to chamber, with a degree of
undefined expectation that in each he should find the object of his
wishes: but of course his search was in vain, and descending to the
lower part of the building, he proceeded to the Porter's chamber, who,
having received no news to the contrary, informed him that the whole
Court were still at Chantilly.
I know not why it is, but somehow the heart, by long association with
particular objects, forms as it were a friendship even with things
inanimate, when they have been the silent witnesses of our hopes or our
happiness; they form a link between us and past enjoyment, a sort of
landmark for memory to guide us back to happy recollections; and to quit
them, like every other sort of parting, has no small degree of pain. We
are apt, too, to calculate all that may happen before we see them again,
and the knowledge of the innumerable multitude of human miseries, from
amongst which Fortune may choose, gives generally to such anticipations
a gloomy hue. Looking back upon the towers of St. Germain, De Blenau
felt as if he were parting from Pauline, and parting from her for a long
and indefinite time; and his heart sickened in spite of all the gay
dreams to which his liberation had at first given birth.
Who is there that even when futurity is decked in the brightest colours
which probability can lend to hope--when youth, and health, and ardent
imagination combine to guarantee all the promises of life--who is there,
that even then does not feel the painful influence of parting from any
thing that is loved? Who is there in the world, the summer of whose
bosom is so eternal, that at such moments, dark imaginings will not
cloud the warmest sunshine of their heart, and cast a gloomy uncertain
shadow on the most glowing scenes expectation can display? Just so De
Blenau. Fancy presented to his mind a thousand forebodings of evil, as
with many a lingering look he turned again and again towards the Palace;
and even when at length he was joined by his train, who waited at the
entrance of the forest, he was still absorbed in gloomy meditations.
However, he felt it was in vain, and springing on his horse, he turned
his face resolutely on his onward way.
Skirting along the wood, he soon reached Versailles, and thence
proceeding with little intermission, he arrived in time to pass the
night at Etampes, from which place he set out early the next morning for
Orleans. Continuing to trace along the course of the Loire with quick
stages, he soon arrived at Nevers, where he crossed the river, and
shortly after entered the Bourbonnois.