Wherein De Blenau finds out that he has made a mistake, and what
follows.
Having now conducted our truly-begotten friend, the Sieur Marteville,
considerably in advance of the rest of the characters in this true
history, it becomes us to show our impartiality by detailing the
principal actions of our other personages, and also to display the
causes which brought the noble Count de Chavigni to such a distance as
Narbonne, a little town in the southern nook of Languedoc, not above a
few leagues from Perpignan. However, as all these circumstances are
naturally explained in the history of the Count de Blenau, we may as
well follow him on the useless pursuit into which he had been led by
the precipitancy of Monsieur Henry de La Mothe, his page, who would have
saved his master a great deal of trouble and distress, as we all know,
if he had thought fit to see the Marquise de Beaumont; but young hounds
will often cry upon a wrong scent, and mislead those who should know
better.
Thus it happened in the present instance; and De Blenau, blinded by
anxiety for Pauline, took the suspicions of his Page for granted,
without examination. He knew that Chavigni scrupled not at any measures
which might serve a political purpose; he knew that the Norman was in
the immediate employment of the Statesman, and was still less delicate
in his notions than his master; and he doubted not that Pauline, having
been discovered issuing from the Bastille, had been carried off without
ceremony, and sent from Paris under the custody of the ci-devant robber.
At all events, De Blenau, as he rode along, composed a very plausible
chain of reasoning upon the subject; and far from supposing that the
Norman would avoid the wood in the neighbourhood of Mesnil, he
concluded, from his knowledge of Marteville's former habits, that a
forest filled with robbers would fulfil all his anticipations of
Paradise, and be too strong an attraction to be resisted.
Thus cogitating, he rode on to Decize, and thence to Corbigny, where day
once more broke upon his path; and having been obliged to allow the
horses a few hours' rest, he tried in vain for some repose himself.
Auxerre was his next halt, but here only granting his domestics one hour
to refresh, he passed the Yonne, and soon after entered Champagne, which
traversing without stopping, except for a few minutes at Bar sur Seine,
he reached Troyes before midnight, with man and horse too wearied to
begin their search before the following morning.
It unluckily so happened that De Blenau did not alight at the hotel of
the Grand Soleil, where he might have gained such information as would
in all probability have prevented his farther proceedings; and as the
keeper of the auberge where he stopped, was at open war with the
landlord of the Grand Soleil, to all the inquiries which were made the
next morning, the only reply the _aubergiste_ thought fit to give was,
that "indeed he could not tell; he had never seen such a person as De
Blenau described the Norman to be, or such a lady as Pauline;"--though,
be it remarked, every body in the house, after having gazed at
Marteville and Louise for a full hour on their arrival, had watched
their motions every day, and had wondered themselves stiff at who they
could be and what they could want. At length, however, De Blenau caught
hold of an unsophisticated hostler, of whom he asked if within the last
ten days he had seen a carriage stop or pass through the town containing
two such persons as he described.
The hostler replied, "No; that they seldom saw carriages there; that a
tall gentleman, like the one he mentioned, had ridden out of the town
just two days before with a lady on horseback; but Devil a carriage had
there been in Troyes for six years or more, except that of Monseigneur
the Governor."
De Blenau, glad of the least intimation where news seemed so scanty, now
described the Norman as particularly as he could from what he had seen
of him while speaking to Chavigni in the Park of St. Germain's, dwelling
upon his gigantic proportions, and the remarkable cut upon his cheek.
"Yes, yes!" replied the hostler, "that was the man; I saw him ride out
with a _jolie demoiselle_ on the road to Mesnil St. Loup; but Devil a
carriage has there been in Troyes for six years or more, except that of
Monseigneur the Governor."
"Well, well," replied De Blenau, wishing if possible to hear more,
"perhaps they might not be in a carriage. But can you tell me where they
lodged while in the city of Troyes?"
Even the obtuse faculties of the hostler had been drilled into knowing
nothing of any other auberge in the town but his own. "Can't tell,"
replied he. "Saw him and the lady ride out on horseback; but Devil a
carriage has there been in Troyes for six years or more, except that of
Monseigneur the Governor."
It may have been remarked, that a certain degree of impatience and
hastiness of determination was one of the prevailing faults of De
Blenau's disposition; and in this case, without waiting for farther
examination, he set out in pursuit of the Norman as soon as his horses
were ready, merely inquiring if there was any castle in the
neighbourhood of Mesnil which might serve for the confinement of State
prisoners.
The landlord, to whom the question was addressed, immediately determined
in his own mind, that De Blenau was an agent of the Government; and
replied, "None, that he knew of, but the old Chateau of St. Loup; but
that Monseigneur had better have it repaired before he confined any one
there, for it was so ruinous they would get out, to a certainty, if they
were placed there in its present state."
De Blenau smiled at the mistake, but prepossessed with the idea that the
Norman was carrying Pauline to some place of secret imprisonment, he
determined at once to proceed to the spot the _aubergiste_ mentioned,
and to traverse the wood from the high road to Troyes, as the most
likely route on which to encounter the Norman, against whom he vowed the
most summary vengeance, if fortune should afford him the opportunity.
As, from every report upon the subject, the forest had been for some
time past the resort of banditti, De Blenau gave orders to his servants
to hold themselves upon their guard, and took the precaution of throwing
forward two of his shrewdest followers, as a sort of reconnoitring
party, to give him intelligence of the least noise which could indicate
the presence of any human being besides themselves. But all these
measures seemed to be unnecessary; not a sound met the ear; and De
Blenau's party soon began to catch glimpses of the old Chateau of St.
Loup, through the breaks in the wood; and gradually winding round
towards the east, gained the slope which gave them a clear view of the
whole building.
The whole appearance of the place was so desolate and dilapidated, that
the first glance convinced De Blenau that Chavigni would never dream of
confining Pauline within such ruinous walls; as the mere consideration
of her rank would prevent him from using any unnecessary severity,
though her successful attempt to penetrate into the Bastille afforded a
plausible excuse for removing her from Paris. However, in order not to
leave the least doubt upon the subject, he mounted to the court-yard,
and having ascertained that every part of the building was equally unfit
for the purposes of a prison, and that it was actually uninhabited
except by owls and ravens, he determined to cross to a town, the spire
of whose church he saw rising on the opposite hill, and to pursue his
search in some other direction.
Descending, therefore, by the same slope which he had previously
mounted, he wound round the base of the hill much in the same path by
which Callot had conducted the Norman and Louise. The stream, however,
formed the boundary of his approach to the castle on that side; and
passing the rocks, which we have already mentioned as strewed about at
the foot of the precipices, he followed the course of the river, till,
winding into the wood, the castle, and the hill on which it stood, were
lost to the sight. Here as he rode slowly on, revolving various plans
for more successfully pursuing the Norman, and reproaching himself for
not having made more accurate inquiries at Troyes, his eye was suddenly
attracted by the appearance of something floating on the river like the
long black hair of a young woman.
De Blenau's heart sank within him; his courage failed, his whole
strength seemed to give way, and he sat upon his horse like a statue,
pointing with his hand towards the object that had thus affected him,
but without the power of uttering any order concerning it.
In the mean while the hair waved slowly backwards and forwards upon the
stream, and one of the servants perceiving it, dismounted from his
horse, waded into the water, and catching it in his grasp, began
dragging the body to which it was attached towards the brink. As he did
so, the part of a red serge dress, such as that in which Pauline had
visited the Bastille, floated to the surface, and offered a horrible
confirmation of De Blenau's fears. The first shock, however, was passed,
and leaping from his horse with agony depicted in his straining eye, he
sprang down the bank into the stream, and raising the face of the dead
person above the water, beheld the countenance of Louise.
Perhaps the immoderate joy which De Blenau felt at this sight might be
wrong, but it was natural; and sitting down on the bank, he covered his
face with his hands, overcome by the violent revolution of feeling which
so suddenly took place in his bosom.
In the mean while his servants drew the body of the unfortunate girl to
the bank, and speedily discovered that the mode of her death had been of
a more horrible description than even that which they had at first
supposed; for in her bosom appeared a deep broad gash as if from the
blow of a poniard, which had undoubtedly deprived her of life before
her murderer committed the body to the stream.
According to the costume of her country, Louise had worn upon the day of
her death two large white pockets above the jupe of red serge. These
were still attached to the black velvet bodice which she displayed in
honour of her marriage with the Norman, and contained a variety of
miscellaneous articles, amongst which were several epistles from her
husband to herself in the days of their courtship, which showed De
Blenau that she had been employed as a spy upon Pauline and Madame de
Beaumont ever since their arrival at St. Germain's: added to these was a
certificate of marriage between Jean Baptiste Marteville and Louise
Thibault, celebrated in the chapel of the Palais Cardinal, by François
Giraud. All this led De Blenau to conclude, that he had been misled in
regard to the cause of Pauline's absence from St. Germain's; and he
accordingly proceeded to the little bourg of Senecy on his return
towards Troyes, making his men bear thither the body of Louise with as
much decent solemnity as the circumstances admitted. Having here
intrusted to the good Curé of the place the charge of the funeral, and
given two sums for the very different purposes of promoting the
discovery of the murderer and buying a hundred masses for the soul of
the deceased, De Blenau pursued his journey, and arrived at Troyes
before night.
Putting up this time at the hotel of the Grand Soleil, De Blenau soon
acquired sufficient information to confirm him in the opinion that the
Norman had been accompanied by Louise alone; but at the same time, the
accounts which the people of the house gave respecting the kindness and
affection that Marteville had shown his bride, greatly shook the
suspicions which had been entertained against him by De Blenau, who,
unacquainted with any such character as that of the Norman, knew not
that there are men who, like tigers when unurged by hunger, will play
with their victims before they destroy them.
The next morning early, all was prepared for the departure of De Blenau,
on his return to Moulins, when his farther progress in that direction
was arrested by the arrival of Henry de La Mothe, his page, accompanied
by one of the King's couriers, who immediately presented to the Count
two packets, of which he had been the bearer from St. Germain's. The
first of these seemed, from the superscription, to be a common official
document; but the second attracted all his attention, and made his heart
beat high by presenting to him the genuine hand-writing of Pauline de
Beaumont. Without meaning any offence to Royalty, whose insignia were
impressed upon the seal of the other packet, De Blenau eagerly cut the
silk which fastened the billet from Pauline. It contained only a few
lines, but these were quite sufficient to give renewed happiness to the
heart of him who read it. She had just heard, she said, that the King's
messenger was about to set out, and though they hardly gave her time to
fold her paper, yet she would not let any one be before her in
congratulating him on his freedom to direct his course wheresoever he
pleased. She could not divine, she continued, whether his choice would
lead him to St. Germain's, but if it did, perhaps he might be treated to
the history of an errant Demoiselle, who had suffered various adventures
in endeavouring to liberate her true Knight from prison.
De Blenau read it over again, and then turned to the other paper, which
merely notified that the King, contented with his loyal and peaceable
behaviour while _relegué_ in Bourbon, had been graciously pleased to
relieve him from the restrictions under which he had been placed for his
own benefit and the State's security; and informed him, in short, that
he had leave, liberty, and licence, to turn his steps whithersoever he
listed.
"To St. Germain's!" cried De Blenau gaily. "To St. Germain's! You, Henry
de La Mothe, stay here with François and Clement. Take good care of
Monsieur l'Ordinaire, and see that he be rewarded."--The messenger made
him a reverence.--"After you have reposed yourself here for a day,"
continued the Count, "return to Moulins; pay _notre Propriétaire_, and
all that may be there due. There is the key of the _coffre fort_. Use
all speed that you well may, and then join me at home. And now for St.
Germain's."
So saying, he sprang on his horse as light as air, gave the well-known
signal with his heel, and in a moment was once more on the road to
Paris.
Although I find a minute account of De Blenau's whole journey to St.
Germain's, with the towns and inns at which he stopped, marked with the
precision of a road-book, I shall nevertheless take upon myself the
responsibility of abridging it as far as well can be, by saying that it
began and ended happily.
The aspect of St. Germain's, however, had very much changed since De
Blenau left it. Louis had now fixed his residence there; his confidence
in the Queen seemed perfectly restored; every countenance glowed with
that air of satisfaction, which such a renewal of good intelligence
naturally produced; and the Royal residence had once more assumed the
appearance of a Court.
The first welcome received by De Blenau was from his gallant friend Cinq
Mars, at whose request his recall had been granted by the King, and who
now, calculating the time of the exile's return, stood at the door of De
Blenau's hotel, ready to meet him on his arrival.
"Welcome, welcome back! my long-lost friend, Claude de Blenau,"
exclaimed Cinq Mars, as the Count sprang from his horse; "welcome from
the midst of prisons and trials, perils and dangers!"
"And well met, gallant Cinq Mars, the noble and the true," replied De
Blenau. "But tell me, in heaven's name, Cinq Mars, what makes all this
change at St. Germain's? Why, it looks as if the forest were a fair, and
that the old town had put on its holiday suit to come and see it."
"Nay, nay! rather, like a true dame that dresses herself out for her
lover's return, it has made itself fine to receive you back again,"
replied the Master of the Horse. "But if you would really know the
secret of all the change that you see now, and will see still more
wonderfully as you look farther, it is this. Richelieu is ill at
Tarascon, and his name is scarcely remembered at the Court, though
Chavigni, that bold rascal, and Mazarin, that subtle one, come prowling
about to maintain, if possible, their master's sway. But the spell is
broken, and Louis is beginning to be a King again: so we shall see
bright days yet."
"I hope so; in truth I hope so, Cinq Mars," replied De Blenau. "But, at
all events, we will enjoy the change so far as it has gone. And now,
what news at the Palace? How fare all the lovely ladies of the Court?"
"Why well," answered Cinq Mars; "all well; though I know, De Blenau,
that your question, in comprising a hundred, meant but one only. Well,
what say you?--I have seen thy Pauline, and cannot but allow that thy
taste is marvellous good. There is a wild grace about her, well worth
all the formal dignity of a court. One gets tired of the stiff courtesy
and the precise bow; the kissing of hands and the lisping of names; the
_Monseigneurings_ and the _Madamings_. Fie! one little touch of nature
is worth it all."
"But answer me one question, Monsieur le Grand," said De Blenau. "How
came there a report about, that Pauline had been carried off by some of
the Cardinal's people, and that no one knew where she was? for such a
tale reached me even in Bourbon."
"Is it possible that you are the last to hear that story?" exclaimed
Cinq Mars. "Why, though the old Marquise, and the rest at the Palace,
affect to keep it a secret, every one knows the adventures of your
_demoiselle errante_."
De Blenau's cheek flushed to hear such a name applied to Pauline; but
Cinq Mars continued, observing that his friend was hurt--"Nay, nay,
every one admires her for the whole business, and no one more than I.
But, as I was saying, all the world knows it. The Queen herself told it
to Monsieur de Lomenie, and he to his cousin De Thou, and De Thou to
me; and so it goes on. Well, but I must take up the gossip's tale at the
beginning. The Queen, wishing to communicate with you in prison, could
find no messenger, who, for either gold or fair words, would venture his
head into the rat-trap, except your fair Pauline; and she, it seems,
attempted twice to get into the Bastille, once by day and once at night,
but both times fruitlessly. How it happened I hardly remember, but by
some means Chavigni, through some of his creatures, winded the whole
affair; and posting from Chantilly to Paris, catches my fair lady in the
very effort, disguised as a _soubrette_; down he pounces, like a falcon
on a partridge, and having secured the delinquent, places her in a
carriage, which, with the speed of light, conveys her away to his castle
in Maine, where Madame la Comtesse de Chavigni--who, by the way, is an
angel according to all accounts--receives the young lady and entertains
her with all kindness. In the mean while, Monsieur le Comte de Blenau is
examined by the King in person, and instead of having his head cut off,
is merely _relegué_ in Bourbon; upon which Chavigni finds he has lost
his labour, and is obliged to send for the pretty prisoner back again
with all speed."
Although De Blenau was aware, from his own personal experience, that
Cinq Mars had mistaken several parts of his history, he did not think
fit to set him right; and the Master of the Horse proceeded: "However,
let us into thy hotel. Get thy dinner, wash the dust from thy beard,
array thyself in an unsullied doublet, and we will hie to the dwelling
of thy lady fair, to glad her eyes with the sight of thy sweet person."
De Blenau smiled at his friend's raillery, and as the proposal very well
accorded with his wishes, every moment seeming mis-spent that detained
him from Pauline, he changed his dress as speedily as possible, and was
soon ready to accompany Cinq Mars to the Palace.
As they proceeded on their way towards the gates of the Park, a figure
presented itself, which, from its singularity, was worthy of notice. It
was that of a tall, thin raw-boned man, who, naturally possessing a
countenance of the ugliest cast of Italian ugliness, had rendered it
still more disagreeable by the enormous length of his mustaches, which
would have far overtopped his nose, had it been a nose of any ordinary
proportion; but a more extensive pear-shaped, ill-adapted organ never
projected from a human countenance; and this, together with a pair of
small, flaming black eyes, which it seemed to bear forward with it above
the rest of the face, protruding from a mass of beard and hair,
instantly reminding the beholder of a badger looking out of a hole. The
chin, however, bore no proportion to the nose, and seemed rather to
slink away from it in an oblique direction, apparently overawed by its
more ambitious neighbour.
The dress of this delectable personage was a medley of the French and
Flemish costumes. He wore a grey vest of silk, with sleeves slashed at
the elbow, and the shirt, which was not conspicuously clean, buttoned at
the wrist with agate studs. His _haut de chausse_, which was of deep
crimson, and bore loops and ribbons of yellow, was fringed round the
leg, near the knees, with a series of brazen tags or points but
indifferently silvered; and as he walked along with huge steps, these
aforesaid tags clattered together with a sort of important sound, which,
put in combination with the rest of his appearance, drew many a laugh
from the boys of St. Germain's. Over his grey vest was drawn a
straight-cut doublet of yellow silk, without sleeves; and a pair of long
boots, of untanned leather, covered all defects which might otherwise
have been apparent in his hose. His dress was completed by a tawdry
bonnet with a high black plume: and a Toledo blade of immeasurable
length, with a worked iron hilt and black scabbard, hung by his side,
describing with its point various strange figures on the dust of the
road.
"Here comes Villa Grande, the Italian lute-player," exclaimed Cinq Mars
the moment he saw him. "Do you know him, De Blenau?"
"I have heard him play on his instrument and sing at your house,"
replied De Blenau; "and from his language that night, may say I know him
through and through, for a boasting coxcomb, with as much courage as the
sheath of a rapier,--which looks as good as a rapier itself till it is
touched, and then it proves all emptiness. Mind you how he boasted of
having routed whole squadrons when he served in the Italian horse? and I
dare say he would run from a stuffed pikeman in an old hall."
"Nay, nay; you do him wrong, Claude," replied Cinq Mars. "He has rather
too much tongue, it is true; but that is not always the sign of a bad
hound. I must speak to him, however, for he does me service.--Well,
Signor Villa Grande," continued he, addressing the Italian, who now
approached, swinging an enormous cane in his hand, and from time to time
curling up the ends of his mustaches; "you remember that you are to be
ready at a moment's notice. Be sure, also, that your mind be made up;
for I tell you fairly, the service which you undertake is one of
danger."
"Monsieur," replied the Italian with a strong foreign accent, "I will be
ready, when you call upon me, in shorter time than you could draw your
sword; and as for my mind being made up, if there were an army drawn out
to oppose my progress, I would be bound to carry the despatch to the
Duke of Bouillon, or die in the attempt. Fear not my yielding it to any
body; _piutosto morir vol'io_, as the song has it," and he hummed a few
bars of one of his native airs.--"_Oh Dio!_" continued he, recognising
De Blenau, who had turned away on perceiving that Cinq Mars spoke to
the Italian on some business of a private nature. "_Oh Dio!_ Monsieur le
Comte de Blenau, is it really you returned at last? _Benedetto quel
giorno felice!_ Doubtless you are aware of the glorious plans of your
friend Monsieur le Grand."
"Good day, Signor," answered De Blenau; "I know of no one's plans but my
own, the most glorious of which, within my apprehension at present, is
to get to the Palace as soon as possible. Come, Cinq Mars, are you at
leisure?" and he took a step or two in advance, while the Master of the
Horse gave the Italian a warning to put a bridle on his tongue, and not
to let it run so loosely without any regard to necessary caution.
"For Heaven's sake, take care what you are about, Cinq Mars!" said De
Blenau, when he was again joined by his friend. "Of course you are the
best judge of your own plans; but unless you have a mind to ruin them
all, do not trust them to such a babbling idiot as that; and beware
that, in attempting to catch a lion, you do not get torn yourself."
"Oh, no fear," replied the Grand Ecuyer; "that fellow knows nothing more
than it is absolutely necessary for him to know, and as for the rest, I
have plunged into a wide sea, Claude, and must swim to land somehow."
They had by this time reached the gates of the Palace, and Cinq Mars,
knowing that some meetings are better in private, left his friend, and
turned his steps towards the apartments of the King.
In the mean while, De Blenau proceeded with a rapid pace towards that
part of the Palace which had been assigned to Madame de Beaumont; and
his heart beat with that wild uncontrollable emotion, which the meeting
with one dearly loved can alone produce. At that very moment similar
sensations were throbbing in the bosom of Pauline de Beaumont, who from
the window had seen the approach of Cinq Mars and another; and long
before her eye could distinguish a feature, her heart had told her who
it was. A sort of irresistible impulse led her, at first, to fly towards
the door by which she expected him to enter; but before she was half
across the room, some other feeling came over her mind. She returned to
her seat at the window, and a blush stole over her cheek, though there
was no other person present to observe her emotion or pry into its
cause.
The door was partially open, and more than once she raised her eyes
towards it, and thought that De Blenau was long in coming so short a
distance. But presently she heard his step, and there was an impatient
eagerness even in the sound of his footfall that convinced her he lost
no time. Another moment and he entered the room--Every feeling but one
was at an end, and Pauline was in his arms.
It is not at the moment when a lover has endured many sorrows, and
escaped from many dangers, that a gentle heart can practise even the
every-day affectations which a great part of the world are pleased to
mistake for delicacy; and far less inclined to attempt it than any other
person in the world, was Pauline de Beaumont. The child of nature and
simplicity, her delicacy was that of an elegant mind and a pure heart.
Of what she did feel she concealed little, and affected nothing; and De
Blenau was happy.
Of course there was a great deal to be told, and De Blenau was listening
delighted to an account of the considerate kindness with which the
Countess de Chavigni had treated his Pauline, when the sound of voices
approaching towards them stopped her in her history.
It is precisely at such moments as those when we wish every body but
ourselves away, that the world is most likely to intrude upon us; and
Pauline and De Blenau had not met more than five minutes, as it seemed
to them, when the Queen and Madame de Beaumont entered the
apartment.--How long they had been really together is another question,
for lovers' feelings are not always the truest watches.
"Welcome, my faithful De Blenau," said the Queen. "We encountered the
Grand Ecuyer but now, who told us where we should find you. For my own
part, I suppose I must in all justice forgive your paying your devoirs
here before you came to visit even me. However, ere there be any one
near to overhear, I must thank you for all you have done for me, and for
all you have suffered on my account. Nor must I forget my little heroine
here, who went through all sorts of peril and danger in conveying my
message to you in the Bastille."
"Your Majesty was very good in sending me such an angel of comfort,"
replied De Blenau. "And certainly, had it not been for the commands she
brought me, I believe that his most Christian-like Eminence of
Richelieu would have doomed me to the torture for my obstinacy."
"Put it in other words, De Blenau," said Anne of Austria. "You mean that
you would have endured the torture sooner than betray your Queen. But
truly, Pauline must have a stout heart to have carried through such an
undertaking; and I think that the fidelity and attachment which you have
both shown to me, offers a fair promise for your conduct towards each
other. What say you, Madame de Beaumont?"
"I think, Madame," replied the Marchioness, "that Pauline has done her
duty with more firmness than most girls could have commanded; and that
De Blenau has done his as well as it could be done."
"Pauline merits more praise than her mother ventures to give," said the
Queen. "But I had forgot the King's summons; and probably he is even now
waiting for us. Come, Pauline; come, De Blenau. Louis gives high
commendation to your demeanour in prison; let us see how he greets you
out of it."
A message had been conveyed to Anne of Austria, just before the arrival
of De Blenau, intimating that the King desired to see her; and she now
led the way to the _Salle Ronde_, as it was then called, or the _Salle
des Muses_, as it was afterwards named by Louis the Fourteenth, where
the King waited her approach. Although the uncertain nature of Louis's
temper always made her feel some degree of apprehension when summoned to
his presence, the kindness he had lately shown her, and the presence of
a large proportion of her friends, made her obey his call with more
pleasure than she usually felt on similar occasions.
Louis's object, in the present instance, was to inform the Queen of the
journey he was about to make into the neighbourhood of Perpignan, in
order to confirm the inhabitants of Roussillon in their new allegiance
to the crown of France; and Cinq Mars, who had always sincerely wished
the welfare of Anne of Austria, took this opportunity of insinuating to
the King, that to show publicly his restored confidence in the Queen, so
far from lessening his authority, even in appearance, would be in truth
only asserting his own dignity, from which the proceedings of Richelieu
had so greatly derogated.
De Blenau and Pauline followed a step or two behind the Queen and
Madame de Beaumont, and would willingly have lingered still longer by
themselves; but as something must always be sacrificed to appearance,
they quickened their pace as Anne of Austria approached the door of the
_Salle Ronde_, and came up with her just as she entered the room in
which the principal part of the French court was assembled. The moment
she appeared, Louis advanced towards the Queen from the brilliant circle
in which he stood, and embraced her affectionately. "Welcome, my fair
lady," said he. "I see you have brought the new returned exile with
you.--Monsieur de Blenau, I am glad to see you at court;--this is a
pleasanter place than where we met last."
"I can assure you, Sire," replied De Blenau, "that I will never be
willingly in circumstances to meet your Majesty there again."
"I do not doubt it, I do not doubt it," said the King. "You should thank
Heaven that delivered you from such peril, Sir Count.--Madam," he
continued, turning to the Queen, "I requested to see you, not only for
the pleasure which your presence must always give, but to inform you,
that affairs of state will shortly call me to Narbonne, in Languedoc,
from whence I shall return with all convenient speed."
"Your Majesty soon leaves St. Germain's," replied the Queen. "I do not
think you love it for a sojourn, as in other days."
"Not so," answered Louis; "so well do I love it, that I had purposed to
have worn out the rest of my days here, had not the duties of my station
called me hence: but my return will be speedy if God give me life.--What
man can say how long he may remain? and I feel many a warning that my
time will be but short in this world.--Ha! what mean those drops in your
eyes?--I did not know, Anne, that such were your feelings." And he
pressed the Queen's hand, which he had continued to retain in his.
"Oh Louis!" replied Anne of Austria, and by that simple exclamation
conveyed a more delicate reproach to the heart of her husband than she
could have done by any other expression in the range of language. Louis
felt it, and drawing her arm kindly through his own, he proposed aloud
that the whole party should walk forth upon the terrace. It was the
Queen's favourite spot, and she easily understood that it was meant as
some atonement for many a former slight. Those, too, who stood round
and saw what had taken place, began to perceive that a new star was
dawning in the horizon, and turned their eyes to watch its progress and
court its influence.
The King and Queen were followed by the greater part of the court; and
during the walk Louis continued to manifest that kindness towards his
wife, which had it been earlier shown, might have given him a life of
happiness. "Let me beg you, Madam," said he, as at length they turned to
enter the Palace, "not only to be careful of our children, for that I am
sure you will be, but also to be careful of their mother, for my sake."
The Queen's feelings were overpowering; the tears rolled rapidly down
her cheeks, taking from her all power of utterance, and quitting the
King, after pressing his hand to her lips, she retired to her own
apartments, to indulge in solitude the new and delightful emotions which
her husband's unexpected kindness had excited.