3 1822 01411 8160 -, 3 1822 01411 8160 Qllonsieur -Beaucaire Indiana" Cftlonsieur -Beaucaire FIRST IMPRESSION AFRIL j SECOND IMPRESSION JUNE J THIRD IM PRESSION AUGUST J FOURTH IMPRESSION OCTOBER ; FIFTH IMPRESSION OCTOBER j SIXTH IMPRESSION NOVEM BER, 1900; SEVENTH IMPRESSION JANUARY } EIGHTH IMPRESSION MARCH ; NINTH IMPRESSION APRIL, 190! COPYRIGHT, 1899, igOO, BY S. S. MCCLURE CO. COPYRIGHT, I9OO, BY MCCLURE, PHILLIPS fc CO. ^Illustrations. fjJlonsieur Beaucaire. Frontispiece ' l fjh* Mlerci^ Monsieur Le Due.' 1 Page 5 _Js>ady Mary Carlisle. Page 18 onsieur Beaucaire, wary, alert, brilliant." Page 59 was silent, a statue" Page 101 is a bitter mistake I have made. Forgive" Page The Decorations of this ffioofo (HE young Frenchman did very well what he had planned to do. His guess that the Duke would cheat As the unshod half- dozen figures that had been standing noiselessly in the entryway stole softly into the shadows of the chamber, he leaned across the table and smilingly plucked a card out of the big Eng lishman's sleeve. proved good. MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE " Merci, M. Ic Due ! " he laughed, rising and stepping back from the table. The Englishman cried out, " It means the dirty work of silencing you with my bare hands ! " and came at him. " Do not move," said M. Beau- caire, so sharply that the other paused. " Observe behind you." The Englishman turned, and saw what trap he had blundered into ; then stood transfixed, impotent, alter nately scarlet with rage and white with the vital shame of discovery. M. Beaucaire remarked, indicating the silent figures by a polite wave of the hand, "Is it not a compliment to monsieur that I procure six large men to subdue him ? They are quite de- MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE vote' to me, and monsieur is alone. Could it be that he did not wish even his lackeys to know he play with the yo'ng Frenchman who Meestaire Nash does not like in the pomp- room ? Monsieur is unfortunate to have come on foot and alone to my apartment." The Duke's mouth foamed over with chaotic revilement. His captor smiled brightly, and made a slight gesture, as one who brushes aside a boisterous insect. With the same motion he quelled to stony quiet a resentful impetus of his servants to ward the Englishman. " It's murder, is it, you carrion ! " finished the Duke. M. Beaucaire lifted his shoulders in a mock shiver. " What words ' MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE No, no, no ! No killing ! A such word to a such host ! No, no, not mur-r-der ; only disgrace ! " He laughed a clear, light laugh with a rising inflection, seeming to launch himself upon an adventurous quest for sympathy. "You little devilish scullion !" spat out the Duke. " Tut, tut ! But I forget. Mon sieur has pursue' his studies of deport ment amongs' his fellow-country men." " Do you dream a soul in Bath will take your word that I that j " That M. le Due de Winterset had a card up his sleeve ?" " You pitiful stroller, you stable- boy, born in a stable " g MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE " Is it not an honor to be born where monsieur must have been bred ? " "You scurvy foot-boy, you greasy barber, you cutthroat groom " " Overwhelm' ! " The young man bowed with imperturbable elation. " M. le Due appoint' me to all the office' of his househol'." " You mustachioed fool, there are not five people of quality in Bath will speak to you " " No, monsieur, not on the parade ; but how many come to play with me here ? Because I will play always, night or day, for what one will, for any long, and al ways fair, mon sieur." " You outrageous varlet ! Every one knows you came to England as the French Ambassador's barber. MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE What man of fashion will listen to you ? Who will believe you ? " "All people, monsieur. Do you think I have not calculate', that I shall make a failure of my little en terprise ? " "Bah!" " Will monsieur not reseat him self?" M. Beaucaire made a low bow. " So. We must not be too tire' for Lady Melbourne's rout. Ha, ha ! And you, Jean, Victor, and you others, retire; go in the hallway. Attend at the entrance, Fran9ois. So; now we shall talk. Monsieur, I wish you to think very cool. Then listen ; I will be briefly. It is that I am well known to be all, entire* hones'. Gamblist ? Ah, yes ; true and mos' profitable ; but fair, al ways fair ; MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE every one say that. Is it not so? Think of it. And is there never a w'isper come to M. le Due that not all people belief him to play al ways hones' ? Ha, ha ! Did it almos' be said to him las' year, after when he play' with Milor' Tappin'ford at the chocolate-house " " You dirty scandal-monger ! " the Duke burst out, " I'll " "Monsieur, monsieur!' 3 said the Frenchman. " It is a poor valor to insult a helpless captor. Cart he re tort upon his own victim ? But it is for you to think of what I say. True, I am not reco'nize on the pa rade ; that my frien's who come here do not present me to their ladies ; that Meestaire Nash has reboff' me in the pomp-room ; still, am I not MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE known for being hones' and fair in my play, and will I not be belief, even I, when I lif my voice and charge you aloud with what is al ready w'isper' ? Think of it ! You are a noble, and there will be some hang-dogs who might not fall away from you. Only such would be lef ' to you. Do you want it tol' ? And you can keep out of France, mon sieur? I have lef his service, but I have still the ear of M. de Mirepoix, and he know' I never lie. Not a gentleman will play you when you come to Paris." The Englishman's white lip showed a row of scarlet dots upon it. " How much do you want?" he said. The room rang with the gay laughter of Beaucaire. " I hoi' your MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE note* for seven-hunder' pound'. You can have them, monsieur. Why does a such great man come to play M. Beaucaire ? Because no one else will- in' to play M. le Due he cannot pay. Ha, ha ! So he come' to good Monsieur Beaucaire. Money, ha, ha ! What I want with money ? " His Grace of Winterset's features were set awry to a sinister pattern. He sat glaring at his companion in a snarling silence. " Money ? Pouf ! " snapped the little gambler. " No, no, no ! It is that M. le Due, impoverish', some what in a bad odor as he is, yet com mand the entree ^wy-where onless I Ha, ha! Eh, monsieur?" " Ha ! You dare think to force me " MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE M. Beaucaire twirled the tip of his slender mustache around the end of his white forefinger. Then he said : " Monsieur and me goin' to Lady Melbourne's ball to-night M. le Due and me ! " The Englishman roared, "Curse your impudence ! '' "Sit quiet. Oh, yes, that's all; we goin' together.'* "No!" " Certain. I make all my little plan'. 'Tis all arrange'." He paused, and then said gravely, " You goin' present me to Lady Mary Carlisle." The other laughed in utter scorn. "Lady Mary Carlisle, of all women alive, would be the first to prefer the devil to a man of no birth, barber." " Tis all arrange'; have no fear ; 14 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE nobody question monsieur's guest. You goin' take me to-night " "No!" " Yes. And after then /have the entree. Is it much I ask ? This one little favor, and I never w'isper, never breathe that it is to say, I am al ways forever silent of monsieur's mis fortune." " You have the entree!" sneered the other. " Go to a lackeys' rout and dance with the kitchen maids. If I would, I could not present you to Bath society. I should have car tels from the fathers, brothers, and lovers of every wench and madam in the place, even I. You would be thrust from Lady Malbourne's door five minutes after you entered it." "No, no, no ! " 15 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE " Half the gentlemen in Bath have been here to play. They would know you, wouldn't they, fool? You've had thousands out of Ban- tison, Rakell, Guilford, and Town- brake. They would have you lashed by the grooms as your ugly deserts are. You to speak to Lady Mary Carlisle! 'Od's blood! You! Also, dolt, she would know you if you es caped the others. She stood within a yard of you when Nash expelled you the pump-room." M. Beaucaire flushed slightly. "You think I did not see?" he asked. " Do you dream that because Winterset introduces a low fellow he will be tolerated that Bath will re ceive a barber ?" 16 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE " I have the distinction to call monsieur's attention," replied the young man gayly, " I have renounce' that profession." " Fool ! " "I am now a man of honor ! ' " Faugh ! " " A man of the parts," continued the young Frenchman, " and of de portment; is it not so? Have you seen me of a fluster, or gross ever, or, what shall I say bourgeois? Shall you be shame' for your guest' man ner ? No, no ! And my appearance, is it of the people ? Clearly, no. Do I not compare in taste of apparel with your yo'ng Englishman ? Ha, ha ! To be hope'. Ha, ha ! So I am goin' talk with Lady Mary Car lisle." 19 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE " Bah !" The Duke made a sav age burlesque. " * Lady Mary Carlisle, may I assume the honor of presenting the barber of the Marquis de Mire- poix?' So, is it?" "No, monsieur," smiled the young man. "Quite not so. You shall have nothing to worry you, nothing in the worl'. I am goin* to assassi nate my poor mustachio also remove this horrible black peruke, and emerge in my own hair. Behol' ! " He swept the heavy, curled mass from his head as he spoke, and his hair, coiled under the great wig, fell to his shoulders, and sparkled yellow in the candle-light. He tossed his head to shake the hair back from his cheeks. "When it is dress', I am transform* ; nobody can know me; you shall ob- serve. See how little I ask of you, how very little bit. No one shall rec- o'nize ' M. Beaucaire ' or ' Victor/ Ha, ha ! 'Tis all arrange' ; you have nothing to fear." " Curse you," said the Duke, " do you think I'm going to be saddled with you wherever I go as long as you choose ?" " A mistake. No. All I requi All I beg is this one evening. 'Tis all shall be necessary. After, I shall not need monsieur." " Take heed to yourself after ! " vouchsafed the Englishman between his teeth. " Conquered ! " cried M. Beau caire, and clapped his hands gleefully. " Conquered for the night ! Aha, it is riz'nable ! I shall meet what you MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE send after. One cannot hope too much of your patience. It is but natural you should attemp' a little avengement for the rascal trap I was such a wicked fellow as to set for you. I shall meet some strange frien's of yours after to-night ; not so ? I must try to be not too much frighten'." He looked at the Duke curiously. "You want to know why I create this tragedy, why I am so unkind as to entrap monsieur?" His Grace of Winterset replied with a chill glance ; a pulse in the nobleman's cheek beat less relentlessly; his eye raged not so bitterly; the steady purple of his own color was returning; his voice was less hoarse ; he was regaining his habit. " 'Tis ever the manner of the vulgar," he MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE observed, " to wish to be seen with people of fashion." " Oh, no, no, no ! " The French man laughed. " 'Tis not that. Am I not already one of these * men of fashion ' ? I lack only the reputation of birth. Monsieur is goin' sup ply that. Ha, ha ! I shall be noble from to-night. * Victor', the artis', is condemn' to death ; his throat shall be cut with his own razor. N the outer room, Winterset, unable to find Lady Mary, and supposing her to have joined Lady Reller- ton, disposed of his negus, then ap proached the two visitors to pay his respects to the young prince, whom he discovered to be a stripling of seventeen, arrogant-looking, but pretty as a girl. Standing beside the Mar quis de Mirepoix a man of quiet 104 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE bearing he was surrounded by a group of the great, among whom Mr. Nash naturally counted himself. The Beau was felicitating himself that the foreigners had not arrived a week earlier, in which case he and Bath would have been detected in a piece of gross ignorance concerning the French nobility making much of de Mirepoix's ex-barber. " 'Tis a lucky thing that fellow was got out of the way," he ejacu lated, under cover. "Thank me for it," rejoined Winterset. An attendant begged Mr. Nash's notice. The head bailiff sent word that Beaucaire had long since entered the building by a side door. It was supposed Mr. Nash had known of it, 105 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE and the Frenchman was not arrested, as Mr. Molyneux was in his com pany, and said he would be answerable for him. Consternation was so plain on the Beau's trained face that the Duke leaned toward him anxiously. "The villain's in, and Molyneux hath gone mad ! " Mr. Bantison, who had been fiercely elbowing his way toward them, joined heads with them. " You may well say he is in," he exclaimed, "and if you want to know where, why, in yonder card-room. I saw him through the half-open door." "What's to be done?" asked the Beau. "Send the bailiffs " " Fie, fie ! A file of bailiffs ? The scandal! " 106 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE "Then listen to me," said the Duke. "I'll select half-a-dozen gentlemen, explain the matter, and we'll put him in the center of us and take him out to the bailiffs. 'Twill appear nothing. Do you remain here and keep the attention of Beaujolais and de Mirepoix. Come, Bantison, fetch Townbrake and Harry Rakell yonder; I'll bring the others." Three minutes later, his Grace of Winterset flung wide the card-room door, and, after his friends had en tered, closed it. "Ah!" remarked M. Beaucaire quietly. "Six more large men." The Duke, seeing Lady Mary, started; but the angry signs of her interview had not left her face, and reassured him. He offered his hand 107 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE to conduct her to the door. "May I have the honor?" " If this is to be known, 'twill be better if I leave after; I should be observed if I went now." "As you will, madam," he an swered, not displeased. " And now, you impudent villain," he began, turning to M. Beaucaire, but to fall back astounded. " 'Od's blood, the dog hath murdered and robbed some royal prince ! " He forgot Lady Mary's presence in his excite ment. " Lay hands on him ! " he shouted. "Tear those orders from him!" Molyneux threw himself between. "One word!" he cried. "One word before you offer an outrage you will repent all your lives!" 108 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE "Or let M. de Winterset come alone," laughed M. Beaucaire. " Do you expect me to fight a cut throat barber, and with bare hands?" " I think one does not expec' mon sieur to fight anybody. Would / fight you, you think? That was why I had my servants, that evening we play. I would gladly fight almos' any one in the worl' ; but I did not wish to soil my hand with a " "Stuff his lying mouth with his orders!" shouted the Duke. But Molyneux still held the gen tlemen back. "One moment," he cried. "M. de Winterset," said Beau caire, " of what are you afraid ? You calculate well. Beaucaire might have been belief an impostor that you 109 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE yourself expose' ? Never ! But I was not goin' reveal that secret. You have not absolve me of my promise." "Tell what you like," answered the Duke. "Tell all the wild lies you have time for. You have five minutes to make up your mind to go quietly." " Now you absolve me, then ? Ha, ha ! Oh, yes ! Mademoiselle," he bowed to Lady Mary, " I have the honor to reques' you leave the room. You shall miss no details if these frien's of yours kill me, on the honor of a French gentleman." "A French what?" laughed Ban- tison. " Do you dare keep up the pre tense ? " cried Lord Townbrake. " Know, you villain barber, that your MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE master, the Marquis de Mirepoix, is in the next room." Molyneux heaved a great sigh of relief. " Shall I " He turned to M. Beaucaire. The young man laughed, and said : " Tell him come here at once." " Impudent to the last ! " cried Bantison, as Molyneux hurried from the room. "Now you. goin* to see M. Beau- caire's master," said Beaucaire to Lady Mary. " 'Tis true what I say, the other night. I cross from France in his suite ; my passport say as his barber. Then to pass the ennui of exile, I come to Bath and play for what one will. It kill the time. But when the people hear I have been a servant they come only secretly ; and there is MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE one of them he has absolve' me of a promise not to speak of him I learn something he cannot wish to be tol*. I make some trouble to learn this thing. Why I should do this ? Well that is my own rizzon. So I make this man help me in a masque, the unmasking it was, for, as there is no one to know me, I throw off my black wig and become myself and so I am ' Chateaurien,' Castle No where. Then this man I use', this Winterset, he " " I have great need to deny these accusations?" said the Duke. "Nay," said Lady Mary wearily. "Shall I tell you why I mus' be ' Victor ' and ' Beaucaire ' and ' Cha teaurien,' and not myself?" "To escape from the bailiffs for MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE debts for razors and soap," gibed Lord Townbrake. "No, monsieur. In France I have got a cousin who is a man with a very bad temper at some time', and he will never enjoy his relatives to do what he does not wish " He was interrupted by a loud com motion from without. The door was flung open, and the young Count of Beaujolais bounded in and threw his arms about the neck of M. Beaucaire. "Philippe!" he cried. "My brother, I have come to take you back with me." M. de Mirepoix followed him, bowing as a courtier, in deference; but M. Beaucaire took both his hands heartily. Molyneux came after, with Mr. Nash, and closed the door. 113 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE " My warmest felicitations," said the Marquis. " There is no longer need for your incognito." " Thou best of masters ! " said Beaucaire, touching him fondly on the shoulder. " I know. Your cou rier came safely. And so I am for given! But I forget." He turned to the lady. She had begun to tremble exceedingly. " Faires' of all the English fair," he said, as the gentlemen bowed low to her deep courtesy, " I beg the honor to pre- sen' to Lady Mary Carlisle, M. le Comte de Beaujolais. M. de Mirepoix has already the honor. Lady Mary has been very kind to me, my frien's; you mus' help me make my acknowledgment. Mademoi selle and gentlemen, will you give MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE me that favor to detain you one instan'?" " Henri," he turned to the young Beaujolais, " I wish you had shared my masque I have been so gay ! " The surface of his tone was merry, but there was an undercurrent, weary- sad, to speak of what was the mood, not the manner. He made the effect of addressing every one present, but he looked steadily at Lady Mary. Her eyes were fixed upon him, with a silent and frightened fas cination, and she trembled more and more. " I am a great actor, Henri. These gentlemen are yet scarce con vince' I am not a lackey ! And I mus' tell you that I was jus' now to be ex pelled for having been a barber ! " "Oh, no!" the ambassador cried "5 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE out. " He would not be content with me; he would wander over a strange country.'* " Ha, ha, my Mirepoix ! And what is better, one evening I am ob lige' to fight some frien's of M. de Winterset there, and some ladies and cavaliers look on, and they still think me a servant. Oh, I am a great ac tor ! 'Tis true there is not a peasant in France who would not have then known one ' born '; but they are wonderful, this English people, hold ing by an idea once it is in their heads a mos' worthy quality. But my good Molyneux here, he had speak to me with courtesy, jus' be cause I am a man an' jus' because he is al ways kind. (I have learn' that his great-grandfather was a French- 116 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE man.) So I sen* to him and tell him ev'rything, and he gain admittance for me here to-night to await my frien's. " I was speaking to messieurs about my cousin, who will meddle in the affair' of his relative'. Well, that gentleman, he make a marriage for me with a good and accomplish* lady, very noble and very beautiful and amiable." (The young count at his elbow started slightly at this, but immediately appeared to wrap him self in a mantle of solemn thought.) " Unfortunately, when my cousin ar range' so, I was a dolt, a little block head ; I swear to marry for myself and when I please, or never if I like. That lady is all things charming and gentle, and, in truth, she is very much attach' to me why should I 117 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE not say it ? I am so proud of it. She is very faithful and forgiving and sweet ; she would be the same, I think, if I were even a lackey. But I ? I was a dolt, a little unsen- sible brute ; I did not value such thing' then ; I was too yo'ng, las' June. So I say to my cousin, ' No, I make my own choosing ! ' ' Little fool,' he answer, ' she is the one for you. Am I not wiser than you ? ' And he was very angry, and, as he has influence in France, word come' that he will get me put in Vincennes, so I mus' run away quick till his anger is gone. My good frien' Mire- poix is jus' leaving for London ; he take' many risk' for my sake ; his hairdresser die before he start', so I travel as that poor barber. But my 118 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE cousin is a man to be afraid of when he is angry, even in England, and I mus' not get my Mirepoix in trouble. I mus' not be discover' till my cousin is ready to laugh about it all and make it a joke. And there may be spies; so I change my name again, and come to Bath to amuse my re treat with a little gaming I am al ways fond of that. But three day* ago M. le Marquis send me a courier to say that my brother, who know where I had run away, is come from France to say that my cousin is ap pease' ; he need me for his little theatre, the play cannot go on. I do not need to espouse mademoiselle. All shall be forgiven if I return, and my brother and M. de Mirepoix will meet me in Bath to felicitate. 119 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE " There is one more thing to say, that is all. I have said I learn' a secret, and use it to make a man in troduce me if I will not tell. He has absolve* me of that promise. My fren's, I had not the wish to ruin that man. I was not receive'; Meestaire Nash had reboff me ; I had no other way excep' to use this fel low. So I say, 'Take me to Lady Malbourne's ball as " Chateaurien." I throw off my wig, and shave, and behol', I am M. le Due de Castle Nowhere. Ha, ha ! You see?" The young man's manner suddenly changed. He became haughty, men acing. He stretched out his arm, and pointed at Winterset. " Now I am no 'Beaucaire,' messieurs. I am a French gentleman. The man who MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE introduce' me at the price of his honor, and then betray' me to re deem it, is that coward, that card- cheat there ! " Winterset made a horrible effort to laugh. The gentlemen who sur rounded him fell away as from pesti lence. " A French gentleman ! " he sneered savagely, and yet fearfully. " I don't know who you are. Hide behind as many toys and ribbons as you like; I'll know the name of the man who dares bring such a charge ! " "Sir!" cried de Mirepoix sharply, advancing a step towards him; but he checked himself at once. He made a low bow of state, first to the young Frenchman, then to Lady Mary and the company. "Permit MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE me, Lady Mary and gentlemen," he said, "to assume the honor of pre senting you to His Highness, Prince Louis-Philippe de Valois, Duke of Orleans, Duke of Chartres, Duke of Nemours, Duke of Montpensier, First Prince of the Blood Royal, First Peer of France, Lieutenant-General of French Infantry, Governor of Dau- phine, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Grand Master of the Order of Notre Dame, of Mount Carmel, and of St. Lazarus in Jerusalem; and cousin to His most Christian Majesty, Louis the Fifteenth, King of France." "Those are a few of my brother's names," whispered Henri of Beaujo- lais to Molyneux. "Old Mirepoix has the long breath, but it take' a strong man two day' to say all of MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE them. I can suppose this Winterset know' now who bring the charge ! " " Castle Nowhere!" gasped Beau Nash, falling back upon the burly prop of Mr. Bantison's shoulder. "The Duke of Orleans will re ceive a message from me within the hour ! " said Winterset, as he made his way to the door. His face was black with rage and shame. "I tol' you that I would not soil my hand with you," answered the young man. " If you send a message no gentleman will bring it. Who ever shall bear it will receive a little beating from Fran9ois." He stepped to Lady Mary's side. Her head was bent low, her face averted. She seemed to breathe with difficulty, and leaned heavily upon a 123 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE chair. " Monseigneur," she faltered in a half whisper, " can you forgive me? It is a bitter mistake I have made. Forgive.*' "Forgive?" he answered, and his voice was as broken as hers; but he went on, more firmly : " It is noth ing less than nothing. There is only jus' one in the whole worl' who would not have treat' me the way that you treat' me. It is to her that I am goin' to make reparation. You know something, Henri? I am not goin' back only because the king forgive' me. I am goin' to please him ; I am goin' to espouse mademoi selle, our cousin. My frien's, I ask your felicitations." "And the king does not compel him ! " exclaimed young Henri. 124 MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE "Henri, you want to fight me?" cried his brother sharply. " Don* you think the King of France is a wiser man than me?" He offered his hand to Lady Mary. "Mademoiselle is fatigue'. Will she honor me?" He walked with her to the door, her hand fluttering faintly in his. From somewhere about the garments of one of them a little cloud of faded rose-leaves fell, and lay strewn on the floor behind them. He opened the door, and the lights shone on a multi tude of eager faces turned toward it. There was a great hum of voices, and, over all, the fiddles wove a wan dering air, a sweet French song of the *Af Sar \ .