=w =- ^ AWEUNIVERy/A ^•TJUOWSOV^^ .^lOSAfJCFlfju^ o ■^/5a3AINft-3WV ^11JBRARY(9/ ^OJIIVDJO'^ ^«!/OJllV>JO' '0R<^ AWEUfJIVERS//i o 7ia3NVS01^ "^/saiAiNa-suv ,^0FCA1IF0% OS .s;;OFCAllFO/?;i ^Aavjian-^v Aavaaiii^ '- O ^AaaAiNQju' ^•lOSANCElfj ,\\\E-UNIVER% ^TiUOKVSOl^ o — ^ 3 ^xuUBRARY-a u3 ^JIWDiO'f^ ^jo- 'FO/?^^ o £7 aWEUNIVERJ/a 'jflni^ yokimm^'i % ,OlN^ V/iii3AINiii'n> ^Ok\\\m i II HORSLEY^i TLEPOOL. LIBRARY OF DIVERSITY LIFORNIA \NGELES ■V/tHAlNlVllti A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS. A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE BEING THE MEMOIRS OF GASTON DE BONNE SIEUR DE MARSAC STANLEY J. WEYMAN AUTHOR OF "the HOUSE OF THE WOLF " IN THREE VOLUMES VOL. I. LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST i6th STREET I«93 PR HI 3 V' I CONTENTS. CHAPrER PAGE I. The Sport of Fools, 1 II. The King of Navarre, 26 III. Boot and Saddle, ------ 52 IV. Mademoiselle de la Vire, ----- 76 V. The Road to Blois, - 110 VI. My Mother's Lodging, 133 VII. Simon Fleix, - 151 VIII. An Empty Room, 170 IX. The House in the Ruelle D'Arcy, - - - 200 X. The Fight on the Stairs, ----- 220 XI. The Man at the Door, 244 XII. Maximilian de Bethune, Baron de Rosny, - 260 lC234i3 A GENTLEMAN OE FRANCE. CHAPTER I. THE SPORT OF FOOLS. The death of the Prince of Conclt^, which occurred in the spring of 1588, by depriving me of my only patron, reduced me to such straits that the winter of that year, which saw the King of Navarre come to spend his Christmas at St. Jean d'Angely, saw also the nadir of my fortmies. I did not know at this time — I may confess it to-day without shame — whither to turn for a gold crown or a new scabbard, and neither had nor discerned any hope of employment. The peace lately patched up at Blois between the King of France and the League persuaded many of the Huguenots that their final ruin was at hand ; but it could not fill their exhausted VOL. I. 1 2 A (;rntleman of fraN(;e. treasury ov enable tlieiii to put fresh troops into the fiekl. The death of the prince had left the King of Navarre without a rival in the affections of the Huguenots ; the Vicomte de Turenne, whose turbulent ambition already began to make itself felt, and M. de Chatillon, rank- ing next to him. It was my ill-fortune, how- ever, to be equally unknown to all three leaders ; and as the month of December which saw me thus miserably straitened saw me reach the age of forty, which I regard, differ- ing in that from many, as the grand cli- macteric of a man's life, it will be believed that I had need of all the courage which reli- gion and a camj^aigner's life could supply. I had been compelled some time before to sell all my horses excejDt the black Sardinian with the white spot on its forehead ; and I now found myself obliged to part also with my valet de cJiamhre and groom, whom I dismissed on the same day, paying them their wages with the last links of gold chain left to THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 3 me. It was not without grief and dismay that I saw myself thus stripped of the appur- tenances of a man of birth, and driven to groom my own horse under cover of night. But this was not the worst. My dress, which suffered inevitably from this menial employ- ment, began in no long time to bear witness to the change in my circumstances ; so that on the day of the King of Navarre's entrance into St. Jean I dared not face the crowd, always quick to remark the poverty of those above them, but was fain to keep within doors and wear out my patience in the garret of the cutler's house in the Rue de la Coutel- lerie, which was all the lodging I could now afford. Pardieu, ' tis a strange world ! Strange that time seems to me ; more strange com- pared with this. My reflections on that day, I remember, were of the most melancholy. Look at it how I would, I could not but see that my life's spring was over. The crows'- feet were gathering about my eyes, and my 4 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. moustachios, which seemed with each day of ill-fortune to stand out more fiercely in pro- ])ortion as my face grew leaner, were already grey. I was out at elbows, with empty pockets, and a sword which peered through the sheath. The meanest ruffler who, with broken feather and tarnished lace, swaggered at the heels of Turenne, was scarcely to be distinguished from me. I had still, it is true, a rock and a few barren acres in Brittany, the last remains of the family property ; but the small sums which the peasants could afford to pay were sent annually to Paris, to my mother, who had no other dower. And this I would not touch, being minded to die a gentleman, even if I could not live in that estate. Small as were my expectations of success, since I had no one at the king's side to push my business, nor any friend at Court, I never- theless did all I could, in the only way that occurred to me. I drew up a petition, and lying in wait one day for M. Forget, the King jg- THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 5 of Navarre's secretary, placed it in his hand, begging him to lay it before that prince. He took it, and promised to do so, smoothly, and with as much lip civility as I had a right to expect. But the careless manner in which he doubled up and thrust away the paper on which I had sjDent so much labour, no less than the covert sneer of his valet, who ran after me to get the customary present — and ran, as I still blush to remember, in vain — warned me to refrain from hope. In this, however, having little save hope left, I failed so signally as to spend the next day and the day after in a fever of alter- nate confidence and despair, the cold fit following the hot with perfect regularity. At length, on the morning of the third day — I remember it lacked but three of Christmas — I heard a step on the stairs. My landlord living in his shop, and the two intervening floors being empty, I had no doubt the message was for me, and went outside the door to receive it, my first glance at the messenger 6 A (iKNTTJOMAN OF FRANCE, confirming me in my liiglicst hopes, as well as in all I had ever heard of the generosity of the King of Navarre. For by chance I knew the youth to be one of the royal pages ; a saucy fellow who had a day or two before cried "Old Clothes" after me in the street. I was very far from resenting this now, how- ever, nor did he appear to recall it ; so that I drew the haj^jjiest augury as to the contents of the note he bore from the politeness with which he presented it to me. I would not, however, run the risk of a mistake, and before holding out my hand, I asked him directly and with formality if it was for me. He answered, with the utmost respect, that it was for the Sieur de Marsac, and for me if I were he. " There is an answer, perhaps ? " I said, seeing that he lingered. *' The King of Navarre, sir," he replied, with a low bow, " will receive your answer in person, 1 believe." And with that, replacing THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 7 the cap which he had doffed out of respect to me, he turned and went down the stairs. Returning to my room, and locking the door, I hastily opened the missive, which was sealed with a large seal, and wore every appearance of importance. I found its con- tents to exceed all my expectations. The King of Navarre desired me to wait on him at noon on the following day, and the letter concluded with such expressions of kindness and goodwill as left me in no doubt of the prince's intentions. I read it, I confess, with emotions of joy and gratitude which would better have become a younger man, and then cheerfully sat down to spend the rest of the day in making such improvements in my dress as seemed possible. With a thankful heart I concluded that I had now escaped from poverty, at any rate from such poverty as is disgraceful to a gentleman ; and consoled my- self for the meanness of the appearance I must make at Court with the reflection that a day or two would mend both habit and fortune. 8 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. Accordingly, it was with a stout heart that I left my lodgings a few minutes before noon next morning, and walked towards the Castle. It was some time since I had made so public an appearance in the streets, which the visit of the King of Navarre's Court had filled with an unusual crowd, and I could not help fancying as I passed that some of the loiterers eyed me with a covert smile ; and, indeed, I was shabby enough. But finding that a frown more than sufficed to restore the gravity of these gentry, I set down the appearance to my own self-consciousness, and, stroking my moustachios, strode along boldly until I saw before me, and coming to meet me, the same page who had delivered the note. He stopped in front of me with an air of consequence, and making me a low bow — . whereat I saw the bystanders stare, for he was as gay a young spark as maid-of-honour could desire — he begged me to hasten, as the king awaited me in his closet. " He has asked for you twice, sir," he THE SPORT OF FOOLS. continued importantly, the feather of his cap almost sweeping the ground. "I think," I answered, quickening my steps, "that the king's letter says noon, young sir. If I am late on such an occasion, he has indeed cause to complain of me." " Tut, tut ! " he rejoined, waving his hand with a dandified air. " It is no matter. One man may steal a horse when another may not look over the wall, you know." A man may be grey-haired, he may be sad- complexioned, and yet he may retain some of the freshness of youth. On receiving this in- dication of a favour exceeding all expectation, I remember I felt the blood rise to my face, and experienced the most lively gratitude. I wondered who had spoken on my behalf, who had befriended me ; and concluding at last that my part in the affair at Brouage had come to the king's ears, though I could not conceive through whom, I passed through the Castle gates with an air of confidence and elation which was not unnatural, I think, under 10 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. the circumstances. Thence, following my guide, I mounted the ramp and entered the courtyard. A number of grooms and valets were loung- ing here, some leading horses to and fro, others exchanging jokes with the wenches who leaned from the windows, while their fellows again stamped up and down to keep their feet warm, or played ball against the wall in imitation of their masters. Such knaves are ever more insolent than their betters ; Imt I remarked that they made way for me with respect, and with rising spirits, yet a little irony, I reminded myself as I mounted the stairs of the words, " whom the king delighteth to honour ! " Reaching the head of the flight, where was a soldier on guard, the page opened the door of the antechamber, and standing aside bade me enter. I did so, and heard the door close behind me. For a moment I stood still, bashful and confused. It seemed to me that there were a hundred people in the room, and that half THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 11 the eyes which met mine were women's. Though I was not altogether a stranger to such state as the Prince of Cond6 had main- tained, this crowded anteroom filled me with surprise, and even with a degree of awe, of which I was the next moment ashamed. True, the flutter of silk and gleam of jewels surpassed anything I had then seen, for my fortunes had never led me to the king's Court ; but an instant's reflection reminded me that my fathers had held their own in such scenes, and with a bow regulated rather by this thought than by the shabbiness of my dress, I advanced amid a sudden silence. *' M. de Marsac ! " the page announced, in a tone which sounded a little odd in my ears ; so much so, that I turned quickly to look at him. He was gone, however, and when I turned again the eyes which met mine were full of smiles. A young girl who stood near me tittered. Put out of countenance by this, I looked round in embarrassment to find some one to whom I might apply. 12 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. The room was long and narrow, panelled in chestnut, with a row of windows on the one hand, and two fireplaces, now heaped with glowing logs, on the other. Between the fire- places stood a rack of arms. Round the nearer hearth lounged a group of pages, the exact counterparts of the young blade who had brought me hither ; and talking with these were as many young gentlewomen. Two great hounds lay basking in the heat ; and coiled between them, with her head on the back of the larger, was a figure so strange that at another time I should have doubted my eyes. It wore the fool's motley and cap and bells, but a second glance showed me the features were a woman's. A torrent of black hair flowed loose about her neck, her eyes shone with wild merriment, and her face, keen, thin, and hectic, glared at me from the dog's back. Beyond her, I'ound the farther fire- place, clustered more than a score of gallants and ladies, of whom one presently advanced to me. THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 13 "Sir," he said politely — and I wished I could match his bow — " you wished to see ? " " The King of Navarre," I answered, doing my best. He turned to the group behind him, and said, in a peculiarly even, placid tone : " He wishes to see the 'King of Navarre". Then in solemn silence he bowed to me again and went back to his fellows. Upon the instant, and before I could make up my mind how to take this, a second tripped forward, and saluting me, said : "M. de Marsac, I think ? " "At your service, sir," I rejoined. In my eagerness to escape the gaze of all those eyes, and the tittering which was audible behind me, I took a step forward to be in readiness to follow him. But he gave no sign. "M. de Marsac to see the King of Navarre " was all he said, speaking as the other had done to those behind. And with that he too wheeled round and went back to the fire. I stared, a first faint suspicion of the truth 14 A (iENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. aroused in my niiiid. Before I could act upon it, however — in such a situation it was no easy task to decide how to act — a third advanced with the same measured steps. " By appoint- ment I think, sir?" he said, bowing lower than the others. '' Yes," I replied sharply, beginning to grow warm, " by appointment at noon." " M. de Marsac," he announced in a sing- song tone to those behind him, " to see the King of Navarre by appointment at noon." And with a second bow — ^ while I grew scarlet with mortification — he too wheeled gravely round and returned to the fireplace. I saw another preparing to advance, but he came too late. Whether my face of anger and bewilderment was too much for them, or some among them lacked patience to see the end, a sudden uncontrollable shout of laughter, in which all the room joined, cut short the farce. God knows it hurt me : I winced, I looked this way and that, hoping here or there to find sympathy and help. But it seemed to me that THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 15 the place rang with gibes, that every panel framed, however I turned myself, a cruel, sneering face. One behind me cried " Old Clothes," and when I turned the other hearth whispered the taunt. It added a thousandfold to my embarrassment that there was in all a certain orderhness, so that while no one moved, and none, while I looked at them, raised their voices, I seemed the more singled out, and placed as a butt in the midst. One face amid the pyramid of countenances which hid the farther fireplace so burned itself into my recollection in that miserable moment that I never thereafter forgot it ; a small, de- licate woman's face belonging to a young girl who stood boldly in front of her companions. It was a face full of pride, and, as I saw it then, of scorn — scorn that scarcely deigned to laugh ; while the girl's graceful figure, slight and maidenly, yet perfectly proportioned, seemed instinct with the same feeling of contemptuous amusement. The play, which seemed long enough to me, 16 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. might have lasted longer, seeing that no one there had pity on me, had I not, in my despera- tion, espied a door at the farther end of the room, and concluded, seeing no other, that it was the door of the king's bedchamber. The mortification I was suffering was so great that I did not hesitate, but advanced with boldness towards it. On the instant there was a lull in the laughter round me, and half-a-dozen voices called on me to stop. " I have come to see the king," I answered, turning on them fiercely, for I was by this time in no mood for browbeating, " and I will see him ! " " He is out hunting," cried all with one accord ; and they signed imperiously to me to go back the way I had come. But having the king's appointment safe in my pouch, I thought I had good reason to disbelieve them ; and taking advantage of their surprise — for they had not expected so bold a step on my part — I was at the door before they could prevent me. I heard Mathurine, THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 17 the fool, who had sprung to her feet, cry : " Pardieu ! he will take the kingdom of heaven by force ! " And those were the last words I heard ; for, as I lifted the latch — there was no one on guard there — a sudden swift silence fell upon the room behind me. I pushed the door gently open and went in. There were two men sitting in one of the windows, who turned and looked angrily to- wards me. For the rest the room was empty. The king's walking-shoes lay by his chair, and beside them the boot-hooks and jack. A dog before the fire got up slowly and growled ; and one of the men, rising from the trunk on which he had been sitting, came toward me and asked me, with every sign of irritation, what I wanted there, and who had given me leave to enter. I was beginning to explain, with some diffidence — the stillness of the room sobering me — that I wished to see the king, when he who had advanced took me up sharply with : " The king ? the king ? He is not here, man. VOL. I. 2 18 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. He is liunting at St. Valery. Did they not tell you so outside ? " I thought I recognised the speaker, than whom I have seldom seen a man more grave and thoughtful for his years, which were something less than mine, more striking in presence, or more soberly dressed. And being desirous to evade his question, I asked him if I had not the honour to address M. du Plessis Mornay ; for that wise and courtly statesman, now a pillar of Henry's counsels, it was. " The same, sir, " he replied abruptly, and without taking his eyes from me. " I am Mornay. What of that ? " " I am M. de Marsac," I explained. And there I stopped, supposing that, as he was in the king's confidence, this would make my errand clear to him. But I was disappointed. " Well, sir ? " he said, and waited impatiently. So cold a reception, following such treat- ment as I had suffered outside, would have sufficed to dash my spirits utterly had I not THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 19 felt the king's letter in my pocket. Being pretty confident, however, that a single glance at this would alter M. de Mornay's bearing for the better, I hastened, looking on it as a kind of talisman, to draw it out and present it to him. He took it, and looked at it, and opened it, but with so cold and immovable an aspect as made my heart sink more than all that had gone before. " What is amiss ? " I cried, unable to keep silence. " 'Tis from the king, sir." "A king in motley!" he answered, his lip curling. The sense of his words did not at once strike home to me ; and I murmured, in great dis- order, that the king had sent for me. " The king knows nothing of it," was his blunt answer, bluntly given. And he thrust the paper back into my hands. "It is a trick," he continued, speaking with the same abruptness, " for which you have doubtless to thank some of those idle young rascals without. You had 20 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. sent an application to the king, T suppose ? Just so. No doul)t they got hold of it, and this is the result. They ought to be whipped." It was not possible for me to doubt any longer that what he said was true. I saw in a moment all my hopes vanish, all my plans flung to the winds. In the first shock of the discovery I could neither find voice to answer him nor strength to withdraw. In a kind of vision I seemed to see my own lean haggard face looking at me as in a glass, and, reading despair in my eyes, could have pitied myself. My disorder was so great that M. du Mornay observed it. Looking more closely at me, he two or three times muttered my name, and at last said : " M de Marsac ? Ha ! I remember. You were in the affair of Brouage, were you not ? " I nodded my head in token of assent, being unable at the moment to speak, and so shaken that perforce I leaned against the wall, my head sunk on my breast. The memory of my age, my forty years, and my poverty, pressed THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 21 hard upon me, filling me with despair and bitterness. I could have wejit, but no tears came. M. du Mornay, averting his eyes from me, took two or three short impatient turns up and down the chamber. When he addressed me again his tone was full of respect, mingled with such petulance as one brave man might feel, seeing another so hard pressed. " M. de Marsac," he said, " you have my sympathy. It is a shame that men who have served the cause should be reduced to such straits. Were it possible for me to increase my own train at present, I should consider it an honour to have you with me. But I am hard put to it myself, and so are we all, and the King of Navarre not least among us. He has lived for a month upon a wood which M. de Kosny has cut down. I will mention your name to him, but I should be cruel rather than kind were I not to warn you that nothing can come of it." With that he offered me his hand, and cheered as much by this mark of consideration 22 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. as by the kindness of his expressions, I raUied my spirits. True, I wanted comfort more substantial, but it was not to be had. I thanked him, therefore, as becomingly as I could, and seeing there was no help for it, took my leave of him, and slowly and sorrow- fully withdrew from the room. Alas ! to escape I had to face the outside world, for which his kind words were an ill preparation. I had to run the gauntlet of the antechamber. The moment I appeared, or rather the moment the door closed behind me, I was hailed with a shout of derision. While one cried : " Way ! way for the gentleman who has seen the king ! " another hailed me uproariously as Governor of Guyenne, and a third requested a commission in my regiment. I heard these taunts with a heart full almost to bursting. It seemed to me an unworthy thing that, merely by reason of my poverty, I should be derided by youths who had still all their battles before them ; but to stop or reproach them would only, as 1 well knew, THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 23 make matters worse, and, moreover, I was so sore stricken that I had Httle spirit left even to speak. Accordingly, I made my way through them with what speed I might, my head bent, and my countenance heavy with shame and depression. In this way — I wonder there were not among them some generous enough to pity me — I had nearly gained the door, and was beginning to breathe, when I found my path stopped by that parti- cular young lady of the Court whom I have described above. Something had for the moment diverted her attention from me, and it required a word from her companions to apprise her of my near neighbourhood. She turned then, as one taken by surprise, and finding me so close to her that my feet all but touched her gown, she stepped quickly aside, and with a glance as cruel as her act, drew her skirts away from contact with me. The insult stung me, I know not why, more than all the gil)es which were being flung at me from every side, and moved by a sudden 24 . A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. impulse I stopped, and in the bitterness of my heart spoke to her, " Mademoiselle," I said, bowing low — for, as I have stated, she was small, and more like a fairy than a woman, though her face expressed both pride and self- will — " Mademoiselle," I said sternly, " such as I am, I have fought for France ! Some day you may learn that there are viler things in the world — and have to bear them— than a poor gentleman ! " The words were scarcely out of my mouth before I repented of them, for Mathurine, the fool, who was at my elbow, was quick to turn them into ridicule. Raising her hands above our heads, as in act to bless us, she cried out that monsieur, having gained so rich an office, desired a bride to grace it ; and this, bringing down upon us a coarse shout of laughter and some coarser gibes, I saw the young girl's face flush hotly. The next moment a voice in the crowd cried roughly : " Out upon his wedding suit ! " and with that a sweetmeat struck me in the THE SPORT OF FOOLS. 25 face. Another and another followed, covering me with flour and comfits. This was the last straw. For a moment, forgetting where I was, I turned upon them, red and furious, every hair in my moustachios bristling. The next, the full sense of my impotence and of the folly of resentment prevailed w^ith me, and, dropping my head upon my breast, I rushed from the room. I believe that the younger among them followed me, and that the cry of " Old Clothes ! " pursued me even to the door of my lodgings in the Rue de la Coutellerie. But in the misery of the moment, and my strong desire to be within doors and alone, I barely noticed this, and am not certain whether it was so or not. 26 CHAPTER II. THE KING OF NAVARRE. I HAVE already referred to the danger with which the alHance between Henry the Third and the League menaced us, an alhance whereof the news, it was said, had blanched the King of Navarre's moustache in a single night. Notwithstanding this, the Court had never shown itself more frolicsome or more free from care than at the time of which I am speaking ; even the lack of money seemed for the moment forgotten. One anuisement followed another, and though, without doubt, something was doing under the surface — for the wiser of his foes held our prince in parti- cular dread when he seemed most deeply sunk in pleasure — to the outward eye St. Jean d'Angely appeared to be given over to enjoy- ment from one end to the other. THE KING OF NAVARRE. 27 The stir and bustle of the Court reached me even in my garret, and contributed to make that Christmas, which fell on a Sunday, a trial almost beyond sufferance. All day long the rattle of hoofs on the pavement, and the laughter of riders bent on diversion, came up to me, making the hard stool seem harder, the bare walls more bare, and increasing a hundredfold the solitary gloom in which I sat. For as sunshine deepens the shadows which fall athwart it, and no silence is like that which follows the explosion of a mine, so sadness and poverty are never more intolerable than when hope and wealth rub elbows with them. True, the great sermon which M. d' Amours preached in the market-house on the morning of Christmas-day cheered me, as it cheered all the more sober spirits. I was present myself, sitting in an obscure corner of the building, and heard the famous prediction, which was so soon to be lultilled. " Sire," said the preacher, turning to the King of Navarre, and referring with the boldness that ever char- 28 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. acterised that great man and noble Christian, to the attempt then being made to exclude the prince from the succession—" Sire, what God at your birth gave you man cannot take away, A little while, a little patience, and you shall cause us to preach beyond the Loire ! With you for our Joshua we shall cross the Jordan, and in the Promised Land the Church shall be set up." Words so brave, and so well adapted to encourage the Huguenots in the crisis through which their affairs were then passing, charmed all hearers ; save, indeed, those — and they were few — who, being devoted to the Vicomte de Turenne, disliked, though they could not controvert, this public acknowledgment of the King of Navarre as the Huguenot leader. The pleasure of those present was evinced in a hundred ways, and to such an extent that even I returned to my chamber soothed and exalted, and found, in dreaming of the speedy triumph of the cause, some compensation for my own ill-fortune. THE KING OF NAVARRE. 29 As the day wore on, however, and the evening brought no change, but presented to me the same dreary prospect with which morning had made me famihar, I confess without shame that my heart sank once more, particularly as I saw that I should be forced in a day or two to sell either my remaining horse or some part of my equipment as essential ; a step which I could not con- template without feelings of the utmost despair. In this state of mind I was adding up by the light of a solitary candle the few coins I had left, when I heard footsteps ascending the stairs. I made them out to be the steps of two persons, and was still lost in conjectures who they might be, when a hand knocked gently at my door. Fearing another trick, I did not at once open, the more as there was something stealthy and insinuating in the knock. There- upon my visitors held a whispered consulta- tion ; then they knocked again. I asked loudly who was there, but to this they did not 30 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. choose to give any answer, while I, on my part, determined not to open until they did. The door was strong, and I smiled grimly at the thought that this time they would have their trouble for their pains. To my surprise, however, they did not desist and go away, as I expected, but con- tinued to knock at intervals and whisper much between times. More than once they called me softly by name and bade me open, but as they steadily refrained from saying who they were, I sat still. Occasionally I heard them laugh, but under their breath as it were ; and persuaded by this that they were bent on a frolic, I might have persisted in my silence until midnight, which was not more than two hours off, had not a slight sound, as of a rat gnawing behind the wain- scot, drawn my attention to the door. Raising my candle and shading my eyes I espied some- thing small and bright protruding beneath it, and sprang up, thinking they were about to prise it in. To my surprise, however, I could THE KING OF NAVARRE. 31 discover, on taking the candle to the threshold, nothing more threatening than a couple of gold livres, which had been thrust through the crevice between the door and the floor. My astonishment may be conceived. I stood for full a minute staring at the coins, the candle in my hand. Then, reflecting that the young sparks at the Court would be very unlikely to spend such a sum on a jest, I hesitated no longer, but putting down the candle, drew the bolt of the door, purposing to confer with my visitors outside. In this, however, I was disappointed, for the moment the door was open they pushed forcibly past me, and entering the room pell-mell, bade me by signs close the door again. I did so suspiciously, and without averting my eyes from my visitors. Great were my embarrassment and confusion, therefore, when, the door being shut, they dropped their cloaks one after the other, and I saw before me M. du Mornav and the well-known fii^jure of the King of Navarre. 32 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. They seemed so much diverted, looking at one another and laughing, that for a moment I thought some chance resemblance deceived me, and that here were my jokers again. Hence while a man might count ten I stood staring ; and the king was the first to speak. " We have made no mistake, Du Mornay, have we ? " he said, casting a laughing glance at me. " No, sire," Du Mornay answered. " This is the Sieur de Marsac, the gentleman whom I mentioned to you." I hastened, confused, wondering, and with a hundred apologies, to pay my respects to the king. He speedily cut me short, however, saying, with an air of much kindness: "Of Marsac, in Brittany, I think, sir ? " " The same, sire." " Then you are of the family of Bonne ? " " I am the last survivor of that family, sire," I answered respectfully. " It has played its part," he rejoined. And therewith he took his seat on my stool with THE KING OF NAVARRE. 33 an easy grace wliich charmed me. "Your motto is ' Bonne Fol," is it not ? And Marsac, if I remember rightly, is not far from Rennes, on the Vilaine ? " I answered that it was, adding, with a full heart, that it grieved me to be compelled to receive so great a prince in so poor a lodging. " Well, I confess," Du Mornay struck in, looking carelessly round him, "you have a queer taste, M. de Marsac, in the arrangement of your furniture. You " " Mornay I " the king cried sharply. " Sire ! " " Chut ! your elbow is in the candle. Be- ware of it I " But I well understood him. If my heart had been full before, it overflowed now. Poverty is not so shameful as the shifts to which it drives men. I had been compelled some days before, in order to make as good a show as possible — since it is the undoubted duty of a gentleman to hide his nakedness from impertinent eyes, and especially from the VOL. 1. 3 34 A GENTLEMAN OP FRANCE. eyes of the canaille, who are wont to judge from externals — to remove such of my furniture and equipage as remained to that side of the room which was visible from without when the door was open. This left the farther side of the room vacant and bare. To anyone within doors the artifice was, of course, ap- parent, and I am bound to say that M. du Mornay's words brought the blood to my brow. I rejoiced, however, a moment later that he had uttered them ; for without them I might never have known, or known so early, the kindness of heart and singular quickness of apprehension which ever distinguished the king, my master. So, in my heart, I began to call him from that hour. The King of Navarre was at this time thirty-five years old, his hair brown, his com- plexion ruddy, his moustache, on one side at least, beginning to turn grey. His features, which nature had cast in a harsh and imperi- ous mould, were relieved by a constant sparkle and animation such as I have never THE KIN(! OF NAVARRE. 35 seen in any other man, l^iit in him becamo ever more conspicuous in gloomy and perilous times. Inured to danger from his earliest youth, he had come to enjoy it as others a festival, hailing its advent with a reckless gaiety which astonished even brave men, and led others to think him the least prudent of mankind. Yet such he was not : nay, he was the opposite of this. Never did marshal of France make more careful dispositions for a battle — albeit once in it he bore himself like any captain of horse — nor ever did Du Mornay himself sit down to a conference with a more accurate knowledge of affairs. His prodigious wit and the affability of his manners, while they endeared him to his servants, again and again blinded his adversaries ; who, thinking that so much brilliance could arise only from a shallow nature, found when it was too late that they had been outwitted by him whom they contemptuously styled the Prince of Beam, a man a hundredfold more astute than themselves, and master alike of pen and sword. 36 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. Much of this, which all the world now knows, I learned afterwards. At the moment I could think of little save the king's kind- ness ; to which he added by insisting that I should sit on the bed while we talked. " You wonder, M. de Marsac," he said, "what brings me here, and why I have come to you instead of sending for you. Still more, perhaps, why I have come to you at night and with such precautions. I will tell you. But first, that my coming may not fill you with false hopes, let me say frankly, that though I may relieve your present necessities, whether you fall into the plan I am going to mention, or not, I cannot take you into my service ; wherein, indeed, every post is doubly filled. Du Mornay mentioned your name to me, but in fairness to others I had to answer that I could do nothing." I am bound to confess that this strange exordium dashed hopes which had already risen to a high pitch. Recovering myself as quickly as possible, however, I murmured THE KING UF XAVAKRK. 37 that the honour of a visit from the King of Navarre was sufficient hap2:>iness for me. " Nay, but that honour I must take from you," he rephed, smihng ; " though I see that you would make an excellent courtier — far better than Du Mornay here, who never in his life made so pretty a speech. For I must lay my commands on you to keej^ this visit a secret, M. de Marsac. Should but the slightest whisper of it get abroad, your usefulness, as far as I am concerned, would be gone, and gone for good ! " So remarkable a statement filled me with wonder I could scarcely disguise. It was with difficulty I found words to assure the king that his commands should be faithfully obeyed. " Of that I am sure," he answered with the utmost kindness. " Were I not, and sure, too, from what I am told of your gallantry when my cousin took Brouage, that you are a man of deeds rather than words, I should not be here with the proposition I am going to lay before you. It is this. I can give you 38 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. no hope of public employment, M. de Marsac, but 1 can offer you an adventure — if adven- tures be to your taste — as dangerous and as thankless as any Amadis ever undertook." " As thankless, sire ? " I stammered, doubt- ing if I had heard aright, the expression was so strange. " As thankless," he answered, his keen eyes seeming to read my soul. " I am frank with you, you see, sir," he continued carelessly. " I can suggest this adventure — it is for the good of the State — I can do no more. The King of Navarre cannot appear in it, nor can he protect you. Succeed or fail in it you stand alone. The only promise I make is, that if it ever be safe for me to acknowledge the act, I will reward the doer." He paused, and for a few moments I stared at him in sheer amazement. What did he mean ? Were he and the other real figures, or was I dreaming ? " Do you understand ? " he asked at length, with a touch of impatience. THE KING OF NAVARRE. 39 " Yes, sire, I think I do," I murmured, very certain in truth and reaUty that I did not. "What do you say, then — yes or no?" he rejoined. " Will you undertake the adventure, or would you hear more before you make up your mind ? " I hesitated. Had I been a younger man by ten years I should doubtless have cried assent there and then, having been all my life ready enough to embark on such enterprises as offered a chance of distinction. But some- thing in the strangeness of the king's preface, although I had it in my heart to die for him, gave me check, and I answered, with an air of great humility, " You will think me but a poor courtier now, sire, yet he is a fool who jumps into a ditch without measuring the depth. 1 would fain, if I may say it without disrespect, hear all that you can tell me." " Then I fear," he answered quickly, " if you would have more light on the matter, my friend, you must get another candle." I started, he spoke so abruptly ; but per- 40 A OKNTLEMAN OF FRANOH. ceiving that the candle had indeed l)urned down to the socket, I rose with many apologies, and fetched another" from the cupboard. It did not occur to me at the moment, though it did later, that the king had purposely sought this opportunity of consulting with his com- panion. I merely remarked, when I returned to my place on the l^ed, that they were sitting a little nearer one another, and that the king eyed me before he spoke — though he still swung one foot carelessly in the air — with close attention. " I sjDcak to you, of course, sir," he presently went on, " in confidence, believing you to be an honourable as well as a brave man. That which I wish you to do is briefly, and in a word, to carry off a lady. Nay," he added quickly, with a laughing grimace, " have no fear I She is no sweetheart of mine, nor should I go to my grave friend here did I need assistance of that kind. Henry of Bourbon, I pray God, will always be able to free his own ladv-love. This is a State affair, THE KING OF NAVARRE. 41 and a matter of quite another character, though we cannot at present entrust you with the meaning of it." I bowed in silence, feeling somewhat chilled and perplexed, as who would not, having such an invitation before him ? I had anticipated an affair with men only — a secret assault or a petard expedition. But seeing the bareness of my room, and the honour the king was doing me, I felt I had no choice, and I answered, " That being the case, sire, I am wholly at your service". " That is well," he answered briskly, though methought he looked at Du Mornay reproach- fully, as doubting his commendation of me. " But will you say the same," he continued, removing his eyes to me, and speaking slowly, as though he would try me, " when I tell you that the lady to he carried off is the ward of the Vicomte de Turenne, whose arm is well- nigh as long as my own, and who would fain make it longer ; who never travels, as he told me yesterday, with less than fifty gentlemen? 42 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. and has a thousand arquebusiers in his pay ? Is the adventure still to your liking, M. de Marsac, now that you know that ? " " It is more to my liking, sire," I answered stoutly. " Understand this too," he rejoined. " It is essential that this lady, who is at present confined in the vicomte's house at Chiz^, should be released ; l)ut it is equally essential that there should be no breach between the vicomte and myself. Therefore the affair must be the work of an independent man, who has never been, in my service, nor in any way connected with me. If captured, you pay the penalty without recourse to me." " I fully understand, sire," I answered. " Ventre Saint Gris ! " he cried, breaking into a low laugh. " I swear the man is more afraid of the lady than he is of the vicomte ! That is not the way of most of our Court." Du Mornay, who had l^een sitting nursing his knee in silence, pursed up his lips, though it was easv to see that he was well content THE KING OF NAVARRE. 43 with the king's approbation. He now in- tervened. ''With your permission, sire," he said, " I will let this gentleman know the details." "Do, my friend," the king answered. "And be short, for if we are here much longer I shall be missed, and in a twinkling the Court will have found me a new mistress." He spoke in jest and with a laugh, but I saw Du Mornay start at the words, as though they were little to his liking; and I learned afterwards that the Court was really much exercised at this time with the question who would be the next favourite, the king's passion for the Countess de la Guiche being evidently on the wane, and that which he presently evinced for Madame de Guercheville being as yet a matter of conjecture. Du Mornay took no overt notice of the king's words, however, but proceeded to give me my directions. " Chiz6, which you know by name," he said, " is six leagues from here. Mademoiselle de la Vire is confined in the 44 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. north-west room, on the first floor, over- looking the park. More I cannot tell you, except that her woman's name is Fanchette, and that she is to be trusted. The house is well guarded, and you will need four or five men. There are plenty of cut-throats to be hired ; only see, M. de Marsac, that they are such as you can manage, and that Made- moiselle takes no hurt among them. Have horses in waiting, and the moment you have released the lady ride north with her as fast as her strength will permit. Indeed, you must not spare her, if Turenne be on your heels. You should be across the Loire in sixty hours after leaving Chiz6." " Across the Loire ? " I exclaimed in astonishment. " Yes, sir, across the Loire," he replied, with some sternness. " Your task, be good enough to understand, is to convoy Made- moiselle de la Vire with all speed to Blois. There, attracting as little notice as may be, vou will inquire for the Baron de Kosny at THE KING OF NAVARRE. 45 the "Bleeding Heart," in the Hue de 8t. Denys. He will take charge of the lady, or direct you how to dispose of her, and your task will then be accomplished. You follow me ? " " Perfectly," I answered, speaking in my turn with some dryness. " But Mademoiselle, I understand, is young. What if she will not accompany me, a stranger, entering her room at night, and by the window ? " " That has been thought of," was the answer. He turned to the King of Navarre, who, after a moment's search, produced a small object from his pouch. This he gave to his com- panion, and the latter transferred it to me. I took it with curiosit}'. It was the half of a gold carolus, the broken edge of the coin being rough and jagged. " Show that to Made- moiselle, my friend," Du Mornay continued, " and she will accompany you. She has the other half" " But be careful," Henry added eagerly, " to make no mention, even to her, of the King of Navarre. You mark me, M. de Marsac ! If 46 A fiENTLKMAX OF FRAN(^E. you have at any time occasion to speak of me, you may have the honour of calhng me your friend, and referring to me always in the same manner." This he said with so gracious an air that I was charmed, and thought myself happy in- deed to be addressed in this wise by a prince whose name was already so glorious. Nor was my satisfaction diminished when his companion drew out a bag containing, as he told me, three hundred crowns in gold, and placed it in my hands, bidding me defray therefrom the cost of the journey. " Be careful, however," he added earnestly, " to avoid, in hiring your men, any appearance of wealth, lest the adventure seem to be suggested by some outside person ; instead of being dictated by the desperate state of your own fortunes. Promise rather than give, so far as that will avail. And for what you must give, let each livre seem to be the last in your pouch." Henry nodded assent. "Excellent advice !" THE KING OF NAVARRE. 47 he muttered, rising and drawing on his cloak, " such as you ever give me, Mornay, and I as seldom take — more's the pity ! But, after all, of little avail without this." He lifted my sword from the table as he spoke, and weighed it in his hand. " A pretty tool ! " he continued, turning suddenly and looking me very closely in the face. " A very pretty tool ! Were I in your place, M. de Marsac, I would see that it hung loose in the scabbard. Ay, and more, man, use it ! " he added, sinking his voice and sticking out his chin, while his grey eyes, looking ever closer into mine, seemed to grow cold and hard as steel. " Use it to the last, for if you fall into Turenne's hands, God help you ! I cannot ! " "If I am taken, sire," I answered, trembling, but not with fear, "my fate be on my own head." I saw the king's eyes soften at that, and his face change so swiftly that I scarce knew him for the same man. He let the weapon drop with a crash on the table. " Ventre Saint 48 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. Gris ! " he exclaimed, with a strange thrill of yearning in his tone. " 1 swear by God, 1 would I were in your shoes, sir I To strike a blow or two with no care what came of it. To take the road with a good horse and a good sword, and see what fortune would send. To be rid of all this statecraft and protocol- ling, and never to issue another declaration in this world ; but just to be for once a Gentle- man of France, with all to win and nothing to lose save the love of my lady ! Ah ! Mornay, would it not be sweet to leave all this fret and fume, and ride away to the green woods by Coarraze ? " "Certainly, if you prefer them to the Louvre, sire," Du Mornay answered drily ; while I stood silent and amazed, before this strange man, who could so suddenly change from grave to gay, and one moment spoke so sagely, and the next like any wild lad in his teens. " Cer- tainly," he answered, "if that be your choice, sire ; and if you think that even there the Duke of Guise will leave you in peace. Turenne, I THE KING OF NAVARRE. 49 am sure, will be glad to hear of your decision. Doubtless he will be elected Protector of the Churches. Nay, sire, for shame!" Du Mornay continued, almost with sternness. ''Would you leave France, which at odd times I have heard you say you loved, to shift for herself? Would you deprive her of the only man who does love her for her own sake ? " "Well, well, but she is such a fickle sweet- heart, my friend," the king answered, laughing, the side glance of his eye on me. " Never was one so coy or so hard to clip! And, besides, has not the Pope divorced us ?" "The Pope! A fig for the Pope!" Du Mornay rejoined with impatient heat. "What has he to do with France ? An impertinent meddler, and an Italian to boot ! I would he and all the brood of them were sunk a hundred fathoms deep in the sea. But, mean- time, I would send him a text to digest." '' Exemj)liim?'' said the king. "Whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder." VOL. 1. -i 50 A gp:ntleman of franoe. "Amen!" quoth Henry softly. "And France is a fair and comely bride." After that he kept such a silence, falling as it seemed to me into a l)rown study, that he went away without so much as bidding me farewell, or being conscious, as far as I could tell, of my presence. Du Mornay exchanged a few words with me, to assure himself that I understood what I had to do ; and then, with many kind expressions, which I did not fail to treasure up and con over in the times that were coming, hastened downstairs after his master. My joy when I found myself alone may be conceived. Yet was it no ecstasy, but a sober exhilaration ; such as stirred my pulses indeed, and bade me once more face the world with a firm eye and an assured brow, but was far from holding out before me a troubadour's palace or any dazzling prospect. The longer I dwelt on the interview, the more clearly I saw the truth. As the glamour which Henry's presence and singular kindness THE KING OF NAVARRE. 51 had cast over me began to lose some of its power, I recognised more and more surely why he had come to me. It was not out of any special favour for one whom he knew by report only, if at all by name ; but because he had need of a man poor, and therefore reckless, middle-aged (of which comes dis- cretion), obscure — therefore a safe instrument; — to crown all, a gentleman, seeing that both a secret and a woman were in question. Withal I wondered too. Looking from the bag of money on the table to the broken coin in my hand, I scarcely knew which to admire more : the confidence which entrusted the one to a man broken and beggared, or the courage of the gentlewoman who should ac- company me on the faith of the other. 52 CHAPTER III. BOOT AND SADDLE. As was natural, I meditated deeply and far into the night on the difficulties of the task entrusted to me. I saw that it fell into two parts : the release of the lady, and her safe conduct to Blois, a distance of sixty leagues. The release I thought it probable I could effect single-handed, or with one companion only ; but in the troubled condition of the country at this time, more particularly on both sides of the Loire, I scarcely saw how I could ensure a lady's safety on the road northwards unless I had with me at least five swords. To get these together at a few hours' notice promised to be no easy task ; although the presence of the Court of Navarre had filled St. Jean with a crowd of adventurers. Yet the BOOT ANT) SADDLE. 53 king's command was urgent, and, at some sacrifice, even at some risk, must be obeyed. Pressed by these considerations, I coukl think of no better man to begin with than Fresnoy. His character was bad, and he had long forfeited such claim as he had ever possessed — I believe it was a misty one, on the distaff side — to gentility. But the same cause which had rendered me destitute — I mean the death of the Prince of Cond^ — had stripped him to the last rag; and this, perhaps, inclining me to serve him, I was the more quick to see his merits. I knew him always for a hardy, reck- less man, very capable of striking a shrewd blow. I gave him credit for being trusty, as long as his duty jumped with his interest. Accordingly, as soon as it was light, having fed and groomed the Cid, which was always the first employment of my day, I set out in search of Fresnoy, and was presently lucky enough to find him talving his morning draught outside the " Three Pigeons," a little inn not far from the north gate. It was more than a 54 A GENTLP]MAN OF FRANOP]. fortnight since I had set eyes on him, and the lapse of time had worked so great a change for the worse in him that, forgetting my own shabbiness, I looked at him askance, as doubt- ing the wisdom of enlisting one who bore so plainly the marks of poverty and dissipation. His great face — he was a large man — had suffered recent ill-usage and was swollen and discoloured, one eye being as good as closed. He was unshaven, his hair was ill-kempt, his doublet unfastened at the throat, and torn and stained besides. Despite the cold — for the morning was sharp and frosty, though free from wind — there were half-a-dozen pack- men drinking and squabbling before the inn, while the lieasts they drove quenched their thirst at the trough. But these men seemed with one accord to leave him in possession of the bench at which he sat ; nor did I wonder much at this when I saw the morose and savage glance which he shot at me as I approached. Whether he read my first impressions in my face, or for some other BOOT AND SADDLE. 55 reason felt distaste for my company, I could not determine. But, undeterred by his be- haviour, I sat down beside him and called for wine. He nodded sulkily in answer to my greeting, and cast a half-shamed, half-anory look at me out of the corners of his eyes. " You need not look at me as though I were a dog," he muttered presently. "You are not so very spruce yourself, my friend. But I suppose you have grow^n proud since you got that fat appointment at Court ! " And he laughed out loud, so that I confess I was in two minds whether I should not force the jest down his ugly throat. However, I restrained myself, though my cheeks burned. " You have heard about it, then," I said, striving to speak indifferently. " Who has not ? " he said, laughing with his lips, though his eyes were far from merry, " The Sieur de Marsac's appointment ! Ha ! ha ! Why, man- " " Enough of it now ! " I exclaimed. And I 56 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. dare say I writhed on my seat. " As far as I am concerned the jest is a stale one, sir, and does not amuse me." " But it amuses me," he rejoined with a grin. " Let it be, nevertheless," I said ; and I think he read a warning in my eyes. " I have come to speak to you upon another matter." He did not refuse to listen, but threw one leg over the other, and looking up at the inn- sign began to whistle in a rude, offensive manner. Still, having an object in view, I controlled myself, and continued. " It is this, my friend : money is not very plentiful at present with either of us." Before I could say any more he turned on me savagely, and with a loud oath thrust his bloated face, flushed with passion, close to mine. " Now look here, M. de Marsac ! " he cried violently, " once for all, it is no good ! I have not got the money, and I cannot pay it. I said a fortnight ago, when you lent it, that you should have it this week. Well," BOOT AND SADDLE. 57 slapping his hand on the bench, " I have not got it, and it is no good beginning upon me. You cannot have it, and that is flat ! " " Damn the money ! " I cried. " What ? " he exclaimed, scarcely believing his ears. " Let the money be ! " I repeated fiercely. " Do you hear ? I have not come about it, I am here to offer you work — good, well-paid work — if you will enlist with me and play me fair, Fresnoy." " Play fair ! " he cried with an oath. " There, there," I said. " I am willing to let bygones be bygones if you are. The point is, that I have an adventure on hand, and, want- ing help, can pay you for it." He looked at me cunningly, his eye travelling over each rent and darn in my doublet. " I will help you fast enough," he said at last. "But I should like to see the money first." " You shall," I answered. " Then I am with you, my friend. Count on me till death ! " he cried, rising and laying 58 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. liis hand in mine witli a lioisterous frankness which did not deceive me into trusting him far. " And now, whose is the affair, and what is it?" " The affair is mine," T said cohlly. " It is to carry off a lady." He whistled and looked me over again, an impudent leer in his eyes. " A lady ! " he ex- claimed. "Umph! I could understand a young spark going in for such — but that's your affair. Who is it ? " " That is my affair, too," I answered coolly, disgusted by the man's venality and meanness, and fully persuaded that I must trust him no further than the length of my sword. " All I want you to do, M. Fresnoy," I continued stiffly, "is to place yourself at my disposal and under my orders for ten days. I will find you a horse and pay you — the enterprise is a hazardous one, and I take that into account — two gold crowns a day, and ten more if we succeed in reaching a place of safety." " Such a place as " BOOT AND SADDLE. 59 " Never mind that," I rei)liecl. " The ques- tion is, do you accej^t ? " He looked down sullenly, and I could see he was greatly angered by my determination to keep the matter to myself. " Am I to know no more than that?" he asked, digging the point of his scabbard again and again into the ground. "No more," I answered firmly. "I am bent on a desperate attempt to mend my fortunes before they fall as low as yours ; and that is as much as I mean to tell living man. If you are loth to risk yom^ life with your eyes shut, say so, and I will go to someone else." But he was not in a position, as I well knew, to refuse such an offer, and presently he accepted it with a fresh semblance of heartiness. I told him I should want four troopers to escort us, and these he offered to procure, saying that he knew just the knaves to suit me. I bade him hire two only, however, being too wise to put myself altogether in his hands ; and then, having given him money to buy himself a horse 60 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. — I made it a term that the men shouki bring their own — and named a rendezvous for the first horn' after noon, I parted from him, and went rather sadly away. For I began to see that the king had not underrated the dangers of an enterprise on which none but desperate men and such as were down in the world could be expected to embark. Seeing this, and also a thing which followed clearly from it — that I should have as much to fear from my own company as from the enemy — I looked forward with little hope to a journey during every day and every hour of which I must bear a growing weight of fear and responsibility. It was too late to turn back, however, and I went about my preparations, if with little cheerfulness, at least with steadfast purpose. I had my sword ground and my pistols put in order by the cutler over whom I lodged, and who performed this last office for me with the same goodwill which had characterised all his dealings with me. I sought out and hired a BOOT AND SADDLE. 61 couple of stout fellows whom I believed to be indifferently honest, but who possessed the ad- vantage of having horses ; and besides bought two led horses myself for Mademoiselle and her woman. Such other equipments as were absolutely necessary I purchased, reducing my stock of money in this way to two hundred and ten crowns. How to dispose of this sum so that it might be safe and yet at my command was a question which greatly exercised me. In the end I had recourse to my friend the cutler, who suggested hiding a hundred crowns of it in my cap, and deftly contrived a place for the purpose. This, the cap being lined with steel, was a matter of no great difficulty. A second hundred I sewed up in the stuffing of my saddle, placing the remainder in my pouch for present necessities. A small rain was falling in the streets when, a little after noon, I started with my two knaves behind me, and made for the north gate. So many were moving this way and the other that we passed unnoticed, and might have 62 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. done so had wc numbered six swords instead of three. When we reaehed the rendezvous, a mile beyond the gate, we found Fresnoy ah-eady there, taking shelter in the lee of a big holly-tree. He had four horsemen with him, and on our appearance rode forward to meet us, crying heartily, " Welcome, M. le Capitaine I " " Welcome, certainly I " I answered, puUing the Cid up sharply, and holding off from him. " But who are these, M. Fresnoy ? " and I pointed with my riding-cane to his four com- panions. He tried to pass the matter off with a laugh. " Oh I these ! " he said. " That is soon ex- plained. The evangelists would not be divided, so I brought them all — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — thinking it likely you might fail to secure your men. And I will warrant them for four as gallant boys as you will ever find behind you ! " They were certainly four as arrant ruffians as I had ever seen before me, and I saw 1 must BOOT AND SADDLE. 63 not hesitate. " Two or none, M. Fresnoy," I said firmly. "I gave you a commission for two, and two I will take — Matthew and Mark, or Luke and John, as you please. " 'Tis a pity to iDreak the party," said he, scowling. " If that be all," I retorted, '* one of my men is called John. And we will dub the other Luke, if that will mend the matter." " The Prince of Conde," he muttered sullenly, " employed these men." " The Prince of Conde employed some queer people sometimes, M. Fresnoy," I answered, looking him straight between the eyes, " as we all must. A truce to this, if you please. We will take Matthew and Mark. The other two be good enough to dismiss." He seemed to waver for a moment, as if he had a mind to disobey, but in the end, thinking better of it, he bade the men return ; and as I complimented each of them with a piece of silver, they went off, after some swearing, in tolerabJv ii'ood liuiuoiir. Thereon Fresnov was 64 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. for taking the road at once ; but having no mind to be followed, I gave the word to wait until the two were out of sight. I think, as we sat our horses in the rain, the holly-bush not being large enough to shelter us all, we were as sorry a band as ever set out to rescue a lady ; nor was it without pain that I looked round and saw myself reduced to com- mand such people. There was scarcely one whole unpatched garment among us, and three of my squires had but a spur apiece. To make up for this deficiency we mustered two black eyes, Fresnoy's included, and a broken nose. Matthew's nag lacked a tail, and, more remark- able still, its rider, as I presently discovered, was stone-deaf ; while Mark's sword was innocent of a scabbard, and his bridle was plain rope. One thing, indeed, I observed with pleasure. The two men who had come with me looked askance at the two who had come with Fresnoy, and these returned the stare with interest. On this division and on the length of my sword I based all my hopes of BOOT AND SADDLE. 65 safety, and of something more. On it I was about to stake, not my own life only — which was no great thing, seeing what my prospects were — but the life and honour of a woman, young, helpless, and as yet unknown to me. Weighed down as I was by these considera- tions, I had to bear the additional burden of hiding my fears and suspicions under a cheerful demeanour. I made a short speech to my following, who one and all responded by swearing to stand by me to the death. I then gave the word, and we started, Fresnoy and I leading the way, Luke and John with the led horses following, and the other two bringing up the rear. The rain continuing to fall and the country in this part being dreary and monotonous, even in fair weather, I felt my spirits sink still lower as the day advanced. The responsibility I was going to incur assumed more serious proportions each time I scanned my following ; while Fresnoy, plying me with perpetual ques- tions respecting my plans, was as uneasy a VOL. I. 5 66 A TxENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. companion as my worst enemy could have wished me. " Come ! " he grumbled presently, when we had covered four leagues or so, "you have not told me yet, sieur, where we stay to-night. You are travelling so slowly that " " I am saving the horses," I answered shortly. " We shall do a long day to-morrow." " Your's looks fit for a week of days,"* he sneered, with an evil look at my Sardinian, which was, indeed, in better case than its master. "It is sleek enough, any way ! " " It is as good as it looks," I answered, a little nettled by his tone. " There is better here," he responded. " I don't see it," I said. I had already eyed the nags all round, and assured myself that, ugly and blemished as they were, they were up to their work. But I had discerned no special merit among them. I looked them over again now, and came to the same conclusion — that, except the led horses, which I had chosen with some care, there was nothing among them to BOOT AND SADDLE. 67 vie with the Cid, either in speed or looks. [ told Fresnoy so. " Would you like to try ? " he said taunt- ingly. I laughed, adding, " If you think I am going to tire our horses by racing them with such work as we have before us, you are mistaken, Fresnoy. I am not a boy, you know." " There need be no question of racing," he answered more quietly. " You have only to get on that rat-tailed bay of Matthew's to feel its paces and say I am right." I looked at the bay, a bald-faced, fiddle- headed horse, and saw that, with no signs of breeding, it was still a big-boned animal, with good shoulders and powerful hips. I thought it possible Fresnoy might be right, and if so, and the bay's manners were tolerable, it might do for mademoiselle better than the horse I had chosen. At any rate, if we had a fast horse among us, it was well to know the fact ; so bidding Matthew change with me, and be careful of the Cid, I mounted the bay and soon 68 A (lENTLKMAN OF FH ANOE. discovered tlint its ]);xces w(^r(^ easy, and pro- mised speed, while its manners seemed as good as even a timid rider could desire. Our road at the time lay across a flat desolate heath, dotted here and there with thorn-bushes ; the track, being broken and stony, extended more than a score of yards in width, through travellers straying to this side and that to escape the worst places. Fresnoy and I, in making the change, had fallen slightly behind the other three, and were riding abreast of Matthew on the Cid. '' Well," he said, " was 1 not right ? " " In part," I answered. " The horse is better than it looks." " Like many others," he rejoined, a spark of resentment in his tone — " men as well as horses, M. de Marsac. But what do you say ? Shall we canter on a little and overtake the others ? " Thinking it well to do so, I assented readily, and we started together. We had ridden, however, no more than a hundred yards, an(l BOOT AND SADDLE. 69 I was only beginning to extend the bay, when Fresnoy, shghtly drawing rein, turned in his saddle and looked back. The next moment he. cried, "Hallo! What is this? Those fellows are not following us, are they ? " I turned sharply to look. At that moment, without falter or warning, the bay horse went down under me as if shot dead, throwing me half a dozen yards over its head ; and that so suddenly that I had no time to raise my arms, but, falling heavily on my head and shoulder, lost consciousness. I have had many falls, but no other to vie with that in utter unexpectedness. When I recovered my senses I found myself leaning, giddy and sick, against the bole of an old thorn-tree. Fresnoy and Matthew supported me on either side, and asked me how I found myself; while the other three men, their forms black against the stormy evening sky, sat their horses a few paces in front of me. 1 was too much dazed at first to see more, and this only in a mechanical fashion ; but 70 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. gradually, my brain grow clearer, and I ad- vanced from wondering who the strangers round me were to recognising them, and finally to remembering what had happened to me. " Is the horse hurt ? " I muttered as soon as I could sjoeak. " Not a whit," Fresnoy answered, chuckling, or I was much mistaken. " I am afraid you came off the worse of the two, captain." He exchanged a look with the men on horseback as he spoke, and in a dull fashion 1 fancied I saw them smile. One even laughed, and another turned in his saddle as if to hide his face. I had a vague general sense that there was some joke on foot in which I had no part. But I was too much shaken at the moment to be curious, and gratefully accepted the offer of one of the men to fetcli me a little water. While he was away the rest stood round me, the same look of ill-concealed drollery on their faces. Fresnoy alone talked, speaking volubly of the accident, pouring out BOOT AND SADDLE. 71 expressions of sympathy, and cursing the road, the horse, and the wintry light until the water came ; when, much refreshed by the draught, I managed to climb to the Cid's saddle and plod slowly onwards with them. " A bad beginning," Fresnoy said presently, stealing a sly glance at me as we jogged along side by side, Chize half a league before us, and darkness not far off. By this time, however, I was myself again, save for a little humming in the head, and, shrugging my shoulders, I told him so. "All's well that ends well," I added. " Not that it was a pleasant fall, or that I wish to have such another." '' No, I should think not," he answered. His face was turned from me, but I fancied I heard him snigger. Something, which may have been a vague suspicion, led me a moment later to put my hand into my pouch. Then I understood. I understood too well. The sharp surprise of the discovery was such that involuntarily I 72 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. drove my spurs into the Cid, and tlio horse sprang forward. " What is the matter ? " Fresnoy asked. " The matter ? " I echoed, my hand still at my belt, feeling — feeling hopelessly. " Yes, what is it ? " he asked, a brazen smile on his rascally face. I looked at him, my brow as red as fire. " Oh ! nothing, nothing," I said. " Let us trot on." In truth I had discovered that, taking ad- vantage of my helplessness, the scoundrels had robbed me, while I lay insensible, of every gold crown in my purse ! Nor was this all, or the worst, for I saw at once that in doing so they had effected something which was a thousandfold more ominous and formidable — established against me that secret understand- ing which it was my special aim to jjrevent, and on the absence of which I had been counting. Nay, I saw that for my very life I had only my friend the cutler and my own prudence to thank, seeing that these rogues BOOT AND SADDLE. 7 3 would certainly have murdered me without scruple had they succeeded in finding the bulk of my money. Baffled in this, while still per- suaded that I had other resources, they had stopped short of that villany — or this memoir had never been written. They had kindly permitted me to live until a more favourable opportunity of enriching themselves at my expense should put them in possession of my last crown ! Though I was sufficiently master of myself to refrain from complaints which I felt must l)e useless, and from menaces which it has never been my habit to utter unless I had also the jwwer to put them into execution, it must not 1)6 imagined that I did not, as I rode on by Fresnoy's side, feel my position acutely, or see how absurd a figure I cut in my dual character of leader and dupe. Indeed, the reflection that, being in this perilous position, I was about to stake another's safety as well as my own, made me feel the need of a few minutes' thought so urgent that 1 determined 74 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. to gain them, even at the risk of leaving my men at liberty to plot further mischief. Coming almost immediately afterwards within sight of the turrets of the Chateau of Chiz6, I told Fresnoy that we should lie the night at the village ; and bade him take the men on and secure quarters at the inn. Attacked instantly by suspicion and curiosity, he demurred stoutly to leaving me, and might have persisted in his refusal had I not pulled up, and clearly shown him that I would have my own way in this case or come to an open breach. He shrank, as I expected, from the latter alternative, and, bidding me a sullen adieu, trotted on with his troop. I waited until they were out of sight, and then, turning the Cid's head, crossed a small brook which divided the road from the chase, and choosing a ride which seemed to pierce the wood in the direction of the chateau, proceeded down it, keeping a sharp look-out on either hand. It was then, my thoughts turning to the lady who was now so near, and who, noble, BOOT AND SADDLE. 75 rich, and a stranger, seemed, as I appioached her, not the least formidable of the embar- rassments before me — it was then that I made a discovery which sent a cold shiver through my frame, and in a moment swept all memor\' of my j^altry ten crowns from my head. Ten crowns I Alas I I had lost that which was worth all my crowns put together— the broken coin which the King of Navarre had entrusted to me, and wdiich formed my sole credential, my only means of persuading Mademoiselle de la Vire that I came from him. I had put it in my pouch, and of course, though the loss of it only came home to my mind now, it had disappeared with the rest. I drew rein and sat for some time motionless, the image of despair. The wind which stirred the naked boughs overhead, and whirled the dead leaves in volleys past my feet, and died away at last among the whispering bracken, met nowhere with wretchedness greater, 1 ))elieve, than was mine at that moment. 76 CHAPTEli IV. MADEMOISELLE DE LA VIRE. My first desperate impulse on discovering the magnitude of my loss was to ride after the knaves and demand the token at the sword's point. The certainty, however, of finding them united, and the difficulty of saying which of the five possessed what I wanted, led me to reject this plan as I grew cooler ; and since I did not dream', even in this dilemma, of abandoning the expedition, the only alternative seemed to be to act as if I still had the broken coin, and essay what a frank explanation might effect when the time came. After some wretched, very wretched, mo- ments of debate, I resolved to adopt this course ; and, for the present, thinking I might gain some knowledge of the surroundings MADEMOISELLE DE LA VniE. 77 while the liglit lasted, 1 })u.s]ie(l cautiously forward through the trees, and came in less than five minutes within sight of a corner of the chateau, which I found to be a modern building of the time of Henry II., raised, like the houses of that time, for pleasure rather than defence, and decorated with many handsome casements and tourelles. Despite this, it wore, as I saw it, a grey and desolate air, due in part to the loneliness of the situa- tion and the lateness of the hour ; and in part, I think, to the smallness of the household maintained, for no one was visible on the terrace or at the windows. The rain dripped from the trees, which on two sides pressed so closely on the house as almost to darken the rooms; and everything I saw encouraged me to hope that Mademoiselle's wishes would second my entreaties, and incline her to lend a ready ear to my story. The appearance of the house, indeed, was a strong inducement to me to proceed, for it was impossible to believe that a young lady, a 78 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. ]