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The Man in the Iron Mask, a novel by Alexandre Dumas |
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CHAPTER X - Crown and Tiara |
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_ Aramis was the first to descend from the carriage; he held the door open for the young man. He saw him place his foot on the mossy ground with a trembling of the whole body, and walk round the carriage with an unsteady and almost tottering step. It seemed as if the poor prisoner was unaccustomed to walk on God's earth. It was the 15th of August, about eleven o'clock at night; thick clouds, portending a tempest, overspread the heavens, and shrouded every light and prospect underneath their heavy folds. The extremities of the avenues were imperceptibly detached from the copse, by a lighter shadow of opaque gray, which, upon closer examination, became visible in the midst of the obscurity. But the fragrance which ascended from the grass, fresher and more penetrating than that which exhaled from the trees around him; the warm and balmy air which enveloped him for the first time for many years past; the ineffable enjoyment of liberty in an open country, spoke to the prince in so seductive a language, that notwithstanding the preternatural caution, we would almost say dissimulation of his character, of which we have tried to give an idea, he could not restrain his emotion, and breathed a sigh of ecstasy. Then, by degrees, he raised his aching head and inhaled the softly scented air, as it was wafted in gentle gusts to his uplifted face. Crossing his arms on his chest, as if to control this new sensation of delight, he drank in delicious draughts of that mysterious air which interpenetrates at night the loftiest forests. The sky he was contemplating, the murmuring waters, the universal freshness - was not all this reality? Was not Aramis a madman to suppose that he had aught else to dream of in this world? Those exciting pictures of country life, so free from fears and troubles, the ocean of happy days that glitters incessantly before all young imaginations, are real allurements wherewith to fascinate a poor, unhappy prisoner, worn out by prison cares, emaciated by the stifling air of the Bastile. It was the picture, it will be remembered, drawn by Aramis, when he offered the thousand pistoles he had with him in the carriage to the prince, and the enchanted Eden which the deserts of Bas-Poitou hid from the eyes of the world. Such were the reflections of Aramis as he watched, with an anxiety impossible to describe, the silent progress of the emotions of Philippe, whom he perceived gradually becoming more and more absorbed in his meditations. The young prince was offering up an inward prayer to Heaven, to be divinely guided in this trying moment, upon which his life or death depended. It was an anxious time for the bishop of Vannes, who had never before been so perplexed. His iron will, accustomed to overcome all obstacles, never finding itself inferior or vanquished on any occasion, to be foiled in so vast a project from not having foreseen the influence which a view of nature in all its luxuriance would have on the human mind! Aramis, overwhelmed by anxiety, contemplated with emotion the painful struggle that was taking place in Philippe's mind. This suspense lasted the whole ten minutes which the young man had requested. During this space of time, which appeared an eternity, Philippe continued gazing with an imploring and sorrowful look towards the heavens; Aramis did not remove the piercing glance he had fixed on Philippe. Suddenly the young man bowed his head. His thought returned to the earth, his looks perceptibly hardened, his brow contracted, his mouth assuming an expression of undaunted courage; again his looks became fixed, but this time they wore a worldly expression, hardened by covetousness, pride, and strong desire. Aramis's look immediately became as soft as it had before been gloomy. Philippe, seizing his hand in a quick, agitated manner, exclaimed: "Lead me to where the crown of France is to be found." "Is this your decision, monseigneur?" asked Aramis. "It is." "Irrevocably so?" Philippe did not even deign to reply. He gazed earnestly at the bishop, "Such looks are flashes of the hidden fire that betrays men's character," "Let us resume our conversation. I wished to discuss two points with "The conditions, monseigneur?" "Doubtless. You will not allow so mere a trifle to stop me, and you will "I will do so, monseigneur. Once a king - " "When will that be?" "To-morrow evening - I mean in the night." "Explain yourself." "When I shall have asked your highness a question." "Do so." "I sent to your highness a man in my confidence with instructions to "I perused those notes." "Attentively?" "I know them by heart." "And understand them? Pardon me, but I may venture to ask that question "Interrogate me, then, and I will be a scholar representing his lesson to "We will begin with your family, monseigneur." "My mother, Anne of Austria! all her sorrows, her painful malady. Oh! I "Your second brother?" asked Aramis, bowing. "To these notes," replied the prince, "you have added portraits so "You will have to be careful with regard to the watchfulness of the "She is fair, has blue eyes, whose affectionate gaze reveals her "Do you know the latter?" "As if I saw him, and I know the last verses he composed for me, as well "Very good. Do you know your ministers?" "Colbert, an ugly, dark-browed man, but intelligent enough, his hair "As for the latter, we need not disturb ourselves about him." "No; because necessarily you will not require me to exile him, I suppose?" Aramis, struck with admiration at the remark, said, "You will become very "You see," added the prince, "that I know my lesson by heart, and with "You have still an awkward pair of eyes to deal with, monseigneur." "Yes, the captain of the musketeers, M. d'Artagnan, your friend." "Yes; I can well say 'my friend.'" "He who escorted La Valliere to Le Chaillot; he who delivered up Monk, "Never, sire. D'Artagnan is a man to whom, at a certain given time, I "I will think it over. Now tell me about M. Fouquet; what do you wish to "One moment more, I entreat you, monseigneur; and forgive me, if I seem "It is your duty to do so, nay, more than that, your right." "Before we pass to M. Fouquet, I should very much regret forgetting "M. du Vallon, the Hercules of France, you mean; oh! as far as he is "No; it is not he whom I intended to refer to." "The Comte de la Fere, then?" "And his son, the son of all four of us." "That poor boy who is dying of love for La Valliere, whom my brother so "A man who loves deeply, as deeply as Raoul loves Mademoiselle de la "I will see after that. Have you anything further to say about your "No; that is all." "Well, then, now for M. Fouquet. What do you wish me to do for him?" "To keep him on as surintendant, in the capacity in which he has hitherto "Be it so; but he is the first minister at present." "Not quite so." "A king, ignorant and embarrassed as I shall be, will, as a matter of "Your majesty will require a friend." "I have only one, and that is yourself." "You will have many others by and by, but none so devoted, none so "You shall be my first minister of state." "Not immediately, monseigneur, for that would give rise to too much "M. de Richelieu, the first minister of my grandmother, Marie de Medici, "I perceive that your royal highness has studied my notes to great "I am perfectly aware that M. de Richelieu, by means of the queen's "It would be better," said Aramis, bowing, "that I should not be "You shall be nominated before two months are past, Monsieur d'Herblay. "In that case, I have something still further to hope for, monseigneur." "Speak! speak!" "M. Fouquet will not keep long at the head of affairs, he will soon get The young man looked at his interrogator. "M. de Richelieu, of whom we were speaking just now, was very much to "Upon two thrones?" said the young man, thoughtfully. "In fact," pursued Aramis, quietly, "a cardinal, prime minister of "I say that you render me happy and proud, for no other reason than that "It is useless. Never shall I act except in such a manner that you will "And so - my dear brother - will disappear?" "Simply. We will remove him from his bed by means of a plank which "I believe it. There is my hand on it, Monsieur d'Herblay." "Allow me to kneel before you, sire, most respectfully. We will embrace "Still embrace me this very day also, and be, for and towards me, more Aramis was almost overcome as he listened to his voice; he fancied he And they resumed their places in the carriage, which sped rapidly along |