Les trois mousquetaires. English

by Alexandre Dumas

  34 IN WHICH THE EQUIPMENT OF ARAMIS AND PORTHOS IS TREATED OF

  Since the four friends had been each in search of his equipments, therehad been no fixed meeting between them. They dined apart from oneanother, wherever they might happen to be, or rather where they could.Duty likewise on its part took a portion of that precious time which wasgliding away so rapidly--only they had agreed to meet once a week, aboutone o'clock, at the residence of Athos, seeing that he, in agreementwith the vow he had formed, did not pass over the threshold of his door.

  This day of reunion was the same day as that on which Kitty came to findd'Artagnan. Soon as Kitty left him, d'Artagnan directed his steps towardthe Rue Ferou.

  He found Athos and Aramis philosophizing. Aramis had some slightinclination to resume the cassock. Athos, according to his system,neither encouraged nor dissuaded him. Athos believed that everyoneshould be left to his own free will. He never gave advice but when itwas asked, and even then he required to be asked twice.

  "People, in general," he said, "only ask advice not to follow it; or ifthey do follow it, it is for the sake of having someone to blame forhaving given it."

  Porthos arrived a minute after d'Artagnan. The four friends werereunited.

  The four countenances expressed four different feelings: that ofPorthos, tranquillity; that of d'Artagnan, hope; that of Aramis,uneasiness; that of Athos, carelessness.

  At the end of a moment's conversation, in which Porthos hinted that alady of elevated rank had condescended to relieve him from hisembarrassment, Mousqueton entered. He came to request his master toreturn to his lodgings, where his presence was urgent, as he piteouslysaid.

  "Is it my equipment?"

  "Yes and no," replied Mousqueton.

  "Well, but can't you speak?"

  "Come, monsieur."

  Porthos rose, saluted his friends, and followed Mousqueton. An instantafter, Bazin made his appearance at the door.

  "What do you want with me, my friend?" said Aramis, with that mildnessof language which was observable in him every time that his ideas weredirected toward the Church.

  "A man wishes to see Monsieur at home," replied Bazin.

  "A man! What man?"

  "A mendicant."

  "Give him alms, Bazin, and bid him pray for a poor sinner."

  "This mendicant insists upon speaking to you, and pretends that you willbe very glad to see him."

  "Has he sent no particular message for me?"

  "Yes. If Monsieur Aramis hesitates to come," he said, "tell him I amfrom Tours."

  "From Tours!" cried Aramis. "A thousand pardons, gentlemen; but no doubtthis man brings me the news I expected." And rising also, he went off ata quick pace. There remained Athos and d'Artagnan.

  "I believe these fellows have managed their business. What do you think,d'Artagnan?" said Athos.

  "I know that Porthos was in a fair way," replied d'Artagnan; "and as toAramis to tell you the truth, I have never been seriously uneasy on hisaccount. But you, my dear Athos--you, who so generously distributed theEnglishman's pistoles, which were our legitimate property--what do youmean to do?"

  "I am satisfied with having killed that fellow, my boy, seeing that itis blessed bread to kill an Englishman; but if I had pocketed hispistoles, they would have weighed me down like a remorse."

  "Go to, my dear Athos; you have truly inconceivable ideas."

  "Let it pass. What do you think of Monsieur de Treville telling me, whenhe did me the honor to call upon me yesterday, that you associated withthe suspected English, whom the cardinal protects?"

  "That is to say, I visit an Englishwoman--the one I named."

  "Oh, ay! the fair woman on whose account I gave you advice, whichnaturally you took care not to adopt."

  "I gave you my reasons."

  "Yes; you look there for your outfit, I think you said."

  "Not at all. I have acquired certain knowledge that that woman wasconcerned in the abduction of Madame Bonacieux."

  "Yes, I understand now: to find one woman, you court another. It is thelongest road, but certainly the most amusing."

  D'Artagnan was on the point of telling Athos all; but one considerationrestrained him. Athos was a gentleman, punctilious in points of honor;and there were in the plan which our lover had devised for Milady, hewas sure, certain things that would not obtain the assent of thisPuritan. He was therefore silent; and as Athos was the least inquisitiveof any man on earth, d'Artagnan's confidence stopped there. We willtherefore leave the two friends, who had nothing important to say toeach other, and follow Aramis.

  Upon being informed that the person who wanted to speak to him came fromTours, we have seen with what rapidity the young man followed, or ratherwent before, Bazin; he ran without stopping from the Rue Ferou to theRue de Vaugirard. On entering he found a man of short stature andintelligent eyes, but covered with rags.

  "You have asked for me?" said the Musketeer.

  "I wish to speak with Monsieur Aramis. Is that your name, monsieur?"

  "My very own. You have brought me something?"

  "Yes, if you show me a certain embroidered handkerchief."

  "Here it is," said Aramis, taking a small key from his breast andopening a little ebony box inlaid with mother of pearl, "here it is.Look."

  "That is right," replied the mendicant; "dismiss your lackey."

  In fact, Bazin, curious to know what the mendicant could want with hismaster, kept pace with him as well as he could, and arrived almost atthe same time he did; but his quickness was not of much use to him. Atthe hint from the mendicant his master made him a sign to retire, and hewas obliged to obey.

  Bazin gone, the mendicant cast a rapid glance around him in order to besure that nobody could either see or hear him, and opening his raggedvest, badly held together by a leather strap, he began to rip the upperpart of his doublet, from which he drew a letter.

  Aramis uttered a cry of joy at the sight of the seal, kissed thesuperscription with an almost religious respect, and opened the epistle,which contained what follows:

  "My Friend, it is the will of fate that we should be still for some timeseparated; but the delightful days of youth are not lost beyond return.Perform your duty in camp; I will do mine elsewhere. Accept that whichthe bearer brings you; make the campaign like a handsome true gentleman,and think of me, who kisses tenderly your black eyes.

  "Adieu; or rather, AU REVOIR."

  The mendicant continued to rip his garments; and drew from amid his ragsa hundred and fifty Spanish double pistoles, which he laid down on thetable; then he opened the door, bowed, and went out before the youngman, stupefied by his letter, had ventured to address a word to him.

  Aramis then reperused the letter, and perceived a postscript:

  PS. You may behave politely to the bearer, who is a count and a grandeeof Spain!

  "Golden dreams!" cried Aramis. "Oh, beautiful life! Yes, we are young;yes, we shall yet have happy days! My love, my blood, my life! all, all,all, are thine, my adored mistress!"

  And he kissed the letter with passion, without even vouchsafing a lookat the gold which sparkled on the table.

  Bazin scratched at the door, and as Aramis had no longer any reason toexclude him, he bade him come in.

  Bazin was stupefied at the sight of the gold, and forgot that he came toannounce d'Artagnan, who, curious to know who the mendicant could be,came to Aramis on leaving Athos.

  Now, as d'Artagnan used no ceremony with Aramis, seeing that Bazinforgot to announce him, he announced himself.

  "The devil! my dear Aramis," said d'Artagnan, "if these are the prunesthat are sent to you from Tours, I beg you will make my compliments tothe gardener who gathers them."

  "You are mistaken, friend d'Artagnan," said Aramis, always on his guard;"this is from my publisher, who has just sent me the price of that poemin one-syllable verse which I began yonder."

  "Ah, indeed," said d'Artagnan. "Well, your publisher is very generous,my dear Aramis, that's all I can say."


  "How, monsieur?" cried Bazin, "a poem sell so dear as that! It isincredible! Oh, monsieur, you can write as much as you like; you maybecome equal to Monsieur de Voiture and Monsieur de Benserade. I likethat. A poet is as good as an abbe. Ah! Monsieur Aramis, become a poet,I beg of you."

  "Bazin, my friend," said Aramis, "I believe you meddle with myconversation."

  Bazin perceived he was wrong; he bowed and went out.

  "Ah!" said d'Artagnan with a smile, "you sell your productions at theirweight in gold. You are very fortunate, my friend; but take care or youwill lose that letter which is peeping from your doublet, and which alsocomes, no doubt, from your publisher."

  Aramis blushed to the eyes, crammed in the letter, and re-buttoned hisdoublet.

  "My dear d'Artagnan," said he, "if you please, we will join our friends;as I am rich, we will today begin to dine together again, expecting thatyou will be rich in your turn."

  "My faith!" said d'Artagnan, with great pleasure. "It is long since wehave had a good dinner; and I, for my part, have a somewhat hazardousexpedition for this evening, and shall not be sorry, I confess, tofortify myself with a few glasses of good old Burgundy."

  "Agreed, as to the old Burgundy; I have no objection to that," saidAramis, from whom the letter and the gold had removed, as by magic, hisideas of conversion.

  And having put three or four double pistoles into his pocket to answerthe needs of the moment, he placed the others in the ebony box, inlaidwith mother of pearl, in which was the famous handkerchief which servedhim as a talisman.

  The two friends repaired to Athos's, and he, faithful to his vow of notgoing out, took upon him to order dinner to be brought to them. As hewas perfectly acquainted with the details of gastronomy, d'Artagnan andAramis made no objection to abandoning this important care to him.

  They went to find Porthos, and at the corner of the Rue Bac metMousqueton, who, with a most pitiable air, was driving before him a muleand a horse.

  D'Artagnan uttered a cry of surprise, which was not quite free from joy.

  "Ah, my yellow horse," cried he. "Aramis, look at that horse!"

  "Oh, the frightful brute!" said Aramis.

  "Ah, my dear," replied d'Artagnan, "upon that very horse I came toParis."

  "What, does Monsieur know this horse?" said Mousqueton.

  "It is of an original color," said Aramis; "I never saw one with such ahide in my life."

  "I can well believe it," replied d'Artagnan, "and that was why I gotthree crowns for him. It must have been for his hide, for, CERTES, thecarcass is not worth eighteen livres. But how did this horse come intoyour hands, Mousqueton?"

  "Pray," said the lackey, "say nothing about it, monsieur; it is afrightful trick of the husband of our duchess!"

  "How is that, Mousqueton?"

  "Why, we are looked upon with a rather favorable eye by a lady ofquality, the Duchesse de--but, your pardon; my master has commanded meto be discreet. She had forced us to accept a little souvenir, amagnificent Spanish GENET and an Andalusian mule, which were beautifulto look upon. The husband heard of the affair; on their way heconfiscated the two magnificent beasts which were being sent to us, andsubstituted these horrible animals."

  "Which you are taking back to him?" said d'Artagnan.

  "Exactly!" replied Mousqueton. "You may well believe that we will notaccept such steeds as these in exchange for those which had beenpromised to us."

  "No, PARDIEU; though I should like to have seen Porthos on my yellowhorse. That would give me an idea of how I looked when I arrived inParis. But don't let us hinder you, Mousqueton; go and perform yourmaster's orders. Is he at home?"

  "Yes, monsieur," said Mousqueton, "but in a very ill humor. Get up!"

  He continued his way toward the Quai des Grands Augustins, while the twofriends went to ring at the bell of the unfortunate Porthos. He, havingseen them crossing the yard, took care not to answer, and they rang invain.

  Meanwhile Mousqueton continued on his way, and crossing the Pont Neuf,still driving the two sorry animals before him, he reached the Rue auxOurs. Arrived there, he fastened, according to the orders of his master,both horse and mule to the knocker of the procurator's door; then,without taking any thought for their future, he returned to Porthos, andtold him that his commission was completed.

  In a short time the two unfortunate beasts, who had not eaten anythingsince the morning, made such a noise in raising and letting fall theknocker that the procurator ordered his errand boy to go and inquire inthe neighborhood to whom this horse and mule belonged.

  Mme. Coquenard recognized her present, and could not at first comprehendthis restitution; but the visit of Porthos soon enlightened her. Theanger which fired the eyes of the Musketeer, in spite of his efforts tosuppress it, terrified his sensitive inamorata. In fact, Mousqueton hadnot concealed from his master that he had met d'Artagnan and Aramis, andthat d'Artagnan in the yellow horse had recognized the Bearnese ponyupon which he had come to Paris, and which he had sold for three crowns.

  Porthos went away after having appointed a meeting with the procurator'swife in the cloister of St. Magloire. The procurator, seeing he wasgoing, invited him to dinner--an invitation which the Musketeer refusedwith a majestic air.

  Mme. Coquenard repaired trembling to the cloister of St. Magloire, forshe guessed the reproaches that awaited her there; but she wasfascinated by the lofty airs of Porthos.

  All that which a man wounded in his self-love could let fall in theshape of imprecations and reproaches upon the head of a woman Porthoslet fall upon the bowed head of the procurator's wife.

  "Alas," said she, "I did all for the best! One of our clients is ahorsedealer; he owes money to the office, and is backward in his pay. Itook the mule and the horse for what he owed us; he assured me that theywere two noble steeds."

  "Well, madame," said Porthos, "if he owed you more than five crowns,your horsedealer is a thief."

  "There is no harm in trying to buy things cheap, Monsieur Porthos," saidthe procurator's wife, seeking to excuse herself.

  "No, madame; but they who so assiduously try to buy things cheap oughtto permit others to seek more generous friends." And Porthos, turning onhis heel, made a step to retire.

  "Monsieur Porthos! Monsieur Porthos!" cried the procurator's wife. "Ihave been wrong; I see it. I ought not to have driven a bargain when itwas to equip a cavalier like you."

  Porthos, without reply, retreated a second step. The procurator's wifefancied she saw him in a brilliant cloud, all surrounded by duchessesand marchionesses, who cast bags of money at his feet.

  "Stop, in the name of heaven, Monsieur Porthos!" cried she. "Stop, andlet us talk."

  "Talking with you brings me misfortune," said Porthos.

  "But, tell me, what do you ask?"

  "Nothing; for that amounts to the same thing as if I asked you forsomething."

  The procurator's wife hung upon the arm of Porthos, and in the violenceof her grief she cried out, "Monsieur Porthos, I am ignorant of all suchmatters! How should I know what a horse is? How should I know what horsefurniture is?"

  "You should have left it to me, then, madame, who know what they are;but you wished to be frugal, and consequently to lend at usury."

  "It was wrong, Monsieur Porthos; but I will repair that wrong, upon myword of honor."

  "How so?" asked the Musketeer.

  "Listen. This evening M. Coquenard is going to the house of the Due deChaulnes, who has sent for him. It is for a consultation, which willlast three hours at least. Come! We shall be alone, and can make up ouraccounts."

  "In good time. Now you talk, my dear."

  "You pardon me?"

  "We shall see," said Porthos, majestically; and the two separatedsaying, "Till this evening."

  "The devil!" thought Porthos, as he walked away, "it appears I amgetting nearer to Monsieur Coquenard's strongbox at last."