After a moment's silence, in which D'Artagnan appeared to be collecting,not one idea, but all his ideas--"It cannot be, my dear Planchet," saidhe, "that you have not heard of his majesty Charles I. of England?"
"Alas! yes, monsieur, since you left France in order to assist him, andthat, in spite of that assistance, he fell, and was near dragging youdown in his fall."
"Exactly so; I see you have a good memory, Planchet."
"Peste! the astonishing thing would be, if I could have lost thatmemory, however bad it might have been. When one has heard Grimaud, who,you know, is not given to talking, relate how the head of King Charlesfell, how you sailed the half of a night in a scuttled vessel, and sawfloating on the water that good M. Mordaunt with a certain gold-hafteddagger buried in his breast, one is not very likely to forget suchthings."
"And yet there are people who forget them, Planchet."
"Yes, such as have not seen them, or have not heard Grimaud relatethem."
"Well, it is all the better that you recollect all that; I shall onlyhave to remind you of one thing, and that is that Charles I. had a son."
"Without contradicting you, monsieur, he had two," said Planchet; "forI saw the second one in Paris, M. le Duke of York, one day, as he wasgoing to the Palais Royal, and I was told that he was not the eldest sonof Charles I. As to the eldest, I have the honor of knowing him by name,but not personally."
"That is exactly the point, Planchet, we must come to: it is to thiseldest son, formerly called the Prince of Wales, and who is now styledCharles II., king of England."
"A king without a kingdom, monsieur," replied Planchet, sententiously.
"Yes, Planchet, and you may add an unfortunate prince, more unfortunatethan the poorest man of the people lost in the worst quarter of Paris."
Planchet made a gesture full of that sort of compassion which we grantto strangers with whom we think we can never possibly find ourselves incontact. Besides, he did not see in this politico-sentimental operationany sign of the commercial idea of M. d'Artagnan, and it was in thisidea that D'Artagnan, who was, from habit, pretty well acquainted withmen and things, had principally interested Planchet.
"I am coming to our business. This young Prince of Wales, a king withouta kingdom, as you have so well said, Planchet, has interested me. I,D'Artagnan, have seen him begging assistance of Mazarin, who is a miser,and the aid of Louis, who is a child, and it appeared to me, who amacquainted with such things, that in the intelligent eye of the fallenking, in the nobility of his whole person, a nobility apparent aboveall his miseries, I could discern the stuff of a man and the heart of aking."
Planchet tacitly approved of all this; but it did not at all, in hiseyes at least, throw any light upon D'Artagnan's idea. The lattercontinued: "This, then, is the reasoning which I made with myself.Listen attentively, Planchet, for we are coming to the conclusion."
"I am listening."
"Kings are not so thickly sown upon the earth, that people can findthem whenever they want them. Now, this king without a kingdom is, inmy opinion, a grain of seed which will blossom in some season or other,provided a skillful, discreet, and vigorous hand sow it duly and truly,selecting soil, sky, and time."
Planchet still approved by a nod of his head, which showed that he didnot perfectly comprehend all that was said.
"'Poor little seed of a king,' said I to myself, and really I wasaffected, Planchet, which leads me to think I am entering upon a foolishbusiness. And that is why I wished to consult you, my friend."
Planchet colored with pleasure and pride.
"'Poor little seed of a king! I will pick you up and cast you into goodground.'"
"Good God!" said Planchet, looking earnestly at his old master, as if indoubt as to the state of his reason.
"Well, what is it?" said D'Artagnan; "who hurts you?"
"Me! nothing, monsieur."
"You said, 'Good God!'"
"Did I?"
"I am sure you did. Can you already understand?"
"I confess, M. d'Artagnan, that I am afraid----"
"To understand?"
"Yes."
"To understand that I wish to replace upon his throne this King CharlesII., who has no throne? Is that it?"
Planchet made a prodigious bound in his chair. "Ah, ah!" said he, inevident terror, "that is what you call a restoration!"
"Yes, Planchet; is it not the proper term for it?"
"Oh, no doubt, no doubt! But have you reflected seriously?"
"Upon what?"
"Upon what is going on yonder."
"Where?"
"In England."
"And what is that? let us see, Planchet."
"In the first place, monsieur, I ask your pardon for meddling in thesethings, which have nothing to do with my trade; but since it is anaffair that you propose to me--for you are proposing an affair, are younot?----"
"A superb one, Planchet."
"But as it is business you propose to me, I have the right to discussit."
"Discuss it, Planchet; out of discussion is born light."
"Well, then, since I have monsieur's permission, I will tell him thatthere is yonder, in the first place, the parliament."
"Well, next?"
"And then the army."
"Good! Do you see anything else?"
"Why, then the nation."
"Is that all?"
"The nation which consented to the overthrow and death of the lateking, the father of this one, and which will not be willing to belie itsacts."
"Planchet," said D'Artagnan, "you argue like a cheese! The nation--thenation is tired of these gentlemen who give themselves such barbarousnames, and who sing songs to it. Chanting for chanting, my dearPlanchet; I have remarked that nations prefer singing a merry chant tothe plain chant. Remember the Fronde; what did they sing in those times?Well those were good times."
"Not too good, not too good! I was near being hung in those times."
"Well, but you were not."
"No."
"And you laid the foundation of your fortune in the midst of all thosesongs?"
"That is true."
"Then you have nothing to say against them."
"Well, I return, then, to the army and parliament."
"I say that I borrow twenty thousand livres of M. Planchet, and thatI put twenty thousand livres of my own to it, and with these fortythousand livres I raise an army."
Planchet clasped his hands; he saw that D'Artagnan was in earnest, and,in good truth, he believed his master had lost his senses.
"An army!--ah, monsieur," said he, with his most agreeable smile,for fear of irritating the madman, and rendering him furious,--"anarmy!--how many?"
"Of forty men," said D'Artagnan.
"Forty against forty thousand! that is not enough. I know very well thatyou, M. d'Artagnan, alone, are equal to a thousand men, but where arewe to find thirty-nine men equal to you? Or, if we could find them, whowould furnish you with money to pay them?"
"Not bad, Planchet. Ah, the devil! you play the courtier."
"No, monsieur, I speak what I think, and that is exactly why I say that,in the first pitched battle you fight with your forty men, I am verymuch afraid----"
"Therefore I shall fight no pitched battles, my dear Planchet," said theGascon, laughing. "We have very fine examples in antiquity of skillfulretreats and marches, which consisted in avoiding the enemy instead ofattacking them. You should know that, Planchet, you who commandedthe Parisians the day on which they ought to have fought against themusketeers, and who so well calculated marches and countermarches, thatyou never left the Palais Royal."
Planchet could not help laughing. "It is plain," replied he, "that ifyour forty men conceal themselves, and are not unskillful, they may hopenot to be beaten: but you propose obtaining some result, do you not?"
"No doubt. This, then, in my opinion, is the plan to be proceeded uponin order quickly to replace his majesty Charles II. on his throne."
"Good!" said Pla
nchet, increasing his attention; "let us see your plan.But in the first place it seems to me we are forgetting something."
"What is that?"
"We have set aside the nation, which prefers singing merry songs topsalms, and the army, which we will not fight: but the parliamentremains, and that seldom sings."
"Nor does it fight. How is it, Planchet, that an intelligent man likeyou should take any heed of a set of brawlers who call themselves Rumpsand Barebones. The parliament does not trouble me at all, Planchet."
"As soon as it ceases to trouble you, monsieur, let us pass on."
"Yes, and arrive at the result. You remember Cromwell, Planchet?"
"I have heard a great deal of talk about him."
"He was a rough soldier."
"And a terrible eater, moreover."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Why, at one gulp he swallowed all England."
"Well, Planchet, the evening before the day on which he swallowedEngland, if any one had swallowed M. Cromwell?"
"Oh, monsieur, it is one of the axioms of mathematics that the containermust be greater than the contained."
"Very well! That is our affair, Planchet."
"But M. Cromwell is dead, and his container is now the tomb."
"My dear Planchet, I see with pleasure that you have not only become amathematician, but a philosopher."
"Monsieur, in my grocery business I use much printed paper, and thatinstructs me."
"Bravo! You know then, in that case--for you have not learnt mathematicsand philosophy without a little history--that after this Cromwell sogreat, there came one who was very little."
"Yes; he was named Richard, and he has done as you have, M.d'Artagnan--he has tendered his resignation."
"Very well said--very well! After the great man who is dead, after thelittle one who tendered his resignation, there came a third. This oneis named Monk; he is an able general, considering he has never fought abattle; he is a skillful diplomatist, considering that he never speaksin public, and that having to say 'good-day' to a man, he meditatestwelve hours, and ends by saying 'good-night;' which makes peopleexclaim 'miracle!' seeing that it falls out correctly."
"That is rather strong," said Planchet; "but I know another politicalman who resembles him very much."
"M. Mazarin you mean?"
"Himself."
"You are right, Planchet; only M. Mazarin does not aspire to the throneof France; and that changes everything. Do you see? Well, this M. Monk,who has England ready-roasted in his plate, and who is already openinghis mouth to swallow it--this M. Monk, who says to the people of CharlesII., and to Charles II. himself, 'Nescio vos'----"
"I don't understand English," said Planchet.
"Yes, but I understand it," said D'Artagnan. "'Nescio vos' means 'I donot know you.' This M. Monk, the most important man in England, when heshall have swallowed it----"
"Well?" asked Planchet.
"Well, my friend, I shall go over yonder, and with my forty men, I shallcarry him off, pack him up, and bring him into France, where two modesof proceeding present themselves to my dazzled eyes."
"Oh! and to mine too," cried Planchet, transported with enthusiasm. "Wewill put him in a cage and show him for money."
"Well, Planchet, that is a third plan, of which I had not thought."
"Do you think it a good one?"
"Yes, certainly, but I think mine better."
"Let us see yours, then."
"In the first place, I shall set a ransom on him."
"Of how much?"
"Peste! a fellow like that must be well worth a hundred thousandcrowns."
"Yes, yes!"
"You see, then--in the first place, a ransom of a hundred thousandcrowns."
"Or else----"
"Or else, what is much better, I deliver him up to King Charles, who,having no longer either a general or an army to fear, nor a diplomatistto trick him, will restore himself, and when once restored, will paydown to me the hundred thousand crowns in question. That is the idea Ihave formed; what do you say to it, Planchet?"
"Magnificent, monsieur!" cried Planchet, trembling with emotion. "Howdid you conceive that idea?"
"It came to me one morning on the banks of the Loire, whilst our belovedking, Louis XIV., was pretending to weep upon the hand of Mademoisellede Mancini."
"Monsieur, I declare the idea is sublime. But----"
"Ah! is there a but?"
"Permit me! But this is a little like the skin of that fine bear--youknow--that they were about to sell, but which it was necessary to takefrom the back of the living bear. Now, to take M. Monk, there will be abit of scuffle, I should think."
"No doubt; but as I shall raise an army to----"
"Yes, yes--I understand, parbleu!--a coup-de-main. Yes, then, monsieur,you will triumph, for no one equals you in such sorts of encounters."
"I certainly am lucky in them," said D'Artagnan, with a proudsimplicity. "You know that if for this affair I had my dear Athos, mybrave Porthos, and my cunning Aramis, the business would be settled; butthey are all lost, as it appears, and nobody knows where to find them.I will do it, then, alone. Now, do you find the business good, and theinvestment advantageous?"
"Too much so--too much so."
"How can that be?"
"Because fine things never reach the expected point."
"This is infallible, Planchet, and the proof is that I undertake it. Itwill be for you a tolerably pretty gain, and for me a very interestingstroke. It will be said, 'Such was the old age of M. d'Artagnan,' and Ishall hold a place in tales and even in history itself, Planchet. I amgreedy of honor."
"Monsieur," cried Planchet, "when I think that it is here, in my home,in the midst of my sugar, my prunes, and my cinnamon, that this giganticproject is ripened, my shop seems a palace to me."
"Beware, beware, Planchet! If the least report of this escapes, there isthe Bastile for both of us. Beware, my friend, for this is a plot we arehatching. M. Monk is the ally of M. Mazarin--beware!"
"Monsieur, when a man has had the honor to belong to you, he knowsnothing of fear; and when he has the advantage of being bound up ininterests with you, he holds his tongue."
"Very well, that is more your affair than mine, seeing that in a week Ishall be in England."
"Depart, monsieur, depart--the sooner the better."
"Is the money, then, ready?"
"It will be to-morrow, to-morrow you shall receive it from my own hands.Will you have gold or silver?"
"Gold; that is most convenient. But how are we going to arrange this?Let us see."
"Oh, good Lord! in the simplest way possible. You shall give me areceipt, that is all."
"No, no," said D'Artagnan, warmly; "we must preserve order in allthings."
"That is likewise my opinion; but with you, M. d'Artagnan----"
"And if I should die yonder--if I should be killed by a musket-ball--ifI should burst from drinking beer?"
"Monsieur, I beg you to believe that in that case I should be so muchafflicted at your death, that I should not think about the money."
"Thank you, Planchet; but no matter. We shall, like two lawyers' clerks,draw up together an agreement, a sort of act, which may be called a deedof company."
"Willingly, monsieur."
"I know it is difficult to draw such a thing up, but we can try."
"Let us try, then." And Planchet went in search of pens, ink, andpaper. D'Artagnan took the pen and wrote:--"Between Messire d'Artagnan,ex-lieutenant of the king's musketeers, at present residing in theRue Tiquetonne, Hotel de la Chevrette; and the Sieur Planchet, grocer,residing in the Rue les Lombards, at the sign of the Pilon d'Or, it hasbeen agreed as follows:--A company, with a capital of forty thousandlivres, and formed for the purpose of carrying out an idea conceived byM. d'Artagnan, and the said Planchet approving of it in all points,will place twenty thousand livres in the hands of M. d'Artagnan. Hewill require neither repayment nor interest before the return of M.d'Arta
gnan from a journey he is about to take into England. On his part,M. d'Artagnan undertakes to find twenty thousand livres, which he willjoin to the twenty thousand already laid down by the Sieur Planchet.He will employ the said sum of forty thousand livres according to hisjudgment in an undertaking which is described below. On the day whenM. d'Artagnan shall have re-established, by whatever means, his majestyKing Charles II. upon the throne of England, he will pay into the handsof M. Planchet the sum of----"
"The sum of a hundred and fifty thousand livres," said Planchet,innocently, perceiving that D'Artagnan hesitated.
"Oh, the devil, no!" said D'Artagnan, "the division cannot be made byhalf; that would not be just."
"And yet, monsieur; we each lay down half," objected Planchet, timidly.
"Yes; but listen to this clause, my dear Planchet, and if you do notfind it equitable in every respect when it is written, well, we canscratch it out again:--'Nevertheless, as M. d'Artagnan brings to theassociation, besides his capital of twenty thousand livres, his time,his idea, his industry and his skin,--things which he appreciatesstrongly, particularly the last,--M. d'Artagnan will keep, of the threehundred thousand livres two hundred thousand livres for himself, whichwill make his share two-thirds."
"Very well," said Planchet.
"Is it just?" asked D'Artagnan.
"Perfectly just, monsieur."
"And you will be contented with a hundred thousand livres?"
"Peste! I think so. A hundred thousand for twenty thousand!"
"And in a month, understand."
"How, in a month?"
"Yes, I only ask one month."
"Monsieur," said Planchet, generously, "I give you six weeks."
"Thank you," replied the musketeer, politely; after which the twopartners reperused their deed.
"That is perfect, monsieur," said Planchet, "and the late M. Coquenard,the first husband of Madame la Baronne du Vallon, could not have done itbetter."
"Do you find it so? Let us sign it, then." And both affixed theirsignatures.
"In this fashion," said D'Artagnan, "I shall be under obligations to noone."
"But I shall be under obligations to you," said Planchet.
"No; for whatever store I set by it, Planchet, I may lose my skinyonder, and you will lose all. A propos--peste!--that makes me think ofthe principal, an indispensable clause. I shall write it:--'In thecase of M. d'Artagnan dying in this enterprise, liquidation will beconsidered made, and the Sieur Planchet will give quittance from thatmoment to the shade of Messire d'Artagnan for the twenty thousand livrespaid by him into the hands of the said company.'"
This last clause made Planchet knit his brows a little, but when he sawthe brilliant eye, the muscular hand, the supple and strong back ofhis associate, he regained his courage, and, without regret, he at onceadded another stroke to his signature. D'Artagnan did the same. Thus wasdrawn the first known company contract; perhaps such things have beenabused a little since, both in form and principle.
"Now," said Planchet, pouring out the last glass of Anjou wine forD'Artagnan,--"now go to sleep, my dear master."
"No," replied D'Artagnan; "for the most difficult part now remains to bedone, and I will think over that difficult part."
"Bah!" said Planchet; "I have such great confidence in you, M.d'Artagnan, that I would not give my hundred thousand livres for ninetythousand livres down."
"And devil take me if I don't think you are right!" Upon whichD'Artagnan took a candle and went up to his bedroom.
CHAPTER 21. In which D'Artagnan prepares to travel for the Firm ofPlanchet and Company
Ten Years Later Page 23