Chapter XXX. The Inventory of M. de Beaufort.
To have talked of D'Artagnan with Planchet, to have seen Planchet quitParis to bury himself in his country retreat, had been for Athos and hisson like a last farewell to the noise of the capital--to their life offormer days. What, in fact, did these men leave behind them--one of whomhad exhausted the past age in glory, and the other, the present agein misfortune? Evidently neither of them had anything to ask of hiscontemporaries. They had only to pay a visit to M. de Beaufort, andarrange with him the particulars of departure. The duke was lodgedmagnificently in Paris. He had one of those superb establishmentspertaining to great fortunes, the like of which certain old menremembered to have seen in all their glory in the times of wastefulliberality of Henry III.'s reign. Then, really, several great nobleswere richer than the king. They knew it, used it, and never deprivedthemselves of the pleasure of humiliating his royal majesty when theyhad an opportunity. It was this egotistical aristocracy Richelieu hadconstrained to contribute, with its blood, its purse, and its duties, towhat was from his time styled the king's service. From Louis XI.--thatterrible mower-down of the great--to Richelieu, how many families hadraised their heads! How many, from Richelieu to Louis XIV., had bowedtheir heads, never to raise them again! But M. de Beaufort was born aprince, and of a blood which is not shed upon scaffolds, unless by thedecree of peoples,--a prince who had kept up a grand style of living.How did he maintain his horses, his people, and his table? Nobody knew;himself less than others. Only there were then privileges for the sonsof kings, to whom nobody refused to become a creditor, whether fromrespect or the persuasion that they would some day be paid.
Athos and Raoul found the mansion of the duke in as much confusion asthat of Planchet. The duke, likewise, was making his inventory; that isto say, he was distributing to his friends everything of value he hadin his house. Owing nearly two millions--an enormous amount in thosedays--M. de Beaufort had calculated that he could not set out forAfrica without a good round sum, and, in order to find that sum, he wasdistributing to his old creditors plate, arms, jewels, and furniture,which was more magnificent in selling it, and brought him back double.In fact, how could a man to whom ten thousand livres were owing, refuseto carry away a present worth six thousand, enhanced in estimation fromhaving belonged to a descendant of Henry IV.? And how, after havingcarried away that present, could he refuse ten thousand livres more tothis generous noble? This, then, was what had happened. The duke hadno longer a dwelling-house--that had become useless to an admiral whoseplace of residence is his ship; he had no longer need of superfluousarms, when he was placed amidst his cannons; no more jewels, which thesea might rob him of; but he had three or four hundred thousand crownsfresh in his coffers. And throughout the house there was a joyousmovement of people who believed they were plundering monseigneur. Theprince had, in a supreme degree, the art of making happy the creditorsmost to be pitied. Every distressed man, every empty purse, found in himpatience and sympathy for his position. To some he said, "I wish I hadwhat _you_ have; I would give it you." And to others, "I have but thissilver ewer; it is worth at least five hundred livres,--take it." Theeffect of which was--so truly is courtesy a current payment--that theprince constantly found means to renew his creditors. This time heused no ceremony; it might be called a general pillage. He gave upeverything. The Oriental fable of the poor Arab who carried away fromthe pillage of palace a kettle at the bottom of which was concealed abag of gold, and whom everybody allowed to pass without jealousy,--thisfable had become a truth in the prince's mansion. Many contractors paidthemselves upon the offices of the duke. Thus, the provision department,who plundered the clothes-presses and the harness-rooms, attached verylittle value to things which tailors and saddlers set great store by.Anxious to carry home to their wives presents given them by monseigneur,many were seen bounding joyously along, under the weight of earthenjars and bottles, gloriously stamped with the arms of the prince. M. deBeaufort finished by giving away his horses and the hay from his lofts.He made more than thirty happy with kitchen utensils; and thirty morewith the contents of his cellar. Still further; all these people wentaway with the conviction that M. de Beaufort only acted in this mannerto prepare for a new fortune concealed beneath the Arabs' tents. Theyrepeated to each other, while pillaging his hotel, that he was sent toGigelli by the king to reconstruct his lost fortunes; that the treasuresof Africa would be equally divided between the admiral and the king ofFrance; that these treasures consisted in mines of diamonds, or otherfabulous stones; the gold and silver mines of Mount Atlas did noteven obtain the honor of being named. In addition to the mines to beworked--which could not be begun till after the campaign--there wouldbe the booty made by the army. M. de Beaufort would lay his hands onall the riches pirates had robbed Christendom of since the battle ofLepanto. The number of millions from these sources defied calculation.Why, then, should he, who was going in quest of such treasure, setany store by the poor utensils of his past life? And reciprocally, whyshould they spare the property of him who spared it so little himself?
Such was the position of affairs. Athos, with his piercing practicedglance, saw what was going on at once. He found the admiral of France alittle exalted, for he was rising from a table of fifty covers, atwhich the guests had drunk long and deeply to the prosperity of theexpedition; at the conclusion of which repast, the remains, with thedessert, had been given to the servants, and the empty dishes andplates to the curious. The prince was intoxicated with his ruin and hispopularity at one and the same time. He had drunk his old wine to thehealth of his wine of the future. When he saw Athos and Raoul:
"There is my aide-de-camp being brought to me!" he cried. "Come hither,comte; come hither, vicomte."
Athos tried to find a passage through the heaps of linen and plate.
"Ah! step over, step over!" said the duke, offering a full glass toAthos. The latter drank it; Raoul scarcely moistened his lips.
"Here is your commission," said the prince to Raoul. "I had prepared it,reckoning upon you. You will go before me as far as Antibes."
"Yes, monseigneur."
"Here is the order." And De Beaufort gave Raoul the order. "Do you knowanything of the sea?"
"Yes, monseigneur; I have traveled with M. le Prince."
"That is well. All these barges and lighters must be in attendance toform an escort and carry my provisions. The army must be prepared toembark in a fortnight at the very latest."
"That shall be done, monseigneur."
"The present order gives you the right to visit and search all the islesalong the coast; you will there make the enrolments and levies you maywant for me."
"Yes, monsieur le duc."
"And you are an active man, and will work freely, you will spend muchmoney."
"I hope not, monseigneur."
"But I am sure you will. My intendant has prepared the orders of athousand livres, drawn upon the cities of the south; he will give you ahundred of them. Now, dear vicomte, be gone."
Athos interrupted the prince. "Keep your money, monseigneur; war is tobe waged among the Arabs with gold as well as lead."
"I wish to try the contrary," replied the duke; "and then you areacquainted with my ideas upon the expedition--plenty of noise, plentyof fire, and, if so it must be, I shall disappear in the smoke." Havingspoken thus, M. de Beaufort began to laugh; but his mirth was notreciprocated by Athos and Raoul. He perceived this at once. "Ah," saidhe, with the courteous egotism of his rank and age, "you are such peopleas a man should not see after dinner; you are cold, stiff, and dry whenI am all fire, suppleness, and wine. No, devil take me! I should alwayssee you fasting, vicomte, and you, comte, if you wear such a face asthat, you shall see me no more."
He said this, pressing the hand of Athos, who replied with a smile,"Monseigneur, do not talk so grandly because you happen to have plentyof money. I predict that within a month you will be dry, stiff, andcold, in presence of your strong-box, and that then, having Raoul atyour elbow, fasting, you wil
l be surprised to see him gay, animated, andgenerous, because he will have some new crowns to offer you."
"God grant it may be so!" cried the delighted duke. "Comte, stay withme!"
"No, I shall go with Raoul; the mission with which you charge him isa troublesome and difficult one. Alone it would be too much for him toexecute. You do not observe, monseigneur, you have given him command ofthe first order."
"Bah!"
"And in your naval arrangements, too."
"That may be true. But one finds that such fine young fellows as yourson generally do all that is required of them."
"Monseigneur, I believe you will find nowhere so much zeal andintelligence, so much real bravery, as in Raoul; but if he failedto arrange your embarkation, you would only meet the fate that youdeserve."
"Humph! you are scolding me, then."
"Monseigneur, to provision a fleet, to assemble a flotilla, to enrollyour maritime force, would take an admiral a year. Raoul is a cavalryofficer, and you allow him a fortnight!"
"I tell you he will do it."
"He may; but I will go and help him."
"To be sure you will; I reckoned upon you, and still further believethat when we are once at Toulon you will not let him depart alone."
"Oh!" said Athos, shaking his head.
"Patience! patience!"
"Monseigneur, permit us to take our leave."
"Begone, then, and may my good luck attend you."
"Adieu! monseigneur; and may your own good luck attend you likewise."
"Here is an expedition admirably commenced!" said Athos to his son. "Noprovisions--no store flotilla! What can be done, thus?"
"Humph!" murmured Raoul; "if all are going to do as I am, provisionswill not be wanted."
"Monsieur," replied Athos, sternly, "do not be unjust and senseless inyour egotism, or your grief, whichever you please to call it. If you setout for this war solely with the intention of getting killed therein,you stand in need of nobody, and it was scarcely worth while torecommend you to M. de Beaufort. But when you have been introduced tothe prime commandant--when you have accepted the responsibility of apost in his army, the question is no longer about _you_, but about allthose poor soldiers, who, as well as you, have hearts and bodies, whowill weep for their country and endure all the necessities of theircondition. Remember, Raoul, that officers are ministers as useful to theworld as priests, and that they ought to have more charity."
"Monsieur, I know it and have practiced it; I would have continued to doso still, but--"
"You forget also that you are of a country that is proud of its militaryglory; go and die if you like, but do not die without honor and withoutadvantage to France. Cheer up, Raoul! do not let my words grieve you; Ilove you, and wish to see you perfect."
"I love your reproaches, monsieur," said the young man, mildly; "theyalone may cure me, because they prove to me that some one loves mestill."
"And now, Raoul, let us be off; the weather is so fine, the heavens soclear, those heavens which we always find above our heads, which youwill see more clear still at Gigelli, and which will speak to you of methere, as they speak to me here of God."
The two gentlemen, after having agreed on this point, talked over thewild freaks of the duke, convinced that France would be served in a veryincomplete manner, as regarded both spirit and practice, in the ensuingexpedition; and having summed up the ducal policy under the one wordvanity, they set forward, in obedience rather to their will thandestiny. The sacrifice was half accomplished.
The Man in the Iron Mask Page 30