CHAPTER XLII.
On arriving at Senlis it became sufficiently evident, from the stateof inactivity in which I was left, that the object of the King, orrather of his minister, was solely to remove me from the neighbourhoodof Mademoiselle de Villardin; and that no real necessity existed formy presence with a regiment quartered at a distance from any danger,and employed in no service whatever. Although the rash despair towhich I had formerly yielded had now quitted my mind, I trust, forever, yet I fell into a state of deep despondency, from which I wasonly roused for a moment on those days when I received one of thefrequent letters with which Laura endeavoured to console me. FromFather Ferdinand and the Count de Loris I heard less frequently, andtheir letters, certainly, gave me less food for hope than those ofLaura. They had left the Pr?s Vall?e about ten days after I myself hadquitted it, and had proceeded to Paris to petition the King in person.As it was judged expedient to secure some female companion for theyoung heiress during the absence of all her guardians, one of the nunsof St. Ursula, having obtained a dispensation to that effect, remainedwith Laura at the Pr?s Vall?e; but, as she exercised no control overher actions, this arrangement did not at all interrupt our constantcommunication. The journey of Father Ferdinand and the Count, however,produced no very rapid effects. Several weeks passed before they couldobtain a private audience; and when, at length, it was granted, theonly reply they received was, that the King acknowledged my services,and would consider my claims.
It appeared to me that no great consideration was wanting; but whilethis intentional delay continued, the month of May ushered in ourmilitary operations. The King put himself at the head of the armydestined to cover the frontier; and Turenne led a small force, ofwhich my regiment formed a part, to the siege of Dunkirk. I will notpause upon the details of a campaign which, having taken place solately, is too well known to need any relation. My own conduct duringthe year that followed was, of course, greatly affected by thecircumstances in which I stood. Although I did not forget theexhortations to prudence which I had received from Monsieur deVillardin, yet it was not in my nature to calculate personal dangers;and the eagerness which I now felt, by important services, to shamedown all opposition to my just claims, quickened every faculty, andmade me lose no opportunity. As I knew, however, that the eye of thebravest, but most cautious, general of the age was upon me, Iendeavoured, as far as possible, to guard against even the appearanceof imprudence; and, luckily, I was in this, at least, quitesuccessful. Knowing that in the siege a cavalry regiment wouldprobably have but little opportunity of distinguishing itself, Iendeavoured, in our march upon Dunkirk, to find those occasions forservice which I might afterwards be deprived of; and as the enemy'spreparations were rapid and energetic, I was tolerably successful. Thegreatest service which I was thus enabled to render was at the passageof the Lys. Having been thrown forward to reconnoitre, I came suddenlyupon a redoubt of the enemy, placed to defend the very passage uponwhich the army was marching. I was suffered to approach so nearwithout being noticed, that I thought I might as well push on; and,dismounting one of the troops, I was in possession of the place, to myown surprise, as well as that of the Spaniards, before they knewanything of our approach.
But two men were lost in the momentary struggle which took place inthe redoubt; and instantly sending news to the Marshal of ourunexpected success, I had the satisfaction of seeing the army pass theriver without the slightest opposition. At night I was called to thequarters of Monsieur de Turenne, with whom I had a long privateinterview, in which I explained to him my precise situation, and toldhim the great incentive to exertion which was now before me.
"Well, well, my son," he said, in a kindly tone, as I took my leave;"well, well, I will do my best for you; and fear not that yourservices shall have a fair report at Court."
This promise with some men might not have implied much, but it wasTurenne who spoke, and the words did not convey one half of hisintentions in my favour. The siege of Dunkirk succeeded; and no daypassed without my being furnished with some means of obtaining honourand applause. I endeavoured to deserve such kindness; and whetheremployed in covering the foraging parties, or in the more laboriousand less glorious occupation of bringing fascines, I tried, byactivity, perseverance, and care, to distinguish myself from others towhom the same services were assigned. At length the Spanish army,commanded by the Prince de Condo, advanced to the succour of Dunkirk,and the famous battle of the Sand Hills took place. Under the commandof the Marquis of Castelnau, my regiment formed part of the left wing,which, marching along the river, turned the enemy's flank; and I hadhere every opportunity of displaying whatever military qualities Imight possess. My men seconded me most gallantly; and the Marquis deCastelnau being severely wounded, the command of the two thousandseven hundred men, of which alone that division was composed, fellupon me for the time.
Turenne himself thanked me the next morning, at the head of myregiment, for the services I had rendered; and Dunkirk havingsurrendered shortly after, I heard, with no small satisfaction, thatthe young King himself, with all his Court, was about to visit thecamp. Unfortunately, the smallness of our force, and the great want ofcavalry, caused the regiments of horse to be in continual requisition;and two days before the arrival of the King, I was detached towardsBergues, in order, as far as possible, to prevent the enemy fromtaking measures to retard our progress in the siege of that town,which was now determined. I saw that Turenne was grieved when he gavethe order; but, of course, he could suffer no private consideration tointerfere with the service of the King.
Bergues was soon taken, and a number of other places followed, themost important of which was Gravelines. At length the siege of Ypreswas determined; but ere the trenches were opened, an event occurredwhich prevented my witnessing the rest of the campaign. In the courseof our march upon Menin, a report reached head-quarters, that thePrince de Lignes, with a small force, was posted at the distance of aleague and a half, and Turenne immediately detached the Comte de Royein order to dislodge the enemy. My regiment formed part of the forceunder that officer's command; and the position of the Prince de Ligneswas soon forced, his infantry nearly cut to pieces, and his cavalry infull retreat. The pursuit was entrusted to myself, and I followed theenemy almost to the gates of Ypres. There, however, they rallied, madea gallant charge, and in the melee I received a severe cut on thehead, which passed through my helmet and even wounded the skull. I wasunder the horse's feet in an instant, but luckily I received nofurther injury; and when I recovered from the stunning effect of theblow, I found myself a prisoner in the town of Ypres.
Surgeons were busy dressing my wounds, and one or two officers of somerank were standing round the table on which I had been laid. As Iopened my eyes, one of the lookers-on bade another tell the Prince; andin a moment after, the Prince de Lignes was standing by my side. Afterasking the surgeon whether he might speak with me, with due regard toray safety, and hearing his opinion that I was not seriously injured,he addressed me by my name.
"Monsieur de Juvigny," he said, "we are happy in having taken anofficer of your merit and distinction, as probably you can give ussome information which the other prisoners are either not able or notwilling to afford. What we wish to know is, whether Monsieur deTurenne does or does not really intend to sit down before this place?"
I felt some difficulty in articulating; but I replied as well as Icould, "You must be aware, sir, that it is my duty to refuse answersto all such questions."
"Certainly," he rejoined, "if by so doing you contributed to put us onour guard, or to afford any facility for opposing the enemy; but Igive you my honour that we have neither means nor inclination to makeany farther preparations than we have done for the defence of theplace, and my sole purpose in asking the question is, to send away,out of pure compassion, a number of the poor and needy citizens, whomust die of starvation if Monsieur de Turenne attempts to reduce theplace by famine; which must be his plan if he have any design againstYpres, as I find he has n
o battering train with his army. As a goodsoldier, and a worthy gentleman, you will see at once that everyprinciple of humanity requires me to clear the town of all unnecessarymouths. You yourself, and all the other wounded and prisoners, must besent off to Brussels, at all risks, if such should be the intention ofthe French general: so answer me candidly, I entreat you."
"Sir," I replied, "you must judge of what _your_ duty requires of_you_--mine is straightforward. If it be the intention of Monsieur deTurenne to starve you out, the more persons you have to feed, thebetter for his purpose; and although, I confess, I would fain escapebeing sent to Brussels in my present state, yet I can give you noinformation."
"I must even send you thither, then," replied the Prince; and in abrief conversation with the other officers present, I heard him say,"Oh! depend upon it, if they were not determined to attack the place,he would say so, to avoid the journey."
"No, indeed, Monsieur le Prince!" I exclaimed. "You are mistaken. Iwould not give you one tittle of intelligence if I knew that Monsieurde Turenne was going to retread his steps to-morrow."
The Prince smiled, and left the room; and after having been tendedcarefully during the rest of that evening and the following night, Iwas put into a carriage early the next morning, and, with a number ofother wounded persons, as well as prisoners, and all those who weredesirous of quitting the town, was sent on, not indeed to Brussels,but to Tournay.
Fearful that a report of my being killed might reach Laura, I sat upat the first halting-place, and--in spite of all remonstrances from asurgeon who accompanied us--wrote a letter to the Pr?s Vall?e,assuring her, that though a prisoner, and slightly wounded, I was inno danger. Of this letter the commander of our little escort, agallant young Spaniard, who spoke French very tolerably, took charge,promising to despatch it to France by the very first opportunity.
Whether it was the heat of the weather, the fatigue of the journey,or, as the surgeon predicted, the exertion of writing which irritatedmy wound, I cannot tell, but, ere I reached the end of our secondday's march, I was in all the raving delirium of a high fever. Fornearly three weeks the days passed over my head without leaving anyremembrance behind them; and when I recovered my senses, I foundmyself reduced to infant weakness, and lying in a chamber which wasevidently not the ward of an hospital, as my last recollectionsinduced me to believe would be the case. It was a small neat room,cool and shady; and I found a nurse constantly by my bedside, while asurgeon visited me three times each day.--At first I was much toofeeble to ask any questions; but, on the second or third morning afterI began to recover, I begged the nurse to toll me where I was, when,to my surprise, I was told that I was in Tournay, and in the quartersof the Prince de Cond?. The next day I was visited by several Frenchofficers, who had accompanied his Highness into exile; and when I waswell enough to sit up for a short time, the Prince himselfcondescended to visit me, and remained with me alone for a fullhour, making me tell him my whole history. The fate of Monsieur deVillardin, of which he had not yet heard, seemed to grieve himmuch; and when he left me he said, with one of those frank,brilliant smiles, which sometimes illuminated a countenance thatusually was more striking than prepossessing, "Well, well, DeJuvigny, I will think of what I can do to serve you; and ashostilities are suspended, and a treaty of peace is under negotiation,I may have it more in my power to show you that I have not forgotVincennes, than I have yet had since we met there."
I trusted that it might be so, especially as I had candidly told thePrince my situation in regard to Mademoiselle de Villardin, onlyhoping when I did so, to obtain my liberty more speedily. The news,however, that hostilities were suspended, and that peace was likely tobe concluded, gave me the hope of soon holding my beloved Laura to myheart once more, as no pretext for separating us again would thenexist. Having now shown my obedience to the monarch I served, andfully done my duty as a soldier, I determined to yield no more; andresolved, as a last resource, if any attempt should be made to rejectmy claim to Laura's hand, to beg her to unite her fate to mine,without the consent of any monarch on the earth, and try our fate inmy native land, where the prospects were now brightened by the deathof the usurper.
From that day till I had completely recovered my health, I did notagain see the Prince de Cond?; and, on inquiring for him when I waswell enough to go out, I found that he was absent from Tournay, and notlikely to come back for more than a week. These tidings vexed me agood deal, as I was now most anxious to return to France. Noopposition, however, was made to my going out into the town, or evenbeyond the gates; and I found every facility of obtaining moneyamongst the merchants of the place. Thus I might at any time haveeffected my escape, had I been so inclined. But although my parole hadnever been even asked, the kindness which had been shown me by thePrince was a surer bond than links of iron; and I lingered on inTournay with some degree of fretful impatience, but still gainingadditional strength and health every hour. Had I known where toaddress a letter to his Highness, I certainly would have written tohim; but he was moving from place to place, and even the Frenchofficers who remained in Tournay could not give me the necessaryinformation. Thus passed nearly four weeks; and the world again beganto assume the aspect of spring. It was now more than a year since Ihad seen Laura, and fully four months since I had heard from her orfrom Father Ferdinand; and there was a sort of dim uncertainty aboutthe events which might have taken place in the interim that made myheart sometimes feel sick with apprehension.
At length, one night when I had returned _home_--as I called my littleroom in the Prince's quarters--more gloomy than ever, and was sittingby lamp-light, consoling myself in the only way I could devise, bywriting to Laura for the third or fourth time since my recovery, Iheard a good deal of bustle in the courts, and in about an hourafterwards, I was summoned to attend the Prince de Cond?. Overjoyed athis return, I hurried to his presence, and found him quite alone. Ibelieve the gladness of my heart sparkled out upon my countenance; forthough there was a good deal of vexation and chagrin in his own face,yet he smiled when he saw me.
"You seem glad of my return, De Juvigny," he said, "but I am going tosend you away from me directly. When I offered to set you free inParis, in recompence for former services, or to reserve theconsideration of them till another moment and put you to ransom, I didnot think I should be so long ere I could do anything for you. Evennow, all I can do is to make a messenger of you. However, the letterwith which I am about to charge you may be worth the pains ofcarrying, if you know how to take advantage of it. The fact is, Spainand France are negotiating. Spain holds out on my account. The wholebusiness annoys me. I fear not to be left to stand or fall by my ownstrength; and I do not wish to delay the arrangement of peace, sonecessary to both countries, for any private interests of my own. Ihave consequently written this letter to Don Louis de Haro, theminister of his Catholic Majesty, beseeching him to put my personalaffairs entirely on one side, while considering the far more importantbusiness of peace. No one more eagerly desires the conclusion of thenegotiations than my royal cousin Louis of France; and to him I nowsend you, begging you to put this letter for Don Louis into the King'sown hands, and request him, on my part, to make what use of it hewill. The man who brings it to him, De Juvigny," he added with a gaysmile, "may well command the hand of the first heiress in France; andif I obtain for you, by this means, the woman that you love, I shallconceive that I have acquitted myself well towards you."
I need hardly say that my gratitude was deep and sincere, and afterexpressing it as well as I could, I received the Prince's fartherdirections; and the next morning mounted a horse I had bought in thecity, and, followed by four of the troopers of my own regiment--whohad been taken in attempting to rescue me, and whom I had since foundin Tournay--I set out for Paris, furnished with all the necessarypassports. The poor fellows who accompanied me were delighted to findthat the Prince had agreed to liberate them without exchange; and Ineed hardly say, that although I doubted not that difficulties andannoyances were still before me, my heart, too,
beat more lightly thanit had done for many a day. Thus we lost no time on the road; and asfast as our beasts would carry us, made our way to Paris. It was afternightfall when we arrived, but without pause or hesitation I proceededdirect to the palace, and giving my name and quality to theattendants, I begged them to inform his Majesty and the Cardinal thatI had intelligence of the utmost importance to communicate. TheCardinal, one of the pages informed me, had set out for the Spanishfrontier some days before; but my message having been sent through allthe proper channels to the King, I received, in reply, an order topresent myself the next morning an hour before grand mass.
This was a disappointment; for I had fully calculated upon the newswhich I bore procuring me an immediate reception; but kings are somuch accustomed to hear that their subjects have intelligence ofimportance to communicate, and to find that it refers to some pettyinterest or some private suit, that his Majesty fully believed mytidings to refer to my own affairs. The next morning I was at theTuilleries at the exact moment; but, much to my annoyance and disgust,I was kept in an antechamber till the bells for mass sounded all overthe town, and remained there alone till the service of the church wasover. More than a quarter of an hour passed, after I had learned thatmass was done, seeing from the windows the people trotting homethrough the dirty streets, ere an attendant summoned me to thepresence of the King. I was too much accustomed to various scenes, andhad too frequently looked a sterner monarch in the face, to feel anyagitation upon approaching any king upon earth; but in the interviewthat was about to take place, dearer interests than life itself wereconcerned; and when I thought of Laura, my heart certainly beat with aquicker pulse as I moved towards the royal presence.
After passing through several other apartments, the door of a cabinetwas thrown open by the page, and immediately after I found myselfbefore the young king, and in the midst of a circle which clearlyshowed me that my application for an audience had been supposed torefer to my personal concerns. On the King's right hand stood Monsieurde Turenne, and on his left the secretary, Le Tellier. The Queen-motheralso was present, together with several ladies, and one or two nuns,whose garb was certainly more harmonious with the cloister than thecourt; but on the Monarch's left appeared Father Ferdinand, the Countde Loris, and the ancient friend of both my father and myself, thegood old Earl of Norwich. One of Monsieur de Villardin's first cousinswas there also, and his presence did not seem to augur well for mysuit. A few of the officers of the Court made up the group, and as Iran my eye over it in advancing, I was glad to find that the majorityof those present were certainly inclined to support my pretensions. Asthe feelings of the King himself, however, were of far greaterimportance, I tried to gather from his countenance what was passing inhis heart; and, accustomed as I had been from my early years to scanthe faces of my fellow-men, I saw enough to give me some confidence.His brow was strongly contracted, it is true; and he fixed his eyeupon me, as I entered, with an air of stern majesty which spokeanything but favour. At the same time, however, there was the leastpossible inclination towards a smile lurking about the corner of hismouth; and with this key to the rest, as I knew that I had donenothing to deserve severity, I judged that the stern frown upon hisbrow was too bitter to be entirely natural.
I advanced and kissed the hand he held out to me, and then drew a stepback while he said, "Monsieur le Baron, you have desired an audience;and we are, in some degree, prepared for the business you have tospeak of. Explain yourself, therefore, and doubt not that we shall doyou justice."
I again advanced; and, well knowing that to forget the communicationof the Prince de Cond?, even for a moment, in my own hopes and fears,would be a subject of deep offence to the King, as well as the veryworst policy in my own affairs, I bent my knee, and at once tenderedhis Highness's letter, saying, "Having had the good fortune, sire, tobe wounded and taken prisoner in your----"
"The good fortune, sir!" exclaimed the King. "Do you call beingwounded and imprisoned good fortune?"
"It certainly is so, sire," I answered, "when it is in the service ofa prince who rewards all his servants far more than they deserve, andcompensates, tenfold, everything that is suffered in his cause."
The King smiled, and bade me go on.--"Having, then, the good fortune,sire," I continued, "to be wounded and taken prisoner in yourMajesty's service, I fell into the power of his Highness the Prince deCond?, who, on setting me at liberty, charged me to deliver into yourroyal hand this letter, begging that you would be graciously pleasedto make what use of it you, in your wisdom, shall think fit, to removeall difficulties from your gracious purpose of restoring peace toEurope."
The Queen-mother half rose from her chair, and Le Tellier took a stepforward to receive, according to custom, the paper which I tendered tothe King; but Louis took it himself at once, and opening the letter,which was not sealed, read the contents eagerly. "Indeed!" he cried,when he had concluded. "Indeed! Is he so generous? Then we must notsuffer him to out-do us in generosity! Monsieur de Juvigny, thebringing us that letter from our noble cousin adds weight to yourother services. Read, madam," he added, giving the paper to theQueen-mother; "read, and after having settled this other affair, wewill take your Majesty's counsel as to what is to be done."
Anne of Austria read the letter attentively; and as the conclusion ofa final peace with Spain was now her first desire, I could see hercountenance beam with satisfaction as she saw that the only obstacleto the accomplishment of that wish was removed by the voluntary act ofthe Prince de Cond?. When she had done, she gave the letter to thesecretary, and at the same time bent a gracious smile upon me,saying, "You have indeed brought us news, young gentleman, well worthyof honour and reward!"
The King himself immediately proceeded, again assuming the somewhatstern air with which he had at first received me. "Monsieur le Baronde Juvigny," he said, "you have at different times highlydistinguished yourself in our service; and Monsieur de Turenne herepresent gives the most favourable report of your military skill andqualities. All services rendered to ourselves we are certainly willingto recompense even more liberally than bare justice might require; butwe understand that you aim at the hand of the first heiress inFrance--a match for a prince--an alliance which we should not scrupleto seek for a member of our own family. This is estimating your claimssomewhat too highly."
"Sire!" I replied, "it is not upon any small services I may haverendered to your Majesty, nor upon my long and undeviating attachmentto the royal cause, before genius and wisdom had swept away thedifficulties that surrounded it, nor upon some sufferings which I haveendured in the course of my career, that I found my claim to the handof Mademoiselle de Villardin. I found it upon her father's promise andher own; I found it upon her father's will, and upon his expressapplication to your Majesty; and, more than all, I found it upon thedeep attachment that exists between us. Both her guardians, one ofwhom is her nearest relative, consent to our union; and, indeed, theyare bound to do so by the will of her father."
"But here, sir," said the King, "is her father's next of kin, whopositively objects to her marriage with one, whose birth, for aught weknow, may be very inferior."
"I appeal to that English nobleman, sire," I replied, pointing to theEarl of Norwich, "who has known me from my birth, and who will answerfor it, that the blood of my father and my mother was as pure as anyin the realm of France, however poor we all might have become by thechanges of this uncertain world."
"Ay, there is the fact!" answered Louis. "Ought I to bestow the handof this great heiress upon one who may have much merit and even nobleblood, but who sought these shores an absolute adventurer?"
The colour mounted into my face; and although I had hitherto been ascautious as possible, some of my ancient abruptness broke forth, and Ireplied, "I have known princes begin their career as much adventurersas I was----!" From the King's eye I saw that all was lost if I didnot mend my speech, and I added:--"I have seen princes begin theircareer as much adventurers as I was, who were destined to become thegreatest monarchs
on the earth."
The cloud was done away instantly, and a smile succeeded upon thecountenance of the young King, while Monsieur de Turenne, who had bithis lip nearly through at the first part of my reply, drew a longbreath, as if relieved by its conclusion.
"We do not doubt your merit, sir," answered his Majesty; "and as faras we ourselves are concerned, can, of course, have no objection toyour union to this young lady, not designing her for any one else. Butthe vast inequality of your fortunes, and the opposition of herfather's nearest kinsman----"
"Which I beg most strenuously to urge," cried the cousin.
"Do not interrupt me, sir," said the King, sternly. "These twocircumstances offer invincible obstacles to your immediate marriage,unless you can show some motive for my disregarding the objection ofthis gentleman, and for believing that you are influenced by nointerested motive whatever, in the attachment you declare yourself tofeel towards this young lady."
I paused, in order to be sure that the King had completely finished;but ere I could reply myself, Father Ferdinand advanced a little, andaddressed the King.--"I believe, sire," he said, "that the first andstrongest objection is, that a gentleman calling himself the nearestmale relative of the late Duke de Villardin refuses his consent to themarriage of Monsieur de Juvigny with our ward Laura. That objection Ican remove, by telling this gentleman that he is not the nearest malerelative of the late Duke."
"Who, then, is?" demanded the other, fiercely.
"I am!" answered the priest, gazing sternly upon him. "I am Ferdinandde Villardin, the elder brother of the late Duke--he who, more thanforty years ago, as you may have heard, young Sir, abjured theworld--resigned his possessions and his rank--and, spreading abroad hisown death, for twenty years buried himself in an Italian cloister. Ofthese facts, sire," he added, turning to the King, "I have alreadygiven you satisfactory proof; and I now declare, that the full consentof her father's nearest of kin is given to Laura de Villardin's unionwith him who was more than a son to her late parent."
"And in regard to my attachment to her being disinterested, sire," Iadded, "take from her all her possessions, and give me but herself--Iask no more."
"You think that it is impossible such a thing should happen, Monsieurde Juvigny," answered the monarch, gravely; "and, certainly, it isimpossible that we should strip our subjects of their property; but itis not at all impossible that another claimant to this young lady'slands may appear, and we tell you fairly that such is the case. Notfour days ago, it was clearly proved to us that Mademoiselle deVillardin has no claim whatever to one acre of her father's lands.What say you now?"
"They come not to me, my son," said Father Ferdinand, seeing my eyesturn toward* him. "My claim upon them has been null for years."
"What say you now?" repeated the King, gazing upon me with anexpectant smile.
"That most thankfully--as the greatest boon that your Majesty canbestow," I answered, "as a reward for all my services, and as a tie ofgratitude towards you for ever--I claim the hand of Laura deVillardin; and only thank Heaven, that no inequality of fortune cannow make any one believe I seek her from aught but love."
A smile of majestic satisfaction beamed upon the countenance of theyoung monarch; but for several moments he continued to gaze upon mewithout uttering a word; and, of course, the same silence waspreserved by every one in the presence. "You have stood every trialwell, Monsieur de Juvigny," said the King, at length. "You have obeyedour commands at a moment when they were most difficult to obey. Youhave proved that your loyalty as a lover is no less perfect than yourgallantly as a soldier; and all I shall regret, in signing yourmarriage contract, is, that your bride will not bring you as noble afortune as you once expected. My consent to your marriage is fullygiven; there is only the approbation of one other person to be asked.Monsieur de. Loris, be good enough to open that door. What say you,madam? Do you consent likewise?"
As he spoke, the King turned towards one of the nuns, who stood behindthe Queen's chair, covered with the Ursuline veil. At the same moment,Monsieur de Loris opened a door which communicated with the greataudience hall, and two more persons were instantly added to our party.They were Laura de Villardin, and, hand in hand, my little pageClement de la Marke, dressed in all the splendour of a high noble ofthose days, and entering with a step that seemed familiar with courtlyhalls.
Another sight, however, had rivetted all my attention, and, I may say,had struck me dumb, for I actually stood in the midst of the circlelike a statue, without life or motion, as the nun, to whom the Kinghad spoken, raising her veil, exposed to my sight features deeplyengraved on the tablet of memory, and connected with many a sweet andmany a terrible remembrance in the past. Pale and worn, but stillbeautiful, though more than twelve long years, loaded with grief, hadpassed over her head--it was Madame de Villardin herself that gazedupon me; and as I stood thunderstruck before her, she advanced andembraced me as her son. Clement de la Marke clung to me too--the wholetruth flashed upon my mind; and, forgetful of all else but that Laurawas mine, and the dead alive again, I embraced them all in turn; whileAnne of Austria wiped away a tear, and Louis turned with a smile ofgenerous feeling to Turenne.
"Monsieur de Juvigny," said the King, as soon as my first joy wassomewhat moderated, "forgive me for my _coup de th?atre_; but I wishedto have my full share in your joy and your surprise. Though your fairbride has lost the rich lauds of Villardin and Dumont, which go, ofcourse, to my young Lord Duke here, yet she is still the heiress ofVermont and De Loris; and her soft hand is worth a lordship in itself.Every detail has been already given to me; and as there are somepainful points in the history of every family, these good lords herepresent must even smother their curiosity as best they may; for, by mycommand, the many explanations which you may require will be affordedto you by your dear friends in private. You had better now retire tothe hotel de Villardin; and hereafter you will find, that, as by yourhigh qualities you have won yourself a beautiful bride, your serviceshave not been rendered to an ungrateful master."
The Little Ball O' Fire; or, the Life and Adventures of John Marston Hall Page 42
