CHAPTER XXII.
THE QUEEN OF THE GREENLANDERS.
As might have been expected, new surprises awaited the guests in thegarden. These gardens, designed by Le Notre for Colbert, and sold by himto the Duc de Maine, had now really the appearance of a fairy abode.They were bounded only by a large sheet of water, in the midst of whichwas the pavilion of Aurora--so called because from this pavilion wasgenerally given the signal that the night was finished, and that it wastime to retire--and had, with their games of tennis, football, andtilting at the ring, an aspect truly royal. Every one was astonished onarriving to find all the old trees and graceful paths linked together bygarlands of light which changed the night into brilliant day.
At the approach of Madame de Maine a strange party, consisting of sevenindividuals, advanced gravely toward her. They were dressed entirely infur, and wore hairy caps, which hid their faces. They had with them asledge drawn by two reindeer, and their deputation was headed by a chiefwearing a long robe lined with fur, with a cap of fox-skin, on whichwere three tails. This chief, kneeling before Madame de Maine, addressedher.
"Madame! the Greenlanders have chosen me, as one of the chief amongthem, to offer you, on their parts, the sovereignty of their state."
This allusion was so evident, and yet so safe, that a murmur ofapprobation ran through the whole assembly, and the ambassador, visiblyencouraged by this reception, continued--
"Fame has told us, even in the midst of our snows, in our little cornerof the world, of the charms, the virtues, and the inclinations of yourhighness. We know that you abhor the sun."
This allusion was as quickly seized on as the first, for the sun wasthe regent's device, and as we have said, Madame de Maine was well knownfor her predilection in favor of night.
"Consequently, madame," continued the ambassador, "as in ourgeographical position God has blessed us with six months of night andsix months of twilight, we come to propose to you to take refuge in ourland from the sun which you so much dislike; and in recompense for thatwhich you leave here, we offer you the title of Queen of theGreenlanders. We are certain that your presence will cause our aridplains to flower, and that the wisdom of your laws will conquer ourstubborn spirit, and that, thanks to the gentleness of your reign, weshall renounce a liberty less sweet than your rule."
"But," said Madame de Maine, "it seems to me that the kingdom you offerme is rather distant, and I confess I do not like long voyages."
"We foresaw your reply, madame," replied the ambassador, "and, thanks tothe enchantments of a powerful magician, have so arranged, that if youwould not go to the mountain, the mountain should come to you. Hola,genii!" continued the chief, describing some cabalistic circles in theair with his wand, "display the palace of your new sovereign."
At this moment some fanciful music was heard; the veil which covered thepavilion of Aurora was raised as if by magic, and the water showed thereflection of a light so skillfully placed that it might have been takenfor the moon. By this light was seen an island of ice at the foot of asnowy peak, on which was the palace of the Queen of the Greenlanders, towhich led a bridge so light that it seemed to be made of a floatingcloud. Then, in the midst of general acclamation, the ambassador tookfrom the hands of one of his suite a crown, which he placed on theduchess's head, and which she received with as haughty a gesture asthough it had been a real crown. Then, getting into the sledge, she wenttoward the marine palace; and, while the guards prevented the crowd fromfollowing her into her new domain, she crossed the bridge and entered,with the seven ambassadors. At the same instant the bridge disappeared,as if, by an illusion not less visible than the others, the skillfulmachinist had wished to separate the past from the future, and fireworksexpressed the joy of the Greenlanders at seeing their new sovereign.Meanwhile Madame de Maine was introduced by an usher into the mostretired part of the palace, and the seven ambassadors having thrown offcaps and cloaks, she found herself surrounded by the Prince deCellamare, Cardinal Polignac, the Marquis de Pompadour, the Comte deLaval, the Baron de Valef, the Chevalier d'Harmental, and Malezieux. Asto the usher, who, after having carefully closed all the doors, came andmixed familiarly with all this noble assembly, he was no other than ourold friend the Abbe Brigaud. Things now began to take their true form,and the fete, as the ambassadors had done, threw off mask and costume,and turned openly to conspiracy.
"Gentlemen," said the duchess, with her habitual vivacity, "we have notan instant to lose, as too long an absence would be suspicious. Letevery one tell quickly what he has done, and we shall know what we areabout."
"Pardon, madame," said the prince, "but you had spoken to me, as beingone of ourselves, of a man whom I do not see here, and whom I amdistressed not to count among our numbers."
"You mean the Duc de Richelieu?" replied Madame de Maine; "it is true hepromised to come; he must have been detained by some adventure; we mustdo without him."
"Yes, certainly," replied the prince, "if he does not come we must dowithout him; but I confess that I deeply regret his absence. Theregiment which he commands is at Bayonne, and for that reason might bevery useful to us. Give orders, I beg, madame, that if he should come heshould be admitted directly."
"Abbe," said Madame de Maine, turning to Brigaud, "you heard; tellD'Avranches."
The abbe went out to execute this order.
"Pardon, monsieur," said D'Harmental to Malezieux, "but I thought sixweeks ago that the Duc de Richelieu positively refused to be one of us."
"Yes," answered Malezieux, "because he knew that he was intended to takethe cordon bleu to the Prince of the Asturias, and he would not quarrelwith the regent just when he expected the Golden Fleece as the reward ofhis embassy; but now the regent has changed his mind and deferredsending the order, so that the Duc de Richelieu, seeing his GoldenFleece put off till the Greek kalends, has come back to us."
"I have given the order," said the Abbe Brigaud, returning.
"Well," said the duchess, "now let us go to business. Laval, you begin."
"I, madame," said Laval, "as you know, have been in Switzerland, where,with the king of Spain's name and money, I raised a regiment in theGrisons. This regiment is ready to enter France at any moment, armed andequipped, and only waits the order to march."
"Very good, my dear count," said the duchess; "and if you do not thinkit below a Montmorency to be colonel of a regiment while waiting forsomething better, take the command of this one. It is a surer way ofgetting the Golden Fleece than taking the Saint Esprit into Spain."
"Madame," said Laval, "it is for you to appoint each one his place, andwhatever you may appoint will be gratefully accepted by the most humbleof your servants."
"And you, Pompadour," said Madame de Maine, thanking Laval by a gestureof the hand, "what have you done?"
"According to your highness's instructions," replied the marquis, "Iwent to Normandy, where I got the protestatior signed by the nobility. Ibring you thirty-eight good signatures" (he drew a paper from hispocket). "Here is the request to the king, and here the signatures."
The duchess snatched the paper so quickly that she almost tore it, andthrowing her eyes rapidly over it:
"Yes, yes," said she, "you have done well to put them so, withoutdistinction or difference of rank, so that there may be no question ofprecedence. Guillaume-Alexandre de Vieux-Pont, Pierre-Anne-Marie de laPailleterie, De Beaufremont, De Latour-Dupin, De Chatillon. Yes, you areright; these are the best and most faithful names in France. Thanks,Pompadour; you are a worthy messenger; your skill shall not beforgotten. And you, chevalier?" continued she, turning to D'Harmentalwith her irresistible smile.
"I, madame," said the chevalier, "according to your orders left forBrittany, and at Nantes I opened my dispatches and took myinstructions."
"Well?" asked the duchess quickly.
"Well, madame," replied D'Harmental, "I have been as successful asMessieurs de Laval and Pompadour. I have the promises of Messieurs deMont-Louis, De Bonamour, De Pont-Callet, and De Rohan Soldue.
As soon asSpain shows a squadron in sight of the coasts, Brittany will rise."
"You see, prince," cried the duchess, addressing Cellamare, with anaccent full of ambitious joy, "everything favors us."
"Yes," replied the prince; "but these four gentlemen, influentialas they are, are not all that we must have. There areLaguerche-Saint-Amant, Les Bois-Davy, De Larochefoucault-Gondral, LesDecourt, and Les d'Eree, whom it would be important to gain."
"It is done, prince," said D'Harmental; "here are their letters;" andtaking several from his pocket, he opened two or three by chance andread their contents.
"Well, prince," cried Madame de Maine, "what do you think now? Besidesthese three letters, here is one from Lavauguyon, one from Bois-Davy,one from Fumee. Stay, chevalier, here is our right hand; 'tis that whichholds the pen--let it be a pledge to you that, if ever its signatureshould be royal, it would have nothing to refuse to you."
"Thanks, madame," said D'Harmental, kissing her hand respectfully, "butyou have already given me more than I deserve, and success itself wouldrecompense me so highly, by placing your highness in your properposition, that I should have nothing left to desire."
"And now, Valef, it is your turn," continued the duchess; "we kept youtill the last, for you were the most important. If I understood rightlyyour signs during dinner, you are not displeased with their Catholicmajesties."
"What would your highness say to a letter written by his highnessPhilippe himself?"
"Oh! it is more than I ever dared to hope for," cried Madame de Maine.
"Prince," said Valef, passing a paper to Cellamare, "you know hismajesty's writing. Assure her royal highness, who does not dare tobelieve it, that this is from his own hand."
"It is," said Cellamare.
"And to whom is it addressed?" asked Madame de Maine, taking it from theprince's hands.
"To the king, Louis XV., madame," said the latter.
"Good!" said the duchess; "we will get it presented by the Marshal deVilleroy. Let us see what it says." And she read as rapidly as thewriting permitted:
"'The Escurial, 16th March, 1718.
"'Since Providence has placed me on the throne of Spain, I have never for an instant lost sight of the obligations of my birth. Louis XIV., of eternal memory, is always present to my mind. I seem always to hear that great prince, at the moment of our separation, saying to me, 'The Pyrenees exist no longer.' Your majesty is the only descendant of my elder brother, whose loss I feel daily. God has called you to the succession of this great monarchy, whose glory and interests will be precious to me till my death. I can never forget what I owe to your majesty, to my country, and to the memory of my ancestor.
"'My dear Spaniards (who love me tenderly, and who are well assured of my love for them, and not jealous of the sentiments which I hold for you) are well assured that our union is the base of public tranquillity. I flatter myself that my personal interests are still dear to a nation which has nourished me in its bosom, and that a nobility who has shed so much blood to support them will always look with love on a king who feels it an honor to be obliged to them, and to have been born among them.'
"This is addressed to you, gentlemen," said the duchess, interruptingherself; and, looking round her, she continued, impatient to know therest of the letter:
"'What, then, can your faithful subjects think of a treaty signed against me, or rather against yourself?
"'Since your exhausted finances can no longer support the current expenses of peace, it is desired that you should unite with my most mortal enemy, and should make war on me, if I do not consent to give up Sicily to the archduke. I will never subscribe to these conditions: they are insupportable to me.
"'I do not enter into the fatal, consequences of this alliance. I only beg your majesty to convoke the States-General directly, to deliberate on an affair of such great consequence.'"
"The States-General!" murmured the Cardinal de Polignac.
"Well, what does your eminence say to the States-General?" interruptedMadame de Maine, impatiently. "Has this measure the misfortune not tomeet with your approbation?"
"I neither blame nor approve, madame," replied the cardinal; "I onlyremember that this convocation was made during the league, and thatPhilip came off badly."
"Men and times are changed, cardinal," replied the duchess; "we are notin 1594, but in 1718. Philip II. was Flemish, and Philip V. is French.The same results cannot take place, since the causes are different." Andshe went on with the letter:
"'I ask this in the name of the blood which unites us--in the name of the great king from whom we have our origin--in the name of your people and mine. If ever there was a necessity to listen to the voice of the French nation, it is now. It is indispensable to learn what they think: whether they wish to declare war on us. As I am ready to expose my life to maintain its glory and interests, I hope you will reply quickly to the propositions I make to you. The Assembly will prevent the unfortunate results which threaten us, and the forces of Spain will only be employed to sustain the greatness of France, and to fight her enemies, as I shall never employ them but to show your majesty my sincere regard and affection.'
"What do you think of that, gentlemen? Can his majesty say more?"
"He might have joined to this an epistle addressed directly to theStates-General," answered the Cardinal de Polignac. "This letter, if theking had deigned to send it, would have had a great influence on theirdeliberations."
"Here it is," said the Prince de Cellamare, taking a paper from hispocket.
"What, prince!" cried the cardinal.
"I say that his majesty is of the same opinion as your eminence, and hassent me this letter, which is the complement of the letter which theBaron de Valef has."
"Then nothing is wanting," cried Madame de Maine.
"We want Bayonne," said the Prince de Cellamare;--"Bayonne, the door ofFrance."
At this moment D'Avranches entered, announcing the Duc de Richelieu.
"And now, prince, there is nothing wanting," said the Marquis dePompadour, laughing: "for here is he who holds the key."