CHAPTER IV.
A BAL-MASQUE OF THE PERIOD.--THE BAT.
The opera balls were then at their height. It was an invention of theChevalier de Bullon, who only obtained pardon for assuming the title ofPrince d'Auvergne, nobody exactly knew why, by rendering this service tothe dissipated society of the time. It was he who had invented thedouble flooring which put the pit on a level with the stage: and theregent, who highly appreciated all good inventions, had granted him inrecompense a pension of two thousand livres, which was four times whatthe Grand Roi had given to Corneille. That beautiful room, with its richand grave architecture, which the Cardinal de Richelieu had inauguratedby his "Mirame," where Sully and Quinault's pastorals had beenrepresented, and where Moliere had himself played his principal works,was this evening the rendezvous of all that was noble, rich, andelegant.
D'Harmental, from a feeling of spite, very natural in his situation, hadtaken particular pains with his toilet. When he arrived, the room wasalready full, and he had an instant's fear that the mask with the violetribbons would not find him, inasmuch as the unknown had neglected toassign a place of meeting, and he congratulated himself on having comeunmasked. This resolution showed great confidence in the discretion ofhis late adversaries, a word from whom would have sent him before theParliament, or at least to the Bastille. But so much confidence had thegentlemen of that day in each other's good faith, that, after having inthe morning passed his sword through the body of one of the regent'sfavorites, the chevalier came, without hesitation, to seek an adventureat the Palais Royal. The first person he saw there was the young Duc deRichelieu, whose name, adventures, elegance, and perhaps indiscretions,had already brought him so much into fashion. It was said that twoprincesses of the blood disputed his affections, which did not preventMadame de Nesle and Madame de Polignac from fighting with pistols forhim, or Madame de Sabran, Madame de Villars, Madame de Mouchy, andMadame de Tencin, from sharing his heart.
He had just joined the Marquis de Canillac, one of the regent'sfavorites, whom, on account of the grave appearance he affected, hishighness called his mentor. Richelieu began to tell Canillac a story,out loud and with much gesticulation. The chevalier knew the duke, butnot enough to interrupt a conversation; he was going to pass, when theduke seized him by the coat.
"Pardieu!" he said, "my dear chevalier, you are not de trop. I amtelling Canillac an adventure which may be useful to him as nocturnallieutenant to the regent, and to you, as running the same danger as Idid. The history dates from to-day--a further merit, as I have only hadtime to tell it to about twenty people, so that it is scarcely known.Spread it, you will oblige me, and the regent also."
D'Harmental frowned. The duke had chosen his time badly. At this momentthe Chevalier de Ravanne passed, pursuing a mask. "Ravanne!" criedRichelieu, "Ravanne!"
"I am not at leisure," replied he.
"Do you know where Lafare is?"
"He has the migraine."
"And Fargy?"
"He has sprained himself." And Ravanne disappeared in the crowd, afterbowing in the most friendly manner to his adversary of the morning.
"Well, and the story?" asked Canillac.
"We are coming to it. Imagine that some time ago, when I left theBastille, where my duel with Gace had sent me, three or four days aftermy reappearance Rafe gave me a charming little note from Madame deParabere, inviting me to pass that evening with her. You understand,chevalier, that it is not at the moment of leaving the Bastille that onewould despise a rendezvous, given by the mistress of him who holds thekeys. No need to inquire if I was punctual; guess who I found seated onthe sofa by her side. I give you a hundred guesses."
"Her husband," said Canillac.
"On the contrary, it was his royal highness himself. I was so much themore astonished, as I had been admitted with some mystery; nevertheless,as you will understand, I would not allow myself to appear astonished. Iassumed a composed and modest air, like yours, Canillac, and saluted themarquise with such profound respect, that the regent laughed. I did notexpect this explosion, and was a little disconcerted. I took a chair,but the regent signed to me to take my place on the sofa. I obeyed.
"'My dear duke,' he said, 'we have written to you on a serious affair.Here is this poor marchioness, who, after being separated from herhusband for two years, is threatened with an action by this clown, underpretext that she has a lover.' The marchioness tried to blush, butfinding she could not, covered her face with her fan. 'At the first wordshe told me of her position,' continued the regent, 'I sent forD'Argenson, and asked him who this lover could be.'
"'Oh, monsieur, spare me!' said the marchioness.--'Nonsense, my littleduck; a little patience.'--'Do you know what the lieutenant of policeanswered me, my dear duke?'--'No,' said I, much embarrassed.--'He saidit was either you or me.'--'It is an atrocious calumny,' Icried.--'Don't be excited, the marchioness has confessed all.'
"'Then,' I replied, 'if the marchioness has confessed all, I do not seewhat remains for me to tell.'--'Oh!' continued the regent, 'I do not askyou for details. It only remains for us, as accomplices, to get oneanother out of the scrape.'--'And what have you to fear, monseigneur?' Iasked. 'I know that, protected by your highness's name, I might braveall. What have we to fear?'--'The outcry of Parabere, who wants me tomake him a duke.'
"'Well, suppose we reconcile them,' replied I.--'Exactly,' said hishighness, laughing; 'and you have had the same idea as themarchioness.'--'Pardieu, madame, that is an honor for me. There must bea kind of apparent reconciliation between this tender couple, whichwould prevent the marquis from incommoding us with the scandal of anaction.'--'But the difficulty,' objected Madame de Parabere, 'is, thatit is two years since he has been here; and, as he piques himself on hisjealousy and severity, what can we say? He has made a vow, that if anyone sets foot here during his absence, the law should avenge him.'
"'You see, Richelieu, this becomes rather uncomfortable,' added theregent.--'Peste! It does indeed.'--'I have some means of coercion in myhands, but they do not go so far as to force a husband to be reconciledto his wife, and to receive her at his house.'--'Well,' replied I,'suppose we bring him here.'--'There is the difficulty.'--'Wait amoment. May I ask if Monsieur de Parabere still has a weakness forchampagne and burgundy?'--'I fear so,' said the marchioness.--'Then,monseigneur, we are saved. I invite the marquis to supper, with a dozenof mauvais sujets and charming women. You send Dubois.'--'What! Dubois?'asked the regent.
"'Certainly; one of us must remain sober. As Dubois cannot drink, hemust undertake to make the marquis drink; and when everybody is underthe table, he can take him away from us and do what he likes with him.The rest depends on the coachman.'--'Did I not tell you, marchioness,'said the regent, 'that Richelieu would give us good advice? Stop, duke,'continued he; 'you must leave off wandering round certain palaces; leavethe old lady to die quietly at St. Cyr, the lame man to rhyme at Sceaux,and join yourself with us. I will give you, in my cabinet, the place ofthat old fool D'Axelles; and affairs will not perhaps be injured byit.'--'I dare say,' answered I. 'The thing is impossible; I have otherplans.'--'Obstinate fellow!' murmured the regent."
"And Monsieur de Parabere?" asked the Chevalier d'Harmental, curious toknow the end of the story.--"Oh! everything passed as we arranged it. Hewent to sleep at my house, and awoke at his wife's. He made a greatnoise, but there was no longer any possibility of crying scandal. Hiscarriage had stopped at his wife's hotel, and all the servants saw himenter. He was reconciled in spite of himself. If he dares again tocomplain of his beautiful wife, we will prove to him, as clearly aspossible, that he adores her without knowing it; and that she is themost innocent of women--also without his knowing it."
"Chevalier!" at this moment a sweet and flute-like voice whispered inD'Harmental's ear, while a little hand rested on his arm.
"You see that I am wanted."
"I will let you go on one condition."
"What is it?"
"That you will tell my story to this charming bat, chargi
ng her to tellit to all the night-birds of her acquaintance."
"I fear," said D'Harmental, "I shall not have time."
"Oh! so much the better for you," replied the duke, freeing thechevalier, whom till then he had held by the coat; "for then you musthave something better to say."
And he turned on his heel, to take the arm of a domino, who, in passing,complimented him on his adventure. D'Harmental threw a rapid glance onthe mask who accosted him, in order to make sure that it was the onewith whom he had a rendezvous, and was satisfied on seeing a violetribbon on the left shoulder. He hastened to a distance from Canillac andRichelieu, in order not to be interrupted in a conversation which heexpected to be highly interesting.
The unknown, whose voice betrayed her sex, was of middle height, andyoung, as far as one could judge from the elasticity of her movements.As M. de Richelieu had already remarked, she had adopted the costumebest calculated to hide either graces or defects. She was dressed as abat--a costume much in vogue, and very convenient, from its perfectsimplicity, being composed only of two black skirts. The manner ofemploying them was at the command of everybody. One was fastened, asusual, round the waist; the masked head was passed through theplacket-hole of the other. The front was pulled down to make wings; theback raised to make horns. You were almost certain thus to puzzle aninterlocutor, who could only recognize you by the closest scrutiny.
The chevalier made all these observations in less time than it has takento describe them; but having no knowledge of the person with whom he hadto deal, and believing it to be some love intrigue, he hesitated tospeak; when, turning toward him:
"Chevalier," said the mask, without disguising her voice, assuming thather voice was unknown to him, "do you know that I am doubly grateful toyou for having come, particularly in the state of mind in which you are?It is unfortunate that I cannot attribute this exactitude to anythingbut curiosity."
"Beautiful mask!" answered D'Harmental, "did you not tell me in yourletter that you were a good genius? Now, if really you partake of asuperior nature, the past, the present and the future must be known toyou. You knew, then, that I should come; and, since you knew it, mycoming ought not to astonish you."
"Alas!" replied the unknown, "it is easy to see that you are a weakmortal, and that you are happy enough never to have raised yourselfabove your sphere, otherwise you would know that if we, as you say, knowthe past, the present and the future, this science is silent as to whatregards ourselves, and that the things we most desire remain to usplunged in the most dense obscurity."
"Diable! Monsieur le Genie," answered D'Harmental, "do you know that youwill make me very vain if you continue in that tone; for, take care, youhave told me, or nearly so, that you had a great desire that I shouldcome to your rendezvous."
"I did not think I was telling you anything new, chevalier. It appearedto me that my letter would leave you no doubt as to the desire I felt ofseeing you."
"This desire, which I only admit because you confess it, and I am toogallant to contradict you--had it not made you promise in your lettermore than is in your power to keep?"
"Make a trial of my science; that will give you a test of my power."
"Oh, mon Dieu! I will confine myself to the simplest thing. You say youare acquainted with the past, the present and the future. Tell me myfortune."
"Nothing easier; give me your hand."
D'Harmental did what was asked of him.
"Sir," said the stranger, after a moment's examination, "I see verylegibly written by the direction of the 'adducta,' and by thearrangement of the longitudinal lines of the palm, five words, in whichare included the history of your life. These words are, courage,ambition, disappointment, love, and treason."
"Peste!" interrupted the chevalier, "I did not know that the geniistudied anatomy so deeply, and were obliged to take their degrees like aBachelor of Salamanca!"
"Genii know all that men know, and many other things besides,chevalier."
"Well, then, what mean these words, at once so sonorous and so opposite?and what do they teach you of me in the past, my very learned genius?"
"They teach me that it is by your courage alone that you gained the rankof colonel, which you occupied in the army in Flanders; that this rankawakened your ambition; that this ambition has been followed by adisappointment; that you hoped to console yourself for thisdisappointment by love; but that love, like fortune, is subject totreachery, and that you have been betrayed."
"Not bad," said the chevalier; "and the Sybil of Cuma could not have gotout of it better. A little vague, as in all horoscopes, but a great fundof truth, nevertheless. Let us come to the present, beautiful mask."
"The present, chevalier? Let us speak softly of it, for it smellsterribly of the Bastille."
The chevalier started in spite of himself, for he believed that no oneexcept the actors who had played a part in it could know his adventureof the morning.
"There are at this hour," continued the stranger, "two brave gentlemenlying sadly in their beds, while we chat gayly at the ball; and thatbecause a certain Chevalier d'Harmental, a great listener at doors, didnot remember a hemistich of Virgil."
"And what is this hemistich?" asked the chevalier, more and moreastonished.
"'Facilis descensus Averni,'" said the mask, laughing.
"My dear genius," cried the chevalier, trying to peep through theopenings in the stranger's mask, "that, allow me to inform you, is aquotation rather masculine."
"Do you not know that genii are of both sexes?"
"Yes; but I had never heard that they quoted the AEneid so fluently."
"Is not the quotation appropriate? You speak to me of the Sybil of Cuma;I answer you in her language. You ask for existing things; I give themyou. But you mortals are never satisfied."
"No; for I confess that this knowledge of the past and the presentinspires me with a terrible desire to know the future."
"There are always two futures," said the mask; "there is the future ofweak minds, and the future of strong minds. God has given man free willthat he might choose. Your future depends on yourself."
"But we must know these two futures to choose the best."
"Well, there is one which awaits you, somewhere in the environs ofNevers, in the depth of the country, among the rabbits of your warren,and the fowls of your poultry-yard. This one will conduct you straightto the magistrate's bench of your parish. It is an easy ambition, andyou have only to let yourself go to attain it. You are on the road."
"And the other?" replied the chevalier, visibly piqued at thesupposition that in any case such a future could be his.
"The other," said the stranger, leaning her arm on that of the youngman, and fixing her eyes on him through her mask; "the other will throwyou back into noise and light--will make you one of the actors in thegame which is playing in the world, and, whether you gain or lose, willleave you at least the renown of a great player."
"If I lose, what shall I lose?" asked the chevalier.
"Life, probably."
The chevalier tossed his head contemptuously.
"And if I win?" added he.
"What do you say to the rank of colonel of horse, the title of Grandeeof Spain, and the order of the Saint Esprit, without counting thefield-marshal's baton in prospective?"
"I say that the prize is worth the stake, and that if you can prove tome that you can keep your promise, I am your man."
"This proof," replied the mask, "must be given you by another, and ifyou wish to have it you must follow me."
"Oh!" said D'Harmental, "am I deceived, and are you but a genius of thesecond order--a subaltern spirit, an intermediate power? Diable! thiswould take away a little of my consideration for you."
"What does it matter if I am subject to some great enchantress, and shehas sent me to you?"
"I warn you that I do not treat with ambassadors."
"My mission is to conduct you to her."
"Then I shall see her?"
"Face to face."
----"Let us go, then."
"Chevalier, you go quickly to the work; you forget that before allinitiations there are certain indispensable ceremonies to secure thediscretion of the initiated."
"What must I do?"
"You must allow your eyes to be bandaged, and let me lead you where Ilike. When arrived at the door of the temple, you must take a solemnoath to reveal nothing concerning the things you may hear, or the peopleyou may see."
"I am ready to swear by the Styx," said D'Harmental, laughing.
"No, chevalier," said the mask, in a grave voice; "swear only by yourhonor; you are known, and that will suffice."
"And when I have taken this oath," asked the chevalier, after aninstant's reflection, "will it be permitted to me to retire, if theproposals made are not such as a gentleman may entertain?"
"Your conscience will be your sole arbiter, and your word the onlypledge demanded of you."
"I am ready," said the chevalier.
"Let us go, then," said the mask.
The chevalier prepared to cross the room in a straight line toward thedoor; but perceiving three of his friends, who might have stopped him onthe way, he made a turn, and described a curve which would bring him tothe same end.
"What are you doing?" asked the mask.
"I am avoiding some one who might detain us."
"Ah!" said the mask, "I began to fear."
"Fear what?" asked D'Harmental.
"To fear that your ardor was diminished in the proportion of thediagonal to the two sides of a square."
"Pardieu!" said D'Harmental, "this is the first time, I believe, thatever a rendezvous was given to a gentleman at an opera ball to talkanatomy, ancient literature, and mathematics. I am sorry to say so, butyou are the most pedantic genius I ever met in my life."
The bat burst out laughing, but made no reply to this sally, in whichwas betrayed the spite of the chevalier at not being able to recognize aperson who appeared to be so well acquainted with his adventures; but asthis only added to his curiosity, both descended in equal haste, andfound themselves in the vestibule.
"What road shall we take?" asked the chevalier. "Shall we travelunderground, or in a car drawn by griffins?"
"With your permission, chevalier, we will simply go in a carriage; andthough you appear to doubt it, I am a woman, and rather afraid of thedark."
"Permit me, then, to call my carriage," said the chevalier.
"Not at all; I have my own."
"Call it then."
"With your permission, chevalier, we will not be more proud than Mahometwith the mountain; and as my carriage cannot come to us, we will go toit."
At these words the bat drew the chevalier into the Rue St. Honore. Acarriage without armorial bearings, with two dark-colored horses, waitedat the corner of the street. The coachman was on his seat, enveloped ina great cape which hid the lower part of his face, while athree-cornered hat covered his forehead and eyes. A footman held thedoor open with one hand, and with the other held his handkerchief so asto conceal his face.
"Get in," said the mask.
D'Harmental hesitated a moment. The anxiety of the servants to preservetheir incognito, the carriage without blazon, the obscure place where itwas drawn up, and the advanced hour of the night, all inspired thechevalier with a sentiment of mistrust; but reflecting that he gave hisarm to a woman, and had a sword by his side, he got in boldly. The masksat down by him, and the footman closed the door.
"Well, are we not going to start?" said the chevalier, seeing that thecarriage remained motionless.
"There remains a little precaution to be taken," said the mask, drawinga silk handkerchief from her pocket.
"Ah! yes, true," said D'Harmental; "I had forgotten. I give myself up toyou with confidence."
And he advanced his head. The unknown bandaged his eyes; then said--
"Chevalier, you give me your word of honor not to remove this bandagetill I give you permission?"
"I do."
"It is well."
Then, raising the glass in front, she said to the coachman--
"You know where, Monsieur le Comte."
And the carriage started at a gallop.