Vicomte de Bragelonne

Alexandre Dumas

Description

The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later is the final book in Dumas' d'Artagnon Romances trilogy. The book is in four parts, of which this is the first. According to French academic Jean-Yves Tadie, the real subject of the book is the beginning of King Louis XIV's rule.

Informations

• Publié par: The Floating Press
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781775410188
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE
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ALEXANDRE DUMAS
 
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The Vicomte De Bragelonne First published in 1850.
ISBN 978-1-775410-18-8
© 2009 THE FLOATING PRESS.
While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike.
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Contents
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Chapter I:The Letter. Chapter II:The Messenger. Chapter III:The Interview. Chapter IV:Father and Son. Chapter V:In which Something will be said of Cropoli - of Cropoli and of a GreatUnknown Painter. Chapter VI:The Unknown. Chapter VII:Parry. Chapter VIII:What his Majesty King Louis XIV. was at the Age of Twenty-Two. Chapter IX:In which the Unknown of the Hostelry of Les Medici loses his Incognito. Chapter X:The Arithmetic of M. de Mazarin. Chapter XI:Mazarin's Policy. Chapter XII:The King and the Lieutenant. Chapter XIII:Mary de Mancini. Chapter XIV:In which the King and the Lieutenant each give Proofs of Memory. Chapter XV:The Proscribed. Chapter XVI:"Remember!" Chapter XVII:In which Aramis is sought, and only Bazin is found. Chapter XVIII:In which D'Artagnan seeks Porthos, and only finds Mousqueton. Chapter XIX:What D'Artagnan went to Paris for. Chapter XX:Of the Society which was formed in the Rue des Lombards, at the Sign ofthe Pilon d'Or, to carry out M. d'Artagnan's Idea. Chapter XXI:In which D'Artagnan prepares to travel for the Firm of Planchet & Company. Chapter XXII:D'Artagnan travels for the House of Planchet and Company. Chapter XXIII:In which the Author, very unwillingly, is forced to write a LittleHistory. Chapter XXIV:The Treasure. Chapter XXV:The Marsh. Chapter XXVI:Heart and Mind. Chapter XXVII:The Next Day. Chapter XXVIII:Smuggling. Chapter XXIX:In which D'Artagnan begins to fear he has placed his Money and that ofPlanchet in the Sinking Fund. Chapter XXX:The Shares of Planchet and Company rise again to Par. Chapter XXXI:Monk reveals Himself. Chapter XXXII:Athos and D'Artagnan meet once more at the Hostelry of the Corne du Cerf. Chapter XXXIII:The Audience. Chapter XXXIV:Of the Embarrassment of Riches. Chapter XXXV:On the Canal. Chapter XXXVI:How D'Artagnan drew, as a Fairy would have done, a Country-Seat from aDeal Box. Chapter XXXVII:How D'Artagnan regulated the "Assets" of the Company before heestablished its "Liabilities." Chapter XXXVIII:In which it is seen that the French Grocer had already been establishedin the Seventeenth Century. Chapter XXXIX:Mazarin's Gaming Party. Chapter XL:An Affair of State. Chapter XLI:The Recital. Chapter XLII:In which Mazarin becomes Prodigal. Chapter XLIII:Guenaud. Chapter XLIV:Colbert. Chapter XLV:Confession of a Man of Wealth. Chapter XLVI:The Donation. Chapter XLVII:How Anne of Austria gave one Piece of Advice to Louis XIV., and how M.Fouquet gave him Another. Chapter XLVIII:Agony. Chapter XLIX:The First Appearance of Colbert. Chapter L:The First Day of the Royalty of Louis XIV. Chapter LI:A Passion. Chapter LII:D'Artagnan's Lesson. Chapter LIII:The King. Chapter LIV:The Houses of M. Fouquet. Chapter LV:The Abbe Fouquet. Chapter LVI:M. de la Fontaine's Wine. Chapter LVII:The Gallery of Saint-Mande. Chapter LVIII:Epicureans. Chapter LIX:A Quarter of an Hour's Delay. Chapter LX:Plan of Battle. Chapter LXI:The Cabaret of the Image-de-Notre-Dame. Chapter LXII:Vive Colbert! Chapter LXIII:How M. d'Eymeris's Diamond passed into the Hands of M. d'Artagnan. Chapter LXIV:Of the Notable Difference D'Artagnan finds between Monsieur the Intendantand Monsieur the Superintendent. Chapter LXV:Philosophy of the Heart and Mind. Chapter LXVI:The Journey. Chapter LXVII:How D'Artagnan became Acquainted with a Poet, who had turned Printer forthe Sake of Printing his own Verses. Chapter LXVIII:D'Artagnan continues his Investigations. Chapter LXIX:In which the Reader, no Doubt, will be as astonished as D'Artagnan was tomeet an Old Acquaintance. Chapter LXX:Wherein the Ideas of D'Artagnan, at first strangely clouded, begin toclear up a little. Chapter LXXI:A Procession at Vannes. Chapter LXXII:The Grandeur of the Bishop of Vannes. Chapter LXXIII:In which Porthos begins to be sorry for having come with D'Artagnan. Chapter LXXIV:In which D'Artagnan makes all Speed, Porthos snores, and Aramis counsels. Chapter LXXV:In which Monsieur Fouquet Acts. Endnotes
Chapter I:The Letter.
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Towards the middle of the month of May, in the year 1660, at nine o'clockin the morning, when the sun, already high in the heavens, was fastabsorbing the dew from the ramparts of the castle of Blois, a littlecavalcade, composed of three men and two pages, re-entered the city bythe bridge, without producing any other effect upon the passengers of thequay beyond a first movement of the hand to the head, as a salute, and asecond movement of the tongue to express, in the purest French thenspoken in France: "There is Monsieur returning from hunting." And thatwas all.
Whilst, however, the horses were climbing the steep acclivity which leadsfrom the river to the castle, several shop-boys approached the lasthorse, from whose saddle-bow a number of birds were suspended by the beak.
On seeing this, the inquisitive youths manifested with rustic freedomtheir contempt for such paltry sport, and, after a dissertation amongthemselves upon the disadvantages of hawking, they returned to theiroccupations; one only of the curious party, a stout, stubby, cheerfullad, having demanded how it was that Monsieur, who, from his greatrevenues, had it in his power to amuse himself so much better, could besatisfied with such mean diversions.
"Do you not know," one of the standers-by replied, "that Monsieur'sprincipal amusement is to weary himself?"
The light-hearted boy shrugged his shoulders with a gesture which saidas clear as day: "In that case I would rather be plain Jack than aprince." And all resumed their labors.
In the meanwhile, Monsieur continued his route with an air at once somelancholy and so majestic, that he certainly would have attracted theattention of spectators, if spectators there had been; but the goodcitizens of Blois could not pardon Monsieur for having chosen their gaycity for an abode in which to indulge melancholy at his ease, and asoften as they caught a glimpse of the illustrious ennuye , they stoleaway gaping, or drew back their heads into the interior of theirdwellings, to escape the soporific influence of that long pale face, ofthose watery eyes, and that languid address; so that the worthy princewas almost certain to find the streets deserted whenever he chanced topass through them.
Now, on the part of the citizens of Blois this was a culpable piece ofdisrespect, for Monsieur was, after the king - nay, even perhaps, beforethe king - the greatest noble of the kingdom. In fact, God, who hadgranted to Louis XIV., then reigning, the honor of being son ofLouis XIII., had granted to Monsieur the honor of being son of Henry IV.It was not then, or, at least, it ought not to have been, a triflingsource of pride for the city of Blois, that Gaston of Orleans had chosenit as his residence, and held his court in the ancient Castle of theStates.
But it was the destiny of this great prince to excite the attention andadmiration of the public in a very modified degree wherever he might be.Monsieur had fallen into this situation by habit.
It was not, perhaps, this which gave him that air of listlessness.Monsieur had already been tolerably busy in the course of his life. Aman cannot allow the heads of a dozen of his best friends to be cut offwithout feeling a little excitement; and as, since the accession ofMazarin to power, no heads had been cut off, Monsieur's occupation wasgone, and his morale suffered from it.
The life of the poor prince was then very dull. After his little morninghawking-party on the banks of the Beuvron, or in the woods of Cheverny,Monsieur crossed the Loire, went to breakfast at Chambord, with orwithout an appetite, and the city of Blois heard no more of its sovereignlord and master till the next hawking-day.
So much for the ennui extra muros ; of the ennui of the interior we willgive the reader an idea if he will with us follow the cavalcade to themajestic porch of the Castle of the States.
Monsieur rode a little steady-paced horse, equipped with a large saddleof red Flemish velvet, with stirrups in the shape of buskins; the horsewas of a bay color; Monsieur's pourpoint of crimson velvet correspondedwith the cloak of the same shade and the horse's equipment, and it wasonly by this red appearance of the whole that the prince could be knownfrom his two companions, the one dressed in violet, the other in green.He on the left, in violet, was his equerry; he on the right, in green,was the grand veneur.
One of the pages carried two gerfalcons upon a perch, the other ahunting-horn, which he blew with a careless note at twenty paces from thecastle. Every one about this listless prince did what he had tolistlessly.
At this signal, eight guards, who were lounging in the sun in the squarecourt, ran to their halberts, and Monsieur made his solemn entry into thecastle.
When he had disappeared under the shades of the porch, three or fouridlers, who had followed the cavalcade to the castle, after pointing outthe suspended birds to each other, dispersed with comments upon what theysaw: and, when they were gone, the street, the palace, and the court, allremained deserted alike.
Monsieur dismounted without speaking a word, went straight to hisapartments, where his valet changed his dress, and as Madame had not yetsent orders respecting breakfast, Monsieur stretched himself upon a chaise longue , and