Part 61 (1/2)

”You in this dress, madame! you whom I see after so many years! When I heard these children just now call each other James and Angela, my heart beat so strong! But I could not believe--hope--And the duke?”

The d.u.c.h.ess of Monmouth put one finger on her lips, shook her head sadly, and said: ”You are going to see him! Alas! why should the pleasure of seeing you again be saddened by the sickness of James? Had it not been for this, to-day would have been beautiful for us.”

”I can hardly recognize you again, madame; you, in this costume--in this sad condition.”

”Silence! my children may hear you. But wait a moment here; I will go and prepare my husband to receive you.”

After some minutes the adventurer entered Monmouth's room; the latter was extended on one of those green serge canopied beds such as may still be seen in the houses of some of the peasants.

Although he was emaciated by suffering, and was at that time more than fifty years old, the physiognomy of the duke showed the same gracious and high character.

Monmouth held out his hands affectionately to Croustillac, and indicating a chair at his bed, said to him: ”Seat yourself there, my good friend. To what miraculous chance do we owe this happy meeting? I cannot believe my eyes! So, chevalier, we are reunited after more than eighteen years of separation. Ah! how often Angela and I have spoken of you and of your devoted generosity. Our regret was not being able to tell our children the debt of grat.i.tude that we owe you, and which they also owe you.”

”Ah, well, my duke, consider what is most pressing,” said the Gascon, ”each in his turn.”

So saying, he took his knife from his pocket, unfastened his coat, and gravely made a large incision in the lining.

”What are you doing?” asked the duke.

The chevalier drew from his secret pocket a kind of leathern purse, and said to the duke: ”There is in this one hundred double-louis, your highness; on the other side there is as much. This is the first of my savings on my pay, and the price of the leg which I left the past year at the battle of Mohiloff, after the pa.s.sage of Beresina; for he was first, Peter the Great--well-named--in paying generously the soldiers of fortune who enrolled themselves in his service and who gave, many of them, the sacrifice of some one of their limbs.”

”But, my friend, I do not understand you,” said Monmouth, gently pus.h.i.+ng away the purse which the adventurer tendered him.

”I will be explicit, my lord; you are in arrears to the amount of one hundred crowns of rent, and you are threatened with being turned out of this farm in eight days. It is a pot-bellied animal, bearded and corpulent, robed in the garb of a monk, who has made this threat to your poor, dear children but a short time since at the convent door.”

”Alas, James! this is only too probable,” said Angela, sadly, to her husband.

”I fear it,” said Monmouth, ”but this is not a reason, my friend, to accept----”

”But, my lord, it seems to me that you made me such a fine gift, it is now eighteen years ago, that we might well share it to-day; and when we speak of the past, in order to disembarra.s.s yourself at once of what concerns me, and to speak henceforth of your affairs at our ease, my lord, in two words, this is my history. Upon my arrival at Roch.e.l.le, Father Griffen told me that you had presented me the Unicorn and its cargo!”

”My G.o.d! my friend, this was such a small thing after all that you had done for us,” said James.

”May we not at least recognize all that you have done for us?” said Angela.

”Without doubt, it was little--it was nothing at all--a cup of coffee well sugared, with rum to soften it, was it not? Only the cup was a s.h.i.+p, and to fill it there was coffee and sugar and rum, the cargo of a vessel of eight hundred tons--the whole worth two hundred thousand crowns. You are right--it was less than nothing--but in order to put aside useless discussion and to be frank, Zounds! this gift wounded me----”

”My friend----”

”I was paid by this medallion--speak no more of it. Besides, I have no longer the right to resent it; I made deed of gift of the whole to Father Griffen in order that he might in his turn give it to the poor, or to the convent, or to the devil if he chose to.”

”Can it be possible that you refused it?” exclaimed both husband and wife.

”Yes, I did refuse it, and I am sure, my lord, although you pretend surprise, that you would have acted as I did. I was not already so rich in good works as not to keep the memory of Devil's Cliff pure and without stain. It was a costly luxury, perhaps, but I had been James of Monmouth twenty-four hours, and somewhat of my role of grand seigneur still clung to me.”

”n.o.ble and excellent heart!” exclaimed Angela.

”But,” said Monmouth, ”you were so poor!”

”It is just because I am used to poverty and an adventurous life that that cost me nothing--I said to myself: 'Polypheme--consider! thou hast dreamed this night that thou wast worth two hundred thousand crowns.' I dreamed this dream--all has been said--and that did me good. Yes, often in Russia, when I was in misery--in distress--or when I was nailed to my pallet by a wound, I said to myself, to comfort and to rejoice me: 'After all, Polypheme, for once in thy life thou hast done something n.o.ble and generous.' Well, you may believe me, that restored my courage.

But this is boasting, and what is worse, it unmans me--let us return to my departure from Roch.e.l.le. I avow it to you and I thank you for it; nevertheless, I have profited a little by your generosity. As nothing remained to me of my three unlucky crowns, and that was a small sum to travel to Moscow on, I borrowed twenty-five louis from Master Daniel on the cargo; I paid my pa.s.sage on a Hamburg s.h.i.+p from Hamburg to Fallo; I embarked for Revel on a Swedish vessel; from Revel I went to Moscow; I arrived there like seafish in Lent; Admiral Lefort was recruiting a forlorn hope to reinforce the _polichnie_ of the czar; in other words, the first company of infantry equipped and maneuvering after the German mode which had existed in Russia. I had made the campaign in Flanders with the '_reiters_;' I knew the service; I was then enrolled in the _polichnie_ of the czar, and I had the honor of having this great man for file closer, for he served in this company as a simple soldier, seeing he had the habit of thinking that in order to know a trade it is necessary to learn it.