Part 13 (1/2)
”News of him!” exclaimed Coursegol, joyfully. ”Ah! Monseigneur, where is he? How is he?”
”Are you anxious to know?” inquired the duke.
”Your highness shall judge.”
And Coursegol briefly recounted the events that had separated him from Philip, and told the duke how Dolores and himself had come to Paris in the hope of finding him. His recital must have been both eloquent and pathetic, for when it was concluded tears stood in the eyes of the listeners.
”Ah! What anxiety the young girl must have suffered!” exclaimed the prince; ”but I can rea.s.sure her. Yes; I recently received a letter from the Marquis de Chamondrin. It shall be given to you and you shall carry it to his sister. She will be indebted to me for a few hours of happiness. My dear Miromesnil,” added the duke, addressing an old man who was standing near, ”will you look in my correspondence of the month of October for a letter bearing the signature of Chamondrin? When you find it, give it to this worthy man.”
Coursegol began to stammer out his thanks, but, without heeding them, the duke came still nearer and said, in a low voice:
”Does Mademoiselle de Chamondrin require aid of any sort?”
”No, monseigneur,” replied Coursegol.
”Do not forget that I am ready to come to her a.s.sistance whenever it is necessary; and a.s.sure her of my sincere sympathy.”
Having uttered these words, the kind-hearted prince pa.s.sed on, leaning upon the arm of a n.o.bleman connected with his household. Coursegol, elated by the certainty that Philip was alive, could scarcely restrain his impatience; but he waited for the promised letter, which would prove to Dolores that those she loved were still on earth. In a few moments M.
de Miromesnil returned. He held the precious letter in his hand and gave it to Coursegol, who hastily perused it. It was dated in London, and had been addressed to the duke soon after the death of Madame de Lamballe.
It contained no allusion to Mademoiselle de Mirandol, and Philip said but little about himself; still was it not an unspeakable relief to him to feel that he was alive and to know in what country he was sojourning.
Eager to place this letter in the hands of Dolores, Coursegol started for home immediately; but, instead of returning as he came, he took pa.s.sage in the diligence that plied between Rouen and Paris; and that same evening, after so many months of dreary waiting, he was able to relieve the anxiety that Dolores had felt regarding her brother's fate.
The girl's joy was intense, and she devoutly thanked G.o.d who had revived her faith and hope just as she was beginning to despair. If Coursegol had listened to her, they would have started for London without delay, so eager was she to rejoin Philip and Antoinette whom she supposed married. But Coursegol convinced her of the absolute impossibility of this journey. They could reach the sea only by pa.s.sing through the greatest dangers.
”Besides,” added Coursegol, ”what does this letter prove? That M. Philip is safe and well, of course; but it does not prove that he is still in London.”
”Coursegol is right!” remarked Bridoul. ”Before you think of starting, you must write to M. Philip.”
”But can letters pa.s.s the frontier more easily than persons?” asked Dolores.
”Oh, I will take care of all that. If you wish to write, I know a gentleman who is going to England and who will take charge of your letter.”
”Then I will write,” said Dolores, with a sigh. ”I would have preferred to go myself, but since that is impossible----”
She paused, resolved to wait in patience.
Coursegol breathed freely again. He feared she would persist in her determination to go, and that he would be obliged to tell her that their resources were nearly exhausted and would not suffice to meet the costs of such a long and difficult journey, every step of which would demand a lavish expenditure of money.
Since the destruction of Chamondrin, Dolores had been entirely dependent upon Coursegol's bounty. The latter had possessed quite a snug little fortune, inherited from his parents; but a sojourn of fifteen months at Beaucaire and more than a year's income expended on the journey to Paris had made great inroads in his little capital. Fortunately, on arriving in Paris, the generous hospitality of the Bridouls had spared him the necessity of drawing upon the remnant of his fortune. This amounted now to about twelve hundred francs. Still, he felt that he could not remain much longer under the roof of these worthy people without trespa.s.sing upon their kindness and generosity, for they firmly refused to accept any remuneration; and Coursegol was anxiously wondering how he could support Dolores when this money was exhausted. He confided his anxiety to Bridoul; but the latter, instead of sharing it, showed him that such a sum was equivalent to a fortune in times like those.
”Twelve hundred francs!” said he. ”Why that is more than enough for the establishment of a lucrative business or for speculation in a.s.signats which, with prudence, would yield you a fortune.”
It was good advice. Gold and silver were becoming scarce; and a.s.signats were subject to daily fluctuations that afforded one an excellent opportunity to realize handsome profits, if one had a little money on hand and knew how to employ it to advantage.
CHAPTER VII.
CITIZEN JEAN VAUQUELAS.
In April, 1793, about eight months after his arrival in Paris, Coursegol went one evening to the Palais egalite. The establishment, which had formerly been known as the Palais Royal, had at that epoch a splendor and an importance of which its present appearance gives but a faint conception. One should read in the journals of those days the description of the galleries ever filled with an eager, bustling throng attracted by the excitement and the unwholesome amus.e.m.e.nts always to be found there. Mercier, in sharp, almost indignant language, gives us a vivid picture of the famous resort. Gambling-dens, dance-halls, shops devoted to the sale of the most reckless and infamous productions, restaurants and wine-shops were to be seen on every side. The spirit of speculation and gambling raged with inconceivable violence. Vice sat enthroned there, and when evening came the immense establishment was densely crowded by a throng of people thirsting for pleasure, and circling round and round in the brilliantly-lighted galleries to the sound of the violins that mounted to the ears of the promenaders from the dance-halls in the bas.e.m.e.nt below.