impossible to refuse the attention and respect they merit;
you are a brave gentleman, monsieur — I say so, and I am a
judge. You just now spoke of a deposit which the late king
transmitted through you to his son — are you, then, one of
those Frenchmen who, as I have heard, endeavored to carry
off Charles I. from Whitehall?”
“Yes, my lord, it was I who was beneath the scaffold during
the execution; I, who had not been able to redeem it,
received upon my brow the blood of the martyred king. I
received, at the same time, the last word of Charles I., it
was to me he said, `Remember!’ and in saying, `Remember!’ he
alluded to the money at your feet, my lord.”
“I have heard much of you, monsieur,” said Monk, “but I am
happy to have, in the first place, appreciated you by my own
observations, and not by my remembrances. I will give you,
then, explanations that I have given to no other, and you
will appreciate what a distinction I make between you and
the persons who have hitherto been sent to me.”
Athos bowed, and prepared to absorb greedily the words which
fell, one by one, from the mouth of Monk, — those words
rare and precious as the dew in the desert.
“You spoke to me,” said Monk, “of Charles II.; but pray,
monsieur, of what consequence to me is that phantom of a
king? I have grown old in a war and in a policy which are
nowadays so closely linked together, that every man of the
sword must fight in virtue of his rights or his ambition
with a personal interest, and not blindly behind an officer,
as in ordinary wars. For myself, I perhaps desire nothing,
but I fear much. In the war of to-day rests the liberty of
England, and, perhaps, that of every Englishman. How can you
expect that I, free in the position I have made for myself,
should go willingly and hold out my hands to the shackles of
a stranger? That is all Charles is to me. He has fought
battles here which he has lost, he is therefore a bad
captain; he has succeeded in no negotiation, he is therefore
a bad diplomatist; he has paraded his wants and his miseries
in all the courts of Europe, he has therefore a weak and
pusillanimous heart. Nothing noble, nothing great, nothing
strong has hitherto emanated from that genius which aspires
to govern one of the greatest kingdoms of the earth. I know
this Charles, then, under none but bad aspects, and you
would wish me, a man of good sense, to go and make myself
gratuitously the slave of a creature who is inferior to me
in military capacity, in politics, and in dignity! No,
monsieur. When some great and noble action shall have taught
me to value Charles, I shall perhaps recognize his rights to
a throne from which we have cast the father because he
wanted the virtues which his son has hitherto lacked, but,
in fact of rights, I only recognize my own; the revolution
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made me a general, my sword will make me protector, if I
wish it. Let Charles show himself, let him present himself,
let him enter the competition open to genius, and, above
all, let him remember that he is of a race from whom more
will be expected than from any other. Therefore, monsieur,
say no more about him. I neither refuse nor accept: I
reserve myself — I wait.”
Athos knew Monk to be too well informed of all concerning
Charles to venture to urge the discussion further; it was
neither the time nor the place. “My lord,” then said he, “I
have nothing to do but to thank you.”
“And why, monsieur? Because you have formed a correct
opinion of me, or because I have acted according to your
judgment? Is that, in truth, worthy of thanks? This gold
which you are about to carry to Charles will serve me as a
test for him, by seeing the use he will make of it. I shall
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