the horizon. Aramis shuddered.
“Be calm,” exclaimed Athos, “for Heaven’s sake! have we
ceased to be men?”
“No,” said Aramis, “but that fellow is a fiend; and ask the
uncle whether I was wrong to rid him of his dear nephew.”
De Winter only replied by a groan.
“It was all up with him,” continued Aramis; “ah I much fear
that with all your wisdom such mercy yet will prove supernal
folly.”
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Athos took Lord de Winter’s hand and tried to turn the
conversation.
“When shall we land in England?” he asked; but De Winter
seemed not to hear his words and made no reply.
“Hold, Athos,” said Aramis, “perhaps there is yet time. See
if he is still in the same place.”
Athos turned around with an effort; the sight of the young
man was evidently painful to him, and there he still was, in
fact, on the rock, the beacon shedding around him, as it
were, a doubtful aureole.
“Decidedly, Aramis,” said Athos, “I think I was wrong not to
let you fire.”
“Hold your tongue,” replied Aramis; “you would make me weep,
if such a thing were possible.”
At this moment they were hailed by a voice from the sloop
and a few seconds later men, servants and baggage were
aboard. The captain was only waiting for his passengers;
hardly had they put foot on deck ere her head was turned
towards Hastings, where they were to disembark. At this
instant the three friends turned, in spite of themselves, a
last look on the rock, upon the menacing figure which
pursued them and now stood out with a distinctness still.
Then a voice reached them once more, sending this threat:
“To our next meeting, sirs, in England.”
44
Te Deum for the Victory of Lens.
The bustle which had been observed by Henrietta Maria and
for which she had vainly sought to discover a reason, was
occasioned by the battle of Lens, announced by the prince’s
messenger, the Duc de Chatillon, who had taken such a noble
part in the engagement; he was, besides, charged to hang
five and twenty flags, taken from the Lorraine party, as
well as from the Spaniards, upon the arches of Notre Dame.
Such news was decisive; it destroyed, in favor of the court,
the struggle commenced with parliament. The motive given for
all the taxes summarily imposed and to which the parliament
had made opposition, was the necessity of sustaining the
honor of France and the uncertain hope of beating the enemy.
Now, since the affair of Nordlingen, they had experienced
nothing but reverses; the parliament had a plea for calling
Mazarin to account for imaginary victories, always promised,
ever deferred; but this time there really had been fighting,
a triumph and a complete one. And this all knew so well that
it was a double victory for the court, a victory at home and
abroad; so that even when the young king learned the news he
exclaimed, “Ah, gentlemen of the parliament, we shall see
what you will say now!” Upon which the queen had pressed the
royal child to her heart, whose haughty and unruly
sentiments were in such harmony with her own. A council was
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called on the same evening, but nothing transpired of what
had been decided on. It was only known that on the following
Sunday a Te Deum would be sung at Notre Dame in honor of the
victory of Lens.
The following Sunday, then, the Parisians arose with joy; at
that period a Te Deum was a grand affair; this kind of
ceremony had not then been abused and it produced a great
effect. The shops were deserted, houses closed; every one
wished to see the young king with his mother, and the famous
Cardinal Mazarin whom they hated so much that no one wished
to be deprived of his presence. Moreover, great liberty
prevailed throughout the immense crowd; every opinion was
openly expressed and chorused, so to speak, of coming
insurrection, as the thousand bells of all the Paris
churches rang out the Te Deum. The police belonging to the