"Yes, Madame," the former replied.
"Well, close beside the oak there is a pretty little spring, which runs murmuringly over the pebbles, between banks of forget-me-nots and daffodils."
"I believe you are correct," said the king, with some uneasiness, and listening with some anxiety to his sister-in-law"s narrative.
"Oh! there is one, I can a.s.sure you," said Madame; "and the proof of it is, that the Naiad who resides in that little stream stopped me as I was about to come."
"Ah?" said Saint-Aignan.
"Yes, indeed," continued the princess, "and she did so in order to communicate to me many particulars Monsieur de Saint-Aignan has omitted in his recital."
"Pray relate them yourself, then," said Monsieur, "you can relate stories in such a charming manner." The princess bowed at the conjugal compliment paid her.
"I do not possess the poetical powers of the comte, nor his ability to bring to light the smallest details."
"You will not be listened to with less interest on that account," said the king, who already perceived that something hostile was intended in his sister-in-law"s story.
"I speak, too," continued Madame, "in the name of that poor little Naiad, who is indeed the most charming creature I ever met. Moreover, she laughed so heartily while she was telling me her story, that, in pursuance of that medical axiom that laughter is the finest physic in the world, I ask permission to laugh a little myself when I recollect her words."
The king and Saint-Aignan, who noticed spreading over many of the faces present a distant and prophetic ripple of the laughter Madame announced, finished by looking at each other, as if asking themselves whether there was not some little conspiracy concealed beneath these words. But Madame was determined to turn the knife in the wound over and over again; she therefore resumed with the air of the most perfect candor, in other words, with the most dangerous of all her airs: "Well, then, I pa.s.sed that way," she said, "and as I found beneath my steps many fresh flowers newly blown, no doubt Phyllis, Amaryllis, Galatea, and all your shepherdesses had pa.s.sed the same way before me."
The king bit his lips, for the recital was becoming more and more threatening. "My little Naiad," continued Madame, "was cooing over her quaint song in the bed of the rivulet; as I perceived that she accosted me by touching the hem of my dress, I could not think of receiving her advances ungraciously, and more particularly so, since, after all, a divinity, even though she be of a second grade, is always of greater importance than a mortal, though a princess. I thereupon accosted the Naiad, and bursting into laughter, this is what she said to me: ""Fancy, princess..." You understand, sire, it is the Naiad who is speaking?"
The king bowed a.s.sentingly; and Madame continued:-""Fancy, princess, the banks of my little stream have just witnessed a most amusing scene. Two shepherds, full of curiosity, even indiscreetly so, have allowed themselves to be mystified in a most amusing manner by three nymphs, or three shepherdesses,"-I beg your pardon, but I do not now remember if it was nymphs or shepherdesses she said; but it does not much matter, so we will continue."
The king, at this opening, colored visibly, and Saint-Aignan, completely losing countenance, began to open his eyes in the greatest possible anxiety.
""The two shepherds," pursued my nymph, still laughing, "followed in the wake of the three young ladies,"-no, I mean, of the three nymphs; forgive me, I ought to say, of the three shepherdesses. It is not always wise to do that, for it may be awkward for those who are followed. I appeal to all the ladies present, and not one of them, I am sure, will contradict me."
The king, who was much disturbed by what he suspected was about to follow, signified his a.s.sent by a gesture.
""But," continued the Naiad, "the shepherdesses had noticed Tyrcis and Amyntas gliding into the wood, and, by the light of the moon, they had recognized them through the grove of the trees." Ah, you laugh!" interrupted Madame; "wait, wait, you are not yet at the end."
The king turned pale; Saint-Aignan wiped his forehead, now dewed with perspiration. Among the groups of ladies present could be heard smothered laughter and stealthy whispers.
""The shepherdesses, I was saying, noticing how indiscreet the two shepherds were, proceeded to sit down at the foot of the royal oak; and, when they perceived that their over-curious listeners were sufficiently near, so that not a syllable of what they might say could be lost, they addressed towards them very innocently, in the most artless manner in the world indeed, a pa.s.sionate declaration, which from the vanity natural to all men, and even to the most sentimental of shepherds, seemed to the two listeners as sweet as honey.""
The king, at these words, which the a.s.sembly was unable to hear without laughing, could not restrain a flash of anger darting from his eyes. As for Saint-Aignan, he let his head fall upon his breast, and concealed, under a silly laugh, the extreme annoyance he felt.
"Oh," said the king, drawing himself up to his full height, "upon my word, that is a most amusing jest, certainly; but, really and truly, are you sure you quite understood the language of the Naiads?"
"The comte, sire, pretends to have perfectly understood that of the Dryads," retorted Madame, icily.
"No doubt," said the king; "but you know the comte has the weakness to aspire to become a member of the Academy, so that, with this object in view, he has learnt all sorts of things of which very happily you are ignorant; and it might possibly happen that the language of the Nymph of the Waters might be among the number of things you have not studied."
"Of course, sire," replied Madame, "for facts of that nature one does not altogether rely upon one"s self alone; a woman"s ear is not infallible, so says Saint Augustine; and I, therefore, wished to satisfy myself by other opinions beside my own, and as my Naiad, who, in her character of a G.o.ddess, is polyglot,-is not that the expression, M. de Saint-Aignan?"
"I believe so," said the latter, quite out of countenance.
"Well," continued the princess, "as my Naiad, who, in her character of a G.o.ddess, had, at first spoken to me in English, I feared, as you suggest, that I might have misunderstood her, and I requested Mesdemoiselles de Montalais, de Tonnay-Charente, and de la Valliere, to come to me, begging my Naiad to repeat to me in the French language, the recital she had already communicated to me in English."
"And did she do so?" inquired the king.
"Oh, she is the most polite divinity it is possible to imagine! Yes, sire, she did so; so that no doubt whatever remains on the subject. Is it not so, young ladies?" said the princess, turning towards the left of her army; "did not the Naiad say precisely what I have related, and have I, in any one particular, exceeded the truth, Phyllis? I beg your pardon, I mean Mademoiselle Aure de Montalais?"
"Precisely as you have stated, Madame," articulated Mademoiselle de Montalais, very distinctly.
"Is it true, Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente?"
"The perfect truth," replied Athenais, in a voice quite as firm, but not yet so distinct.
"And you, La Valliere?" asked Madame.
The poor girl felt the king"s ardent look fixed upon her,-she dared not deny-she dared not tell a falsehood; she merely bowed her head; and everybody took it for a token of a.s.sent. Her head, however, was not raised again, chilled as she was by a coldness more bitter than that of death. This triple testimony overwhelmed the king. As for Saint-Aignan, he did not even attempt to dissemble his despair, and, hardly knowing what he said, he stammered out, "An excellent jest! admirably played!"
"A just punishment for curiosity," said the king, in a hoa.r.s.e voice. "Oh! who would think, after the chastis.e.m.e.nt that Tyrcis and Amyntas had suffered, of endeavoring to surprise what is pa.s.sing in the heart of shepherdesses? a.s.suredly I shall not, for one; and, you, gentlemen?"
"Nor I! nor I!" repeated, in a chorus, the group of courtiers.
Madame was filled with triumph at the king"s annoyance; and was full of delight, thinking that her story had been, or was to be, the termination of the whole affair. As for Monsieur, who had laughed at the two stories without comprehending anything about them, he turned towards De Guiche, and said to him, "Well, comte, you say nothing; can you not find something to say? Do you pity M. Tyrcis and M. Amyntas, for instance?"
"I pity them with all my soul," replied De Guiche; "for, in very truth, love is so sweet a fancy, that to lose it, fancy though it may be, is to lose more than life itself. If, therefore, these two shepherds thought themselves beloved,-if they were happy in that idea, and if, instead of that happiness, they meet not only that empty void which resembles death, but jeers and jests at love itself, which is worse than a thousand deaths,-in that case, I say that Tyrcis and Amyntas are the two most unhappy men I know."
"And you are right, too, Monsieur de Guiche," said the king; "for, in fact, the injury in question is a very hard return for a little harmless curiosity."
"That is as much to say, then, that the story of my Naiad has displeased the king?" asked Madame, innocently.
"Nay, Madame, undeceive yourself," said Louis, taking the princess by the hand; "your Naiad, on the contrary, has pleased me, and the more so, because she was so truthful, and because her tale, I ought to add, is confirmed by the testimony of unimpeachable witnesses."
These words fell upon La Valliere, accompanied by a look that on one, from Socrates to Montaigne, could have exactly defined. The look and the king"s remark succeeded in overpowering the unhappy girl, who, with her head upon Montalais"s shoulder, seemed to have fainted away. The king rose, without remarking this circ.u.mstance, of which no one, moreover, took any notice, and, contrary to his usual custom, for generally he remained late in Madame"s apartments, he took his leave, and retired to his own side of the palace. Saint-Aignan followed him, leaving the rooms in as much despair as he had entered them with delight. Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente, less sensitive than La Valliere, was not much frightened, and did not faint. However, it may be that the last look of Saint-Aignan had hardly been so majestic as the king"s.
Chapter LVIII. Royal Psychology.
The king returned to his apartments with hurried steps. The reason he walked as fast as he did was probably to avoid tottering in his gait. He seemed to leave behind him as he went along a trace of a mysterious sorrow. That gayety of manner, which every one had remarked in him on his arrival, and which they had been delighted to perceive, had not perhaps been understood in its true sense: but his stormy departure, his disordered countenance, all knew, or at least thought they could tell the reason of. Madame"s levity of manner, her somewhat bitter jests,-bitter for persons of a sensitive disposition, and particularly for one of the king"s character; the great resemblance which naturally existed between the king and an ordinary mortal, were among the reasons a.s.signed for the precipitate and unexpected departure of his majesty. Madame, keen-sighted enough in other respects, did not, however, at first see anything extraordinary in it. It was quite sufficient for her to have inflicted some slight wound upon the vanity or self-esteem of one who, so soon forgetting the engagements he had contracted, seemed to have undertaken to disdain, without cause, the n.o.blest and highest prize in France. It was not an unimportant matter for Madame, in the present position of affairs, to let the king perceive the difference which existed between the bestowal of his affections on one in a high station, and the running after each pa.s.sing fancy, like a youth fresh from the provinces. With regard to those higher placed affections, recognizing their dignity and their illimitable influence, acknowledging in them a certain etiquette and display-a monarch not only did not act in a manner derogatory to his high position, but found even repose, security, mystery, and general respect therein. On the contrary, in the debas.e.m.e.nt of a common or humble attachment, he would encounter, even among his meanest subjects, carping and sarcastic remarks; he would forfeit his character of infallibility and inviolability. Having descended to the region of petty human miseries, he would be subjected to paltry contentions. In one word, to convert the royal divinity into a mere mortal by striking at his heart, or rather even at his face, like the meanest of his subjects, was to inflict a terrible blow upon the pride of that generous nature. Louis was more easily captivated by vanity than affection. Madame had wisely calculated her vengeance, and it has been seen, also, in what manner she carried it out. Let it not be supposed, however, that Madame possessed such terrible pa.s.sions as the heroines of the middle ages, or that she regarded things from a pessimistic point of view; on the contrary, Madame, young, amiable, of cultivated intellect, coquettish, loving in her nature, but rather from fancy, or imagination, or ambition, than from her heart-Madame, we say, on the contrary, inaugurated that epoch of light and fleeting amus.e.m.e.nts, which distinguished the hundred and twenty years that intervened between the middle of the seventeenth century, and the last quarter of the eighteenth. Madame saw, therefore, or rather fancied she saw, things under their true aspect; she knew that the king, her august brother-in-law, had been the first to ridicule the humble La Valliere, and that, in accordance with his usual custom, it was hardly probable he would ever love the person who had excited his laughter, even had it been only for a moment. Moreover, was not her vanity ever present, that evil influence which plays so important a part in that comedy of dramatic incidents called the life of a woman? Did not her vanity tell her, aloud, in a subdued voice, in a whisper, in every variety of tone, that she could not, in reality, she a princess, young, beautiful, and rich, be compared to the poor La Valliere, as youthful as herself it is true, but far less pretty, certainly, and utterly without money, protectors, or position? And surprise need not be excited with respect to Madame; for it is known that the greatest characters are those who flatter themselves the most in the comparisons they draw between themselves and others, between others and themselves. It may perhaps be asked what was Madame"s motive for an attack so skillfully conceived and executed. Why was there such a display of forces, if it were not seriously her intention to dislodge the king from a heart that had never been occupied before, in which he seemed disposed to take refuge? Was there any necessity, then, for Madame to attach so great an importance to La Valliere, if she did not fear her? Yet Madame did not fear La Valliere in that direction in which an historian, who knows everything, sees into the future, or rather, the past. Madame was neither a prophetess nor a sibyl; nor could she, any more than another, read what was written in that terrible and fatal book of the future, which records in its most secret pages the most serious events. No, Madame desired simply to punish the king for having availed himself of secret means altogether feminine in their nature; she wished to prove to him that if he made use of offensive weapons of that nature, she, a woman of ready wit and high descent, would a.s.suredly discover in the a.r.s.enal of her imagination defensive weapons proof even against the thrusts of a monarch. Moreover, she wished him to learn that, in a war of that description, kings are held of no account, or, at all events, that kings who fight on their own behalf, like ordinary individuals, may witness the fall of their crown in the first encounter; and that, in fact, if he had expected to be adored by all the ladies of the court from the very first, from a confident reliance on his mere appearance, it was a pretension which was most preposterous and insulting even, for certain persons who filled a higher position than others, and that a lesson taught in season to this royal personage, who a.s.sumed too high and haughty a carriage, would be rendering him a great service. Such, indeed, were Madame"s reflections with respect to the king. The sequel itself was not thought of. And in this manner, it will be seen that she had exercised all her influence over the minds of her maids of honor, and with all its accompanying details, had arranged the comedy which had just been acted. The king was completely bewildered by it; for the first time since he had escaped from the trammels of M. de Mazarin, he found himself treated as a man. Similar severity from any of his subjects would have been at once resisted by him. Strength comes with battle. But to match one"s self with women, to be attacked by them, to have been imposed upon by mere girls from the country, who had come from Blois expressly for that purpose; it was the depth of dishonor for a young sovereign full of the pride his personal advantages and royal power inspired him with. There was nothing he could do-neither reproaches, nor exile-nor could he even show the annoyance he felt. To manifest vexation would have been to admit that he had been touched, like Hamlet, by a sword from which the b.u.t.ton had been removed-the sword of ridicule. To show animosity against women-humiliation! especially when the women in question have laughter on their side, as a means of vengeance. If, instead of leaving all the responsibility of the affair to these women, one of the courtiers had had anything to do with the intrigue, how delightedly would Louis have seized the opportunity of turning the Bastile to personal account. But there, again, the king"s anger paused, checked by reason. To be the master of armies, of prisons, of an almost divine authority, and to exert such majesty and might in the service of a petty grudge, would be unworthy not only of a monarch, but even of a man. It was necessary, therefore, simply to swallow the affront in silence, and to wear his usual gentleness and graciousness of expression. It was essential to treat Madame as a friend. As a friend!-Well, and why not? Either Madame had been the instigator of the affair, or the affair itself had found her pa.s.sive. If she had been the instigator of it, it certainly was a bold measure on her part, but, at all events, it was but natural in her. Who was it that had sought her in the earliest moments of her married life to whisper words of love in her ear? Who was it that had dared to calculate the possibility of committing a crime against the marriage vow-a crime, too, still more deplorable on account of the relationship between them? Who was it that, shielded behind his royal authority, had said to this young creature: be not afraid, love but the king of France, who is above all, and a movement of whose sceptered hand will protect you against all attacks, even from your own remorse? And she had listened to and obeyed the royal voice, had been influenced by his ensnaring tones; and when, morally speaking, she had sacrificed her honor in listening to him, she saw herself repaid for her sacrifice by an infidelity the more humiliating, since it was occasioned by a woman far beneath her in the world.
Had Madame, therefore, been the instigator of the revenge, she would have been right. If, on the contrary, she had remained pa.s.sive in the whole affair, what grounds had the king to be angry with her on that account? Was it for her to restrain, or rather could she restrain, the chattering of a few country girls? and was it for her, by an excess of zeal that might have been misinterpreted, to check, at the risk of increasing it, the impertinence of their conduct? All these various reasonings were like so many actual stings to the king"s pride; but when he had carefully, in his own mind, gone over all the various causes of complaint, Louis was surprised, upon due reflection-in other words, after the wound has been dressed-to find that there were other causes of suffering, secret, unendurable, and unrevealed. There was one circ.u.mstance he dared not confess, even to himself; namely, that the acute pain from which he was suffering had its seat in his heart. The fact is, he had permitted his heart to be gratified by La Valliere"s innocent confusion. He had dreamed of a pure affection-of an affection for Louis the man, and not the sovereign-of an affection free from all self-interest; and his heart, simpler and more youthful than he had imagined it to be, had to meet that other heart that had revealed itself to him by its aspirations. The commonest thing in the complicated history of love, is the double inoculation of love to which any two hearts are subjected; the one loves nearly always before the other, in the same way that the latter finishes nearly always by loving after the other. In this way, the electric current is established, in proportion to the intensity of the pa.s.sion which is first kindled. The more Mademoiselle de la Valliere showed her affection, the more the king"s affection had increased. And it was precisely that which had annoyed his majesty. For it was now fairly demonstrated to him, that no sympathetic current had been the means of hurrying his heart away in its course, because there had been no confession of love in the case-because the confession was, in fact, an insult towards the man and towards the sovereign; and finally, because-and the word, too, burnt like a hot iron-because, in fact, it was nothing but a mystification after all. This girl, therefore, who, in strictness, could not lay claim to beauty, or birth, or great intelligence-who had been selected by Madame herself, on account of her unpretending position, had not only aroused the king"s regard, but had, moreover, treated him with disdain-he, the king, a man who, like an eastern potentate, had but to bestow a glance, to indicate with his finger, to throw his handkerchief. And, since the previous evening, his mind had been so absorbed with this girl that he could think and dream of nothing else. Since the previous evening his imagination had been occupied by clothing her image with charms to which she could not lay claim. In very truth, he whom such vast interests summoned, and whom so many women smiled upon invitingly, had, since the previous evening, consecrated every moment of his time, every throb of his heart, to this sole dream. It was, indeed, either too much, or not sufficient. The indignation of the king, making him forget everything, and, among others, that Saint-Aignan was present, was poured out in the most violent imprecations. True it is, that Saint-Aignan had taken refuge in a corner of the room; and from his corner, regarded the tempest pa.s.sing over. His own personal disappointment seemed contemptible, in comparison with the anger of the king. He compared with his own petty vanity the prodigious pride of offended majesty; and, being well read in the hearts of kings in general, and in those of powerful kings in particular, he began to ask himself if this weight of anger, as yet held in suspense, would not soon terminate by falling upon his own head, for the very reason that others were guilty, and he innocent. In point of fact, the king, all at once, did arrest his hurried pace; and, fixing a look full of anger upon Saint-Aignan, suddenly cried out: "And you, Saint-Aignan?"
Saint-Aignan made a sign which was intended to signify, "Well, sire?"
"Yes; you have been as silly as myself, I think."
"Sire," stammered out Saint-Aignan.
"You permitted us to be deceived by this shameless trick."
"Sire," said Saint-Aignan, whose agitation was such as to make him tremble in every limb, "let me entreat your majesty not to exasperate yourself. Women, you know, are characters full of imperfections, created for the misfortune of mankind: to expect anything good from them is to require them to perform impossibilities."
The king, who had the greatest consideration for himself, and who had begun to acquire over his emotions that command which he preserved over them all his life, perceived that he was doing an outrage to his own dignity in displaying so much animosity about so trifling an object. "No," he said, hastily; "you are mistaken, Saint-Aignan; I am not angry; I can only wonder that we should have been turned into ridicule so cleverly and with such audacity by these young girls. I am particularly surprised that, although we might have informed ourselves accurately on the subject, we were silly enough to leave the matter for our own hearts to decide."
"The heart, sire, is an organ which requires positively to be reduced to its material functions, but which, for the sake of humanity"s peace of mind, should be deprived of all its metaphysical inclinations. For my own part, I confess, when I saw that your majesty"s heart was so taken up by this little-"
"My heart taken up! I! My mind might, perhaps, have been so; but as for my heart, it was-" Louis again perceived that, in order to fill one gulf, he was about to dig another. "Besides," he added, "I have no fault to find with the girl. I was quite aware that she was in love with some one else."
"The Vicomte de Bragelonne. I informed your majesty of the circ.u.mstance."
"You did so: but you were not the first who told me. The Comte de la Fere had solicited from me Mademoiselle de la Valliere"s hand for his son. And, on his return from England, the marriage shall be celebrated, since they love each other."
"I recognize your majesty"s great generosity of disposition in that act."
"So, Saint-Aignan, we will cease to occupy ourselves with these matters any longer," said Louis.
"Yes, we will digest the affront, sire," replied the courtier, with resignation.
"Besides, it will be an easy matter to do so," said the king, checking a sigh.
"And, by way of a beginning, I will set about the composition of an epigram upon all three of them. I will call it "The Naiad and Dryad," which will please Madame."
"Do so, Saint-Aignan, do so," said the king, indifferently. "You shall read me your verses; they will amuse me. Ah! it does not signify, Saint-Aignan," added the king, like a man breathing with difficulty, "the blow requires more than human strength to support in a dignified manner." As the king thus spoke, a.s.suming an air of the most angelic patience, one of the servants in attendance knocked gently at the door. Saint-Aignan drew aside, out of respect.
"Come in," said the king. The servant partially opened the door. "What is it?" inquired Louis.
The servant held out a letter of a triangular shape. "For your majesty," he said.
"From whom?"
"I do not know. One of the officers on duty gave it to me."
The valet, in obedience to a gesture of the king, handed him the letter. The king advanced towards the candles, opened the note, read the signature, and uttered a loud cry. Saint-Aignan was sufficiently respectful not to look on; but, without looking on, he saw and heard all, and ran towards the king, who with a gesture dismissed the servant. "Oh, heavens!" said the king, as he read the note.
"Is your majesty unwell?" inquired Saint-Aignan, stretching forward his arms.
"No, no, Saint-Aignan-read!" and he handed him the note.
Saint-Aignan"s eyes fell upon the signature. "La Valliere!" he exclaimed. "Oh, sire!"
"Read, read!"
And Saint-Aignan read: "Forgive my importunity, sire; and forgive, also, the absence of the formalities which may be wanting in this letter. A note seems to be more speedy and more urgent than a dispatch. I venture, therefore, to address this note to your majesty. I have retired to my own room, overcome with grief and fatigue, sire; and I implore your majesty to grant me the favor of an audience, which will enable me to confess the truth to my sovereign.
"LOUISE de la VALLIERE."
"Well?" asked the king, taking the letter from Saint-Aignan"s hands, who was completely bewildered by what he had just read.
"Well!" repeated Saint-Aignan.
"What do you think of it?"
"I hardly know."
"Still, what is your opinion?"
"Sire, the young lady must have heard the muttering of the thunder, and has got frightened."
"Frightened at what?" asked Louis with dignity.
"Why, your majesty has a thousand reasons to be angry with the author or authors of so hazardous a joke; and, if your majesty"s memory were to be awakened in a disagreeable sense, it would be a perpetual menace hanging over the head of this imprudent girl."
"Saint-Aignan, I do not think as you do."
"Your majesty doubtless sees more clearly than myself."
"Well! I see affliction and restraint in these lines; more particularly since I recall some of the details of the scene which took place this evening in Madame"s apartments-" The king suddenly stopped, leaving his meaning unexpressed.
"In fact," resumed Saint-Aignan, "your majesty will grant an audience; nothing is clearer than that."
"I will do better, Saint-Aignan."
"What is that, sire?"
"Put on your cloak."
"But, sire-"
"You know the suite of rooms where Madame"s maids of honor are lodged?"
"Certainly."
"You know some means of obtaining an entrance there."
"As far as that is concerned, I do not."
"At all events, you must be acquainted with some one there."
"Really, your majesty is the source of every good idea."
"You do know some one, then. Who is it?"
"I know a certain gentleman, who is on very good terms with a certain young lady there."