A Gentleman of France | Page 3

the note.
He stopped in front of me with an air of consequence, and making me a
low bow--whereat I saw the bystanders stare, for he was as gay a young
spark as maid-of-honour could desire--he begged me to hasten, as the
king awaited me in his closet.
'He has asked for you twice, sir,' he continued importantly, the feather
of his cap almost sweeping the ground.
'I think,' I answered, quickening my steps, 'that the king's letter says
noon, young sir. If I am late on such an occasion, he has indeed cause
to complain of me.'
'Tut, tut!' he rejoined waving his hand with a dandified 'It is no matter.
One man may steal a horse when another may not look over the wall,
you know.'
A man may be gray-haired, he may be sad-complexioned, and yet he
may retain some of the freshness of youth. On receiving this indication

of a favour exceeding all expectation, I remember I felt the blood rise
to my face, and experienced the most lively gratitude. I wondered who
had spoken in my behalf, who had befriended me; and concluding at
last that my part in the affair at Brouage had come to the king's ears,
though I could not conceive through whom, I passed through the castle
gates with an air of confidence and elation which was not unnatural, I
think, under the circumstances. Thence, following my guide, I mounted
the ramp and entered the courtyard.
A number of grooms and valets were lounging here, some leading
horses to and fro, others exchanging jokes with the wenches who
leaned from the windows, while their fellows again stamped up and
down to keep their feet warm, or played ball against the wall in
imitation of their masters. Such knaves are ever more insolent than
their betters; but I remarked that they made way for me with respect,
and with rising spirits, yet a little irony, I reminded myself as I
mounted the stairs of the words, 'whom the king delighteth to honour!'
Reaching the head of the flight, where was a soldier on guard, the page
opened the door of the antechamber, and standing aside bade me enter.
I did so, and heard the door close behind me.
For a moment I stood still, bashful and confused. It seemed to me that
there were a hundred people in the room, and that half the eyes which
met mine were women's, Though I was not altogether a stranger to such
state as the Prince of Conde had maintained, this crowded anteroom
filled me with surprise, and even with a degree of awe, of which I was
the next moment ashamed. True, the flutter of silk and gleam of jewels
surpassed anything I had then seen, for my fortunes had never led me to
the king's Court; but an instant's reflection reminded me that my fathers
had held their own in such scenes, and with a bow regulated rather by
this thought than by the shabbiness of my dress, I advanced amid a
sudden silence.
'M. de Marsac!' the page announced, in a tone which sounded a little
odd in my ears; so much so, that I turned quickly to look at him. He
was gone, however, and when I turned again the eyes which met mine
were full of smiles. A young girl who stood near me tittered. Put out of

countenance by this, I looked round in embarrassment to find someone
to whom I might apply.
The room was long and narrow, panelled in chestnut, with a row of
windows on the one hand, and two fireplaces, now heaped with
glowing logs, on the other. Between the fireplaces stood a rack of arms.
Round the nearer hearth lounged a group of pages, the exact
counterparts of the young blade who had brought me hither; and talking
with these were as many young gentlewomen. Two great hounds lay
basking in the heat, and coiled between them, with her head on the back
of the larger, was a figure so strange that at another time I should have
doubted my eyes. It wore the fool's motley and cap and bells, but a
second glance showed me the features were a woman's. A torrent of
black hair flowed loose about her neck, her eyes shone with wild
merriment, and her face, keen, thin, and hectic, glared at me from the
dog's back. Beyond her, round the farther fireplace, clustered more than
a score of gallants and ladies, of whom one presently advanced to me.
'Sir,' he said politely--and I wished I could match his bow--'you wished
to see--?'
'The King of Navarre,' I answered, doing my best.
He turned to the group behind him, and said, in a peculiarly even,
placid tone, 'He wishes to see the