La Tulipe Noire | Page 3

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This Etext is in French, the English version is Etext #965

La Tulipe Noire Alexandre Dumas (PŠre) (1802-1870)
Text entered by Penelope Papangelis Proofread by Maurice M. Mizrahi
This is an abridged version. An English summary, preceded and
followed by "------------", is supplied where substantial original French
text has been removed. French special characters (accented letters, etc.)
were entered as DOS upper-ASCII characters.
===================================================
======================
I
Les deux frŠres
Le 20 ao–t 1672, la ville de la Haye, si vivante, si blanche, si coquette
que l'on dirait que tous les jours sont des dimanches, la ville de la Haye,
avec son parc ombreux, avec ses grands arbres inclin‚s sur ses maisons
gothiques, la ville de la Haye gonflait toutes ses artŠres d'un flot noir et
rouge de citoyens press‚s, haletants, inquiets,--lesquels couraient, le
couteau … la ceinture, le mousquet sur l'‚paule ou le bƒton … la main,
vers le Buytenhoff, formidable prison o—, depuis l'accusation
d'assassinat port‚e contre lui par le chirugien Tyckelaer, languissait
Corneille de Witt, frŠre de l'ex-grand pensionnaire de Hollande.
-------------- Holland had reestablished the stadtholderate under the
leadership of William of Orange. The former chiefs of the republic,
Jean and Corneille de Witt, unjustly accused of betraying their country
to France, had been forced to resign and sentenced to perpetual
banishment. Corneille de Witt had also been falsely accused of
planning to assassinate William of Orange, and had been thrown into
prison and tortured. When the story opens Corneille is still in prison,
awaiting his brother Jean, who is to accompany him into exile. The
Orange party wished the death of the de Witts and had stirred up the
populace, which was kept from breaking into the prison only by state
troops under the command of Tilly. ---------------
--Mort aux traŒtres! cria la compagnie des bourgeois exasp‚r‚e.

--Bah! vous dites toujours la mˆme chose, grommela l'officier, c'est
fatigant!
Et il reprit son poste en tˆte de la troupe, tandis que le tumulte allait en
augmentant autour du Buytenhoff.
Et cependant le peuple ‚chauff‚ ne savait pas qu'au moment mˆme o—
il flairait le sang d'une de ses victimes, l'autre passait … cent pas de la
place derriŠre les groupes et les cavaliers pour se rendre au Buytenhoff.
En effet, Jean de Witt venait de descendre de carrosse avec un
domestique et traversait tranquillement … pied l'avant-cour qui pr‚cŠde
la prison.
Il s'‚tait nomm‚ au concierge, qui du reste le connaissait, en disant:
--Bonjour, Gryphus, je viens chercher pour l'emmener hors de la ville
mon frŠre Corneille de Witt condamn‚, comme tu sais, au
bannissement.
Et le concierge, espŠce d'ours dress‚ … ouvrir et … fermer la porte de
la prison, l'avait salu‚ et laiss‚ entrer dans l'‚difice, dont les portes
s'‚taient referm‚es sur