The Three Musketeers | Page 2

they will not find the likenesses of Louis XIII, Anne of Austria, Richelieu,
Mazarin, and the courtiers of the period, less faithful than in the history of M. Anquetil.
But, it is well known, what strikes the capricious mind of the poet is not always what
affects the mass of readers. Now, while admiring, as others doubtless will admire, the
details we have to relate, our main preoccupation concerned a matter to which no one
before ourselves had given a thought.
D'Artagnan relates that on his first visit to M. de Treville, captain of the king's
Musketeers, he met in the antechamber three young men, serving in the illustrious corps
into which he was soliciting the honor of being received, bearing the names of Athos,
Porthos, and Aramis.

We must confess these three strange names struck us; and it immediately occurred to us
that they were but pseudonyms, under which d'Artagnan had disguised names perhaps
illustrious, or else that the bearers of these borrowed names had themselves chosen them
on the day in which, from caprice, discontent, or want of fortune, they had donned the
simple Musketeer's uniform.
From the moment we had no rest till we could find some trace in contemporary works of
these extraordinary names which had so strongly awakened our curiosity.
The catalogue alone of the books we read with this object would fill a whole chapter,
which, although it might be very instructive, would certainly afford our readers but little
amusement. It will suffice, then, to tell them that at the moment at which, discouraged by
so many fruitless investigations, we were about to abandon our search, we at length found,
guided by the counsels of our illustrious friend Paulin Paris, a manuscript in folio,
endorsed 4772 or 4773, we do not recollect which, having for title, "Memoirs of the
Comte de la Fere, Touching Some Events Which Passed in France Toward the End of the
Reign of King Louis XIII and the Commencement of the Reign of King Louis XIV."
It may be easily imagined how great was our joy when, in turning over this manuscript,
our last hope, we found at the twentieth page the name of Athos, at the twenty-seventh
the name of Porthos, and at the thirty-first the name of Aramis.
The discovery of a completely unknown manuscript at a period in which historical
science is carried to such a high degree appeared almost miraculous. We hastened,
therefore, to obtain permission to print it, with the view of presenting ourselves someday
with the pack of others at the doors of the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, if
we should not succeed--a very probable thing, by the by--in gaining admission to the
Academie Francaise with our own proper pack. This permission, we feel bound to say,
was graciously granted; which compels us here to give a public contradiction to the
slanderers who pretend that we live under a government but moderately indulgent to men
of letters.
Now, this is the first part of this precious manuscript which we offer to our readers,
restoring it to the title which belongs to it, and entering into an engagement that if (of
which we have no doubt) this first part should obtain the success it merits, we will
publish the second immediately.
In the meanwhile, as the godfather is a second father, we beg the reader to lay to our
account, and not to that of the Comte de la Fere, the pleasure or the ENNUI he may
experience.
This being understood, let us proceed with our history.

1 THE THREE PRESENTS OF D'ARTAGNAN THE ELDER
On the first Monday of the month of April, 1625, the market town of Meung, in which

the author of ROMANCE OF THE ROSE was born, appeared to be in as perfect a state
of revolution as if the Huguenots had just made a second La Rochelle of it. Many citizens,
seeing the women flying toward the High Street, leaving their children crying at the open
doors, hastened to don the cuirass, and supporting their somewhat uncertain courage with
a musket or a partisan, directed their steps toward the hostelry of the Jolly Miller, before
which was gathered, increasing every minute, a compact group, vociferous and full of
curiosity.
In those times panics were common, and few days passed without some city or other
registering in its archives an event of this kind. There were nobles, who made war against
each other; there was the king, who made war against the cardinal; there was Spain,
which made war against the king. Then, in addition to these concealed or public, secret or
open wars, there were robbers, mendicants, Huguenots, wolves, and scoundrels, who
made war upon everybody. The citizens always took up arms readily against thieves,
wolves or scoundrels, often