The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas (the beginning after the end novel read txt) ๐
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- Author: Alexandre Dumas
Read book online ยซThe Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas (the beginning after the end novel read txt) ๐ยป. Author - Alexandre Dumas
โI am naturally prudent, monsieur, and I have very good fortune,โ said Raoul, with a smile which chilled the heart of his poor father; โfor,โ the young man hastened to add, โin twenty combats through which I have been, I have only received one scratch.โ
โThere is in addition,โ said Athos, โthe climate to be dreaded: that is an ugly end, to die of fever! King Saint-Louis prayed God to send him an arrow or the plague, rather than the fever.โ
โOh, monsieur! with sobriety, with reasonable exerciseโโ
โI have already obtained from M. de Beaufort a promise that his dispatches shall be sent off every fortnight to France. You, as his aide-de-camp, will be charged with expediting them, and will be sure not to forget me.โ
โNo, monsieur,โ said Raoul, almost choked with emotion.
โBesides, Raoul, as you are a good Christian, and I am one also, we ought to reckon upon a more special protection of God and His guardian angels. Promise me that if anything evil should happen to you, on any occasion, you will think of me at once.โ
โFirst and at once! Oh! yes, monsieur.โ
โAnd will call upon me?โ
โInstantly.โ
โYou dream of me sometimes, do you not, Raoul?โ
โEvery night, monsieur. During my early youth I saw you in my dreams, calm and mild, with one hand stretched out over my head, and that it was which made me sleep so soundlyโformerly.โ
โWe love each other too dearly,โ said the comte, โthat from this moment, in which we separate, a portion of both our souls should not travel with one and the other of us, and should not dwell wherever we may dwell. Whenever you may be sad, Raoul, I feel that my heart will be dissolved in sadness; and when you smile on thinking of me, be assured you will send me, from however remote a distance, a vital scintillation of your joy.โ
โI will not promise you to be joyous,โ replied the young man; โbut you may be certain that I will never pass an hour without thinking of you, not one hour, I swear, unless I shall be dead.โ
Athos could contain himself no longer; he threw his arm round the neck of his son, and held him embraced with all the power of his heart. The moon began to be now eclipsed by twilight; a golden band surrounded the horizon, announcing the approach of the day. Athos threw his cloak over the shoulders of Raoul, and led him back to the city, where burdens and porters were already in motion, like a vast ant-hill. At the extremity of the plateau which Athos and Bragelonne were quitting, they saw a dark shadow moving uneasily backwards and forwards, as if in indecision or ashamed to be seen. It was Grimaud, who in his anxiety had tracked his master, and was there awaiting him.
โOh! my good Grimaud,โ cried Raoul, โwhat do you want? You are come to tell us it is time to be gone, have you not?โ
โAlone?โ said Grimaud, addressing Athos and pointing to Raoul in a tone of reproach, which showed to what an extent the old man was troubled.
โOh! you are right!โ cried the comte. โNo, Raoul shall not go alone; no, he shall not be left alone in a strange land without some friendly hand to support him, some friendly heart to recall to him all he loved!โ
โI?โ said Grimaud.
โYou, yes, you!โ cried Raoul, touched to the inmost heart.
โAlas!โ said Athos, โyou are very old, my good Grimaud.โ
โSo much the better,โ replied the latter, with an inexpressible depth of feeling and intelligence.
โBut the embarkation is begun,โ said Raoul, โand you are not prepared.โ
โYes,โ said Grimaud, showing the keys of his trunks, mixed with those of his young master.
โBut,โ again objected Raoul, โyou cannot leave monsieur le comte thus alone; monsieur le comte, whom you have never quitted?โ
Grimaud turned his diamond eyes upon Athos and Raoul, as if to measure the strength of both. The comte uttered not a word.
โMonsieur le comte prefers my going,โ said Grimaud.
โI do,โ said Athos, by an inclination of the head.
At that moment the drums suddenly rolled, and the clarions filled the air with their inspiring notes. The regiments destined for the expedition began to debouch from the city. They advanced to the number of five, each composed of forty companies. Royals marched first, distinguished by their white uniform, faced with blue. The ordonnance colors, quartered cross-wise, violet and dead leaf, with a sprinkling of golden fleurs-de-lis, left the white-colored flag, with its fleur-de-lised cross, to dominate the whole. Musketeers at the wings, with their forked sticks and their muskets on their shoulders; pikemen in the center, with their lances, fourteen feet in length, marched gayly towards the transports, which carried them in detail to the ships. The regiments of Picardy, Navarre, Normandy, and Royal Vaisseau, followed after. M. de Beaufort had known well how to select his troops. He himself was seen closing the march with his staffโit would take a full hour before he could reach the sea. Raoul with Athos turned his steps slowly towards the beach, in order to take his place when the prince embarked. Grimaud, boiling with the ardor of a young man, superintended the embarkation of Raoulโs baggage in the admiralโs vessel. Athos, with his arm passed through that of the son he was about to lose, absorbed in melancholy meditation, was deaf to every noise around him. An officer came quickly towards them to inform Raoul that M. de Beaufort was anxious to have him by his side.
โHave the kindness to tell the prince,โ said Raoul, โthat I request he will allow me this hour to enjoy the company of my father.โ
โNo, no,โ said Athos, โan aide-de-camp ought not thus to quit his general. Please to tell the prince, monsieur, that the vicomte will join him immediately.โ The officer set off at a gallop.
โWhether we part here or part there,โ added the comte, โit is no less a separation.โ He carefully brushed the dust from his sonโs coat, and passed his hand over his hair as they walked along. โBut, Raoul,โ said he, โyou want money. M. de Beaufortโs train will be splendid, and I am certain it will be agreeable to you to purchase horses and arms, which are very dear things in Africa. Now, as you are not actually in the service of the king or M. de Beaufort, and are simply a volunteer, you must not reckon upon either pay or largesse. But I should not like you to want for anything at Gigelli. Here are two hundred pistoles; if you would please me, Raoul, spend them.โ
Raoul pressed the hand of his father, and, at the turning of a street, they saw M. de Beaufort, mounted on a magnificent white genet, which responded by graceful curvets to the
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