Le collier de la reine. English Read online

  CHAPTER XI.

  M. DE SUFFREN.

  Contrary to the usual habits of a court, the secret had been faithfullyconfined to Louis XVI. and the Comte d'Artois. No one knew at what timeor hour M. de Suffren would arrive.

  The king had announced his jeu du roi for the evening; and at seveno'clock he entered, with ten princes and princesses of his family. Thequeen came holding the princess royal, now about seven years old, by thehand. The assembly was numerous and brilliant. The Comte d'Artoisapproached the queen, and said, "Look around you, madame."

  "Well?"

  "What do you see?"

  The queen looked all around, and then said, "I see nothing but happy andfriendly faces."

  "Rather, then, whom do you not see?"

  "Oh! I understand; I wonder if he is always going to run away from me."

  "Oh no! only this is a good joke; M. de Provence has gone to wait at thebarrier for M. de Suffren."

  "Well, I do not see why you laugh at that; he has been the most cunning,after all, and will be the first to receive and pay his compliments tothis gentleman."

  "Come, dear sister," replied the young prince, laughing, "you have avery mean opinion of our diplomacy. M. de Provence has gone to meet himat Fontainebleau; but we have sent some one to meet him at Villejuif, sothat my brother will wait by himself at Fontainebleau, while ourmessenger will conduct M. de Suffren straight to Versailles, withoutpassing through Paris at all."

  "That is excellently imagined."

  "It is not bad, I flatter myself; but it is your turn to play."

  The king had noticed that M. d'Artois was making the queen laugh, andguessing what it was about, gave them a significant glance, to show thathe shared their amusement.

  The saloon where they played was full of persons of the highest rank--M.de Conde, M. de Penthievre, M. de Tremouille, etc. The news of thearrival of M. de Suffren had, as we have said, been kept quiet, butthere had been a kind of vague rumor that some one was expected, and allwere somewhat preoccupied and watchful. Even the king, who was in thehabit of playing six-franc pieces in order to moderate the play of thecourt, played gold without thinking of it.

  The queen, however, to all appearances entered, as usual, eagerly intothe game.

  Philippe, who, with his sister, was admitted to the party, in vainendeavored to shake from his mind his father's words. He asked himselfif indeed this old man, who had seen so much of courts, was not right;and if his own ideas were indeed those of a Puritan, and belonging toanother land. This queen, so charming, so beautiful, and so friendlytowards him, was she indeed only a terrible coquette, anxious to add onelover more to her list, as the entomologist transfixes a new insect orbutterfly, without thinking of the tortures of the poor creature whoseheart he is piercing? "Coigny, Vaudreuil," repeated he to himself, "theyloved the queen, and were loved by her. Oh, why does this calumny hauntme so, or why will not some ray of light discover to me the heart ofthis woman?"

  Then Philippe turned his eyes to the other end of the table, where, by astrange chance, these gentlemen were sitting side by side, and bothseemingly equally forgetful of, and insensible to, the queen; and hethought that it was impossible that these men could have loved and be socalm, or that they could have been loved and seem so forgetful. Fromthem he turned to look at Marie Antoinette herself and interrogatedthat pure forehead, that haughty mouth, and beautiful face; and theanswer they all seemed to give him was: calumnies, all calumnies, theserumors, originating only in the hates and jealousies of a court.

  While he was coming to these conclusions the clock struck a quarter toeight, and at that moment a great noise of footsteps and the sound ofmany voices were heard on the staircase. The king, hearing it, signed tothe queen, and they both rose and broke up the game. She then passedinto the great reception-hall, and the king followed her.

  An aide-de-camp of M. de Castries, Minister of Marine, approached theking and said something in a low tone, when M. de Castries himselfentered, and said aloud, "Will your majesty receive M. de Suffren, whohas arrived from Toulon?"

  At this name a general movement took place in the assembly.

  "Yes, sir," said the king, "with great pleasure;" and M. de Castriesleft the room.

  To explain this interest for M. de Suffren, and why king, queen,princes, and ministers contended who should be the first to receive him,a few words will suffice.

  Suffren is a name essentially French, like Turenne or Jean Bart. Sincethe last war with England, M. de Suffren had fought seven great navalbattles without sustaining a defeat. He had taken Trincomalee andGondeleur, scoured the seas, and taught the Nabob Hyder Ali that Francewas the first Power in Europe. He had carried into his profession allthe skill of an able diplomatist, all the bravery and all the tactics ofa soldier, and all the prudence of a wise ruler. Hardy, indefatigable,and proud when the honor of the French nation was in question, he hadharassed the English, by land and by sea, till even these fierceislanders were afraid of him.

  But after the battle, in which he risked his life like the meanestsailor, he ever showed himself humane, generous, and compassionate. Hewas now about fifty-six years of age, stout and short, but with an eyeof fire and a noble carriage, and, like a man accustomed to surmount alldifficulties, he had dressed in his traveling-carriage.

  He wore a blue coat embroidered with gold, a red waistcoat, and bluetrousers.

  All the guards through whom he had passed, when he was named to them byM. de Castries, had saluted him as they would have done a king.

  "M. de Suffren," said the king when he entered, "welcome to Versailles;you bring glory with you."

  M. de Suffren bent his knee to the king, who, however, raised him andembraced him cordially; then, turning to the queen, "Madame," said he,"here is M. de Suffren, the victor of Trincomalee and Gondeleur, and theterror of the English."

  "Monsieur," said the queen, "I wish you to know that you have not fireda shot for the glory of France but my heart has beaten with admirationand gratitude."

  When she ceased, the Comte d'Artois approached with his son, the Ducd'Angouleme.

  "My son," said he, "you see a hero; look at him well, for it is a raresight."

  "Monseigneur," replied the young prince, "I have read about the greatmen in Plutarch, but I could not see them; I thank you for showing me M.de Suffren."

  The king now took the arm of M. de Suffren, in order to lead him to hisstudy, and talk to him of his travels; but he made a respectfulresistance.

  "Sire," said he, "will your majesty permit me----"

  "Oh! whatever you wish, sir."

  "Then, sire, one of my officers has committed so grave a fault againstdiscipline, that I thought your majesty ought to be sole judge of theoffense."

  "Oh, M. de Suffren, I had hoped your first request would have been afavor, and not a punishment."

  "Your majesty, as I have had the honor to say, shall judge what ought tobe done. In the last battle the officer of whom I speak was on board _LaSevere_."

  "Oh, the ship that struck her flag!" cried the king, frowning.

  "Yes, sire. The captain of _La Severe_ had indeed struck his flag, andalready Sir Hugh, the English admiral, had despatched a boat to takepossession of his prize, when the lieutenant in command of the guns ofthe middle deck, perceiving that the firing above had ceased, and havingreceived orders to stop his own fire, went on deck, saw the flaglowered, and the captain ready to surrender. At this sight, sir, all hisFrench blood revolted, he took the flag which lay there, and, seizing ahammer, ordered the men to recommence the fire, while he nailed it tothe mast. It was by this action, sire, that _La Severe_ was preserved toyour majesty."

  "A splendid action!" cried the king and queen simultaneously.

  "Yes, sire--yes, madame, but a grave fault against discipline. The orderhad been given by the captain, and the lieutenant ought to have obeyed.I, however, ask for the pardon of the officer, and the more so as he ismy own nephew."

  "Your nephew!" cried the king; "and you have never
mentioned him!"

  "Not to you, sire; but I made my report to the ministers, begging themto say nothing about it until I had obtained his pardon from yourmajesty."

  "It is granted," said the king. "I promise beforehand my protection toall who may violate discipline in such a cause. You must present thisofficer to me, M. de Suffren."

  M. de Suffren turned. "Approach, M. de Charny," he said.

  The queen started at the sound of this name, which she had so recentlyheard. A young officer advanced from the crowd, and presented himselfbefore the king.

  The queen and Andree looked anxiously at each other; but M. de Charnybowed before the king almost without raising his eyes, and, afterkissing his hand, retired again, without seeming to have observed thequeen.

  "Come now, M. de Suffren," said the king, "and let us converse; I amimpatient to hear all your adventures." But before leaving the room heturned to the queen and said. "Apropos, madame, I am going to havebuilt, as you know, a ship of one hundred guns, and I think of changingthe name we had destined for it, and of calling it instead----"

  "Oh yes!" cried Marie Antoinette, catching his thought, "we will call it_Le Suffren_, and I will still stand sponsor."

  "Vive le roi! vive la reine!" cried all.

  "And vive M. de Suffren!" added the king, and then left the room withhim.