Edmond Dantès by Edmund Flagg
CHAPTER XVI.
A NOTABLE FETE.
On the night of Monday, February 21st, 1848, all Paris was at the houseof M. Gaultier de Rumilly, in the Avenue des Champs Elysees. M. Gaultierde Rumilly was well known as one of the leaders of the extreme left,though the confidential friend of M. Odillon Barrot, and the fete wasperfectly understood to be a political reunion, rather than a socialone. All the accompaniments of the most splendid society events of theseason were in requisition. Even the brilliant balls given by theopulent citizens of New York were eclipsed in luxury and splendor. Therewas the streaming of lamps and chandeliers, the swell of enchantingmusic, the whirl of the fascinating polka, redowa or mazurka, whilethrongs of richly attired and lovely women were constantly enhancing themagnificence of the scene by their arrival. The brilliancy of theoccasion was also richly diversified by the presence of an unusuallylarge number of officers of the Municipal and National Guards in fulluniform, as well as of several belonging to the Line or the regiments ofAlgeria.
It was about ten o'clock. Within, all was light, life and loveliness;without, the winter wind moaned drearily through the leafless trees ofthe Boulevard, and the drifting sleet swept along the deserted streets.It was a wild night. Throughout all Paris seemed going forth aportentous murmur, like that mysterious moaning of the ocean, which,with mariners, is the prelude of a storm. An ominous whispering, as ofmany voices, seemed to sink and swell on the sweeping night blast; thenall was still. Again, in the distance, would rise a sharp shout, or thestern, brief word of military command. At intervals, also, one mightimagine he heard a deep rumbling, as of heavy ordnance and its tumbrelsover the pavements, accompanied by the measured tread of armed men andthe clattering hoofs of cavalry horses. Then these sounds died away, andalong the narrow streets of Paris again the night wind only swept, thebitter blast howled and the ominous whispering, as of spirits, rose andfell.
It was a strange and stormy night--murky and chilly--while at intervalsthe cold rain dashed down in cutting blasts. But within the magnificentmansion of Gaultier de Rumilly all was light and loveliness, as has beensaid. The splendid salons were already thronged, yet crowds ofrichly-attired guests were constantly arriving.
"Ha! Beauchamp, just come?" cried Chateau-Renaud to his friend, as heentered.
"By the grace of God, yes!" said the journalist. "What a night!"
"What a throng of men and women say rather!" was the reply.
"Very true. Who's here?"
"Ask who's not here, and your question may be easily answered. All Parisis here! Women of every age and station, and men of all politicalcreeds--Conservatives, Dynastics, Legitimists, Republicans andCommunists. Indeed, this soiree seems to me, and I shouldn't wonder ifit were designed so to be, a general reunion of the leaders of all thegreat parties in France, to compare notes and learn the news."
"And there is news enough to learn, it would seem. Is M. Dantes here?"
"He is, or was, and his beautiful wife, too, the most magnificent womanin Paris. Morrel also is here with his fair bride."
"And who is that dark, dignified man in the Turkish costume, around whomthe ladies have clustered so inquisitively?" asked the Deputy.
"Why, that's the Emir of Algeria, the famous captive of the Duked'Aumale," was the reply.
"What! Abd-el-Kader! How comes he here?"
"Oh! as a special favor, I suppose; he has a respite from his sadprison."
"What a splendid beard, and what keen black eyes!"
"No, his eyes are decidedly gray, but so shaded by his extraordinarylashes that they seem black. They say that he was more distinguished asa scholar, in Algeria, than as a soldier, statesman or priest. In fact,he is as erudite as an Arab can be, and his library, which is containedin two leathern trunks, accompanied him in all his wanderings prior tohis submission."
"And what think you really induced him to surrender himself?"
"Policy of the deepest character, and worthy of Talleyrand, Metternichor Nesselrode, if we are to rely on the eloquent speech of Lamoricierein the Chamber, the other day."
"I remember. Bugeaud spoke first, and Lamoriciere followed. He thoughtthat the Arab Curtius leaped into the gulf because, by so doing, he wasconvinced he could injure French interests more than by his freedom.Well, perhaps he was right. He bids fair to be a hard bone of contentionbetween the opposition and the Ministry."
"If I mistake not, Lamoriciere disclaimed all responsibility foraccepting the surrender, and placed it on the Governor-General, theyoung Duke, for whom the Ministry is liable?"
"Yes; and Guizot announced that he would send the Emir back toAlexandria, could security be given against his return to Algeria."
"As to the Emir's surrender, at which you wonder, the real cause is saidto have been not policy, but the universal passion--love."
"He is an Antony, then, instead of a Curtius."
"So it seems. At the moment when, with incredible efforts, he hadeffected the passage of the Moorish camp, and was off like an ostrichfor the desert, the firing of the French, who had reached his deira,struck his ear. Back he flew like the lamiel. Twice his horse fellunder him dead--twice he was surrounded and seized, and twice, by hiswonderful agility, he regained his freedom. At last, perceiving that allwas lost, he turned his face again toward the desert, and, for two daysand nights, continued his flight. But his heart was behind him. Certainof escape himself, he preferred hopeless captivity with her he loved,and he returned."
"Quite poetical, on my word! Worthy of Sadi, the Arab Petrarch,himself!" said Chateau-Renaud.
"He is decidedly a great man, that Abd-el-Kader. They say he bears hismisfortunes like a philosopher--or, better, a Turk--unalterably mild anddignified, while his wives and his mother wail at his feet. Everymorning he reads the Koran to them, and during the orisons all thewindows are open, and a large fire blazes in the centre of the room."
"He is a decided godsend to the quidnuncs of Paris."
"So would be a Hottentot, or a North American savage," repliedBeauchamp.
"Rather a different affair this from the Ministerial soiree a week ago,I fancy," remarked the editor.
"Rather. I will confess to you, Beauchamp, I attended that soiree fromcuriosity to see whether M. Guizot retained his habitual placidity ofmanner amid the clouds every day thickening around him."
"And what was the result?"
"Why, this. He was as polite and courteous as ever, and the same cold,imperturbable smile was on his thin lip; but he looked careworn, andupon his countenance was an expression of solicitude, when it wasclosely watched, which I never saw there before. Ah, Beauchamp, I envynot the Premier!"
"And the guests?" asked the journalist.
"Of guests there were but few; and the spacious salons of the Hotel desAffaires Etrangeres looked dismal and deserted."
"The lovely Countess Leven--"
"Even she was absent."
"And the Countess of Dino?"
"Absent, too."
"The soiree must have been, indeed, dull without those 'charming queensof intrigue,' as Louis Blanc courteously calls them. But tell me, Count,is the Minister really the husband of the beautiful Leven, or is sheonly his par amours?"
"No one knows. It is certain, however, that the great man devotes to theenchantress every moment he can steal from the State, though to look athim one would hardly suppose him a lover, in any meaning of the term.But who knows? To read his writings can one imagine a purer man? But,then, the affairs of Gisquet, Cubieres, Teste, and, last and worst,Petit, whose case was before the Chamber, do they not betray deplorablelack of firmness or morality? But no more of this. Who is that dark,splendid woman to whom young Joliette seems so devoted? I have seenthem together before!"
"Why, you surely have not forgotten Louise d'Armilly, the charmingcantatrice! She has recently left the boards, to the irreparable loss ofthe opera, having come into possession of an immense inheritance--somemillions, it is said, left by her father, who was once a banker ofParis. She is asserted
"Has Lucien been here?" asked the Deputy, after a pause, during whichthe young men surveyed the brilliant throngs that passed before them andreturned the salutations of their acquaintances.
"I think not. We have not met, at least," replied the journalist.
"He can hardly be spared to-night, I fancy. The Ministry have had astormy day, and are, doubtless, preparing for one still more stormyto-morrow."
"There was a perfect tempest in the Chamber this evening, I understand."
"Call it rather a hurricane, a tornado!"
"Ah! give me the particulars; here, come with me into this corner.Unfortunately, I was not present. I was busy on the General Committeefor the Banquet of the Twelfth Arrondissement, to-morrow, at Chaillot.To avoid all possibility of collision with the police, we resolved, youknow, not to have the banquet within the walls of Paris, and so there isto be a procession to the Barriere de l'Etoile. I have been there sincemorning, and reached the city only in time to come here. So, you see, Iam edifyingly ignorant of the latest news."
"Then I have to inform you that there is to be no banquet after all."
"No banquet! Why, I thought it was compromised between Guizot and Barrotthat the banquet should be allowed to proceed under protest, in orderthat the question might be brought before the Supreme Court."
"Such was the purpose, but a manifesto of the Banquet Committee, drawnup by Marrast, it is said, and, at all events, issued in 'Le National'this morning, declaring the design not only of a banquet, but of aprocession, changed everything. The address sets forth that all invitedto the banquet would assemble at the Place de la Madeleine to-morrow atabout noon, and thence, escorted by the National Guard, and accompaniedby the students of the universities, should proceed by the Place de laConcorde to the Arc de Triomphe, at the extremity of the Avenue desChamps Elysees, and thence to the immense pavilion on the grounds ofGeneral Shian. Only one toast, 'Reform, and the right to assemble,' wasannounced to be drunk, and then a commissary of police could enter aformal protest against the whole proceeding on the spot, on which tobase a legal prosecution, and the multitude would disperse."
"A very sensible mode of procedure," quietly remarked the journalist,"and one eminently calculated to relieve your friend Guizot and myfriend Barrot from the awkward dilemma of a direct issue."
"But so thought not my friend Guizot. Like his oracle, the sageMontesquieu, he thought, 'Who assembles the people causes them torevolt.' He took fright at the manifesto, as he was pleased to dignifythe simple programme in this morning's 'National,' and so, early in thesitting, it was announced that the reform banquet was utterly prohibitedby M. Delessert, Prefect of Police, on the express injunction andresponsibility of M. Duchatel, Minister of the Interior, by and with theadvice of M. Hebert, Minister of Justice."
"Ha! and what said Odillon Barrot?" cried the journalist.
"He--why he said nothing at all, but immediately retired at the head ofthe opposition from the Chamber."
"To consult?"
"Of course. An hour after, they returned in a body two hundred and fiftystrong, with Barrot at their head, who at once mounted the tribune anddenounced the despotism of the Ministry in forbidding the peacefulassembling of the citizens, without tumult or arms, to discuss theirpolitical rights. Duchatel replied, under great excitement.
"'Shall reform committees dare to call out the National Guard at theirpleasure?' he asked.
"'Will you dare to call out the National Guard?' retorted De Courtais,fiercely. 'Only try it!'
"'The Government of France will never yield!' rejoined the Minister,pale with fury.
"'Speak in your own name, Monsieur!' shouted Flocon.
"'I shall never speak in yours!' was the answer.
"'You play the game of menace!' cried Lesseps.
"'The Government will never yield!' again vociferated Duchatel.
"'Those were the very words of Charles X.!' observed M. Dantes, sternly.The entire left responded in a terrific roar.
"'There is blood in those words!' shouted Ledru Rollin.
"'The Government will never yield!' the Minister of the Interior for thethird time vehemently exclaimed, and the right gathered around him.'This is worse than Polignac or Peyronet!' vociferated Odillon Barrot,his trumpet tones rising above all others like a clarion in a tempest.Those hated names were greeted by a yell of abhorrence perfectly savagefrom the left; then all was uproar--a dozen voices simultaneouslyshouting at theirloudest--denunciation--menace--defiance--retort--clenchedhands--extended arms--furious gesticulations--every one ontip-toe--fiery eyes--stamping feet--shouts of 'Order! order!order!'--and, amid all, the incessant tinkling of old Sauzet's littlesilver bell, which was just about as effective in restoring peace as itwould be to quiet the tempest now howling through the streets of Paris.At length, in utter consternation and dismay the old President put onhis hat, and, pronouncing the seance ended, rushed from his chair amid ahurricane of uproarious shouts."
"And Odillon Barrot?"
"Odillon Barrot led the opposition members immediately from the Chamberto his own house, where they have been ever since in deliberation. Itwas six o'clock when the sitting closed, and they must be inconsultation now, or Barrot would surely be here, if but for a moment,out of respect to his bosom friend, our host. Ah! there he is, justentering, surrounded by a perfect army of Republicans--De Courtais,Marrast, Lesseps, Duvergier, Flocon, Lamartine, Dupont and a whole hostbesides."
"How excited they look!" exclaimed the journalist. "Ah! Thiersapproaches them from the other end of the salon!"
"M. Thiers, like the worldly-wise and selfish man he is, has heldhimself aloof from the banquet, and even declined the invitationaccepted by a hundred of his party; to-day he was absent from theChamber and to-night from the conclave, all with the aspiring, yet vainhope, that the King will send for him to form a Ministry."
"And yet, in the Chamber, a few days ago, he said that he was of theparty of the revolution in Europe."
"True, but he added that he wished the revolution carried on by itsmoderate supporters, and that he should do all he could to keep it inthe hands of the moderate party."
"'But if it should pass into the hands of a party not moderate,'continued the crafty ex-Minister, 'I shall not abandon the cause of therevolution. I shall be always of the party of the revolution.' But see,he singles out Marrast, of all others!"
"And his old colleague of 'Le National' seems to give him no verycordial reception," added the Deputy. "But let us move up and hear thedetermination of the opposition relative to the banquet."
"That's the very question the little historian has just propounded tothe great journalist. Now for the answer."
"The opposition decide, Monsieur, to abandon the banquet," was the angryreply of the editor to the ex-Minister.
"Indeed!" was the bland rejoinder; "and has a manifesto of this decisionbeen issued to the people?"
"It has; and it instantly called forth a counter manifesto from theelectoral committee of the Twelfth Arrondissement, expressing verynatural astonishment that, at the same time the opposition abandoned thebanquet, they had not abandoned their seats in the Chamber, and invitingthem so to do at once."
"And the Ministry?" anxiously asked M. Thiers.
"Will to-morrow be impeached, Monsieur!"
"Ah! indeed! indeed!" cried the smart little aspirant, gleefullyrubbing his hands.
At that moment General Lamoriciere, the brother-in-law of Thiers, whoowed so much to the house of Orleans, hastily approached.
"I come straight from the Tuileries," he said, with considerableexcitement. "General Jacqueminot has just issued an order of the day, ascommander-in-chief of the National Guard, appealing to them as theconstitutional protectors of the Throne to take no part in the banquet.Orders have, also, been issued for the rappel to be beaten at dawn, inthe Quartie
"And the Ministers, what do they?" asked Thiers.
"Oh! they are not idle," replied the soldier. "The bastilles are armed,and those of Montrouge and Aubervilliers are provisioned. Thehorse-artillery at Vincennes are ready, on the instant, to gallop intothe capital. Seventy additional pieces of ordnance are now entering thebarrieres. The Municipal Guard are supplied with ball-cartridges. Thetroops concentrated at sunrise to-morrow will not be less than onehundred thousand strong. With these men in the forts and faithful, thecity can be starved in three days, National Guard and all, ifrebellious. Now is the crisis in which to test the remarkable admissionof M. Duchatel, in May, '45, that the bastilles of Paris were designedto 'fortify order.' We shall see, we shall see!"
"And the Marshal Duke of Islay--where is he?" quietly asked Marrast,with a significant shrug and smile.
At this mention of his bitter foe, a frown lowered on the fine face ofLamoriciere, as he briefly and sternly replied:
"With the King, Monsieur--General Bugeaud is with the King. But theymistake, Monsieur. Eugene Cavaignac is the man for this emergency.Bugeaud is a soldier--a mere soldier--Cavaignac is a statesman--aNapoleon! Paris will discriminate between the two one day, and thatshortly."
And with an abrupt military salute the conqueror of Algeria walked away,followed by his little brother-in-law, who seemed yet shorter and moreinsignificant at the side of his towering and graceful form. At the samemoment, Ledru Rollin entered in great agitation, and, having glancedhastily around, as if in search of some one in the assemblage, advancedstraight to the journalist and grasped his hand.
"By heavens, Armand, I think the hour has arrived!"
"Whence do you come?" was the quick question.
"From the Boulevards, where I left Flocon, Louis Blanc and M. Dantes,with the people. I tell you, Armand, the people are ripe--ripe! TheMinisterial ordinances prohibiting the banquet have kindled a flamewherever they have gone. The pitiful manifesto of the opposition and thecounter manifesto of the Twelfth Arrondissement have only served to fanthis flame into fury. It has been our care to restrain and direct, notto excite. It is dark and cold without, Armand; the winter wind howlsdismally along the streets, the sleet freezes as it falls and thefurious blast almost extinguishes the torches by which, at the cornersand at the cafes, the different manifestoes of the day are being read tothe eager throngs, on whose faces, in the flare of the blood-red light,can be perceived the fury of their hearts. The people, at length, areripe! To-morrow all Paris will be in arms!"
While Ledru Rollin was thus speaking, Louis Blanc entered and quietlyapproached, courteously saluting his acquaintances on his way, andstopping to exchange a few words with Madame Dantes, who inquired withconsiderable anxiety for her husband.
"I have this moment left him, Madame," said Louis Blanc. "Be assured, heis safe and well. Ah! how glorious to be an object of solicitude to onelike you!" he added, with a smile.
The lady smiled also, and offered an appropriate jest in reply to thegallantry of the distinguished author, as he moved on to join hisfriends.
"The Ministry provokes its fate!" he said, in a low tone, as heapproached. "'Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.' Thesemen suffered seventy reform banquets all over France. The seventy-firstone they prohibit, and that, too, by the exhumation of an old despoticedict of 1790. This is exactly what we would have. It was the first, notthe last banquet they should have suppressed. Barrot was right to-day,in the Chamber, when he said that had this manifestation been sufferedthe people would have become tranquil."
"Tranquil, indeed!" cried Ledru Rollin. "That's exactly what we haveapprehended! No--no--it is too late! This Reform Banquet was, at first,but an insignificant thing. In it we now recognize the commencement of arevolution. The various announcements and postponements of this banquethave caused an agitation among the masses favorable to our wishes, andthe threats and obstinacy of the Ministry have completed the work. Thehopes, fears, doubts and disappointments attending this affair have putthe mind of all Paris in a ferment, and excited passions of which we maytake immediate advantage."
"Aye!" cried Louis Blanc, "we may now do what I have always wished andcounseled--we, the Communists, may now take advantage of a movement, inthe origin or inception of which we had no hand."
"True, most true!" observed Marrast; "this is the work of theDynastics--Thiers, Barrot and the rest--the commencement of a reformunder the law which we design to make a revolution paramount to alllaw."
"They begin to fear already that they have gone too far, those discreetmen!" said Louis Blanc, smiling bitterly. "Did you observe how theyshuffled to-night at M. Barrot's, and finally resolved to abandon thebanquet, but, as a sop to the people, pledged themselves to impeach theMinistry?"
"Ah! ha! ha!" laughed Ledru Rollin; "just as if their abandonment of thebanquet is to keep the people away from it to-morrow, any more than theMinisterial ordinances! Why, not one man in ten thousand knows of theexistence of these manifestoes! But the faubourgs have been promised aholiday for a fortnight past, and they don't intend to be put offagain."
"Whether the Dynastics designed or wished to be compromised in thisaffair," remarked Marrast, "they certainly are committed now, and it istoo late for them to get out of the movement. Indeed, I view it asnothing less than a union of all the oppositions against the Crown--aye,against the Crown, and for a republic! We comprehend this--they don't.They have not, like us, waited seventeen years for a signal forrevolution;--and now, before God, I believe the hour is at hand! This isno accidental insurrection of the 5th and 6th of June, '32--no outbreakat a funeral--no riot of operatives--no unmeaning revolt, as in '39. Itis a reform, with the first names in France as its advocates andsupporters, which we will make a revolution if we can secure theNational Guard."
"The National Guard is secured already," said Louis Blanc. "Are theynot of the people? At least twenty thousand of the National Guard areRepublicans. Of the remaining forty thousand, nearly all are welldisposed or neutral in feeling. Have I studied the National Guard fortwenty years in vain, and have all the measures of the Communists tosecure them, when the crisis came on, proved utterly ineffectual? On theNational Guard we may rely. The Municipal Guard are picked men, and wellpaid to support the Throne--they will fight even better than the Line.With the Line and the National Guard the people must seek to fraternizefrom the beginning--with the other troops they have solely tofight--but, after all, general facts and principles only can be laiddown. Circumstances utterly beyond human control must direct and govern,and vary and determine results when the period of action arrives; andarrive it may at any hour of the day or night. At this moment Parissleeps on a volcano, the fires of which have long been gathering throughmany a fair and sunny day! God only knows when the volcano will burst;but, when the hour comes, let the people be prepared!"
As these enthusiastic words were uttered, the dark eye of the speakerflashed and his lip quivered. The silver clock on the mantel, besidewhich the conspirators stood, struck the first quarter after two. Thenight was waning, but the festivity seemed rather to increase thandiminish within the salons of the magnificent mansion, while the stormhowled even more drearily without, and the rain, at intervals, in heavyblasts, beat even more fiercely against the northern casements.
As Louis Blanc ceased speaking, M. Flocon entered the salon, and, as ifby some preconcerted arrangement, at once sought his political friends.
"What of the night, watchman?" cried Ledru Rollin, as the editor of "LaReforme" approached. "The latest news! for 'That of an hour's age dothhiss the speaker,' as the English Shakespeare says. The news! good orbad!"
"As I entered," said Flocon, "the house trembled with the jar of a trainof heavy ordnance, attended by tumbrels and artillery caissons, andescorted by a regim
"Good!" answered Marrast, with enthusiasm.
"All night," continued Flocon, eagerly, "through darkness and storm,whole regiments of infantry have thronged the line of boulevards whichstretch from the Tuileries to Vincennes, and each soldier bears upon hisknapsack, in addition to all his arms, an axe to demolish barricades.The garrisons of the arrondissements of Paris are already seventythousand strong; and the troops of the Line are concentrating around thePalais Bourbon and the Chamber of Deputies."
"Excellent--most excellent!" joyfully exclaimed Louis Blanc. "Theaffront will not be wanting! But where is M. Dantes?"
"He is still with the chiefs of the faubourgs and the committees of theFree-masons and workmen, in the Rue Lepelletier, issuing his lastinstructions for the morrow. Messieurs, that man is a magician! His zealin the good cause puts the boldest of us all to the blush. By mostindefatigable energy and indomitable perseverance, he has brought abouta systematic, almost scientific organization and fraternity, throughvarious modes of rapid intercommunication between the innumerableclasses of operatives of every description throughout the whole capitaland its faubourgs, so that, within six hours, he can have in militaryarray an armed mass of one hundred thousand blouses upon the boulevards.The workshops alone, he tells me, can furnish fifty thousand. Therapidity with which he conveys intelligence through this immense armyand their utter subservience to his will and subordination to his ordersare all so wonderful that it is impossible to determine which is mostso. To control a Parisian populace has hitherto been deemed a chimera.With M. Dantes it is an existing reality. Not an army in Europe is soobedient or so prompt as his army of workmen. The secret is this--theyknow him to be their friend. All over Paris are to be seen hisworkshops, savings banks, hospitals and houses of industry and reform,and, in the suburbs, his phalansteries and his model farms. That he hasthe command of boundless wealth is certain; but whose it is, or whenceit comes, no one can divine; and never did man make use of boundlesswealth to attain his ends more wisely than he does! Why, I am told thatthe pens of half the litterateurs and feuilletonists of Paris have foryears past been guided by his will and compensated from his purse toaccomplish his purposes. 'The Mysteries of Paris' and 'The WanderingJew' are but two of the triumphs of his policy. And his system ofphilanthropy seems not bounded by France, but to embrace all Europe. TheSwiss Protestant and the Italian patriot have each felt his effectivesympathy as well as the French workman; and in the same manner as withthe operatives so has he obtained influence and weight with the NationalGuard, and to such an extent that of the sixty thousand one-half wouldobey his orders with greater alacrity than those of Jacqueminot himself.I tell you, Messieurs, he is a magician!"
"Hush! hush!" cried Marrast; "he is entering now!"
"He pauses and looks around him!" said Louis Blanc.
"He looks for us; I will go to him!" remarked Flocon.
"He looks for his wife," replied Louis Blanc. "There, he catches hereye. See how eagerly she flies to him!"
"That is the finest pair in Paris," remarked the journalist.
"And the most devoted," added Ledru Rollin. "They have been man and wifefor some time, it is said, and any one would take them for lovers atthis moment."
"Have they children?" asked Flocon.
"No; but M. Dantes has by a former wife a son and daughter, who rivalin good looks the celebrated children of our friend Victor Hugo,"returned Louis Blanc.
"I met Arago, Lamartine, Sue, Chateaubriand and some other celebritiesat his mansion in the Rue du Helder one night, recently," continuedMarrast, "and I thought I never saw a house arranged with such perfecttaste. The salons, library, picture-gallery, cabinet of natural history,conservatory, and laboratory were superb--everything, in short, wasexquisite."
"And then one is always sure to meet at Madame Dantes' soirees," addedLouis Blanc, "exactly the persons who, of all others, he wishes to see,and whom he would meet nowhere else, poets, painters, authors, orators,statesmen and artists of every description--in fine, every man or woman,whether native or foreigner, distinguished for anything, is certain tobe met with at M. Dantes' house."
"I once met there," said Flocon, "Rachel, the actress, and Van Amburgh,the lion-king."
"M. Dantes is a perfect Maecenas in encouraging merit, as every oneknows," remarked Marrast; "and he manifests especial solicitude to showthat he appreciates worth more highly than wealth--genius than station.Poverty and ability are sure recommendations to him."
"Madame Dantes is, I am told, as devoted to the good cause as herhusband," remarked Flocon.
"She is a second Madame Roland!" exclaimed Louis Blanc. "France willowe much to such women as she and her friend Madame Dudevant!"
"She differs greatly from Madame George Sand in some respects, I fancy,"said Marrast; "but, if she at all rivals that wonderful woman indevotedness to the cause of human rights, whether of her own sex orours, she deserves well of France. In her charities, it is notorious,she has no rival. Half the mendicants of the capital bless her name, andshe is at the head of a dozen associations and enterprises for theamelioration of the condition of the destitute, suffering and abandonedof her sex."
"Upon my word, Messieurs," cried Ledru Rollin, "your praises of M.Dantes and Madame, his beautiful wife, are perfectly enthusiastic--somuch so, that, in your zeal, you utterly forgot another matter quite asmomentous. I am so unfortunate as to know M. Dantes only as one of thegreat pillars of our noble cause, and a man who, for nearly six years,has proven himself an apostle of man's rights, and ready, if need be, tobecome a martyr! That's enough for me to know of him!"
"But who really are M. Dantes and his wife?" asked Flocon.
"Who really are any of us?" laughingly rejoined Louis Blanc.
"Who really is any one in Paris," continued Marrast, "the blood-royalalways and alone excepted?"
"Of M. Dantes this only is known," said Louis Blanc, "that for five orsix years past he has been a Deputy from Marseilles, Lyons and othersouthern cities, all of which have been eager to honor themselves byreturning him as their representative, as one of the boldest and mosteloquent Republicans in all France; as for Madame Dantes, we know her tohave once been the Countess de Morcerf, but now the wife of our friend,and one of the noblest and most lovely matrons in Paris. What need havewe to know more? But our friend comes."
While this conversation was proceeding, Dantes and Mercedes had joinedeach other, and their hands were quietly clasped.
"Is all well, Edmond?" was the anxious inquiry of the fond wife, in low,soft, musical tones, as she fixed upon his pale face her dark eyes,beaming with the tenderest solicitude.
"All is well, love," replied the husband. "You will pardon my protractedabsence, when I tell you it has been unavoidable--will you not,Mercedes?"
"Will I not? What a question! But I have been so anxious for yoursafety, knowing the perilous business in which you are engaged; and thenight is so tempestuous."
"You forget that I have a constitution of iron, dear," replied Dantes;"you forget that I was a sailor once, and the storms were myplaythings!"
"But you will go home with me now, Edmond, will you not?" she anxiouslyasked, placing her little white hand on his arm and gazing beseechinglyinto his eyes.
"Have I ever passed one night from your arms, my Mercedes, since wewere wed?" was the whispered response. "Ah! love, any pillow but thysoft bosom would be to me a thorny one! You have spoiled me forever!" headded, smiling.
"And shall we go now, Edmond?" eagerly asked the delighted woman. "Oh!I'm so weary of this fete!"
"I must exchange a few words with our friend Louis Blanc, whom I seeyonder, with others of our party, and then, dear, we will to our pillow.We are both weary. Au revoir!"
"Edmond--Edmond!" cried the lady, as her husband was going, "do you seeJoliette and Louise in the redowa yonder?"
Dantes looked and, with a well pleased smile, nodded assent; a morebrilliant and well-matched pair coul
M. Dantes was received with marked respect by the knot of Republicans ashe approached.
"I am delighted to meet you all, and to meet you to-night, or, rather,this morning," said Dantes, warmly, "in order that I may render you anaccount of my stewardship for the past six hours. They have been hoursbig with fate; and the first day of Republican France has alreadycommenced. Messieurs, we can no longer remain blind to the fact that thelong looked for--hoped for--expected hour has come--the hour tostrike--strike home for liberty and for France! To-morrow the streets ofParis will swarm with blouses!--the Marseillaise will beheard!--barricades rise!--the Ministry be impeached! Next day theNational Guards will fraternize with the people!--blood will flow!--theMinistry resign! On the third, the King abdicates!--the Tuileries aresurrendered!--a Regency is refused!--a Republic is declared! And thisday, two weeks hence, liberty will be shouted in the streets of Viennaand Berlin, and every throne in Europe will tremble! The honors ofprophecy are easily won," continued the speaker, with a significantsmile that lighted up his features, pale with enthusiasm and exhaustion,"when the problem of seventeen years approaches solution withmathematical certainty!"
"Are our plans all complete?" asked Louis Blanc.
"So far as human forethought or power could render them so, our effortshave, I trust, been effectual," was the reply. "Yet the events of everyhour will induce changes, and render indispensable policy now undreamedof. Ah! Messieurs, we must none of us sleep now! Not a moment mustescape our vigilance! Not an advantage must be sacrificed! We can affordto lose nothing! Without leaders, the people are blind! Not, for aninstant, must they be abandoned! To-morrow, let the masses gather atdifferent points! Next day let barricades choke the Boulevards; and, ifthe conflict come not, be it precipitated--provoked! Thursday, anhundred thousand men must invest the Tuileries, and a ProvisionalGovernment be declared in the Chamber of Deputies! The Bourbons willthen be in full flight, and France will be free! And now, Messieurs,will you permit me to suggest the propriety of our separation? YonderMinisterial Secretary has had his eye upon us ever since he entered."
The expediency of the suggestion of M. Dantes was at once perceived; theconspirators parted and one after the other, by different routes,shortly disappeared. As for M. Dantes, he threw himself carelessly inthe way of the Ministerial Secretary to whom he had alluded, who was noother than our friend Lucien Debray, and saluted him with most markedand winning courtesy.
"Will the Ministerial Secretary suffer me to compliment him upon hisindefatigable industry and exertions to-night to fortify order in Parisand sustain the administration?"
Debray bowed somewhat confusedly at this remark, and having returned adiplomatic reply, from which neither himself nor any one else could haveelicited an idea, M. Dantes continued the conversation.
"Let me see, it is now nearly three o'clock," he said, consulting hisrepeater; "at half-past two you received an order, signed by the Duke ofMontpensier, and directed to the War Ministry, commanding thatseventy-two additional pieces of artillery be transported from Vincennesto Paris before dawn. That order was issued, and the ordnance is now onthe boulevard!"
"How!" exclaimed the astonished Secretary.
"At Vincennes, the horses of the flying artillery stand harnessed intheir stalls! All night infantry have been pouring into Paris, and,obedient to midnight orders, every railway will disgorge, at dawn,additional troops!"
"Are you a magician?" asked the astonished Secretary.
"Shall I reveal to you the Ministerial tactics for the morrow'sapprehended insurrection?" coolly asked Dantes, with a smile. "Thesalons of the Tuileries have not been deserted to-night. 'Can you quellan insurrection, General?' asked the King of the Marshal Duke of Islay.'I can kill thirty thousand men,' was the humane answer. 'And I, sire,can preserve order in Paris without killing a score,' said MarshalGerard, the hero of Antwerp, 'if I can rely on my men.' 'What is yourplan, Marshal?' asked the King. Shall I give you the Marshal's reply, myfriend?"
"You were present--you know all!" exclaimed Debray.
"Not quite all," thought Dantes, "but I shall before we part. Well,"continued he, aloud, "the Marshal's strategy was this--exceedinglysimple and exceedingly efficacious, too, provided, to use the Marshal'sown words, he can rely on his men. It is this: Occupy the Tuileries, theHotel de Ville, the Halles, the Louvre and other prominent points with aheavy reserve of infantry and artillery, and sweep the boulevards, andthe Rues St. Honore, de Rivoli, St. Martin, St. Denis, Montmartre andRichelieu with cavalry. A simple plan, is it not? Almost as simple asthat of the insurrectionists themselves--a barricade on every street andone hundred thousand men in the Place du Carrousel!"
"The Government will not yield, Monsieur!" said Debray, firmly. "TheMinister is unshaken. To crush an unarmed mob cannot severely tax themost skillful generals in Europe."
"True, they are unarmed," returned Dantes, with apparent seriousness."Their leaders should have thought of that--arms are so easilyprovided--but then they can rely on their men!"
"We have yet to see that!" replied Debray, with some asperity.
"True, we have yet to see it. It is only a matter of belief now; then itwill be a matter of knowledge. Seeing is knowing," added M. Dantes, withhis peculiar smile. "But, pray, assure me, M. Debray, are the Ministryand their advisers, indeed, sanguine of the issue to-morrow!"
"They are certain!" replied the Secretary, with energy. Then, feelingthat he had, perhaps, made a dangerous revelation, he quickly added: "Ihave the honor, Monsieur, to wish you a very good night! It is late!"
"Say, rather, it is early, Monsieur!" replied Dantes. "I have the honorto wish you a very good morning!"
The Secretary returned the courtesy, turned away, and, after exchanginga few words with M. Thiers, disappeared.
"They are certain, then!" soliloquized M. Dantes, as Debray quitted thesalon. "I was sure I should know all before he left."
Then, rejoining Mercedes, who was patiently awaiting him, they steppedinto their carriage, as the drowsy tones of the watchman rose on themisty air, "Past four o'clock, and all is well!"