Chapter II (2)

"I cannot say that originally I was much better provided myself," replied the stranger. "Good blood, strong limbs, and a heart without fear, however, have increased my inheritance; and I look upon the beginning of this war as just a call to the sheep-shearing. I take it as a matter of course, when I talk of your entering our band, that your blood is noble, one way or another."

"It is as good as your own," I replied.

"Indeed!" he said, with a somewhat mocking smile. "Then it is of a somewhat extraordinary quality; for the man who can boast descent from a long race of kings cannot go beyond mine."

"Perhaps you mean if traced back to Adam," I replied, not quite liking his tone.

"No, young gentleman," he answered, very gravely; "I mean, if traced back for twenty generations. But come, let us go seek this Jew, and see what he says the knife is worth."

Thus saying, he rose; and, following him through manifold turnings and windings in the fine old city of Bordeaux, I entered the little alley that lies just under the Cathedral garden.

"Here lives a Jew," continued my companion, "With whom I have had some dealings. The nearer the church the farther from God, they say: so this misbegotten infidel plants himself close against the chief church."

A few steps farther brought us to a small dark doorway, which certainly gave no promise of wealth or traffic; and, feeling his way up the stairs with his hands, my guide led me on to the second floor, where he knocked hard with his clinched fist against a door.

It was not opened at once to his summons: but a part of one of the panels, about two spans square, was drawn back, admitting a little light to the landing-place on which we stood, and through it a dark countenance with a long beard examined us carefully.

"Ah, it is you, is it, my good seigneur!" cried the Jew, after having more than once keenly looked on my companion's face. "I will open the door directly, and let you in."

And, almost as he spoke, bolts and bars were withdrawn, and the door opening, gave us admission into a room which presented a very strange scene.

There were only two persons in the chamber; the first of which was the Jew himself, a man of about fifty years of age, dressed in the long, flowing black robe usually worn by his people. The top of his head was quite bald; for though he wore a small black velvet cap upon it, he uncovered himself on the entrance of my companion, and bowed down almost to the ground. His hair, however, and beard were jetty black, without a single gray hair, and his complexion was of that deep Oriental yellow-brown not uncommon to his nation.

The other person whom the room contained was a girl of about eleven or twelve years of age, as beautiful a little creature as it is possible to conceive; having, indeed, some resemblance to the Jew in feature, but so softened with womanly and with childish beauty, that all harshness was done away. She was dressed in white, but sat playing on a pile of many-coloured shawls, winding them fancifully round her, and, in so doing, throwing her beautiful figure into attitudes the most graceful that it is possible to conceive.

The interior of the chamber itself, however, had a great many other objects to attract the eye on every side. It seemed a complete showroom of rich and valuable things. On a table near the window appeared piles of different jewels and trinkets; swords, silver-mounted daggers, and many an implement of modern and ancient warfare, were scattered around on every side: in other corners lay rich dresses and magnificent embroidery; in others, piles of carpets and tapestries, and pieces of silk and velvet. Rich lace of gold and silver, and many a book, perhaps invaluable in themselves, and enriched by clasps and mountings of fine filigree-work, were cast promiscuously together with a thousand articles of high price which I have now forgotten.

Our business was soon explained to the Jew; and, taking the Turkish dagger, he looked at it, saying that he would give ten crowns for it, after he had touched a part of the haft with a touchstone.

"Ten crowns!" exclaimed my Scottish companion. "By Abraham's beard, Solomon Ahar, thou art more a Jew than the rest of thy tribe. See you not that the stones are real?"

"Nay?" exclaimed the Jew, with a look of surprise, "is it so?" And, drawing near to the window, he examined it again by the faint light that entered the chamber through the manifold tall courts and stacks of chimneys behind.

"As true as thou art a son of Israel," replied the Scotchman. But, ere he could say more, the Jew himself exclaimed, "Blessed be Heaven! it is so indeed. Here are--let me see--six, seven, nine, fourteen fine stones. Nay, then, I will give the gentleman an hundred crowns an he choose to leave it with me, as what the people of Lombardy call a pignus or pledge; and if he will sell it outright, I think I could venture to go as far as an hundred and fifty or two hundred."

"Which means that it is worth three."

"On my honour, on my conscience!" cried the Jew; and was beginning to bargain upon the worth of the thing, when I cut short the discourse by exclaiming, "I have no intention of selling the dagger: it is but for a temporary need that I want the money, and trust to pay it back full soon."

"He shall give thee an hundred and fifty for it at least," exclaimed the Scotchman. "I know how to deal with the tribe of Israel. Look ye, Master Solomon, the haft of the dagger is worth three hundred crowns or more. If the youth lives, returns, and claims it, you gain your interest of fifteen hard per cent. If he gets himself killed, as is a thousand chances to one, or dies a natural death, or never finds a crown to spare to pay thee, all of which are very probable, the dagger is yours at the end of six months or a year, and then you gain double for the loan."

"I cannot give it," replied the Jew; "I cannot give it. It is too much. It would be my ruin. How often am I a loser! What taxes have I not to pay! No, I cannot give it, I will not give it. There is your dagger, young gentleman."

I hesitated whether I should take the weapon; but the Scotchman gave me a nod, saying, "Take it, take it; there are more Jews in Bordeaux than he." And I was taking it back into my hand, when the girl suddenly left off her sport with the shawls, and, plucking the old man by the robe; she said. "Give it him, my father; give him the money. He seems as if he would fain have it. He wants it, and thou dost not."

The Jew still was silent, only putting the child away with his hand, and saying, when she urged him farther, "Silence, prattler, what is it to thee?"

The girl, turning away from him, looked up in my face; and I laid my hand upon her jetty locks, saying, "I thank thee, my pretty maiden. He will not yield to thee, but thou art kind, however."

"Nay," said the Jew; "I will yield something. You shall have a hundred and twenty-five."

"No!" said the Scot, turning towards the door; "We shall get a hundred and fifty for it from Moses Levi."

The Jew hesitated for a moment longer; but when my companion laid his hand upon the lock of the door as if to go out, he said, "Stay, stay: thou shalt have it, though I vow it is the full value of the thing."

He carried an inkhorn at his button, and soon wrote down upon two pieces of vellum a mutual acknowledgment between him and me; the one was drawn up in his name, acknowledging the receipt of the dagger, specifying every stone it contained, and promising its restitution on the payment of the sum of a hundred and fifty crowns, together with interest at the rate of fifteen per cent. The other was on my part, acknowledging the receipt of the hundred and fifty crowns, and promising to return it within the space of twelve months, paying an interest of fifteen per cent.

As soon as this was concluded, the money was paid down, and the weapon, with its glittering hilt, surrendered. I still wanted a leathern bag to carry the money in; but in the store of the Jew all things were to be found; and, having taken one from a cabinet in the room, he made me pay about double the value, and thus we departed; I far richer than I had expected to be for many a year, but feeling yet a degree of regret and disquietude at having suffered the last gift of my father to pass out of my own hand, which, for the time, more than counterbalanced the pleasure of receiving the money, even though it was to furnish me with the means of pursuing that profession for which he himself had destined me.

When we had quitted the Jew's house, my companion laughed aloud in his peculiar clear, merry, careless way.

"These sons of Israel," he said, "These sons of Israel, it needs a long acquaintance to deal with them wisely: for they always take their chance of those who traffic with them being fools, in order to cheat them, if it be possible. The old sinner knew that those were real jewels in the dagger from the first moment he set eyes on it; but he hazarded offering a small sum, in case you should not know the fact. I took my chance the other way, and swore they were real jewels, though I knew nothing about it; being very sure that, if they were not, he would not suffer me to deceive him. However, you are now not only master of enough to arm you from head to heel as a proper man-at-arms, and to buy you a horse, but to arm half a dozen others lightly to follow you; and, if you will take my counsel, I think I can set you off on a plan by which you may gain both fame and fortune, or lose your life, remember!--for that must always be put at stake. Come to the inn, however: come to the inn, and we will talk more."

I followed him through the streets meditating on what he had said, and inclined very strongly to trust him, but feeling that want of confidence in myself which was produced by a knowledge of my own inexperience, and which prevented me from being at all sure whether I was dealing with an honest man or a knave. He had certainly put me in a way of obtaining money, which I could not have done myself, and he had, as yet, asked me for no share in the sum thus obtained. There was a frankness too in his whole demeanour, which produced a strong impression in his favour; and, though I was still upon my guard, yet I was well inclined to receive any advice that he might give me under a favourable view.

"Come, Master Jacques," he said, speaking to the landlord, whom we met upon the stairs of the inn, "let us have a bottle of your best wine, for we were interrupted in our draught to go away upon business."

The landlord bowed low at orders which landlords are always willing to hear; and the stranger led the way to the same room where we had before sat, humming away the time till the aubergiste returned. Ensconced at length in that room, with the bottle and glasses before us, he began, in somewhat of a consequential tone, and with a look of superior knowledge, to direct my proceedings.

"You have now," he said, "the opportunity of making or marring your own fortunes. You have but very little experience, I have a great deal; and, were I placed exactly as you are, I would do as I am going to tell you to do. I would, in the first place, buy myself arms and horses here in Bordeaux, where you will get them cheaper than either at La Rochelle or at Charenton, where they are in more request. I would arm myself completely at all points with a plain, good suit, which may be had at a low price, of just as strong materials as if you paid two or three thousand livres for it. Then buy the armour of a demi-lance for that stout youth whom I saw with you below. Two horses may be had for you cheap enough if you can ride well; for there is a Maquinon, called Pierrot, has got a troop of wild devils from the Limousin, for which he can find no sale here among the merchants and citizens, and soft-boned gentry of Bordeaux."

I smiled, replying, "We will ride them if they can be ridden."

"I advise you," he continued, "To do this rather than to furnish yourself at the army, both because you will find it cheaper, and because it always looks better, and gives a higher opinion of a man when he joins his leader fully prepared. Besides, you have a chance of some little adventure on the road, which may take off the freshness of your arms, and give you some little reputation. Such things are as common in these days as they were in the times of the knights-errant. Now what I propose for you to do, when you have joined the army, is, not for you to put yourself in this troop or that, as a simple man-at-arms--for that is the way to get yourself killed speedily, without anybody hearing anything of you--but to look about the camp for any stray vagabonds that may be about; I mean of those whose whole fortune consists in a steel cap, a breastplate, and a horse, and the whole sum of whose virtues lies in courage. You will find two or three young fellows too at every corner, who, like yourself, are seeking service, fresh in arms, and willing to stick to any leader who will but gallop them into the cannon's mouth. They are generally younger than you are, for you have been somewhat late in taking to the trade. That, however, will only make it the more likely they should follow you, which is the great thing; for to be the leader of one of these bands is the sure means of getting on, whereas, to be a follower in one of them is the readiest way of getting hanged. You have then nothing to do, you know, but to take up absolutely the trade of adventurer, attack the enemy everywhere, harass him on every occasion, cut off his parties, attack every chateau where you think there is a soldier--in short, run your head against every stone wall that you meet with. You may chance to knock some of them down; and if you do, you will gain a reputation which will soon put you at the head of a better band than that with which you set out. Good old soldiers will be glad to come to you then, and you may work yourself up to be a general by steadiness and perseverance."

"There are two things, however," I said, "Which you have forgotten to mention: first, where I am to get the money to pay these recruits; for, after I have bought horses, and arms for myself and Andriot, there will not be much left to pay any one."

"Oh, they will pay themselves, they will pay themselves," he said. "You may have, indeed, in the first instance, to give one or two of those vagabonds who have seen service a crown a week, just to make the beginning of a band; all the others you will take merely upon trial; and, of course, you must put the Catholics under contributions. If they will have war, let them have war and pay for it. It is an undoubted fact, that, since the last peace, they have put to death, in one town or another, full ten thousand Protestants; and, therefore, we have a right to make them pay for such sorts of amusement. Then you will put the prisoners to ransom, you know; and every one that is taken by your men pays you a share too. You will therefore have plenty to keep the band up as soon as it is formed. But what was your next question?"

"Why, simply by whose authority I shall act," I replied; "for, not being of sufficient authority and rank to levy war on my own account, I must have some sanction for raising such a band."

"I had thought of that," he replied, "I had thought of that. Such things are not, indeed, much considered in these wars; and, after all, I believe you might do it on your own account: ay, and with right, for your father was a man of good nobility as well as courage; and, though he never had a crown in his purse to bless himself, might have spread his own banner according to the ordinances of St. Louis."

"Did you know my father?" I demanded, somewhat surprised: "and, if you did know him, how have you found out that I am his son?"

"I knew your father but little," replied the other, "though we have fought side by side together before now; and as to the rest, you forget that I saw you sign your name before the Jew. However, as it is better that you should have some authority for what you do, I will give you a letter to the Prince de Condé, telling him your plans and purposes, and he will not refuse you a commission under his own hand at the request of Robert Stuart."

"Robert Stuart!" I exclaimed; "What, he who killed the Constable Montmorency at the battle of St. Denis?"

"The same man that you mean," replied my companion; "but, for all that, I did not kill the constable. The world gives me greater credit than I deserve. It was one of my band who shot him with a pistol. I took him indeed, for he was down on the ground; and I thought he had formally surrendered, and believe so still, when up he jumped, and, with the pummel of his sword, dashed out my three front teeth, knocking me backward on the ground, for I had dismounted to receive his sword. One of my fellows, seeing this, called out that he was as treacherous an enemy as a friend, and shot him on the spot. That is the exact truth of the story that people tell twenty different ways. And now, knowing who I am, you will wonder, perhaps, to see me here, in a little inn, paying a few sous for my dinner. But the truth is, I came to swell my band a little by any veteran men-at-arms I can find, and also to meet here some half dozen of my friends from Scotland, who are about to join me. Now there is a certain report gone abroad, well-nigh as false as the other, that I was the person who caused that old meddling fool, the President Minard, to be assassinated. There is many a one of his friends here in the good town of Bordeaux, so that, till I am well accompanied, it might not be pleasant to lodge at a great inn and draw eyes upon me."

It may well be supposed that I now thanked this celebrated leader gratefully for what he had done and proposed to do in my behalf. But he replied that the Protestant cause was much at his heart; that he loved a good soldier and the son of a good soldier, and that what he had done for me was really nothing.

"Come," he said at length, "let us go and seek for the horses and arms: bring your boy with you, and I will let my people know where I am, that, in case the ship arrives, they may come and tell me."

The horses were soon bought, about twenty of them having been brought out for me to try. For myself, I chose one of the strongest and most fierce, having soon perceived that he was tractable and good in his temper, though he was perfectly unbroken. A lighter horse served the boy's turn; but I left my new friend to bargain with the dealer for the price of both, and was surprised to find the small sum at which he contrived to purchase the two. It is true, the dealer knew him, and imagined that I was a man-at-arms newly engaged to serve under the Scotch captain.

The arms were procured in a similar manner; and, being now fully equipped, I returned with Stuart to the inn, telling him my intention of setting out for the army that very night, in order not to lose any time in pursuing the course before me.

"That is right," he said, "That is right; I like activity! You and your man can get to Cubzac to-night. I will write the letter for you at once; and, if you can pick up another follower or two in your way to the camp, do not fail to do so; for, the more men you carry with you, the warmer will be your welcome. Do not arm yourself till you get to Cubzac, for the good people here might stop you. You must then shape your course as you hear news of the army; but avoid Angoulême; for, when I came by some ten days ago, that neighbourhood was somewhat dangerous for a Protestant."

Of course my thanks were not wanting; and, immediately after our arrival at the inn, he wrote the letter which he had promised; making no mention, indeed, of my never having served before, but simply telling the Prince de Condé, with whom he seemed on terms of great intimacy, who I was, and that the object I proposed was to raise a troop of adventurers in order to harass the Catholic armies. He farther begged him not only to give me a commission to the effect he proposed, but to point out to me the means of swelling my troop, and to afford me every assistance in so doing.

When this was finished, and the armour charged upon the servant's horse, I lost no time in mounting my own; and my new friend shaking me as heartily by the hand as if we had known each other for years, bade me adieu, saying that we should soon meet again at the camp. The landlord of the auberge and his drawers all bowed low as I came away, for I had paid whatever was asked, and perhaps had been more liberal to the attendants than some of the frequenters of the inn not poorer than myself; and, with a heart considerably lightened, I rode away and quitted the city of Bordeaux.

My first sensations were those of joy and satisfaction at being no longer dependant upon the bounty of any one, but bent upon my way through the wide world to win for myself honour and renown, and, as I trusted, high station and happy competence.

But, even while I was passing the ferry, those sensations began to change. I thought with some regret of the chateau of Blancford, of good old La Tour, of the two glad, light-hearted boys, who had been my companions for many a year, and of the sweet girl, whom I might never see again. A feeling of solitude came over me, and I do believe that it is impossible even for him who has the lightest heart, the brightest hope, and the most enviable situation, to quit the scenes and the companions of his youth without feeling as if he were left alone in the whole wide world, and without seeing before his eyes vague visions of the difficulties, dangers, distresses, and griefs which await every man who passes forth into active existence.

Such, at least, were my sensations; and, after landing, paying the ferryman his fare, and ascending the heights on the other side, I paused to look back over the scene that I was quitting, and a thousand bright and happy memories, clinging to my heart like children that would keep a parent from the wars, seemed to hold me to the spot with a force I could scarcely resist.

I thought of the condition of those that I had left behind; I saw the peaceful dwelling where I had spent so many years with but few of earth's discomforts, rendered the abode of contention, and sorrow, and discomfort; I fancied the grief of the two youths when they found that I was gone; I beheld the fair face of Louise bathed in tears, as she remained unprotected and alone, and left to the guidance, the control, perhaps the tyranny, of a harsh, bad woman. It was all painful; the thought almost unmanned me, and I would have given worlds to rescue her from such a painful situation.

I felt that I must call up such images no longer; but still the form and face of Louise haunted me: and at length, out of the darker and more gloomy thoughts that filled my brain, came forth a bright and lustrous hope, a hope on which I dared not let my mind rest; which was like the night vision of an angel to some lonely anchorite, too brilliant for the eye to gaze upon firmly, but yet full of joy, and consolation, and encouragement.

It was the first time that ever such a dream had suggested itself even to my imagination. It was wild, it was foolish; but yet how sweet was the idea, that the time might come when, having, by the exertion of every power of my mind and body, conquered the difficulties which surrounded me, swept away poverty and dependance, gained fame, and honour, and emolument, I might be enabled to snatch that sweet girl from the dark and hateful tyranny which I believed the rule of her mother's rival must necessarily become, and to repay in some degree, by kindness, and tenderness, and love for the child, the kindness, and tenderness, and love which had been shown to me by the mother.

But, almost in the very act of thus dreaming, there came upon me the memory of all that multitude of obstacles--I might almost say, of impossibilities--which lay in the way to the fulfilment of such hopes. But I felt at the same time that, though it was only a fancy, it was a noble one; that, though it was merely a wild aspiration after that which could not be, it was a high aspiration; one that might lead me to great attempts, if not to great deeds; one that would even guard me against low and debasing pursuits, that would elevate my purposes, and give object to my energies and exertions. I felt that such an object was holy and great, and I speak with reverence when I say that it seemed to me then like the star which led the Magi from the east.

As this image rose upon my mind, it soothed and it strengthened me; and I could gaze upon the city, with its manifold towers and steeples reposing calmly in the rich purple light of evening, and upon the distant sloping grounds beyond, leading away towards Blancford, and on the wanderings of the bright Garonne, as, rolling down from Langdon, it swept on by the city towards its meeting with the kindred stream, and on their joint progress to the ocean: I could gaze, in short, upon all the natural objects which my eye had been accustomed to behold from childhood, without that deep feeling of regret on quitting them which I had experienced the moment before; and, as I turned my horse's rein to ride on, I murmured,

"I shall see you all again, perhaps, with a lighter heart and a spirit more at rest."

The country was well known to me; for, during the last two or three years, I had made manifold excursions from the chateau in different directions; and now, leaving the high road somewhat to the right, I took a bridle-path which conducted me towards my place of rest for the night more rapidly, though somewhat more roughly, than the ordinary track.

Advancing somewhat quickly, for my charger was impatient of the bridle, I passed a man upon a small rugged horse, neither very fat nor very comely in its appearance, and apparently little able to carry him and the large package which he bore on the croup behind. When first I saw him he was trailing a spear along, with one end of the shaft describing a long zigzag line upon the road; but the sound of a horse's feet made him turn round rapidly, and his lance was brought into rest in a moment, in a way that bespoke no slight practice in charging a sudden enemy.

Whether on an occasion he might charge any one without much considering if it were an enemy or friend, I did not know at the time; but such things were very common in those days, though I think the worthy gentleman was somewhat too badly mounted to attempt the experiment upon me, even if I had been alone.

We passed, however, in all safety, with a "Good-evening, seigneur," on the part of our fellow-traveller. I had only time, as I passed by, to remark that he was a tall, rawboned man, with a countenance which did not prepossess any one very much in his favour. He was somewhat dirty in his clothing, and rugged in his person and appearance also; though there was a roguish twinkle in his eye, which did not escape my attention, even in the slight glance I obtained.

In a short time after I arrived at Cubzac, and rode straight to the inn, the hospitable doors of which showed themselves very willing to give me admission.

When I stood in the courtyard, however, and saw my armour and my valise unloaded from Andriot's horse, while the aubergiste waited to conduct me, with every appearance of reverence, towards the hall of general entertainment, a strange feeling suddenly came over me, from the recollection that it was not yet four-and-twenty hours since the arrival of the Baron de Blancford at his own chateau, that all I had done--the making of a new acquaintance, my dealings with the Jew, the purchase of horses and of arms, and a hundred little incidents, which appeared to me like the occupations of a life--had in reality occupied but a few hours. So it was, however: my whole fate and course of existence had been changed as by the stroke of a magician's wand, which had set me free in a moment from the state of indolent dependance in which I had been forced to remain like one of the spirits in the old fables, imprisoned motionless in the heart of some knotted oak, and had sent me forth in a moment to active life and energetic exertion.

There was something ennobling, elevating, inspiring in the feelings, very different from the sensations with which I had looked back upon the scenes I was leaving, from the northern bank of the Garonne. That all this had been accomplished in so short a space, gave me a sensation of power and energy; a confidence in myself which I had before wanted; and in the calm and deliberate step, and thoughtful air with which I followed the landlord into the auberge, no one, I think, could have discovered any trace of a mind as inexperienced as that of a mere boy.

The hall of the inn was a very spacious one; and a long table appeared in the middle, at the farther end of which I could just see, through the dim twilight of the evening, some seven or eight persons assembled round what seemed a hasty supper. One of the servants of the inn, however, brought in lights almost immediately after I had entered; and it then became evident that the party had just arrived from some long journey. There were two or three grave, elderly men of respectable appearance, apparently tradesmen of some importance, or merchants. There was a good dame, too, of the same class, with two or three little girls of seven or eight years old, and one or two women servants; besides which, there was a youth of eighteen or nineteen, strong and well made, scarcely tasting his supper, but sitting beside the rest, and resting thoughtfully, with his head leaning on his hand.

Manifold were the caps and mantles which covered the whole party; and one would certainly have supposed, from the way in which they were wrapped up, that we were in the midst of winter rather than in the warmest time of year. It often happened at that time, however, that such superabundant garments were adopted for the purpose of concealment; and I judged, and judged rightly, that these might be a party of wealthy traders, who, travelling through a disturbed country, and in dangerous times, chose to be recognised as little as possible, lest the report of wealth might draw upon them the attention of the plunderers with whom the country was overrun.

All their eyes had been turned upon me as soon as I entered; the conversation they were carrying on ceased; and, as if for something to say, one of the elder men addressed the younger, saying,

"Why do you not eat your supper, Martin? You are not sick, are you?"

"Not sick, uncle, but sorry," replied the lad.

"Pshaw! Thou art a whimsical boy," replied the elder man. "I can tell thee, however poor a trade thou mayest follow, it is richer than that of a soldier. Here is this gentleman coming in," he added, raising his eyes to me as I stood half way up the table. "He looks as if he knew something of arms, and I dare say will tell thee that to sell silk or linen, however little one may get, is better than fighting all day, watching all night, and having hard blows for one's only payment."

I laughed at his description of the soldier's life; and, as he addressed me first, replied at once, "I cannot think we are so badly off as that, my good sir. Every one knows his own taste; and, though certainly fortunes are rarely made by the sword, yet honour is gained, and glory, and frequently competence; and you must remember there is not a noble family in the land which does not owe its elevation to the sword."

"That was in other days, that was in other days," said the elder man. "But I am right, then, in thinking you a soldier, sir?"

I nodded my head, and was about to reply somewhat more fully, when Andriot entered the room and whispered a word or two in my ear, which made me rise and go out, while the landlord busily put down my cover, and prepared to give me supper.

The intelligence which the lad had brought me was simply that the man with the spear, whom we had passed on the road, had come into the inn-yard, and, finding him there, had asked him many questions concerning me. The good youth had been in one of his loquacious moods, and had given the interrogator more information than I thought right, telling him my name, and that I was a gentleman going to join the army. On this the other had immediately asked to speak with me, and I accordingly went out at once, in order to put my mind at ease with regard to the person in whose favour Andriot had shown himself so communicative.

I found him in the courtyard busy in unloading his beast, and examining the contents of the package he had thus carried behind him, which proved to be a considerable store of very miscellaneous pieces of armour, both offensive and defensive. The cuirass was at that moment on the top, and, from its condition, left little doubt that one of its possessors, at least, had seen some service like itself; for not only did sundry hacks and dents betray the fact of many a close encounter, but a large round hole appeared to have been perforated, either by bullet or lance, on the right-hand side, near the armhole; and the gap was now curiously stopped up by means of a piece of thick leather, attached by nails driven through the iron and clinched on the inside.

"Why, my good friend," I said, looking at the cuirass, and without taking any immediate notice of his message, "that piece of leather will never keep out anything."

"It will keep out anything I want it to keep out," replied the man, looking up at me with a laugh.

"And what is that?" I demanded; "What is it you want it to keep out?"

"The wind," he replied; "for when the wind gets in between cold iron and an empty stomach, a man gets melancholy, and has no appetite for dry blows. But I know what you mean; that sword, or bullet, or spear would go through it as easily as a skewer through a cock of the Indies; but there's not much chance of any other bullet finding out that place again; and if it did, no great matter, for it would meet with its fellow here, just lying between the ribs, under my armpit, and that would stop it from going any farther."

"That is looking upon the matter rationally," I replied; "but now, my good friend, what is it that you wanted with me?"

"Why, simply this, seigneur," he replied; "finding that you are a soldier going to join the army, and having heard of your name a great many years ago as a very brave and gallant gentleman--"

"You must mean my father," I said, interrupting him: "my name you most likely have never heard."

"Ay, I dare say it was your father, now look at you," he replied, "for you couldn't be much out of your swaddling-clothes at the time I talk of. However, I was going to propose, that you, being travelling alone, or nearly so, and I alone, or what's somewhat worse than alone, having nothing but a bad beast with me, which trots me five miles an hour, and thinks itself a miracle--I was going to propose, I say, that we should join company; for in these days we may fall in with friends and acquaintances by the way, where we shall find two right hands better than one. Besides, we may chance to fall in with some booty, and two dogs will always kill more game than twice one dog."

On the very face of the matter, the proposal was somewhat impudent; for at least my clothing, my horses, and, I trust, my appearance altogether, were those of a man of high birth; but when I came to look my companion over more attentively by the twilight, which did not improve his appearance, it struck me as more impudent still. He was a person of about forty-five years of age, lean, long-limbed, thin-flanked, broad in the shoulders, with as unprepossessing a countenance as it was possible to imagine, and nothing on earth to redeem it from a sort of assassin-like expression, except a merry but somewhat sarcastic glance, which occasionally came into his eyes, or, rather, into one of them, for it was the right eye only which had any movement; and I afterward found that the left was made of glass, though a very good imitation of the other.

What might have been the original shape of his nose I do not know; but a large cut across the bridge and down one cheek seemed to indicate that its conformation had been somewhat violently changed into its present Socratic turn upward.

His long gray hair, thin and ragged, his unwashed face, his untrimmed beard, all added to the sinister appearance of his countenance, and, in short, no one could look at him without doing him the same bitter injustice that I did him at that moment, and thinking him as murderous and rascally a person as it was possible to set one's eyes on. Besides all this, his garments were anything but that which one would have desired in a friend and companion; for his buff jerkin, besides the rusty stains which had been left upon it after having been worn under ill-cleaned armour, was soiled and dirty in various other ways, and in more than one place patched with a piece of gray cloth.

He stood my survey quite quietly; and, indeed, the discrepant gaze of his two eyes rendered it somewhat difficult to tell whether he was looking full in my face or across the inn-yard on the other side. After having remained for about half a minute silent, however, he brought both eyes into a straight line, demanding, in a significant tone. "Am not I an ugly dog?"

"Yes," I replied, "you are. But you have made a little mistake, my good friend; I am not seeking companions, but raising a troop to serve under my command."

"Then I am the very man you want," he replied; "for I have experience, and you have none, that's clear enough; and I do not much care what I do, whether it be as a leader or follower, so that I do something."

"I don't think you would do much credit to my new troop," I replied, "unless you troubled the brook a little oftener, and gave the barber a sous at least once a month."

"Oh, that is easily remedied," said the adventurer; "I have no sous to spare, but I have ten fingers, baiting one which was hacked off at the battle of St. Denis, which will do as well for me as any barber in Christendom; and then, again, though water is not plenty in this hot weather, yet it is to be had. As to my jerkin, too, a couple of ounces of chalk, and the worth of a denier of yellow ochre, will put that all to rights; so that, if you like to have me, I will turn out to-morrow morning as smart a trooper as you'd wish to see. I cannot get rid of my face though, so you must make the best of that."

"What religion are you of?" I asked, wishing to ascertain that point first before I divulged my own.

"I don't know," he replied. "What is yours?"

There was a sort of quaint oddity about the fellow which amused me, and, I confess, made me think better of him, though I know not why, and I demanded, without answering his question, "Who have you served under?"

"Two or three dozen," he answered; "but I have got my character written down for the benefit of those whom it may concern by a great many of my different friends, and I have not altered a word of their certificates, for it is useless for a man to try to change his nature, and it will come out sooner or later. Who will you have?" he continued; "here is Martigues on the one side, and Andelot on the other. Here is Puygaillard, and Lossac, and Stuart, and--"

"Stay, stay," I said; "That will do. Let me see Martigues on the one side, and Stuart on the other."

"You are a cute bird, after all," he said; "You wont be limed, I see, to show yourself a Protestant or a Catholic. However, here are the papers."

And, lifting up the flap of his jerkin, he drew from an inner pocket a number of dirty pieces of paper, of which he placed in my hands two, saying, "There they are."

The first I opened was in a strange hand, and it went on as follows:

"This is to signify that Moric Endem is the greatest liar in Europe; but none the worse for that. He fights like a tiger, and will now and then obey his orders."

This was signed "Martigues;" and the other, which I instantly recognised as the same handwriting wherein Stuart had given me a letter to the Prince de Condé, was much in the same strain.

"I hereby aver," it said, "That Moric Endem is better than he looks. He will stand by a friend or leader till the last, and has done so many brave things, that he is a fool for bragging of things that he never did."

I smiled as I read such accounts of my volunteer, but paused for a moment to consider whether there was a possibility of my being deceived. Had I been still is the frame of mind in which I had set out that morning, I should have lost my opportunity, and rejected the offer of a man who afterward proved of infinite use to me. But, as I have said, I had become somewhat more confident in myself by this time: Stuart's recommendation to increase my numbers as far as possible had been strong; and therefore I determined to run the risk, as in case of any malconduct on the part of my new follower, I and Andriot were at least two to one against him.

"And now, Monsieur Moric Endem," I said, "Which would you rather serve on, the Catholic or the Protestant side? Answer me fairly, for on the reply hangs all our proceedings."

"That is not a fair question," he cried, flinging down his cap upon the ground with some vehemence. "That is not a fair question to a soldier of fortune. The matter, see you, is balanced pretty evenly, my young lord. With the Catholics there is pay and but little plunder, for the Protestants have nothing to lose. With the Protestants there is no pay but plenty of plunder; for each Catholic, like a fool, comes with a fortune on his back. I have, indeed, a little hankering one way--"

"What, then," I said, "do the Protestants give no pay?"

"By St. Geronimo," he cried, slapping his thigh, "You are a Catholic! But, no," he continued, a moment after, "I remember quite well Cerons was a Protestant, and so was his cousin the Baron de Blancford. If you are the young lord, you are a Protestant too."

"Perhaps it may be so," I replied, in a low tone, but with a significant look.

"Well, then, I am your man," he said, without raising his voice; "for, to say sooth, I was born and bred a Protestant. But it is full thirty years since I thought of those things; and, on my honour, I don't well know what's the difference now. As to the rest, my young master, you must give me a crown to gild my hand, and you must give me and my horse something to eat till we get to the army, at all events; for, if I had not met with you this night, he and I would have shared supper; that is to say, he would have had the hay and I the water, and to-morrow we might have been obliged to prove troublesome to any one we met upon the road. I declare, so help me Heaven, I have not seen a crown piece for the last two months."

"I am nearly as poor as yourself, Moric," I said; "however, there is a crown for you, and now you are my follower; but I expect to see a change in your appearance by to-morrow, and you had better get your armour on your back, as I intend to do with mine, so that we may be well prepared for all things."

"You shall see a change, you shall see a change, sir," cried the man; "and I will help to fill your purse as you have now helped to fill mine. I will get this crown changed directly into silver and billon, that it may feel heavy in my purse, and make me think of the days of old; for I have had many more crowns in my pocket, I dare say, than you have in yours now. But, however--I don't know how it was--peace never lasted six months without finding me as poor as ever; the pockets grew empty, and the crowns went away, some to one slut, some to another, and the rest, as I have heard Stuart tell of an English prince, were drowned in butts of Malmsey or Burgundy, as the case might be. But I will go and polish my armour, and patch my jacket, and wash my face, and trim my beard, and then I must try and get a new horse the first time I meet an enemy, though it is to be confessed that on the back of that brute there are ten chances to one against me."

While Moric Endem was speaking, the landlord came from the house to seek me, telling me that my supper was not only ready, but getting cold; and, leaving my new follower to make the best arrangements he could, I re-entered the hall of the inn.

I found the party that I had left there concluding their supper, and they all looked at me as I sat down to mine with a sort of shy and anxious, but yet not a reserved look, somewhat like that which a dog puts on when he is willing to be familiar with us, but somewhat afraid of trusting to our kindness. The two elder men, however, and the elder lady, entered into conversation with me after a short time, and I saw evidently that they were endeavouring to probe my character and feelings. Those, however, were sad days, when no one dared to trust to his neighbour; and I as little chose to confide my views or purposes to them, as they chose to put any trust or confidence in me.

The conversation, then, was merely general: I found that one of the elder merchants had travelled much, and had considerable information, and he seemed not a little surprised to find that a young soldier could possess so much general knowledge as I had acquired during my long period of study.

The younger people, too, began to draw nearer to me; and some little sportive jests, such as I would have used towards my cousins at Blancford, appeared completely to win their hearts, so that they were speedily clinging round me, playing with the tassels of my cloak or my sword-knot, and taking a thousand little liberties, for which they were, of course, gravely reproved by their elders.

The young man who had been called Martin, however, sat silent and thoughtful for a long time, and at length only spoke to ask me some questions concerning the movements of the armies. The first words on that subject, however, seemed a signal for the party to break up, his uncle interrupting him immediately by saying it was time to go to bed; and the whole then retired, wishing me good-night and a prosperous journey on the morrow.

Their reserved conduct was not explained till the following morning, when, on rising early, I saw them setting off from the courtyard, and the aubergiste, as innkeepers generally do, came instantly to volunteer every information he possessed regarding the guests who were just gone.

"Ay, poor people," he said, "silly people they are. I told them they might trust to you, seigneur, and what a protection it would be to them to have you with them; for they are a party of rich merchants, as you might well see, sir, and doubtless have their pockets lined with many a good gold piece, so that they are afraid of all the bands of plunderers about, especially at the passages of the rivers."

"What religion are they of?" demanded I, nothing doubting they were Protestants, as the landlord himself was well known to be of my own creed.