A short time ago, while making researches in the Royal Library for my History of Louis XIV, I stumbled by chance upon the Memoirs of M. d’Artagnan, printed⁠—as were most of the works of that period, i...

On the first Monday of the month of April, 1625, the market town of Meung, in which the author of Romance of the Rose was born, appeared to be in as perfect a state of revolution as if the Huguenots h...

M. de Troisville, as his family was still called in Gascony, or M. de Tréville, as he has ended by styling himself in Paris, had really commenced life as d’Artagnan now did; that is to say, without a ...

M. de Tréville was at the moment in rather ill-humor, nevertheless he saluted the young man politely, who bowed to the very ground; and he smiled on receiving d’Artagnan’s response, the Béarnese accen...

D’Artagnan, in a state of fury, crossed the antechamber at three bounds, and was darting toward the stairs, which he reckoned upon descending four at a time, when, in his heedless course, he ran head ...

D’Artagnan was acquainted with nobody in Paris. He went therefore to his appointment with Athos without a second, determined to be satisfied with those his adversary should choose. Besides, his intent...

This affair made a great noise. M. de Tréville scolded his Musketeers in public, and congratulated them in private; but as no time was to be lost in gaining the king, M. de Tréville hastened to report...

When d’Artagnan was out of the Louvre, and consulted his friends upon the use he had best make of his share of the forty pistoles, Athos advised him to order a good repast at the Pomme-de-Pin, Porthos...

In the meantime, the forty pistoles of King Louis XIII, like all other things of this world, after having had a beginning had an end, and after this end our four companions began to be somewhat embarr...

As Athos and Porthos had foreseen, at the expiration of a half hour, d’Artagnan returned. He had again missed his man, who had disappeared as if by enchantment. D’Artagnan had run, sword in hand, thro...

The invention of the mousetrap does not date from our days; as soon as societies, in forming, had invented any kind of police, that police invented mousetraps. As perhaps our readers are not familiar ...

His visit to M. de Tréville being paid, the pensive d’Artagnan took the longest way homeward. On what was d’Artagnan thinking, that he strayed thus from his path, gazing at the stars of heaven, and so...

Madame Bonacieux and the duke entered the Louvre without difficulty. Madame Bonacieux was known to belong to the queen; the duke wore the uniform of the Musketeers of M. de Tréville, who, as we have s...

There was in all this, as may have been observed, one personage concerned, of whom, notwithstanding his precarious position, we have appeared to take but very little notice. This personage was M. Bona...

The crowd was caused, not by the expectation of a man to be hanged, but by the contemplation of a man who was hanged. The carriage, which had been stopped for a minute, resumed its way, passed through...

On the day after these events had taken place, Athos not having reappeared, M. de Tréville was informed by d’Artagnan and Porthos of the circumstance. As to Aramis, he had asked for leave of absence f...

It is impossible to form an idea of the impression these few words made upon Louis XIII. He grew pale and red alternately; and the cardinal saw at once that he had recovered by a single blow all the g...

It was the second time the cardinal had mentioned these diamond studs to the king. Louis XIII was struck with this insistence, and began to fancy that this recommendation concealed some mystery. More ...

“Ah, Madame,” said d’Artagnan, entering by the door which the young woman opened for him, “allow me to tell you that you have a bad sort of a husband.” “You have, then, overheard our conversation?” as...

D’Artagnan went straight to M. de Tréville’s. He had reflected that in a few minutes the cardinal would be warned by this cursed stranger, who appeared to be his agent, and he judged, with reason, he ...

At two o’clock in the morning, our four adventurers left Paris by the Barrière St. Denis. As long as it was dark they remained silent; in spite of themselves they submitted to the influence of the obs...

As they rode along, the duke endeavored to draw from d’Artagnan, not all that had happened, but what d’Artagnan himself knew. By adding all that he heard from the mouth of the young man to his own rem...

On the morrow, nothing was talked of in Paris but the ball which the aldermen of the city were to give to the king and queen, and in which their Majesties were to dance the famous La Merlaison⁠—the fa...

D’Artagnan ran home immediately, and although it was three o’clock in the morning and he had some of the worst quarters of Paris to traverse, he met with no misadventure. Everyone knows that drunkards...

At nine o’clock d’Artagnan was at the Hôtel des Gardes; he found Planchet all ready. The fourth horse had arrived. Planchet was armed with his musketoon and a pistol. D’Artagnan had his sword and plac...

Instead of returning directly home, d’Artagnan alighted at the door of M. de Tréville, and ran quickly up the stairs. This time he had decided to relate all that had passed. M. de Tréville would doubt...

D’Artagnan had said nothing to Porthos of his wound or of his procurator’s wife. Our Béarnais was a prudent lad, however young he might be. Consequently he had appeared to believe all that the vainglo...

“We have now to search for Athos,” said d’Artagnan to the vivacious Aramis, when he had informed him of all that had passed since their departure from the capital, and an excellent dinner had made one...

D’Artagnan was astounded by the terrible confidence of Athos; yet many things appeared very obscure to him in this half revelation. In the first place it had been made by a man quite drunk to one who ...

The most preoccupied of the four friends was certainly d’Artagnan, although he, in his quality of Guardsman, would be much more easily equipped than Messieurs the Musketeers, who were all of high rank...

D’Artagnan followed Milady without being perceived by her. He saw her get into her carriage, and heard her order the coachman to drive to St. Germain. It was useless to try to keep pace on foot with a...

The hour having come, they went with their four lackeys to a spot behind the Luxembourg given up to the feeding of goats. Athos threw a piece of money to the goatkeeper to withdraw. The lackeys were o...

However brilliant had been the part played by Porthos in the duel, it had not made him forget the dinner of the procurator’s wife. On the morrow he received the last touches of Mousqueton’s brush for ...

Meantime, as we have said, despite the cries of his conscience and the wise counsels of Athos, d’Artagnan became hourly more in love with Milady. Thus he never failed to pay his diurnal court to her; ...

Since the four friends had been each in search of his equipments, there had been no fixed meeting between them. They dined apart from one another, wherever they might happen to be, or rather where the...

The evening so impatiently waited for by Porthos and by d’Artagnan at last arrived. As was his custom, d’Artagnan presented himself at Milady’s at about nine o’clock. He found her in a charming humor....

That evening Milady gave orders that when M. d’Artagnan came as usual, he should be immediately admitted; but he did not come. The next day Kitty went to see the young man again, and related to him al...

D’Artagnan left the hotel instead of going up at once to Kitty’s chamber, as she endeavored to persuade him to do⁠—and that for two reasons: the first, because by this means he should escape reproache...

D’Artagnan was so completely bewildered that without taking any heed of what might become of Kitty he ran at full speed across half Paris, and did not stop till he came to Athos’s door. The confusion ...

At four o’clock the four friends were all assembled with Athos. Their anxiety about their outfits had all disappeared, and each countenance only preserved the expression of its own secret disquiet⁠—fo...

The cardinal leaned his elbow on his manuscript, his cheek upon his hand, and looked intently at the young man for a moment. No one had a more searching eye than the Cardinal de Richelieu, and d’Artag...

The siege of La Rochelle was one of the great political events of the reign of Louis XIII, and one of the great military enterprises of the cardinal. It is, then, interesting and even necessary that w...

After the most disheartening news of the king’s health, a report of his convalescence began to prevail in the camp; and as he was very anxious to be in person at the siege, it was said that as soon as...

Meanwhile the king, who, with more reason than the cardinal, showed his hatred for Buckingham, although scarcely arrived was in such a haste to meet the enemy that he commanded every disposition to be...

It was evident that without suspecting it, and actuated solely by their chivalrous and adventurous character, our three friends had just rendered a service to someone the cardinal honored with his spe...

As Athos had foreseen, it was not long before the cardinal came down. He opened the door of the room in which the musketeers were, and found Porthos playing an earnest game of dice with Aramis. He cas...

On arriving at the lodgings of his three friends, d’Artagnan found them assembled in the same chamber. Athos was meditating; Porthos was twisting his mustache; Aramis was saying his prayers in a charm...

As Athos had foreseen, the bastion was only occupied by a dozen corpses, French and Rochellais. “Gentlemen,” said Athos, who had assumed the command of the expedition, “while Grimaud spreads the table...

Athos had invented the phrase, family affair. A family affair was not subject to the investigation of the cardinal; a family affair concerned nobody. People might employ themselves in a family affair ...

Meantime Milady, drunk with passion, roaring on the deck like a lioness that has been embarked, had been tempted to throw herself into the sea that she might regain the coast, for she could not get ri...

During the time which Lord de Winter took to shut the door, close a shutter, and draw a chair near to his sister-in-law’s fauteuil, Milady, anxiously thoughtful, plunged her glance into the depths of ...

Meanwhile, the cardinal looked anxiously for news from England; but no news arrived that was not annoying and threatening. Although La Rochelle was invested, however certain success might appear⁠—than...

Let us return to Milady, whom a glance thrown upon the coast of France has made us lose sight of for an instant. We shall find her still in the despairing attitude in which we left her, plunged in an ...

Milady dreamed that she at length had d’Artagnan in her power, that she was present at his execution; and it was the sight of his odious blood, flowing beneath the axe of the headsman, which spread th...

Felton had fallen; but there was still another step to be taken. He must be retained, or rather he must be left quite alone; and Milady but obscurely perceived the means which could lead to this resul...

The next day, when Felton entered Milady’s apartment he found her standing, mounted upon a chair, holding in her hands a cord made by means of torn cambric handkerchiefs, twisted into a kind of rope o...

Milady had however achieved a half-triumph, and success doubled her forces. It was not difficult to conquer, as she had hitherto done, men prompt to let themselves be seduced, and whom the gallant edu...

After a moment of silence employed by Milady in observing the young man who listened to her, Milady continued her recital. “It was nearly three days since I had eaten or drunk anything. I suffered fri...

As Lord de Winter had thought, Milady’s wound was not dangerous. So soon as she was left alone with the woman whom the baron had summoned to her assistance she opened her eyes. It was, however, necess...

Felton took leave of Milady as a brother about to go for a mere walk takes leave of his sister, kissing her hand. His whole body appeared in its ordinary state of calmness, only an unusual fire beamed...

The first fear of the King of England, Charles I, on learning of the death of the duke, was that such terrible news might discourage the Rochellais; he tried, says Richelieu in his Memoirs, to conceal...

Great criminals bear about them a kind of predestination which makes them surmount all obstacles, which makes them escape all dangers, up to the moment which a wearied Providence has marked as the roc...

“Ah,” cried Milady and Rochefort together, “it is you!” “Yes, it is I.” “And you come?” asked Milady. “From La Rochelle; and you?” “From England.” “Buckingham?” “Dead or desperately wounded, as I left...

Rochefort had scarcely departed when Madame Bonacieux reentered. She found Milady with a smiling countenance. “Well,” said the young woman, “what you dreaded has happened. This evening, or tomorrow, t...

The despair of Athos had given place to a concentrated grief which only rendered more lucid the brilliant mental faculties of that extraordinary man. Possessed by one single thought⁠—that of the promi...

It was a stormy and dark night; vast clouds covered the heavens, concealing the stars; the moon would not rise till midnight. Occasionally, by the light of a flash of lightning which gleamed along the...

It was near midnight; the moon, lessened by its decline, and reddened by the last traces of the storm, arose behind the little town of Armentières, which showed against its pale light the dark outline...

On the sixth of the following month the king, in compliance with the promise he had made the cardinal to return to La Rochelle, left his capital still in amazement at the news which began to spread it...

La Rochelle, deprived of the assistance of the English fleet and of the diversion promised by Buckingham, surrendered after a siege of a year. On the twenty-eighth of October, 1628, the capitulation w...

We are well aware that this term, milady, is only properly used when followed by a family name. But we find it thus in the manuscript, and we do not choose to take upon ourselves to alter it. ↩ A wate...