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The Vicomte De Bragelonne 12 at Prostate Health
the vaults of Saint Denis, --the Comte de la Fere, in the name of his son, had alwaysdeclined them. Moreover, instead of following M. de Conde inhis rebellion, the vicomte had followed M. de Turenne,fighting for the king. Then when M. de Turenne, in his turn,had appeared to abandon the royal cause, he had quitted M.de Turenne, as he had quitted M. de Conde. It resulted fromthis invariable line of conduct that, as Conde and Turennehad never been conquerors of each other but under thestandard of the king, Raoul, however young, had tenvictories inscribed on his list of services, and not onedefeat from which his bravery or conscience had to suffer.Raoul, therefore, had, in compliance with the wish of hisfather, served obstinately and passively the fortunes ofLouis XIV., in spite of the tergiversations which wereendemic, and, it might be said, inevitable, at that period.M. de Conde, on being restored to favor, had at once availedhimself of all the privileges of the amnesty to ask for manythings back again which had been granted him before, andamong others, Raoul. M. de la Fere, with his invariable goodsense, had immediately sent him again to the prince.A year, then, had passed away since the separation of thefather and son; a few letters had softened, but not removed,the pains of absence. We have seen that Raoul had left atBlois another love in addition to filial love. But let us dohim this justice -- if it had not been for chance andMademoiselle de Montalais, two great temptations, Raoul,after delivering his message, would have galloped offtowards his fathers house, turning his head round, perhaps,but without stopping for a single instant, even if Louisehad held out her arms to him.So the first part of the journey was given by Raoul toregretting the past which he had been forced to quit soquickly, that is to say, his lady-love; and the other partto the friend he was about to join, so much too slowly forhis wishes.Raoul found the garden-gate open, and rode straight in,without regarding the long arms, raised in anger, of an oldman dressed in a jacket of violet-colored wool, and a largecap of faded velvet.The old man, who was weeding with his hands a bed of dwarfroses and marguerites, was indignant at seeing a horse thustraversing his sanded and nicely-raked walks. He evenventured a vigorous "Humph!" which made the cavalier turnround. Then there was a change of scene; for no sooner hadhe caught sight of Raouls face, than the old man sprang upand set off in the direction of the house, amidstinterrupted growlings, which appeared to be paroxysms ofwild delight.When arrived at the stables, Raoul gave his horse to alittle lackey, and sprang up the perron with an ardor thatwould have delighted the heart of his father.He crossed the ante-chamber, the dining-room, and the salon,without meeting with any one; at length, on reaching thedoor of M. de la Feres apartment, he rapped impatiently,and entered almost without waiting for the word "Enter!"which was vouchsafed him by a voice at once sweet andserious. The comte was seated at a table covered with papersand books; he was still the noble, handsome gentleman offormer days, but time had given to this nobleness and beautya more solemn and distinct character. A brow white and voidof wrinkles, beneath his long hair, now more white thanblack; an eye piercing and mild, under the lids of a youngman; his mustache, fine but slightly grizzled, waved overlips of a pure and delicate model, as if they had never beencurled by mortal passions; a form straight and supple; anirreproachable but thin hand -- this was what remained ofthe illustrious gentleman whom so many illustrious mouthshad praised under the name of Athos. He was engaged incorrecting the pages of a manuscript book, entirely filledby his own hand.Raoul seized his father by the shoulders, by the neck, as hecould, and embraced him so tenderly and so rapidly, that thecomte had neither strength nor time to disengage himself, orto overcome his paternal emotions."What! you here, Raoul, -- you! Is it possible?" said he."Oh, monsieur, monsieur, what joy to see you once again!""But you dont answer me, vicomte. Have you leave ofabsence, or has some misfortune happened at Paris?""Thank God, monsieur," replied
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