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The Vicomte De Bragelonne
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The Vicomte De Bragelonne 90 at Prostate Health
upon whom nowdepends the fate of royalty and of England; and I have come,and placed myself under the eye of this man, and have placedmyself naked and unarmed in his hands, saying: -- `My lord,here are the last resources of a prince whom God made yourmaster, whom his birth made your king; upon you, and youalone, depend his life and his future. Will you employ thismoney in consoling England for the evils it must havesuffered from anarchy; that is to say, will you aid, and ifnot aid, will you allow King Charles II. to act? You aremaster, you are king, all-powerful master and king, forchance sometimes defeats the work of time and God. I am herealone with you, my lord: if divided success alarms you, ifmy complicity annoys you, you are armed, my lord, and hereis a grave ready dug; if, on the contrary, the enthusiasm ofyour cause carries you away, if you are what you appear tobe, if your hand in what it undertakes obeys your mind, .andyour mind your heart, here are the means of ruining foreverthe cause of your enemy, Charles Stuart. Kill, then, the manyou have before you, for that man will never return to himwho has sent him without bearing with him the deposit whichCharles I., his father, confided to him, and keep the goldwhich may assist in carrying on the civil war. Alas! mylord, it is the fate of this unfortunate prince. He musteither corrupt or kill, for everything resists him,everything repulses him, everything is hostile to him; andyet he is marked with the divine seal, and he must, not tobelie his blood, reascend the throne, or die upon the sacredsoil of his country."My lord, you have heard me. To any other but theillustrious man who listens to me, I would have said: `Mylord, you are poor; my lord, the king offers you thismillion as an earnest of an immense bargain; take it, andserve Charles II. as I served Charles I., and I feel assuredthat God, who listens to us, who sees us, who alone reads inyour heart, shut from all human eyes, -- I am assured Godwill give you a happy eternal life after a happy death. Butto General Monk, to the illustrious man of whose standard Ibelieve I have taken measure, I say: `My lord, there is foryou in the history of peoples and kings a brilliant place,an immortal, imperishable glory, if alone, without any otherinterest but the good of your country and the interests ofjustice, you become the supporter of your king. Many othershave been conquerors and glorious usurpers; you, my lord,you will be content with being the most virtuous, the mosthonest, and the most incorruptible of men: you will haveheld a crown in your hand, and instead of placing it uponyour own brow, you will have deposited it upon the head ofhim for whom it was made. Oh, my lord, act thus, and youwill leave to posterity the most enviable of names, in whichno human creature can rival you."Athos stopped. During the whole time that the noblegentleman was speaking, Monk had not given one sign ofeither approbation or disapprobation; scarcely even, duringthis vehement appeal, had his eyes been animated with thatfire which bespeaks intelligence. The Comte de la Ferelooked at him sorrowfully, and on seeing that melancholycountenance, felt discouragement penetrate to his veryheart. At length Monk appeared to recover, and broke thesilence."Monsieur," said he, in a mild, calm tone, "in reply to you,I will make use of your own words. To any other but yourselfI would reply by expulsion, imprisonment, or still worse,for, in fact, you tempt me and you force me at the sametime. But you are one of those men, monsieur, to whom it isimpossible to refuse the attention and respect they merit;you are a brave gentleman, monsieur -- I say so, and I am ajudge. You just now spoke of a deposit which the late kingtransmitted through you to his son -- are you, then, one ofthose Frenchmen who, as I have heard, endeavored to carryoff Charles I. from Whitehall?""Yes, my lord, it was I who was beneath the scaffold duringthe execution; I, who had not been able to redeem it,received upon my brow the blood of
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