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The Three Musketeers
Twenty Years Later
The Vicomte De Bragelonne
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Twenty Years Later 62 at Prostate Health
the winter.
His next act was to purchase a dog from one of his keepers.
With this animal, which he called Pistache, he was often
shut up for hours alone, superintending, as every one
supposed, its education. At last, when Pistache was
sufficiently well trained, Monsieur de Beaufort invited the
governor and officers of Vincennes to attend a
representation which he was going to have in his apartment.
The party assembled, the room was lighted with waxlights,
and the prisoner, with a bit of plaster he had taken out of
the wall of his room, had traced a long white line,
representing a cord, on the floor. Pistache, on a signal
from his master, placed himself on this line, raised himself
on his hind paws, and holding in his front paws a wand with
which clothes used to be beaten, he began to dance upon the
line with as many contortions as a rope-dancer. Having been
several times up and down it, he gave the wand back to his
master and began without hesitation to perform the same
evolutions over again.
The intelligent creature was received with loud applause.
The first part of the entertainment being concluded Pistache
was desired to say what oclock it was; he was shown
Monsieur de Chavignys watch; it was then half-past six; the
dog raised and dropped his paw six times; the seventh he let
it remain upraised. Nothing could be better done; a sun-dial
could not have shown the hour with greater precision.
Then the question was put to him who was the best jailer in
all the prisons in France.
The dog performed three evolutions around the circle and
laid himself, with the deepest respect, at the feet of
Monsieur de Chavigny, who at first seemed inclined to like
the joke and laughed long and loud, but a frown succeeded,
and he bit his lips with vexation.
Then the duke put to Pistache this difficult question, who
was the greatest thief in the world?
Pistache went again around the circle, but stopped at no
one, and at last went to the door and began to scratch and
bark.
"See, gentlemen," said M. de Beaufort, "this wonderful
animal, not finding here what I ask for, seeks it out of
doors; you shall, however, have his answer. Pistache, my
friend, come here. Is not the greatest thief in the world,
Monsieur (the kings secretary) Le Camus, who came to Paris
with twenty francs in his pocket and who now possesses ten
millions?"
The dog shook his head.
"Then is it not," resumed the duke, "the Superintendent
Emery, who gave his son, when he was married, three hundred
thousand francs and a house, compared to which the Tuileries
are a heap of ruins and the Louvre a paltry building?"
The dog again shook his head as if to say "no."
"Then," said the prisoner, "lets think who it can be. Can
it be, can it possibly be, the `Illustrious Coxcomb, Mazarin
de Piscina, hey?"
Pistache made violent signs that it was, by raising and
lowering his head eight or ten times successively.
"Gentlemen, you see," said the duke to those present, who
dared not even smile, "that it is the `Illustrious Coxcomb
who is the greatest thief in the world; at least, according
to Pistache."
"Let us go on to another of his exercises."
"Gentlemen!" -- there was a profound silence in the room
when the duke again addressed them -- "do you not remember
that the Duc de Guise taught all the dogs in Paris to jump
for Mademoiselle de Pons, whom he styled `the fairest of the
fair? Pistache is going to show you how superior he is to
all other dogs. Monsieur de Chavigny, be so good as to lend
me your cane."
Monsieur de Chavigny handed his cane to Monsieur de
Beaufort. Monsieur de Beaufort placed it horizontally at the
height of one foot.
"Now, Pistache, my good dog, jump the height of this cane
for Madame de Montbazon."
"But," interposed Monsieur de Chavigny, "it seems to me that
Pistache is only doing what other dogs have done when they
jumped for Mademoiselle de Pons."
"Stop," said the duke, "Pistache, jump for the queen." And
he raised his cane six inches higher.
The dog sprang, and in spite of the height jumped lightly
over it.
"And now," said the duke, raising it still six inches
higher, "jump for the king."
The dog obeyed and jumped quickly over the cane.
"Now, then," said the duke, and as he spoke, lowered the
cane almost level with the ground; "Pistache, my friend,
jump for the `Illustrious Coxcomb, Mazarin de Piscina."
The dog turned his back to the cane.
"What," asked the
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