The convalescence of Laura de Villardin proceeded rapidly, and she was soon able to take the air in the huge lumbering coach of those times, which was a very different sort of machine from the gay and gilded equipages of the present day. I was always selected to carry her from her couch to the carriage; and no one suspecting that our feelings would ever become dangerous to our own peace, our childish partiality only excited a smile on the part of Monsieur de Villardin, and was the source of no small pleasure to ourselves. As she acquired strength, it was decided by her physician that exercise on horseback would complete her recovery; and I sought and obtained the task both of breaking a horse for her service and teaching her to ride. She was then as sweet a girl as ever I beheld, and each day was adding new graces to her person and to her mind. Her heart was as gentle and as kind as that of Madame de Villardin, and she had a degree of the same graceful playfulness, which I had observed in her mother when first I saw her, mingled with the deeper and more intense feelings, which--misguided and abused--had been the cause of misery in her father's bosom.

The hours fled in great happiness for nearly three months, but at length the time for renewing the military operations against the Spaniards approached, and messengers from the Court warned Monsieur Villardin that his presence was required at head-quarters.

It was necessary, of course, to obey the summons, and all our preparations were speedily concluded. Laura and the whole household were removed to the PrÉs VallÉe before our departure, in order that masters might be obtained from Rennes to instruct Mademoiselle de Villardin in all those accomplishments which were required in society, from a person of her rank; and as my little page, Clement de la Marke, was too young to accompany me to the tented field, I left him under the care of Father Ferdinand, in order that he might derive every advantage from the same facility of procuring instruction.

Before we quitted Dumont, however, Monsieur de Villardin, who never left any service I did him unrequited, proposed to give me in exchange for the very uncertain pension which the government had bestowed upon me, a farm which lay contiguous to Juvigny, and which certainly rendered my baronial lands of a very respectable extent. I pointed out to the Duke that the present rents of the farm were far more than the amount of the pension, and that it was likely to yield still more; but he insisted upon the arrangement; and T clearly saw that he wished to recompense the assistance I had afforded him at the HÔtel de Ville, without rendering his gift burdensome, by bestowing it in the shape of a reward.

As I knew well that fully one half of his income remained unemployed, and had long learned to look upon him as a father, his benefits had nothing galling in them to any of the weaknesses of my nature; and I willingly accepted his offer. The necessary papers were drawn up and signed, ere we set out for the army; and I need hardly say that the benefit conferred did not excite the less gratitude in my bosom, because the donation was delicately veiled under the semblance of an exchange.

It will be unnecessary to follow the armies of France through the campaign that ensued, or to trace my own individual career in the service, which was simply that of a young officer, possessed of considerable interest, who rose more by fortunate circumstances, and the exertions of a few indefatigable friends, than by any particular credit of his own. It is true that I was active and vigilant, and did not want courage; but at the same time, I cannot but acknowledge that both Monsieur de Villardin and Monsieur de Turenne made more of those qualities in my person than they deserved. After having followed the royal army through all its marches and countermarches, after having done what I could to distinguish myself at the siege of Rhetel and of Mouson, and after having taken part in the deliverance of Rocroy, I returned to Brittany with Monsieur de Villardin, at the end of the campaign, considerably richer in honour than I had set out.

Everything at the PrÉs VallÉe was as we left it, or so nearly so, that it seemed as if that part of the world had stood still, while we had been hurried through so many different scenes and events. Father Ferdinand appeared hardly changed in the least; and though Laura had grown taller, she was still a girl. My little page, indeed, had greatly improved; and in the couple of months that we spent at the chÂteau, wound himself not only round my heart, but also round that of Monsieur de Villardin himself; and when at our departure he petitioned earnestly to be taken with us, I thought that the Duke himself seemed inclined to second his request.

Judging it better for himself, however, I left him for another year, and proceeded with Monsieur de Villardin to attend the coronation of the young king, a summons to which ceremony had curtailed our stay in Brittany.

During the festivities that succeeded, Monsieur de Villardin became first acquainted with the Count de Laval, of whom I shall have more to speak hereafter. He was, as every one knows, wealthy and powerful; and though he was cold, and somewhat haughty, yet he was, I believe, a man of generous feelings, and a noble disposition, of which I had ultimately an extraordinary proof. He paid considerable attention to Monsieur Villardin; and it struck me from the first that he had some motive with which I was not aware, in the advances that he made towards the Duke.

To myself, he always showed himself polite, though distant; and I was glad to find, as his acquaintance with Monsieur de Villardin advanced, that he was not inclined to assume a degree of superiority in his manners towards me, which I might not have been disposed to tolerate. He was, as I have said, somewhat haughty in his manners to every one, but certainly not more so towards myself than towards others.

Soon after the coronation, we again quitted the court, and joined the army, which began its operations by the siege of Stenay. The Prince de CondÉ and the Spanish troops having attempted to draw us away, by the attack of Arras, Monsieur de Turenne marched to its relief, leaving Monsieur de Faber to carry on the works against Stenay. I remained with the army of the latter till the capitulation of the place, after which we rejoined Turenne. No sooner was the junction of the two armies effected, than it was determined to attack the lines before Arras, which was accordingly done; and, notwithstanding the cabals of several of our own officers, and the gallantry and skill of CondÉ, the Spanish entrenchments were forced at several points, and the enemy obliged to retire precipitately to Cambray. The campaign then proceeded with uninterrupted success, several frontier towns were taken, and at length, after a year of glory, Turenne dispersed his troops in winter-quarters, and Monsieur de Villardin returned to Brittany.

For my own part, I was rewarded for any little services that I might have performed, by receiving the government of the small town of Binches, and took possession of my new command with no small pride and pleasure. The duties, however, thus imposed upon me, of course prevented my usual journey into Brittany; and although, in the midst of the winter, I obtained leave to visit Paris, and spent several pleasant days with my friend and benefactor, Lord Masterton, yet, when I came to resume my command, it began to seem tiresome and irksome, and I soon found that I would a great deal rather have been in Brittany than at Binches. I longed to see Laura and Father Ferdinand, and my little page, and all the old familiar faces of the chÂteau; to spend the days of winter and spring in the sports of the field and the busy idleness of country occupations, and the evenings in reading or in conversation with those whose thoughts and feelings flowed habitually in the same current with my own. Instead of all this, I had nothing but the petty state and dull routine which follows the governor of a small town; and all I could do to amuse myself was comprised in keeping a continual watch upon the enemy's frontier, and making such little expeditions as the nature of my command permitted.

In these enterprises I occasionally met with some adventures that afforded me entertainment; but the only event worth relating, perhaps, was the capture of two persons whom I have had occasion to mention more than once. A truce of a few weeks had been concluded in the early part of spring, and I did all that I could to secure to the inhabitants of the frontier lands even a short space of tranquillity; but I soon found that the inactivity of both armies was seized by the hordes of marauders, which a long war had called into being, as an opportunity for pillage and exaction. I was instructed, if possible, to punish some of these bands of plunderers; and having heard of some movements on the part of the enemy, although the truce was not yet at an end, I sent out a party to reconnoitre, who fell in with a body of Spaniards and Germans, and in a charge took about half-a-dozen officers and soldiers, amongst whom were the two leaders of the adverse troop. The prisoners were immediately brought into Binches, followed by a crowd of the peasantry of the neighbouring villages, who charged them loudly with being mere plunderers and assassins, and accused them of a number of acts, certainly not very honourable to the military character.

All this was reported to me by the officer who took them, and who, at the same time, laid before me a number of articles of a very miscellaneous description, which had been found upon their persons, or amongst their baggage, and which tended strongly to confirm the charges made by the peasantry. Learning upon inquiry that the two leaders were Frenchmen, and knowing, as I have mentioned, that, under the pretext of the war, a most disgraceful system of rapine and robbery was carried on upon the frontier, which system I had been commanded to put down by the most severe measures, I determined sternly to hang one of these gentlemen before the gate of the town,--an act which I was authorised to perform by my own instructions, and which had more than once been executed by the Spanish officers under similar circumstances.

Resolving to make them draw lots for the fate to which I destined one of them, I ordered them to be brought before me; but my purpose was suddenly changed when I beheld in the two culprits my old acquaintances, Gaspard de Belleville, and his good brother-in-law, Captain Hubert, who seemed to have thoroughly initiated his sister's husband into the mystery of appropriating the property of other people. What were the peculiar bonds that united them so strongly together I never inquired; although, as I knew that their connexion by means of Suzette was not likely to be a very inseparable link, I judged that a similarity of tastes and pursuits, as well as interests and necessities, made them cooperate with the friendly zeal which seemed to actuate them.

Of course, from what I knew of the characters of both, I was the more inclined to give implicit credence to the charges brought against the prisoners; but, at the same time, I saw that if I proceeded as I had at first intended, the many causes of enmity that existed between myself and Gaspard de Belleville might give the act of justice, which I had proposed to perform, the aspect of a base and cowardly piece of revenge. I had by this time learned that it is not sufficient for any man only to do right, but that where the two are compatible, he must seem to do right also, injustice to his own character, and in deference to the opinion of that great earthly judge, mankind; and I consequently resolved to wave my right of punishing the plunderers myself, lest the example should lose half its effect by being attributed to wrong motives. I caused, however, the whole evidence to be recapitulated in their presence; and, turning to Gaspard de Belleville, I said, "You hear, sir, the charge against you, and before seeing you, I had determined that you should expiate the crimes you have committed by the sacrifice of your life. As, however, there are various circumstances which have occurred at different times between you and me which might give such an act the colouring of revenge, I shall send you and your companion there, back in chains to the Prince de CondÉ, with a full statement of the case, and will then trust to his Highness's sense of justice to punish you as you deserve."

Gaspard de Belleville turned deadly pale at the first part of my speech, and he attempted to curl his lip into a sneer as I concluded; but the effort was not successful, and only ended in a grimace, wherein the expression of apprehension was still greatly predominant over that of contempt. As to his worthy brother-in-law, his bold bearing remained unquelled; and, remembering me perfectly, though many years had now passed since our first meeting in the forest, he boldly claimed acquaintance with me--evidently more from a spirit of daring than from any other feeling--and replied, "that he was sure I would never have the heart to hang an old friend in his situation."

He spoke with a sort of impudent smile: but, holding the command that I did in the town, I did not choose to bandy jests with him in presence of all toy officers; and ordering him and his companion to be removed, I caused the testimony of the peasants to be put down and properly attested; and sent the culprits in irons, accompanied by a flag of truce, to the Prince de CondÉ, who was at that time in the neighbourhood of Mons. At the same time, I informed his Highness by letter, not only of the facts which accompanied the capture of the prisoners, but of the motives which induced me to act as I did, stating simply and sincerely, without fear or reservation, the determination I had originally formed, and my reasons for not putting it in execution.

I felt sure that such conduct would be appreciated by the Prince, nor was I deceived; for though, in a letter which I received from his Highness in reply, he said, in a gay tone, that he had too few friends to hang any of them himself, yet he assured me that he would immediately dismiss from his service two men that had so disgraced the cause to which they had attached themselves. This the officer, who had carried them to his quarters, informed me he had executed in presence of all his staff, and had at the same time expressed the highest approbation of my conduct throughout the affair.

Though, in my progress through life, I had lost a great deal of that taste for bitter enmities with which I had set out in my boyhood, yet, I confess, I did not feel the least apprehension from a knowledge that two men, who viewed me with mortal hatred, had been turned loose upon the world, although the officer added, that, before quitting the presence of the Prince de CondÉ, they had expressed the most resolute determination to find means of avenging themselves upon me.

This little incident, which possessed some degree of interest while it lasted, was soon forgotten, and all the weariness of my command began to return; but, without knowing it, my governorship of Binches was drawing towards a close. About a fortnight after the capture of Gaspard and his companions, I received a letter from Monsieur le Tellier, which, from its very cordial and friendly commencement,--very different in style and form from the generality of official communications,--I clearly saw was destined, ere its close, to demand some service, or to require some sacrifice. I was not disappointed; for after a number of high commendations, and promises of future advancement, the worthy minister went on to inform me that there was a young protÉgÉ of the Cardinal greatly in want of some appointment, and that, if I were inclined to resign my government in his favour, it would be immediately beneficial to him, and ultimately beneficial to myself. To render what the minister believed would be a bitter draught more palatable, he added an immense quantity of the universal sweetener, flattery, telling me that the Cardinal had the less hesitation in making this request, as it would be impossible for the King to suffer so distinguished an officer as myself to remain in the inactivity of a small government after the armies were called into the field for the next campaign; and, as a more substantial inducement, he offered to grant me immediately a higher grade in the army, upon my resignation of the governorship of Binches.

I took very good care, as it may be easily conceived, not to let the minister know, by my reply, how tired I was of the post I occupied, and how desirous I was of returning to Brittany for the two months that were yet likely to elapse before the opening of the campaign. On the contrary, I quietly pointed out how inadequate the new rank offered me was, when viewed as an equivalent to the governorship: but, at the same time, I expressed my perfect willingness to do anything which could oblige or give pleasure to the Cardinal Prime Minister; and I ended by assuring Monsieur le Tellier that, as soon as I received the commission giving the rank he promised, I would send him my resignation of the government in favour of the gentleman he pointed out.

This reply speedily produced a rejoinder, enclosing my commission, thanking me repeatedly for my prompt acquiescence, and promising great things for the future. Extremely well pleased with the whole affair, though very well convinced that the Cardinal would soon find means of forgetting all his promises, I drew up my resignation in due form, and presented it with my own hands to Monsieur le Tellier. My successor was instantly sent to Binches; and, without lingering in Paris a moment more than was necessary, I set out for Brittany alone, leaving my servants and baggage to follow,--preferring still, above all things, the sort of rapid and independent mode of proceeding, to which I had been accustomed before state, or rank, or fortune entitled, enabled, or required me to burden myself with followers or attendants.

My journey, as I rode my own horse, was less rapid than many of those which I had previously made to and from the same spot; but it was a far more pleasant one. Looking upon the house of Monsieur de Villardin as my home, and upon his household as my family, I experienced fully as much pleasure in the prospect of rejoining him as if his blood had flowed in my veins. I felt greatly relieved, too, by the resignation of an irksome office; and, with a sensation of liberty and independence which I had never known while chained, as it were, to the walls of Binches, I rode on through a rich and varying country, which, throughout the whole of my journey, was lighted up by the sweet fresh sunshine of the spring, and which at every step afforded new and beautiful traces of the cessation of anarchy and civil war, and the return of industry and security.

It was evening when I reached Rennes, but there still wanted an hour or two of night; and as my horse was extremely tired, I left him at the auberge, and walked on by the bank of the stream towards the PrÉs VallÉe. The calm sweet meadows, the magnificent woods that surrounded them, the still silvery river that wandered through the midst, all seemed more tranquilly solemn than usual. A feeling of soft repose pervaded the whole scene, while the beams of the setting sun, pouring between the bolls of the giant trees, and streaming amidst the green transparent leaves of the young spring, cheered away every trace of gloom, and left it all still and peaceful, though anything but gay. Although I was going to those I loved, and delighted in the thought of seeing them again, yet the many feelings of my heart, the memories of the past, the hopes of the future, the enjoyment of the present, all, perhaps, tended to make me linger as I wandered on through a scene that seemed to blend and harmonise with every mingled emotion of my bosom.

I had passed the second and third sweep of trees, had crossed the fourth savanna, and had entered the fourth grove, when I heard some one speaking, and, looking forward, I saw two female figures, under one of the trees which bordered the meadow I was just about to cross. They were evidently enjoying the evening sunshine, the one standing with her arm leaning against the old elm that overhung their heads, the other seated on a bench which had been placed at its foot. I had no difficulty in recognising in the first my old acquaintance, Lise, the suivante of Mademoiselle de Villardin, but I could scarcely believe that the other was her young mistress. It seemed but a day since I had left her a mere child; at least, so gradual had been the change up to the time of my last departure, that to me she had seemed but little older than when first I knew her. Now, however, there was a change indeed. Even before I saw her face, the full rounded contour of her whole form, the very fall of her figure, still replete with grace and beauty--but, oh, so different from the grace of childhood--prepared me for an alteration, or rather made me doubt that it could be herself; but when my step caught her ear, and she turned towards me, I paused in surprise. It was certainly the face of Laura de Villardin--every feature was there, but yet so splendidly changed. The full ruby lip, the dark bright eye, the long black lashes, the sunny cheek, were all before me, as I had known them for years: but there was a new soul in them all--a light, a feeling, that left them as different as it is possible to conceive; and yet the general expression, too, was the same--innocent, natural, playful. The features, however, had also become more formed: they had lost every remains of what one may call the shapelessness of childhood, and had acquired all the chiselled symmetry of young maturity.

As I have said, I could scarcely believe my eyes, and I paused; but I soon found that, however changed in form, she was in no degree changed in mind, or heart, or feelings. I was scarcely altered: she saw in me alone the dear companion of her childhood,--the boy who had saved her own and her father's life; and as soon as her eyes rested on me, she started up, and cast herself into my arms, exactly as she had done when she was seven years old. The same affection that she had felt through life beamed up in her eyes--the same joy to see me again, which she had always manifested, sparkled over her countenance--and the same endearing terms of unreserved regard, and delighted welcome, hung upon her lips. It is impossible to describe all that I felt, and indeed I did not stay to analyse it at the time. I pressed her to my heart as a sister, and, kissing her cheek, led her back to her seat. But as she sat down again, and I took my place beside her, a growing blush seemed to tell that for the first time she remembered that she was no longer a child.

It passed away again in a moment; and I was glad to find that, however she settled the matter with her own heart, she was determined to let the change be no change to me. My good friend Lise, too, was delighted to see me; and though eight or nine years had certainly made a considerable difference in her since first I saw her, she had lost none of her native kindness of heart, or cheerfulness of disposition. She loaded me with a thousand questions, admired my dress, declared that I was turning more handsome every year, and called upon Laura for an opinion in regard to my beauty, which roused Mademoiselle de Villardin from a deep reverie into which she had fallen, and which ended in another blush.

It was now her turn to ask questions; and many did she put, though in a very different strain from those of Lise. They were all questions of affection and interest in my fate and happiness, without a touch of curiosity; and when she heard that I had resigned the petty government that I had held, and was at liberty to remain with Monsieur de Villardin as before, I shall not easily forget the joy that beamed out of her beautiful eyes.

It would make her father so very, very happy, she said, for he had often regretted my absence, and had never seemed so cheerful since I had been away. Often, too, she told me, he had blamed himself for advising me to accept the post I bad taken, and which he declared was unworthy of my merits; and she added many another little trait from which she herself had divined, and which led me to believe also, that Monsieur de Villardin had long been anxious for my return. Neither Laura nor myself, however, did anything to hasten our walk to the chÂteau, from which we were nearly a mile distant. The scene was so sweet and calm, and the evening so warm and fine, that it might well invite us to tarry: but there was a sensation of delight in our first conversation after so long a separation, which we were unwilling to cut short, and a feeling of happiness, too, in the almost unwitnessed enjoyment of each other's society, which, as it might be long ere the same pleasure was renewed, we were both glad to prolong.

At length, however, the purple hues that began to spread over the sky warned us that we must bend our steps homeward; and Lise, though she had no small touch of romance in her nature, declared that Monsieur would be anxious if Mademoiselle did not return. Laura rose, and, leaning on my arm, took the way along the river, whose glossy bosom was reflecting, bright but softened, the trees, and the banks, and the changing sky above. Our eyes now met, and now rested on the waters; our conversation flew from subject to subject, like a butterfly in a flower-garden,--now poured on uninterrupted, now dropped altogether, and gave place to thought. She told me again and again how glad my return would make every one in the chÂteau, leaving me to include herself in the number; and I thought how beautiful she had grown, and remembered how dear and amiable she always had been. At length, the grey turrets and slated roofs of the chÂteau rose over the nearest trees; and one of the sweetest and the happiest walks ended that ever I enjoyed through life.