e thousand
to Aramis, that they may give the said sums in my name and their own to
my young friend Raoul, Vicomte de Bragelonne. I give the remaining five
thousand to Planchet, that he may distribute the fifteen thousand
with less regret among my friends. With which purpose I sign these
presents.--D'Artagnan.

Planchet appeared very curious to know what D'Artagnan had written.

"Here," said the musketeer, "read it"

On reading the last lines the tears came into Planchet's eyes. "You
think, then, that I would not have given the money without that? Then I
will have none of your five thousand francs."

D'Artagnan smiled. "Accept it, accept it, Planchet; and in that way you
will only lose fifteen thousand francs instead of twenty thousand, and
you will not be tempted to disregard the signature of your master and
friend, by losing nothing at all."

How well that dear Monsieur d'Artagnan knew the hearts of men and
grocers! They who have pronounced Don Quixote mad because he rode out to
the conquest of an empire with nobody but Sancho, his squire, and they
who have pronounced Sancho mad because he accompanied his master in
his attempt to conquer the said empire,--they certainly will have no
hesitation in extending the same judgment to D'Artagnan and Planchet.
And yet the first passed for one of the most subtle spirits among the
astute spirits of the court of France. As to the second, he had acquired
by good right the reputation of having one of the longest heads
among the grocers of the Rue des Lombards; consequently of Paris, and
consequently of France. Now, to consider these two men from the point of
view from which you would consider other men, and the means by the aid
of which they contemplated to restore a monarch to his throne, compared
with other means, the shallowest brains of the country where brains are
most shallow must have revolted against the presumptuous madness of the
lieutenant and the stupidity of his associate. Fortunately, D'Artagnan
was not a man to listen to the idle talk of those around him, or to the
comments that were made on himself. He had adopted the motto, "Act well,
and let people talk." Planchet on his part, had adopted this, "Act and
say nothing." It resulted from this, that, according to the custom of
all superior geniuses, these two men flattered themselves intra pectus,
with being in the right against all who found fault with them.

As a beginning, D'Artagnan set out in the finest of po