nri; "this is the last time I shall play the
knight-errant for any one against his will;" and, reentering the wood as
the carriage dashed off at full speed, he proceeded by narrow paths
toward the castle, followed at a short distance by Grandchamp and his
small escort.

On arriving at the foot of the western tower, he reined in his horse. He
did not alight, but, approaching so near the wall that he could rest his
foot upon an abutment, he stood up, and raised the blind of a window on
the ground-floor, made in the form of a portcullis, such as is still seen
on some ancient buildings.

It was now past midnight, and the moon was hidden behind the clouds. No
one but a member of the family could have found his way through darkness
so profound. The towers and the roof formed one dark mass, which stood
out in indistinct relief against the sky, hardly less dark; no light
shone throughout the chateau, wherein all inmates seemed buried in
slumber. Cinq-Mars, enveloped in a large cloak, his face hidden under the
broad brim of his hat, awaited in suspense a reply to his signal.

It came; a soft voice was heard from within:

"Is that you, Monsieur Cinq-Mars?"

"Alas, who else should it be? Who else would return like a criminal to
his paternal house, without entering it, without bidding one more adieu
to his mother? Who else would return to complain of the present, without
a hope for the future, but I?"

The gentle voice replied, but its tones were agitated, and evidently
accompanied with tears: "Alas! Henri, of what do you complain? Have I not
already done more, far more than I ought? It is not my fault, but my
misfortune, that my father was a sovereign prince. Can one choose one's
birthplace or one's rank, and say for example, 'I will be a shepherdess?'
How unhappy is the lot of princesses! From the cradle, the sentiments of
the heart are prohibited to them; and when they have advanced beyond
childhood, they are ceded like a town, and must not even weep. Since I
have known you, what have I not done to bring my future life within the
reach of happiness, in removing it far from a throne? For two years I
have struggled in vain, at once against my evil fortune, that separates
me from you, and against you, who estrange me from the duty I owe to my
family. I have sought to spread a belief that I was dead; I have almost
longed for revolutions. I should have blessed a change which deprived me
of my rank, as I thanked Heaven when my f