"Alexandre Dumas. The Three Musketeers." - читать интересную книгу автора

first place, and the friends of the king--and then for himself and his own
friends. For the rest, in the memoirs of this period, which has left so
many memoirs, one does not find this worthy gentleman blamed even by his
enemies; and he had many such among men of the pen as well as among men of
the sword. In no instance, let us say, was this worthy gentleman accused of
deriving personal advantage from the cooperation of his minions. Endowed
with a rare genius for intrigue which rendered him the equal of the ablest
intriguers, he remained an honest man. Still further, in spite of sword
thrusts which weaken, and painful exercises which fatigue, he had become
one of the most gallant frequenters of revels, one of the most insinuating
lady's men, one of the softest whisperers of interesting nothings of his
day; the BONNES FORTUNES of De Treville were talked of as those of M. de
Bassompierre had been talked of twenty years before, and that was not
saying a little. The captain of the Musketeers was therefore admired,
feared, and loved; and this constitutes the zenith of human fortune.
Louis XIV absorbed all the smaller stars of his court in his own vast
radiance; but his father, a sun PLURIBUS IMPAR, left his personal splendor
to each of his favorites, his indi-vidual value to each of his courtiers.
In addition to the leeves of the king and the cardinal, there might be
reckoned in Paris at that time more than two hundred smaller but still
noteworthy leeves. Among these two hundred leeves, that of Treville was one
of the most sought.
The court of his hotel, situated in the Rue du Vieux-Colombier,
resembled a camp from by six o'clock in the morning in summer and eight
o'clock in winter. From fifty to sixty Mus-keteers, who appeared to replace
one another in order always to present an imposing number, paraded
constantly, armed to the teeth and ready for anything. On one of those
immense staircases, upon whose space modern civilization would build a
whole house. As-cended and descended the office seekers of Paris, who ran
after any sort of favor--gentlemen from the provinces anxious to be
enrolled, and servants in all sorts of liveries, bringing and carrying
messages between their masters and M. de Treville. In the ante-chamber,
upon long circular benches, reposed the elect; that is to say, those who
were called. In this apartment a continued buzzing prevailed from morning
till night, while M. de Treville, in his office contiguous to this
antechamber, received visits, listened to complaints, gave his orders, and
like the king in his balcony at the Louvre, had only to place himself at
the window to review both his men and arms.
The day on which D'Artagnan presented himself the assemblage was
imposing, particu-larly for a provincial just arriving from his province.
It is true that this provincial was a Gas-con; and that, particularly at
this period, the compatriots of D'Artagnan had the reputation of not being
easily intimidated. When he had once passed the massive door covered with
long square-headed nails, he fell into the midst of a troop of swordsmen,
who crossed one another in their passage, calling out, quarreling, and
playing tricks one with another. In or-der to make one's way amid these
turbulent and conflicting waves, it was necessary to be an officer, a great
noble, or a pretty woman.
It was, then, into the midst of this tumult and disorder that our
young man advanced with a beating heat, ranging his long rapier up his