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

aforesaid pony at Meung--which place he had entered about a quarter of an
hour before, by the gate of Beaugency--produced an unfavorable feeling,
which extended to his rider.
And this feeling had been more painfully perceived by young
D'Artagnan--for so was the Don Quixote of this second Rosinante named--from
his not being able to conceal from him-self the ridiculous appearance that
such a steed gave him, good horseman as he was. He had sighed deeply,
therefore, when accepting the gift of the pony from M. D'Artagnan the
elder. He was not ignorant that such a beast was worth at least twenty
livres; and the words which had accompanied the present were above all
price.
"My son," said the old Gascon gentleman, in that pure Bearn PATOIS of
which Henry IV could never rid himself, "this horse was born in the house
of your father about thirteen years ago, and has remained in it ever since,
which ought to make you love it. Never sell it; allow it to die tranquilly
and honorably of old age, and if you make a campaign with it, take as much
care of it as you would of an old servant. At court, provided you have ever
the honor to go there," continued M. D'Artagnan the elder, "--an honor to
which, remem-ber, your ancient nobility gives you the right--sustain
worthily your name of gentleman, which has been worthily borne by your
ancestors for five hundred years, both for your own sake and the sake of
those who belong to you. By the latter I mean your relatives and friends.
Endure nothing from anyone except Monsieur the Cardinal and the king. It is
by his courage, please observe, by his courage alone, that a gentleman can
make his way nowa-days. Whoever hesitates for a second perhaps allows the
bait to escape which during that exact second fortune held out to him. You
are young. You ought to be brave for two rea-sons: the first is that you
are a Gascon, and the second is that you are my son. Never fear quarrels,
but seek adventures. I have taught you how to handle a sword; you have
thews of iron, a wrist of steel. Fight on all occasions. Fight the more for
duels being forbidden, since consequently there is twice as much courage in
fighting. I have nothing to give you, my son, but fifteen crowns, my horse,
and the counsels you have just heard. Your mother will add to them a recipe
for a certain balsam, which she had from a Bohemian and which has the
miraculous virtue of curing all wounds that do not reach the heart. Take
advantage of all, and live happily and long. I have but one word to add,
and that is to propose an ex-ample to you-- not mine, for I myself have
never appeared at court, and have only taken part in religious wars as a
volunteer; I speak of Monsieur de Treville, who was formerly my neighbor,
and who had the honor to be, as a child, the play-fellow of our king, Louis
XIII, whom God preserve! Sometimes their play degenerated into battles, and
in these battles the king was not always the stronger. The blows which he
received increased greatly his esteem and friendship for Monsieur de
Treville. Afterward, Monsieur de Treville fought with others: in his first
journey to Paris, five times; from the death of the late king till the
young one came of age, without reckoning wars and sieges, seven times; and
from that date up to the present day, a hundred times, perhaps! So that in
spite of edicts, ordinances, and decrees, there he is, captain of the
Musketeers; that is to say, chief of a legion of Caesars, whom the king
holds in great esteem and whom the cardinal dreads--he who dreads noth-ing,