History will tell us, or rather history has told us, of the various events of the following day, of the splendid fetes given by the surintendant to his sovereign. Nothing but amusement and delight was allowed to prevail throughout the … Read the rest
Category: The Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask – Chapter XIV. A Gascon, and a Gascon and a Half.
D’Artagnan had determined to lose no time, and in fact he never was in the habit of doing so. After having inquired for Aramis, he had looked for him in every direction until he had succeeded in finding him. Besides, … Read the rest
The Man in the Iron Mask – Chapter XIII. Nectar and Ambrosia.
M. Fouquet held the stirrup of the king, who, having dismounted, bowed most graciously, and more graciously still held out his hand to him, which Fouquet, in spite of a slight resistance on the king’s part, carried respectfully to his … Read the rest
The Man in the Iron Mask – Chapter XII. The Wine of Melun.
The king had, in point of fact, entered Melun with the intention of merely passing through the city. The youthful monarch was most eagerly anxious for amusements; only twice during the journey had he been able to catch a glimpse … Read the rest
The Man in the Iron Mask – Chapter XI. The Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte.
The chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte, situated about a league from Melun, had been built by Fouquet in 1655, at a time when there was a scarcity of money in France; Mazarin had taken all that there was, and Fouquet expended the … Read the rest
The Man in the Iron Mask – Chapter XXIII. The King’s Gratitude.
The two men were on the point of darting towards each other when they suddenly and abruptly stopped, as a mutual recognition took place, and each uttered a cry of horror.
“Have you come to assassinate me, monsieur?” said the … Read the rest
The Man in the Iron Mask – Chapter XXII. Showing How the Countersign Was Respected at the Bastile.
Fouquet tore along as fast as his horses could drag him. On his way he trembled with horror at the idea of what had just been revealed to him.
“What must have been,” he thought, “the youth of those extraordinary … Read the rest
The Man in the Iron Mask – Chapter XXI. The King’s Friend.
Fouquet was waiting with anxiety; he had already sent away many of his servants and friends, who, anticipating the usual hour of his ordinary receptions, had called at his door to inquire after him. Preserving the utmost silence respecting the … Read the rest
The Man in the Iron Mask – Chapter XX. The Morning.
In vivid contrast to the sad and terrible destiny of the king imprisoned in the Bastile, and tearing, in sheer despair, the bolts and bars of his dungeon, the rhetoric of the chroniclers of old would not fail to present, … Read the rest
The Man in the Iron Mask – Chapter XIX. The Shadow of M. Fouquet.
D’Artagnan, still confused and oppressed by the conversation he had just had with the king, could not resist asking himself if he were really in possession of his senses, if he were really and truly at Vaux; if he, D’Artagnan, … Read the rest