Twenty Years After by Dumas Alexandre;

Author:Dumas, Alexandre;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press, UK
Published: 1993-04-08T04:00:00+00:00

XLIX

THE RIOT

IT was nearly eleven at night. Gondy had not gone a hundred yards in the streets of Paris before he perceived that a strange change had taken place. The whole city seemed inhabited by fantastic beings; silent shadows were seen removing the street-paving, others drawing and upsetting wagons, others digging trenches to swallow up entire companies of cavaliers. All these people, so actively going, coming, running, seemed like demons accomplishing some unknown work; they were the beggars of the Court of Miracles, the agents of the holy-water giver, preparing the barricades for the next day.

Gondy looked at these midnight workers with a sort of fear. He asked himself if, after having caused these unclean creatures to come forth, he should have the power of making them return to their haunts. When any one of them approached him, he was ready to make the sign of the cross.

He reached the Rue St Honoré, and followed it on his way towards the Rue de la Ferronnerie. There the appearance was changed. There were shopkeepers going from shop to shop. The doors seemed closed as well as the shutters; but they were only pushed to, so that they could be opened or closed immediately to give admittance to men who seemed to fear lest what they carried should be seen. These men were shopkeepers, who, having arms, were lending to those who were without. An individual was going from door to door, bending under the weight of swords, of arquebuses, of musketoons, of all sorts of arms, which he distributed in due proportion. By the light of a lantern the Coadjutor recognized Planchet.

The Coadjutor arrived at the quay by the Rue de la Monnaie; on the quay groups of citizens in black and grey cloaks, according as they belonged to the high or low bourgeoisie, were stationed immovable, while single men passed from one group to another. All these grey or black cloaks were raised behind by the point of a sword, and before by the barrel of an arquebuse or a musketoon.

On reaching the Pont Neuf the Coadjutor found it guarded; a man approached him.

‘Who are you?’ asked the man; ‘I don’t recognize you as one of ours.’

‘Then you do not recognize your friends, my dear M. Louviéres,’ said the Coadjutor, raising his hat.

Louvières recognized him and bowed.

Gondy went on as far as the Tower of Nesle.* There he saw a long file of men, who were creeping along the walls. They looked like a procession of ghosts, for they were all enveloped in white cloaks. On reaching a certain spot, all the men seemed to vanish one after another, as if the earth gave way under their feet. Gondy leaned on his elbow in a corner, and saw them disappear, from the first to the last but one. The last raised his eyes, doubtless to make sure that they were not seen, and in spite of the darkness he saw Gondy. He went straight up to him, and put a pistol to his throat.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.