The Story of Manon Lescaut and of the Chevalier des Grieux/Chapter 11

by L'Abbé Prévost

Chapter XI.

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No sooner had the return of night released me from my hiding-place, than I asked Lescaut to accompany me to the Hôpital. We entered into conversation with one of the porters, who seemed an intelligent fellow. Pretending to be a foreigner who had heard much admiration expressed for the Hôpital Général and its excellent management, I questioned him concerning the minutest details; and, passing from one matter to another, we finally fell to talking about the Guardians, whose names and rank I asked him to tell me. His answers on this last point suggested an idea to my mind which I welcomed as a happy one; and I proceeded to put it into operation without further delay. As an essential preliminary to my project, I inquired whether any of the gentlemen he had mentioned had children. He replied that he could not be certain about all of them, but he knew that M. de T———, one of the principal Guardians, had a son of marriageable age, who frequently came to the Hôpital with his father.

This information sufficed for my purpose, and I soon after brought the conversation to a close. On our way home I confided my newly conceived plan to Lescaut.

"I may fairly assume," said I, "that this M. de T———'s son, who is rich and well-connected, has, in common with most young fellows of his age, more or less taste for pleasure. He is hardly likely to be a woman-hater, or such a milksop as to refuse his aid in a love affair. It is my design to enlist his interest in Manon's release. If he be a man of honor and feeling, he will lend us his assistance out of pure generosity. Even if he cannot be influenced by such motives, he will, at all events, do something to help a beautiful girl, if only in the hope of obtaining a share of her favors. I mean to see him," I added, "to-morrow, at the latest." I drew a good omen from the fact that the very project afforded me great consolation. Even Lescaut admitted that my expectations were not unreasonable, and that we might allow ourselves to hope that something would come of my proposed attempt. I passed a more cheerful night in consequence.

The next morning I dressed myself as presentably as my poverty-stricken condition would admit, and drove in a hackney-coach to the residence of M. de T——. He was somewhat surprised at receiving a visit from a perfect stranger; but I augured well from his face and the courtesy of his manner.

I frankly explained my object in coming to see him, and, with a view of exciting in him an even warmer interest than his natural feelings might have prompted, I dwelt upon the beauty of my mistress as unequalled, save, indeed, by the passion with which it inspired me.

He told me that, although he had never seen Manon, he had heard of her; if I alluded, at least, to the young woman who had been the mistress of old G——— M———. I at once surmised that he knew of my share in that transaction, and, in order to gain his sympathy more completely, by taking him into my confidence, and so establishing a claim upon him, I gave him a detailed account of all that had happened to Manon and myself.

"You see, sir," continued I, "that the interests of my life and of my heart are now in your hands. Those of the one are no dearer to me than those of the other. I have confided in you without reserve, because I am no stranger to the generosity of your character, and because the fact of our being so nearly of the same age leads me to hope that there may also be some similarity in our tastes and inclinations."

He appeared to be very much touched by these marks of trust and candor. His reply was that of a man possessing all the polish of good society, together with a delicacy of feeling which society does not always give, and often destroys. He told me that he counted my visit among the fortunate events of his life—that he should regard my friendship as one of his most valued acquisitions, and would strive to merit it by his zeal in my service. He did not promise to restore Manon to me, as he could boast, he said, of only slight and uncertain influence; but he offered to procure me the pleasure of seeing her, and to do all in his power to bring her once more to my arms.

I was better pleased with this uncertainty on his part as to the extent of his influence than I should have been with a positive assurance that he would secure the fulfilment of all my wishes. I discerned, in the very modesty of his promises, an indication of sincerity which delighted me. In a word, I allowed myself to hope for everything from his good offices on my behalf. His undertaking to obtain me an opportunity of seeing Manon would alone have made me his willing slave. I expressed these sentiments to him as best I could, and, in doing so, gave him every reason to believe that my character was not unworthy of his esteem. We embraced one another affectionately, and became fast friends, out of pure warmth of heart, and that natural inclination which prompts one man of ardent and generous temperament to attach himself to another of similar disposition.

He carried the evidences of his regard much further; for, connecting my various adventures in his mind and concluding that my flight from St. Lazare must have left me almost destitute of means, he offered me his purse, and pressed its acceptance upon me.

"Nay, sir," I said, refusing it, "you are too good. If I am to owe the happiness of once more seeing my dear Manon to your kind and friendly assistance, you will have my life-long gratitude. If you restore that beloved being to me altogether, I shall feel that, though I were to shed my blood to the last drop in your service, I should still be in your debt."

Before separating, we agreed upon the time and place of our next meeting. He was considerate enough not to prolong my suspense any further than he could help, and appointed that very afternoon. I waited for him at a café, where he rejoined me at about four o'clock, and we repaired together to the Hôpital.

My knees trembled under me as we crossed the court-yards. "Goddess of Love!" I inwardly ejaculated, "is it indeed true that I am once more to behold the idol of my soul, the object of so many tears and so much anguish of heart? Then, Heaven, give me but strength to reach her side; and after that dispose as you will of my fortunes and of my remaining days; this one boon is all I ask of you!"

M. de T——— spoke to some of the door-keepers of the place, who showed every desire to be of use to him in any way that they could. He made them point out to him the part of the establishment in which Manon's room was situated; and we were conducted to it, our escort carrying a key of terrific size with which to unlock her door.

I asked the turnkey who accompanied us, and who was the one appointed to attend to her wants, how she had passed her time since she had been in this place. He told us that she was as gentle as an angel, and that he had never had a harsh word from her. She had wept incessantly, he said, for the first six weeks after her arrival; but for some time back she had seemed more patient under her misfortune, and occupied herself in sewing from morning till night, with the exception of a few hours which she devoted to reading. I inquired, further, whether she had been properly supplied with food. He assured me that the necessaries of life, at all events, had never been denied her.

As we approached her door, my heart began to throb violently; and I said to M. de T———:

"Pray go in by yourself and prepare her for my coming, for I fear that to see me thus suddenly and unexpectedly would give her too violent a shock."

The door was opened for us. I remained outside in the corridor, near enough, however, to overhear every word that passed between them. M. de T——— told Manon that he had come in the hope of being able to offer her some consolation, as he was a friend of mine, and took a deep interest in our welfare. She inquired, with intense eagerness, whether he could tell her what had become of me. He promised to bring me to her feet, as loving and as loyal as her heart could desire.

"How soon?"

"This very day. The happy moment is near at hand. You have but to express your wish, and your lover will stand before you."

She needed no further explanation, but understood at once that I was at the door, and flew impetuously towards it as I entered. In a moment we were clasped in each other's arms and embracing one another with that lavish tenderness which, after a separation of three long months, is such unspeakable bliss to all true lovers. Our sighs, our broken exclamations, the countless endearing names that fell from her lips and my own, and were repeated again and again with fond reiteration—such, for many minutes, were the elements of a scene which M. de T——— contemplated with unfeigned emotion.

"You fill me with envy," he said, as he offered us seats. "I would resign the most glorious career that Fortune could offer me to possess a mistress as lovely, as passionately devoted as yours."

"And have I not, too, felt that all the power and glory the world could give were as nothing to the happiness of being loved by her?" was my reply.

I need scarcely say that the deepest tenderness characterized all the remainder of an interview which had so long been the dearest wish of our hearts. My poor Manon gave me an account of all her adventures, and I related my own to her. We wept bitterly as we talked over her present situation and the one from which I had so recently escaped. M. de T——— consoled us by renewed promises that he would spare no endeavor to bring our troubles to an end. He advised us to make this first interview as short as possible, as he would then have less difficulty in procuring us others.

He found it no easy task to make us relish this advice. Manon, especially, could not make up her mind to let me go. Again and again I rose, and again and again did she force me back into my chair.

"Alas!" she cried, as she strove to retain me by clinging to my coat and to my hands, "are you, then, going to leave me in this vile place? Who can say whether I shall ever see you again?"

M. de T——— assured her that he would bring me frequently to see her.

"As for the place," he added, gallantly, "we must not think of it as the Hôpital but as Versailles, since it holds within its precincts one who might fitly reign over the hearts of all mankind."

As I went out I gave some money to the turnkey who was her attendant, in order to enlist his zeal in her service. This fellow was not so sordid and hardened as most of his class. He had witnessed our meeting, and that touching spectacle had excited his compassion; while a louis d'or, which I now handed him, won his complete devotion to my interests.

He took me aside as we were going down to the court-yard, and said:

"If you will take me into your service, sir, or give me a fair reward, to compensate me for the loss of my employment here, I think I can easily assist Miss Manon to escape."

I lent an eager ear to this proposition, and, destitute as I was of means, I promised him far more than he expected, feeling persuaded that I should have no difficulty in satisfying a fellow of his stamp at any time.

"You may depend upon my doing all I can for you, my friend," said I, "and may consider your fortune as well assured as my own."

I then asked him how he intended to proceed.

"Simply by opening her door for her some evening," he replied, "and showing her the way to the street entrance, where you must be waiting to receive her."

I expressed my fear that she might be recognized in passing through the corridors and yards, and he admitted that there was some danger of that mishap occurring; but, he urged, we must of course be prepared to run a certain amount of risk.

Although I was delighted to find him so full of determination, I thought it only prudent to call M. de T——— and communicate the project to him, indicating, at the same time, the only element in it which seemed at all likely to render its success doubtful. He saw greater difficulties in the way of its accomplishment than had occurred to me. He did not, indeed, deny that Manon might succeed in effecting her escape in the manner suggested; "but," he went on to say, "should she be recognized and arrested, while making good her flight, there would probably be no further hope for her. Moreover, you would have to leave Paris at once; for you could never hide yourself so effectually as to be out of reach of the search that would be made for you. The efforts of the authorities would be redoubled, both in your case and hers. A man by himself can easily elude pursuit, but to remain in concealment with a pretty woman is next door to impossible."

Sound as this reasoning appeared to me, it failed to turn the scale in my mind against the hope of so speedily restoring Manon to liberty. I acknowledged this to M. de T———, and begged him to make some allowances for the imprudence and temerity natural to love; and I added that I had already determined to leave Paris and reside in some neighboring village, as I had done once before.

We accordingly arranged with the turnkey that his attempt should be deferred no longer than the following day; and in order to do all in our power to insure its success, we decided to bring with us some articles of male apparel, with a view to facilitating our flight. It was no easy matter to smuggle them in; but I had enough fertility of invention to hit upon a method of doing so. Merely asking M. de T——— to wear two thin waistcoats the next day, one underneath the other, I undertook to answer for all the rest.

In the morning we returned to the Hôpital. I took with me some under-linen, a pair of stockings, etc., for Manon; and wore, over my coat, a surtout, which concealed the bulky appearance of my pockets. We remained in her room only a few minutes. M. de T——— left her one of his waistcoats, while I gave her my coat—the surtout serving well enough for me to go away in. There was nothing lacking to complete her costume except a pair of breeches, which I had unluckily forgotten. The omission of these very necessary garments would doubtless have afforded us matter for laughter, had the embarrassment to which it put us been less serious. I was in despair to think that a trifle of this nature might result in the defeat of all our hopes. My determination was soon arrived at, however, and was no other than to make my exit without breeches, leaving my own behind me for Manon. My surtout was a long one, and, with the aid of a few pins, I put myself in such trim as to be able to take my departure with decency.

The remainder of the day seemed to me intolerably long; but night came at last, and we took a coach and drove to within a short distance of the gates of the Hôpital. We had not waited there many minutes before Manon and her escort made their appearance. The door of our coach was open; they hurriedly leaped in, and I clasped my beloved mistress to my heart. She was trembling like a leaf.

"Where shall I drive?" asked the coachman.

"Drive to the uttermost ends of the earth!" cried I, "and carry me to some spot where I can never again be separated from Manon!"

This mad speech, which burst from me unawares, was well-nigh involving me in a troublesome predicament. The coachman pondered over my words, and when I proceeded to tell him the name of the street to which we wished to be driven, he replied that he was afraid I was involving him in a dangerous piece of business. He could see plainly enough, he said, that the handsome young person in man's clothes, called Manon, was a girl whom I was carrying off from the Hôpital; and he had no fancy for getting himself into trouble merely to oblige me.

The rascal's scruples were simply a pretence for extorting a higher price from me for his coach. We were in too close proximity to the Hôpital to make any altercation desirable.

"Hold your peace," said I, "and you will earn a louis d'or."

After that, he would have aided me to burn down the Hôpital itself had I asked him.

We drove to the house in which Lescaut lived. As the hour was late M. de T——— left us on the way, promising to come and see us the following day. The turnkey alone remained with us.

I held Manon clasped so closely in my arms that we occupied only the place of one in the coach. She was weeping from joy, and I felt my face moistened by her tears.

When we reached Lescaut's door and were about to alight, I had a fresh dispute with the coachman, the consequences of which were disastrous. I repented my promise of giving him a louis, not only because the sum was exorbitant, but for another and much weightier reason—my utter inability to pay it.

I sent for Lescaut, who came down from his room to the door. I told him in a whisper the plight that I was in. Being naturally hot-tempered, and by no means accustomed to waste much consideration upon a coachman, he replied that I must surely be in jest. "A louis d'or, indeed!" he exclaimed. "Trounce the fellow with your cane until he has his money's worth!" In vain did I expostulate with him in a low voice that he would be the undoing of us. He snatched my cane out of my hands, and was evidently about to lay it across the driver's shoulders, when the latter, who, perchance, had been unlucky enough to fall into the hands of a Guardsman or Musketeer on previous occasions, made off, with his coach, frightened out of his wits, and shouting to me as he went that I had cheated him, but that I had not heard the last of him.

I called out to him several times to stop, but in vain. His flight caused me the gravest uneasiness, for I felt certain that he would go and notify the Commissary.

"You have ruined me," I said to Lescaut; "it will be unsafe for me to remain in your house; we must leave this place at once."

I gave my arm to Manon, and we hastened away from a street that was now so full of danger for us. Lescaut accompanied us.