The Story of Manon Lescaut and of the Chevalier des Grieux/Chapter 15

by L'Abbé Prévost

Chapter XV.

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It was with a heavy heart that I saw Manon start for Paris with Marcel, our valet. As I kissed her good-bye I could not help exclaiming:

"You are not deceiving me, Manon? You will be faithful to me?"

She reproached me tenderly for my suspicions, and reiterated all her vows of constancy.

She expected to arrive in town at about three o'clock. I left soon after her, and went to the Café de Féré on the Pont Saint-Michel, to while away the remainder of the afternoon as best I could. I stayed there until dusk. Then I went out and took a hackney-coach, which I left standing, as we had arranged, at the head of the Rue Saint-André-des-Arcs, while I proceeded on foot to the doors of the Comédie. I was surprised not to find Marcel awaiting me there, as he was to have done. However, I nursed my impatience for an hour, mingling with a crowd of footmen, and keeping a sharp look-out on all passers-by.

At last, when the clock had struck seven, and I still saw no sign of our plans being carried out, I bought a ticket for the pit, and went in to see whether I could discover Manon and G——— M——— in the boxes. Neither of them were there. I returned to the door, where I spent another quarter of an hour in an agony of impatience and anxiety. Nothing rewarding my vigilance, I walked back to the coach, utterly at a loss as to what my next step should be. The driver, as soon as he caught sight of me, came forward to meet me, and informed me with an air of great mystery, that a pretty young lady had been waiting for me in the coach for more than an hour. She had described my appearance so accurately that he was sure it was I whom she wanted to see; and, on learning that I was coming back to the coach, she had remarked that she was in no hurry and would wait for me.

I jumped to the conclusion that it was Manon; but the pretty little face I saw as I approached the carriage was not hers, as I had hoped, but a stranger's.

"Have I not the honor of addressing the Chevalier des Grieux?" she began.

I told her that such was my name.

"I have a letter for you," she then said, "which will tell you what has brought me here, and explain how it is that I have the advantage of being acquainted with your name."

I begged her to excuse me for a few minutes while I went into a tavern near by to read it. She expressed a wish to go with me, and advised me to ask for a private room.

"From whom does this letter come?" I asked, as we were on our way upstairs.

"Read it, and you will see," was her response.

I recognized the writing; it was Manon's; and the substance of what she wrote me was as follows:

G——— M——— had welcomed her with a degree of homage and magnificence that surpassed all her expectations—loading her down with gifts and preparing her to lead a life of almost queenly luxury. She assured me, however, that she was not forgetting me in the midst of this new splendor; but she had not been able to persuade G——— M——— to take her to the Comédie that evening, and must therefore postpone the pleasure of seeing me until another day. To console me in some degree for the pain which she foresaw this news might occasion me, she had succeeded in getting one of the prettiest of the frail sisterhood of Paris to be the bearer of her note, which was signed "Your faithful love, Manon Lescaut."

There was something so wantonly cruel and insulting to me in the whole tone of this letter that for some moments I scarcely knew whether rage or grief had the mastery in my heart, and was conscious only of the determination to make one final and desperate effort to banish my perjured and ungrateful mistress forever from my thoughts.

I glanced at the girl before me. She was extremely pretty; and I could have wished that she were beautiful enough to make me forswear honor and constancy in my turn. But hers were not those bright and melting eyes, that divinely moulded form, that complexion of love's own coloring—in a word, that inexhaustible wealth of charms which Nature had lavished upon the faithless Manon.

"No! It cannot be!" I exclaimed, as I withdrew my gaze from her face. "The heartless being from whom you come was only too well aware that she was sending you on a vain errand. Go back to her, and tell her in my name to enjoy the fruits of her guilt—to enjoy them, if she can, without remorse. For my part, I renounce her now and forever—her and all her sex, none of whom can equal her in loveliness, but all of whom, I doubt not, are as base and as disloyal as herself!"

So saying, I turned away, and was about to leave the house and relinquish forever all claim to Manon's affections. The mortal jealousy which was consuming my heart had taken the guise of a dark and mournful apathy, which led me to imagine that I was nearly cured of my passion, since I was conscious of none of those violent emotions which had agitated me on previous occasions of this kind. Had I but realized it, alas! I was being hood-winked by Love as completely as I supposed myself to have been by G——— M——— and Manon.

Seeing that I was on the point of going downstairs, the girl who had brought me the letter asked me what I wished her to tell M. de G——— M——— and the lady who was with him. At this question I returned to the room, and, by a revulsion of feeling which would be thought incredible by any one who has never been the victim of violent passions, my delusive calmness suddenly deserted me and gave place to an uncontrollable outburst of rage.

"Go!" I cried, "go, and tell that traitor G——— M——— and his false-hearted mistress to what despair your accursed letter has driven me; but warn them that they shall not long make merry over it, for this hand of mine shall soon guide the dagger to both their hearts."

I threw myself into a chair, letting my hat fall from one hand and my cane from the other, while bitter tears began to stream from my eyes. The passionate indignation which had swept over me only a moment since now died away, and left behind it a melancholy so profound that I could only sit and weep, save that every now and again there broke from my lips a heavy sigh, or a groan of anguish.

"Come, child, come nearer," I said at last, turning to the young girl; "come to me, since you have been sent to console me. Tell me if you know of any consolation to offer a heart that is tortured with rage and despair; tell me how to still this imperious longing to kill two false wretches who are unworthy to draw breath, and, that done, to put an end to my own life. Yes, come to me," I continued, as I saw her take one or two timid and faltering steps towards me, "come, and wipe away my tears; come, and restore peace to my heart; come, and tell me that you love me, so that I may grow accustomed to being loved by another, now that my faithless one has deserted me. You are beautiful: perchance I may yet be able to love you in return."

The poor child, who was not more than sixteen or seventeen years of age, and who seemed to be possessed of more modesty than is common among her class, was utterly bewildered by this unwonted scene. She approached me, however, and would have caressed me, but I thrust her quickly away, and exclaimed, as I held her from me at arm's length:

"Stop! Do not touch me! Pah! Are you not a woman, one of a sex which I abhor, the very sight of which is more than I can bear? The sweetness of your face is in itself a menace of some new treachery. Go! and leave me here alone!"

She ventured no reply, but made me a bow, and turned to leave the room. I called out to her to stay.

"Tell me at least, before you go," I resumed, "why, how, and with what object you were sent here. How did you learn my name, and where to find me?"

She then told me that M. de G——— M——— was an old acquaintance of hers. At five o'clock that afternoon he had sent for her; and, on following the lackey who had brought his message, she had been taken to a fine mansion where she had found him playing at piquet with a very beautiful lady. She had received instructions from them both to deliver the letter which she had placed in my hands, having first been told by them that she would find me waiting in a coach at the end of the Rue Saint-André.

I inquired whether this was all they had said to her. She replied, with a blush, that they had led her to hope that I would take her to live with me as my mistress.

"Then," said I, "they deceived you, my poor girl, they deceived you cruelly. You are a woman, and being a woman, you cannot do without a lover. But you want a lover who is rich and happy, and you will not find him here. Go back to G——— M———; yes, be advised by me, and go back to him. He can boast of all that a man need have in order to win the favor of the fair. He can lavish upon them gifts of houses, and carriages, and whole retinues of servants. As for me, who have only love and constancy to offer, women scorn my poverty and make sport of my simplicity!"

Thus did I run on, now in a strain of sadness, now of indignation, as each of the various passions that were contending in my breast in turn subsided or gained the upper hand. Gradually, however, my self-tormentings had the effect of calming the tumult of my feelings sufficiently to allow of my making some reflections.

I compared this last misfortune with the others of the same kind which I had already endured, and I saw no more reason to despair in this than in the former cases. Understanding Manon's character as I did, why should I allow myself to be overwhelmed by a trial which I ought to have foreseen and guarded against? Why not rather set about discovering some way of remedying it? It was not yet too late. At all events, I felt that I must spare no pains in the task, unless I wished to have myself to reproach for contributing to my own unhappiness by my negligence. I began at once, therefore, to consider every expedient that seemed to hold out the least ray of hope.

To attempt to wrest her forcibly from the clutches of G——— M——— would be a desperate undertaking, likely to result only in my ruin, and presenting absolutely no prospect of success. But I was convinced that if I could find some way of speaking to her, if only for a few short moments, I could not fail to touch her heart in my favor—so well did I know its tender places, so sure was I that she really loved me! I would have been willing to wager that this whimsical notion of sending a pretty girl to comfort me had originated with her, and was simply an outcome of the compassion she was feeling for me in my distress. I was resolved that I would see her and speak to her at whatever cost.

After passing many plans under consideration, I decided upon the following one. M. de T——— had given evidence of such warm friendship in the services he had already rendered me, that it was impossible for me to entertain the slightest doubt of his sincerity and devotion. I determined to go to him at once, and persuade him to send for G——— M——— under pretence of having important business to transact with him. Half an hour would suffice for all I had to say to Manon. My design was nothing more nor less than to gain access to her own room; and this I believed that I could easily accomplish during G——— M———'s absence.

This resolution having somewhat restored my peace of mind, I paid the young girl (who was still with me) handsomely for her services; and, in order to deter her from going back to those who had sent her, I made a note of her address, leading her to expect a visit from me later in the evening. Then, getting into the coach again, I drove as fast as the horses could carry me to M. de T———'s house. I was fortunate enough to find him at home; having been in an agony of apprehension all the way lest he might be out when I arrived. In a few words I acquainted him with my troubles, and with the service I had come to ask at his hands.

M. de T——— was so amazed to learn that G——— M——— had succeeded in seducing Manon, that, not being aware of how far I had been instrumental in bringing this misfortune upon myself, he generously offered to gather all his friends together and rescue my mistress by force of arms. I pointed out to him that the scandal which would inevitably be created by such an affray might be fraught with dangerous results for Manon and myself.

"We will have no bloodshed," said I, "until we are driven to the last extremity. The plan I have in view is less violent, but, I expect, will prove quite as successful."

He pledged himself unconditionally to do anything I might require of him; and when I repeated that all that was needed was for him to send word to G——— M——— that he wished to speak to him, and to keep him out of the way for an hour or two, he at once set out with me to do as I desired.

We cast about for some plausible pretext that he could use for detaining G——— M——— so long. I advised that he should first write a short note, dated at some tavern, asking him to come there at once on an affair of such importance that it would not brook delay.

"I will be on the watch," I added, "to see him leave the house. I can then easily effect an entrance, as I am known to no one in it, except Manon and Marcel, my own valet. In the meanwhile, you, who will be with G——— M———, can tell him that the important matter concerning which you are are anxious to speak to him is your pressing need of some money, as you have just lost all your own at play, and have staked your honor for a great deal more with the same unfortunate result. It will take some time for him to go to his banker's with you; and this will give me all I need for the execution of my design."

M. de T——— followed out this arrangement in every detail. I left him in a tavern, where he lost no time in writing his letter; while I went and posted myself at a few paces' distance from Manon's house. I saw the bearer of the message arrive, and G——— M——— leave the house a few moments afterwards, and walk away, followed by a lackey. After giving him time to get well out of the street, I went up to my faithless mistress's door, and, in spite of all my indignation, knocked at it as reverentially as though it had been the portal of a temple.

Fortunately for me it was Marcel who answered the summons. I made him a sign to be silent, although, indeed, I had nothing to fear from the other servants. I asked him in an undertone whether he could take me to the room Manon was in without my being observed. He replied that that could be easily done, by creeping cautiously up the main staircase.

"Come quickly, then," said I, "and try to prevent any one from going up while I am there."

I succeeded in reaching her apartments without encountering any obstacle.