Manon Lescaut
doled out to me for nearly three months. I was very far, however, from
tasting perfect enjoyment; Manon's sufferings were mine. 'She must be
released,' said I to my companions: 'this was my sole object in
desiring my own liberty. I rely on your aiding me with all your
ingenuity; as for myself, my life shall be devoted to the purpose.'
"Lescaut, who was not deficient in tact, and still less in that better
part of valour called discretion, dwelt upon the necessity of acting
with extreme caution: he said that my escape from St. Lazare, and the
accident that happened on my leaving it, would assuredly create a
sensation; that the lieutenant-general of police would cause a strict
search to be made for me, and it would be difficult to evade him; in
fine, that, unless disposed to encounter something worse, perhaps, than
St. Lazare, it would be requisite for me to remain concealed for a few
days, in order to give the enemy's zeal time to cool. No doubt this
was wise counsel; but, one should have been wise oneself to have
followed it. Such calculating slowness little suited my passion. The
utmost I could bring myself to promise was, that I would sleep through
the whole of the next day. He locked me in my bedroom, where I
remained patiently until night.
"I employed great part of the time in devising schemes for relieving
Manon. I felt persuaded that her prison was even more inaccessible
than mine had been. Force was out of the question. Artifice was the
only resource; but the goddess of invention herself could not have told
me how to begin. I felt the impossibility of working in the dark, and
therefore postponed the further consideration of my schemes until I
could acquire some knowledge of the internal arrangements of the
Hospital, in which she was confined.
"As soon as night restored to me my liberty, I begged of Lescaut to
accompany me. We were not long in drawing one of the porters into
conversation; he appeared a reasonable man. I passed for a stranger
who had often with admiration heard talk of the Hospital, and of the
order that reigned within it. I enquired into the most minute details;
and, proceeding from one subject to another, we at length spoke of the
managers, and of these I begged to know the names and the respective
characters. He gave me such information upon the latter point as at
once suggested an idea which flattered my hopes, and I immediately set
about carrying it into execution.
"I asked him (this being a matter essential to my plan) whether any of
the gentlemen had children. He said he could not answer me with
certainty as to all, but as for M. de T----, one of the principal
directors, he knew that he had a son old enough to be married, and who
had come several times to the Hospital with his father. This was
enough for my purpose.
"I immediately put an end to our interview, and, in returning, I told
Lescaut of the plan I had formed. 'I have taken it,' said I, 'into my
head, that M. de T----, the son, who is rich and of good family, must
have the same taste for pleasure that other young men of his age
generally have. He could hardly be so bad a friend to the fair sex,
nor so absurd as to refuse his services in an affair of love. I have
arranged a plan for interesting him in favour of Manon. If he is a man
of feeling and of right mind, he will give us his assistance from
generosity. If he is not to be touched by a motive of this kind, he
will at least do something for a handsome girl, if it were only with
the hope of hereafter sharing her favours. I will not defer seeing
him,' added I, 'beyond tomorrow. I really feel so elated by this
project, that I derive from it a good omen.'
"Lescaut himself allowed that the idea was not unreasonable, and that
we might fairly entertain a hope of turning it to account. I passed the
night less sorrowfully.
"Next morning I dressed as well as, in my present state of indigence, I
could possibly contrive to do; and went in a hackney coach to the
residence of M. de T----. He was surprised at receiving a visit from a
perfect stranger. I augured favourably from his countenance and the
civility of his manner. I explained my object in the most candid way;
and, to excite his feelings as much as possible, I spoke of my ardent
passion and of Manon's merit, as of two things that were unequalled,
except by each other. He told me, that although he had never seen
Manon, he had heard of her; at least, if the person I was talking of
was the same who had been the mistress of old G---- M----. I
conjectured that he must have heard of the part I had acted in that
transaction, and in order to conciliate him more and more by treating
him with confidence, I told him everything that had occurred to Manon
and myself. 'You see, sir,' said I, 'that all that can interest me in
life, all that can command my affections, is in your hands. I have no
reserve with you, because I have been informed of your generous and
noble character; and, being of the same age, I trust I shall find some
resemblance in our dispositions.'
"He seemed flattered by this mark of candour and confidence. He
replied in a manner that became a man of the world, and a man of
feeling also, for they are not always synonymous terms. He told me
that he appreciated my visit as a piece of good fortune; that he
considered my friendship as a valuable acquisition, and that he would
endeavour to prove himself worthy of it, by the sincerity of his
services. He could not absolutely promise to restore Manon to my arms,
because, as he said, he himself had very little influence; but he
offered to procure me the pleasure of seeing her, and to do everything
in his power to effect her release. I was the more satisfied with this
frank avowal as to his want of influence, than I should have been by an
unqualified promise of fulfilling all my wishes. I found in his
moderation a pledge of his sincerity: in a word, I no longer doubted my
entire success. The promise alone of enabling me to see Manon filled
me with gratitude, and I testified it in so earnest a manner, as to
give him a favourable opinion of my heart and disposition; we shook
hands warmly, and parted sworn friends, merely from mutual regard, and
that natural feeling which prompts a man of kind and generous
sentiments to esteem another of congenial mind.
"He, indeed, exceeded me in the proofs of his esteem; for, inferring
from my adventures, and especially my late escape from St. Lazare, that
I might be in want of money, he offered me his purse, and pressed me to
accept it. I refused, but said to him, 'You are too kind, my dear sir!
If in addition to such proofs of kindness and friendship, you enable me
to see Manon again, rely on my eternal regard and gratitude. If you
succeed in restoring altogether this dear creature to my arms, I should
think myself happy in spilling the last drop of my blood in your
service.'
"Before we parted, we agreed as to the time and place for our meeting.
He was so considerate as to appoint the afternoon of the same day.
"I waited for him at a cafe, where he joined me about four o'clock, and
we went together towards the Magdalen; my knees trembled under me as I
crossed the courts. 'Ye heavenly powers!' said I, 'then I shall once
more behold the idol of my heart--the dear object of so many sighs and
lamentations! All I now ask of Providence is, to vouchsafe me strength
enough to reach her presence, and after that, to dispose as it pleaseth
of my future fate, and of my life itself. Beyond this, I have no
prayer to utter.'
"M. de T---- spoke to some of the porters of the establishment, who
appeared all anxious to please him. The quarter in which Manon's room
lay was pointed out to us, and our guide carried in his hand the key of
her chamber: it was of frightful size. I asked the man who conducted
us, and whose duty it was to attend to Manon, how she passed her time?
He said, that she had a temper of the most angelic sweetness; that even
he, disagreeable as his official duties must render him, had never
heard from her a single syllable in the nature of rebuke or harshness;
that her tears had never ceased to flow during the first six weeks
after her arrival, but that latterly she seemed to bear her misfortunes
with more resignation, and that she employed herself from morning till
night with her needle, excepting some hours that she, each day, devoted
to reading. I asked whether she had been decently provided for. He
assured me that at least she had never felt the want of necessaries.
"We now approached her door. My heart beat almost audibly in my bosom.
I said to M. de T----, 'Go in alone, and prepare her for my visit; I
fear that she may be overcome by seeing me unexpectedly.' The door was
opened. I remained in the passage, and listened to the conversation.
He said that he came to bring her consolation; that he was a friend of
mine, and felt deeply interested for the happiness of us both. She
asked with the tenderest anxiety, whether he could tell her what had
become of me. He promised that she should soon see me at her feet, as
affectionate and as faithful as ever. 'When?' she asked. 'This very
day,' said he; 'the happy moment shall not be long delayed; nay, this
very instant even, if you wish it.' She at once understood that I was
at the door; as she was rushing towards it, I entered. We embraced
each other with that abounding and impassioned tenderness, which an
absence of many months makes so delicious to those who truly love. Our
sighs, our broken exclamations, the thousand endearing appellations of
love, exchanged in languishing rapture, astonished M. de T----, and
affected him even to tears.
"'I cannot help envying you,' said he, as he begged us to be seated;
'there is no lot, however glorious, that I would hold as comparable to
the possession of a mistress at once so tender and impassioned.' 'Nor
would I,' I replied, 'give up her love for universal empire!'
"The remainder of an interview which had been so long and so ardently
desired by me, was of course as tender as the commencement. Poor Manon
related all her adventures, and I told her mine: we bitterly wept over
each other's story. M. de T---- consoled us by his renewed promises to
exert himself in our service. He advised us not to make this, our
first interview, of too long duration, that he might have the less
difficulty in procuring us the same enjoyment again. He at length
induced us to follow his advice. Manon especially could not reconcile
herself to the separation: she made me a hundred times resume my seat.
At one time she held me by my hands, at another by my coat. 'Alas!'
she said, 'in what an abode do you leave me! Who will answer for my
ever seeing you again?' M. de T---- promised her that he would often
come and see her with me. 'As to the abode,' he said, 'it must no
longer be called the Magdalen; it is Versailles! now that it contains a
person who deserves the empire of all hearts.'
"I made the man who attended a present as I went out, in order to
quicken his zeal and attentions. This fellow had a mind less rough and
vulgar than the generality of his class. He had witnessed our
interview, and was affected by it. The interest he felt was doubtless
increased by the louis d'or I gave him. He took me aside as we went
down into the courtyard. 'Sir,' said he, 'if you will only take me
into your service, or indemnify me in any way for the loss of the
situation which I fill here, I think I should not have much difficulty
in liberating the beauteous Manon.'
"I caught readily at the suggestion, and, although at the moment I was
almost in a state of destitution, I gave him promises far beyond his
desires. I considered that it would be at all times easy to recompense