Two days after the events we have just related, and whileGeneral Monk was expected every minute in the camp to whichhe did not return, a little Dutch felucca, manned by elevenmen, cast anchor upon the coast of Scheveningen, nearlywithin cannon-shot of the port. It was night, the darknesswas great, the tide rose in the darkness; it was a capitaltime to land passengers and merchandise.

The road of Scheveningen forms a vast crescent; it is notvery deep and not very safe; therefore, nothing is seenstationed there but large Flemish hoys, or some of thoseDutch barks which fishermen draw up on the sand on rollers,as the ancients did, according to Virgil. When the tide isrising, and advancing on land, it is not prudent to bringthe vessels too close inshore, for, if the wind is fresh,the prows are buried in the sand; and the sand of that coastis spongy; it receives easily, but does not yield so well.It was on this account, no doubt, that a boat was detachedfrom the bark as soon as the latter had cast anchor, andcame with eight sailors, amidst whom was to be seen anobject of an oblong form, a sort of large pannier or bale.

The shore was deserted; the few fishermen inhabiting thedown were gone to bed. The only sentinel that guarded thecoast (a coast very badly guarded, seeing that a landingfrom large ships was impossible), without having been ableto follow the example of the fishermen, who were gone tobed, imitated them so far, that he slept at the back of hiswatch-box as soundly as they slept in their beds. The onlynoise to be heard, then, was the whistling of the nightbreeze among the bushes and the brambles of the downs. Butthe people who were approaching were doubtless mistrustfulpeople, for this real silence and apparent solitude did notsatisfy them. Their boat, therefore, scarcely as visible asa dark speck upon the ocean, glided along noiselessly,avoiding the use of their oars for fear of being heard, andgained the nearest land.

Scarcely had it touched the ground when a single man jumpedout of the boat, after having given a brief order, in amanner which denoted the habit of commanding. In consequenceof this order, several muskets immediately glittered in thefeeble light reflected from that mirror of the heavens, thesea; and the oblong bale of which we spoke, containing nodoubt some contraband object, was transported to land, withinfinite precautions. Immediately after that, the man whohad landed first set off at a rapid pace diagonally towardsthe village of Scheveningen, directing his course to thenearest point of the wood. When there, he sought for thathouse already described as the temporary residence - and avery humble residence - of him who was styled by courtesyking of England.

All were asleep there, as everywhere else, only a large dog,of the race of those which the fishermen of Scheveningenharness to little carts to carry fish to the Hague, began tobark formidably as soon as the stranger's steps were audiblebeneath the windows. But the watchfulness, instead ofalarming the newly-landed man, appeared, on the contrary, togive him great joy, for his voice might perhaps have provedinsufficient to rouse the people of the house, whilst, withan auxiliary of that sort, his voice became almost useless.The stranger waited, then, till these reiterated andsonorous barkings should, according to all probability, haveproduced their effect, and then he ventured a summons. Onhearing his voice, the dog began to roar with such violencethat another voice was soon heard from the interior,quieting the dog. With that the dog was quieted.

"What do you want?" asked that voice, at the same time weak,broken, and civil.

"I want his majesty King Charles II., king of England," saidthe stranger.

"What do you want with him?"

"I want to speak to him."

"Who are you?"

"Ah! Mordioux! you ask too much; I don't like talkingthrough doors."

"Only tell me your name."

"I don't like to declare my name in the open air, either;besides, you may be sure I shall not eat your dog, and Ihope to God he will be as reserved with respect to me."

"You bring news, perhaps, monsieur, do you not?" replied thevoice, patient and querulous as that of an old man.

"I will answer for it, I bring you news you little expect.Open the door, then, if you please, hein!"

"Monsieur," persisted the old man, "do you believe, uponyour soul and conscience, that your news is worth waking theking?"

"For God's sake, my dear monsieur, draw your bolts; you willnot be sorry, I swear, for the trouble it will give you. Iam worth my weight in gold, parole d'honneur!"

"Monsieur, I cannot open the door till you have told me yourname."

"Must I, then?"

"It is by the order of my master, monsieur."

"Well, my name is - but, I warn you, my name will tell youabsolutely nothing."

"Never mind, tell it, notwithstanding."

"Well, I am the Chevalier d'Artagnan."

The voice uttered an exclamation.

"Oh! good heavens!" said a voice on the other side of thedoor. "Monsieur d'Artagnan. What happiness! I could not helpthinking I knew that voice."

"Humph!" said D'Artagnan. "My voice is known here! That'sflattering."

"Oh! yes, we know it," said the old man, drawing the bolts;"and here is the proof." And at these words he let inD'Artagnan, who, by the light of the lantern he carried inhis hand, recognized his obstinate interlocutor.

"Ah! Mordioux!" cried he: "why, it is Parry! I ought to haveknown that."

"Parry, yes, my dear Monsieur d'Artagnan, it is I. What joyto see you once again!"

"You are right there, what joy!" said D'Artagnan, pressingthe old man's hand. "There, now you'll go and inform theking, will you not?"

"But the king is asleep, my dear monsieur."

"Mordioux! then wake him. He won't scold you for havingdisturbed him, I will promise you."

"You come on the part of the count, do you not?"

"The Comte de la Fere?"

"From Athos?"

"Ma foi! no; I come on my own part. Come, Parry, quick! Theking - I want the king."

Parry did not think it his duty to resist any longer; heknew D'Artagnan of old; he knew that, although a Gascon, hiswords never promised more than they could stand to. Hecrossed a court and a little garden, appeased the dog, thatseemed most anxious to taste of the musketeer's flesh, andwent to knock at the window of a chamber forming theground-floor of a little pavilion. Immediately a little doginhabiting that chamber replied to the great dog inhabitingthe court.

"Poor king!" said D'Artagnan to himself, "these are hisbody-guards. It is true he is not the worse guarded on thataccount."

"What is wanted with me?" asked the king, from the back ofthe chamber.

"Sire, it is M. le Chevalier d'Artagnan, who brings you somenews."

A noise was immediately heard in the chamber, a door wasopened, and a flood of light inundated the corridor and thegarden. The king was working by the light of a lamp. Paperswere lying about upon his desk, and he had commenced thefoul copy of a letter which showed, by the numerouserasures, the trouble he had had in writing it.

"Come in, monsieur le chevalier," said he, turning around.Then perceiving the fisherman, "What do you mean, Parry?Where is M. le Chevalier d'Artagnan?" asked Charles.

"He is before you, sire," said M. d'Artagnan.

"What, in that costume?"

"Yes; look at me, sire; do you not remember having seen meat Blois, in the ante-chambers of King Louis XIV.?"

"Yes, monsieur, and I remember I was much pleased with you."

D'Artagnan bowed. "It was my duty to behave as I did, themoment I knew that I had the honor of being near yourmajesty."

"You bring me news, do you say?"

"Yes, sire."

"From the king of France?"

"Ma foi! no, sire," replied D'Artagnan. "Your majesty musthave seen yonder that the king of France is only occupiedwith his own majesty."

Charles raised his eyes towards heaven.

"No, sire, no," continued D'Artagnan. "I bring news entirelycomposed of personal facts. Nevertheless, I hope yourmajesty will listen to the facts and news with some favor."

"Speak, monsieur."

"If I am not mistaken, sire, your majesty spoke a greatdeal, at Blois, of the embarrassed state in which theaffairs of England are."

Charles colored. "Monsieur," said he, "it was to the king ofFrance I related - - "

"Oh! your majesty is mistaken," said the musketeer, coolly;"I know how to speak to kings in misfortune. It is only whenthey are in misfortune that they speak to me; oncefortunate, they look upon me no more. I have, then, for yourmajesty, not only the greatest respect, but, still more, themost absolute devotion; and that, believe me, with me, sire,means something. Now, hearing your majesty complain of fate,I found that you were noble and generous, and boremisfortune well."

"In truth," said Charles, much astonished, "I do not knowwhich I ought to prefer, your freedoms or your respects."

"You will choose presently, sire," said D'Artagnan. "Thenyour majesty complained to your brother, Louis XIV., of thedifficulty you experienced in returning to England andregaining your throne for want of men and money."

Charles allowed a movement of impatience to escape him.

"And the principal object your majesty found in your way,"continued D'Artagnan, "was a certain general commanding thearmies of the parliament, and who was playing yonder thepart of another Cromwell. Did not your majesty say so?"

"Yes, but I repeat to you, monsieur, those words were forthe king's ears alone."

"And you will see, sire, that it is very fortunate that theyfell into those of his lieutenant of musketeers. That man sotroublesome to your majesty was one General Monk, I believe;did I not hear his name correctly, sire?"

"Yes, monsieur, but once more, to what purpose are all thesequestions?"

"Oh! I know very well, sire, that etiquette will not allowkings to be questioned. I hope, however, presently you willpardon my want of etiquette. Your majesty added that,notwithstanding, if you could see him, confer with him, andmeet him face to face, you would triumph, either by force orpersuasion, over that obstacle - the only serious one, theonly insurmountable one, the only real one you met with onyour road."

"All that is true, monsieur: my destiny, my future, myobscurity, or my glory depend upon that man; but what do youdraw from that?"

"One thing alone, that if this General Monk is troublesometo the point your majesty describes, it would be expedientto get rid of him or to make an ally of him."

"Monsieur, a king who has neither army nor money, as youhave heard my conversation with my brother Louis, has nomeans of acting against a man like Monk."

"Yes, sire, that was your opinion, I know very well; but,fortunately, for you, it was not mine."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That, without an army and without a million, I have done - I, myself - what your majesty thought could alone be donewith an army and a million."

"How! What do you say? What have you done?"

"What have I done? Eh! well, sire, I went yonder to takethis man who is so troublesome to your majesty."

"In England?"

"Exactly, sire."

"You went to take Monk in England?"

"Should I by chance have done wrong, sire?"

"In truth, you are mad, monsieur!"

"Not the least in the world, sire."

"You have taken Monk?"

"Yes, sire."

"Where?"

"In the midst of his camp."

The king trembled with impatience.

"And having taken him on the causeway of Newcastle, I bringhim to your majesty," said D'Artagnan, simply.

"You bring him to me!" cried the king, almost indignant atwhat he considered a mystification.

"Yes, sire," replied D'Artagnan, the same tone, "I bring himto you; he is down below yonder, in a large chest piercedwith holes, so as to allow him to breathe."

"Good God!"

"Oh! don't be uneasy, sire, we have taken the greatestpossible care of him. He comes in good state, and in perfectcondition. Would your majesty please to see him, to talkwith him, or to have him thrown into the sea?"

"Oh, heavens!" repeated Charles, "oh, heavens! do you speakthe truth, monsieur? Are you not insulting me with someunworthy joke? You have accomplished this unheard-of act ofaudacity and genius - impossible!"

"Will your majesty permit me to open the window?" saidD'Artagnan, opening it.

The king had not time to reply, yes on no. D'Artagnan gave ashrill and prolonged whistle, which he repeated three timesthrough the silence of the night.

"There!" said he, "he will be brought to your majesty."