La Rochelle, deprived of the assistance of the English fleet and of thediversion promised by Buckingham, surrendered after a siege of a year.On the twenty-eighth of October, 1628, the capitulation was signed.

The king made his entrance into Paris on the twenty-third of December ofthe same year. He was received in triumph, as if he came fromconquering an enemy and not Frenchmen. He entered by the Faubourg St.Jacques, under verdant arches.

D'Artagnan took possession of his command. Porthos left the service,and in the course of the following year married Mme. Coquenard; thecoffer so much coveted contained eight hundred thousand livres.

Mousqueton had a magnificent livery, and enjoyed the satisfaction ofwhich he had been ambitious all his life - that of standing behind agilded carriage.

Aramis, after a journey into Lorraine, disappeared all at once, andceased to write to his friends; they learned at a later period throughMme. de Chevreuse, who told it to two or three of her intimates, that,yielding to his vocation, he had retired into a convent - only intowhich, nobody knew.

Bazin became a lay brother.

Athos remained a Musketeer under the command of D'Artagnan till the year1633, at which period, after a journey he made to Touraine, he also quitthe service, under the pretext of having inherited a small property inRoussillon.

Grimaud followed Athos.

D'Artagnan fought three times with Rochefort, and wounded him threetimes.

"I shall probably kill you the fourth," said he to him, holding out hishand to assist him to rise.

"It is much better both for you and for me to stop where we are,"answered the wounded man. "CORBLEU - I am more your friend than youthink - for after our very first encounter, I could by saying a word tothe cardinal have had your throat cut!"

They this time embraced heartily, and without retaining any malice.

Planchet obtained from Rochefort the rank of sergeant in the Piedmontregiment.

M. Bonacieux lived on very quietly, wholly ignorant of what had become of hiswife, and caring very little about it. One day he had the imprudence torecall himself to the memory of the cardinal. The cardinal had him informedthat he would provide for him so that he should never want for anything infuture. In fact, M. Bonacieux, having left his house at seven o'clock in theevening to go to the Louvre, never appeared again in the Rue des Fossoyeurs;the opinion of those who seemed to be best informed was that he was fed andlodged in some royal castle, at the expense of his generous Eminence.