"NeverthelessIamsuffocated。Fran鏾is。"？Fran鏾isentered。？"Openthewindows，Iprayyou，MasterFran鏾is，"saidAramis。？"Youwillallowhim，dearM。Baisemeaux？"
"Youareathomehere，"answeredthegovernor。？Thewindowwasopened。？"Doyounotthink，"saidM。deBaisemeaux，"thatyouwillfindyourselfverylonely，nowM。delaF鑢ehasreturnedtohishouseholdgodsatBlois？？Heisaveryoldfriend，ishenot？"
"YouknowitasIdo，Baisemeaux，seeingthatyouwereinthemusketeerswithus。"
"Bah！
withmyfriendsIreckonneitherbottlesofwinenoryears。"
"Andyouareright。？ButIdomorethanloveM。delaF鑢e，dearBaisemeaux;Iveneratehim。"
"Well，formypart，though'tissingular，"saidthegovernor，"IpreferM。
d'Artagnantohim。？Thereisamanforyou，whodrinkslongandwell！？Thatkindofpeopleallowyouatleasttopenetratetheirthoughts。"
"Baisemeaux，makemetipsyto—night;letushaveamerrytimeofitasofold，andifIhaveatroubleatthebottomofmyheart，Ipromiseyou，youshallseeitasyouwouldadiamondatthebottomofyourglass。"
"Bravo！"
saidBaisemeaux，andhepouredoutagreatglassofwineanddrankitoffatadraught，tremblingwithjoyattheideaofbeing，byhookorbycrook，inthesecretofsomehigharchiepiscopalmisdemeanor。？WhilehewasdrinkinghedidnotseewithwhatattentionAramiswasnotingthesoundsinthegreatcourt。？Acouriercameinabouteighto'clockasFran鏾isbroughtinthefifthbottle，and，althoughthecouriermadeagreatnoise，Baisemeauxheardnothing。
"Thedeviltakehim，"saidAramis。
"What！
who？"askedBaisemeaux。？"I
hope'tisneitherthewineyoudranknorhewhoisthecauseofyourdrinkingit。"
"No;
itisahorse，whoismakingnoiseenoughinthecourtforawholesquadron。"
"Pooh！
somecourierorother，"repliedthegovernor，redoublinghisattentiontothepassingbottle。？"Yes;andmaythedeviltakehim，andsoquicklythatweshallneverhearhimspeakmore。？Hurrah！hurrah！"
"Youforgetme，Baisemeaux！myglassisempty，"saidAramis，liftinghisdazzlingVenetiangoblet。
"Uponmyhonor，youdelightme。？Fran鏾is，wine！"？Fran鏾isentered。？"Wine，fellow！andbetter。"
"Yes，monsieur，yes;butacourierhasjustarrived。"
"Lethimgotothedevil，Isay。"
"Yes，monsieur，but—"
"Lethimleavehisnewsattheoffice;wewillseetoitto—morrow。？To—morrow，therewillbetimeto—morrow;
therewillbedaylight，"saidBaisemeaux，chantingthewords。
"Ah，monsieur，"grumbledthesoldierFran鏾is，inspiteofhimself，"monsieur。"
"Takecare，"saidAramis，"takecare！"
"Ofwhat？dearM。d'Herblay，"saidBaisemeaux，halfintoxicated。
"Theletterwhichthecourierbringstothegovernorofafortressissometimesanorder。"
"Nearlyalways。"
"Donotordersissuefromtheministers？"
"Yes，undoubtedly;but—"
"Andwhattotheseministersdobutcountersignthesignatureoftheking？"
"Perhapsyouareright。？Nevertheless，'tisverytiresomewhenyouaresittingbeforeagoodtable，t阾e—？t阾ewithafriend—Ah！Ibegyourpardon，monsieur;I
forgotitisIwhoengageyouatsupper，andthatIspeaktoafuturecardinal。"
"Letuspassoverthat，dearBaisemeaux，andreturntooursoldier，toFran鏾is。"
"Well，andwhathasFran鏾isdone？"
"Hehasdemurred！"
"Hewaswrong，then？"
"However，hehasdemurred，yousee;'tisbecausethereissomethingextraordinaryinthismatter。？ItisverypossiblethatitwasnotFran鏾iswhowaswrongindemurring，butyou，whoareinthewronginnotlisteningtohim。"
"Wrong？？ItobewrongbeforeFran鏾is？thatseemsratherhard。"
"Pardonme，merelyanirregularity。？ButI
thoughtitmydutytomakeanobservationwhichIdeemimportant。"
"Oh！
perhapsyouareright，"stammeredBaisemeaux。？"Theking'sorderissacred;butastoordersthatarrivewhenoneisatsupper，Irepeatthatthedevil—"
"Ifyouhadsaidasmuchtothegreatcardinal—hem！mydearBaisemeaux，andifhisorderhadanyimportance。"
"I
doitthatImaynotdisturbabishop。？Mordioux！amInot，then，excusable？"
"Donotforget，Baisemeaux，thatIhavewornthesoldier'scoat，andIamaccustomedtoobedienceeverywhere。"
"Youwish，then—"
"I
wishthatyouwoulddoyourduty，myfriend;yes，atleastbeforethissoldier。"
"'Tismathematicallytrue，"exclaimedBaisemeaux。？Fran鏾isstillwaited:"Letthemsendthisorderoftheking'suptome，"herepeated，recoveringhimself。？Andheaddedinalowtone，"Doyouknowwhatitis？？Iwilltellyousomethingaboutasinterestingasthis。？'Bewareoffirenearthepowdermagazine;'or，'Lookcloseaftersuchandsuchaone，whoiscleveratescaping，'？Ah！ifyouonlyknew，monseigneur，howmanytimesIhavebeensuddenlyawakenedfromtheverysweetest，deepestslumber，bymessengersarrivingatfullgalloptotellme，orrather，bringmeaslipofpapercontainingthesewords:'MonsieurdeBaisemeaux，whatnews？'？'TisclearenoughthatthosewhowastetheirtimewritingsuchordershaveneversleptintheBastile。？Theywouldknowbetter;theyhaveneverconsideredthethicknessofmywalls，thevigilanceofmyofficers，thenumberofroundswego。？But，indeed，whatcanyouexpect，monseigneur？？ItistheirbusinesstowriteandtormentmewhenIamatrest，andtotroublemewhenIamhappy，"addedBaisemeaux，bowingtoAramis。？"Thenletthemdotheirbusiness。"
"Anddoyoudoyours，"addedthebishop，smiling。
Fran鏾isre—entered;Baisemeauxtookfromhishandstheminister'sorder。？Heslowlyundidit，andasslowlyreadit。？Aramispretendedtobedrinking，soastobeabletowatchhishostthroughtheglass。？Then，Baisemeaux，havingreadit:"WhatwasIjustsaying？"heexclaimed。
"Whatisit？"askedthebishop。
"Anorderofrelease！？There，now;excellentnewsindeedtodisturbus！"
"Excellentnewsforhimwhomitconcerns，youwillatleastagree，mydeargovernor！"
"Andateighto'clockintheevening！"
"Itischaritable！"
"Oh！
charityisallverywell，butitisforthatfellowwhosaysheissowearyandtired，butnotformewhoamamusingmyself，"saidBaisemeaux，exasperated。
"Willyoulosebyhim，then？？Andistheprisonerwhoistobesetatlibertyagoodpayer？"
"Oh，yes，indeed！amiserable，five—francrat！"
"Letmeseeit，"askedM。d'Herblay。？"Itisnoindiscretion？"
"Bynomeans;readit。"
"Thereis'Urgent，'onthepaper;youhaveseenthat，Isuppose？"
"Oh，admirable！？'Urgent！'—amanwhohasbeentheretenyears！？Itisurgenttosethimfreeto—day，thisveryevening，ateighto'clock！—urgent！"？AndBaisemeaux，shrugginghisshoulderswithanairofsupremedisdain，flungtheorderonthetableandbeganeatingagain。
"Theyarefondofthesetricks！"hesaid，withhismouthfull;"theyseizeaman，somefineday，keephimunderlockandkeyfortenyears，andwritetoyou，'Watchthisfellowwell，'or'Keephimverystrictly。'？Andthen，assoonasyouareaccustomedtolookupontheprisonerasadangerousman，allofasudden，withoutrhymeorreasontheywrite—'Sethimatliberty，'andactuallyaddtotheirmissive—
'urgent。'？Youwillown，mylord，'tisenoughtomakeamanatdinnershrughisshoulders！"
"Whatdoyouexpect？？Itisforthemtowrite，"saidAramis，"foryoutoexecutetheorder。"
"Good！
good！executeit！？Oh，patience！？YoumustnotimaginethatIamaslave。"
"GraciousHeaven！myverygoodM。Baisemeaux，whoeversaidso？？Yourindependenceiswellknown。"
"ThankHeaven！"
"Butyourgoodnessofheartisalsoknown。"
"Ah！
don'tspeakofit！"
"Andyourobediencetoyoursuperiors。？Onceasoldier，yousee，Baisemeaux，alwaysasoldier。"
"AndIshalldirectlyobey;andto—morrowmorning，atdaybreak，theprisonerreferredtoshallbesetfree。"
"To—morrow？"
"Atdawn。"
"Whynotthisevening，seeingthatthelettredecachetbears，bothonthedirectionandinside，'urgent'？"
"Becausethiseveningweareatsupper，andouraffairsareurgent，too！"
"DearBaisemeaux，bootedthoughIbe，Ifeelmyselfapriest，andcharityhashigherclaimsuponmethanhungerandthirst。？Thisunfortunatemanhassufferedlongenough，sinceyouhavejusttoldmethathehasbeenyourprisonerthesetenyears。？Abridgehissuffering。？Hisgoodtimehascome;givehimthebenefitquickly。？GodwillrepayyouinParadisewithyearsoffelicity。"
"Youwishit？"
"I
entreatyou。"
"What！
intheverymiddleofourrepast？"
"I
imploreyou;suchanactionisworthtenBenedicites。"
"Itshallbeasyoudesire，onlyoursupperwillgetcold。"
"Oh！
neverheedthat。"
BaisemeauxleanedbacktoringforFran鏾is，andbyaverynaturalmotionturnedroundtowardsthedoor。？Theorderhadremainedonthetable;AramisseizedtheopportunitywhenBaisemeauxwasnotlookingtochangethepaperforanother，foldedinthesamemanner，whichhedrewswiftlyfromhispocket。？"Fran鏾is，"saidthegovernor，"letthemajorcomeupherewiththeturnkeysoftheBertaudi鑢e。"？Fran鏾isbowedandquittedtheroom，leavingthetwocompanionsalone。
ChapterVIII:
TheGeneraloftheOrder。
Therewasnowabriefsilence，duringwhichAramisneverremovedhiseyesfromBaisemeauxforamoment。？Thelatterseemedonlyhalfdecidedtodisturbhimselfthusinthemiddleofsupper，anditwasclearhewastryingtoinventsomepretext，whethergoodorbad，fordelay，atanyratetillafterdessert。？Anditappearedalsothathehadhituponanexcuseatlast。
"Eh！
butitisimpossible！"hecried。
"Howimpossible？"saidAramis。？"Givemeaglimpseofthisimpossibility。"
"'Tisimpossibletosetaprisoneratlibertyatsuchanhour。？Wherecanhegoto，amansounacquaintedwithParis？"
"Hewillfindaplacewhereverhecan。"
"Yousee，now，onemightaswellsetablindmanfree！"
"I
haveacarriage，andwilltakehimwhereverhewishes。"
"Youhaveananswerforeverything。？Fran鏾is，tellmonsieurlemajortogoandopenthecellofM。Seldon，No。3，Bertaudi鑢e。"
"Seldon！"
exclaimedAramis，verynaturally。？"YousaidSeldon，Ithink？"
"I
saidSeldon，ofcourse。？'Tisthenameofthemantheysetfree。"
"Oh！
youmeantosayMarchiali？"saidAramis。
"Marchiali？
oh！yes，indeed。？No，no，Seldon。"
"I
thinkyouaremakingamistake，MonsieurBaisemeaux。"
"I
havereadtheorder。"
"AndIalso。"
"AndIsaw'Seldon'inlettersaslargeasthat，"andBaisemeauxhelduphisfinger。
"AndIread'Marchiali'incharactersaslargeasthis，"saidAramis，alsoholdinguptwofingers。
"Totheproof;letusthrowalightonthematter，"saidBaisemeaux，confidenthewasright。？"Thereisthepaper，youhaveonlytoreadit。"
"I
read'Marchiali，'"returnedAramis，spreadingoutthepaper。？"Look。"
Baisemeauxlooked，andhisarmsdroppedsuddenly。？"Yes，yes，"hesaid，quiteoverwhelmed;"yes，Marchiali。？'TisplainlywrittenMarchiali！？Quitetrue！"
"Ah！
—"
"How？
themanofwhomwehavetalkedsomuch？？Themanwhomtheyareeverydaytellingmetotakesuchcareof？"
"Thereis'Marchiali，'"repeatedtheinflexibleAramis。
"I
mustownit，monseigneur。？ButI
understandnothingaboutit。"
"Youbelieveyoureyes，atanyrate。"
"Totellmeveryplainlythereis'Marchiali。'"
"Andinagoodhandwriting，too。"
"'Tisawonder！？IstillseethisorderandthenameofSeldon，Irishman。？Iseeit。？Ah！？Ievenrecollectthatunderthisnametherewasablotofink。"
"No，thereisnoink;no，thereisnoblot。"
"Oh！
buttherewas，though;Iknowit，becauseIrubbedmyfinger—thisveryone—
inthepowderthatwasovertheblot。"
"Inaword，beithowitmay，dearM。Baisemeaux，"saidAramis，"andwhateveryoumayhaveseen，theorderissignedtoreleaseMarchiali，blotornoblot。"
"TheorderissignedtoreleaseMarchiali，"repliedBaisemeaux，mechanically，endeavoringtoregainhiscourage。
"Andyouaregoingtoreleasethisprisoner。？IfyourheartdictatesyoutodeliverSeldonalso，IdeclaretoyouI
willnotopposeittheleastintheworld。"？Aramisaccompaniedthisremarkwithasmile，theironyofwhicheffectuallydispelledBaisemeaux'sconfusionofmind，andrestoredhiscourage。
"Monseigneur，"
hesaid，"thisMarchialiistheverysameprisonerwhomtheotherdayapriestconfessorofourordercametovisitinsoimperiousandsosecretamanner。"
"I
don'tknowthat，monsieur，"repliedthebishop。
"'Tisnosuchlongtimeago，dearMonsieurd'Herblay。"
"Itistrue。？Butwithus，monsieur，itisgoodthatthemanofto—dayshouldnolongerknowwhatthemanofyesterdaydid。"
"Inanycase，"saidBaisemeaux，"thevisitoftheJesuitconfessormusthavegivenhappinesstothisman。"
Aramismadenoreply，butrecommencedeatinganddrinking。？AsforBaisemeaux，nolongertouchinganythingthatwasonthetable，heagaintookuptheorderandexaminediteveryway。？Thisinvestigation，underordinarycircumstances，wouldhavemadetheearsoftheimpatientAramisburnwithanger;butthebishopofVannesdidnotbecomeincensedforsolittle，aboveall，whenhehadmurmuredtohimselfthattodosowasdangerous。？"AreyougoingtoreleaseMarchiali？"
hesaid。？"Whatmellow，fragrantanddelicioussherrythisis，mydeargovernor。"
"Monseigneur，"
repliedBaisemeaux，"IshallreleasetheprisonerMarchialiwhenIhavesummonedthecourierwhobroughttheorder，andaboveall，when，byinterrogatinghim，Ihavesatisfiedmyself。"
"Theorderissealed，andthecourierisignorantofthecontents。？Whatdoyouwanttosatisfyyourselfabout？"
"Beitso，monseigneur;butIshallsendtotheministry，andM。deLyonnewilleitherconfirmorwithdrawtheorder。"
"Whatisthegoodofallthat？"askedAramis，coldly。
"Whatgood？"
"Yes;
whatisyourobject，Iask？"
"Theobjectofneverdeceivingoneself，monseigneur;norbeingwantingintherespectwhichasubalternowestohissuperiorofficers，norinfringingthedutiesofaserviceonehasacceptedofone'sownfreewill。"
"Verygood;youhavejustspokensoeloquently，thatIcannotbutadmireyou。？Itistruethatasubalternowesrespecttohissuperiors;heisguiltywhenhedeceiveshimself，andheshouldbepunishedifheinfringedeitherthedutiesorlawsofhisoffice。"
Baisemeauxlookedatthebishopwithastonishment。
"Itfollows，"pursuedAramis，"thatyouaregoingtoaskadvice，toputyourconscienceateaseinthematter？"
"Yes，monseigneur。"
"Andifasuperiorofficergivesyouorders，youwillobey？"
"Neverdoubtit，monseigneur。"
"Youknowtheking'ssignaturewell，M。deBaisemeaux？"
"Yes，monseigneur。"
"Isitnotonthisorderofrelease？"
"Itistrue，butitmay—"
"Beforged，youmean？"
"Thatisevident，monseigneur。"
"Youareright。？AndthatofM。deLyonne？"
"I
seeitplainenoughontheorder;butforthesamereasonthattheking'ssignaturemayhavebeenforged，soalso，andwithevengreaterprobability，mayM。deLyonne's。"
"Yourlogichasthestrideofagiant，M。deBaisemeaux，"saidAramis;"andyourreasoningisirresistible。？Butonwhatspecialgroundsdoyoubaseyourideathatthesesignaturesarefalse？"
"Onthis:theabsenceofcounter—signatures。？Nothingcheckshismajesty'ssignature;andM。deLyonneisnottheretotellmehehassigned。"
"Well，MonsieurdeBaisemeaux，"saidAramis，bendinganeagleglanceonthegovernor，"Iadoptsofranklyyourdoubts，andyourmodeofclearingthemup，thatIwilltakeapen，ifyouwillgivemeone。"
Baisemeauxgavehimapen。
"Andasheetofwhitepaper，"addedAramis。
Baisemeauxhandedhimsomepaper。
"Now，I—I，also—I，herepresent—incontestably，I—amgoingtowriteanordertowhichIamcertainyouwillgivecredence，incredulousasyouare！"
Baisemeauxturnedpaleatthisicyassuranceofmanner。？Itseemedtohimthatthevoiceofthebishop's，butjustnowsoplayfulandgay，hadbecomefunerealandsad;thatthewaxlightschangedintothetapersofamortuarychapel，theveryglassesofwineintochalicesofblood。
Aramistookapenandwrote。？Baisemeaux，interror，readoverhisshoulder。
"A。
M。D。G。，"wrotethebishop;andhedrewacrossunderthesefourletters，whichsignifyadmajoremDeigloriam，"tothegreatergloryofGod;"andthushecontinued:"ItisourpleasurethattheorderbroughttoM。deBaisemeauxdeMontlezun，governor，fortheking，ofthecastleoftheBastile，beheldbyhimgoodandeffectual，andbeimmediatelycarriedintooperation。
"（Signed）
D'HERBLAY
"GeneraloftheOrder，bythegraceofGod。"
Baisemeauxwassoprofoundlyastonished，thathisfeaturesremainedcontracted，hislipsparted，andhiseyesfixed。？Hedidnotmoveaninch，norarticulateasound。？Nothingcouldbeheardinthatlargechamberbutthewing—whisperofalittlemoth，whichwasflutteringtoitsdeathaboutthecandles。？Aramis，withoutevendeigningtolookatthemanwhomhehadreducedtosomiserableacondition，drewfromhispocketasmallcaseofblackwax;hesealedtheletter，andstampeditwithasealsuspendedathisbreast，beneathhisdoublet，andwhentheoperationwasconcluded，presented—stillinsilence—themissivetoM。deBaisemeaux。？Thelatter，whosehandstrembledinamannertoexcitepity，turnedadullandmeaninglessgazeupontheletter。？Alastgleamoffeelingplayedoverhisfeatures，andhefell，asifthunder—struck，onachair。
"Come，come，"saidAramis，afteralongsilence，duringwhichthegovernoroftheBastilehadslowlyrecoveredhissenses，"donotleadmetobelieve，dearBaisemeaux，thatthepresenceofthegeneraloftheorderisasterribleasHis，andthatmendiemerelyfromhavingseenHim。？Takecourage，rouseyourself;givemeyourhand—obey。"
Baisemeaux，reassured，ifnotsatisfied，obeyed，kissedAramis'shand，androse。？"Immediately？"hemurmured。
"Oh，thereisnopressinghaste，myhost;takeyourplaceagain，anddothehonorsoverthisbeautifuldessert。"
"Monseigneur，Ishallneverrecoversuchashockasthis;Iwhohavelaughed，whohavejestedwithyou！？Iwhohavedaredtotreatyouonafootingofequality！"
"Saynothingaboutit，oldcomrade，"repliedthebishop，whoperceivedhowstrainedthecordwasandhowdangerousitwouldhavebeentobreakit;
"saynothingaboutit。？Letuseachliveinourownway;toyou，myprotectionandmyfriendship;tome，yourobedience。？Havingexactlyfulfilledthesetworequirements，letuslivehappily。"
Baisemeauxreflected;heperceived，ataglance，theconsequenceofthiswithdrawalofaprisonerbymeansofaforgedorder;and，puttinginthescaletheguaranteeofferedhimbytheofficialorderofthegeneral，didnotconsideritofanyvalue。
Aramisdivinedthis。？"MydearBaisemeaux，"saidhe，"youareasimpleton。？LosethishabitofreflectionwhenIgivemyselfthetroubletothinkforyou。"
Andatanothergesturehemade，Baisemeauxbowedagain。？"HowshallIsetaboutit？"hesaid。
"Whatistheprocessforreleasingaprisoner？"
"I
havetheregulations。"
"Well，then，followtheregulations，myfriend。"
"I
gowithmymajortotheprisoner'sroom，andconducthim，ifheisapersonageofimportance。"
"ButthisMarchialiisnotanimportantpersonage，"saidAramiscarelessly。
"I
don'tknow，"answeredthegovernor，asifhewouldhavesaid，"Itisforyoutoinstructme。"
"Thenifyoudon'tknowit，Iamright;soacttowardsMarchialiasyouacttowardsoneofobscurestation。"
"Good;
theregulationssoprovide。？Theyaretotheeffectthattheturnkey，oroneofthelowerofficials，shallbringtheprisonerbeforethegovernor，intheoffice。"
"Well，'tisverywise，that;andthen？"
"Thenwereturntotheprisonerthevaluablesheworeatthetimeofhisimprisonment，hisclothesandpapers，iftheminister'sordershavenototherwisedictated。"
"Whatwastheminister'sorderastothisMarchiali？"
"Nothing;
fortheunhappymanarrivedherewithoutjewels，withoutpapers，andalmostwithoutclothes。"
"Seehowsimple，then，allis。？Indeed，Baisemeaux，youmakeamountainofeverything。？Remainhere，andmakethembringtheprisonertothegovernor'shouse。"
Baisemeauxobeyed。？Hesummonedhislieutenant，andgavehimanorder，whichthelatterpassedon，withoutdisturbinghimselfaboutit，tothenextwhomitconcerned。
Halfanhourafterwardstheyheardagateshutinthecourt;itwasthedoortothedungeon，whichhadjustrenderedupitspreytothefreeair。？Aramisblewoutallthecandleswhichlightedtheroombutone，whichheleftburningbehindthedoor。？Thisflickeringglarepreventedthesightfromrestingsteadilyonanyobject。？Itmultipliedtenfoldthechangingformsandshadowsoftheplace，byitswaveringuncertainty。？Stepsdrewnear。