The chevalier drew from his secret pocket a kind of leathern purse, and said to the duke: "There is in this one hundred double-louis, your highness; on the other side there is as much. This is the first of my savings on my pay, and the price of the leg which I left the past year at the battle of Mohiloff, after the passage of Beresina; for he was first, Peter the Great—well-named—in paying generously the soldiers of fortune who enrolled themselves in his service and who gave, many of them, the sacrifice of some one of their limbs."
"But, my friend, I do not understand you," said Monmouth, gently pushing away the purse which the adventurer tendered him.
"I will be explicit, my lord; you are in arrears to the amount of one hundred crowns of rent, and you are threatened with being turned out of this farm in eight days. It is a pot-bellied animal, bearded and corpulent, robed in the garb of a monk, who has made this threat to your poor, dear children but a short time since at the convent door."
"Alas, James! this is only too probable," said Angela, sadly, to her husband.
"I fear it," said Monmouth, "but this is not a reason, my friend, to accept——"
"But, my lord, it seems to me that you made me such a fine gift, it is now eighteen years ago, that we might well share it to-day; and when we speak of the past, in order to disembarrass yourself at once of what concerns me, and to speak henceforth of your affairs at our ease, my lord, in two words, this is my history. Upon my arrival at Rochelle, Father Griffen told me that you had presented me the Unicorn and its cargo!"
"My God! my friend, this was such a small thing after all that you had done for us," said James.
"May we not at least recognize all that you have done for us?" said Angela.
"Without doubt, it was little—it was nothing at all—a cup of coffee well sugared, with rum to soften it, was it not? Only the cup was a ship, and to fill it there was coffee and sugar and rum, the cargo of a vessel of eight hundred tons—the whole worth two hundred thousand crowns. You are right—it was less than nothing—but in order to put aside useless discussion and to be frank, Zounds! this gift wounded me——"
"My friend——"