The Man-at-Arms; or, Henry De Cerons. Volumes I and II

by G. P. R. James

"It cannot be a little commerce, good Solomon," said the duke, "Which enables you to furnish a sum of two hundred thousand crowns, when you declared you could not find it in all Paris."

"On my life and soul!" cried the Israelite, "it will but pay the interest of the money in case I be a loser."

But both the duke and his son laughed, and Solomon himself grinned silently, as if he did not in the least degree expect to be believed. He produced from under his robe, however, two small packets, one containing the most exquisitely beautiful pair of gloves for a lady that I ever beheld, being formed of peach-coloured velvet, embroidered on the back with gold and pearls, which he laid before the Prince d'Auvergne, begging his acceptance of them as a present for any lady that he loved. The other was a small plain dagger, about two hands' breadths in length, the haft of which was as plain as it well could be, being distinguished by nothing but a few lines of gold inlaid in the steel. The blade, which he drew from the plain steel sheath, was thick and dull in colour, as if it had been rusty and ill cleaned. Nevertheless, this somewhat coarse-looking implement he laid upon the table before the duke with great reverence, saying, "Let me beg your noble acceptance of that which, though it looks but a poor gift, may be considered as invaluable. That dagger is made of one cake of pure Damascus steel. It will pass through the finest-tempered corslet that can be produced in the camp, even when struck by a weak arm; and with that dagger the Emperor Hassan, caliph of the Moors, killed no less than ten Spanish cavaliers at the great battle of the Salado."

The Duke of Montpensier seemed to value the gift highly, and the Jew then turned towards me, bowing lowly, and saying, "I have not forgotten to be grateful to Monsieur de Cerons."

"The only gratitude I wish, good Solomon," I replied, "is, that you would find for me a certain dagger that you know of, and which I fear may be lost to me for ever by the death of the person to whom you delivered it."

"I feared so, I feared so," said the Jew; "but it shall be found if it be on this side of Constantinople. I have heard, good sir, that you are going towards Paris; so Monsieur Arnon, the intendant of good Monsieur d'Auvergne, told me; and I would fain travel in such safe company, especially as I go on the business of his Highness of Anjou," he added, looking at the duke.

"Be it so, be it so," said the Duke of Montpensier; "and the sooner you arrive in the capital the better."

"On the twenty-fifth day of the present month," said the Jew, "his highness may draw on me bills of exchange through any of the merchants of Poitiers. They will not refuse him the money when they see the name of Solomon Ahar."

The duke seemed not a little pleased with this intelligence, and, a few words more having passed, Solomon retired from the room, and the duke hastened to communicate the news he had received as fast as possible to the Duke of Anjou.

In the mean time, the Prince d'Auvergne and I returned to our quarters, and bidding me kindly adieu, as I was to depart early on the following morning, he left me, as he thought, to repose. Sleep, however, was not destined to visit my eyes that night. It was with difficulty, my right hand and arm being still bound up in its wooden case, that I was able to open the letter of Louise; and oh! when I did open it, what pain did it inflict! The letter has been since destroyed, so that I cannot give it accurately; but it informed me that the baroness had notified to her that her father had concluded upon a marriage between her and the Lord of Blaye. Her consent, she said, had never been asked and the marchioness had immediately left her stupified and thunderstruck. The only consolations she had, the poor girl said, were, in the first place, that the man himself was absent with the army, and likely to be absent for long; and, in the second, that La Tour assured her that the baron himself had fixed that the marriage should not take place for some time. To give me some comfort under such circumstances, she said, "You know me, Henry, and know that I would rather die. But, oh! that I could see you, and speak with you now, if it were but for a few hours!"