"But suppose you had found us not so strong?" asked La Renaudie.
"Then I confess that I should have sought other allies," replied Gabriel, still firmly and calmly.
La Renaudie and Theodore de Bèze both made a movement of astonishment.
"Ah!" cried Coligny, "do not judge him, my friends, too hastily or too harshly. I have seen him at work at the siege of St. Quentin; and when one puts his life in peril, as he did there, it bespeaks no ordinary soul. But I know that he has a holy and terrible duty to perform, which leaves no part of his devotion at his own disposal."
"And in default of my devotion, I would like to offer you at least my sincerest aid," said Gabriel. "But in very truth I cannot give myself up to your service absolutely and without consideration; for I am devoted to a necessary and formidable task, which has been imposed upon me by the wrath of God and the wickedness of man, and while that task remains unfinished, I beg you to pardon me, for I am not the arbiter of my own fate. The destiny of another takes precedence of mine at all times, and wherever I may be."
"One may devote oneself to a man as well as to an idea," said Theodore de Bèze.
"And in such a case," added Coligny, "we shall be happy, my friend, to serve you, just as we shall be proud to avail ourselves of your services."
"Our good wishes will go with you; and we will stand ready to assist you in case of need," said La Renaudie.
"Ah! you are heroes and saints as well," cried Gabriel.
"But take care, young man," said the stern La Renaudie, in his familiar and yet noble language,—"take care, when once we have called you our brother, to be worthy of the name. We may admit a private devotion into our ranks; but the heart sometimes deceives itself. Are you perfectly certain, young man, that when you believe yourself to be entirely devoted to thoughts of another, no personal consideration whatever has its influence on your actions? In the object which you are striving to accomplish, are you absolutely and truly disinterested? Are you, in short, urged on by no passion of your own, though it may be the most generous and worthy of passions?"