Manon Lescaut

T >> the Abbe Prevost >> Manon Lescaut

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"Lescaut, who was not deficient in tact, and still less in that
better part of valour called discretion, dwelt upon the necessity
of acting with extreme caution: he said that my escape from St.
Lazare, and the accident that happened on my leaving it, would
assuredly create a sensation; that the lieutenant-general of
police would cause a strict search to be made for me, and it
would be difficult to evade him; in fine, that, unless disposed
to encounter something worse, perhaps, than St. Lazare, it would
be requisite for me to remain concealed for a few days, in order
to give the enemy's zeal time to cool. No doubt this was wise
counsel; but, one should have been wise oneself to have followed
it. Such calculating slowness little suited my passion. The
utmost I could bring myself to promise was, that I would sleep
through the whole of the next day. He locked me in my bedroom,
where I remained patiently until night.

"I employed great part of the time in devising schemes for
relieving Manon. I felt persuaded that her prison was even more
inaccessible than mine had been. Force was out of the question.
Artifice was the only resource; but the goddess of invention
herself could not have told me how to begin. I felt the
impossibility of working in the dark, and therefore postponed the
further consideration of my schemes until I could acquire some
knowledge of the internal arrangements of the Hospital, in which
she was confined.

"As soon as night restored to me my liberty, I begged of Lescaut
to accompany me. We were not long in drawing one of the porters
into conversation; he appeared a reasonable man. I passed for a
stranger who had often with admiration heard talk of the
Hospital, and of the order that reigned within it. I enquired
into the most minute details; and, proceeding from one subject to
another, we at length spoke of the managers, and of these I
begged to know the names and the respective characters. He gave
me such information upon the latter point as at once suggested an
idea which flattered my hopes, and I immediately set about
carrying it into execution.

"I asked him (this being a matter essential to my plan) whether
any of the gentlemen had children. He said he could not answer
me with certainty as to all, but as for M. de T----, one of the
principal directors, he knew that he had a son old enough to be
married, and who had come several times to the Hospital with his
father. This was enough for my purpose.

"I immediately put an end to our interview, and, in returning, I
told Lescaut of the plan I had formed. `I have taken it,' said
I, `into my head, that M. de T----, the son, who is rich and of
good family, must have the same taste for pleasure that other
young men of his age generally have. He could hardly be so bad a
friend to the fair sex, nor so absurd as to refuse his services
in an affair of love. I have arranged a plan for interesting him
in favour of Manon. If he is a man of feeling and of right mind,
he will give us his assistance from generosity. If he is not to
be touched by a motive of this kind, he will at least do
something for a handsome girl, if it were only with the hope of
hereafter sharing her favours. I will not defer seeing him,'
added I, `beyond tomorrow. I really feel so elated by this
project, that I derive from it a good omen.'

"Lescaut himself allowed that the idea was not unreasonable, and
that we might fairly entertain a hope of turning it to account.
I passed the night less sorrowfully.

"Next morning I dressed as well as, in my present state of
indigence, I could possibly contrive to do; and went in a hackney
coach to the residence of M. de T----. He was surprised at
receiving a visit from a perfect stranger. I augured favourably
from his countenance and the civility of his manner. I explained
my object in the most candid way; and, to excite his feelings as
much as possible, I spoke of my ardent passion and of Manon's
merit, as of two things that were unequalled, except by each
other. He told me, that although he had never seen Manon, he had
heard of her; at least, if the person I was talking of was the
same who had been the mistress of old G---- M----. I conjectured
that he must have heard of the part I had acted in that
transaction, and in order to conciliate him more and more by
treating him with confidence, I told him everything that had
occurred to Manon and myself. `You see, sir,' said I, `that all
that can interest me in life, all that can command my affections,
is in your hands. I have no reserve with you, because I have
been informed of your generous and noble character; and, being of
the same age, I trust I shall find some resemblance in our
dispositions.'

"He seemed flattered by this mark of candour and confidence. He
replied in a manner that became a man of the world, and a man of
feeling also, for they are not always synonymous terms. He told
me that he appreciated my visit as a piece of good fortune; that
he considered my friendship as a valuable acquisition, and that
he would endeavour to prove himself worthy of it, by the
sincerity of his services. He could not absolutely promise to
restore Manon to my arms, because, as he said, he himself had
very little influence; but he offered to procure me the pleasure
of seeing her, and to do everything in his power to effect her
release. I was the more satisfied with this frank avowal as to
his want of influence, than I should have been by an unqualified
promise of fulfilling all my wishes. I found in his moderation a
pledge of his sincerity: in a word, I no longer doubted my entire
success. The promise alone of enabling me to see Manon filled me
with gratitude, and I testified it in so earnest a manner, as to
give him a favourable opinion of my heart and disposition; we
shook hands warmly, and parted sworn friends, merely from mutual
regard, and that natural feeling which prompts a man of kind and
generous sentiments to esteem another of congenial mind.

"He, indeed, exceeded me in the proofs of his esteem; for,
inferring from my adventures, and especially my late escape from
St. Lazare, that I might be in want of money, he offered me his
purse, and pressed me to accept it. I refused, but said to him,
`You are too kind, my dear sir! If in addition to such proofs of
kindness and friendship, you enable me to see Manon again, rely
on my eternal regard and gratitude. If you succeed in restoring
altogether this dear creature to my arms, I should think myself
happy in spilling the last drop of my blood in your service.'

"Before we parted, we agreed as to the time and place for our
meeting. He was so considerate as to appoint the afternoon of
the same day.

"I waited for him at a cafe, where he joined me about four
o'clock, and we went together towards the Magdalen; my knees
trembled under me as I crossed the courts. `Ye heavenly powers!'
said I, `then I shall once more behold the idol of my heart--the
dear object of so many sighs and lamentations! All I now ask of
Providence is, to vouchsafe me strength enough to reach her
presence, and after that, to dispose as it pleaseth of my future
fate, and of my life itself. Beyond this, I have no prayer to
utter.'

"M. de T---- spoke to some of the porters of the establishment,
who appeared all anxious to please him. The quarter in which
Manon's room lay was pointed out to us, and our guide carried in
his hand the key of her chamber: it was of frightful size. I
asked the man who conducted us, and whose duty it was to attend
to Manon, how she passed her time? He said, that she had a
temper of the most angelic sweetness; that even he, disagreeable
as his official duties must render him, had never heard from her
a single syllable in the nature of rebuke or harshness; that her
tears had never ceased to flow during the first six weeks after
her arrival, but that latterly she seemed to bear her misfortunes
with more resignation, and that she employed herself from morning
till night with her needle, excepting some hours that she, each
day, devoted to reading. I asked whether she had been decently
provided for. He assured me that at least she had never felt the
want of necessaries.

"We now approached her door. My heart beat almost audibly in
my bosom. I said to M. de T----, `Go in alone, and prepare her
for my visit; I fear that she may be overcome by seeing me
unexpectedly.' The door was opened. I remained in the passage,
and listened to the conversation. He said that he came to bring
her consolation; that he was a friend of mine, and felt deeply
interested for the happiness of us both. She asked with the
tenderest anxiety, whether he could tell her what had become of
me. He promised that she should soon see me at her feet, as
affectionate and as faithful as ever. `When?' she asked. `This
very day,' said he; `the happy moment shall not be long delayed;
nay, this very instant even, if you wish it.' She at once
understood that I was at the door; as she was rushing towards it,
I entered. We embraced each other with that abounding and
impassioned tenderness, which an absence of many months makes so
delicious to those who truly love. Our sighs, our broken
exclamations, the thousand endearing appellations of love,
exchanged in languishing rapture, astonished M. de T----, and
affected him even to tears.

"`I cannot help envying you,' said he, as he begged us to be
seated; `there is no lot, however glorious, that I would hold as
comparable to the possession of a mistress at once so tender and
impassioned.' `Nor would I,' I replied, `give up her love for
universal empire!'

"The remainder of an interview which had been so long and so
ardently desired by me, was of course as tender as the
commencement. Poor Manon related all her adventures, and I told
her mine: we bitterly wept over each other's story. M. de T----
consoled us by his renewed promises to exert himself in our
service. He advised us not to make this, our first interview, of
too long duration, that he might have the less difficulty in
procuring us the same enjoyment again. He at length induced us
to follow his advice. Manon especially could not reconcile
herself to the separation: she made me a hundred times resume my
seat. At one time she held me by my hands, at another by my
coat. `Alas!' she said, `in what an abode do you leave me! Who
will answer for my ever seeing you again?' M. de T---- promised
her that he would often come and see her with me. `As to the
abode,' he said, 'it must no longer be called the Magdalen; it is
Versailles! now that it contains a person who deserves the empire
of all hearts.'

"I made the man who attended a present as I went out, in order
to quicken his zeal and attentions. This fellow had a mind less
rough and vulgar than the generality of his class. He had
witnessed our interview, and was affected by it. The interest he
felt was doubtless increased by the louis d'or I gave him. He
took me aside as we went down into the courtyard. `Sir,' said
he, `if you will only take me into your service, or indemnify me
in any way for the loss of the situation which I fill here, I
think I should not have much difficulty in liberating the
beauteous Manon.'

"I caught readily at the suggestion, and, although at the moment
I was almost in a state of destitution, I gave him promises far
beyond his desires. I considered that it would be at all times
easy to recompense a man of his description. `Be assured, my
friend,' said I to him, `that there is nothing I will not be
ready to do for you, and that your fortune is just as certain as
my own.' I enquired what means he intended to employ. `None
other,' said he, `than merely to open the door of her cell for
her at night, and to conduct her to the street door, where you,
of course, will be to receive her.' I asked whether there was no
danger of her being recognised as she traversed the long
galleries and the courts. He admitted that there was danger, but
that nothing could be done without some slight risk.

"Although I was delighted to find him so determined, I called M.
de T----, and informed him of the project, and of the only
difficulty in the way. He thought it not so easy of execution.
He allowed the possibility of escaping thus: `But if she be
recognised,' continued he, `if she be stopped in the attempt, all
hope will be over with her, perhaps for ever. Besides, you would
be obliged to quit Paris instantly, for you could never evade the
search that would be made for you: they would redouble their
efforts as much on your own account as hers. A single man may
easily escape detection, but in company with a handsome woman, it
would be utterly impossible to remain undiscovered.'

"However sound this reasoning, it could not, in my mind,
outweigh the immediate prospect of restoring Manon to liberty. I
said as much to M. de T----, and trusted that he would excuse my
imprudence and rashness, on the ground of love. I added that it
was already my intention to quit Paris for some neighbouring
village, as I had once before done. We then settled with the
servant that he should carry his project into execution the
following day, and to render our success as certain as he could,
we resolved to carry into the prison men's clothes, in order to
facilitate her escape.

There was a difficulty to be surmounted in carrying them in, but
I had ingenuity enough to meet it. I begged of M. de T---- only
to put on two light waistcoats the next morning, and I undertook
to arrange the rest.

We returned the following day to the Hospital. I took with me
linen, stockings, etc., for Manon, and over my body-coat a
surtout, which concealed the bulk I carried in my pockets. We
remained but a moment in her room. M. de T---- left her one of
his waistcoats; I gave her my short coat, the surtout being
sufficient for me. She found nothing wanting for her complete
equipment but a pair of pantaloons, which in my hurry I had
forgotten.

"The want of so necessary an article might have amused us, if
the embarrassment it caused had been of a less serious kind. I
was in despair at having our whole scheme foiled by a trifling
omission of this nature. However, I soon hit on a remedy, and
determined to make my own exit sans-culotte, leaving that portion
of my dress with Manon. My surtout was long, and I contrived by
the help of a few pins to put myself in a decent condition for
passing the gate.

"The remainder of the day appeared to me of endless length.
When at last night came, we went in a coach to within a few yards
of the Hospital. We were not long waiting, when we saw Manon
make her appearance with her guide. The door of the coach being
opened, they both stepped in without delay. I opened my arms to
receive my adored mistress; she trembled like an aspen leaf. The
coachman asked where he was to drive? `To the end of the world!'
I exclaimed; `to some place where I can never again be separated
from Manon.'

"This burst, which I could not control, was near bringing me
into fresh trouble. The coachman reflected upon what I said, and
when I afterwards told him the name of the street to which I
wished him to drive, he answered that he feared I was about to
implicate him in some bad business; that he saw plainly enough
that the good-looking young man whom I called Manon was a girl
eloping from the Hospital, and that he was little disposed indeed
to ruin himself for love of me.

"Extortion was the source of this scoundrel's delicacy. We were
still too near the Hospital to make any noise. `Silence!' said I
to him, `you shall have a louis d'or for the job': for less than
that he would have helped me to burn the Hospital.

"We arrived at Lescaut's house. As it was late, M. de T----
left us on the way, promising to visit us the next morning. The
servant alone remained.

"I held Manon in such close embrace in my arms, that we occupied
but one place in the coach. She cried for joy, and I could feel
her tears trickling down my cheeks.

"When we were about getting out at Lescaut's, I had a new
difficulty with the coachman, which was attended with the most
unfortunate results. I repented of having promised the fellow a
louis d'or, not only because it was extravagant folly, but for
another stronger reason, that it was at the moment out of my
power to pay him. I called for Lescaut, and he came down to the
door. I whispered to him the cause of my present embarrassment.
Being naturally rough, and not at all in the habit of treating
hackney-coachmen with respect, he answered that I could not be
serious. `A louis!' said he; `twenty blows of a cane would be
the right payment for that rascal!' I entreated him not to
destroy us; when he snatched my cane from my hand, and was about
to lay it on the coachman. The fellow had probably before
experienced the weight of a guardsman's arm, and instantly drove
off, crying out, that I had cheated him, and should hear of him
again. I in vain endeavoured to stop him.

"His flight caused me, of course, the greatest alarm. I had no
doubt that he would immediately give information to the police.
`You have ruined me,' said I to Lescaut; `I shall be no longer
safe at your house; we must go hence at once.' I gave Manon my
arm, and as quickly as possible got out of the dangerous
neighbourhood. Lescaut accompanied us."

The Chevalier des Grieux having occupied more than an hour with
his story, I begged him to give himself a little rest, and
meanwhile to share our supper. He saw, by the attention we paid
him, that we were amused, and promised that we should hear
something of perhaps greater interest in the sequel. When we had
finished supper, he continued in the following words.

VII

. . . How chances mock,
And changes fill the cup of alteration
With divers liquors.

SHAKESPEARE.

"How inscrutably does Providence connect events! We had hardly
proceeded for five minutes on our way, when a man, whose face I
could not see, recognised Lescaut. He had no doubt been watching
for him near his home, with the horrible intention which he now
unhappily executed. `It IS Lescaut!' said he, snapping a pistol
at his head; `he shall sup tonight with the angels!' He then
instantly disappeared. Lescaut fell, without the least sign of
life. I pressed Manon to fly, for we could be of no use to a
dead man, and I feared being arrested by the police, who would
certainly be soon upon the spot. I turned down the first narrow
street with her and the servant: she was so overpowered by the
scene she had just witnessed, that I could hardly support her.
At last, at the end of the street, I perceived a hackney-coach;
we got into it, but when the coachman asked whither he should
drive, I was scarcely able to answer him. I had no certain
asylum--no confidential friend to whom I could have recourse. I
was almost destitute of money, having but one dollar left in my
purse. Fright and fatigue had so unnerved Manon, that she was
almost fainting at my side. My imagination too was full of the
murder of Lescaut, and I was not without strong apprehensions of
the patrol. What was to be done? I luckily remembered the inn
at Chaillot, where we first went to reside in that village. I
hoped to be not only secure, but to continue there for some time
without being pressed for payment. `Take us to Chaillot,' said I
to the coachman. He refused to drive us so far at that late hour
for less than twelve francs. A new embarrassment! At last we
agreed for half that sum--all that my purse contained.

"I tried to console Manon as we went along, but despair was
rankling in my own heart. I should have destroyed myself a
thousand times over, if I had not felt that I held in my arms all
that could attach me to life: this reflection reconciled me. `I
possess her at least,' said I; `she loves me! she is mine!
Vainly does Tiberge call this a mere phantom of happiness.' I
could, without feeling interest or emotion, see the whole world
besides perish around me. Why? Because I have in it no object
of affection beyond her.

"This sentiment was true; however, while I so lightly esteemed
the good things of the world, I felt that there was no doing
without some little portion of them, were it only to inspire a
more thorough contempt for the remainder. Love is more powerful
than wealth--more attractive than grandeur or fame; but, alas! it
cannot exist without certain artificial aids; and there is
nothing more humiliating to the feelings, of a sensitive lover,
than to find himself, by want of means, reduced to the level of
the most vulgar minds.

"It was eleven o'clock when we arrived at Chaillot. They
received us at the inn as old acquaintances, and expressed no
sort of surprise at seeing Manon in male attire, for it was the
custom in Paris and the environs to adopt all disguises. I took
care to have her served with as much attention as if I had been
in prosperous circumstances. She was ignorant of my poverty, and
I carefully kept her so, being resolved to return alone the
following day to Paris, to seek some cure for this vexatious kind
of malady.

"At supper she appeared pale and thin; I had not observed this
at the Hospital, as the room in which I saw her was badly
lighted. I asked her if the excessive paleness were not caused
by the shock of witnessing her brother's death? She assured me
that, horrified as she naturally was at the event, her paleness
was purely the effect of a three months' absence from me. `You
do love me then devotedly?' I exclaimed.

"`A thousand times more than I can tell!' was her reply.

"`You will never leave me again?' I added.

"`No! never, never!' answered she.

"This assurance was confirmed by so many caresses and vows, that
it appeared impossible she could, to the end of time, forget
them. I have never doubted that she was at that moment sincere.
What motive could she have had for dissembling to such a degree?
But she became afterwards still more volatile than ever, or
rather she was no longer anything, and entirely forgot herself,
when, in poverty and want, she saw other women living in
abundance. I was now on the point of receiving a new proof of
her inconstancy, which threw all that had passed into the shade,
and which led to the strangest adventure that ever happened to a
man of my birth and prospects.

"As I knew her disposition, I hastened the next day to Paris.
The death of her brother, and the necessity of getting linen and
clothes for her, were such good reasons, that I had no occasion
for any further pretext. I left the inn, with the intention, as
I told Manon and the landlord, of going in a hired carriage, but
this was a mere flourish; necessity obliged me to travel on foot:
I walked very fast as far as Cours-la-Reine, where I intended to
rest. A moment of solitude and tranquillity was requisite to
compose myself, and to consider what was to be done in Paris.

"I sat down upon the grass. I plunged into a sea of thoughts
and considerations, which at length resolved themselves into
three principal heads. I had pressing want of an infinite number
of absolute necessaries; I had to seek some mode of at least
raising a hope for the future; and, though last, not least in
importance, I had to gain information, and adopt measures, to
secure Manon's safety and my own. After having exhausted myself
in devising projects upon these three chief points, I was obliged
to put out of view for the moment the two last. We were not ill
sheltered from observation in the inn at Chaillot; and as to
future wants, I thought it would be time enough to think about
them when those of the moment were satisfied.

"The main object now was to replenish my purse. M. de T---- had
once offered me his, but I had an extreme repugnance to mention
the subject to him again. What a degradation to expose one's
misery to a stranger, and to ask for charity: it must be either a
man of low mind who would thus demean himself, and that from a
baseness which must render him insensible to the degradation, or
a humble Christian, from a consciousness of generosity in
himself, which must put him above the sense of shame. I would
have sacrificed half my life to be spared the humiliation.

"`Tiberge,' said I, `kind Tiberge, will he refuse me what he
has it in his power to grant? No, he will assuredly sympathise
in my misery; but he will also torture me with his lectures! One
must endure his reproaches, his exhortations, his threats: I
shall have to purchase his assistance so dearly, that I would
rather make any sacrifice than encounter this distressing scene,
which cannot fail to leave me full of sorrow and remorse. Well,'
thought I again, `all hope must be relinquished, since no other
course presents itself: so far am I from adopting either of
these, that I would sooner shed half my blood than face one of
these evils, or the last drop rather than encounter both. Yes,
the very last drop,' I repeated after a moment's reflection, `I
would sacrifice willingly rather than submit to such base
supplication!

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