Belle Rose: A Romance of the Cloak and Sword — page 348: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

330 THE SPRING OF 1672. ‘‘What would you, madame!’’ replied the count, ‘‘when I venture to have a virtue, I must always be exposed to a defeat. ’’ Gaston looked at everything with a serious air, holding by the hand his friend Déroute. Belle-Rose led him to Suzanne. ‘*Behold,’’ said he, ‘‘the motive of my absence.”’ Suzanne leaned over the child and kissed him. “It is Monsieur d’Assonville’s son,’’ added Belle-Rose. ‘‘Monsieur d’Assonville’s son!’’ exclaimed Suzanne; ‘‘oh! I love him already.’’ It was the hour when the abbess of St. Claire d’Ennery was to be found in her oratory after the morning services. Belle-Rose sent to ask for a conversation, taking Gaston with him. As he entered the oratory, Genevieve uttered a cry which had an echo in the heart of the soldier; she took the child in her arms and covered it with kisses. ‘You have given me more than life,’’ said she, quite low, to Belie-Rose, *‘‘you have given me peace.”’ Some months passed in a profound solitude; the days fled like the pure water of a stream between verdant shores; happiness filled them all. Nevertheless it some- times happened that Belle-Rose looked with a dreamy air at the great horizons where the steeples of the distant cities were drowned in the mist. When, perchance, a squadron passed through the country, clarions at the head and flag floating in the wind, he followed with his eyes the warlike march; his cheeks colored at the aspect of the shining arms and superb horses; his nostrils quivered, and when the squadron disappeared behind a fold of ground, he still listened to the fanfares and sought in space the shadow of the floating flags. On these days Belle-Rose re- mained sad and care-worn. All these brave soldiers going so proudly to the war had before them glory, titles, and honors. About this time Suzanne gave birth to a little girl. The child was held over the baptismal font by Genevieve, who gave it its name. Belle-Rose forgot his warlike ideas for a moment, but soon returned to them. Meanwhile the spring of 1672 was passing. France was powerful and prosperous within, feared and respected without. Her influence dominated Europe. She had the authority of genius and the preponderance of arms. If for a moment, toward the beginning of 1668, she had been constrained to recoil be- fore the quadruple alliance of Spain, Holland, England, and Sweden, and to consent to the treaty of Aix-la- Ol ( iboo (e(@) 5}