“Three Musketeers” by A. Dumas in brief
On the first Monday of April 1625, the population of the town of Meng in the suburbs of Paris seemed to be agitated as if the Huguenots had decided to turn it into the second fortress of La Rochelle: a young man of eighteen entered the Meng, wearing a red gelding without a tail. His appearance, clothes and manners caused a flurry of ridicule among the townspeople. The rider, however, does not pay attention to them, as befits a nobleman, who considers it shameful to find out the relationship with the commoners. Another thing is an insult inflicted on an equal footing: d’Artagnan rushes with a bare sword at a noble gentleman in black; However, several townspeople with an oak come running to help. Waking up, D’Artagnan does not disclose either the abuser or, much more seriously, the father’s recommendation letter to the old combat comrade, captain of the royal musketeers, M. de Treville,
His Majesty’s Musketeers are the color of the guards, people without
Talking with de Treville, the young man sees a stranger from the Meng outside the window and rushes headlong into the street, hitting three musketeers alternately on the stairs. All three call him to the duel. The stranger in black manages to slip away, but at the hour of the day D’Artagnan Athos, Porthos and Aramis are waiting at the appointed place. The business gets an unexpected turn; the swords of all four are unanimously exposed against the ubiquitous guardsmen of the Duke of Richelieu. The Musketeers are convinced that the young Gascon is not only a bully, but also a real brave man who owns a weapon no worse than them, and they take D’Artagnan to their company.
Richelieu
To the stopped in his house D’Artagnan, about the valor of which in Paris are already creeping rumors, the haberdasher Bonacieux is addressing: yesterday his young wife, the lady’s maid of Queen Majesty Anne of Austria, was kidnapped. For all the signs, the kidnapper is a stranger from Meng. The reason for the abduction is not the charm of Madame Bonacieux, but her proximity to the queen: in Paris, Lord Buckingham, beloved Anne of Austria. Madame Bonacieux can lead to his trail. The Queen is in danger: the King left her, Richelieu pursues her lust for her, she loses faithful people one by one; in addition to everything she is a Spaniard in love with an Englishman, and Spain and England are the main opponents of France in the political arena. After Constance, Mr. Bonacieux himself was abducted; in their house is arranged a trap for Lord Buckingham or someone close to him people.
One night, D’Artagnan hears in the house a scuffle and squeezed female cries. This Mrs. Bonacieux, who fled from custody, again landed in a mousetrap – now in her own house. D’Artagnan discourages her from the people of Richelieu and hides him in the apartment of Athos.
Watching all her outlets into the city, he lies in wait for Constantius in the company of a man in musketeers’ uniform, Really a friend of Athos decided to take a saved beauty from him? The jealous man quickly resigns: the companion of Madame Bonacieux is Lord Buckingham, whom she leads to the Louvre on a date with the queen. Constantia dedicates D’Artagnan to the heartfelt secrets of her mistress. He promises to protect the Queen and Buckingham as her own; this conversation becomes their explanation in love.
Buckingham leaves Paris, taking away Queen Anne’s gift – twelve diamond pendants. Having told about this, Richelieu advises the king to arrange a big ball, which the queen should appear in pendants – those that are now stored in London, in the box of Buckingham. He foresees the shame of the queen’s rejection of his claim – and sends to England one of his best secret agents, Milady Winter: she must steal from Buckingham two pendants – even if the remaining ten and return miraculously to Paris for a big ball, the cardinal will be able to prove the infallibility of the queen. Race with milady Winter rushes to England d’Artagnan. My lady succeeds in what the cardinal instructed her; but time works for d’Artagnan – and he delivers to the Louvre ten queen pendants and two more exactly the same ones made by a London jeweler in less than two days! The cardinal is embarrassed, the queen is saved, D’Artagnan is accepted into the musketeers and rewarded by the love of Constantia. There are, however, losses: Richelieu learns of the valor of the newly-made musketeer and instructs him to guard his treacherous milady Winter.
While weaving plots against D’Artagnan and instilling in him a strong and conflicting passion, at the same time, Milady deceives the Count de Wardes, a man who was a hindrance to the Gascon when he traveled to London, sent by the cardinal to help milady. Kathy, my lady’s maid, being crazy about the young musketeer, shows him the letters of her mistress de Ward. D’Artagnan, in the guise of Count de Varda, comes on a date to milady, and, not recognized by her in the dark, receives a diamond ring as a token of love. His adventure, D’Artagnan hastens to present to friends as a merry joke; Athos, however, gloomens at the sight of the ring. My Lady’s ring causes a painful memory in him. It is a family jewel presented to them on the night of love by the one whom he revered as an angel and who in reality was a branded criminal, thief and murderer who broke the heart of Athos.
From now on he is the enemy of milady. He is dedicated to its mystery. He refused to kill Lord Winter in a duel – only disarmed, and then reconciled with him – and she had long been striving to take over the whole state of the Winterers! Nothing happened to milady and from her plan to cast D’Artagnan with de Bard. My Lady’s pride is hurt, but Richelieu’s ambition too. Inviting D’Artagnan to serve in his Guards regiment and having been refused, the cardinal warns the young fugitive: “From the moment you lose my patronage, no one will give a penny for your life!” …
The place of a soldier is in war. Taking a vacation from de Treville, D’Artagnan and his three friends travel to the neighborhood of Larocheli, a port city that opens the gates to the French borders. Closing them for England, Cardinal Richelieu completes the case of Joan of Arc and the Duke of Giza. The victory over England for Richelieu is not so much to rid the king of France of the enemy, but rather to revenge a more successful opponent in the love of the queen. Same and Buckingham: in this military campaign he seeks to satisfy personal ambitions. He prefers to return to Paris not as an envoy, but as a triumphant. The true bet in this bloody party, played out by the two most powerful powers, is the supportive view of Anne of Austria. The English besieged the fortress of Saint Martin and the fort of La Pre, the French – La Rochelle.
Before the baptism of fire, D’Artagnan sums up the results of his two-year stay in the capital. He is in love and in love – but does not know where his Constance is and whether she is alive at all. He became a musketeer – but has an enemy in the person of Richelieu. Behind him, he has a lot of extraordinary adventures – but also the hatred of milady, who will not miss the chance to take revenge on him. He is noted for the protection of the queen – but this is a bad defense, rather, an excuse for persecution… His only unconditional acquisition is a ring with a diamond, whose brilliance, however, is marred by the bitter memories of Athos.
By the will of the case Athos, Porthos and Aramis accompany the cardinal on his night walk incognito in the vicinity of Larocheli. Athos in the tavern “Red Dovecote” hears the conversation of the Cardinal with my Lady. He sends her to London as a mediator in the negotiations with Buckingham. Negotiations, however, are not quite diplomatic: Richelieu presents an ultimatum to the rival. If Buckingham dares to make a decisive step in the current military confrontation, the cardinal promises to publicize the documents discrediting the queen – evidence not only of her favor to the duke, but of her collusion with the enemies of France. “And if Buckingham is obstinate?” asks milady. – “In this case, as happened more than once in history, a fatal woman must appear on the political scene, who will put the dagger in the hand of some murderer-fanatic…” Milady perfectly understands the hint of Richelieu. Having performed an unheard of feat – having dined on a bastion open to the enemy, having repulsed several powerful attacks of the Laroshellers and returning to the location of the army unscathed – musketeers warn the Duke of Buckingham and Lord Winter about the mission of milady. Winter manages to arrest her in London. Milady was assigned to guard young officer Felton. My lady learns that her guard is a Puritan. It is called his co-religion, allegedly seduced by Buckingham, slandered and branded as a thief, while in reality he suffers for his faith. Felton is beaten by milady on the spot, Religiosity and strict discipline have made him a man inaccessible to ordinary deceit. But the story told to him milady, has shaken his hostility to her, and with her beauty and ostentatious devotion, she conquered his pure heart, Felton helps my Lady Winter escape. He instructs the familiar captain to deliver the unfortunate captive to Paris, and he himself gets to the Duke of Buckingham, whom – in execution of the Richelieu scenario – kills with a dagger.
Milady hides in the monastery of the Carmelites in Bethune, where Constantius Bonacieux also lives. Learning that from the hour on the hour here should appear D’Artagnan, my lady poisoned the beloved of her main enemy and flees. But she can not escape retribution: the musketeers rush along her tracks.
At night in the dark forest, the trial of milady takes place. She is guilty of Buckingham’s death and Felton’s seduction. On her conscience, the death of Constantia and the incitement of D’Artagnan to the murder of de Vard. Another – the very first of her victims – seduced by her young priest, whom she inclined to steal church utensils. Convicted of this for hard labor, the shepherd of God laid hands on himself. His brother, the executioner from Lille, set the goal of his life to take revenge on milady. Once he had overtaken it and branded it, but the criminal disappeared in the castle of the Count de la Fere-Athos and, ignoring the ill-fated past, married him. Accidentally discovering the deceit, Athos furiously committed lynching over his wife: he hung it on a tree. Fate gave her another chance: the Countess de la Fere was rescued, and she returned to life and to her vile deeds under the name of Lady Winter. Having given birth to a son, My Lady poisoned Winter and received a rich inheritance; but this was not enough for her, and she dreamed of the share belonging to the brother-in-law.
Having presented her with all of the above charges, the Musketeers and Winter entrust Milady to the Lillan executioner. Athos gives him a purse with gold – a payment for hard work, but he throws gold into the river: “Today I’m not doing my handicraft, but my duty.” In the moonlight shines the blade of his broad sword… Three days later the musketeers return to Paris and appear to their captain de Treville. “Well, gentlemen,” asked the brave captain, “did you have fun on vacation?” “It’s unbelievable!” – responsible for himself and for friends of Athos.
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