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Learning PHP MySQL JavaScript With jQuery CSS
HTML5 Early Release 5th 5th Edition Robin Nixon
Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Robin Nixon
ISBN(s): 9781491978917, 1491978910
Edition: 5
File Details: PDF, 7.50 MB
Year: 2018
Language: english
Learning PHP, MySQL, & JavaScript
With jQuery, CSS, & HTML5
Fifth Edition

Robin Nixon

1. Learning PHP, MySQL, & JavaScript

2. Preface
1. Audience
2. Assumptions This Book Makes
3. Organization of This Book
4. Supporting Books
5. Conventions Used in This Book
6. Using Code Examples
7. Safari® Books Online
8. How to Contact Us
9. Acknowledgments
3. 1. Introduction to Dynamic Web Content
1. HTTP and HTML: Berners-Lee’s Basics
2. The Request/Response Procedure
3. The Benefits of PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5
1. Using PHP
2. Using MySQL
3. Using JavaScript
4. Using CSS
4. And Then There’s HTML5
5. The Apache Web Server
6. Handling mobile devices
7. About Open Source
8. Bringing It All Together
9. Questions
4. 2. Setting Up a Development Server
1. What Is a WAMP, MAMP, or LAMP?
2. Installing Ampps on Windows
1. Testing the Installation
3. Installing Ampps on Mac OS X
4. Installing a LAMP on Linux
5. Working Remotely
1. Logging In
2. Using FTP
6. Using a Program Editor
7. Using an IDE
8. Questions
5. 3. Introduction to PHP
1. Incorporating PHP Within HTML
2. This Book’s Examples
 3. The Structure of PHP
1. Using Comments
2. Basic Syntax
3. Variables
4. Operators
5. Variable Assignment
6. Multiple-Line Commands
7. Variable Typing
8. Constants
9. Predefined Constants
10. The Difference Between the echo and print Commands
11. Functions
12. Variable Scope
4. Questions
6. 4. Expressions and Control Flow in PHP
1. Expressions
1. TRUE or FALSE?
2. Literals and Variables
2. Operators
1. Operator Precedence
2. Associativity
3. Relational Operators
3. Conditionals
1. The if Statement
2. The else Statement
3. The elseif Statement
4. The switch Statement
5. The ? Operator
4. Looping
1. while Loops
2. do...while Loops
3. for Loops
4. Breaking Out of a Loop
5. The continue Statement
5. Implicit and Explicit Casting
6. PHP Dynamic Linking
7. Dynamic Linking in Action
8. Questions
7. About the Author
Preface
The combination of PHP and MySQL is the most convenient approach to dynamic, database-
driven web design, holding its own in the face of challenges from integrated frameworks—such
as Ruby on Rails—that are harder to learn. Due to its open source roots (unlike the competing
Microsoft .NET Framework), it is free to implement and is therefore an extremely popular option
for web development.

Any would-be developer on a Unix/Linux or even a Windows/Apache platform will need to

master these technologies. And, combined with the partner technologies of JavaScript, jQuery,
CSS, and HTML5, you will be able to create websites of the caliber of industry standards like
Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail.
Audience
This book is for people who wish to learn how to create effective and dynamic websites. This
may include webmasters or graphic designers who are already creating static websites but wish
to take their skills to the next level, as well as high school and college students, recent graduates,
and self-taught individuals.

In fact, anyone ready to learn the fundamentals behind the Web 2.0 technology known as Ajax
will obtain a thorough grounding in all of these core technologies: PHP, MySQL, JavaScript,
CSS, and HTML5, and learn the basics of the jQuery and jQuery Mobile libraries too.
Assumptions This Book Makes
This book assumes that you have a basic understanding of HTML and can at least put together a
simple, static website, but does not assume that you have any prior knowledge of PHP, MySQL,
JavaScript, CSS, or HTML5—although if you do, your progress through the book will be even
quicker.
Organization of This Book
The chapters in this book are written in a specific order, first introducing all of the core
technologies it covers and then walking you through their installation on a web development
server so that you will be ready to work through the examples.

In the first section, you will gain a grounding in the PHP programming language, covering the
basics of syntax, arrays, functions, and object-oriented programming.

Then, with PHP under your belt, you will move on to an introduction to the MySQL database
system, where you will learn everything from how MySQL databases are structured to how to
generate complex queries.

After that, you will learn how you can combine PHP and MySQL to start creating your own
dynamic web pages by integrating forms and other HTML features. Following that, you will get
down to the nitty-gritty practical aspects of PHP and MySQL development by learning a variety
of useful functions and how to manage cookies and sessions, as well as how to maintain a high
level of security.

In the next few chapters, you will gain a thorough grounding in JavaScript, from simple
functions and event handling to accessing the Document Object Model and in-browser validation
and error handling, plus a comprehensive primer on using the popular jQuery library for
JavaScript.

With an understanding of all three of these core technologies, you will then learn how to make
behind-the-scenes Ajax calls and turn your websites into highly dynamic environments.

Next, you’ll spend two chapters learning all about using CSS to style and lay out your web
pages, before discovering how the jQuery libraries can make your development job a great deal
easdier, and then moving on to the final section on the interactive features built into HTML5,
including geolocation, audio, video, and the canvas. After this, you’ll put together everything
you’ve learned in a complete set of programs that together constitute a fully functional social
networking website.

Along the way, you’ll find plenty of advice on good programming practices and tips that could
help you find and solve hard-to-detect programming errors. There are also plenty of links to
websites containing further details on the topics covered.
Supporting Books
Once you have learned to develop using PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5, you will
be ready to take your skills to the next level using the following O’Reilly reference books. To
learn more about any of these titles, simply enter the ISBN shown next to it into the search box at
http://oreilly.com or at any good online book seller’s website.

Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference (9780596527402) by Danny Goodman

PHP in a Nutshell (9780596100674) by Paul Hudson

MySQL in a Nutshell (9780596514334) by Russell Dyer

JavaScript: The Definitive Guide (9780596805524) by David Flanagan

CSS: The Definitive Guide (9780596527334) by Eric A. Myer

HTML5: The Missing Manual (9781449363260) by Matthew MacDonald

Conventions Used in This Book
The following typographical conventions are used in this book:

Plain text
Indicates menu titles, options, and buttons.
Italic
Indicates new terms, URLs, email addresses, filenames, file extensions, pathnames,
directories, and Unix utilities.
Constant width
Indicates command-line options, variables and other code elements, HTML tags, macros,
and the contents of files.
Constant width bold
Shows program output or highlighted sections of code that are discussed in the text.
Constant width italic
Shows text that should be replaced with user-supplied values.

Note

This element signifies a tip, suggestion, or general note.

Warning

This element indicates a warning or caution.

Using Code Examples
This book is here to help you get your job done. In general, if example code is offered with this
book, you may use it in your programs and documentation. You do not need to contact us for
permission unless you’re reproducing a significant portion of the code. For example, writing a
program that uses several chunks of code from this book does not require permission. Selling or
distributing a CD-ROM of examples from O’Reilly books does require permission. Answering a
question by citing this book and quoting example code does not require permission.
Incorporating a significant amount of example code from this book into your product’s
documentation does require permission. There is a companion website to this book at
http://lpmj.net, where you can download all the examples from this book in a single zip file.

We appreciate, but do not require, attribution. An attribution usually includes the title, author,
publisher, and ISBN. For example: “Learning PHP, MySQL & JavaScript, 5th Edition by Robin
Nixon (O’Reilly). Copyright 2018 Robin Nixon,

.”

If you feel your use of code examples falls outside fair use or the permission given above, feel
free to contact us at permissions@oreilly.com.
How to Contact Us
Please address comments and questions concerning this book to the publisher:

O’Reilly Media, Inc.

1005 Gravenstein Highway North

Sebastopol, CA 95472

(800) 998-9938 (in the United States or Canada)

(707) 829-0515 (international or local)

(707) 829-0104 (fax)

We have a web page for this book, where we list errata, examples, and any additional
information. You can access this page at http://bit.ly/lpmjch_4e.

To comment or ask technical questions about this book, send email to

bookquestions@oreilly.com.

For more information about our books, courses, conferences, and news, see our website at
http://www.oreilly.com.

Find us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/oreilly

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/oreillymedia

Watch us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/oreillymedia

Acknowledgments
I would like to once again thank my editor, Andy Oram, and everyone who worked so hard on
this book, including

??? ??? for his comprehensive technical review, ??? ??? for overseeing production, ??? ??? for
copy editing, ??? ??? for proofreading, Robert Romano and Rebecca Demarest for their
illustrations, ??? ??? for interior design, ??? ??? for creating the index, Karen Montgomery for
the original sugar glider front cover design, ??? ??? for the latest book cover, and everyone else
too numerous to name who submitted errata and offered suggestions for this new edition.
Chapter 1. Introduction to Dynamic Web
Content
The World Wide Web is a constantly evolving network that has already traveled far beyond its
conception in the early 1990s, when it was created to solve a specific problem. State-of-the-art
experiments at CERN (the European Laboratory for Particle Physics—now best known as the
operator of the Large Hadron Collider) were producing incredible amounts of data—so much
that the data was proving unwieldy to distribute to the participating scientists who were spread
out across the world.

At this time, the Internet was already in place, connecting several hundred thousand computers,
so Tim Berners-Lee (a CERN fellow) devised a method of navigating between them using a
hyperlinking framework, which came to be known as Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP. He
also created a markup language called Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML. To bring these
together, he wrote the first web browser and web server, tools that we now take for granted.

But back then, the concept was revolutionary. The most connectivity so far experienced by at-
home modem users was dialing up and connecting to a bulletin board that was hosted by a single
computer, where you could communicate and swap data only with other users of that service.
Consequently, you needed to be a member of many bulletin board systems in order to effectively
communicate electronically with your colleagues and friends.

But Berners-Lee changed all that in one fell swoop, and by the mid-1990s, there were three
major graphical web browsers competing for the attention of 5 million users. It soon became
obvious, though, that something was missing. Yes, pages of text and graphics with hyperlinks to
take you to other pages was a brilliant concept, but the results didn’t reflect the instantaneous
potential of computers and the Internet to meet the particular needs of each user with
dynamically changing content. Using the Web was a very dry and plain experience, even if we
did now have scrolling text and animated GIFs!

Shopping carts, search engines, and social networks have clearly altered how we use the Web. In
this chapter, we’ll take a brief look at the various components that make up the Web, and the
software that helps make it a rich and dynamic experience.

Note

It is necessary to start using some acronyms more or less right away. I have tried to clearly
explain them before proceeding. But don’t worry too much about what they stand for or what
these names mean, because the details will become clear as you read on.

(1)
HTTP and HTML: Berners-Lee’s Basics
HTTP is a communication standard governing the requests and responses that take place between
the browser running on the end user’s computer and the web server. The server’s job is to accept
a request from the client and attempt to reply to it in a meaningful way, usually by serving up a
requested web page—that’s why the term server is used. The natural counterpart to a server is a
client, so that term is applied both to the web browser and the computer on which it’s running.

Between the client and the server there can be several other devices, such as routers, proxies,
gateways, and so on. They serve different roles in ensuring that the requests and responses are
correctly transferred between the client and server. Typically, they use the Internet to send this
information. Some of these in-between devices can also help speed up the Internet by storing
pages or information locally in what is called a cache, and then serving these up to clients
directly from this cache, rather than fetching them all the way from the source server.

A web server can usually handle multiple simultaneous connections and—when not
communicating with a client—spends its time listening for an incoming connection. When one
arrives, the server sends back a response to confirm its receipt.

(2)
The Request/Response Procedure
At its most basic level, the request/response process consists of a web browser asking the web
server to send it a web page and the server sending back the page. The browser then takes care of
displaying the page (see Figure 1-1).

(3)
 Figure 1-1. The basic client/server request/response sequence

Each step in the request and response sequence is as follows:

1. You enter http://server.com into your browser’s address bar.

2. Your browser looks up the IP address for server.com.

3. Your browser issues a request for the home page at server.com.

4. The request crosses the Internet and arrives at the server.com web server.

5. The web server, having received the request, looks for the web page on its disk.

6. The web page is retrieved by the server and returned to the browser.

7. Your browser displays the web page.

For an average web page, this process takes place once for each object within the page: a
graphic, an embedded video or Flash file, and even a CSS template.

(4)
In step 2, notice that the browser looked up the IP address of server.com. Every machine attached
to the Internet has an IP address—your computer included. But we generally access web servers
by name, such as google.com. As you probably know, the browser consults an additional Internet
service called the Domain Name Service (DNS) to find its associated IP address and then uses it
to communicate with the computer.

For dynamic web pages, the procedure is a little more involved, because it may bring both PHP
and MySQL into the mix. For instance, you may click on a picture of a raincoat. The PHP will
put together a request using the standard database language, SQL—many of whose commands
you will learn in this book—and send the request to the MySQL server. The MySQL server will
return information about the raincoat you selected, and the PHP code will wrap it all up in some
HTML, which the server will send to your browser (see Figure 1-2).

(5)
 Figure 1-2. A dynamic client/server request/response sequence

1. You enter http://server.com into your browser’s address bar.

2. Your browser looks up the IP address for server.com.

3. Your browser issues a request to that address for the web server’s home page.

4. The request crosses the Internet and arrives at the server.com web server.

5. The web server, having received the request, fetches the home page from its hard disk.

6. With the home page now in memory, the web server notices that it is a file incorporating
PHP scripting and passes the page to the PHP interpreter.

7. The PHP interpreter executes the PHP code.

8. Some of the PHP contains SQL statements, which the PHP interpreter now passes to the

(6)
 MySQL database engine.

9. The MySQL database returns the results of the statements to the PHP interpreter.

10. The PHP interpreter returns the results of the executed PHP code, along with the results
from the MySQL database, to the web server.

11. The web server returns the page to the requesting client, which displays it.

Although it’s helpful to be aware of this process so that you know how the three elements work
together, in practice you don’t really need to concern yourself with these details, because they all
happen automatically.

HTML pages returned to the browser in each example may well contain JavaScript, which will
be interpreted locally by the client, and which could initiate another request—the same way
embedded objects such as images would.

(7)
The Benefits of PHP, MySQL, JavaScript,
CSS, and HTML5
At the start of this chapter, I introduced the world of Web 1.0, but it wasn’t long before the rush
was on to create Web 1.1, with the development of such browser enhancements as Java,
JavaScript, JScript (Microsoft’s slight variant of JavaScript), and ActiveX. On the server side,
progress was being made on the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) using scripting languages
such as Perl (an alternative to the PHP language) and server-side scripting—inserting the
contents of one file (or the output of running a local program) into another one dynamically.

Once the dust had settled, three main technologies stood head and shoulders above the others.
Although Perl was still a popular scripting language with a strong following, PHP’s simplicity
and built-in links to the MySQL database program had earned it more than double the number of
users. And JavaScript, which had become an essential part of the equation for dynamically
manipulating Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and HTML, now took on the even more muscular
task of handling the client side of the asynchronous communication (exchanging data between a
client and server after a web page has loaded). Using asynchronous communication, web pages
perform data handling and send requests to web servers in the background—without the web
user being aware that this is going on.

No doubt the symbiotic nature of PHP and MySQL helped propel them both forward, but what
attracted developers to them in the first place? The simple answer has to be the ease with which
you can use them to quickly create dynamic elements on websites. MySQL is a fast and
powerful, yet easy-to-use, database system that offers just about anything a website would need
in order to find and serve up data to browsers. When PHP allies with MySQL to store and
retrieve this data, you have the fundamental parts required for the development of social
networking sites and the beginnings of Web 2.0.

And when you bring JavaScript and CSS into the mix too, you have a recipe for building highly
dynamic and interactive websites, especially when there is now a wide range of sophisticated
frameworks of JavaScript functions you can now call on to really speed up web development,
such as the well-known jQuery, which is now probably the most common way programmers
access asynchronous communication features.

(8)
Using PHP
With PHP, it’s a simple matter to embed dynamic activity in web pages. When you give pages
the .php extension, they have instant access to the scripting language. From a developer’s point
of view, all you have to do is write code such as the following:
<?php
echo " Today is " . date("l") . ". ";
?>

Here's the latest news.

The opening <?php tells the web server to allow the PHP program to interpret all the following
code up to the ?> tag. Outside of this construct, everything is sent to the client as direct HTML.
So the text Here's the latest news. is simply output to the browser; within the PHP tags, the
built-in date function displays the current day of the week according to the server’s system time.

The final output of the two parts looks like this:

Today is Wednesday. Here's the latest news.

PHP is a flexible language, and some people prefer to place the PHP construct directly next to
PHP code, like this:
Today is <?php echo date("l"); ?>. Here's the latest news.

There are even more ways of formatting and outputting information, which I’ll explain in the
chapters on PHP. The point is that with PHP, web developers have a scripting language that,
although not as fast as compiling your code in C or a similar language, is incredibly speedy and
also integrates seamlessly with HTML markup.

Note

If you intend to enter the PHP examples in this book to work along with me, you must remember
to add <?php in front and ?> after them to ensure that the PHP interpreter processes them. To
facilitate this, you may wish to prepare a file called example.php with those tags in place.

Using PHP, you have unlimited control over your web server. Whether you need to modify
HTML on the fly, process a credit card, add user details to a database, or fetch information from
a third-party website, you can do it all from within the same PHP files in which the HTML itself
resides.

(9)
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
At this last sarcasm Mlle. de Soissons looked at the clock with a kind
of eager impatience, but said nothing.
"His magnificence is truly inconceivable," said M. de Lugeac. "It is
true that some say he is fortunate at play; others affirm that the
king and Madame Dubarry favor him in every way, and have gained
for him two very important lawsuits; besides, it is evident that his
Majesty is bewitched with him, as is all the world; and truly it may
be said that everything which this Marquis touches is turned to gold.
. . . If you will believe it, madame, he has brought into fashion a
poor devil of a tailor, who gave him credit in his earlier days; the
Marquis does not conceal it, but speaks of it quite freely. This
Landry, of The Golden Scissors, whose stores are brilliant, who is
now one of the richest artizans of Paris, owes his unlooked-for good
fortune only to the influence of these words, repeated by all the city:
'He is the tailor of the elegant Létorière!'"
"Truly!" said Madame Rohan-Soubise, impatiently, "all these stories
resemble the tales of Perrault."
"They are much more like fairy tales," replied M. de Lugeac. "And
then the description of his bedchamber! they say that his toilet set is
entirely of gold chased by Gouttière, and enriched with precious
stones." . . .
"And I," said the abbé, "I have heard a thousand times repeated by
the Archbishop of Paris that M. de Létorière was almost the serpent
of the terrestrial paradise. . . . 'If it were an affair of the government
of Paris,' said this good prelate to me this morning, 'I would mask
him with a cowl, like a black penitent, to hide his eyes, and choke
the sound of his voice; for, in a question of precedence which
interested one of my relations, this tempter has turned upside down
my whole chapter-house, and fascinated my prebendaries so that
they speak of nothing but him.'"
At this moment the door of the boudoir was thrown open, and a
valet-de-chambre announced with a loud voice: Monsieur the
Marquis de Létorière!
"M. de Létorière in my house! I have never received him! What
audacity!" cried Madame de Rohan-Soubise, with as much
astonishment as anger.
[1]See for these details, and for other biographical particulars of
Létorière, the charming Souvenirs de Madame la Marquise de
Créquy.

CHAPTER IX

THE DEPARTURE

At the announcement of the Marquis, Madame de Rohan-Soubise

had risen; the count and the abbé did the same,—and so also did
the princess Julie.
The Marquis found these four persons present: Madame Rohan-
Soubise, in full dress, arrogant, irritated, haughty; the abbé, by way
of reassuring himself, caressed Puff, who, awaking with a start,
whined a little; the count, leaning his elbow on the mantle-piece,
played carelessly with his watch-chain; Mlle. de Soissons, calm and
resolved, supported herself with one hand on her embroidery frame,
and looked at Létorière with an air at once tender and grateful.
The Marquis had hardly respectfully saluted Madame Rohan-Soubise,
when she turned towards M. de Lugeac, with a gesture of supreme
disdain, and asked him, "Who is this gentleman?"
The count, very much embarrassed, hesitated to answer, when the
Marquis sharply said, "M. de Létorière absolves M. de Lugeac from
being responsible for him to Madame de Rohan-Soubise."
"It was at my request, madame, that M. the Marquis of Létorière has
been kind enough to come here," said the princess Julie, in a firm
and decided voice.
"At your request? . . . yours . . . Julie?" cried Madame Rohan-
Soubise, at the height of astonishment. "'Tis impossible!"
"However unknown I may unhappily be to Madame de Rohan-
Soubise, I dare to hope that she will understand that the formal
orders of Mlle. de Soissons have been necessary to bring me to the
Chateau Soubise—an honor which, until now, I have at least had the
modesty or the good taste never to aspire to," replied the Marquis,
in a tone of marked irony.
"Princess Julie . . . explain yourself . . . this has already continued
too long!" cried Madame de Rohan-Soubise, imperiously.
The count and the abbé made a movement to retire, but Mlle. de
Soissons said to them:
"Have the goodness to remain, gentlemen, that you may be
witnesses to what I wish to say to madame."
The two gentlemen bowed respectfully. Mlle. de Soissons then
addressed her aunt: "I have begged M. de Létorière to come here,
madame, that I might tell him before you, and you before him, my
irrevocable intentions. I am an orphan, and free in all my actions
when they are not unworthy of my birth; but you are my relative,
madame, and I know what is due to you, and I cannot better prove
my respect than in imparting to you a resolution on which depends
my destiny." . . .
With the exception of the Marquis, the actors in this strange scene
were lost in astonishment. Madame de Rohan-Soubise, stupefied at
the language of the princess Julie, could not believe what she heard.
Mlle. de Soissons continued:
"I have offered my hand to M. de Létorière; he has accepted it." . . .
"You have offered your hand!!" . . . cried Madame de Rohan-
Soubise. "Princess Julie, you have lost your reason . . . or is this all
an ill-judged pleasantry?"
"Ah! mademoiselle," said Létorière, with a reproachful accent, seeing
the young girl thus breaking the promise she had made to him, to
wait the issue of the lawsuit before making a final decision.
The princess Julie turned towards him:
"You will soon learn why I have acted thus," said she; and she
added, addressing her aunt with a solemn air, "I have not lost my
reason; and what I say is serious. . . . Before God, who hears me,
before you, madame, before you, Count de Lugeac, and before you,
Abbé d'Arcueil, I, Julie Victorie de Soissons, swear to have no other
husband but the Marquis of Létorière here before us;" and she
tendered him her hand with a gesture of grandeur and simplicity.
The Marquis took the charming hand, which he kissed with the most
respectful and lively tenderness.
This scene was so unexpected, so like a thunderbolt, that Madame
Rohan-Soubise remained for a moment mute, interrogating with her
eyes the count and the abbé, not less astonished.
"And I," replied the Marquis, "swear to consecrate my life to the
noble princess who has honored me with her choice. . . ."
"And I, with all the authority which my relationship gives me,"
impetuously cried Madame de Rohan-Soubise, coming out of her
stupor, "I declare to you, mademoiselle, that this shameful alliance is
impossible, and that it shall never take place!"
"The honor which Mlle. de Soissons deigns to do me, madame,
prevents me from answering your outrageous words," said the
Marquis, much moved.
The Princess Julie replied, addressing herself to her aunt:
"With the delicacy which ought to characterize the man to whom I
intrust my destiny, M. de Létorière wished to await the issue of his
lawsuit, which the Aulic Council of the empire is about to decide,
before accepting formally the hand which I have freely offered him;
if he gains his lawsuit he will be recognized as of a princely house,
and then there will be no difference of rank, as it is called; but if this
proposition was noble and delicate, I was a coward to accept it; I
pretended to recognize exigencies which I do not admit; I pretended
to wait the favorable issue of the lawsuit before making my decision.
But that did not suit me; I meant loyally and openly, madame, to
declare to you my unalterable resolution, whether the lawsuit be
gained or lost. M. de Létorière starts to-night for Vienna. . . . This
evening I shall go to the Abbey of Montmartre, and there await his
return; you will understand, madame, that it is impossible for me to
live any longer in your house." . . .
"Undoubtedly the Chateau Soubise is disagreeable to you,
mademoiselle; yet you must either leave it to make a marriage
worthy of your family, or enter a convent forever." . . .
"At least, madame, his majesty allows me to be free to retire at once
to the lady-superior of Montmartre," said Mlle. de Soissons, handing
to Madame Rohan-Soubise a letter which she took from her pocket.
"The hand-writing of the king!" cried Madame Rohan-Soubise.
"Yesterday I wrote to his majesty, who is acquainted with my
resolution; read his answer, which is addressed to you, madame":

"MY COUSIN: For sufficient reasons, I desire that Mlle. de

Soissons may enter the Abbey of Montmartre until further
orders.
"Your affectionate
"LOUIS."

Madame de Rohan-Soubise, astonished beyond expression, read the

letter twice.
"Wonderful!" said she, with concentrated spite; "you have prevailed,
mademoiselle, but his majesty can reconsider . . . undoubtedly will
reconsider, a determination which has been surprised from him. . . .
And I shall go immediately to the king."
"I believe that I am sufficiently acquainted with his majesty's
intentions, madame, to be certain of the futility of your application,"
said Mlle. de Soissons. Then she offered her hand to M. de Létorière,
saying: "Adieu, my friend; go to Vienna . . . I will wait for you at
Montmartre Abbey."
That very evening M. de Létorière started for Vienna.

CHAPTER X

THE GOVERNOR OF HENFERESTER

Ten leagues north of Vienna is the vast manor of Henferester—an

old pile blackened by time, its walls covered with ivy, its roof with
moss; it seemed deserted and abandoned. The main structure, and
a great tower which faced the east, were almost in ruins. The only
habitable part of the chateau was the western tower; through some
hedges of box, pushing in every direction over the esplanade, which,
surrounded by lime-trees, extended before the door of the castle,
could be seen traces of an ancient parterre overgrown with brambles
and parasitic plants.
Autumn was drawing towards its close; the foliage of the great
clumps of trees which fringed the horizon had begun to put on their
rich purple tints. The sky was gray and rainy; the air damp and cold;
night approached. The high and narrow window which gave light to
the basement of the tower was suddenly illuminated; the stained
glass windows, although somewhat blackened by smoke, shone
brilliantly, and the coat-of-arms of the lords of Henferester glittered
in the darkness steadily deepening.
The lower floor of the tower formed one immense circular room; it
was at once the dining-hall and the kitchen of the Governor of
Henferester; the upper stories contained many dilapidated
chambers, which were reached by a rough and narrow spiral stone
staircase, the ascent of which was aided by a rope attached to the
damp wall by rings of rusty iron.
A great fire was burning in the immense kitchen chimney; a copper
lamp with three branches suspended from the smoky rafters of the
ceiling, lighted the place; on the walls, whose plaster was in
patches, were hung deer-horns, which supported guns and hunting-
knives, wild boars' tusks and hoofs, and several wolves' heads,
stuffed.
The floor, trodden hard like the threshing-floor of a barn, was strewn
with hatchelled straw, by way of a carpet. In one corner an
enormous hogshead of beer, between two beams, was on tap.
Above it were two barrels of different sizes. One contained Rhine
wine, the other, which was smaller, the kirchenwasser of the Black
Forest. On either side of the barrels were ranged pewter mugs of
various sizes. Near by were two great firkins set against the wall,
one full of salted bacon, the other of sauer-kraut pickled in vinegar.
An iron fork and spoon hanging over these two firkins, formed, so to
speak, pendants to the pewter mugs ranged above the barrels.
Lastly, a kneading-trough, containing a dozen loaves of bread as big
as mill-wheels, completed the list of culinary furniture.
Except a quarter of venison, which was roasting before an enormous
fire in the chimney, and a great pot in which the bacon and sauer-
kraut were boiling, there was nothing in the room to indicate that it
was a kitchen. There were visible neither cooking-stoves, nor
moulds, nor saucepans of various forms, so dear to gourmands.
As for utensils, there was only one gridiron hanging before the
mouth of the oven, which was wide open, under the mantle-piece,
and a great turnspit operated by a dog.
A quarter of venison, like that before the fire, was hanging, all
bloody, on an iron hook near the door.
Thanks to the combined odors of the venison, the bacon, the sauer-
kraut, the beer, the wine, and the kirchenwasser, the atmosphere of
the room was so thick, or perhaps we may say, so nourishing, that a
very little of it would have satisfied a delicate stomach.
Without, the rain, mingled with hail, fell violently, pelting the
windows.
Two white-haired old Germans, clothed in loose gray coats, fastened
at the waist by belts of buffalo hide, were preparing the repast of
the lord of Henferester, who had been out hunting since the
morning, and had not yet returned.
These preparations were simple. The domestics drew towards the
fireplace a long and massive oak table; at the upper end they placed
the master's oaken seat, coarsely sculptured with his coat-of-arms,
the back carried up to form a canopy, and to which no cushion gave
ease.
Before this seat they placed a plate, or rather a great dish of silver, a
piece of bread weighing about two pounds, and three tankards, also
of silver, which served at once as glasses and bottles. The first,
destined for beer, held two pints; the second, for wine, one pint, the
third, for kirchenwasser, half a pint.
These tankards were generally filled a second time during the meal.
Table-cloths, napkins, and covers were things merely remembered,
and were deemed ridiculous superfluities. Hunters of that day always
carried two knives in their belts; one straight and long, for stabbing
the beast; the other, thick, curved, and a little larger than an
ordinary table-knife, was used for cutting him up. This last they
invariably employed for carving their meat at table.
The servants then laid pewter plates and pieces of bread at each
side of the table. These inferior places were reserved for the
servitors of the baron, according to their rank.
The lord of Henferester, faithful to old and patriarchal traditions, ate
with his domestics. On his right was the place of Erhard Trusches,
his huntsman; on the left that of Selbitz, his major-domo.
This last-named personage, having set the sauer-kraut to boil, and
the venison to roast, aided Link, an old groom, in preparing the
table.
As to women, they were never seen in the castle. Every Saturday,
old Wilhelmina, the minister's housekeeper, came to make and bake
the bread for the week, while the baron was at the council at
Vienna. Wednesday, the other council day, she put in order the linen
of the castle, always in the absence of the governor, who regarded
the fair sex with profound dislike.
"The master is late to-night," said the major-domo, sadly looking at
the quarter of venison, which was beginning to dry up.
"The night is dark, the rain is falling heavily, Master Selbitz . . .
perhaps the chase will have carried the governor into the forest of
Harterassen. . . . Master Erhard Trusches sent word this morning by
Karl, the dog-keeper, that the baron was to hunt a wild boar; . . .
and wild boars always start in the woods of Ferstenfak, gain the
plain of Marais, return to their lair in the forest of Harterassen, and
then are captured at the pond of the priory. All that would make a
run of at least eight leagues, and as many to return, Master Selbitz."
...
"And what with the night and the rain, and the bad roads of the
forest, that is a long way. . . . But listen, Link," . . . said the major-
domo, putting his hand to his ear; "is not that the sound of the
governor's trumpet?"
"No, Master Selbitz, it is the wind blowing the weathercock." . . .
"What time is it?" asked the major-domo; for clocks were almost as
unknown in the castle as at Otaheite.
"It must be between six and seven, Master Selbitz, for Elphin, the
governor's roan horse, has been calling for his grain for some time. .
. . Hark! listen! do you hear him? Patience, patience, old Elphin!"
said the groom, coming back from the door. . . . "When your
companions, Kol and Lipper, get back, you will have your supper, but
not before, you old glutton!"
"This time it surely is the governor's trumpet," cried the major-
domo. . . . "God be praised! What weather! Come! run and hold the
master's stirrup. Link, while I go and throw some pine cones on the
fire, to make a blaze."
"That is certainly the governor's trumpet," said Link, after listening
attentively, . . . "but he does not sound a joyful flourish, or the
retreat. . . . Ah, Master Selbitz, bad luck, bad luck!"
"The better reason for not keeping him waiting,—go—hurry!"
The groom ran out. . . . Selbitz, having brightened the fire, put on
his lord's silver plate a letter with a great red seal, which an express
had brought from Vienna during the day.
At this moment they heard the loud snapping of a whip, and a
stentorian and harsh voice, crying: "Go to the black devil! you cursed
dogs! Erhard, see if the piebald horse eats well; for the day has
been a hard one!"
Then they heard the clatter of great iron-heeled and spurred boots;
the door opened, and the lord of Henferester entered in the midst of
a dozen dogs, covered with mud and streaming with rain, who
rushed into the kitchen, and crowded before the fire to dry
themselves.
The baron allowed them this privilege as much for love of the canine
race, as for his own interest, knowing that dogs who go into their
kennels shivering and cold, often fall sick.
The lord of Henferester, a man of enormous size, and from forty-five
to fifty years old, seemed to possess herculean strength. On
entering, he threw his old felt hat into the kneading-trough. His
bright red hair was cut short; his russet beard, which he shaved only
on council days, was so thick that it covered nearly all his face. His
features, strongly marked, and tanned by exposure to the open air,
were hard, yet not devoid of a certain nobility.
His old green jacket was soaked with rain, and buttoned up to his
chin. His deer-skin breeches were black with age, and his great thick
boots, covered with mud, reached more than half-way up his thighs;
a leather belt held his hunting-knives, with horn handles. He carried
across his breast a great trumpet of tarnished copper, and held in his
large, hairy hand, a whip and a carbine.
Having given this weapon and the trumpet to his major-domo, who
hung them upon the wall, the master approached the fire with a
discontented air, distributed several rude kicks among his dogs, to
make them move out of his way, and threw himself heavily in his
chair, saying to his hounds, sharply:
"Get out, you lazy, clumsy wretches! you are much more worthy to
turn the spit than to follow the chase of a noble animal. . . . To give
out after a five-hours' run, and all because the haunt of the wild
boar is too brambly! You have, it seems, become very delicate! Hum!
and even you, old Ralph!" he added, with a furious look, aiming a
kick at the dog thus addressed.
The major-domo, seeing the humor of his master, tried to calm him
by recalling his more successful sport.
"I can understand that my lord may be displeased when he has had
bad luck, for he is not used to it; but—"
"Well, well," said the baron, in a harsh tone, "take the venison from
the spit, and give me my supper, for I am as hungry as the devil.
This boar led us through the forest of Harterassen; then the dogs
gave out before a hedge so thick that one should have the hide of a
wild boar itself to penetrate it." . . .
"My lord sees, then, that it is not altogether the fault of his brave
dogs. But my lord is wet through; if he would but change his
clothes." . . .
"Change my clothes! and why would you have me change, Master
Selbitz the tender-skinned?" cried the governor, wrathfully; "do you
take me for a silly woman, for a Frenchman? Do I change my clothes
when I return from the chase? Do my dogs change? do my horses
change?"
"No, of course not, my lord, but your clothes smoke on your body,
like Dame Wilhelmina's tub when she is making the washing lye." . .
.
"That shows that they are drying, and the dampness is leaving
them!"
"But, my lord". . .
"But, hold your tongue, Master Selbitz the blockhead, Master Selbitz
the babbler, and give me a mug of kirchenwasser."
Then, seeing the letter which was on his plate, the baron asked:
"What is that, Selbitz?"
"A letter which Count Stasfield's carrier has brought."
"Oh! let business go to the devil! Tis enough to go to Vienna twice a
week," said the governor, breaking the seal of the letter.
It read thus:

"I wish to inform you, my dear baron, that the French Marquis
M. de Létorière will arrive to-day at your house to converse with
you on the subject of his lawsuit; I need not remind you of the
formal promise you have made me to add your vote to those of
your colleagues, in favor of the Duke of Brandenbourg. Believe
me, my dear baron, etc."

"And what the devil is this Frenchman coming here for?" cried the
governor, in a passion. "By the Holy Kings of Cologne, am I never to
have one moment of repose? Here is this beau of Versailles coming
to rouse me like a wild boar from his lair. . . . In my opinion his
lawsuit is lost . . . totally lost. . . . What does he want more? Does
he believe that I am going to interest myself about him? An
impudent little fellow, who embroiders in tambour, and who uses,
they say, rouge and patches! One of these men of gallantry, as
corrupt as effeminate, always hanging on the skirts of the women!
But, by the infernal, I can't escape from this Marquis! If he comes, I
shall be obliged to offer him hospitality; it is fifteen leagues from
here to Vienna, and I can't send him back without seeing him! I wish
the devil had all the lawyers and lawsuits! and he's coming to-night!
We must offer him a bed; but where shall he sleep? Everything is
dilapidated here, and this beauty will come in a litter, like a woman
in labor!"
The baron stamped his foot in anger, and calling his major-domo,
said with an air of vexation:
"Perhaps we shall have a Frenchman here to-night—a Marquis—a
pleader;—in such weather we cannot let him go back to Vienna.
Where can we put him, him and his suite? For this dandy
undoubtedly travels with his train of hair-dressers, bathers and
perfumers!"
"Faith, my lord," said the major-domo, scratching his ear, "there is
only the rat-chamber, where the rain does not come in."
"Well then, put him in the rat-chamber." Then the baron added, with
a sort of bitter irony: "In order to convey a brilliant impression of the
hospitality bestowed at the castle of Henferester, and especially that
this delicate visitor may have all his comforts, don't forget, major-
domo, to cover his bed with the most beautiful silk curtains, to
furnish it with eider-down, and the finest linens of Friesland; to beat
well the Turkey carpet; to put perfumed candles into the silver-gilt
candlesticks, and to warm his bed with charcoal of aloes wood. Do
you understand, major-domo?"
"Yes, yes, my lord," said Martin Selbitz, busily occupying himself with
dishing up the quarter of venison, the bacon and the sauer-kraut,
and rejoiced at the peasantry of his master; "yes, my lord, be easy;
I understand you; the straw of his bed shall be fresh, and well
stirred up; the woollen coverlid well beaten, the floor well swept, the
curtains and tapestry of cobwebs well shaken, and the shutters set
wide open, that the moon may throw a bright light into the chamber
of your guest; in short, if he is so delicate and sensitive to cold, his
bed shall be warmed,—by the dog of the turnspit."
The baron could not help laughing at the factiousness of his major-
domo, who had so exactly described the rat-chamber, which was
very like his own apartment, so indifferent was he to the commonest
conveniences of life.
"To supper!" said the governor, drawing up his chair and taking his
hunting-knife from his belt.
At this moment was heard the sound of the trumpet, habitually used
by German postilions.
"Perhaps it is that confounded Marquis," cried the baron. "Hullo,
Erhard, Selbitz, run to receive him!"
The governor, rising heavily from his seat, went to the door, saying
in a growling tone: "He must have a devilish strong body to travel
such weather as this. . . . Bah, shut up in his post-chaise, he is much
better off than he will be in the castle. Let us see, then, this
beautiful darling, this beau, this most effeminate of all the
effeminates in the Court of France."
And the governor went forward to fulfil, in spite of himself, the
duties of hospitality towards his guest.

CHAPTER XI

THE SUPPER

Contrary to the expectation of the baron, Létorière dismounted from

a horse, instead of getting out of a chaise, and gave his animal in
charge of the postilion.
The master of Henferester understood the duties of his position too
well not to accord a polite reception to a gentleman who had come
to ask a favor of him. He saw, moreover, that Létorière was much
less effeminate than he had been led to believe. A certain amount of
energy was necessary to bring him fifteen leagues on a post-horse,
in a dark night and frightful weather.
When the Marquis entered, he was nearly suffocated by the
substantial atmosphere of which we have spoken, to which was now
added the strong odor of the kennel, exhaling from the crowded
hounds. At sight of the stranger, they began to bay with marvellous
accord.
The Marquis stopped, seemed to listen to their howlings with
unspeakable satisfaction, and said in very good German:
"On my faith, baron, I have never heard dogs with better throats
than yours. By St. Hubert! here is something to make the true
huntsman's heart beat!" Then, without noticing the governor, he
began to examine in detail, with serious interest, the qualities of the
dogs who approached him; and exclaimed, in a tone of increasing
admiration: "Good dogs! brave dogs! our dogs of Normandy and
Poitou are not so good as these; yours have better heads, are better
formed about the flanks. See them! They are the most beautiful
dogs of their kind I ever saw in my life! Come here, my fine fellow!"
And Létorière took a great white dog, marked with black, by his two
forepaws, looked at him with the eye of a connoisseur for several
minutes, and, with an air of approbation, said to the baron, who
stood by astonished: "That's one of your best dogs, baron; that's
one of your blood-hounds, isn't it? He has served you a long time; so
much the better; years improve blood-hounds."
Confounded by the assurance and volubility of the Marquis, the
governor, a downright huntsman, too proud of his dogs to take
offence at any attention which they excited, and, above all, struck by
the remarks of Létorière about the blood-hound, answered almost
mechanically:
"But who told you that this dog Moick was my blood-hound?"
"How, who told me, baron? First the mark of the collator which is to
be seen on his neck, on his worn hair, as clearly as the marks of the
breastplate on a draft-horse; and then his deep and hollow voice,
which proves also that he never barks. All this is more than enough
to indicate a blood-hound to one who is not a novice in the
brotherhood of joyous huntsmen. And then what a well-developed
nose! and the chase-bone, as salient as a linger! Believe me, baron,
in all your life you will never find a finer blood-hound! make the
most of him! Ah well! I see there a quarter of venison, which is
getting cold; don't let us wait any longer, I am as hungry as forty
devils! You shall see how I'll play the knife and fork! Give us your
hand, baron! By St. Hubert, our common patron, you are a brave old
German; I was told so, and now I'm sure of it."
"Monsieur, may I know to whom I have the honor of speaking?"
demanded the baron, more and more astonished at the cavalier
manner of the stranger.
"That's right, baron. My name is Létorière; I have come to speak
with you about my lawsuit . . . But as we must see clearly in this
chaos, blacker than hell, and as it is now night, we will wait for the
day . . . that is to say, to-morrow morning, before talking about it . .
. Now, let's go to table, since I have invited myself without
ceremony. Excuse the rudeness of my manner, but I am a child of
the forests."
The governor was stupefied. He had expected to see a little dandy,
speaking with the tips of his lips, pretentious, scented, delicate, as
ignorant of horses and dogs as a Leipsic shopkeeper; and he found
him a jovial, stanch young fellow, who seemed to know all about
hunting, and whose dress vied in negligence with his own.
The baron felt most favorably disposed towards Létorière. The
admiration which the latter had shown for the dogs, increased the
good-will of the governor for his guest, so that he cordially
answered: "The castle of Henferester is at your disposal, Monsieur; I
only wish I could offer you greater hospitality."
"You are too particular, baron. If you knew me better, you would see
that I could not desire entertainment more in accordance with my
tastes. To the table, baron!" and the Marquis approached the fire.
Létorière had undergone a complete moral and physical
transformation. He who had been applauded at the theatre for the
superlative elegance of his dress, for the grace and charm of his
person, now wore an old blue hunting-coat with a velvet collar faded
to dusky red; great boots not less rough, not less muddy, not less
heavily spurred than those of the German Nimrod. A knot of leather
tied his unpowdered hair, disordered by his journey; his beard was
half long, and the delicate whiteness of his hands was concealed by
a tint of soot, which made them look as tanned as the baron's. In
short, everything was changed in the Marquis, even to the
enchanting tone of his voice, now harsh and a little hoarse.
None of these peculiarities escaped the baron.
"Do you know, Erhard," said he in a low tone to his huntsman, "do
you know that this Frenchman immediately recognized old Moick as
a blood-hound, and one of our best dogs?"
"Indeed, my lord!" said Erhard, with a doubting air.
"It is so, Erhard; I begin to think they do know something about the
chase in France."
Then addressing his major-domo, while the Marquis was drying
himself at the fire, the baron said:
"Remove your plates, Selbitz; Frenchmen are not used to our
German manners."
Selbitz began to execute the order to his own discontent, as well as
that of Erhard, when Létorière, fearing to make two enemies so near
the governor by a misunderstood fastidiousness, cried:
"What! baron, you wish me, then, to take my horse and return to
Vienna without any supper! and why the devil do you remove the
plates of those brave men? Am I more of a gentleman than you, that
I should be shocked at your domestic habits?"
"It is our old German custom, it is true," said the baron, "but I
thought that in France . . ."
"Baron, we are now in Germany, at the house of one of the most
worthy representatives of the old nobility of the Empire. The rule of
this house ought to be inviolable; thus, then, my worthy huntsman,"
addressing himself to Erhard Trusches, "and you, my brave director
of the family tuns, hogsheads and barrels, take your places again,
with the consent of the baron, who, I hope, will not refuse me this
grace."
At a sign from the baron, the two servants joyfully replaced their
plates at the lower end of the table. The governor pointed to the
Marquis's seat, and all prepared to attack the venison, and the
immense dish of sauer-kraut and bacon which smoked on the table.
The baron plunged his knife into the venison to carve it, when
Létorière, with a grave and solemn air, putting his hand on the
governor's arm,—
"One moment, baron I devil take me if I ever dine without saying
blessing and grace."
The baron frowned, and answered with impatience and
embarrassment:
"Since my chaplain died I have almost forgotten the words; but I
give the sense—Well, don't you know the blessing, Erhard?"
"No, my lord," said Erhard, in a peevish tone, "I say it once for the
year, and yesterday was my day for saying it."
"And you, Selbitz?"
"I, my lord! my brother, the minister of Blumenthal, says it for me
every day."
"Ah, baron, are you all Turks? So it will fall to me to say grace."
And the Marquis said in a loud voice, "Great St. Hubert, please to
make the venison fat, the wine good, the appetite ravenous, and the
thirst unquenchable." Then he emptied at one draught the tankard
which held a pint of Rhine wine, wiped his mustaches with the back
of his hand, and, putting the mug on the table, said Amen.
This pleasantry made the worthy governor almost burst with
laughter; imitating the prowess of his guest, he drank at one breath
his cup of wine, repeated Amen with the voice of a Stentor, and
found his solicitor a jolly good fellow.
The two servants, quite as much tickled as their master by the
strange blessing of the Marquis, nevertheless moderated the
expression of their gayety.
"Selbitz," said the governor, soon animated by the good cheer and
the sallies of Létorière, "go and refill our tankards, and don't forgot
yours and Erhard's; it is a fête to-day at Henferester, in honor of my
guest."
And the baron affectionately tendered his great hand to the Marquis,
whose fingers he rudely squeezed, as much in genuine cordiality as
to show his strength.
Létorière, who, under a delicate exterior, concealed great muscular
strength, answered his pressure quite as roughly. The baron, who
had not expected this proof of his vigor, said, laughing, with an
astonished air:
"A rod of steel is often as strong as a great bar of iron, my guest."
"But unhappily, baron, a great glass will hold more than a little one,"
replied the Marquis.
The wine and the beer began to circulate; the baron saw, with a sort
of national pride, Létorière, after having eaten five or six slices of
venison, bravely attack the sauer-kraut and smoked bacon, of which
he praised the appetizing savor, emptying his two tankards two or
three times, meanwhile.
While satisfying his furious appetite, Létorière had not remained
silent. His lively and natural wit, excited by the good cheer, charmed
by a thousand pleasantries; in a word, Selbitz and Erhard saw, to
their great astonishment, their master, ordinarily so grave and
taciturn, laugh in this one evening more than he had laughed for
many years.
The huntsman, recognizing in Létorière an accomplished hunter,
listened religiously to his slightest words, when the baron ordered
him to carry the dogs back to their kennel, and give them their
supper. A second iron pot, destined for the hounds, was taken from
the fire.
The major-domo, after removing the dishes, placed upon the table
the tankard of kirchenwasser, an earthen jar full of tobacco, and
gave the baron an old pipe.
The latter filled it, saying to Létorière, with whom he already felt
entirely at ease, "Well! tobacco-smoke won't offend you, Marquis?"
For answer, the Marquis drew from his pocket an enormous pipe,
which bore the marks of long and faithful service, and began to fill it
with familiar ease.
"You smoke then, Marquis!" cried the delighted governor, clapping
his hands with admiration.
"Do people live without smoking, baron? On returning from the
chase, after a good meal, what greater pleasure is there than
smoking a pipe with your feet on the andirons, drinking from time to
time a swallow of kirchenwasser, this savage offspring of the Black
Forest, which is, to my thinking, as much superior to French brandy
as a heath-cock is to a barn-yard fowl?" And after this audacious
flattery, the Marquis enveloped himself in a thick cloud of smoke.
The governor, animated by his frequent libations, and whose head
was not, perhaps, quite so calm and so cool as that of his guest,
regarded the Marquis with a sort of ecstasy; he could not
understand how a body so frail in appearance, was so vigorous in
reality; how a Frenchman could drink and smoke as much as, or
more, than he, the widerkom vierge, the subduer of the most
redoubtable drinkers of the Empire.
"To the health of your mistress, my guest!" said he gayly to the
Marquis.
"My mistress! that's my gun," said Létorière, stretching himself out
by the fire, and poking it with the toe of his great boot, the soles of
which were an inch thick. "Devil take the women! they cannot bear
the smell of tobacco, of brandy, or of the kennel, without putting a
flask of perfume to their noses. Do you make much account of
women, baron?"
"I love better to hear the clatter of spurs than the rustle of
petticoats, my guest; but at my age that is wisdom," said the baron,
more and more astonished to find the Marquis sharing his rustic
tastes and his antipathies to the ridiculous affectations of the fair
sex.
"At all ages it is wisdom, baron; and I would give all the love-sick
guitars, all the melancholy lays of the troubadours, for the old
trumpet of a forester."
"Do you know one thing, my guest?" said the baron, striking his mug
against that of the Marquis.
"Say on, baron," replied the Marquis, filling his pipe anew.
"Well! before I saw you, knowing you were coming to interest me
about your lawsuit, which unhappily . . .
"Devil take the lawsuit, baron!" cried Létorière; "the one who speaks
of it this evening shall be condemned to drink a pint of water!"
"So be it, Marquis! Well, before I saw you it seemed to me that I
should much rather go through a bramble bush than to receive you;
frankly, I dreaded your arrival. . . . I believed you a dandy and a
beau." . . .
"Thank you, baron! Well, for my part, I believed you to be an
Alcindor, a Cytherean shepherd."
"Now, although I have known you but this evening," resumed the
baron, "I will say to you frankly, that when you quit this poor castle
of Henferester I shall have lost the best companion that a man could
have for a long evening at the fire-side."
"And also to pass a hard day of hunting in the depths of the forest.
Devil take the coxcomb who prefers balls and gallantry to the bottle,
the pipe and hunting. If you wish to prove to me that your dogs are
as good as they are handsome, baron, you will see that I am worthy
to follow them."
"That's right, my guest! To-morrow morning, by daylight, we will be
ready for the chase."
"Let it be as you say, baron; we will speak of the lawsuit day after
to-morrow, not before—remember—the pint of water to him who
speaks of it before."
"Bravo, my guest!" said the baron, "but it is late, and you are
fatigued; old Selbitz will conduct you to your chamber,—that is to
say, a kind of room furnished with a paltry bed, which is all I have to
offer you. . . . My chamber is still worse."
"Ah, well, no ceremony, baron; rather than give you any trouble, I
will take one of my boots for a bolster; you will give me an armful of
straw, and I shall pass a comfortable night before this fire, which will
burn until morning."
"I have thus passed many nights in the huts of charcoal burners,"
said the baron, with a sigh of regret, "when I was hunting in the
Black Forest; but in fact, my friend, however bad your bed may be,
you will find it more comfortable than this floor, beaten down like a
threshing-ground."
"To-morrow morning, baron, I will myself sound the reveille" said the
Marquis; "but before that, let me sound the good-night." And
Létorière, taking from the wall the governor's trumpet, gave this last
flourish with such perfection, with such a bold and free hunting air,
that the baron enthusiastically cried:
"In the thirty years I've hunted, I never heard so fine a trumpeter."
"That is easily enough explained, baron; it is because you have
never heard yourself sound it. Your trumpet is so true that you
cannot help being master of this noble science. But until to-morrow,
—baron, good-night, and above all, don't dream of water, or sour
wine, or empty bottles."
"Good-night, Marquis!"
The baron called Selbitz, and ordered him to conduct his guest to
the rat-chamber already described, in which a great fire had been
lighted.
Létorière, fatigued with his journey, slept soundly enough, and the
baron did the same, after having several times remarked to Selbitz
and Erhard, in giving them their orders for the next day, that it was
a pity that this young man was a Frenchman, for he was quite
worthy of having been born in Germany.

CHAPTER XII

CONFIDENCES

The next day, on rising, the baron learned from Selbitz that the
Marquis had set out at daylight with Erhard Trusches, for the woods,
and had charged the major-domo to make his excuses to the
governor.
"Who would have thought, considering the reputation of the
Marquis, to find him such a hard huntsman and drinker, Selbitz? For,
do you know, he was ahead of me at table, and we valiantly emptied
our tankards," said the baron.
"Yes, my lord, and he went up to the rat-chamber with as firm a step
as if he had drunk nothing but a little whey for supper."
"Well, well," said the baron, receiving from the hands of his major-
domo what was necessary to dress himself for the chase, "well,
Selbitz, we must allow that, after all, the Marquis is a brave and
worthy gentleman, and besides, is gay enough to rejoice your heart!
What good stories he told us. . . . I wish he was going to pass
several days at the castle! for, on my faith, he's a most agreeable
companion. Although there is more than twenty years difference in
our ages, we seem to be old acquaintances; in short, if he were not
an acquaintance of yesterday, I should say—and devil take me if I
know why—I should say, Selbitz, that I feel a great friendship for
him; faith, I like frank and open characters,—there's nothing equal
to them!"
After hastily eating a slice of cold venison, a porringer of beer-soup,
and drinking two pints of Rhine wine, the baron mounted his horse,
and soon reached the rendezvous which he had appointed with
Erhard Trusches, in one of the cross-ways of the forest.
He found there his huntsman, his servant, and the pack.
Erhard Trusches appeared sad and absorbed; the baron, surprised at
not seeing Létorière at the rendezvous, questioned Erhard about
him.
After a moment's silence, Erhard said, with a timid and uneasy air,
"Is my lord well acquainted with his guest?"
"What do you mean, Erhard? Where is the Marquis? Did he not come
with you this morning to the wood?"
"Yes, my lord, that is why I ask you if you are sure of him. See here,
my lord, it will bring me mischief, joking last night at supper about
the blessing."
"Ah! explain yourself!"
"I mean to say, my lord"—and Erhard went on with a low and
trembling voice—"I very much fear that your guest is he who
appears sometimes in the moonlight, in the solitary recesses of the
forest, to offer to desperate huntsmen three balls, one of gold, one
of silver, and one of lead, and the whole at the price of their souls!"
added Erhard, with a gloomy and frightened air.
"So! you take my guest for the devil, then," cried the baron,
shrugging his shoulders and laughing; "your morning cup has turned
your brain, old Erhard!"
The huntsman shook his head, and replied: "My lord, explain to me
how it is that he whom you call your guest, and who has never been
in this forest before, knows it as well as I do."
"What do you mean to say?" said the baron, very much astonished.
"This morning at daylight, when I started with the Marquis, 'Master
Erhard,' said he to me, 'if you will let me take a hound, we will share
the search of the forest. I will go over the enclosures of the priory of
the Hermit's Chapel, of the Thunder-struck Fir-tree, and of the Black
Pool.'"
"He said that?" said the baron, stupefied.
"Just as I have told you, my lord, and he added: 'I have great hope
of starting a full-grown buck, for, in the woods about the Hermit's
Chapel, stags are plenty. You, Master Erhard, on your part, seek to
start a wild boar. They are always to be found in the forests of
Enrichs, the brambles are so thick. Then the baron can have his
choice between the foot of the stag or the track of the wild boar.'
'But, sir,' I said, affrighted, 'you know our forests well, then? you
have often hunted them?' 'I have never hunted here,' he answered,
'but I know it as well as you do. Go ahead! good luck, Master
Erhard!'—and then he disappeared in the woods, taking with him
poor Moick, our best boar-hound, whom lie will perhaps change into
a lynx, or a beast with seven paws, by his diabolical witchcraft."
The baron was not at all superstitious, but he could not comprehend
what Erhard said, and he knew him to be too respectful to joke with
his master. Nevertheless, he could not but admit that the Marquis
was endowed with such topographical knowledge as the huntsman
described.
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