“I have just signed your patent, — you are Duke of Albemarle; and my intention is that no one shall equal you in power and fortune in this kingdom, where — the noble Montrose excepted — no one has equaled you in loyalty, courage, and talent. Gentlemen, the duke is commander of our armies of land and sea; pay him your respects, if you please, in that character.”

Whilst every one was pressing round the general, who received all this homage without losing his impassibility for an instant, D’Artagnan said to Athos: “When one thinks that this duchy, this commander of the land and sea forces, all these grandeurs, in a word, have been shut up in a box six feet long and three feet wide — ”

“My friend,” replied Athos, “much