D'Artagnan, the King Maker — page 314: what you’re looking at

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

The Last Card. 295 left the tent. The guards admired his proportions, but no one stayed him; besides, as the civic guardsman had said, most of the regular soldiers, who were Portuguese, or who had friends in the town, were struggling thither. So he ‘had considerable company. “That was obliging of you,” said the musketeer, cor- dially. “Sire, I am only doing my duty——” “Toward the King of Spain?” “Toward the States of Portugal. I hope that, as the events are cast out of fate’s dice box, your majesty will bear in mind that I conducted myself with all the respect due your position.” 7 le assuredly conduct yourself like a true Portu- ese!” “Sire, ‘believe me, if Lisbon had not been cowed into obeying the foreigners’ yoke—our nature, our spirit, our business, all resent being trodden on by the crowned viper’s hoof!” “Viper’s hoof is good!” “Look you, I was a leather supply factor before I had to turn to cloth dealing. Why? because the Spanish held back the soldier’s pay, notably the Portuguese, so that they went barefoot in summer and bound up their feet, like peasants, in any old rags, in the wet weather. Such policy was fatal to the leather trade! So I took up cloth working. But the insurrection breaking out, no one buys clothes A “T should not have thought that!” “But, sire, who would buy what they can steal ?” “Who, indeed! Is stealing so easy?” “In war times, to be sure! It is a warrant to behave like disorderly soldiers—the beggars stroll the streets and take down the frippery hung out to attract custom; the highwaymen strip travelers; the soldiers rob the fallen; the wretches, who infest the ghetto and dwell outside the walls, strip the corpses—in a word, no one buys clothes!" “T see that, if I should reign, it would be over a people in aprons of fig leaves !”’ “So, I owe the Spaniard nothing—or, rather, so keen and close are they, they will not let me owe them any- thing! The boot is on the other leg; for I have my books GOMIGDOOKS