I felt this more than I had ever felt it before in the solitude of my new dwelling, and many an hour I passed away in various sylvan sports, which, while they gave me active employment, still led me into the fairest scenes in the country round.
Nevertheless, I found myself bound in duty to Monsieur de Villardin to make him acquainted with all the incidents of my journey; and though at that time I loved not sitting at a desk, even as long as was required to write a short letter, yet, forcing myself to the task with a great effort, I detailed everything that had occurred to me, and despatched the epistle to St. Aubin,--for I would not trust it at Rennes--to go by the next ordinary courier to Paris. Nothing happened to disturb my tranquillity for the ten days that followed, and I remained fishing in the streams, or shooting the wolves and the boars, with very little intermission. On one occasion, indeed, having a letter to deliver from the Duke to his intendant at his other estate of Dumont, I rode over thither, and found a very different scene from that presented by the Prés Vallée--rocks and mountains, and streams and waterfalls, with a modern house, modern alleys, modern bridges, and modern furniture. In the mood which then possessed me, however, the Prés Vallée was more to my taste, and I returned to its calm shades as soon as possible, leaving the letter to be delivered to the intendant, who was absent at the time of my arrival.
At the end of ten days a courier reached the Prés Vallée from Paris, bringing a large packet addressed to myself, on opening which I found a short letter from Monsieur de Villardin, directing me to wait for a fortnight longer in Brittany for the purpose of bringing up the rents of several of his farms, and referring to another more voluminous paper contained in the same packet, which, as I soon perceived, expressed the will and pleasure of the King that no proceedings should take place against John Marston Hall, for the rescue of a prisoner from the hands of the criminal lieutenant, and authorized him to plead the royal grace and pardon in all matters referring thereto.
This, as may well be supposed, afforded a great relief to my mind, for it was by no means pleasant to go about the world with the fear of the Bastile hanging about the neck of one's imagination. Although I had now no apprehensions from the pursuit of justice, I soon began to feel the solitude of the Prés Vallée less delightful than it had seemed at first; and though, had there been any one to share my sports, or to occupy my time, I should still have enjoyed it much; yet the hours gradually became somewhat tiresome, shut up in an old castle, with nothing but solemn woods around one, and a library of old books for my sole companions. I now, however, found the Latin with which Lord Masterton had furnished me turn to some account; and after having read Ovid two or three times through, I dipped into Lucan, and pored over several other books, in order to while away the evenings.