pour tous, et tous pour un_." All is in common amongst
them--pleasures, perils, pistoles.

The characters of the three mousquetaires are well sketched and
sustained, and illustrate admirably the vices, virtues, and
propensities of their time and station. Aramis, who was originally
intended for the church, has relinquished the black coat of an abbe in
order to fight a nobleman who had insulted him. He still, however,
persists in considering himself as a guardsman only _pro tempore_; and
whenever fortune or his mistress frowns upon him, he declares his
intention of abandoning his sinful mode of life, and throwing himself
into the arms of mother church. Vanity is the failing of Porthos, who
shines more by his imposing appearance, brilliant attire, and bull-dog
courage, than by any qualities of the head. To Athos, who is the most
interesting of the three, a certain mystery is attached, which,
however, is seen through early in the book. He is a man of high birth,
princely manners, and chivalrous feeling, but whose stormy life has
cast a strong tinge of melancholy over his character, and who now
finds his sole consolation in the wine-cup. It must not be therefore
supposed that Athos is a sot, a wallower in wine, or a haunter of
tavern orgies. He drinks, it is true, enough to prostrate any three
ordinary men; but he takes his liquor, as he does every thing else, so
much like a gentleman, and, moreover, there is so much self-devotion
and generosity in his character, such dignity of manner and rectitude
of feeling--his temper so even and kindly--his courage so heroic--that
he is unquestionably the most amiable and interesting of the _dramatis
personae_, preferable to D'Artagnan, to whom premature worldly wisdom
gives a hardness bordering upon egotism. While Aramis is sighing
sonnets to his mistress, and Porthos parading on the crown of the
causeway in all the glory of gold lace and embroidery, Athos sits
tranquilly at home, and says, like Gregory in the Deserter--

"J'aime mieux boire."

His real name--for Athos, Porthos, and Aramis are merely assumed
ones--is known only to the King and to Monsieur de Treville.

It would be difficult within the limits of this paper to give an idea
of the entire plot of the _Three Mousquetaires_, which is, in fact,
less a tale with a regular intrigue and _denouement_, than a narrative
of adventures and incidents, extending over a period of nearly three
years. D'Artagnan, whose enterprising