The Gascon's Departure
It is the first Monday of April, 1625. You are D'Artagnan, a young nobleman leaving your home in Gascony to seek your fortune in Paris. Your father has given you three gifts: fifteen crowns, a letter of introduction to Monsieur de Tréville (Captain of the King's Musketeers), and a horse.
Ah, the horse. It is a Béarn pony, thirteen years old, and of a strange yellow color. Your father advises you: "Never fear quarrels, but seek adventures. I have taught you how to handle a sword. Fight on all occasions!"
You ride forth, head high, though people smile at your yellow steed. At the town of Meung, you stop at the Jolly Miller inn. There, near an open window, you see a gentleman in a violet doublet talking to two others. He is looking at your horse and laughing.
His mockery makes your Gascon blood boil.