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The Man in the Iron Mask Chapter Fifty-One: The Epitaph of Porthos Summary

  • Aramis stands and goes to the boat, supported by the three servants. He is full of grief.
  • The narrator delivers a touching obituary.
  • The men row towards Spain as Aramis sinks into a silent, immovable grief.
  • The men soon realize they are being chased, but do not disturb their master until an hour has past.
  • Aramis does not reply.
  • The ship continues pursuit.
  • There are twenty-five men on the ship, and they soon fire a cannon at the little boat.
  • The sailors are afraid.
  • Aramis tells the men to wait for the ship. The little boat surrenders. The terms of the surrender are that the servants' lives will be spared, but not Aramis's.
  • Aramis tells his men to accept the conditions.
  • Once on board, Aramis makes a sign to the captain and shows him the setting of one of his rings. The captain begins obeying Aramis.
  • (We think that Aramis showed proof of his identity as the General of the Jesuits.)
  • Aramis spends the night leaning on the rails, and one of his men later notices that the wood upon which Aramis's head rested was soaked with moisture.
  • The narrator speculates that that moisture was the first tears Aramis ever shed. The narrator says that is equal to any epitaph Porthos could have received.