Meung

Meung is the market town where the young Gascon d'Artagnan first enters the world of the novel, and where his entire adventure is set in motion. On the first Monday of April 1625, the town appears in a state of revolution, with citizens rushing toward the hostelry of the Jolly Miller. It is here that d'Artagnan, riding his comical yellow Bearn pony, encounters a gentleman of stern countenance who ridicules his horse, sparking a brawl that leaves d'Artagnan wounded and unconscious. This stranger, later revealed to be the Comte de Rochefort, steals d'Artagnan's letter of recommendation to Monsieur de Treville, an act that shapes the young man's path in Paris. The encounter also introduces Milady, the beautiful and dangerous agent of Cardinal Richelieu, who is seen conversing with Rochefort before departing in a carriage. Meung thus functions as the threshold between d'Artagnan's provincial past and his Parisian future, a place where his pride, his poverty, and his destiny are all first tested.

The Setting and the Brawl

Meung is described as being in a state of upheaval on that first Monday of April 1625, with citizens arming themselves and gathering before the hostelry of the Jolly Miller. The cause of the commotion is the arrival of d'Artagnan on his absurd yellow pony, a Bearn horse of twelve to fourteen years old, without a tail and with windgalls on its legs. The sight of this steed produces an unfavorable feeling that extends to its rider. D'Artagnan, a proud Gascon of eighteen, takes every smile as an insult, and when he sees a gentleman at an open window laughing with two companions, he assumes he is the object of their mockery. The gentleman, a man of forty to forty-five with black, piercing eyes and a pale complexion, dressed in a violet doublet, makes a remark about the horse's color, and d'Artagnan challenges him. The stranger draws his sword, but before they can duel, the host and two other men fall upon d'Artagnan with sticks, shovels, and tongs, breaking his sword and knocking him to the ground, covered in blood and almost fainting.

The Loss of the Letter and the Introduction of Milady

While d'Artagnan is unconscious, the host and his servants rummage his valise, finding only a clean shirt and eleven crowns. The stranger, learning that d'Artagnan carries a letter for Monsieur de Treville, becomes disquieted and steals the letter. He then converses with a woman in a carriage, who is described as young, beautiful, pale, and fair, with long curls and blue eyes. This woman, whom the stranger calls "Milady," is given a box and told not to open it until she is on the other side of the Channel. The stranger departs, and d'Artagnan, recovering, rushes out but is too weak to pursue him, collapsing in the street while crying "Coward!" He then faints a second time, murmuring "Milady."

Aftermath and Significance

The next morning, d'Artagnan, using his mother's recipe for a miraculous balsam, cures his own wounds and searches for his lost letter. The host, fearing d'Artagnan's connection to Monsieur de Treville, helps him search and eventually suggests the letter was stolen by the stranger. D'Artagnan, convinced, pays the host with two of his remaining crowns and sells his yellow horse for three crowns before entering Paris on foot. The encounter at Meung establishes the central antagonism of the novel: d'Artagnan's enmity with the man of Meung (Rochefort) and his indirect connection to Milady. The loss of the letter forces d'Artagnan to rely on his own wits and courage rather than on a patron's introduction, setting the stage for his independent rise. The town itself becomes a recurring point of reference, a symbol of the initial humiliation that fuels d'Artagnan's ambition and his quest for recognition and revenge.