The Three Musketeers

It is in collaboration with Auguste Maquet that Alexandre Dumas writes "Les Trois Mousquetaires". They are named Athos, Porthos and Aramis (all existed but were not of the same generation). They are in the service of Louis XIII. Arriving from his native Gascony on a yellow-coated nag, with a letter of recommendation from his gentleman father for Mr. de Tréville, captain of the guards in Paris, d'Artagnan must earn his handsome musketeer cassock. He will begin by fighting a duel with those who will become his inseparable friends. The love that d'Artagnan bears for Constance Bonacieux (Constanske at Toone's), faithful lady's maid of Anne of Austria, launches him into the adventure known as the "Queen's Studs": twelve diamond studs, gifts from the king, which the queen gave to Buckingham. At the instigation of Cardinal Richelieu, who wants to ruin the queen, Louis XIII summons his wife to wear them at the next court ball. These studs are actually metal tips that end ribbons. In the case of the Queen of France, these studs are adorned with diamonds. For the convenience of the stage and also due to confusion of stories, these studs transform at past Toones into the queen's necklace. This episode probably arises from another novel by Dumas: "Le Collier of the Queen" which finds its source in the Diamond Necklace Affair of 1785-1786, a scandal that broke out in France at the end of the Ancien Régime, following a scam set up by Countess de la Motte helped by Cagliostro. The latter convinced Cardinal Rohan to buy a necklace for the queen which he could never repay. This affair compromised Queen Marie-Antoinette who was nevertheless innocent. Confusion in stories, anachronism are part of the daily life of the Toones. They hardly bother with details. As Molière said: "The important thing is to please!" To this day, Toone respects the anachronisms of his predecessors.