The Man in the Iron Mask Chapter LVI - The old age of Athos

In which the once vigorous and noble Athos, bereft of his beloved son's presence, succumbs to the quiet desolation of old age and the slow decay wrought by grief, retreating into a shadowed existence filled with solitude and silent reverie. His loyal servants and a discreet physician observe with sorrow the forlorn struggle between spirit and body, as Athos awaits some summons—be it from life or death—with a heart weighed by absence and hope.