profitsfor
many
years
,
—
perhaps
twenty
;
but
you
are
a
young
man
:
at
the
end
of
that
time
you
will
reenter
on
your
estate
with
a
rental
so
improved
that
the
mortgages
,
now
so
awful
,
will
seem
to
you
comparatively
trivial
.
”
In
pursuance
of
this
advice
,
the
young
Marquis
had
come
to
Paris
fortified
with
a
letter
from
M
.
Hebert
to
an
‘avoue’
of
eminence
,
and
with
many
letters
from
his
aunt
to
the
nobles
of
the
Faubourg
connected
with
his
house
.
Now
one
reason
why
M
.
Hebert
had
urged
his
client
to
undertake
this
important
business
in
person
,
rather
than
volunteer
his
own
services
in
Paris
,
was
somewhat
extra-professional
.
He
had
a
sincere
and
profound
affection
for
Alain
;
he
felt
compassion
for
that
young
life
so
barrenly
wasted
in
seclusion
and
severe
privations
;
he
respected
,
but
was
too
practical
a
man
of
business
to
share
,
those
chivalrous
sentiments
of
loyalty
to
an
exiled
dynasty
which
disqualified
the
man
for
the
age
he
lived
in
,
and
,
if
not
greatly
modified
,
would
cut
him
off
from
the
hopes
and
aspirations
of
his
eager
generation
.
He
thought
plausibly
enough
that
the
air
of
the
grand
metropolis
was
necessary
to
the
mental
health
,
enfeebled
and
withering
amidst
the
feudal
mists
of
Bretagne
;
that
once
in
Paris
,
Alain
would
imbibe
the
ideas
of
Paris
,
adapt
himself
to
some
career
leading
to
honour
and
to
fortune
,
for
which
he
took
facilities
from
his
high
birth
,
an
historical
name
too
national
for
any
dynasty
not
to
welcome
among
its
adherents
,
and
an
intellect
not
yet
sharpened
by
contact
and
competition
with
others
,
but
in
itself
vigorous
,
habituated
to
thought
,
and
vivified
by
the
noble
aspirations
which
belong
to
imaginative
natures
.
At
the
least
,
Alain
would
be
at
Paris
in
the
social
position
which
would
afford
him
the
opportunities
of
a
marriage
,
in
which
his
birth
and
rank
would
be
readily
accepted
as
an
equivalent
to
some
ample
fortune
that
would
serve
to
redeem
the
endangered
seigneuries
.
He
therefore
warned
Alain
that
the
affair
for
which
he
went
to
Paris
might
be
tedious
,
that
lawyers
were
always
slow
,
and
advised
him
to
calculate
on
remaining
several
months
,
perhaps
a
year
;
delicately
suggesting
that
his
rearing
hitherto
had
been
too
secluded
for
his
age
and
rank
,
and
that
a
year
at
Paris
,
even
if
he
failed
in
the
object
which
took
him
there
,
would
not
be
thrown
away
in
the
knowledge
of
men
and
things
that
would
fit
him
better
to
grapple
with
his
difficulties
on
his
return
.
Alain
divided
his
spare
income
between
his
aunt
and
himself
,
and
had
come
to
Paris
resolutely
determined
to
live
within
the
L200
a
year
which
remained
to
his
share
.
He
felt
the
revolution
in
his
whole
being
that
commenced
when
out
of
sight
of
the
petty
principality
in
which
he
was
the
object
of
that
feudal
reverence
,
still
surviving
in
the
more
unfrequented
parts
of
Bretagne
,
for
the
representatives
of
illustrious
names
connected
with
the
immemorial
legends
of
the
province
.
The
very
bustle
of
a
railway
,
with
its
crowd
and
quickness
and
unceremonious
democracy
of
travel
,
served
to
pain
and
confound
and
humiliate
that
sense
of
individual
dignity
in
which
he
had
been
nurtured
.
He
felt
that
,
once
away
from
Rochebriant
,
he
was
but
a
cipher
in
the
sum
of
human
beings
.
Arrived
at
Paris
,
and
reaching
the
gloomy
hotel
to
which
he
had
been
recommended
,
he
greeted
even
the
desolation
of
that
solitude
which
is
usually
so
oppressive
to
a
stranger
in
the
metropolis
of
his
native
land
.
Loneliness
was
better
than
the
loss
of
self
in
the
reek
and
pressure
of
an
unfamiliar
throng
.
For
the
first
few
days
he
had
wandered
over
Paris
without
calling
even
on
the
‘avoue’
to
whom
M
.
Hebert
had
directed
him
.
He
felt
with
the
instinctive
acuteness
of
a
mind
which
,
under
sounder
training
,
would
have
achieved
no
mean
distinction
,
that
it
was
a
safe
precaution
to
imbue
himself
with
the
atmosphere
of
the
place
,
and
seize
on
those
general
ideas
which
in
great
capitals
are
so
contagious
that
they
are
often
more
accurately
caught
by
the
first
impressions
than
by
subsequent
habit
,
before
he
brought
his
mind
into
collision
with
those
of
the
individuals
he
had
practically
to
deal
with
.
At
last
he
repaired
to
the
‘avoue
,
’
M
.
Gandrin
,
Rue
St.
Florentin
.
He
had
mechanically
formed
his
idea
of
the
abode
and
person
of
an
‘avoue’
from
his
association
with
M
.
Hebert
.
He
expected
to
find
a
dull
house
in
a
dull
street
near
the
centre
of
business
,
remote
from
the
haunts
of
idlers
,
and
a
grave
man
of
unpretending
exterior
and
matured
years
.
He
arrived
at
a
hotel
newly
fronted
,
richly
decorated
,
in
the
fashionable
quartier
close
by
the
Tuileries
.
He
entered
a
wide
‘porte
cochere
,
’
and
was
directed
by
the
concierge
to
mount
‘au
premier.’
There
,
first
detained
in
an
office
faultlessly
neat
,
with
spruce
young
men
at
smart
desks
,
he
was
at
length
admitted
into
a
noble
salon
,
and
into
the
presence
of
a
gentleman
lounging
in
an
easy-chair
before
a
magnificent
bureau
of
‘marqueterie
,
genre
Louis
Seize
,
’
engaged
in
patting
a
white
curly
lapdog
,
with
a
pointed
nose
and
a
shrill
bark
.
The
gentleman
rose
politely
on
his
entrance
,
and
released
the
dog
,
who
,
after
sniffing
the
Marquis
,
condescended
not
to
bite
.
“
Monsieur
le
Marquis
,
”
said
M
.
Gandrin
,
glancing
at
the
card
and
the
introductory
note
from
M
.
Hebert
,
which
Alain
had
sent
in
,
and
which
lay
on
the
‘secretaire’
beside
heaps
of
letters
nicely
arranged
and
labelled
,
“
charmed
to
make
the
honour
of
your
acquaintance
;
just
arrived
at
Paris
?
So
M
.
Hebert
—
a
very
worthy
person
whom
I
have
never
seen
,
but
with
whom
I
have
had
correspondence
—
tells
me
you
wish
for
my
advice
;
in
fact
,
he
wrote
to
me
some
days
ago
,
mentioning
the
business
in
question
,
—
consolidation
of
mortgages
.
A
very
large
sum
wanted
,
Monsieur
le
Marquis
,
and
not
to
be
had
easily
.
”
“
Nevertheless
,
”
said
Alain
,
quietly
,
“
I
should
imagine
that
there
must
be
many
capitalists
in
Paris
willing
to
invest
in
good
securities
at
fair
interest
.
”
“
You
are
mistaken
,
Marquis
;
very
few
such
capitalists
.
Men
worth
money
nowadays
like
quick
returns
and
large
profits
,
thanks
to
the
magnificent
system
of
‘Credit
Mobilier
,
’
in
which
,
as
you
are
aware
,
a
man
may
place
his
money
in
any
trade
or
speculation
without
liabilities
beyond
his
share
.
Capitalists
are
nearly
all
traders
or
speculators
.
”
“
Then
,
”
said
the
Marquis
,
half
rising
,
“
I
am
to
presume
,
sir
,
that
you
are
not
likely
to
assist
me
.
”
“
No
,
I
don’t
say
that
,
Marquis
.
I
will
look
with
care
into
the
matter
.
Doubtless
you
have
with
you
an
abstract
of
the
necessary
documents
,
the
conditions
of
the
present
mortgages
,
the
rental
of
the
estate
,
its
probable
prospects
,
and
so
forth
.
”
“
Sir
,
I
have
such
an
abstract
with
me
at
Paris
;
and
having
gone
into
it
myself
with
M
.
Hebert
,
I
can
pledge
you
my
word
that
it
is
strictly
faithful
to
the
facts
.
”
The
Marquis
said
this
with
naive
simplicity
,
as
if
his
word
were
quite
sufficient
to
set
that
part
of
the
question
at
rest
.
M
.
Gandrin
smiled
politely
and
said
,
“
‘Eh
bien
,
’
M
.
le
Marquis
:
favour
me
with
the
abstract
;
in
a
week’s
time
you
shall
have
my
opinion
.
You
enjoy
Paris
?
Greatly
improved
under
the
Emperor
.
‘Apropos
,
’
Madame
Gandrin
receives
tomorrow
evening
;
allow
me
that
opportunity
to
present
you
to
her
.
”
Unprepared
for
the
proffered
hospitality
,
the
Marquis
had
no
option
but
to
murmur
his
gratification
and
assent
.
In
a
minute
more
he
was
in
the
streets
.
The
next
evening
he
went
to
Madame
Gandrin’s
,
—
a
brilliant
reception
,
—
a
whole
moving
flower-bed
of
“
decorations
”
there
.
Having
gone
through
the
ceremony
of
presentation
to
Madame
Gandrin
,
—
a
handsome
woman
dressed
to
perfection
,
and
conversing
with
the
secretary
to
an
embassy
,
—
the
young
noble
ensconced
himself
in
an
obscure
and
quiet
corner
,
observing
all
and
imagining
that
he
escaped
observation
.
And
as
the
young
men
of
his
own
years
glided
by
him
,
or
as
their
talk
reached
his
ears
,
he
became
aware
that
from
top
to
toe
,
within
and
without
,
he
was
old-fashioned
,
obsolete
,
not
of
his
race
,
not
of
his
day
.
His
rank
itself
seemed
to
him
a
waste-paper
title-deed
to
a
heritage
long
lapsed
.
Not
thus
the
princely
seigneurs
of
Rochebriant
made
their
‘debut’
at
the
capital
of
their
nation
.
They
had
had
the
‘entree’
to
the
cabinets
of
their
kings
;
they
had
glittered
in
the
halls
of
Versailles
;
they
had
held
high
posts
of
distinction
in
court
and
camp
;
the
great
Order
of
St.
Louis
had
seemed
their
hereditary
appanage
.
His
father
,
though
a
voluntary
exile
in
manhood
,
had
been
in
childhood
a
king’s
page
,
and
throughout
life
remained
the
associate
of
princes
;
and
here
,
in
an
‘avoue’s
soiree
,
’
unknown
,
unregarded
,
an
expectant
on
an
‘avoue’s’
patronage
,
stood
the
last
lord
of
Rochebriant
.
It
is
easy
to
conceive
that
Alain
did
not
stay
long
.
But
he
stayed
long
enough
to
convince
him
that
on
L200
a
year
the
polite
society
of
Paris
,
even
as
seen
at
M
.
Gandrin’s
,
was
not
for
him
.
Nevertheless
,
a
day
or
two
after
,
he
resolved
to
call
upon
the
nearest
of
his
kinsmen
to
whom
his
aunt
had
given
him
letters
.
With
the
Count
de
Vandemar
,
one
of
his
fellow-nobles
of
the
sacred
Faubourg
,
he
should
be
no
less
Rochebriant
,
whether
in
a
garret
or
a
palace
.
The
Vandemars
,
in
fact
,
though
for
many
generations
before
the
First
Revolution
a
puissant
and
brilliant
family
,
had
always
recognized
the
Rochebriants
as
the
head
of
their
house
,
—
the
trunk
from
which
they
had
been
slipped
in
the
fifteenth
century
,
when
a
younger
son
of
the
Rochebriants
married
a
wealthy
heiress
and
took
the
title
with
the
lands
of
Vandemar
.
Since
then
the
two
families
had
often
intermarried
.
The
present
count
had
a
reputation
for
ability
,
was
himself
a
large
proprietor
,
and
might
furnish
advice
to
guide
Alain
in
his
negotiations
with
M
.
Gandrin
.
The
Hotel
do
Vandemar
stood
facing
the
old
Hotel
de
Rochebriant
;
it
was
less
spacious
,
but
not
less
venerable
,
gloomy
,
and
prison-like
.
As
he
turned
his
eyes
from
the
armorial
scutcheon
which
still
rested
,
though
chipped
and
mouldering
,
over
the
portals
of
his
lost
ancestral
house
,
and
was
about
to
cross
the
street
,
two
young
men
,
who
seemed
two
or
three
years
older
than
himself
,
emerged
on
horseback
from
the
Hotel
de
Vandemar
.
Handsome
young
men
,
with
the
lofty
look
of
the
old
race
,
dressed
with
the
punctilious
care
of
person
which
is
not
foppery
in
men
of
birth
,
but
seems
part
of
the
self-respect
that
appertains
to
the
old
chivalric
point
of
honour
.
The
horse
of
one
of
these
cavaliers
made
a
caracole
which
brought
it
nearly
upon
Alain
as
he
was
about
to
cross
.
The
rider
,
checking
his
steed
,
lifted
his
hat
to
Alain
and
uttered
a
word
of
apology
in
the
courtesy
of
ancient
high-breeding
,
but
still
with
condescension
as
to
an
inferior
.
This
little
incident
,
and
the
slighting
kind
of
notice
received
from
coevals
of
his
own
birth
,
and
doubtless
his
own
blood
,
—
for
he
divined
truly
that
they
were
the
sons
of
the
Count
de
Vandemar
,
—
disconcerted
Alain
to
a
degree
which
perhaps
a
Frenchman
alone
can
comprehend
.
He
had
even
half
a
mind
to
give
up
his
visit
and
turn
back
.
However
,
his
native
manhood
prevailed
over
that
morbid
sensitiveness
which
,
born
out
of
the
union
of
pride
and
poverty
,
has
all
the
effects
of
vanity
,
and
yet
is
not
vanity
itself
.
The
Count
was
at
home
,
a
thin
spare
man
with
a
narrow
but
high
forehead
,
and
an
expression
of
countenance
keen
,
severe
,
and
‘un
peu
moqueuse.’
He
received
the
Marquis
,
however
,
at
first
with
great
cordiality
,
kissed
him
on
both
sides
of
his
cheek
,
called
him
“
cousin
,
”
expressed
immeasurable
regret
that
the
Countess
was
gone
out
on
one
of
the
missions
of
charity
in
which
the
great
ladies
of
the
Faubourg
religiously
interest
themselves
,
and
that
his
sons
had
just
ridden
forth
to
the
Bois
.
As
Alain
,
however
,
proceeded
,
simply
and
without
false
shame
,
to
communicate
the
object
of
his
visit
at
Paris
,
the
extent
of
his
liabilities
,
and
the
penury
of
his
means
,
the
smile
vanished
from
the
Count’s
face
.
He
somewhat
drew
back
his
fauteuil
in
the
movement
common
to
men
who
wish
to
estrange
themselves
from
some
other
man’s
difficulties
;
and
when
Alain
came
to
a
close
,
the
Count
remained
some
moments
seized
with
a
slight
cough
;
and
,
gazing
intently
on
the
carpet
,
at
length
he
said
,
“
My
dear
young
friend
,
your
father
behaved
extremely
ill
to
you
,
—
dishonourably
,
fraudulently
.
”
“
Hold
!
”
said
the
Marquis
,
colouring
high
.
“
Those
are
words
no
man
can
apply
to
my
father
in
my
presence
.
”
The
Count
stared
,
shrugged
his
shoulders
,
and
replied
with
‘sang
froid
,
’
“
Marquis
,
if
you
are
contented
with
your
father’s
conduct
,
of
course
it
is
no
business
of
mine
:
he
never
injured
me
.
I
presume
,
however
,
that
,
considering
my
years
and
my
character
,
you
come
to
me
for
advice
:
is
it
so
?
”
Alain
bowed
his
head
in
assent
.
“
There
are
four
courses
for
one
in
your
position
to
take
,
”
said
the
Count
,
placing
the
index
of
the
right
hand
successively
on
the
thumb
and
three
fingers
of
the
left
,
—
“
four
courses
,
and
no
more
.
“
First
.
To
do
as
your
notary
recommended
:
consolidate
your
mortgages
,
patch
up
your
income
as
you
best
can
,
return
to
Rochebriant
,
and
devote
the
rest
of
your
existence
to
the
preservation
of
your
property
.
By
that
course
your
life
will
be
one
of
permanent
privation
,
severe
struggle
;
and
the
probability
is
that
you
will
not
succeed
:
there
will
come
one
or
two
bad
seasons
,
the
farmers
will
fail
to
pay
,
the
mortgagee
will
foreclose
,
and
you
may
find
yourself
,
after
twenty
years
of
anxiety
and
torment
,
prematurely
old
and
without
a
sou
.
“
Course
the
second
.
Rochebriant
,
though
so
heavily
encumbered
as
to
yield
you
some
such
income
as
your
father
gave
to
his
chef
de
cuisine
,
is
still
one
of
those
superb
‘terres’
which
bankers
and
Jews
and
stock-jobbers
court
and
hunt
after
,
for
which
they
will
give
enormous
sums
.
If
you
place
it
in
good
hands
,
I
do
not
doubt
that
you
could
dispose
of
the
property
within
three
months
,
on
terms
that
would
leave
you
a
considerable
surplus
,
which
,
invested
with
judgment
,
would
afford
you
whereon
you
could
live
at
Paris
in
a
way
suitable
to
your
rank
and
age
.
Need
we
go
further
?
—
does
this
course
smile
to
you
?
”
“
Pass
on
,
Count
;
I
will
defend
to
the
last
what
I
take
from
my
ancestors
,
and
cannot
voluntarily
sell
their
roof-tree
and
their
tombs
.
”
“
Your
name
would
still
remain
,
and
you
would
be
just
as
well
received
in
Paris
,
and
your
‘noblesse’
just
as
implicitly
conceded
,
if
all
Judaea
encamped
upon
Rochebriant
.
Consider
how
few
of
us
‘gentilshommes’
of
the
old
regime
have
any
domains
left
to
us
.
Our
names
alone
survive
:
no
revolution
can
efface
them
.
”
“
It
may
be
so
,
but
pardon
me
;
there
are
subjects
on
which
we
cannot
reason
,
—
we
can
but
feel
.
Rochebriant
may
be
torn
from
me
,
but
I
cannot
yield
it
.
”
“
I
proceed
to
the
third
course
.
Keep
the
chateau
and
give
up
its
traditions
;
remain
‘de
facto’
Marquis
of
Rochebriant
,
but
accept
the
new
order
of
things
.
Make
yourself
known
to
the
people
in
power
.
They
will
be
charmed
to
welcome
you
a
convert
from
the
old
noblesse
is
a
guarantee
of
stability
to
the
new
system
.
You
will
be
placed
in
diplomacy
;
effloresce
into
an
ambassador
,
a
minister
,
—
and
ministers
nowadays
have
opportunities
to
become
enormously
rich
.
”
“
That
course
is
not
less
impossible
than
the
last
.
Till
Henry
V.
formally
resign
his
right
to
the
throne
of
Saint
Louis
,
I
can
be
servant
to
no
other
man
seated
on
that
throne
.
”
“
Such
,
too
,
is
my
creed
,
”
said
the
Count
,
“
and
I
cling
to
it
;
but
my
estate
is
not
mortgaged
,
and
I
have
neither
the
tastes
nor
the
age
for
public
employments
.
The
last
course
is
perhaps
better
than
the
rest
;
at
all
events
it
is
the
easiest
.
A
wealthy
marriage
;
even
if
it
must
be
a
‘mesalliance.’
I
think
at
your
age
,
with
your
appearance
,
that
your
name
is
worth
at
least
two
million
francs
in
the
eyes
of
a
rich
‘roturier’
with
an
ambitious
daughter
.
”
“
Alas
!
”
said
the
young
man
,
rising
,
“
I
see
I
shall
have
to
go
back
to
Rochebriant
.
I
cannot
sell
my
castle
,
I
cannot
sell
my
creed
,
and
I
cannot
sell
my
name
and
myself
.
”
“
The
last
all
of
us
did
in
the
old
‘regime
,
’
Marquis
.
Though
I
still
retain
the
title
of
Vandemar
,
my
property
comes
from
the
Farmer-General’s
daughter
,
whom
my
great-grandfather
,
happily
for
us
,
married
in
the
days
of
Louis
Quinze
.
Marriages
with
people
of
sense
and
rank
have
always
been
‘marriages
de
convenance’
in
France
.
It
is
only
in
‘le
petit
monde’
that
men
having
nothing
marry
girls
having
nothing
,
and
I
don’t
believe
they
are
a
bit
the
happier
for
it
.
On
the
contrary
,
the
‘quarrels
de
menage’
leading
to
frightful
crimes
appear
by
the
‘Gazette
des
Tribunaux’
to
be
chiefly
found
among
those
who
do
not
sell
themselves
at
the
altar
.
”
The
old
Count
said
this
with
a
grim
‘persiflage.’
He
was
a
Voltairian
.
Voltairianism
,
deserted
by
the
modern
Liberals
of
France
,
has
its
chief
cultivation
nowadays
among
the
wits
of
the
old
‘regime.’
They
pick
up
its
light
weapons
on
the
battle-field
on
which
their
fathers
perished
,
and
re-feather
against
the
‘canaille’
the
shafts
which
had
been
pointed
against
the
‘noblesse.’
“
Adieu
,
Count
,
”
said
Alain
,
rising
;
“
I
do
not
thank
you
less
for
your
advice
because
I
have
not
the
wit
to
profit
by
it
.
”
“
‘Au
revoir
,
’
my
cousin
;
you
will
think
better
of
it
when
you
have
been
a
month
or
two
at
Paris
.
By
the
way
,
my
wife
receives
every
Wednesday
;
consider
our
house
yours
.
”
“
Count
,
can
I
enter
into
the
world
which
Madame
la
Comtesse
receives
,
in
the
way
that
becomes
my
birth
,
on
the
income
I
take
from
my
fortune
?
”
The
Count
hesitated
.
“
No
,
”
said
he
at
last
,
frankly
;
“
not
because
you
will
be
less
welcome
or
less
respected
,
but
because
I
see
that
you
have
all
the
pride
and
sensitiveness
of
a
‘seigneur
de
province.’
Society
would
therefore
give
you
pain
,
not
pleasure
.
More
than
this
,
I
know
,
by
the
remembrance
of
my
own
youth
and
the
sad
experience
of
my
own
sons
,
that
you
would
be
irresistibly
led
into
debt
,
and
debt
in
your
circumstances
would
be
the
loss
of
Rochebriant
.
No
;
I
invite
you
to
visit
us
.
I
offer
you
the
most
select
but
not
the
most
brilliant
circles
of
Paris
,
because
my
wife
is
religious
,
and
frightens
away
the
birds
of
gay
plumage
with
the
scarecrows
of
priests
and
bishops
.
But
if
you
accept
my
invitation
and
my
offer
,
I
am
bound
,
as
an
old
man
of
the
world
to
a
young
kinsman
,
to
say
that
the
chances
are
that
you
will
be
ruined
.
”
“
I
thank
you
,
Count
,
for
your
candour
;
and
I
now
acknowledge
that
I
have
found
a
relation
and
a
guide
,
”
answered
the
Marquis
,
with
nobility
of
mien
that
was
not
without
a
pathos
which
touched
the
hard
heart
of
the
old
man
.
“
Come
at
least
whenever
you
want
a
sincere
if
a
rude
friend
;
”
and
though
he
did
not
kiss
his
cousin’s
cheek
this
time
,
he
gave
him
,
with
more
sincerity
,
a
parting
shake
of
the
hand
.
And
these
made
the
principal
events
in
Alain’s
Paris
life
till
he
met
Frederic
Lemercier
.
Hitherto
he
had
received
no
definite
answer
from
M
.
Gandrin
,
who
had
postponed
an
interview
,
not
having
had
leisure
to
make
himself
master
of
all
the
details
in
the
abstract
sent
to
him
.
CHAPTER
IV
.
The
next
day
,
towards
the
afternoon
,
Frederic
Lemercier
,
somewhat
breathless
from
the
rapidity
at
which
he
had
ascended
to
so
high
an
eminence
,
burst
into
Alain’s
chamber
.
“
‘Br-r
!
mon
cher
;
’
what
superb
exercise
for
the
health
—
how
it
must
strengthen
the
muscles
and
expand
the
chest
!
After
this
who
should
shrink
from
scaling
Mont
Blanc
?
Well
,
well
.
I
have
been
meditating
on
your
business
ever
since
we
parted
.
But
I
would
fain
know
more
of
its
details
.
You
shall
confide
them
to
me
as
we
drive
through
the
Bois
.
My
coupe
is
below
,
and
the
day
is
beautiful
;
come
.
”
To
the
young
Marquis
,
the
gayety
,
the
heartiness
of
his
college
friend
were
a
cordial
.
How
different
from
the
dry
counsels
of
the
Count
de
Vandemar
!
Hope
,
though
vaguely
,
entered
into
his
heart
.
Willingly
he
accepted
Frederic’s
invitation
,
and
the
young
men
were
soon
rapidly
borne
along
the
Champs
Elysees
.
As
briefly
as
he
could
Alain
described
the
state
of
his
affairs
,
the
nature
of
his
mortgages
,
and
the
result
of
his
interview
with
M
.
Gandrin
.
Frederic
listened
attentively
.
“
Then
Gandrin
has
given
you
as
yet
no
answer
?
”
“
None
;
but
I
have
a
note
from
him
this
morning
asking
me
to
call
to-morrow
.
”
“
After
you
have
seen
him
,
decide
on
nothing
,
—
if
he
makes
you
any
offer
.
Get
back
your
abstract
,
or
a
copy
of
it
,
and
confide
it
to
me
.
Gandrin
ought
to
help
you
;
he
transacts
affairs
in
a
large
way
.
‘Belle
clientele’
among
the
millionnaires
.
But
his
clients
expect
fabulous
profits
,
and
so
does
he
.
As
for
your
principal
mortgagee
,
Louvier
,
you
know
,
of
course
,
who
he
is
.
”
“
No
,
except
that
M
.
Hebert
told
me
that
he
was
very
rich
.
”
“
‘Rich’
I
should
think
so
;
one
of
the
Kings
of
Finance
,
Ah
!
observe
those
young
men
on
horseback
.
”
Alain
looked
forth
and
recognized
the
two
cavaliers
whom
he
had
conjectured
to
be
the
sons
of
the
Count
de
Vandemar
.
“
Those
‘beaux
garcons’
are
fair
specimens
of
your
Faubourg
,
”
said
Frederic
;
“
they
would
decline
my
acquaintance
because
my
grandfather
kept
a
shop
,
and
they
keep
a
shop
between
them
.
”
“
A
shop
!
I
am
mistaken
,
then
.
Who
are
they
?
”
“
Raoul
and
Enguerrand
,
sons
of
that
mocker
of
man
,
the
Count
de
Vandemar
.
”
“
And
they
keep
a
shop
!
You
are
jesting
.
”
“
A
shop
at
which
you
may
buy
gloves
and
perfumes
,
Rue
de
la
Chaussee
d’Antin
.
Of
course
they
don’t
serve
at
the
counter
;
they
only
invest
their
pocket-money
in
the
speculation
;
and
,
in
so
doing
,
treble
at
least
their
pocket-money
,
buy
their
horses
,
and
keep
their
grooms
.
”
“
Is
it
possible
!
nobles
of
such
birth
!
How
shocked
the
Count
would
be
if
he
knew
it
!
”
“
Yes
,
very
much
shocked
if
he
was
supposed
to
know
it
.
But
he
is
too
wise
a
father
not
to
give
his
sons
limited
allowances
and
unlimited
liberty
,
especially
the
liberty
to
add
to
the
allowances
as
they
please
.
Look
again
at
them
;
no
better
riders
and
more
affectionate
brothers
since
the
date
of
Castor
and
Pollux
.
Their
tastes
indeed
differ
—
Raoul
is
religious
and
moral
,
melancholy
and
dignified
;
Enguerrand
is
a
lion
of
the
first
water
,
—
elegant
to
the
tips
of
his
nails
.
These
demigods
nevertheless
are
very
mild
to
mortals
.
Though
Enguerrand
is
the
best
pistol-shot
in
Paris
,
and
Raoul
the
best
fencer
,
the
first
is
so
good-tempered
that
you
would
be
a
brute
to
quarrel
with
him
,
the
last
so
true
a
Catholic
,
that
if
you
quarrelled
with
him
you
need
not
fear
his
sword
.
He
would
not
die
in
the
committal
of
what
the
Church
holds
a
mortal
sin
.
”
“
Are
you
speaking
ironically
?
Do
you
mean
to
imply
that
men
of
the
name
of
Vandemar
are
not
brave
?
”
“
On
the
contrary
,
I
believe
that
,
though
masters
of
their
weapons
,
they
are
too
brave
to
abuse
their
skill
;
and
I
must
add
that
,
though
they
are
sleeping
partners
in
a
shop
,
they
would
not
cheat
you
of
a
farthing
.
Benign
stars
on
earth
,
as
Castor
and
Pollux
were
in
heaven
.
”
“
But
partners
in
a
shop
!
”
“
Bah
!
when
a
minister
himself
,
like
the
late
M
.
de
M______
,
kept
a
shop
,
and
added
the
profits
of
‘bons
bons’
to
his
revenue
,
you
may
form
some
idea
of
the
spirit
of
the
age
.
If
young
nobles
are
not
generally
sleeping
partners
in
shops
,
still
they
are
more
or
less
adventurers
in
commerce
.
The
Bourse
is
the
profession
of
those
who
have
no
other
profession
.
You
have
visited
the
Bourse
?
”
“
No.
”
“
No
!
this
is
just
the
hour
.
We
have
time
yet
for
the
Bois
.
Coachman
,
drive
to
the
Bourse
.
”
“
The
fact
is
,
”
resumed
Frederic
,
“
that
gambling
is
one
of
the
wants
of
civilized
men
.
The
‘rouge-et-noir’
and
‘roulette’
tables
are
forbidden
;
the
hells
closed
:
but
the
passion
for
making
money
without
working
for
it
must
have
its
vent
,
and
that
vent
is
the
Bourse
.
As
instead
of
a
hundred
wax-lights
you
now
have
one
jet
of
gas
,
so
instead
of
a
hundred
hells
you
have
now
one
Bourse
,
and
—
it
is
exceedingly
convenient
;
always
at
hand
;
no
discredit
being
seen
there
as
it
was
to
be
seen
at
Frascati’s
;
on
the
contrary
,
at
once
respectable
,
and
yet
the
mode
.
”
The
coupe
stops
at
the
Bourse
,
our
friends
mount
the
steps
,
glide
through
the
pillars
,
deposit
their
canes
at
a
place
destined
to
guard
them
,
and
the
Marquis
follows
Frederic
up
a
flight
of
stairs
till
he
gains
the
open
gallery
round
a
vast
hall
below
.
Such
a
din
!
such
a
clamour
!
disputations
,
wrangling
,
wrathful
.
Here
Lemercier
distinguished
some
friends
,
whom
he
joined
for
a
few
minutes
.
Alain
left
alone
,
looked
down
into
the
hall
.
He
thought
himself
in
some
stormy
scene
of
the
First
Revolution
.
An
English
contested
election
in
the
market-place
of
a
borough
when
the
candidates
are
running
close
on
each
other
—
the
result
doubtful
,
passions
excited
,
the
whole
borough
in
civil
war
—
is
peaceful
compared
to
the
scene
at
the
Bourse
.
Bulls
and
bears
screaming
,
bawling
,
gesticulating
,
as
if
one
were
about
to
strangle
the
other
;
the
whole
,
to
an
uninitiated
eye
,
a
confusion
,
a
Babel
,
which
it
seems
absolutely
impossible
to
reconcile
to
the
notion
of
quiet
mercantile
transactions
,
the
purchase
and
sale
of
shares
and
stocks
.
As
Alain
gazed
bewildered
,
he
felt
himself
gently
touched
,
and
,
looking
round
,
saw
the
Englishman
.
“
A
lively
scene
!
”
whispered
Mr.
Vane
.
“
This
is
the
heart
of
Paris
:
it
beats
very
loudly
.
”
“
Is
your
Bourse
in
London
like
this
?
”
“
I
cannot
tell
you
:
at
our
Exchange
the
general
public
are
not
admitted
:
the
privileged
priests
of
that
temple
sacrifice
their
victims
in
closed
penetralia
,
beyond
which
the
sounds
made
in
the
operation
do
not
travel
to
ears
profane
.
But
had
we
an
Exchange
like
this
open
to
all
the
world
,
and
placed
,
not
in
a
region
of
our
metropolis
unknown
to
fashion
,
but
in
some
elegant
square
in
St.
James’s
or
at
Hyde
Park
Corner
,
I
suspect
that
our
national
character
would
soon
undergo
a
great
change
,
and
that
all
our
idlers
and
sporting-men
would
make
their
books
there
every
day
,
instead
of
waiting
long
months
in
‘ennui’
for
the
Doncaster
and
the
Derby
.
At
present
we
have
but
few
men
on
the
turf
;
we
should
then
have
few
men
not
on
Exchange
,
especially
if
we
adopt
your
law
,
and
can
contrive
to
be
traders
without
risk
of
becoming
bankrupts
.
Napoleon
I
.
called
us
a
shopkeeping
nation
.
Napoleon
III
.
has
taught
France
to
excel
us
in
everything
,
and
certainly
he
has
made
Paris
a
shopkeeping
city
.
”
Alain
thought
of
Raoul
and
Enguerrand
,
and
blushed
to
find
that
what
he
considered
a
blot
on
his
countrymen
was
so
familiarly
perceptible
to
a
foreigner’s
eye
.
“
And
the
Emperor
has
done
wisely
,
at
least
for
the
time
,
”
continued
the
Englishman
,
with
a
more
thoughtful
accent
.
“
He
has
found
vent
thus
for
that
very
dangerous
class
in
Paris
society
to
which
the
subdivision
of
property
gave
birth
;
namely
the
crowd
of
well-born
,
daring
young
men
without
fortune
and
without
profession
.
He
has
opened
the
‘Bourse’
and
said
,
‘There
,
I
give
you
employment
,
resource
,
an
‘avenir.‘’
He
has
cleared
the
byways
into
commerce
and
trade
,
and
opened
new
avenues
of
wealth
to
the
noblesse
,
whom
the
great
Revolution
so
unwisely
beggared
.
What
other
way
to
rebuild
a
‘noblesse’
in
France
,
and
give
it
a
chance
of
power
be
side
an
access
to
fortune
?
But
to
how
many
sides
of
your
national
character
has
the
Bourse
of
Paris
magnetic
attraction
!
You
Frenchmen
are
so
brave
that
you
could
not
be
happy
without
facing
danger
,
so
covetous
of
distinction
that
you
would
pine
yourselves
away
without
a
dash
,
coute
quo
coute
,
at
celebrity
and
a
red
ribbon
.
Danger
!
look
below
at
that
arena
:
there
it
is
;
danger
daily
,
hourly
.
But
there
also
is
celebrity
;
win
at
the
Bourse
,
as
of
old
in
a
tournament
,
and
paladins
smile
on
you
,
and
ladies
give
you
their
scarves
,
or
,
what
is
much
the
same
,
they
allow
you
to
buy
their
cachemires
.
Win
at
the
Bourse
,
—
what
follows
?
the
Chamber
,
the
Senate
,
the
Cross
,
the
Minister’s
‘portefeuille.’
I
might
rejoice
in
all
this
for
the
sake
of
Europe
,
—
could
it
last
,
and
did
it
not
bring
the
consequences
that
follow
the
demoralization
which
attends
it
.
The
Bourse
and
the
Credit
Mobilier
keep
Paris
quiet
,
at
least
as
quiet
as
it
can
be
.
These
are
the
secrets
of
this
reign
of
splendour
;
these
the
two
lions
couchants
on
which
rests
the
throne
of
the
Imperial
reconstructor
.
”
Alain
listened
surprised
and
struck
.
He
had
not
given
the
Englishman
credit
for
the
cast
of
mind
which
such
reflections
evinced
.
Here
Lemercier
rejoined
them
,
and
shook
hands
with
Graham
Vane
,
who
,
taking
him
aside
,
said
,
“
But
you
promised
to
go
to
the
Bois
,
and
indulge
my
insane
curiosity
about
the
lady
in
the
pearl-coloured
robe
?
”
“
I
have
not
forgotten
;
it
is
not
half-past
two
yet
;
you
said
three
.
‘Soyez
tranquille
;
’
I
drive
thither
from
the
Bourse
with
Rochebriant
.
”
“
Is
it
necessary
to
take
with
you
that
very
good-looking
Marquis
?
”
“
I
thought
you
said
you
were
not
jealous
,
because
not
yet
in
love
.
However
,
if
Rochebriant
occasions
you
the
pang
which
your
humble
servant
failed
to
inflict
,
I
will
take
care
that
he
do
not
see
the
lady
.
”
“
No
,
”
said
the
Englishman
;
“
on
consideration
,
I
should
be
very
much
obliged
to
any
one
with
whom
she
would
fall
in
love
.
That
would
disenchant
me
.
Take
the
Marquis
by
all
means
.
”
Meanwhile
Alain
,
again
looking
down
,
saw
just
under
him
,
close
by
one
of
the
pillars
,
Lucien
Duplessis
.
He
was
standing
apart
from
the
throng
,
a
small
space
cleared
round
himself
,
and
two
men
who
had
the
air
of
gentlemen
of
the
‘beau
monde
,
’
with
whom
he
was
conferring
.
Duplessis
,
thus
seen
,
was
not
like
the
Duplessis
at
the
restaurant
.
It
would
be
difficult
to
explain
what
the
change
was
,
but
it
forcibly
struck
Alain
:
the
air
was
more
dignified
,
the
expression
keener
;
there
was
a
look
of
conscious
power
and
command
about
the
man
even
at
that
distance
;
the
intense
,
concentrated
intelligence
of
his
eye
,
his
firm
lip
,
his
marked
features
,
his
projecting
,
massive
brow
,
would
have
impressed
a
very
ordinary
observer
.
In
fact
,
the
man
was
here
in
his
native
element
;
in
the
field
in
which
his
intellect
gloried
,
commanded
,
and
had
signalized
itself
by
successive
triumphs
.
Just
thus
may
be
the
change
in
the
great
orator
whom
you
deemed
insignificant
in
a
drawing-room
,
when
you
see
his
crest
rise
above
a
reverential
audience
;
or
the
great
soldier
,
who
was
not
distinguishable
from
the
subaltern
in
a
peaceful
club
,
could
you
see
him
issuing
the
order
to
his
aids-de-camp
amidst
the
smoke
and
roar
of
the
battle-field
.
“
Ah
,
Marquis
!
”
said
Graham
Vane
,
“
are
you
gazing
at
Duplessis
?
He
is
the
modern
genius
of
Paris
.
He
is
at
once
the
Cousin
,
the
Guizot
,
and
the
Victor
Hugo
of
speculation
.
Philosophy
,
Eloquence
,
audacious
Romance
,
—
all
Literature
now
is
swallowed
up
in
the
sublime
epic
of
‘Agiotage
,
’
and
Duplessis
is
the
poet
of
the
Empire
.
”
“
Well
said
,
M
.
Grarm
Varn
,
”
cried
Frederic
,
forgetting
his
recent
lesson
in
English
names
.
“
Alain
underrates
that
great
man
.
How
could
an
Englishman
appreciate
him
so
well
?
”
“
‘Ma
foi
!
’
”
returned
Graham
,
quietly
.
“
I
am
studying
to
think
at
Paris
,
in
order
some
day
or
other
to
know
how
to
act
in
London
.
Time
for
the
Bois
.
Lemercier
,
we
meet
at
seven
,
—
Philippe’s
.
”
CHAPTER
V.
“
What
do
you
think
of
the
Bourse
?
”
asked
Lemercier
,
as
their
carriage
took
the
way
to
the
Bois
.
“
I
cannot
think
of
it
yet
;
I
am
stunned
.
It
seems
to
me
as
if
I
had
been
at
a
‘Sabbat
,
’
of
which
the
wizards
were
‘agents
de
change
,
’
but
not
less
bent
upon
raising
Satan
.
”
“
Pooh
!
the
best
way
to
exorcise
Satan
is
to
get
rich
enough
not
to
be
tempted
by
him
.
The
fiend
always
loved
to
haunt
empty
places
;
and
of
all
places
nowadays
he
prefers
empty
purses
and
empty
stomachs
.
”
“
But
do
all
people
get
rich
at
the
Bourse
?
or
is
not
one
man’s
wealth
many
men’s
ruin
?
”
“
That
is
a
question
not
very
easy
to
answer
;
but
under
our
present
system
Paris
gets
rich
,
though
at
the
expense
of
individual
Parisians
.
I
will
try
and
explain
.
The
average
luxury
is
enormously
increased
even
in
my
experience
;
what
were
once
considered
refinements
and
fopperies
are
now
called
necessary
comforts
.
Prices
are
risen
enormously
,
house-rent
doubled
within
the
last
five
or
six
years
;
all
articles
of
luxury
are
very
much
dearer
;
the
very
gloves
I
wear
cost
twenty
per
cent
more
than
I
used
to
pay
for
gloves
of
the
same
quality
.
How
the
people
we
meet
live
,
and
live
so
well
,
is
an
enigma
that
would
defy
AEdipus
if
AEdipus
were
not
a
Parisian
.
But
the
main
explanation
is
this
:
speculation
and
commerce
,
with
the
facilities
given
to
all
investments
,
have
really
opened
more
numerous
and
more
rapid
ways
to
fortune
than
were
known
a
few
years
ago
.
“
Crowds
are
thus
attracted
to
Paris
,
resolved
to
venture
a
small
capital
in
the
hope
of
a
large
one
;
they
live
on
that
capital
,
not
on
their
income
,
as
gamesters
do
.
There
is
an
idea
among
us
that
it
is
necessary
to
seem
rich
in
order
to
become
rich
.
Thus
there
is
a
general
extravagance
and
profusion
.
English
milords
marvel
at
our
splendour
.
Those
who
,
while
spending
their
capital
as
their
income
,
fail
in
their
schemes
of
fortune
,
after
one
,
two
,
three
,
or
four
years
,
vanish
.
What
becomes
of
them
,
I
know
no
more
than
I
do
what
becomes
of
the
old
moons
.
Their
place
is
immediately
supplied
by
new
candidates
.
Paris
is
thus
kept
perennially
sumptuous
and
splendid
by
the
gold
it
engulfs
.
But
then
some
men
succeed
,
—
succeed
prodigiously
,
preternaturally
;
they
make
colossal
fortunes
,
which
are
magnificently
expended
.
They
set
an
example
of
show
and
pomp
,
which
is
of
course
the
more
contagious
because
so
many
men
say
,
‘The
other
day
those
millionnaires
were
as
poor
as
we
are
;
they
never
economized
;
why
should
we
?
’
Paris
is
thus
doubly
enriched
,
—
by
the
fortunes
it
swallows
up
,
and
by
the
fortunes
it
casts
up
;
the
last
being
always
reproductive
,
and
the
first
never
lost
except
to
the
individuals
.
”
“
I
understand
:
but
what
struck
me
forcibly
at
the
scene
we
have
left
was
the
number
of
young
men
there
;
young
men
whom
I
should
judge
by
their
appearance
to
be
gentlemen
,
evidently
not
mere
spectators
,
—
eager
,
anxious
,
with
tablets
in
their
hands
.
That
old
or
middle-aged
men
should
find
a
zest
in
the
pursuit
of
gain
I
can
understand
,
but
youth
and
avarice
seem
to
me
a
new
combination
,
which
Moliere
never
divined
in
his
‘Avare.’
”
“
Young
men
,
especially
if
young
gentlemen
,
love
pleasure
;
and
pleasure
in
this
city
is
very
dear
.
This
explains
why
so
many
young
men
frequent
the
Bourse
.
In
the
old
gaining
now
suppressed
,
young
men
were
the
majority
;
in
the
days
of
your
chivalrous
forefathers
it
was
the
young
nobles
,
not
the
old
,
who
would
stake
their
very
mantles
and
swords
on
a
cast
of
the
die
.
And
,
naturally
enough
,
mon
cher
;
for
is
not
youth
the
season
of
hope
,
and
is
not
hope
the
goddess
of
gaming
,
whether
at
rouge-et-noir
or
the
Bourse
?
”
Alain
felt
himself
more
and
more
behind
his
generation
.
The
acute
reasoning
of
Lemercier
humbled
his
amour
propre
.
At
college
Lemercier
was
never
considered
Alain’s
equal
in
ability
or
book-learning
.
What
a
stride
beyond
his
school-fellow
had
Lemercier
now
made
!
How
dull
and
stupid
the
young
provincial
felt
himself
to
be
as
compared
with
the
easy
cleverness
and
half-sportive
philosophy
of
the
Parisian’s
fluent
talk
!
He
sighed
with
a
melancholy
and
yet
with
a
generous
envy
.
He
had
too
fine
a
natural
perception
not
to
acknowledge
that
there
is
a
rank
of
mind
as
well
as
of
birth
,
and
in
the
first
he
felt
that
Lemercier
might
well
walk
before
a
Rochebriant
;
but
his
very
humility
was
a
proof
that
he
underrated
himself
.
Lemercier
did
not
excel
him
in
mind
,
but
in
experience
.
And
just
as
the
drilled
soldier
seems
a
much
finer
fellow
than
the
raw
recruit
,
because
he
knows
how
to
carry
himself
,
but
after
a
year’s
discipline
the
raw
recruit
may
excel
in
martial
air
the
upright
hero
whom
he
now
despairingly
admires
,
and
never
dreams
he
can
rival
;
so
set
a
mind
from
a
village
into
the
drill
of
a
capital
,
and
see
it
a
year
after
;
it
may
tower
a
head
higher
than
its
recruiting-sergeant
.
CHAPTER
VI
.
“
I
believe
,
”
said
Lemercier
,
as
the
coupe
rolled
through
the
lively
alleys
of
the
Bois
de
Boulogne
,
“
that
Paris
is
built
on
a
loadstone
,
and
that
every
Frenchman
with
some
iron
globules
in
his
blood
is
irresistibly
attracted
towards
it
.
The
English
never
seem
to
feel
for
London
the
passionate
devotion
that
we
feel
for
Paris
.
On
the
contrary
,
the
London
middle
class
,
the
commercialists
,
the
shopkeepers
,
the
clerks
,
even
the
superior
artisans
compelled
to
do
their
business
in
the
capital
,
seem
always
scheming
and
pining
to
have
their
home
out
of
it
,
though
but
in
a
suburb
.
”
“
You
have
been
in
London
,
Frederic
?
”
“
Of
course
;
it
is
the
mode
to
visit
that
dull
and
hideous
metropolis
.
”
“
If
it
be
dull
and
hideous
,
no
wonder
the
people
who
are
compelled
to
do
business
in
it
seek
the
pleasures
of
home
out
of
it
.
”
“
It
is
very
droll
that
though
the
middle
class
entirely
govern
the
melancholy
Albion
,
it
is
the
only
country
in
Europe
in
which
the
middle
class
seem
to
have
no
amusements
;
nay
,
they
legislate
against
amusement
.
They
have
no
leisure-day
but
Sunday
;
and
on
that
day
they
close
all
their
theatres
,
even
their
museums
and
picture-galleries
.
What
amusements
there
may
be
in
England
are
for
the
higher
classes
and
the
lowest
.
”
“
What
are
the
amusements
of
the
lowest
class
?
”
“
Getting
drunk
.
”
“
Nothing
else
?
”
“
Yes
.
I
was
taken
at
night
under
protection
of
a
policeman
to
some
cabarets
,
where
I
found
crowds
of
that
class
which
is
the
stratum
below
the
working
class
;
lads
who
sweep
crossings
and
hold
horses
,
mendicants
,
and
,
I
was
told
,
thieves
,
girls
whom
a
servant-maid
would
not
speak
to
,
very
merry
,
dancing
quadrilles
and
waltzes
,
and
regaling
themselves
on
sausages
,
—
the
happiest-looking
folks
I
found
in
all
London
;
and
,
I
must
say
,
conducting
themselves
very
decently
.
”
“
Ah
!
”
Here
Lemercier
pulled
the
check-string
.
“
Will
you
object
to
a
walk
in
this
quiet
alley
?
I
see
some
one
whom
I
have
promised
the
Englishman
to
—
But
heed
me
,
Alain
,
don’t
fall
in
love
with
her
.
”
CHAPTER
VII
.
The
lady
in
the
pearl-coloured
dress
!
Certainly
it
was
a
face
that
might
well
arrest
the
eye
and
linger
long
on
the
remembrance
.
There
are
certain
“
beauty-women
”
as
there
are
certain
“
beauty-men
,
”
in
whose
features
one
detects
no
fault
,
who
are
the
show
figures
of
any
assembly
in
which
they
appear
,
but
who
,
somehow
or
other
,
inspire
no
sentiment
and
excite
no
interest
;
they
lack
some
expression
,
whether
of
mind
,
or
of
soul
,
or
of
heart
,
without
which
the
most
beautiful
face
is
but
a
beautiful
picture
.
This
lady
was
not
one
of
those
“
beauty-women
.
”
Her
features
taken
singly
were
by
no
means
perfect
,
nor
were
they
set
off
by
any
brilliancy
of
colouring
.
But
the
countenance
aroused
and
impressed
the
imagination
with
a
belief
that
there
was
some
history
attached
to
it
,
which
you
longed
to
learn
.
The
hair
,
simply
parted
over
a
forehead
unusually
spacious
and
high
for
a
woman
,
was
of
lustrous
darkness
;
the
eyes
,
of
a
deep
violet
blue
,
were
shaded
with
long
lashes
.
Their
expression
was
soft
and
mournful
,
but
unobservant
.
She
did
not
notice
Alain
and
Lemercier
as
the
two
men
slowly
passed
her
.
She
seemed
abstracted
,
gazing
into
space
as
one
absorbed
in
thought
or
revery
.
Her
complexion
was
clear
and
pale
,
and
apparently
betokened
delicate
health
.
Lemercier
seated
himself
on
a
bench
beside
the
path
,
and
invited
Alain
to
do
the
same
.
“
She
will
return
this
way
soon
,
”
said
the
Parisian
,
“
and
we
can
observe
her
more
attentively
and
more
respectfully
thus
seated
than
if
we
were
on
foot
;
meanwhile
,
what
do
you
think
of
her
?
Is
she
French
?
is
she
Italian
?
can
she
be
English
?
”
“
I
should
have
guessed
Italian
,
judging
by
the
darkness
of
the
hair
and
the
outline
of
the
features
;
but
do
Italians
have
so
delicate
a
fairness
of
complexion
?
”
“
Very
rarely
;
and
I
should
guess
her
to
be
French
,
judging
by
the
intelligence
of
her
expression
,
the
simple
neatness
of
her
dress
,
and
by
that
nameless
refinement
of
air
in
which
a
Parisienne
excels
all
the
descendants
of
Eve
,
—
if
it
were
not
for
her
eyes
.
I
never
saw
a
Frenchwoman
with
eyes
of
that
peculiar
shade
of
blue
;
and
if
a
Frenchwoman
had
such
eyes
,
I
flatter
myself
she
would
have
scarcely
allowed
us
to
pass
without
making
some
use
of
them
.
”
“
Do
you
think
she
is
married
?
”
asked
Alain
.
“
I
hope
so
;
for
a
girl
of
her
age
,
if
comme
il
faut
,
can
scarcely
walk
alone
in
the
Bois
,
and
would
not
have
acquired
that
look
so
intelligent
,
—
more
than
intelligent
,
—
so
poetic
.
”
“
But
regard
that
air
of
unmistakable
distinction
;
regard
that
expression
of
face
,
-so
pure
,
so
virginal
:
comme
il
faut
she
must
be
.
”
As
Alain
said
these
last
words
,
the
lady
,
who
had
turned
back
,
was
approaching
them
,
and
in
full
view
of
their
gaze
.
She
seemed
unconscious
of
their
existence
as
before
,
and
Lemercier
noticed
that
her
lips
moved
as
if
she
were
murmuring
inaudibly
to
herself
.
She
did
not
return
again
,
but
continued
her
walk
straight
on
till
at
the
end
of
the
alley
she
entered
a
carriage
in
waiting
for
her
,
and
was
driven
off
.
“
Quick
,
quick
!
”
cried
Lemercier
,
running
towards
his
own
coupe
;
“
we
must
give
chase
.
”
Alain
followed
somewhat
less
hurriedly
,
and
,
agreeably
to
instructions
Lemercier
had
already
given
to
his
coachman
,
the
Parisian’s
coupe
set
off
at
full
speed
in
the
track
of
the
strange
lady’s
,
which
was
still
in
sight
.
In
less
than
twenty
minutes
the
carriage
in
chase
stopped
at
the
grille
of
one
of
those
charming
little
villas
to
be
found
in
the
pleasant
suburb
of
A
—
—
-
;
a
porter
emerged
from
the
lodge
,
opened
the
gate
;
the
carriage
drove
in
,
again
stopped
at
the
door
of
the
house
,
and
the
two
gentlemen
could
not
catch
even
a
glimpse
of
the
lady’s
robe
as
she
descended
from
the
carriage
and
disappeared
within
the
house
.
“
I
see
a
cafe
yonder
,
”
said
Lemercier
;
“
let
us
learn
all
we
can
as
to
the
fair
unknown
,
over
a
sorbet
or
a
petit
verre
.
”
Alain
silently
,
but
not
reluctantly
,
consented
.
He
felt
in
the
fair
stranger
an
interest
new
to
his
existence
.
They
entered
the
little
cafe
,
and
in
a
few
minutes
Lemercier
,
with
the
easy
savoir
vivre
of
a
Parisian
,
had
extracted
from
the
garcon
as
much
as
probably
any
one
in
the
neighbourhood
knew
of
the
inhabitants
of
the
villa
.
It
had
been
hired
and
furnished
about
two
months
previously
in
the
name
of
Signora
Venosta
;
but
,
according
to
the
report
of
the
servants
,
that
lady
appeared
to
be
the
gouvernante
or
guardian
of
a
lady
much
younger
,
out
of
whose
income
the
villa
was
rented
and
the
household
maintained
.
It
was
for
her
the
coupe
was
hired
from
Paris
.
The
elder
lady
very
rarely
stirred
out
during
the
day
,
but
always
accompanied
the
younger
in
any
evening
visits
to
the
theatre
or
the
houses
of
friends
.
It
was
only
within
the
last
few
weeks
that
such
visits
had
been
made
.
The
younger
lady
was
in
delicate
health
,
and
under
the
care
of
an
English
physician
famous
for
skill
in
the
treatment
of
pulmonary
complaints
.
It
was
by
his
advice
that
she
took
daily
walking
exercise
in
the
Bois
.
The
establishment
consisted
of
three
servants
,
all
Italians
,
and
speaking
but
imperfect
French
.
The
garcon
did
not
know
whether
either
of
the
ladies
was
married
,
but
their
mode
of
life
was
free
from
all
scandal
or
suspicion
;
they
probably
belonged
to
the
literary
or
musical
world
,
as
the
garcon
had
observed
as
their
visitors
the
eminent
author
M
.
Savarin
and
his
wife
;
and
,
still
more
frequently
,
an
old
man
not
less
eminent
as
a
musical
composer
.
“
It
is
clear
to
me
now
,
”
said
Lemercier
,
as
the
two
friends
reseated
themselves
in
the
carriage
,
“
that
our
pearly
ange
is
some
Italian
singer
of
repute
enough
in
her
own
country
to
have
gained
already
a
competence
;
and
that
,
perhaps
on
account
of
her
own
health
or
her
friend’s
,
she
is
living
quietly
here
in
the
expectation
of
some
professional
engagement
,
or
the
absence
of
some
foreign
lover
.
”
“
Lover
!
do
you
think
that
?
”
exclaimed
Alain
,
in
a
tone
of
voice
that
betrayed
pain
.
“
It
is
possible
enough
;
and
in
that
case
the
Englishman
may
profit
little
by
the
information
I
have
promised
to
give
him
.
”
“
You
have
promised
the
Englishman
?
”
“
Do
you
not
remember
last
night
that
he
described
the
lady
,
and
said
that
her
face
haunted
him
:
and
I
—
”
“
Ah
!
I
remember
now
.
What
do
you
know
of
this
Englishman
?
He
is
rich
,
I
suppose
.
”
“
Yes
,
I
hear
he
is
very
rich
now
;
that
an
uncle
lately
left
him
an
enormous
sum
of
money
.
He
was
attached
to
the
English
Embassy
many
years
ago
,
which
accounts
for
his
good
French
and
his
knowledge
of
Parisian
life
.
He
comes
to
Paris
very
often
,
and
I
have
known
him
some
time
.
Indeed
he
has
intrusted
to
me
a
difficult
and
delicate
commission
.
The
English
tell
me
that
his
father
was
one
of
the
most
eminent
members
of
their
Parliament
,
of
ancient
birth
,
very
highly
connected
,
but
ran
out
his
fortune
and
died
poor
;
that
our
friend
had
for
some
years
to
maintain
himself
,
I
fancy
,
by
his
pen
;
that
he
is
considered
very
able
;
and
,
now
that
his
uncle
has
enriched
him
,
likely
to
enter
public
life
and
run
a
career
as
distinguished
as
his
father’s
.
”
“
Happy
man
!
happy
are
the
English
,
”
said
the
Marquis
,
with
a
sigh
;
and
as
the
carriage
now
entered
Paris
,
he
pleaded
the
excuse
of
an
engagement
,
bade
his
friend
goodby
,
and
went
his
way
musing
through
the
crowded
streets
.
CHAPTER
VIII
.
LETTER
FROM
ISAURA
CICOGNA
TO
MADAME
DE
GRANTMESNIL
.
VILLA
D’
—
—
-
,
A
—
—
—
.
I
can
never
express
to
you
,
my
beloved
Eulalie
,
the
strange
charm
which
a
letter
from
you
throws
over
my
poor
little
lonely
world
for
days
after
it
is
received
.
There
is
always
in
it
something
that
comforts
,
something
that
sustains
,
but
also
a
something
that
troubles
and
disquiets
me
.
I
suppose
Goethe
is
right
,
“
that
it
is
the
property
of
true
genius
to
disturb
all
settled
ideas
,
”
in
order
,
no
doubt
,
to
lift
them
into
a
higher
level
when
they
settle
down
again
.
Your
sketch
of
the
new
work
you
are
meditating
amid
the
orange
groves
of
Provence
interests
me
intensely
;
yet
,
do
you
forgive
me
when
I
add
that
the
interest
is
not
without
terror
?
I
do
not
find
myself
able
to
comprehend
how
,
amid
those
lovely
scenes
of
Nature
,
your
mind
voluntarily
surrounds
itself
with
images
of
pain
and
discord
.
I
stand
in
awe
of
the
calm
with
which
you
subject
to
your
analysis
the
infirmities
of
reason
and
the
tumults
of
passion
.
And
all
those
laws
of
the
social
state
which
seem
to
me
so
fixed
and
immovable
you
treat
with
so
quiet
a
scorn
,
as
if
they
were
but
the
gossamer
threads
which
a
touch
of
your
slight
woman’s
hand
could
brush
away
.
But
I
cannot
venture
to
discuss
such
subjects
with
you
.
It
is
only
the
skilled
enchanter
who
can
stand
safely
in
the
magic
circle
,
and
compel
the
spirits
that
he
summons
,
even
if
they
are
evil
,
to
minister
to
ends
in
which
he
foresees
a
good
.
We
continue
to
live
here
very
quietly
,
and
I
do
not
as
yet
feel
the
worse
for
the
colder
climate
.
Indeed
,
my
wonderful
doctor
,
who
was
recommended
to
me
as
American
,
but
is
in
reality
English
,
assures
me
that
a
single
winter
spent
here
under
his
care
will
suffice
for
my
complete
re-establishment
.
Yet
that
career
,
to
the
training
for
which
so
many
years
have
been
devoted
,
does
not
seem
to
me
so
alluring
as
it
once
did
.
I
have
much
to
say
on
this
subject
,
which
I
defer
till
I
can
better
collect
my
own
thoughts
on
it
;
at
present
they
are
confused
and
struggling
.
The
great
Maestro
has
been
most
gracious
.
In
what
a
radiant
atmosphere
his
genius
lives
and
breathes
!
Even
in
his
cynical
moods
,
his
very
cynicism
has
in
it
the
ring
of
a
jocund
music
,
—
the
laugh
of
Figaro
,
not
of
Mephistopheles
.
We
went
to
dine
with
him
last
week
.
He
invited
to
meet
us
Madame
S
—
—
-
,
who
has
this
year
conquered
all
opposition
,
and
reigns
alone
,
the
great
S
—
—
-
;
Mr.
T
—
—
—
—
,
a
pianist
of
admirable
promise
;
your
friend
M
.
Savarin
,
wit
,
critic
,
and
poet
,
with
his
pleasant
,
sensible
wife
;
and
a
few
others
,
who
,
the
Maestro
confided
to
me
in
a
whisper
,
were
authorities
in
the
press
.
After
dinner
S
—
—
-
sang
to
us
,
magnificently
,
of
course
.
Then
she
herself
graciously
turned
to
me
,
said
how
much
she
had
heard
from
the
Maestro
in
my
praise
,
and
so
and
so
.
I
was
persuaded
to
sing
after
her
.
I
need
not
say
to
what
disadvantage
.
But
I
forgot
my
nervousness
;
I
forgot
my
audience
;
I
forgot
myself
,
as
I
always
do
when
once
my
soul
,
as
it
were
,
finds
wing
in
music
,
and
buoys
itself
in
the
air
,
relieved
from
the
sense
of
earth
.
I
knew
not
that
I
had
succeeded
till
I
came
to
a
close
,
and
then
my
eyes
resting
on
the
face
of
the
grand
prima
donna
,
I
was
seized
with
an
indescribable
sadness
,
with
a
keen
pang
of
remorse
.
Perfect
artiste
though
she
be
,
and
with
powers
in
her
own
realm
of
art
which
admit
of
no
living
equal
,
I
saw
at
once
that
I
had
pained
her
:
she
had
grown
almost
livid
;
her
lips
were
