examinationby
the
civil
authorities
.
In
fact
,
it
was
clear
that
poor
Louise
Duval
had
been
considered
as
an
adventuress
by
the
hotel-keeper
and
the
medical
attendant
at
Munich
;
and
her
death
had
excited
so
little
interest
,
that
it
was
strange
that
even
so
many
particulars
respecting
it
could
be
gleaned
.
After
a
prolonged
but
fruitless
stay
at
Munich
,
Graham
and
M
.
Renard
repaired
to
Vienna
;
there
,
at
least
,
Madame
Marigny
had
given
an
address
,
and
there
she
might
be
heard
of
.
At
Vienna
,
however
,
no
research
availed
to
discover
a
trace
of
any
such
person
;
and
in
despair
Graham
returned
to
England
in
the
January
of
1870
,
and
left
the
further
prosecution
of
his
inquiries
to
M
.
Renard
,
who
,
though
obliged
to
transfer
himself
to
Paris
for
a
time
,
promised
that
he
would
leave
no
stone
unturned
for
the
discovery
of
Madame
Marigny
;
and
Graham
trusted
to
that
assurance
when
M
.
Renard
,
rejecting
half
of
the
large
gratuity
offered
him
,
added
,
“
Je
suis
Francais
;
this
with
me
has
ceased
to
be
an
affair
of
money
;
it
has
become
an
affair
that
involves
my
amour
propre
.
”
CHAPTER
VIII
.
If
Graham
Vane
had
been
before
caressed
and
courted
for
himself
,
he
was
more
than
ever
appreciated
by
polite
society
,
now
that
he
added
the
positive
repute
of
wealth
to
that
of
a
promising
intellect
.
Fine
ladies
said
that
Graham
Vane
was
a
match
for
any
girl
.
Eminent
politicians
listened
to
him
with
a
more
attentive
respect
,
and
invited
him
to
selecter
dinner-parties
.
His
cousin
the
Duke
urged
him
to
announce
his
candidature
for
the
county
,
and
purchase
back
,
at
least
,
the
old
Stamm-schloss
.
But
Graham
obstinately
refused
to
entertain
either
proposal
,
continued
to
live
as
economically
as
before
in
his
old
apartments
,
and
bore
with
an
astonishing
meekness
of
resignation
the
unsolicited
load
of
fashion
heaped
upon
his
shoulders
.
At
heart
he
was
restless
and
unhappy
.
The
mission
bequeathed
to
him
by
Richard
King
haunted
his
thoughts
like
a
spectre
not
to
be
exorcised
.
Was
his
whole
life
to
be
passed
in
the
weary
sustainment
of
an
imposture
which
in
itself
was
gall
and
wormwood
to
a
nature
constitutionally
frank
and
open
?
Was
he
forever
to
appear
a
rich
man
and
live
as
a
poor
one
?
Was
he
till
his
deathbed
to
be
deemed
a
sordid
miser
whenever
he
refused
a
just
claim
on
his
supposed
wealth
,
and
to
feel
his
ambition
excluded
from
the
objects
it
earnestly
coveted
,
and
which
he
was
forced
to
appear
too
much
of
an
Epicurean
philosopher
to
prize
?
More
torturing
than
all
else
to
the
man’s
innermost
heart
was
the
consciousness
that
he
had
not
conquered
,
could
not
conquer
,
the
yearning
love
with
which
Isaura
had
inspired
him
,
and
yet
that
against
such
love
all
his
reasonings
,
all
his
prejudices
,
more
stubbornly
than
ever
were
combined
.
In
the
French
newspapers
which
he
had
glanced
over
while
engaged
in
his
researches
in
Germany-nay
,
in
German
critical
journals
themselves
—
he
had
seen
so
many
notices
of
the
young
author
,
—
highly
eulogistic
,
it
is
true
,
but
which
to
his
peculiar
notions
were
more
offensive
than
if
they
had
been
sufficiently
condemnatory
of
her
work
to
discourage
her
from
its
repetition
;
notices
which
seemed
to
him
the
supreme
impertinences
which
no
man
likes
exhibited
towards
the
woman
to
whom
he
would
render
the
chivalrous
homage
of
respect
.
Evidently
this
girl
had
become
as
much
public
property
as
if
she
had
gone
on
the
stage
.
Minute
details
of
her
personal
appearance
,
—
of
the
dimples
on
her
cheek
,
of
the
whiteness
of
her
arms
,
of
her
peculiar
way
of
dressing
her
hair
;
anecdotes
of
her
from
childhood
(
of
course
invented
,
but
how
could
Graham
know
that
?
)
;
of
the
reasons
why
she
had
adopted
the
profession
of
author
instead
of
that
of
the
singer
;
of
the
sensation
she
had
created
in
certain
salons
(
to
Graham
,
who
knew
Paris
so
well
,
salons
in
which
he
would
not
have
liked
his
wife
to
appear
)
;
of
the
compliments
paid
to
her
by
grands
seigneurs
noted
for
their
liaisons
with
ballet-dancers
,
or
by
authors
whose
genius
soared
far
beyond
the
flammantia
maenia
of
a
world
confined
by
respect
for
one’s
neighbours’
land-marks
,
—
all
this
,
which
belongs
to
ground
of
personal
gossip
untouched
by
English
critics
of
female
writers
,
ground
especially
favoured
by
Continental
,
and
,
I
am
grieved
to
say
,
by
American
journalists
,
—
all
this
was
to
the
sensitive
Englishman
much
what
the
minute
inventory
of
Egeria’s
charms
would
have
been
to
Numa
Pompilius
.
The
nymph
,
hallowed
to
him
by
secret
devotion
,
was
vulgarized
by
the
noisy
hands
of
the
mob
,
and
by
the
popular
voices
,
which
said
,
“
We
know
more
about
Egeria
than
you
do
.
”
And
when
he
returned
to
England
,
and
met
with
old
friends
familiar
to
Parisian
life
,
who
said
,
“
of
course
you
have
read
the
Cicogna’s
roman
.
What
do
you
think
of
it
?
Very
fine
writing
,
I
dare
say
,
but
above
me
.
I
go
in
for
‘Les
Mysteres
de
Paris’
or
‘Monte
Cristo
;
’
but
I
even
find
Georges
Sand
a
bore
,
”
then
as
a
critic
Graham
Vane
fired
up
,
extolled
the
roman
he
would
have
given
his
ears
for
Isaura
never
to
have
written
;
but
retired
from
the
contest
muttering
inly
,
“
How
can
I
—
I
,
Graham
Vane
—
how
can
I
be
such
an
idiot
;
how
can
I
in
every
hour
of
the
twenty-four
sigh
to
myself
,
‘What
are
other
women
to
me
?
Isaura
,
Isaura
!
’
”
BOOK
VII
.
CHAPTER
I
.
It
is
the
first
week
in
the
month
of
May
,
1870.
Celebrities
are
of
rapid
growth
in
the
salons
of
Paris
.
Gustave
Rameau
has
gained
the
position
for
which
he
sighed
.
The
journal
he
edits
has
increased
its
hold
on
the
public
,
and
his
share
of
the
profits
has
been
liberally
augmented
by
the
secret
proprietor
.
Rameau
is
acknowledged
as
a
power
in
literary
circles
.
And
as
critics
belonging
to
the
same
clique
praise
each
other
in
Paris
,
whatever
they
may
do
in
communities
more
rigidly
virtuous
,
his
poetry
has
been
declared
by
authorities
in
the
press
to
be
superior
to
that
of
Alfred
de
Musset
in
vigour
—
to
that
of
Victor
Hugo
in
refinement
;
neither
of
which
assertions
would
much
,
perhaps
,
shock
a
cultivated
understanding
.
It
is
true
that
it
(
Gustave’s
poetry
)
has
not
gained
a
wide
audience
among
the
public
.
But
with
regard
to
poetry
nowadays
,
there
are
plenty
of
persons
who
say
as
Dr.
Johnson
said
of
the
verse
of
Spratt
,
“
I
would
rather
praise
it
than
read
.
”
At
all
events
,
Rameau
was
courted
in
gay
and
brilliant
circles
,
and
,
following
the
general
example
of
French
litterateurs
in
fashion
,
lived
well
up
to
the
income
he
received
,
had
a
delightful
bachelor’s
apartment
,
furnished
with
artistic
effect
,
spent
largely
on
the
adornment
of
his
person
,
kept
a
coupe
,
and
entertained
profusely
at
the
cafe
Anglais
and
the
Maison
Doree
.
A
reputation
that
inspired
a
graver
and
more
unquiet
interest
had
been
created
by
the
Vicomte
de
Mauleon
.
Recent
articles
in
the
Sens
Commun
,
written
under
the
name
of
Pierre
Firmin
on
the
discussions
on
the
vexed
question
of
the
plebiscite
,
had
given
umbrage
to
the
Government
,
and
Rameau
had
received
an
intimation
that
he
,
as
editor
,
was
responsible
for
the
compositions
of
the
contributors
to
the
journal
he
edited
;
and
that
though
,
so
long
as
Pierre
Firmin
had
kept
his
caustic
spirit
within
proper
bounds
,
the
Government
had
winked
at
the
evasion
of
the
law
which
required
every
political
article
in
a
journal
to
be
signed
by
the
real
name
of
its
author
,
it
could
do
so
no
longer
.
Pierre
Firmin
was
apparently
a
nom
de
plume
;
if
not
,
his
identity
must
be
proved
,
or
Rameau
would
pay
the
penalty
which
his
contributor
seemed
bent
on
incurring
.
Rameau
,
much
alarmed
for
the
journal
that
might
be
suspended
,
and
for
himself
who
might
be
imprisoned
,
conveyed
this
information
through
the
publisher
to
his
correspondent
Pierre
Firmin
,
and
received
the
next
day
an
article
signed
Victor
de
Mauleon
,
in
which
the
writer
proclaimed
himself
to
be
one
and
the
same
with
Pierre
Firmin
,
and
,
taking
a
yet
bolder
tone
than
he
had
before
assumed
,
dared
the
Government
to
attempt
legal
measures
against
him
.
The
Government
was
prudent
enough
to
disregard
that
haughty
bravado
,
but
Victor
de
Mauleon
rose
at
once
into
political
importance
.
He
had
already
in
his
real
name
and
his
quiet
way
established
a
popular
and
respectable
place
in
Parisian
society
.
But
if
this
revelation
created
him
enemies
whom
he
had
not
before
provoked
,
he
was
now
sufficiently
acquitted
,
by
tacit
consent
,
of
the
sins
formerly
laid
to
his
charge
,
to
disdain
the
assaults
of
party
wrath
.
His
old
reputation
for
personal
courage
and
skill
in
sword
and
pistol
served
,
indeed
,
to
protect
him
from
such
charges
as
a
Parisian
journalist
does
not
reply
to
with
his
pen
.
If
he
created
some
enemies
,
he
created
many
more
friends
,
or
,
at
least
,
partisans
and
admirers
.
He
only
needed
fine
and
imprisonment
to
become
a
popular
hero
.
A
few
days
after
he
had
thus
proclaimed
himself
,
Victor
de
Mauleon
—
who
had
before
kept
aloof
from
Rameau
,
and
from
salons
at
which
he
was
likely
to
meet
that
distinguished
minstrel
—
solicited
his
personal
acquaintance
,
and
asked
him
to
breakfast
.
Rameau
joyfully
went
.
He
had
a
very
natural
curiosity
to
see
the
contributor
whose
articles
had
so
mainly
insured
the
sale
of
the
Sens
Commun
.
In
the
dark-haired
,
keen-eyed
,
well-dressed
,
middle-aged
man
,
with
commanding
port
and
courtly
address
,
he
failed
to
recognise
any
resemblance
to
the
flaxen-wigged
,
long-coated
,
be-spectacled
,
shambling
sexagenarian
whom
he
had
known
as
Lebeau
.
Only
now
and
then
a
tone
of
voice
struck
him
as
familiar
,
but
he
could
not
recollect
where
he
had
heard
the
voice
it
resembled
.
The
thought
of
Lebeau
did
not
occur
to
him
;
if
it
had
occurred
it
would
only
have
struck
him
as
a
chance
coincidence
.
Rameau
,
like
most
egotists
,
was
rather
a
dull
observer
of
men
.
His
genius
was
not
objective
.
“
I
trust
,
Monsieur
Rameau
,
”
said
the
Vicomte
,
as
he
and
his
guest
were
seated
at
the
breakfast-table
,
“
that
you
are
not
dissatisfied
with
the
remuneration
your
eminent
services
in
the
journal
have
received
.
”
“
The
proprietor
,
whoever
he
be
,
has
behaved
most
liberally
,
”
answered
Rameau
.
“
I
take
that
compliment
to
myself
,
cher
confrere
;
for
though
the
expenses
of
starting
the
Sens
Commun
,
and
the
caution
money
lodged
,
were
found
by
a
friend
of
mine
,
that
was
as
a
loan
,
which
I
have
long
since
repaid
,
and
the
property
in
the
journal
is
now
exclusively
mine
.
I
have
to
thank
you
not
only
for
your
own
brilliant
contributions
,
but
for
those
of
the
colleagues
you
secured
.
Monsieur
Savarin’s
piquant
criticisms
were
most
valuable
to
us
at
starting
.
I
regret
to
have
lost
his
aid
.
But
as
he
has
set
up
a
new
journal
of
his
own
,
even
he
has
not
wit
enough
to
spare
for
another
.
A
propos
of
our
contributors
,
I
shall
ask
you
to
present
me
to
the
fair
author
of
The
Artist’s
Daughter
.
I
am
of
too
prosaic
a
nature
to
appreciate
justly
the
merits
of
a
roman
;
but
I
have
heard
warm
praise
of
this
story
from
the
young
—
they
are
the
best
judges
of
that
kind
of
literature
;
and
I
can
at
least
understand
the
worth
of
a
contributor
who
trebled
the
sale
of
our
journal
.
It
is
a
misfortune
to
us
,
indeed
,
that
her
work
is
completed
,
but
I
trust
that
the
sum
sent
to
her
through
our
publisher
suffices
to
tempt
her
to
favour
us
with
another
roman
in
series
.
”
“
Mademoiselle
Cicogna
,
”
said
Rameau
,
with
a
somewhat
sharper
intonation
of
his
sharp
voice
,
“
has
accepted
for
the
republication
of
her
roman
in
a
separate
form
terms
which
attest
the
worth
of
her
genius
,
and
has
had
offers
from
other
journals
for
a
serial
tale
of
even
higher
amount
than
the
sum
so
generously
sent
to
her
through
your
publisher
.
”
“
Has
she
accepted
them
,
Monsieur
Rameau
?
If
so
,
tant
pis
pour
vous
.
Pardon
me
,
I
mean
that
your
salary
suffers
in
proportion
as
the
Sens
Commun
declines
in
sale
.
”
“
She
has
not
accepted
them
.
I
advised
her
not
to
do
so
until
she
could
compare
them
with
those
offered
by
the
proprietor
of
the
Sens
Commun
.
”
“
And
your
advice
guides
her
?
Ah
,
cher
confrere
,
you
are
a
happy
man
!
—
you
have
influence
over
this
young
aspirant
to
the
fame
of
a
De
Stael
or
a
Georges
Sand
.
”
“
I
flatter
myself
that
I
have
some
,
”
answered
Rameau
,
smiling
loftily
as
he
helped
himself
to
another
tumbler
of
.
Volnay
wine
—
excellent
,
but
rather
heady
.
“
So
much
the
better
.
I
leave
you
free
to
arrange
terms
with
Mademoiselle
Cicogna
,
higher
than
she
can
obtain
elsewhere
,
and
kindly
contrive
my
own
personal
introduction
to
her
—
you
have
breakfasted
already
?
—
permit
me
to
offer
you
a
cigar
—
excuse
me
if
I
do
not
bear
you
company
;
I
seldom
smoke
—
never
of
a
morning
.
Now
to
business
,
and
the
state
of
France
.
Take
that
easy-chair
,
seat
yourself
comfortably
.
So
!
Listen
!
If
ever
Mephistopheles
revisit
the
earth
,
how
he
will
laugh
at
Universal
Suffrage
and
Vote
by
Ballot
in
an
old
country
like
France
,
as
things
to
be
admired
by
educated
men
,
and
adopted
by
friends
of
genuine
freedom
!
”
“
I
don’t
understand
you
,
”
said
Rameau
.
“
In
this
respect
at
least
,
let
me
hope
that
I
can
furnish
you
with
understanding
.
“
The
Emperor
has
resorted
to
a
plebiscite
—
viz.
,
a
vote
by
ballot
and
universal
suffrage
—
as
to
certain
popular
changes
which
circumstances
compel
him
to
substitute
for
his
former
personal
rule
.
Is
there
a
single
intelligent
Liberal
who
is
not
against
that
plebiscite
?
—
is
there
any
such
who
does
not
know
that
the
appeal
of
the
Emperor
to
universal
suffrage
and
vote
by
ballot
must
result
in
a
triumph
over
all
the
variations
of
free
thought
,
by
the
unity
which
belongs
to
Order
,
represented
through
an
able
man
at
the
head
of
the
State
?
The
multitude
never
comprehend
principles
;
principles
are
complex
ideas
;
they
comprehend
a
single
idea
,
and
the
simplest
idea
is
,
a
Name
that
rids
their
action
of
all
responsibility
to
thought
.
“
Well
,
in
France
there
are
principles
superabundant
which
you
can
pit
against
the
principle
of
Imperial
rule
.
But
there
is
not
one
name
you
can
pit
against
Napoleon
the
Third
;
therefore
,
I
steer
our
little
bark
in
the
teeth
of
the
popular
gale
when
I
denounce
the
plebiscite
,
and
Le
Sens
Commun
will
necessarily
fall
in
sale
—
it
is
beginning
to
fall
already
.
We
shall
have
the
educated
men
with
us
,
the
rest
against
.
In
every
country
—
even
in
China
,
where
all
are
highly
educated
—
a
few
must
be
yet
more
highly
educated
than
the
many
.
Monsieur
Rameau
,
I
desire
to
overthrow
the
Empire
:
in
order
to
do
that
,
it
is
not
enough
to
have
on
my
side
the
educated
men
,
I
must
have
the
canaille
—
the
canaille
of
Paris
and
of
the
manufacturing
towns
.
But
I
use
the
canaille
for
my
purpose
—
I
don’t
mean
to
enthrone
it
.
You
comprehend
?
—
the
canaille
quiescent
is
simply
mud
at
the
bottom
of
a
stream
;
the
canaille
agitated
is
mud
at
the
surface
.
But
no
man
capable
of
three
ideas
builds
the
palaces
and
senates
of
civilised
society
out
of
mud
,
be
it
at
the
top
or
the
bottom
of
an
ocean
.
Can
either
you
or
I
desire
that
the
destinies
of
France
shall
be
swayed
by
coxcombical
artisans
who
think
themselves
superior
to
every
man
who
writes
grammar
,
and
whose
idea
of
a
common-wealth
is
the
confiscation
of
private
property
?
”
Rameau
,
thoroughly
puzzled
by
this
discourse
,
bowed
his
head
,
and
replied
whisperingly
,
“
Proceed
.
You
are
against
the
Empire
,
yet
against
the
populace
!
—
What
are
you
for
?
not
,
surely
,
the
Legitimists
?
—
are
you
Republican
?
Orleanist
?
or
what
?
”
“
Your
questions
are
very
pertinent
,
”
answered
the
Vicomte
,
courteously
,
“
and
my
answer
shall
be
very
frank
.
I
am
against
absolute
rule
,
whether
under
a
Buonaparte
or
a
Bourbon
.
I
am
for
a
free
State
,
whether
under
a
constitutional
hereditary
sovereign
like
the
English
or
Belgian
,
or
whether
,
republican
in
name
,
it
be
less
democratic
than
constitutional
monarchy
in
practice
,
like
the
American
.
But
as
a
man
interested
in
the
fate
of
le
Sens
Commun
,
I
hold
in
profound
disdain
all
crotchets
for
revolutionising
the
elements
of
Human
Nature
.
Enough
of
this
abstract
talk
.
To
the
point
.
You
are
of
course
aware
of
the
violent
meetings
held
by
the
Socialists
,
nominally
against
the
plebiscite
,
really
against
the
Emperor
himself
?
”
“
Yes
,
I
know
at
least
that
the
working
class
are
extremely
discontented
;
the
numerous
strikes
last
month
were
not
on
a
mere
question
of
wages
—
they
were
against
the
existing
forms
of
society
.
And
the
articles
by
Pierre
Firmin
which
brought
me
into
collision
with
the
Government
,
seemed
to
differ
from
what
you
now
say
.
They
approve
those
strikes
;
they
appeared
to
sympathise
with
the
revolutionary
meetings
at
Belleville
and
Montmartre
.
”
“
Of
course
—
we
use
coarse
tools
for
destroying
;
we
cast
them
aside
for
finer
ones
when
we
want
to
reconstruct
.
“
I
attended
one
of
those
meetings
last
night
.
See
,
I
have
a
pass
for
all
such
assemblies
,
signed
by
some
dolt
who
cannot
even
spell
the
name
he
assumes
—
‘Pom-de-Tair.’
A
commissary
of
police
sat
yawning
at
the
end
of
the
orchestra
,
his
secretary
by
his
side
,
while
the
orators
stammer
out
fragments
of
would-be
thunderbolts
.
Commissary
of
police
yawns
more
wearily
than
before
,
secretary
disdains
to
use
his
pen
,
seizes
his
penknife
and
pares
his
nails
.
Up
rises
a
wild-haired
,
weak-limbed
silhouette
of
a
man
,
and
affecting
a
solemnity
of
mien
which
might
have
become
the
virtuous
Guizot
,
moves
this
resolution
:
‘The
French
people
condemns
Charles
Louis
Napoleon
the
Third
to
the
penalty
of
perpetual
hard
labour.’
Then
up
rises
the
commissary
of
police
and
says
quietly
,
‘I
declare
this
meeting
at
an
end.’
“
Sensation
among
the
audience
—
they
gesticulate
—
they
screech
—
they
bellow
—
the
commissary
puts
on
his
greatcoat
—
the
secretary
gives
a
last
touch
to
his
nails
and
pockets
his
penknife
—
the
audience
disperses
—
the
silhouette
of
a
man
effaces
itself
—
all
is
over
.
”
“
You
describe
the
scene
most
wittily
,
”
said
Rameau
,
laughing
,
but
the
laugh
was
constrained
.
A
would-be
cynic
himself
,
there
was
a
something
grave
and
earnest
in
the
real
cynic
that
awed
him
.
“
What
conclusion
do
you
draw
from
such
a
scene
,
cher
poete
”
asked
De
Mauleon
,
fixing
his
keen
quiet
eyes
on
Rameau
.
“
What
conclusion
?
Well
,
that
—
that
—
”
“
Yes
,
continue
.
”
“
That
the
audience
were
sadly
degenerated
from
the
time
when
Mirabeau
said
to
a
Master
of
the
Ceremonies
,
‘We
are
here
by
the
power
of
the
French
people
,
and
nothing
but
the
point
of
the
bayonet
shall
expel
us.’
”
“
Spoken
like
a
poet
,
a
French
poet
.
I
suppose
you
admire
M
.
Victor
Hugo
.
Conceding
that
he
would
have
employed
a
more
sounding
phraseology
,
comprising
more
absolute
ignorance
of
men
,
times
,
and
manners
in
unintelligible
metaphor
and
melodramatic
braggadocio
,
your
answer
might
have
been
his
;
but
pardon
me
if
I
add
,
it
would
not
be
that
of
Common
Sense
.
”
“
Monsieur
le
Vicomte
might
rebuke
me
more
politely
,
”
said
Rameau
,
colouring
high
.
“
Accept
my
apologies
;
I
did
not
mean
to
rebuke
,
but
to
instruct
.
The
times
are
not
those
of
1789.
And
Nature
,
ever
repeating
herself
in
the
production
of
coxcombs
and
blockheads
,
never
repeats
herself
in
the
production
of
Mirabeaus
.
The
Empire
is
doomed
—
doomed
,
because
it
is
hostile
to
the
free
play
of
intellect
.
Any
Government
that
gives
absolute
preponderance
to
the
many
is
hostile
to
intellect
,
for
intellect
is
necessarily
confined
to
the
few
.
“
Intellect
is
the
most
revengeful
of
all
the
elements
of
society
.
It
cares
not
what
the
materials
through
which
it
insinuates
or
forces
its
way
to
its
seat
.
“
I
accept
the
aid
of
Pom-de-Tair
.
I
do
not
demean
myself
to
the
extent
of
writing
articles
that
may
favor
the
principles
of
Pom-de-Tair
,
signed
in
the
name
of
Victor
de
Mauleon
or
of
Pierre
Firinin
.
“
I
will
beg
you
,
my
dear
editor
,
to
obtain
clever
,
smart
writers
,
who
know
nothing
about
Socialists
and
Internationalists
,
who
therefore
will
not
commit
Le
Sens
Commun
by
advocating
the
doctrines
of
those
idiots
,
but
who
will
flatter
the
vanity
of
the
canaille
—
vaguely
;
write
any
stuff
they
please
about
the
renown
of
Paris
,
‘the
eye
of
the
world
,
’
‘the
sun
of
the
European
system
,
’
etc.
,
of
the
artisans
of
Paris
as
supplying
soul
to
that
eye
and
fuel
to
that
sun
—
any
blague
of
that
sort
—
genre
Victor
Hugo
;
but
nothing
definite
against
life
and
property
,
nothing
that
may
not
be
considered
hereafter
as
the
harmless
extravagance
of
a
poetic
enthusiasm
.
You
might
write
such
articles
yourself
.
In
fine
,
I
want
to
excite
the
multitude
,
and
yet
not
to
commit
our
journal
to
the
contempt
of
the
few
.
Nothing
is
to
be
admitted
that
may
bring
the
law
upon
us
except
it
be
signed
by
my
name
.
There
may
be
a
moment
in
which
it
would
be
desirable
for
somebody
to
be
sent
to
prison
:
in
that
case
,
I
allow
no
substitute
—
I
go
myself
.
“
Now
you
have
my
most
secret
thoughts
.
I
intrust
them
to
your
judgment
with
entire
confidence
.
Monsieur
Lebeau
gave
you
a
high
character
,
which
you
have
hitherto
deserved
.
By
the
way
,
have
you
seen
anything
lately
of
that
bourgeois
conspirator
?
”
“
No
,
his
professed
business
of
letter-writer
or
agent
is
transferred
to
a
clerk
,
who
says
M
.
Lebeau
is
abroad
.
”
“
Ah
!
I
don’t
think
that
is
true
.
I
fancy
I
saw
him
the
other
evening
gilding
along
the
lanes
of
Belleville
.
He
is
too
confirmed
a
conspirator
to
be
long
out
of
Paris
;
no
place
like
Paris
for
seething
brains
.
”
“
Have
you
known
M
.
Lebeau
long
?
”
asked
Rameau
.
“
Ay
,
many
years
.
We
are
both
Norman
by
birth
,
as
you
may
perceive
by
something
broad
in
our
accent
.
”
“
Ha
!
I
knew
your
voice
was
familiar
to
me
;
certainly
it
does
remind
me
of
Lebeau’s
.
”
“
Normans
are
like
each
other
in
many
things
besides
voice
and
accent
—
obstinacy
,
for
instance
,
in
clinging
to
ideas
once
formed
;
this
makes
them
good
friends
and
steadfast
enemies
.
I
would
advise
no
man
to
make
an
enemy
of
Lebeau
.
“
Au
revoir
,
cher
confrere
.
Do
not
forget
to
present
me
to
Mademoiselle
Cicogna
.
”
CHAPTER
II
.
On
leaving
De
Mauleon
and
regaining
his
coupe
,
Rameau
felt
at
once
bewildered
and
humbled
,
for
he
was
not
prepared
for
the
tone
of
careless
superiority
which
the
Vicomte
assumed
over
him
.
He
had
expected
to
be
much
complimented
,
and
he
comprehended
vaguely
that
he
had
been
somewhat
snubbed
.
He
was
not
only
irritated
—
he
was
bewildered
;
for
De
Mauleon’s
political
disquisitions
did
not
leave
any
clear
or
definite
idea
on
his
mind
as
to
the
principles
which
as
editor
of
the
Sens
Commun
he
was
to
see
adequately
represented
and
carried
out
.
In
truth
,
Rameau
was
one
of
those
numerous
Parisian
politicians
who
have
read
little
and
reflected
less
on
the
government
of
men
and
States
.
Envy
is
said
by
a
great
French
writer
to
be
the
vice
of
Democracies
.
Envy
certainly
had
made
Rameau
a
democrat
.
He
could
talk
and
write
glibly
enough
upon
the
themes
of
equality
and
fraternity
,
and
was
so
far
an
ultra-democrat
that
he
thought
moderation
the
sign
of
a
mediocre
understanding
.
De
Mauleon’s
talk
,
therefore
,
terribly
perplexed
him
.
It
was
unlike
anything
he
had
heard
before
.
Its
revolutionary
professions
,
accompanied
with
so
much
scorn
for
the
multitude
,
and
the
things
the
multitude
desired
,
were
Greek
to
him
.
He
was
not
shocked
by
the
cynicism
which
placed
wisdom
in
using
the
passions
of
mankind
as
tools
for
the
interests
of
an
individual
;
but
he
did
not
understand
the
frankness
of
its
avowal
.
Nevertheless
the
man
had
dominated
over
and
subdued
him
.
He
recognized
the
power
of
his
contributor
without
clearly
analysing
its
nature
—
a
power
made
up
of
large
experience
of
life
,
of
cold
examination
of
doctrines
that
heated
others
—
of
patrician
calm
—
of
intellectual
sneer
—
of
collected
confidence
in
self
.
Besides
,
Rameau
felt
,
with
a
nervous
misgiving
,
that
in
this
man
,
who
so
boldly
proclaimed
his
contempt
for
the
instruments
he
used
,
he
had
found
a
master
.
De
Mauleon
,
then
,
was
sole
proprietor
of
the
journal
from
which
Rameau
drew
his
resources
;
might
at
any
time
dismiss
him
;
might
at
any
time
involve
the
journal
in
penalties
which
,
even
if
Rameau
could
escape
in
his
official
capacity
as
editor
,
still
might
stop
the
Sens
Commun
,
and
with
it
Rameau’s
luxurious
subsistence
.
Altogether
the
visit
to
De
Mauleon
had
been
anything
but
a
pleasant
one
.
He
sought
,
as
the
carriage
rolled
on
,
to
turn
his
thoughts
to
more
agreeable
subjects
,
and
the
image
of
Isaura
rose
before
him
.
To
do
him
justice
he
had
learned
to
love
this
girl
as
well
as
his
nature
would
permit
:
he
loved
her
with
the
whole
strength
of
his
imagination
,
and
though
his
heart
was
somewhat
cold
,
his
imagination
was
very
ardent
.
He
loved
her
also
with
the
whole
strength
of
his
vanity
,
and
vanity
was
even
a
more
preponderant
organ
of
his
system
than
imagination
.
To
carry
off
as
his
prize
one
who
had
already
achieved
celebrity
,
whose
beauty
and
fascination
of
manner
were
yet
more
acknowledged
than
her
genius
,
would
certainly
be
a
glorious
triumph
.
Every
Parisian
of
Rameau’s
stamp
looks
forward
in
marriage
to
a
brilliant
salon
.
What
salon
more
brilliant
than
that
which
he
and
Isaura
united
could
command
?
He
had
long
conquered
his
early
impulse
of
envy
at
Isaura’s
success
,
—
in
fact
that
success
had
become
associated
with
his
own
,
and
had
contributed
greatly
to
his
enrichment
.
So
that
to
other
motives
of
love
he
might
add
the
prudential
one
of
interest
.
Rameau
well
knew
that
his
own
vein
of
composition
,
however
lauded
by
the
cliques
,
and
however
unrivalled
in
his
own
eyes
,
was
not
one
that
brings
much
profit
in
the
market
.
He
compared
himself
to
those
poets
who
are
too
far
in
advance
of
their
time
to
be
quite
as
sure
of
bread
and
cheese
as
they
are
of
immortal
fame
.
But
he
regarded
Isaura’s
genius
as
of
a
lower
order
,
and
a
thing
in
itself
very
marketable
.
Marry
her
,
and
the
bread
and
cheese
were
so
certain
that
he
might
elaborate
as
slowly
as
he
pleased
the
verses
destined
to
immortal
fame
.
Then
he
should
be
independent
of
inferior
creatures
like
Victor
de
Mauleon
.
But
while
Rameau
convinced
himself
that
he
was
passionately
in
love
with
Isaura
,
he
could
not
satisfy
himself
that
she
was
in
love
with
him
.
Though
during
the
past
year
they
had
seen
each
other
constantly
,
and
their
literary
occupations
had
produced
many
sympathies
between
them
—
though
he
had
intimated
that
many
of
his
most
eloquent
love-poems
were
inspired
by
her
—
though
he
had
asserted
in
prose
,
very
pretty
prose
too
,
that
she
was
all
that
youthful
poets
dream
of
,
—
yet
she
had
hitherto
treated
such
declarations
with
a
playful
laugh
,
accepting
them
as
elegant
compliments
inspired
by
Parisian
gallantry
;
and
he
felt
an
angry
and
sore
foreboding
that
if
he
were
to
insist
too
seriously
on
the
earnestness
of
their
import
and
ask
her
plainly
to
be
his
wife
,
her
refusal
would
be
certain
,
and
his
visits
to
her
house
might
be
interdicted
.
Still
Isaura
was
unmarried
,
still
she
had
refused
offers
of
marriage
from
men
higher
placed
than
himself
,
—
still
he
divined
no
one
whom
she
could
prefer
.
And
as
he
now
leaned
back
in
his
coupe
he
muttered
to
himself
,
“
Oh
,
if
I
could
but
get
rid
of
that
little
demon
Julie
,
I
would
devote
myself
so
completely
to
winning
Isaura’s
heart
that
I
must
succeed
!
—
but
how
to
get
rid
of
Julie
?
She
so
adores
me
,
and
is
so
headstrong
!
She
is
capable
of
going
to
Isaura
—
showing
my
letters
—
making
such
a
scene
!
”
Here
he
checked
the
carriage
at
a
cafe
on
the
Boulevard
—
descended
,
imbibed
two
glasses
of
absinthe
,
—
and
then
feeling
much
emboldened
,
remounted
his
coupe
and
directed
the
driver
to
Isaura’s
apartment
.
CHAPTER
III
.
Yes
,
celebrities
are
of
rapid
growth
in
the
salons
of
Paris
.
Far
more
solid
than
that
of
Rameau
,
far
more
brilliant
than
that
of
De
Mauleon
,
was
the
celebrity
which
Isaura
had
now
acquired
.
She
had
been
unable
to
retain
the
pretty
suburban
villa
at
A
—
—
—
.
The
owner
wanted
to
alter
and
enlarge
it
for
his
own
residence
,
and
she
had
been
persuaded
by
Signora
Venosta
,
who
was
always
sighing
for
fresh
salons
to
conquer
,
to
remove
(
towards
the
close
of
the
previous
year
)
to
apartments
in
the
centre
of
the
Parisian
beau
monde
.
Without
formally
professing
to
receive
,
on
one
evening
in
the
week
her
salon
was
open
to
those
who
had
eagerly
sought
her
acquaintance
—
comprising
many
stars
in
the
world
of
fashion
,
as
well
as
those
in
the
world
of
art
and
letters
.
And
as
she
had
now
wholly
abandoned
the
idea
of
the
profession
for
which
her
voice
had
been
cultivated
,
she
no
longer
shrank
from
the
exercise
of
her
surpassing
gift
of
song
for
the
delight
of
private
friends
.
Her
physician
had
withdrawn
the
interdict
on
such
exercise
.
His
skill
,
aided
by
the
rich
vitality
of
her
constitution
,
had
triumphed
over
all
tendencies
to
the
malady
for
which
he
had
been
consulted
.
To
hear
Isaura
Cicogna
sing
in
her
own
house
was
a
privilege
sought
and
prized
by
many
who
never
read
a
word
of
her
literary
compositions
.
A
good
critic
of
a
book
is
rare
;
but
good
judges
of
a
voice
are
numberless
.
Adding
this
attraction
of
song
to
her
youth
,
her
beauty
,
her
frank
powers
of
converse
—
an
innocent
sweetness
of
manner
free
from
all
conventional
affectation
—
and
to
the
fresh
novelty
of
a
genius
which
inspired
the
young
with
enthusiast
and
beguiled
the
old
to
indulgence
,
it
was
no
wonder
that
Isaura
became
a
celebrity
at
Paris
.
Perhaps
it
was
a
wonder
that
her
head
was
not
turned
by
the
adulation
that
surrounded
her
.
But
I
believe
,
be
it
said
with
diffidence
,
that
a
woman
of
mind
so
superior
that
the
mind
never
pretends
to
efface
the
heart
,
is
less
intoxicated
with
flattery
than
a
man
equally
exposed
to
it
.
It
is
the
strength
of
her
heart
that
keeps
her
head
sober
.
Isaura
had
never
yet
overcome
her
first
romance
of
love
;
as
yet
,
amid
all
her
triumphs
,
there
was
not
a
day
in
which
her
thoughts
did
not
wistfully
,
mournfully
,
fly
back
to
those
blessed
moments
in
which
she
felt
her
cheek
colour
before
a
look
,
her
heart
beat
at
the
sound
of
a
footfall
.
Perhaps
if
there
had
been
the
customary
finis
to
this
young
romance
—
the
lover’s
deliberate
renunciation
,
his
formal
farewell
—
the
girl’s
pride
would
ere
this
have
conquered
her
affection
,
—
possibly
—
who
knows
?
—
replaced
it
.
But
,
reader
,
be
you
male
or
female
,
have
you
ever
known
this
sore
trial
of
affection
and
pride
,
that
from
some
cause
or
other
,
to
you
mysterious
,
the
dear
intercourse
to
which
you
had
accustomed
the
secret
life
of
your
life
,
abruptly
ceases
;
you
know
that
a
something
has
come
between
you
and
the
beloved
which
you
cannot
distinguish
,
cannot
measure
,
cannot
guess
,
and
therefore
cannot
surmount
;
and
you
say
to
yourself
at
the
dead
of
solitary
night
,
“
Oh
for
an
explanation
!
Oh
for
one
meeting
more
!
All
might
be
so
easily
set
right
;
or
if
not
,
I
should
know
the
worst
,
and
knowing
it
,
could
conquer
!
”
This
trial
was
Isaura’s
.
There
had
been
no
explanation
,
no
last
farewell
between
her
and
Graham
.
She
divined
—
no
woman
lightly
makes
a
mistake
there
—
that
he
loved
her
!
She
knew
that
this
dread
something
had
intervened
between
her
and
him
when
he
took
leave
of
her
before
others
so
many
months
ago
;
that
this
dread
something
still
continued
—
what
was
it
?
She
was
certain
that
it
would
vanish
,
could
they
but
once
meet
again
and
not
before
others
.
Oh
for
such
a
meeting
!
She
could
not
herself
destroy
hope
.
She
could
not
marry
another
.
She
would
have
no
heart
to
give
to
another
while
he
was
free
,
while
in
doubt
if
his
heart
was
still
her
own
.
And
thus
her
pride
did
not
help
her
to
conquer
her
affection
.
Of
Graham
Vane
she
heard
occasionally
.
He
had
ceased
to
correspond
with
Savarin
;
but
among
those
who
most
frequented
her
salon
were
the
Morleys
.
Americans
so
well
educated
and
so
well
placed
as
the
Morleys
knew
something
about
every
Englishman
of
the
social
station
of
Graham
Vane
.
Isaura
learned
from
them
that
Graham
,
after
a
tour
on
the
Continent
,
had
returned
to
England
at
the
commencement
of
the
year
,
had
been
invited
to
stand
for
Parliament
,
had
refused
,
that
his
name
was
in
the
list
published
by
the
Morning
Post
of
the
elite
whose
arrivals
in
London
,
or
whose
presence
at
dinner-tables
,
is
recorded
as
an
event
.
That
the
Athenaeum
had
mentioned
a
rumour
that
Graham
Vane
was
the
author
of
a
political
pamphlet
which
,
published
anonymously
,
had
made
no
inconsiderable
sensation
.
Isaura
sent
to
England
for
that
pamphlet
:
the
subject
was
somewhat
dry
,
and
the
style
,
though
clear
and
vigorous
,
was
scarcely
of
the
eloquence
which
wins
the
admiration
of
women
;
and
yet
she
learned
every
word
of
it
by
heart
.
We
know
how
little
she
dreamed
that
the
celebrity
which
she
hailed
as
an
approach
to
him
was
daily
making
her
more
remote
.
The
sweet
labours
she
undertook
for
that
celebrity
continued
to
be
sweetened
yet
more
by
secret
associations
with
the
absent
one
.
How
many
of
the
passages
most
admired
could
never
have
been
written
had
he
been
never
known
!
And
she
blessed
those
labours
the
more
that
they
upheld
her
from
the
absolute
feebleness
of
sickened
reverie
,
beguiled
her
from
the
gnawing
torture
of
unsatisfied
conjecture
.
She
did
comply
with
Madame
de
Grantmesnil’s
command
—
did
pass
from
the
dusty
beaten
road
of
life
into
green
fields
and
along
flowery
river-banks
,
and
did
enjoy
that
ideal
by-world
.
But
still
the
one
image
which
reigned
over
her
human
heart
moved
beside
her
in
the
gardens
of
fairyland
.
CHAPTER
IV
.
Isaura
was
seated
in
her
pretty
salon
,
with
the
Venosta
,
M
.
Savarin
,
the
Morleys
,
and
the
financier
Louvier
,
when
Rameau
was
announced
.
“
Ha
!
”
cried
Savarin
,
“
we
were
just
discussing
a
matter
which
nearly
concerns
you
,
cher
poete
.
I
have
not
seen
you
since
the
announcement
that
Pierre
Firmin
is
no
other
than
Victor
de
Mauleon
.
Ma
foi
,
that
worthy
seems
likely
to
be
as
dangerous
with
his
pen
as
he
was
once
with
his
sword
.
The
article
in
which
he
revealed
himself
makes
a
sharp
lunge
on
the
Government
.
‘Take
care
of
yourself
.
When
hawks
and
nightingales
fly
together
the
hawk
may
escape
,
and
the
nightingale
complain
of
the
barbarity
of
kings
,
in
a
cage
:
‘flebiliter
gemens
infelix
avis.‘’
”
“
He
is
not
fit
to
conduct
a
journal
,
”
replied
Rameau
,
magniloquently
,
“
who
will
not
brave
a
danger
for
his
body
in
defence
of
the
right
to
infinity
for
his
thought
.
”
“
Bravo
!
”
said
Mrs.
Morley
,
clapping
her
pretty
hands
.
“
That
speech
reminds
me
of
home
.
The
French
are
very
much
like
the
Americans
in
their
style
of
oratory
.
”
“
So
,
”
said
Louvier
,
“
my
old
friend
the
Vicomte
has
come
out
as
a
writer
,
a
politician
,
a
philosopher
;
I
feel
hurt
that
he
kept
this
secret
from
me
despite
our
intimacy
.
I
suppose
you
knew
it
from
the
first
,
M
.
Rameau
?
”
“
No
,
I
was
as
much
taken
by
surprise
as
the
rest
of
the
world
.
You
have
long
known
M
.
de
Mauleon
?
”
“
Yes
,
I
may
say
we
began
life
together
—
that
is
,
much
at
the
same
time
.
”
“
What
is
he
like
in
appearance
?
”
asked
Mrs.
Morley
.
“
The
ladies
thought
him
very
handsome
when
he
was
young
,
”
replied
Louvier
.
“
He
is
still
a
fine-looking
man
,
about
my
height
.
”
“
I
should
like
to
know
him
!
”
cried
Mrs.
Morley
,
“
if
only
to
tease
that
husband
of
mine
.
He
refuses
me
the
dearest
of
woman’s
rights
.
—
I
can’t
make
him
jealous
.
”
“
You
may
have
the
opportunity
of
knowing
this
ci-devant
Lovelace
very
soon
,
”
said
Rameau
,
“
for
he
has
begged
me
to
present
him
to
Mademoiselle
Cicogna
,
and
I
will
ask
her
permission
to
do
so
,
on
Thursday
evening
when
she
receives
.
”
Isaura
,
who
had
hitherto
attended
very
listlessly
to
the
conversation
,
bowed
assent
.
“
Any
friend
of
yours
will
be
welcome
.
But
I
own
the
articles
signed
in
the
name
of
Pierre
Firmin
do
not
prepossess
me
in
favour
of
their
author
.
”
“
Why
so
?
”
asked
Louvier
;
“
surely
you
are
not
an
Imperialist
?
”
“
Nay
,
I
do
not
pretend
to
be
a
politician
at
all
,
but
there
is
something
in
the
writing
of
Pierre
Firmin
that
pains
and
chills
me
.
”
“
Yet
the
secret
of
its
popularity
,
”
said
Savarin
,
“
is
that
it
says
what
every
one
says
—
only
better
.
”
“
I
see
now
that
it
is
exactly
that
which
displeases
me
;
it
is
the
Paris
talk
condensed
into
epigram
:
the
graver
it
is
the
less
it
elevates
—
the
lighter
it
is
,
the
more
it
saddens
.
”
“
That
is
meant
to
hit
me
,
”
said
Savarin
,
with
his
sunny
laugh
—
“
me
whom
you
call
cynical
.
”
“
No
,
dear
M
.
Savarin
;
for
above
all
your
cynicism
is
genuine
gaiety
,
and
below
it
solid
kindness
.
You
have
that
which
I
do
not
find
in
M
.
de
Mauleon’s
writing
,
nor
often
in
the
talk
of
the
salon
—
you
have
youthfulness
.
”
“
Youthfulness
at
sixty
—
flatterer
!
”
“
Genius
does
not
count
its
years
by
the
almanac
,
”
said
Mrs.
Morley
.
“
I
know
what
Isaura
means
—
she
is
quite
right
;
there
is
a
breath
of
winter
in
M
.
de
Mauleon’s
style
,
and
an
odour
of
fallen
leaves
.
Not
that
his
diction
wants
vigour
;
on
the
contrary
,
it
is
crisp
with
hoar-frost
.
But
the
sentiments
conveyed
by
the
diction
are
those
of
a
nature
sear
and
withered
.
And
it
is
in
this
combination
of
brisk
words
and
decayed
feelings
that
his
writing
represents
the
talk
and
mind
of
Paris
.
He
and
Paris
are
always
fault-finding
:
fault-finding
is
the
attribute
of
old
age
.
”
Colonel
Morley
looked
round
with
pride
,
as
much
as
to
say
,
“
Clever
talker
my
wife
.
”
Savarin
understood
that
look
,
and
replied
to
it
courteously
.
“
Madame
has
a
gift
of
expression
which
Emile
de
Girardin
can
scarcely
surpass
.
But
when
she
blames
us
for
fault-finding
,
can
she
expect
the
friends
of
liberty
to
praise
the
present
style
of
things
?
”
“
I
should
be
obliged
to
the
friends
of
liberty
,
”
said
the
Colonel
,
drily
,
“
to
tell
me
how
that
state
of
things
is
to
be
mended
.
I
find
no
enthusiasm
for
the
Orleanists
,
none
for
a
Republic
;
people
sneer
at
religion
;
no
belief
in
a
cause
,
no
adherence
to
an
opinion
.
But
the
worst
of
it
is
that
,
like
all
people
who
are
blases
,
the
Parisians
are
eager
for
strange
excitement
,
and
ready
to
listen
to
any
oracle
who
promises
a
relief
from
indifferentism
.
This
it
is
which
makes
the
Press
more
dangerous
in
France
than
it
is
in
any
other
country
.
Elsewhere
the
Press
sometimes
leads
,
sometimes
follows
,
public
opinion
.
Here
there
is
no
public
opinion
to
consult
,
and
instead
of
opinion
the
Press
represents
passion
.
”
“
My
dear
Colonel
Morley
,
”
said
Savarin
,
“
I
hear
you
very
often
say
that
a
Frenchman
cannot
understand
America
.
Permit
me
to
observe
that
an
American
cannot
understand
France
—
or
at
least
Paris
.
Apropos
of
Paris
that
is
a
large
speculation
of
yours
,
Louvier
,
in
the
new
suburb
.
”
“
And
a
very
sound
one
;
I
advise
you
to
invest
in
it
.
I
can
secure
you
at
present
5
per
cent
.
on
the
rental
;
that
is
nothing
—
the
houses
will
be
worth
double
when
the
Rue
de
Louvier
is
completed
.
”
“
Alas
!
I
have
no
money
;
my
new
journal
absorbs
all
my
capital
.
”
“
Shall
I
transfer
the
money
I
hold
for
you
,
Signorina
,
and
add
to
them
whatever
you
may
have
made
by
your
delightful
roman
,
as
yet
lying
idle
,
to
this
investment
?
I
cannot
say
more
in
its
favour
than
this
:
I
have
embarked
a
very
large
portion
of
my
capital
in
the
Rue
de
Louvier
,
and
I
flatter
myself
that
I
am
not
one
of
those
men
who
persuade
their
friends
to
do
a
foolish
thing
by
setting
them
the
example
.
”
“
Whatever
you
advise
on
such
a
subject
,
”
said
Isaura
,
graciously
,
“
is
sure
to
be
as
wise
as
it
is
kind
!
”
“
You
consent
,
then
?
”
“
Certainly
.
”
Here
the
Venosta
,
who
had
been
listening
with
great
attention
to
Louvier’s
commendation
of
this
investment
,
drew
him
aside
,
and
whispered
in
his
ear
:
“
I
suppose
,
M
.
Louvier
,
that
one
can’t
put
a
little
money-a
very
little
money
—
poco-poco
pocolino
,
into
your
street
.
”
“
Into
my
street
!
Ah
,
I
understand
—
into
the
speculation
of
the
Rue
de
Louvier
!
Certainly
you
can
.
Arrangements
are
made
on
purpose
to
suit
the
convenience
of
the
smallest
capitalists
—
from
500
francs
upwards
.
”
“
And
you
feel
quite
sure
that
we
shall
double
our
money
when
the
street
is
completed
—
I
should
not
like
to
have
my
brains
in
my
heels
.
”
[
“
‘Avere
il
cervello
nella
calcagna
,
”
—
viz.
,
to
act
without
prudent
reflection
.
]
“
More
than
double
it
,
I
hope
,
long
before
the
street
is
completed
.
”
“
I
have
saved
a
little
money
—
very
little
.
I
have
no
relations
,
and
I
mean
to
leave
it
all
to
the
Signorina
;
and
if
it
could
be
doubled
,
why
,
there
would
be
twice
as
much
to
leave
her
.
”
“
So
there
would
,
”
said
Louvier
.
“
You
can’t
do
better
than
put
it
all
into
the
Rue
de
Louvier
.
I
will
send
you
the
necessary
papers
to-morrow
,
when
I
send
hers
to
the
Signorina
.
”
Louvier
here
turned
to
address
himself
to
Colonel
Morley
,
but
finding
that
degenerate
son
of
America
indisposed
to
get
cent
.
per
cent
.
for
his
money
when
offered
by
a
Parisian
,
he
very
soon
took
his
leave
.
The
other
visitors
followed
his
example
,
except
Rameau
,
who
was
left
alone
with
the
Venosta
and
Isaura
.
The
former
had
no
liking
for
Rameau
,
who
showed
her
none
of
the
attentions
her
innocent
vanity
demanded
,
and
she
soon
took
herself
off
to
her
own
room
to
calculate
the
amount
of
her
savings
,
and
dream
of
the
Rue
de
Louvier
and
“
golden
joys
.
”
Rameau
approaching
his
chair
to
Isaura’s
then
commenced
conversation
,
drily
enough
,
upon
pecuniary
matters
;
acquitting
himself
of
the
mission
with
which
De
Mauleon
had
charged
him
,
the
request
for
a
new
work
from
her
pen
for
the
Sens
Commun
,
and
the
terms
that
ought
to
be
asked
for
compliance
.
The
young
lady-author
shrank
from
this
talk
.
Her
private
income
,
though
modest
,
sufficed
for
her
wants
,
and
she
felt
a
sensitive
shame
in
the
sale
of
her
thoughts
and
fancies
.
Putting
hurriedly
aside
the
mercantile
aspect
of
the
question
,
she
said
that
she
had
no
other
work
in
her
mind
at
present
—
that
,
whatever
her
vein
of
invention
might
be
,
it
flowed
at
its
own
will
,
and
could
not
be
commanded
.
“
Nay
,
”
said
Rameau
,
“
this
is
not
true
.
We
fancy
,
in
our
hours
of
indolence
,
that
we
must
wait
for
inspiration
;
but
once
force
ourselves
to
work
,
and
ideas
spring
forth
at
the
wave
of
the
pen
.
You
may
believe
me
here
,
I
speak
from
experience
:
I
,
compelled
to
work
,
and
in
modes
not
to
my
taste
—
I
do
my
task
I
know
not
how
.
I
rub
the
lamp
,
‘the
genius
comes.’
”
“
I
have
read
in
some
English
author
that
motive
power
is
necessary
to
continued
labour
:
you
have
motive
power
,
I
have
none
.
”
“
I
do
not
quite
understand
you
.
”
“
I
mean
that
a
strong
ruling
motive
is
required
to
persist
in
any
regular
course
of
action
that
needs
effort
:
the
motive
with
the
majority
of
men
is
the
need
of
subsistence
;
with
a
large
number
(
as
in
trades
or
professions
)
,
not
actually
want
,
but
a
desire
of
gain
,
and
perhaps
of
distinction
,
in
their
calling
:
the
desire
of
professional
distinction
expands
into
the
longings
for
more
comprehensive
fame
,
more
exalted
honours
,
with
the
few
who
become
great
writers
,
soldiers
,
statesmen
,
orators
.
”
“
And
do
you
mean
to
say
you
have
no
such
motive
?
”
“
None
in
the
sting
of
want
,
none
in
the
desire
of
gain
.
”
“
But
fame
?
”
“
Alas
!
I
thought
so
once
.
I
know
not
now
—
I
begin
to
doubt
if
fame
should
be
sought
by
women
.
”
This
was
said
very
dejectedly
.
“
Tut
,
dearest
Signorina
!
what
gadfly
has
stung
you
?
Your
doubt
is
a
weakness
unworthy
of
your
intellect
;
and
even
were
it
not
,
genius
is
destiny
and
will
be
obeyed
:
you
must
write
,
despite
yourself
—
and
your
writing
must
bring
fame
,
whether
you
wish
it
or
not
.
”
Isaura
was
silent
,
her
head
drooped
on
her
breast
—
there
were
tears
in
her
downcast
eyes
.
Rameau
took
her
hand
,
which
she
yielded
to
him
passively
,
and
clasping
it
in
both
his
own
,
he
rushed
on
impulsively
—
“
Oh
,
I
know
what
these
misgivings
are
when
we
feel
ourselves
solitary
,
unloved
:
how
often
have
they
been
mine
!
But
how
different
would
labour
be
if
shared
and
sympathised
with
by
a
congenial
mind
,
by
a
heart
that
beats
in
unison
with
one’s
own
!
”
Isaura’s
breast
heaved
beneath
her
robe
,
she
sighed
softly
.
“
And
then
how
sweet
the
fame
of
which
the
one
we
love
is
proud
!
how
trifling
becomes
the
pang
of
some
malignant
depreciation
,
which
a
word
from
the
beloved
one
can
soothe
!
O
Signorina
!
O
Isaura
!
are
we
not
made
for
each
other
?
Kindred
pursuits
,
hopes
,
and
fears
in
common
;
the
same
race
to
run
,
the
same
goal
to
win
!
I
need
a
motive
stronger
than
I
have
yet
known
for
the
persevering
energy
that
insures
success
:
supply
to
me
that
motive
.
Let
me
think
that
whatever
I
win
in
the
strife
of
the
world
is
a
tribute
to
Isaura
.
No
,
do
not
seek
to
withdraw
this
hand
,
let
me
claim
it
as
mine
for
life
.
I
love
you
as
man
never
loved
before
—
do
not
reject
my
love
.
”
They
say
the
woman
who
hesitates
is
lost
.
Isaura
hesitated
,
but
was
not
yet
lost
.
The
words
she
listened
to
moved
her
deeply
.
Offers
of
marriage
she
had
already
received
:
one
from
a
rich
middle-aged
noble
,
a
devoted
musical
virtuoso
;
one
from
a
young
avocat
fresh
from
the
provinces
,
and
somewhat
calculating
on
her
dot
;
one
from
a
timid
but
enthusiastic
admirer
of
her
genius
and
her
beauty
,
himself
rich
,
handsome
,
of
good
birth
,
but
with
shy
manners
and
faltering
tongue
.
But
these
had
made
their
proposals
with
the
formal
respect
habitual
to
French
decorum
in
matrimonial
proposals
.
Words
so
eloquently
impassioned
as
Gustave
Rameau’s
had
never
before
thrilled
her
ears
;
Yes
,
she
was
deeply
moved
;
and
yet
,
by
that
very
emotion
she
knew
that
it
was
not
to
the
love
of
this
wooer
that
her
heart
responded
.
There
is
a
circumstance
in
the
history
of
courtship
familiar
to
the
experience
of
many
women
,
that
while
the
suitor
is
pleading
his
cause
,
his
language
may
touch
every
fibre
in
the
heart
of
his
listener
,
yet
substitute
,
as
it
were
,
another
presence
for
his
own
.
She
may
be
saying
to
herself
,
“
Oh
that
another
had
said
those
words
!
”
and
be
dreaming
of
the
other
,
while
she
hears
the
one
.
Thus
it
was
with
Isaura
,
and
not
till
Rameau’s
voice
had
ceased
did
that
dream
pass
away
,
and
with
a
slight
shiver
she
turned
her
face
towards
the
wooer
sadly
and
pityingly
.
“
It
cannot
be
,
”
she
said
,
in
a
low
whisper
;
“
I
were
not
worthy
of
your
love
could
I
accept
it
.
Forget
that
you
have
so
spoken
;
let
me
still
be
a
friend
admiring
your
genius
,
interested
in
your
career
.
I
cannot
be
more
.
Forgive
me
if
I
unconsciously
led
you
to
think
I
could
,
I
am
so
grieved
to
pain
you
.
”
“
Am
I
to
understand
,
”
said
Rameau
,
coldly
,
for
his
amour
propre
was
resentful
,
“
that
the
proposals
of
another
have
been
more
fortunate
than
mine
?
”
And
he
named
the
youngest
and
comeliest
of
those
whom
she
had
rejected
.
“
Certainly
not
,
”
said
Isaura
.
Rameau
rose
and
went
to
the
window
,
turning
his
face
from
her
.
In
reality
he
was
striving
to
collect
his
thoughts
and
decide
on
the
course
it
were
most
prudent
for
him
now
to
pursue
.
The
fumes
of
the
absinthe
which
had
,
despite
his
previous
forebodings
,
emboldened
him
to
hazard
his
avowal
,
had
now
subsided
into
the
languid
reaction
which
is
generally
consequent
on
that
treacherous
stimulus
,
a
reaction
not
unfavourable
to
passionless
reflection
.
He
knew
that
if
he
said
he
could
not
conquer
his
love
,
he
would
still
cling
to
hope
,
and
trust
to
perseverance
and
time
,
he
should
compel
Isaura
to
forbid
his
visits
and
break
off
their
familiar
intercourse
.
This
would
be
fatal
to
the
chance
of
yet
winning
her
,
and
would
also
be
of
serious
disadvantage
to
his
more
worldly
interests
.
Her
literary
aid
might
become
essential
to
the
journal
on
which
his
fortunes
depended
;
and
at
all
events
,
in
her
conversation
,
in
her
encouragement
,
in
her
sympathy
with
the
pains
and
joys
of
his
career
,
he
felt
a
support
,
a
comfort
,
nay
,
an
inspiration
.
For
the
spontaneous
gush
of
her
fresh
thoughts
and
fancies
served
to
recruit
his
own
jaded
ideas
,
and
enlarge
his
own
stinted
range
of
invention
.
No
,
he
could
not
commit
himself
to
the
risk
of
banishment
from
Isaura
.
And
mingled
with
meaner
motives
for
discretion
,
there
was
one
of
which
he
was
but
vaguely
conscious
,
purer
and
nobler
.
In
the
society
of
this
girl
,
in
whom
whatever
was
strong
and
high
in
mental
organisation
became
so
sweetened
into
feminine
grace
by
gentleness
of
temper
and
kindliness
of
disposition
,
Rameau
felt
himself
a
better
man
.
The
virgin-like
dignity
with
which
she
moved
,
so
untainted
by
a
breath
of
scandal
,
amid
salons
in
which
the
envy
of
virtues
doubted
sought
to
bring
innocence
itself
into
doubt
,
warmed
into
a
genuine
reverence
the
cynicism
of
his
professed
creed
.
While
with
her
,
while
under
her
chastening
influence
,
he
was
sensible
of
a
poetry
infused
within
him
far
more
true
to
the
Camoenae
than
all
he
had
elaborated
into
verse
.
In
these
moments
he
was
ashamed
of
the
vices
he
had
courted
as
distractions
.
He
imagined
that
with
her
all
his
own
,
it
would
be
easy
to
reform
.
No
;
to
withdraw
wholly
from
Isaura
was
to
renounce
his
sole
chance
of
redemption
.
While
these
thoughts
,
which
it
takes
so
long
to
detail
,
passed
rapidly
through
his
brain
,
he
felt
a
soft
touch
on
his
arm
,
and
,
turning
his
face
slowly
,
encountered
the
tender
,
compassionate
eyes
of
Isaura
.
“
Be
consoled
,
dear
friend
,
”
she
said
,
with
a
smile
,
half
cheering
,
half
mournful
.
“
Perhaps
for
all
true
artists
the
solitary
lot
is
the
best
.
”
“
I
will
try
to
think
so
,
”
answered
Rameau
;
“
and
meanwhile
I
thank
you
with
a
full
heart
for
the
sweetness
with
which
you
have
checked
my
presumption
—
the
presumption
shall
not
be
repeated
.
Gratefully
I
accept
the
friendship
you
deign
to
tender
me
.
You
bid
me
forget
the
words
I
uttered
.
Promise
in
turn
that
you
will
forget
them
—
or
at
least
consider
them
withdrawn
.
You
will
receive
me
still
as
friend
?
”
“
As
friend
,
surely
:
yes
.
Do
we
not
both
need
friends
?
”
She
held
out
her
hand
as
she
spoke
;
he
bent
over
it
,
kissed
it
with
respect
,
and
the
interview
thus
closed
.
CHAPTER
V.
It
was
late
in
the
evening
that
day
when
a
man
who
had
the
appearance
of
a
decent
bourgeois
,
in
the
lower
grades
of
that
comprehensive
class
,
entered
one
of
the
streets
in
the
Faubourg
Montmartre
,
tenanted
chiefly
by
artisans
.
He
paused
at
the
open
doorway
of
a
tall
narrow
house
