beforehim
,
leaning
lightly
on
Mrs.
Morley’s
arm
.
“
Frank
,
you
must
take
us
into
the
refreshment-room
,
”
said
Mrs.
Morley
to
her
husband
;
and
then
,
turning
to
Graham
,
added
,
“
Will
you
help
to
make
way
for
us
?
”
Graham
bowed
,
and
offered
his
arm
to
the
fair
speaker
.
“
No
,
”
said
she
,
taking
her
husband’s
.
“
Of
course
you
know
the
Signorina
,
or
,
as
we
usually
call
her
,
Mademoiselle
Cicogna
.
No
?
Allow
me
to
present
you
.
Mr.
Graham
Vane
,
Mademoiselle
Cicogna
.
Mademoiselle
speaks
English
like
a
native
.
”
And
thus
abruptly
Graham
was
introduced
to
the
owner
of
the
haunting
face
.
He
had
lived
too
much
in
the
great
world
all
his
life
to
retain
the
innate
shyness
of
an
Englishman
;
but
he
certainly
was
confused
and
embarrassed
when
his
eyes
met
Isaura’s
,
and
he
felt
her
hand
on
his
arm
.
Before
quitting
the
room
she
paused
and
looked
back
.
Graham’s
look
followed
her
own
,
and
saw
behind
them
the
lady
with
the
scarlet
jacket
escorted
by
some
portly
and
decorated
connoisseur
.
Isaura’s
face
brightened
to
another
kind
of
brightness
,
—
a
pleased
and
tender
light
.
“
Poor
dear
Madre
,
”
she
murmured
to
herself
in
Italian
.
“
Madre
!
”
echoed
Graham
,
also
in
Italian
.
“
I
have
been
misinformed
,
then
;
that
lady
is
your
mother
.
”
Isaura
laughed
a
pretty
,
low
,
silvery
laugh
,
and
replied
in
English
,
“
She
is
not
my
mother
;
but
I
call
her
Madre
,
for
I
know
no
name
more
loving
.
”
Graham
was
touched
,
and
said
gently
,
“
Your
own
mother
was
evidently
very
dear
to
you
.
”
Isaura’s
lip
quivered
,
and
she
made
a
slight
movement
as
if
she
would
have
withdrawn
her
hand
from
his
arm
.
He
saw
that
he
had
offended
or
wounded
her
,
and
with
the
straightforward
frankness
natural
to
him
,
resumed
quickly
,
“
My
remark
was
impertinent
in
a
stranger
;
forgive
it
.
”
“
There
is
nothing
to
forgive
,
Monsieur
.
”
The
two
now
threaded
their
way
through
the
crowd
,
both
silent
.
At
last
Isaura
,
thinking
she
ought
to
speak
first
in
order
to
show
that
Graham
had
not
offended
her
,
said
,
“
How
lovely
Mrs.
Morley
is
!
”
“
Yes
;
and
I
like
the
spirit
and
ease
of
her
American
manner
.
Have
you
known
her
long
,
Mademoiselle
?
”
“
No
;
we
met
her
for
the
first
time
some
weeks
ago
at
M
.
Savarin’s
.
”
“
Was
she
very
eloquent
on
the
rights
of
women
?
”
“
What
!
you
have
heard
her
on
that
subject
?
”
“
I
have
rarely
heard
her
on
any
other
,
though
she
is
the
best
and
perhaps
the
cleverest
friend
I
have
at
Paris
;
but
that
may
be
my
fault
,
for
I
like
to
start
it
.
It
is
a
relief
to
the
languid
small-talk
of
society
to
listen
to
any
one
thoroughly
in
earnest
upon
turning
the
world
topsy-turvy
.
”
“
Do
you
suppose
poor
Mrs.
Morley
would
seek
to
do
that
if
she
had
her
rights
?
”
asked
Isaura
,
with
her
musical
laugh
.
“
Not
a
doubt
of
it
;
but
perhaps
you
share
her
opinions
.
”
“
I
scarcely
know
what
her
opinions
are
,
but
—
”
“
Yes
?
—
but
—
”
“
There
is
a
—
what
shall
I
call
it
?
—
a
persuasion
,
a
sentiment
,
out
of
which
the
opinions
probably
spring
,
that
I
do
share
.
”
“
Indeed
?
a
persuasion
,
a
sentiment
,
for
instance
,
that
a
woman
should
have
votes
in
the
choice
of
legislators
,
and
,
I
presume
,
in
the
task
of
legislation
?
”
“
No
,
that
is
not
what
I
mean
.
Still
,
that
is
an
opinion
,
right
or
wrong
,
which
grows
out
of
the
sentiment
I
speak
of
.
”
“
Pray
explain
the
sentiment
.
”
“
It
is
always
so
difficult
to
define
a
sentiment
;
but
does
it
not
strike
you
that
in
proportion
as
the
tendency
of
modern
civilization
has
been
to
raise
women
more
and
more
to
an
intellectual
equality
with
men
,
in
proportion
as
they
read
and
study
and
think
,
an
uneasy
sentiment
,
perhaps
querulous
,
perhaps
unreasonable
,
grows
up
within
their
minds
that
the
conventions
of
the
world
are
against
the
complete
development
of
the
faculties
thus
aroused
and
the
ambition
thus
animated
;
that
they
cannot
but
rebel
,
though
it
may
be
silently
,
against
the
notions
of
the
former
age
,
when
women
were
not
thus
educated
,
notions
that
the
aim
of
the
sex
should
be
to
steal
through
life
unremarked
;
that
it
is
a
reproach
to
be
talked
of
;
that
women
are
plants
to
be
kept
in
a
hothouse
and
forbidden
the
frank
liberty
of
growth
in
the
natural
air
and
sunshine
of
heaven
?
This
,
at
least
,
is
a
sentiment
which
has
sprung
up
within
myself
;
and
I
imagine
that
it
is
the
sentiment
which
has
given
birth
to
many
of
the
opinions
or
doctrines
that
seem
absurd
,
and
very
likely
are
so
,
to
the
general
public
.
I
don’t
pretend
even
to
have
considered
those
doctrines
;
I
don’t
pretend
to
say
what
may
be
the
remedies
for
the
restlessness
and
uneasiness
I
feel
.
I
doubt
if
on
this
earth
there
be
any
remedies
;
all
I
know
is
,
that
I
feel
restless
and
uneasy
.
”
Graham
gazed
on
her
countenance
as
she
spoke
with
an
astonishment
not
unmingled
with
tenderness
and
compassion
,
astonishment
at
the
contrast
between
a
vein
of
reflection
so
hardy
,
expressed
in
a
style
of
language
that
seemed
to
him
so
masculine
,
and
the
soft
velvet
dreamy
eyes
,
the
gentle
tones
,
and
delicate
purity
of
hues
rendered
younger
still
by
the
blush
that
deepened
their
bloom
.
At
this
moment
they
had
entered
the
refreshment-room
;
but
a
dense
group
being
round
the
table
,
and
both
perhaps
forgetting
the
object
for
which
Mrs.
Morley
had
introduced
them
to
each
other
,
they
had
mechancially
seated
themselves
on
an
ottoman
in
a
recess
while
Isaura
was
yet
speaking
.
It
must
seem
as
strange
to
the
reader
as
it
did
to
Graham
that
such
a
speech
should
have
been
spoken
by
so
young
a
girl
to
an
acquaintance
so
new
;
but
in
truth
Isaura
was
very
little
conscious
of
Graham’s
presence
.
She
had
got
on
a
subject
that
perplexed
and
tormented
her
solitary
thoughts
;
she
was
but
thinking
aloud
.
“
I
believe
,
”
said
Graham
,
after
a
pause
,
“
that
I
comprehend
your
sentiment
much
better
than
I
do
Mrs.
Morley’s
opinions
;
but
permit
me
one
observation
.
You
say
truly
that
the
course
of
modern
civilization
has
more
or
less
affected
the
relative
position
of
woman
cultivated
beyond
that
level
on
which
she
was
formerly
contented
to
stand
,
—
the
nearer
perhaps
to
the
heart
of
man
because
not
lifting
her
head
to
his
height
,
—
and
hence
a
sense
of
restlessness
,
uneasiness
;
but
do
you
suppose
that
,
in
this
whirl
and
dance
of
the
atoms
which
compose
the
rolling
ball
of
the
civilized
world
,
it
is
only
women
that
are
made
restless
and
uneasy
?
Do
you
not
see
amid
the
masses
congregated
in
the
wealthiest
cities
of
the
world
,
writhings
and
struggles
against
the
received
order
of
things
?
In
this
sentiment
of
discontent
there
is
a
certain
truthfulness
,
because
it
is
an
element
of
human
nature
,
and
how
best
to
deal
with
it
is
a
problem
yet
unsolved
;
but
in
the
opinions
and
doctrines
to
which
,
among
the
masses
,
the
sentiment
gives
birth
,
the
wisdom
of
the
wisest
detects
only
the
certainty
of
a
common
ruin
,
offering
for
reconstruction
the
same
building-materials
as
the
former
edifice
,
—
materials
not
likely
to
be
improved
because
they
may
be
defaced
.
Ascend
from
the
working
classes
to
all
others
in
which
civilized
culture
prevails
,
and
you
will
find
that
same
restless
feeling
,
—
the
fluttering
of
untried
wings
against
the
bars
between
wider
space
and
their
longings
.
Could
you
poll
all
the
educated
ambitious
young
men
in
England
,
—
perhaps
in
Europe
,
—
at
least
half
of
them
,
divided
between
a
reverence
for
the
past
and
a
curiosity
as
to
the
future
,
would
sigh
,
‘I
am
born
a
century
too
late
or
a
century
too
soon
!
’
”
Isaura
listened
to
this
answer
with
a
profound
and
absorbing
interest
.
It
was
the
first
time
that
a
clever
young
man
talked
thus
sympathetically
to
her
,
a
clever
young
girl
.
Then
,
rising
,
he
said
,
“
I
see
your
Madre
and
our
American
friends
are
darting
angry
looks
at
me
.
They
have
made
room
for
us
at
the
table
,
and
are
wondering
why
I
should
keep
you
thus
from
the
good
things
of
this
little
life
.
One
word
more
ere
we
join
them
,
—
consult
your
own
mind
,
and
consider
whether
your
uneasiness
and
unrest
are
caused
solely
by
conventional
shackles
on
your
sex
.
Are
they
not
equally
common
to
the
youth
of
ours
,
—
common
to
all
who
seek
in
art
,
in
letters
,
nay
,
in
the
stormier
field
of
active
life
,
to
clasp
as
a
reality
some
image
yet
seen
but
as
a
dream
?
”
CHAPTER
VIII
.
No
further
conversation
in
the
way
of
sustained
dialogue
took
place
that
evening
between
Graham
and
Isaura
.
The
Americans
and
the
Savarins
clustered
round
Isaura
when
they
quitted
the
refreshment-room
.
The
party
was
breaking
up
.
Vane
would
have
offered
his
arm
again
to
Isaura
,
but
M
.
Savarin
had
forestalled
him
.
The
American
was
despatched
by
his
wife
to
see
for
the
carriage
;
and
Mrs.
Morley
said
,
with
her
wonted
sprightly
tone
of
command
,
“
Now
,
Mr.
Vane
,
you
have
no
option
but
to
take
care
of
me
to
the
shawl-room
.
”
Madame
Savarin
and
Signora
Venosta
had
each
found
their
cavaliers
,
the
Italian
still
retaining
hold
of
the
portly
connoisseur
,
and
the
Frenchwoman
accepting
the
safeguard
of
the
Vicomte
de
Breze
.
As
they
descended
the
stairs
,
Mrs.
Morley
asked
Graham
what
he
thought
of
the
young
lady
to
whom
she
had
presented
him
.
“
I
think
she
is
charming
,
”
answered
Graham
.
“
Of
course
;
that
is
the
stereotyped
answer
to
all
such
questions
,
especially
by
you
Englishmen
.
In
public
or
in
private
,
England
is
the
mouthpiece
of
platitudes
.
”
“
It
is
natural
for
an
American
to
think
so
.
Every
child
that
has
just
learned
to
speak
uses
bolder
expressions
than
its
grandmamma
;
but
I
am
rather
at
a
loss
to
know
by
what
novelty
of
phrase
an
American
would
have
answered
your
question
.
”
“
An
American
would
have
discovered
that
Isaura
Cicogna
had
a
soul
,
and
his
answer
would
have
confessed
it
.
”
“
It
strikes
me
that
he
would
then
have
uttered
a
platitude
more
stolid
than
mine
.
Every
Christian
knows
that
the
dullest
human
being
has
a
soul
.
But
,
to
speak
frankly
,
I
grant
that
my
answer
did
not
do
justice
to
the
Signorina
,
nor
to
the
impression
she
makes
on
me
;
and
putting
aside
the
charm
of
the
face
,
there
is
a
charm
in
a
mind
that
seems
to
have
gathered
stores
of
reflection
which
I
should
scarcely
have
expected
to
find
in
a
young
lady
brought
up
to
be
a
professional
singer
.
”
“
You
add
prejudice
to
platitude
,
and
are
horribly
prosaic
to-night
;
but
here
we
are
in
the
shawl-room
.
I
must
take
another
opportunity
of
attacking
you
.
Pray
dine
with
us
tomorrow
;
you
will
meet
our
Minister
and
a
few
other
pleasant
friends
.
”
“
I
suppose
I
must
not
say
,
‘I
shall
be
charmed
,
’
”
answered
Vane
;
“
but
I
shall
be
.
”
“
Bon
Dieu
!
that
horrid
fat
man
has
deserted
Signora
Venosta
,
—
looking
for
his
own
cloak
,
I
dare
say
;
selfish
monster
!
Go
and
hand
her
to
her
carriage
;
quick
,
it
is
announced
!
”
Graham
,
thus
ordered
,
hastened
to
offer
his
arm
to
the
she-mountebank
.
Somehow
she
had
acquired
dignity
in
his
eyes
,
and
he
did
not
feel
the
least
ashamed
of
being
in
contact
with
the
scarlet
jacket
.
The
Signora
grappled
to
him
with
a
confiding
familiarity
.
“
I
am
afraid
,
”
she
said
in
Italian
,
as
they
passed
along
the
spacious
hall
to
the
porte
cochere
,
—
“
I
am
afraid
that
I
did
not
make
a
good
effect
to-night
.
I
was
nervous
;
did
not
you
perceive
it
?
”
“
No
,
indeed
;
you
enchanted
us
all
;
”
replied
the
dissimulator
.
“
How
amiable
you
are
to
say
so
!
You
must
think
that
I
sought
for
a
compliment
.
So
I
did
;
you
gave
me
more
than
I
deserved
.
Wine
is
the
milk
of
old
men
,
and
praise
of
old
women
;
but
an
old
man
may
be
killed
by
too
much
wine
,
and
an
old
woman
lives
all
the
longer
for
too
much
praise
.
Buona
notte
.
”
Here
she
sprang
,
lithesomely
enough
,
into
the
carriage
,
and
Isaura
followed
,
escorted
by
M
.
Savarin
.
As
the
two
men
returned
towards
the
shawl-room
,
the
Frenchman
said
,
“
Madame
Savarin
and
I
complain
that
you
have
not
let
us
see
so
much
of
you
as
we
ought
.
No
doubt
you
are
greatly
sought
after
;
but
are
you
free
to
take
your
soup
with
us
the
day
after
to-morrow
?
You
will
meet
the
Count
von
Rudesheim
,
and
a
few
others
more
lively
if
less
wise
.
”
“
The
day
after
to-morrow
I
will
mark
with
a
white
stone
.
To
dine
with
M
.
Savarin
is
an
event
to
a
man
who
covets
distinction
.
”
“
Such
compliments
reconcile
an
author
to
his
trade
.
You
deserve
the
best
return
I
can
make
you
.
You
will
meet
la
belle
Isaura
.
I
have
just
engaged
her
and
her
chaperon
.
She
is
a
girl
of
true
genius
;
and
genius
is
like
those
objects
of
virtu
which
belong
to
a
former
age
,
and
become
every
day
more
scarce
and
more
precious
.
”
Here
they
encountered
Colonel
Morley
and
his
wife
hurrying
to
their
carriage
.
The
American
stopped
Vane
,
and
whispered
,
“
I
am
glad
,
sir
,
to
hear
from
my
wife
that
you
dine
with
us
to-morrow
.
Sir
,
you
will
meet
Mademoiselle
Cicogna
,
and
I
am
not
without
a
kinkle
[
notion
]
that
you
will
be
enthused
.
”
“
This
seems
like
a
fatality
,
”
soliloquized
Vane
as
he
walked
through
the
deserted
streets
towards
his
lodging
.
“
I
strove
to
banish
that
haunting
face
from
my
mind
.
I
had
half
forgotten
it
,
and
now
—
”
Here
his
murmur
sank
into
silence
.
He
was
deliberating
in
very
conflicted
thought
whether
or
not
he
should
write
to
refuse
the
two
invitations
he
had
accepted
.
“
Pooh
!
”
he
said
at
last
,
as
he
reached
the
door
of
his
lodging
,
“
is
my
reason
so
weak
that
it
should
be
influenced
by
a
mere
superstition
?
Surely
I
know
myself
too
well
,
and
have
tried
myself
too
long
,
to
fear
that
I
should
be
untrue
to
the
duty
and
ends
of
my
life
,
even
if
I
found
my
heart
in
danger
of
suffering
.
”
Certainly
the
Fates
do
seem
to
mock
our
resolves
to
keep
our
feet
from
their
ambush
,
and
our
hearts
from
their
snare
!
How
our
lives
may
be
coloured
by
that
which
seems
to
us
the
most
trivial
accident
,
the
merest
chance
!
Suppose
that
Alain
de
Rochebriant
had
been
invited
to
that
reunion
at
M
.
Louvier’s
,
and
Graham
Vane
had
accepted
some
other
invitation
and
passed
his
evening
elsewhere
,
Alain
would
probably
have
been
presented
to
Isaura
—
what
then
might
have
happened
?
The
impression
Isaura
had
already
made
upon
the
young
Frenchman
was
not
so
deep
as
that
made
upon
Graham
;
but
then
,
Alain’s
resolution
to
efface
it
was
but
commenced
that
day
,
and
by
no
means
yet
confirmed
.
And
if
he
had
been
the
first
clever
young
man
to
talk
earnestly
to
that
clever
young
girl
,
who
can
guess
what
impression
he
might
have
made
upon
her
?
His
conversation
might
have
had
less
philosophy
and
strong
sense
than
Graham’s
,
but
more
of
poetic
sentiment
and
fascinating
romance
.
However
,
the
history
of
events
that
do
not
come
to
pass
is
not
in
the
chronicle
of
the
Fates
.
BOOK
III
.
CHAPTER
I
.
The
next
day
the
guests
at
the
Morleys’
had
assembled
when
Vane
entered
.
His
apology
for
unpunctuality
was
cut
short
by
the
lively
hostess
.
“
Your
pardon
is
granted
without
the
humiliation
of
asking
for
it
;
we
know
that
the
characteristic
of
the
English
is
always
to
be
a
little
behindhand
.
”
She
then
proceeded
to
introduce
him
to
the
American
Minister
,
to
a
distinguished
American
poet
,
with
a
countenance
striking
for
mingled
sweetness
and
power
,
and
one
or
two
other
of
her
countrymen
sojourning
at
Paris
;
and
this
ceremony
over
,
dinner
was
announced
,
and
she
bade
Graham
offer
his
arm
to
Mademoiselle
Cicogna
.
“
Have
you
ever
visited
the
United
States
,
Mademoiselle
?
”
asked
Vane
,
as
they
seated
themselves
at
the
table
.
“
No.
”
“
It
is
a
voyage
you
are
sure
to
make
soon
.
”
“
Why
so
?
”
“
Because
report
says
you
will
create
a
great
sensation
at
the
very
commencement
of
your
career
;
and
the
New
World
is
ever
eager
to
welcome
each
celebrity
that
is
achieved
in
the
Old
,
—
more
especially
that
which
belongs
to
your
enchanting
art
.
”
“
True
,
sir
,
”
said
an
American
senator
,
solemnly
striking
into
the
conversation
;
“
we
are
an
appreciative
people
;
and
if
that
lady
be
as
fine
a
singer
as
I
am
told
,
she
might
command
any
amount
of
dollars
.
”
Isaura
coloured
,
and
turning
to
Graham
,
asked
him
in
a
low
voice
if
he
were
fond
of
music
.
“
I
ought
of
course
to
say
‘yes
,
’
”
answered
Graham
,
in
the
same
tone
;
“
but
I
doubt
if
that
‘yes’
would
be
an
honest
one
.
In
some
moods
,
music
—
if
a
kind
of
music
I
like
—
affects
me
very
deeply
;
in
other
moods
,
not
at
all
.
And
I
cannot
bear
much
at
a
time
.
A
concert
wearies
me
shamefully
;
even
an
opera
always
seems
to
me
a
great
deal
too
long
.
But
I
ought
to
add
that
I
am
no
judge
of
music
;
that
music
was
never
admitted
into
my
education
;
and
,
between
ourselves
,
I
doubt
if
there
be
one
Englishman
in
five
hundred
who
would
care
for
opera
or
concert
if
it
were
not
the
fashion
to
say
he
did
.
Does
my
frankness
revolt
you
?
”
“
On
the
contrary
,
I
sometimes
doubt
,
especially
of
late
,
if
I
am
fond
of
music
myself
.
”
“
Signorina
,
—
pardon
me
,
—
it
is
impossible
that
you
should
not
be
.
Genius
can
never
be
untrue
to
itself
,
and
must
love
that
in
which
it
excels
,
that
by
which
it
communicates
joy
,
and
,
”
he
added
,
with
a
half-suppressed
sigh
,
“
attains
to
glory
.
”
“
Genius
is
a
divine
word
,
and
not
to
be
applied
to
a
singer
,
”
said
Isaura
,
with
a
humility
in
which
there
was
an
earnest
sadness
.
Graham
was
touched
and
startled
;
but
before
he
could
answer
,
the
American
Minister
appealed
to
him
across
the
table
,
asking
if
he
had
quoted
accurately
a
passage
in
a
speech
by
Graham’s
distinguished
father
,
in
regard
to
the
share
which
England
ought
to
take
in
the
political
affairs
of
Europe
.
The
conversation
now
became
general
,
very
political
and
very
serious
.
Graham
was
drawn
into
it
,
and
grew
animated
and
eloquent
.
Isaura
listened
to
him
with
admiration
.
She
was
struck
by
what
seemed
to
her
a
nobleness
of
sentiment
which
elevated
his
theme
above
the
level
of
commonplace
polemics
.
She
was
pleased
to
notice
,
in
the
attentive
silence
of
his
intelligent
listeners
,
that
they
shared
the
effect
produced
on
herself
.
In
fact
,
Graham
Vane
was
a
born
orator
,
and
his
studies
had
been
those
of
a
political
thinker
.
In
common
talk
he
was
but
the
accomplished
man
of
the
world
,
easy
and
frank
and
genial
,
with
a
touch
of
good-natured
sarcasm
;
but
when
the
subject
started
drew
him
upward
to
those
heights
in
which
politics
become
the
science
of
humanity
,
he
seemed
a
changed
being
.
His
cheek
glowed
,
his
eye
brightened
,
his
voice
mellowed
into
richer
tones
,
his
language
be
came
unconsciously
adorned
.
In
such
moments
there
might
scarcely
be
an
audience
,
even
differing
from
him
in
opinion
,
which
would
not
have
acknowledged
his
spell
.
When
the
party
adjourned
to
the
salon
,
Isaura
said
softly
to
Graham
,
“
I
understand
why
you
did
not
cultivate
music
;
and
I
think
,
too
,
that
I
can
now
understand
what
effects
the
human
voice
can
produce
on
human
minds
without
recurring
to
the
art
of
song
.
”
“
Ah
,
”
said
Graham
,
with
a
pleased
smile
,
“
do
not
make
me
ashamed
of
my
former
rudeness
by
the
revenge
of
compliment
;
and
,
above
all
,
do
not
disparage
your
own
art
by
supposing
that
any
prose
effect
of
voice
in
its
utterance
of
mind
can
interpret
that
which
music
alone
can
express
,
even
to
listeners
so
uncultured
as
myself
.
Am
I
not
told
truly
by
musical
composers
,
when
I
ask
them
to
explain
in
words
what
they
say
in
their
music
,
that
such
explanation
is
impossible
,
that
music
has
a
language
of
its
own
untranslatable
by
words
?
”
“
Yes
,
”
said
Isaura
,
with
thoughtful
brow
but
brightening
eyes
,
“
you
are
told
truly
.
It
was
only
the
other
day
that
I
was
pondering
over
that
truth
.
”
“
But
what
recesses
of
mind
,
of
heart
,
of
soul
,
this
untranslatable
language
penetrates
and
brightens
up
!
How
incomplete
the
grand
nature
of
man
—
though
man
the
grandest
—
would
be
,
if
you
struck
out
of
his
reason
the
comprehension
of
poetry
,
music
,
and
religion
!
In
each
are
reached
and
are
sounded
deeps
in
his
reason
otherwise
concealed
from
himself
.
History
,
knowledge
,
science
,
stop
at
the
point
in
which
mystery
begins
.
There
they
meet
with
the
world
of
shadow
.
Not
an
inch
of
that
world
can
they
penetrate
without
the
aid
of
poetry
and
religion
,
two
necessities
of
intellectual
man
much
more
nearly
allied
than
the
votaries
of
the
practical
and
the
positive
suppose
.
To
the
aid
and
elevation
of
both
those
necessities
comes
in
music
,
and
there
has
never
existed
a
religion
in
the
world
which
has
not
demanded
music
as
its
ally
.
If
,
as
I
said
frankly
,
it
is
only
in
certain
moods
of
my
mind
that
I
enjoy
music
,
it
is
only
because
in
certain
moods
of
my
mind
I
am
capable
of
quitting
the
guidance
of
prosaic
reason
for
the
world
of
shadow
;
that
I
am
so
susceptible
as
at
every
hour
,
were
my
nature
perfect
,
I
should
be
to
the
mysterious
influences
of
poetry
and
religion
.
Do
you
understand
what
I
wish
to
express
?
”
“
Yes
,
I
do
,
and
clearly
.
”
“
Then
,
Signorina
,
you
are
forbidden
to
undervalue
the
gift
of
song
.
You
must
feel
its
power
over
the
heart
,
when
you
enter
the
opera-house
;
over
the
soul
,
when
you
kneel
in
a
cathedral
.
”
“
Oh
,
”
cried
Isaura
,
with
enthusiasm
,
a
rich
glow
mantling
over
her
lovely
face
,
“
how
I
thank
you
!
Is
it
you
who
say
you
do
not
love
music
?
How
much
better
you
understand
it
than
I
did
till
this
moment
!
”
Here
Mrs.
Morley
,
joined
by
the
American
poet
,
came
to
the
corner
in
which
the
Englishman
and
the
singer
had
niched
themselves
.
The
poet
began
to
talk
,
the
other
guests
gathered
round
,
and
every
one
listened
reverentially
till
the
party
broke
up
.
Colonel
Morley
handed
Isaura
to
her
carriage
;
the
she-mountebank
again
fell
to
the
lot
of
Graham
.
“
Signor
,
”
said
she
,
as
he
respectfully
placed
her
shawl
round
her
scarlet-and-gilt
jacket
,
“
are
we
so
far
from
Paris
that
you
cannot
spare
the
time
to
call
?
My
child
does
not
sing
in
public
,
but
at
home
you
can
hear
her
.
It
is
not
every
woman’s
voice
that
is
sweetest
at
home
.
”
Graham
bowed
,
and
said
he
would
call
on
the
morrow
.
Isaura
mused
in
silent
delight
over
the
words
which
had
so
extolled
the
art
of
the
singer
.
Alas
,
poor
child
!
she
could
not
guess
that
in
those
words
,
reconciling
her
to
the
profession
of
the
stage
,
the
speaker
was
pleading
against
his
own
heart
.
There
was
in
Graham’s
nature
,
as
I
think
it
commonly
is
in
that
of
most
true
orators
,
a
wonderful
degree
of
intellectual
conscience
which
impelled
him
to
acknowledge
the
benignant
influences
of
song
,
and
to
set
before
the
young
singer
the
noblest
incentives
to
the
profession
to
which
he
deemed
her
assuredly
destined
;
but
in
so
doing
he
must
have
felt
that
he
was
widening
the
gulf
between
her
life
and
his
own
.
Perhaps
he
wished
to
widen
it
in
proportion
as
he
dreaded
to
listen
to
any
voice
in
his
heart
which
asked
if
the
gulf
might
not
be
overleapt
.
CHAPTER
II
.
ON
the
morrow
Graham
called
at
the
villa
at
A
—
—
—
.
The
two
ladies
received
him
in
Isaura’s
chosen
sitting-room
.
Somehow
or
other
,
conversation
at
first
languished
.
Graham
was
reserved
and
distant
,
Isaura
shy
and
embarrassed
.
The
Venosta
had
the
frais
of
making
talk
to
herself
.
Probably
at
another
time
Graham
would
have
been
amused
and
interested
in
the
observation
of
a
character
new
to
him
,
and
thoroughly
southern
,
—
lovable
not
more
from
its
naive
simplicity
of
kindliness
than
from
various
little
foibles
and
vanities
,
all
of
which
were
harmless
,
and
some
of
them
endearing
as
those
of
a
child
whom
it
is
easy
to
make
happy
,
and
whom
it
seems
so
cruel
to
pain
;
and
with
all
the
Venosta’s
deviations
from
the
polished
and
tranquil
good
taste
of
the
beau
monde
,
she
had
that
indescribable
grace
which
rarely
deserts
a
Florentine
,
so
that
you
might
call
her
odd
but
not
vulgar
;
while
,
though
uneducated
,
except
in
the
way
of
her
old
profession
,
and
never
having
troubled
herself
to
read
anything
but
a
libretto
and
the
pious
books
commended
to
her
by
her
confessor
,
the
artless
babble
of
her
talk
every
now
and
then
flashed
out
with
a
quaint
humour
,
lighting
up
terse
fragments
of
the
old
Italian
wisdom
which
had
mysteriously
embedded
themselves
in
the
groundwork
of
her
mind
.
But
Graham
was
not
at
this
time
disposed
to
judge
the
poor
Venosta
kindly
or
fairly
.
Isaura
had
taken
high
rank
in
his
thoughts
.
He
felt
an
impatient
resentment
mingled
with
anxiety
and
compassionate
tenderness
at
a
companionship
which
seemed
to
him
derogatory
to
the
position
he
would
have
assigned
to
a
creature
so
gifted
,
and
unsafe
as
a
guide
amidst
the
perils
and
trials
to
which
the
youth
,
the
beauty
,
and
the
destined
profession
of
Isaura
were
exposed
.
Like
most
Englishmen
—
especially
Englishmen
wise
in
the
knowledge
of
life
—
he
held
in
fastidious
regard
the
proprieties
and
conventions
by
which
the
dignity
of
woman
is
fenced
round
;
and
of
those
proprieties
and
conventions
the
Venosta
naturally
appeared
to
him
a
very
unsatisfactory
guardian
and
representative
.
Happily
unconscious
of
these
hostile
prepossessions
,
the
elder
Signora
chatted
on
very
gayly
to
the
visitor
.
She
was
in
excellent
spirits
;
people
had
been
very
civil
to
her
both
at
Colonel
Morley’s
and
M
.
Louvier’s
.
The
American
Minister
had
praised
the
scarlet
jacket
.
She
was
convinced
she
had
made
a
sensation
two
nights
running
.
When
the
amour
propre
is
pleased
,
the
tongue
is
freed
.
The
Venosta
ran
on
in
praise
of
Paris
and
the
Parisians
;
of
Louvier
and
his
soiree
and
the
pistachio
ice
;
of
the
Americans
,
and
a
certain
creme
de
maraschino
which
she
hoped
the
Signor
Inglese
had
not
failed
to
taste
,
—
the
creme
de
maraschino
led
her
thoughts
back
to
Italy
.
Then
she
grew
mournful
.
How
she
missed
the
native
beau
ciel
!
Paris
was
pleasant
,
but
how
absurd
to
call
it
“
le
Paradis
des
Femmes
,
”
—
as
if
les
Femmes
could
find
Paradise
in
a
brouillard
!
“
But
,
”
she
exclaimed
,
with
vivacity
of
voice
and
gesticulation
,
“
the
Signor
does
not
come
to
hear
the
parrot
talk
;
he
is
engaged
to
come
that
he
may
hear
the
nightingale
sing
.
A
drop
of
honey
attracts
the
fly
more
than
a
bottle
of
vinegar
.
”
Graham
could
not
help
smiling
at
this
adage
.
“
I
submit
,
”
said
he
,
“
to
your
comparison
as
regards
myself
;
but
certainly
anything
less
like
a
bottle
of
vinegar
than
your
amiable
conversation
I
cannot
well
conceive
.
However
,
the
metaphor
apart
,
I
scarcely
know
how
I
dare
ask
Mademoiselle
to
sing
after
the
confession
I
made
to
her
last
night
.
”
“
What
confession
?
”
asked
the
Venosta
.
“
That
I
know
nothing
of
music
and
doubt
if
I
can
honestly
say
that
I
am
fond
of
it
.
”
“
Not
fond
of
music
!
Impossible
!
You
slander
yourself
.
He
who
loves
not
music
would
have
a
dull
time
of
it
in
heaven
.
But
you
are
English
,
and
perhaps
have
only
heard
the
music
of
your
own
country
.
Bad
,
very
bad
—
a
heretic’s
music
!
Now
listen
.
”
Seating
herself
at
the
piano
,
she
began
an
air
from
the
“
Lucia
,
”
crying
out
to
Isaura
to
come
and
sing
to
her
accompaniment
.
“
Do
you
really
wish
it
?
”
asked
Isaura
of
Graham
,
fixing
on
him
questioning
,
timid
eyes
.
“
I
cannot
say
how
much
I
wish
to
hear
you
.
”
Isaura
moved
to
the
instrument
,
and
Graham
stood
behind
her
.
Perhaps
he
felt
that
he
should
judge
more
impartially
of
her
voice
if
not
subjected
to
the
charm
of
her
face
.
But
the
first
note
of
the
voice
held
him
spell-bound
.
In
itself
the
organ
was
of
the
rarest
order
,
mellow
and
rich
,
but
so
soft
that
its
power
was
lost
in
its
sweetness
,
and
so
exquisitely
fresh
in
every
note
.
But
the
singer’s
charm
was
less
in
voice
than
in
feeling
;
she
conveyed
to
the
listener
so
much
more
than
was
said
by
the
words
,
or
even
implied
by
the
music
.
Her
song
in
this
caught
the
art
of
the
painter
who
impresses
the
mind
with
the
consciousness
of
a
something
which
the
eye
cannot
detect
on
the
canvas
.
She
seemed
to
breathe
out
from
the
depths
of
her
heart
the
intense
pathos
of
the
original
romance
,
so
far
exceeding
that
of
the
opera
,
-the
human
tenderness
,
the
mystic
terror
of
a
tragic
love-tale
more
solemn
in
its
sweetness
than
that
of
Verona
.
When
her
voice
died
away
no
applause
came
,
—
not
even
a
murmur
.
Isaura
bashfully
turned
round
to
steal
a
glance
at
her
silent
listener
,
and
beheld
moistened
eyes
and
quivering
lips
.
At
that
moment
she
was
reconciled
to
her
art
.
Graham
rose
abruptly
and
walked
to
the
window
.
“
Do
you
doubt
now
if
you
are
fond
of
music
?
”
cried
the
Venosta
.
“
This
is
more
than
music
,
”
answered
Graham
,
still
with
averted
face
.
Then
,
after
a
short
pause
,
he
approached
Isaura
,
and
said
,
with
a
melancholy
half-smile
,
—
“
I
do
not
think
,
Mademoiselle
,
that
I
could
dare
to
hear
you
often
;
it
would
take
me
too
far
from
the
hard
real
world
:
and
he
who
would
not
be
left
behindhand
on
the
road
that
he
must
journey
cannot
indulge
frequent
excursions
into
fairyland
.
”
“
Yet
,
”
said
Isaura
,
in
a
tone
yet
sadder
,
“
I
was
told
in
my
childhood
,
by
one
whose
genius
gives
authority
to
her
words
,
that
beside
the
real
world
lies
the
ideal
.
The
real
world
then
seemed
rough
to
me
.
‘Escape
,
’
said
my
counsellor
,
‘is
granted
from
that
stony
thoroughfare
into
the
fields
beyond
its
formal
hedgerows
.
The
ideal
world
has
its
sorrows
,
but
it
never
admits
despair.’
That
counsel
then
,
methought
,
decided
my
choice
of
life
.
I
know
not
now
if
it
has
done
so
.
”
“
Fate
,
”
answered
Graham
,
slowly
and
thoughtfully
,
“
Fate
,
which
is
not
the
ruler
but
the
servant
of
Providence
,
decides
our
choice
of
life
,
and
rarely
from
outward
circumstances
.
Usually
the
motive
power
is
within
.
We
apply
the
word
‘genius’
to
the
minds
of
the
gifted
few
;
but
in
all
of
us
there
is
a
genius
that
is
inborn
,
a
pervading
something
which
distinguishes
our
very
identity
,
and
dictates
to
the
conscience
that
which
we
are
best
fitted
to
do
and
to
be
.
In
so
dictating
it
compels
our
choice
of
life
;
or
if
we
resist
the
dictate
,
we
find
at
the
close
that
we
have
gone
astray
.
My
choice
of
life
thus
compelled
is
on
the
stony
thoroughfares
,
yours
in
the
green
fields
.
”
As
he
thus
said
,
his
face
became
clouded
and
mournful
.
The
Venosta
,
quickly
tired
of
a
conversation
in
which
she
had
no
part
,
and
having
various
little
household
matters
to
attend
to
,
had
during
this
dialogue
slipped
unobserved
from
the
room
;
yet
neither
Isaura
nor
Graham
felt
the
sudden
consciousness
that
they
were
alone
which
belongs
to
lovers
.
“
Why
,
”
asked
Isaura
,
with
that
magic
smile
reflected
in
countless
dimples
which
,
even
when
her
words
were
those
of
a
man’s
reasoning
,
made
them
seem
gentle
with
a
woman’s
sentiment
,
—
“
why
must
your
road
through
the
world
be
so
exclusively
the
stony
one
?
It
is
not
from
necessity
,
it
can
not
be
from
taste
;
and
whatever
definition
you
give
to
genius
,
surely
it
is
not
your
own
inborn
genius
that
dictates
to
you
a
constant
exclusive
adherence
to
the
commonplace
of
life
.
”
“
Ah
,
Mademoiselle
,
do
not
misrepresent
me
.
I
did
not
say
that
I
could
not
sometimes
quit
the
real
world
for
fairyland
,
—
I
said
that
I
could
not
do
so
often
.
My
vocation
is
not
that
of
a
poet
or
artist
.
”
“
It
is
that
of
an
orator
,
I
know
,
”
said
Isaura
,
kindling
;
“
so
they
tell
me
,
and
I
believe
them
.
But
is
not
the
orator
somewhat
akin
to
the
poet
?
Is
not
oratory
an
art
?
”
“
Let
us
dismiss
the
word
orator
;
as
applied
to
English
public
life
,
it
is
a
very
deceptive
expression
.
The
Englishman
who
wishes
to
influence
his
countrymen
by
force
of
words
spoken
must
mix
with
them
in
their
beaten
thoroughfares
;
must
make
himself
master
of
their
practical
views
and
interests
;
must
be
conversant
with
their
prosaic
occupations
and
business
;
must
understand
how
to
adjust
their
loftiest
aspirations
to
their
material
welfare
;
must
avoid
as
the
fault
most
dangerous
to
himself
and
to
others
that
kind
of
eloquence
which
is
called
oratory
in
France
,
and
which
has
helped
to
make
the
French
the
worst
politicians
in
Europe
.
Alas
!
Mademoiselle
,
I
fear
that
an
English
statesman
would
appear
to
you
a
very
dull
orator
.
”
“
I
see
that
I
spoke
foolishly
,
—
yes
,
you
show
me
that
the
world
of
the
statesman
lies
apart
from
that
of
the
artist
.
Yet
—
”
“
Yet
what
?
”
“
May
not
the
ambition
of
both
be
the
same
?
”
“
How
so
?
”
“
To
refine
the
rude
,
to
exalt
the
mean
;
to
identify
their
own
fame
with
some
new
beauty
,
some
new
glory
,
added
to
the
treasure-house
of
all
.
”
Graham
bowed
his
head
reverently
,
and
then
raised
it
with
the
flush
of
enthusiasm
on
his
cheek
and
brow
.
“
Oh
,
Mademoiselle
,
”
he
exclaimed
,
“
what
a
sure
guide
and
what
a
noble
inspirer
to
a
true
Englishman’s
ambition
nature
has
fitted
you
to
be
,
were
it
not
—
”
He
paused
abruptly
.
This
outburst
took
Isaura
utterly
by
surprise
.
She
had
been
accustomed
to
the
language
of
compliment
till
it
had
begun
to
pall
,
but
a
compliment
of
this
kind
was
the
first
that
had
ever
reached
her
ear
.
She
had
no
words
in
answer
to
it
;
involuntarily
she
placed
her
hand
on
her
heart
as
if
to
still
its
beatings
.
But
the
unfinished
exclamation
,
“
Were
it
not
,
”
troubled
her
more
than
the
preceding
words
had
flattered
,
and
mechanically
she
murmured
,
“
Were
it
not
—
what
?
”
“
Oh
,
”
answered
Graham
,
affecting
a
tone
of
gayety
,
“
I
felt
too
ashamed
of
my
selfishness
as
man
to
finish
my
sentence
.
”
“
Do
so
,
or
I
shall
fancy
you
refrained
lest
you
might
wound
me
as
woman
.
”
“
Not
so
;
on
the
contrary
,
had
I
gone
on
it
would
have
been
to
say
that
a
woman
of
your
genius
,
and
more
especially
of
such
mastery
in
the
most
popular
and
fascinating
of
all
arts
,
could
not
be
contented
if
she
inspired
nobler
thoughts
in
a
single
breast
,
—
she
must
belong
to
the
public
,
or
rather
the
public
must
belong
to
her
;
it
is
but
a
corner
of
her
heart
that
an
individual
can
occupy
,
and
even
that
individual
must
merge
his
existence
in
hers
,
must
be
contented
to
reflect
a
ray
of
the
light
she
sheds
on
admiring
thousands
.
Who
could
dare
to
say
to
you
,
‘Renounce
your
career
;
confine
your
genius
,
your
art
,
to
the
petty
circle
of
home’
?
To
an
actress
,
a
singer
,
with
whose
fame
the
world
rings
,
home
would
be
a
prison
.
Pardon
me
,
pardon
—
”
Isaura
had
turned
away
her
face
to
hide
tears
that
would
force
their
way
;
but
she
held
out
her
hand
to
him
with
a
childlike
frankness
,
and
said
softly
,
“
I
am
not
offended
.
”
Graham
did
not
trust
himself
to
continue
the
same
strain
of
conversation
.
Breaking
into
a
new
subject
,
he
said
,
after
a
constrained
pause
,
“
Will
you
think
it
very
impertinent
in
so
new
an
acquaintance
,
if
I
ask
how
it
is
that
you
,
an
Italian
,
know
our
language
as
a
native
;
and
is
it
by
Italian
teachers
that
you
have
been
trained
to
think
and
to
feel
?
”
“
Mr.
Selby
,
my
second
father
,
was
an
Englishman
,
and
did
not
speak
any
other
language
with
comfort
to
himself
.
He
was
very
fond
of
me
;
and
had
he
been
really
my
father
I
could
not
have
loved
him
more
.
We
were
constant
companions
till
—
till
I
lost
him
.
”
“
And
no
mother
left
to
console
you
!
”
Isaura
shook
her
head
mournfully
,
and
the
Venosta
here
re-entered
.
Graham
felt
conscious
that
he
had
already
stayed
too
long
,
and
took
leave
.
They
knew
that
they
were
to
meet
that
evening
at
the
Savarins’
.
To
Graham
that
thought
was
not
one
of
unmixed
pleasure
;
the
more
he
knew
of
Isaura
,
the
more
he
felt
self-reproach
that
he
had
allowed
himself
to
know
her
at
all
.
But
after
he
had
left
,
Isaura
sang
low
to
herself
the
song
which
had
so
affected
her
listener
;
then
she
fell
into
abstracted
revery
,
but
she
felt
a
strange
and
new
sort
of
happiness
.
In
dressing
for
M
.
Savarin’s
dinner
,
and
twining
the
classic
ivy
wreath
in
her
dark
locks
,
her
Italian
servant
exclaimed
,
“
How
beautiful
the
Signorina
looks
to-night
!
”
CHAPTER
III
.
M
.
Savarin
was
one
of
the
most
brilliant
of
that
galaxy
of
literary
men
which
shed
lustre
on
the
reign
of
Louis
Philippe
.
His
was
an
intellect
peculiarly
French
in
its
lightness
and
grace
.
Neither
England
nor
Germany
nor
America
has
produced
any
resemblance
to
it
.
Ireland
has
,
in
Thomas
Moore
;
but
then
in
Irish
genius
there
is
so
much
that
is
French
.
M
.
Savarin
was
free
from
the
ostentatious
extravagance
which
had
come
into
vogue
with
the
Empire
.
His
house
and
establishment
were
modestly
maintained
within
the
limit
of
an
income
chiefly
,
perhaps
entirely
,
derived
from
literary
profits
.
Though
he
gave
frequent
dinners
,
it
was
but
to
few
at
a
time
,
and
without
show
or
pretence
.
Yet
the
dinners
,
though
simple
,
were
perfect
of
their
kind
;
and
the
host
so
contrived
to
infuse
his
own
playful
gayety
into
the
temper
of
his
guests
,
that
the
feasts
at
his
house
were
considered
the
pleasantest
at
Paris
.
On
this
occasion
the
party
extended
to
ten
,
the
largest
number
his
table
admitted
.
All
the
French
guests
belonged
to
the
Liberal
party
,
though
in
changing
tints
of
the
tricolor
.
Place
aux
dames
!
first
to
be
named
were
the
Countess
de
Craon
and
Madame
Vertot
,
both
without
husbands
.
The
Countess
had
buried
the
Count
,
Madame
Vertot
had
separated
from
Monsieur
.
The
Countess
was
very
handsome
,
but
she
was
sixty
;
Madame
Vertot
was
twenty
years
younger
,
but
she
was
very
plain
.
She
had
quarrelled
with
the
distinguished
author
for
whose
sake
she
had
separated
from
Monsieur
,
and
no
man
had
since
presumed
to
think
that
he
could
console
a
lady
so
plain
for
the
loss
of
an
author
so
distinguished
.
Both
these
ladies
were
very
clever
.
The
Countess
had
written
lyrical
poems
entitled
“
Cries
of
Liberty
,
”
and
a
drama
of
which
Danton
was
the
hero
,
and
the
moral
too
revolutionary
for
admission
to
the
stage
;
but
at
heart
the
Countess
was
not
at
all
a
revolutionist
,
—
the
last
person
in
the
world
to
do
or
desire
anything
that
could
bring
a
washerwoman
an
inch
nearer
to
a
countess
.
She
was
one
of
those
persons
who
play
with
fire
in
order
to
appear
enlightened
.
Madame
Vertot
was
of
severer
mould
.
She
had
knelt
at
the
feet
of
M
.
Thiers
,
and
went
into
the
historico-political
line
.
She
had
written
a
remarkable
book
upon
the
modern
Carthage
(
meaning
England
)
,
and
more
recently
a
work
that
had
excited
much
attention
upon
the
Balance
of
Power
,
in
which
she
proved
it
to
be
the
interest
of
civilization
and
the
necessity
of
Europe
that
Belgium
should
be
added
to
France
,
and
Prussia
circumscribed
to
the
bounds
of
its
original
margraviate
.
She
showed
how
easily
these
two
objects
could
have
been
effected
by
a
constitutional
monarch
instead
of
an
egotistical
Emperor
.
Madame
Vertot
was
a
decided
Orleanist
.
Both
these
ladies
condescended
to
put
aside
authorship
in
general
society
.
Next
amongst
our
guests
let
me
place
the
Count
de
Passy
and
Madame
son
espouse
.
The
Count
was
seventy-one
,
and
,
it
is
needless
to
add
,
a
type
of
Frenchman
rapidly
vanishing
,
and
not
likely
to
find
itself
renewed
.
How
shall
I
describe
him
so
as
to
make
my
English
reader
understand
?
Let
me
try
by
analogy
.
Suppose
a
man
of
great
birth
and
fortune
,
who
in
his
youth
had
been
an
enthusiastic
friend
of
Lord
Byron
and
a
jocund
companion
of
George
IV
.
;
who
had
in
him
an
immense
degree
of
lofty
romantic
sentiment
with
an
equal
degree
of
well-bred
worldly
cynicism
,
but
who
,
on
account
of
that
admixture
,
which
is
so
rare
,
kept
a
high
rank
in
either
of
the
two
societies
into
which
,
speaking
broadly
,
civilized
life
divides
itself
,
—
the
romantic
and
the
cynical
.
The
Count
de
Passy
had
been
the
most
ardent
among
the
young
disciples
of
Chateaubriand
,
the
most
brilliant
among
the
young
courtiers
of
Charles
X
.
Need
I
add
that
he
had
been
a
terrible
lady-killer
?
But
in
spite
of
his
admiration
of
Chateaubriand
and
his
allegiance
to
Charles
X
.
,
the
Count
had
been
always
true
to
those
caprices
of
the
French
noblesse
from
which
he
descended
,
—
caprices
which
destroyed
them
in
the
old
Revolution
;
caprices
belonging
to
the
splendid
ignorance
of
their
nation
in
general
and
their
order
in
particular
.
Speaking
without
regard
to
partial
exceptions
,
the
French
gentilhomme
is
essentially
a
Parisian
;
a
Parisian
is
essentially
impressionable
to
the
impulse
or
fashion
of
the
moment
.
Is
it
a
la
mode
for
the
moment
to
be
Liberal
or
anti-Liberal
?
Parisians
embrace
and
kiss
each
other
,
and
swear
through
life
and
death
to
adhere
forever
to
the
mode
of
the
moment
.
The
Three
Days
were
the
mode
of
the
moment
,
—
the
Count
de
Passy
became
an
enthusiastic
Orleanist
.
Louis
Philippe
was
very
gracious
to
him
.
He
was
decorated
;
he
was
named
prefet
of
his
department
;
he
was
created
senator
;
he
was
about
to
be
sent
Minister
to
a
German
Court
when
Louis
Philippe
fell
.
The
Republic
was
proclaimed
.
The
Count
caught
the
popular
contagion
,
and
after
exchanging
tears
and
kisses
with
patriots
whom
a
week
before
he
had
called
canaille
,
he
swore
eternal
fidelity
to
the
Republic
.
The
fashion
of
the
moment
suddenly
became
Napoleonic
,
and
with
the
coup
d’etat
the
Republic
was
metamorphosed
into
an
Empire
.
The
Count
wept
on
the
bosoms
of
all
the
Vieilles
Moustaches
he
could
find
,
and
rejoiced
that
the
sun
of
Austerlitz
had
re-arisen
.
But
after
the
affair
of
Mexico
the
sun
of
Austerlitz
waxed
very
sickly
.
Imperialism
was
fast
going
out
of
fashion
.
The
Count
transferred
his
affection
to
Jules
Favre
,
and
joined
the
ranks
of
the
advanced
Liberals
.
During
all
these
political
changes
,
the
Count
had
remained
very
much
the
same
man
in
private
life
;
agreeable
,
good-natured
,
witty
,
and
,
above
all
,
a
devotee
of
the
fair
sex
.
When
he
had
reached
the
age
of
sixty-eight
he
was
still
fort
bel
homme
,
unmarried
,
with
a
grand
presence
and
charming
manner
.
At
that
age
he
said
,
“
Je
me
range
,
”
and
married
a
young
lady
of
eighteen
.
She
adored
her
husband
,
and
was
wildly
jealous
of
him
;
while
the
Count
did
not
seem
at
all
jealous
of
her
,
and
submitted
to
her
adoration
with
a
gentle
shrug
of
the
shoulders
.
The
three
other
guests
who
,
with
Graham
and
the
two
Italian
ladies
,
made
up
the
complement
of
ten
,
were
the
German
Count
von
Rudesheim
,
a
celebrated
French
physician
named
Bacourt
,
and
a
young
author
whom
Savarin
had
admitted
into
his
clique
and
declared
to
be
of
rare
promise
.
This
author
,
whose
real
name
was
Gustave
Rameau
,
but
who
,
to
prove
,
I
suppose
,
the
sincerity
of
that
scorn
for
ancestry
which
he
professed
,
published
his
verses
under
the
patrician
designation
of
Alphonse
de
Valcour
,
was
about
twenty-four
,
and
might
have
passed
at
the
first
glance
for
younger
;
but
,
looking
at
him
closely
,
the
signs
of
old
age
were
already
stamped
on
his
visage
.
He
was
undersized
,
and
of
a
feeble
slender
frame
.
In
the
eyes
of
women
and
artists
the
defects
of
his
frame
were
redeemed
by
the
extraordinary
beauty
of
the
face
.
His
black
hair
,
carefully
parted
in
the
centre
,
and
worn
long
and
flowing
,
contrasted
the
whiteness
of
a
high
though
narrow
forehead
,
and
the
delicate
pallor
of
his
cheeks
.
His
feature
,
were
very
regular
,
his
eyes
singularly
bright
;
but
the
expression
of
the
face
spoke
of
fatigue
and
exhaustion
;
the
silky
locks
were
already
thin
,
and
interspersed
with
threads
of
silver
;
the
bright
eyes
shone
out
from
sunken
orbits
;
the
lines
round
the
mouth
were
marked
as
they
are
in
the
middle
age
of
one
who
has
lived
too
fast
.
It
was
a
countenance
that
might
have
excited
a
compassionate
and
tender
interest
but
for
something
arrogant
and
supercilious
in
the
expression
,
-something
that
demanded
not
tender
pity
but
enthusiastic
admiration
.
Yet
that
expression
was
displeasing
rather
to
men
than
to
women
;
and
one
could
well
conceive
that
,
among
the
latter
,
the
enthusiastic
admiration
it
challenged
would
be
largely
conceded
.
The
conversation
at
dinner
was
in
complete
contrast
to
that
at
the
Americans’
the
day
before
.
There
the
talk
,
though
animated
,
had
been
chiefly
earnest
and
serious
;
here
it
was
all
touch
and
go
,
sally
and
repartee
.
The
subjects
were
the
light
on
lots
and
lively
anecdotes
of
the
day
,
not
free
from
literature
and
politics
,
but
both
treated
as
matters
of
persiflage
,
hovered
round
with
a
jest
and
quitted
with
an
epigram
.
The
two
French
lady
authors
,
the
Count
de
Passy
,
the
physician
,
and
the
host
far
outspoke
all
the
other
guests
.
Now
and
then
,
however
,
the
German
Count
struck
in
with
an
ironical
remark
condensing
a
great
deal
of
grave
wisdom
,
and
the
young
author
with
ruder
and
more
biting
sarcasm
.
If
the
sarcasm
told
,
he
showed
his
triumph
by
a
low-pitched
laugh
;
if
it
failed
,
he
evinced
his
displeasure
by
a
contemptuous
sneer
or
a
grim
scowl
.
Isaura
and
Graham
were
not
seated
near
each
other
,
and
were
for
the
most
part
contented
to
be
listeners
.
On
adjourning
to
the
salon
after
dinner
,
Graham
,
however
,
was
approaching
the
chair
in
which
Isaura
had
placed
herself
,
when
the
young
author
,
forestalling
him
,
dropped
into
the
seat
next
to
her
,
and
began
a
conversation
in
a
voice
so
low
that
it
might
have
passed
for
a
whisper
.
The
Englishman
drew
back
and
observed
them
.
He
soon
perceived
,
with
a
pang
of
jealousy
not
unmingled
with
scorn
,
that
the
author’s
talk
appeared
to
interest
Isaura
.
She
listened
with
evident
attention
;
and
when
she
spoke
in
return
,
though
Graham
did
not
hear
her
words
,
he
could
observe
on
her
expressive
countenance
an
increased
gentleness
of
aspect
.
“
I
hope
,
”
said
the
physician
,
joining
Graham
,
as
most
of
the
other
guests
gathered
round
Savarin
,
who
was
in
his
liveliest
vein
of
anecdote
and
wit
,
—
“
I
hope
that
the
fair
Italian
will
not
allow
that
ink-bottle
imp
to
persuade
her
that
she
has
fallen
in
love
with
him
.
”
“
Do
young
ladies
generally
find
him
so
seductive
?
”
asked
Graham
,
with
a
forced
smile
.
“
Probably
enough
.
He
has
the
reputation
of
being
very
clever
and
very
wicked
,
and
that
is
a
sort
of
character
which
has
the
serpent’s
fascination
for
the
daughters
of
Eve
.
”
“
Is
the
reputation
merited
?
”
“
As
to
the
cleverness
,
I
am
not
a
fair
judge
.
I
dislike
that
sort
of
writing
which
is
neither
manlike
nor
womanlike
,
and
in
which
young
Rameau
excels
.
He
has
the
knack
of
finding
very
exaggerated
phrases
by
which
to
express
commonplace
thoughts
.
He
writes
verses
about
love
in
words
so
stormy
that
you
might
fancy
that
Jove
was
descending
upon
Semele
;
but
when
you
examine
his
words
,
as
a
sober
pathologist
like
myself
is
disposed
to
do
,
your
fear
for
the
peace
of
households
vanishes
,
—
they
are
Fox
et
proeterea
nihil
;
no
man
really
in
love
would
use
them
.
He
writes
prose
about
the
wrongs
of
humanity
.
You
feel
for
humanity
;
you
say
,
‘Grant
the
wrongs
,
now
for
the
remedy
,
’
—
and
you
find
nothing
but
balderdash
.
Still
I
am
bound
to
say
that
both
in
verse
and
prose
Gustave
Rameau
is
in
unison
with
a
corrupt
taste
of
the
day
,
and
therefore
he
is
coming
into
vogue
.
So
much
as
to
his
writings
;
as
to
his
wickedness
,
you
have
only
to
look
at
him
to
feel
sure
that
he
is
not
a
hundredth
part
so
wicked
as
he
wishes
to
seem
.
In
a
word
,
then
,
M
.
Gustave
Rameau
is
a
type
of
that
somewhat
numerous
class
among
the
youth
of
Paris
,
which
I
call
‘the
lost
Tribe
of
Absinthe.’
There
is
a
set
of
men
who
begin
to
live
full
gallop
while
they
are
still
boys
.
As
a
general
rule
,
they
are
originally
of
the
sickly
frames
which
can
scarcely
even
trot
,
much
less
gallop
without
the
spur
of
stimulants
,
and
no
stimulant
so
fascinates
their
peculiar
nervous
system
as
absinthe
.
The
number
of
patients
in
this
set
who
at
the
age
of
thirty
are
more
worn
out
than
septuagenarians
increases
so
rapidly
as
to
make
one
dread
to
think
what
will
be
the
next
race
of
Frenchmen
.
To
the
predilection
for
absinthe
young
Rameau
and
the
writers
of
his
set
add
the
imitation
of
Heine
,
after
,
indeed
,
the
manner
of
caricaturists
,
who
effect
a
likeness
striking
in
proportion
as
it
is
ugly
.
It
is
not
easy
to
imitate
the
pathos
and
the
wit
of
Heine
;
but
it
is
easy
to
imitate
his
defiance
of
the
Deity
,
his
mockery
of
right
and
wrong
,
his
relentless
war
on
that
heroic
standard
of
thought
and
action
which
the
writers
who
exalt
their
nation
intuitively
preserve
.
Rameau
cannot
be
a
Heine
,
but
he
can
be
to
Heine
what
a
misshapen
snarling
dwarf
is
to
a
mangled
blaspheming
Titan
.
Yet
he
interests
the
women
in
general
,
and
he
evidently
interests
the
fair
Signorina
in
especial
.
”
Just
as
Bacourt
finished
that
last
sentence
,
Isaura
lifted
the
head
which
had
hitherto
bent
in
an
earnest
listening
attitude
that
seemed
to
justify
the
Doctor’s
remarks
,
and
looked
round
.
Her
eyes
met
Graham’s
with
the
fearless
candour
which
made
half
the
charm
of
their
bright
yet
soft
intelligence
;
but
she
dropped
them
suddenly
with
a
half-start
and
a
change
of
colour
,
for
the
expression
of
Graham’s
face
was
unlike
that
which
she
had
hitherto
seen
on
it
,
—
it
was
hard
,
stern
,
and
somewhat
disdainful
.
A
minute
or
so
afterwards
she
rose
,
and
in
passing
across
the
room
towards
the
group
round
the
host
,
paused
at
a
table
covered
with
books
and
prints
near
to
which
Graham
was
standing
alone
.
The
Doctor
had
departed
in
company
with
the
German
Count
.
Isaura
took
up
one
of
the
prints
.
“
Ah
!
”
she
exclaimed
,
“
Sorrento
,
my
Sorrento
.
Have
you
ever
visited
Sorrento
,
Mr.
Vane
?
”
Her
question
and
her
movement
were
evidently
in
conciliation
.
Was
the
conciliation
prompted
by
coquetry
,
or
by
a
sentiment
more
innocent
and
artless
?
Graham
doubted
,
and
replied
coldly
,
as
he
bent
over
the
print
,
—
“
I
once
stayed
there
a
few
days
,
but
my
recollection
of
it
is
not
sufficiently
lively
to
enable
me
to
recognize
its
features
in
this
design
.
”
“
That
is
the
house
,
at
least
so
they
say
,
of
Tasso’s
father
;
of
course
you
visited
that
?
”
“
Yes
,
it
was
a
hotel
in
my
time
;
I
lodged
there
.
”
“
And
I
too
.
There
I
first
read
‘The
Gerusalemine.’
”
The
last
words
were
said
in
Italian
,
with
a
low
measured
tone
,
inwardly
and
dreamily
.
A
somewhat
sharp
and
incisive
voice
speaking
in
French
here
struck
in
and
prevented
Graham’s
rejoinder
:
“
Quel
joli
dessin
!
What
is
it
,
Mademoiselle
?
”
Graham
recoiled
;
the
speaker
was
Gustave
Rameau
,
who
had
,
unobserved
,
first
watched
