diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 1344-0.txt | 2342 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 1344-h/1344-h.htm | 2707 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1344-0.txt | 2732 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1344-0.zip | bin | 0 -> 55491 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1344-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 58672 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1344-h/1344-h.htm | 3114 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1344.txt | 2731 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1344.zip | bin | 0 -> 55440 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/old/20050831-1344.txt | 2775 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/old/20050831-1344.zip | bin | 0 -> 55393 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/old/sdpdc10.txt | 2650 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/old/sdpdc10.zip | bin | 0 -> 53069 bytes |
15 files changed, 19067 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/1344-0.txt b/1344-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4701001 --- /dev/null +++ b/1344-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2342 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1344 *** + +THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + + +By Honore De Balzac + + + +Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + + + + DEDICATION + + To Theophile Gautier + + + + + +THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + + + + +CHAPTER I. THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTES + + +After the disasters of the revolution of July, which destroyed so many +aristocratic fortunes dependent on the court, Madame la Princesse de +Cadignan was clever enough to attribute to political events the total +ruin she had caused by her own extravagance. The prince left France +with the royal family, and never returned to it, leaving the princess in +Paris, protected by the fact of his absence; for their debts, which +the sale of all their salable property had not been able to extinguish, +could only be recovered through him. The revenues of the entailed +estates had been seized. In short, the affairs of this great family were +in as bad a state as those of the elder branch of the Bourbons. + +This woman, so celebrated under her first name of Duchesse de +Maufrigneuse, very wisely decided to live in retirement, and to make +herself, if possible, forgotten. Paris was then so carried away by the +whirling current of events that the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, buried in +the Princesse de Cadignan, a change of name unknown to most of the new +actors brought upon the stage of society by the revolution of July, did +really become a stranger in her own city. + +In Paris the title of duke ranks all others, even that of prince; +though, in heraldic theory, free of all sophism, titles signify nothing; +there is absolute equality among gentlemen. This fine equality was +formerly maintained by the House of France itself; and in our day it is +so still, at least, nominally; witness the care with which the kings of +France give to their sons the simple title of count. It was in virtue of +this system that Francois I. crushed the splendid titles assumed by the +pompous Charles the Fifth, by signing his answer: “Francois, seigneur +de Vanves.” Louis XI. did better still by marrying his daughter to +an untitled gentleman, Pierre de Beaujeu. The feudal system was so +thoroughly broken up by Louis XIV. that the title of duke became, during +his reign, the supreme honor of the aristocracy, and the most coveted. + +Nevertheless there are two or three families in France in which the +principality, richly endowed in former times, takes precedence of +the duchy. The house of Cadignan, which possesses the title of Duc de +Maufrigneuse for its eldest sons, is one of these exceptional families. +Like the princes of the house of Rohan in earlier days, the princes of +Cadignan had the right to a throne in their own domain; they could have +pages and gentlemen in their service. This explanation is necessary, +as much to escape foolish critics who know nothing, as to record the +customs of a world which, we are told, is about to disappear, and which, +evidently, so many persons are assisting to push away without knowing +what it is. + +The Cadignans bear: or, five lozenges sable appointed, placed fess-wise, +with the word “Memini” for motto, a crown with a cap of maintenance, +no supporters or mantle. In these days the great crowd of strangers +flocking to Paris, and the almost universal ignorance of the science of +heraldry, are beginning to bring the title of prince into fashion. +There are no real princes but those possessed of principalities, to whom +belongs the title of highness. The disdain shown by the French nobility +for the title of prince, and the reasons which caused Louis XIV. to give +supremacy to the title of duke, have prevented Frenchmen from claiming +the appellation of “highness” for the few princes who exist in France, +those of Napoleon excepted. This is why the princes of Cadignan hold an +inferior position, nominally, to the princes of the continent. + +The members of the society called the faubourg Saint-Germain protected +the princess by a respectful silence due to her name, which is one +of those that all men honor, to her misfortunes, which they ceased to +discuss, and to her beauty, the only thing she saved of her departed +opulence. Society, of which she had once been the ornament, was thankful +to her for having, as it were, taken the veil, and cloistered herself +in her own home. This act of good taste was for her, more than for any +other woman, an immense sacrifice. Great deeds are always so keenly felt +in France that the princess gained, by her retreat, as much as she had +lost in public opinion in the days of her splendor. + +She now saw only one of her old friends, the Marquise d’Espard, and even +to her she never went on festive occasions or to parties. The princess +and the marquise visited each other in the forenoons, with a certain +amount of secrecy. When the princess went to dine with her friend, +the marquise closed her doors. Madame d’Espard treated the princess +charmingly; she changed her box at the opera, leaving the first tier for +a baignoire on the ground-floor, so that Madame de Cadignan could come +to the theatre unseen, and depart incognito. Few women would have been +capable of a delicacy which deprived them of the pleasure of bearing in +their train a fallen rival, and of publicly being her benefactress. Thus +relieved of the necessity for costly toilets, the princess could enjoy +the theatre, whither she went in Madame d’Espard’s carriage, which she +would never have accepted openly in the daytime. No one has ever +known Madame d’Espard’s reasons for behaving thus to the Princesse de +Cadignan; but her conduct was admirable, and for a long time included a +number of little acts which, viewed single, seem mere trifles, but taken +in the mass become gigantic. + +In 1832, three years had thrown a mantle of snow over the follies and +adventures of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, and had whitened them so +thoroughly that it now required a serious effort of memory to recall +them. Of the queen once adored by so many courtiers, and whose follies +might have given a theme to a variety of novels, there remained a woman +still adorably beautiful, thirty-six years of age, but quite justified +in calling herself thirty, although she was the mother of Duc Georges +de Maufrigneuse, a young man of eighteen, handsome as Antinous, poor as +Job, who was expected to obtain great successes, and for whom his mother +desired, above all things, to find a rich wife. Perhaps this hope was +the secret of the intimacy she still kept up with the marquise, in whose +salon, which was one of the first in Paris, she might eventually be able +to choose among many heiresses for Georges’ wife. The princess saw five +years between the present moment and her son’s marriage,--five solitary +and desolate years; for, in order to obtain such a marriage for her +son, she knew that her own conduct must be marked in the corner with +discretion. + +The princess lived in the rue de Miromesnil, in a small house, of which +she occupied the ground-floor at a moderate rent. There she made the +most of the relics of her past magnificence. The elegance of the great +lady was still redolent about her. She was still surrounded by beautiful +things which recalled her former existence. On her chimney-piece was a +fine miniature portrait of Charles X., by Madame Mirbel, beneath which +were engraved the words, “Given by the King”; and, as a pendant, the +portrait of “Madame”, who was always her kind friend. On a table lay an +album of costliest price, such as none of the bourgeoises who now lord +it in our industrial and fault-finding society would have dared to +exhibit. This album contained portraits, about thirty in number, of +her intimate friends, whom the world, first and last, had given her as +lovers. The number was a calumny; but had rumor said ten, it might have +been, as her friend Madame d’Espard remarked, good, sound gossip. The +portraits of Maxime de Trailles, de Marsay, Rastignac, the Marquis +d’Esgrignon, General Montriveau, the Marquis de Ronquerolles and +d’Ajuda-Pinto, Prince Galathionne, the young Ducs de Grandlieu and de +Rhetore, the Vicomte de Serizy, and the handsome Lucien de Rubempre, +had all been treated with the utmost coquetry of brush and pencil by +celebrated artists. As the princess now received only two or three of +these personages, she called the book, jokingly, the collection of her +errors. + +Misfortune had made this woman a good mother. During the fifteen years +of the Restoration she had amused herself far too much to think of +her son; but on taking refuge in obscurity, this illustrious egoist +bethought her that the maternal sentiment, developed to its extreme, +might be an absolution for her past follies in the eyes of sensible +persons, who pardon everything to a good mother. She loved her son all +the more because she had nothing else to love. Georges de Maufrigneuse +was, moreover, one of those children who flatter the vanities of a +mother; and the princess had, accordingly, made all sorts of sacrifices +for him. She hired a stable and coach-house, above which he lived in a +little entresol with three rooms looking on the street, and charmingly +furnished; she had even borne several privations to keep a saddle-horse, +a cab-horse, and a little groom for his use. For herself, she had only +her own maid, and as cook, a former kitchen-maid. The duke’s groom +had, therefore, rather a hard place. Toby, formerly tiger to the “late” + Beaudenord (such was the jesting term applied by the gay world to that +ruined gentleman),--Toby, who at twenty-five years of age was still +considered only fourteen, was expected to groom the horses, clean the +cabriolet, or the tilbury, and the harnesses, accompany his master, take +care of the apartments, and be in the princess’s antechamber to announce +a visitor, if, by chance, she happened to receive one. + +When one thinks of what the beautiful Duchesse de Maufrigneuse had been +under the Restoration,--one of the queens of Paris, a dazzling queen, +whose luxurious existence equalled that of the richest women of fashion +in London,--there was something touching in the sight of her in that +humble little abode in the rue de Miromesnil, a few steps away from her +splendid mansion, which no amount of fortune had enabled her to keep, +and which the hammer of speculators has since demolished. The woman who +thought she was scarcely well served by thirty servants, who possessed +the most beautiful reception-rooms in all Paris, and the loveliest +little private apartments, and who made them the scene of such +delightful fetes, now lived in a small apartment of five rooms,--an +antechamber, dining-room, salon, one bed-chamber, and a dressing-room, +with two women-servants only. + +“Ah! she is devoted to her son,” said that clever creature, Madame +d’Espard, “and devoted without ostentation; she is happy. Who would +ever have believed so frivolous a woman was capable of such persistent +resolution! Our good archbishop has, consequently, greatly encouraged +her; he is most kind to her, and has just induced the old Comtesse de +Cinq-Cygne to pay her a visit.” + +Let us admit a truth! One must be a queen to know how to abdicate, and +to descend with dignity from a lofty position which is never wholly +lost. Those only who have an inner consciousness of being nothing in +themselves, show regrets in falling, or struggle, murmuring, to return +to a past which can never return,--a fact of which they themselves are +well aware. Compelled to do without the choice exotics in the midst of +which she had lived, and which set off so charmingly her whole being +(for it is impossible not to compare her to a flower), the princess +had wisely chosen a ground-floor apartment; there she enjoyed a pretty +little garden which belonged to it,--a garden full of shrubs, and an +always verdant turf, which brightened her peaceful retreat. She had +about twelve thousand francs a year; but that modest income was partly +made up of an annual stipend sent her by the old Duchesse de Navarreins, +paternal aunt of the young duke, and another stipend given by her +mother, the Duchesse d’Uxelles, who was living on her estate in the +country, where she economized as old duchesses alone know how to +economize; for Harpagon is a mere novice compared to them. The princess +still retained some of her past relations with the exiled royal family; +and it was in her house that the marshal to whom we owe the conquest of +Africa had conferences, at the time of “Madame’s” attempt in La Vendee, +with the principal leaders of legitimist opinion,--so great was the +obscurity in which the princess lived, and so little distrust did the +government feel for her in her present distress. + +Beholding the approach of that terrible fortieth year, the bankruptcy of +love, beyond which there is so little for a woman as woman, the princess +had flung herself into the kingdom of philosophy. She took to reading, +she who for sixteen years had felt a cordial horror for serious things. +Literature and politics are to-day what piety and devotion once were +to her sex,--the last refuge of their feminine pretensions. In her +late social circle it was said that Diane was writing a book. Since +her transformation from a queen and beauty to a woman of intellect, the +princess had contrived to make a reception in her little house a great +honor which distinguished the favored person. Sheltered by her supposed +occupation, she was able to deceive one of her former adorers, de +Marsay, the most influential personage of the political bourgeoisie +brought to the fore in July 1830. She received him sometimes in the +evenings, and, occupied his attention while the marshal and a few +legitimists were talking, in a low voice, in her bedroom, about +the recovery of power, which could be attained only by a general +co-operation of ideas,--the one element of success which all +conspirators overlook. It was the clever vengeance of the pretty woman, +who thus inveigled the prime minister, and made him act as screen for a +conspiracy against his own government. + +This adventure, worthy of the finest days of the Fronde, was the text +of a very witty letter, in which the princess rendered to “Madame” an +account of the negotiations. The Duc de Maufrigneuse went to La Vendee, +and was able to return secretly without being compromised, but not +without taking part in “Madame’s” perils; the latter, however, sent +him home the moment she saw that her cause was lost. Perhaps, had he +remained, the eager vigilance of the young man might have foiled that +treachery. However great the faults of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse may +have seemed in the eyes of the bourgeoisie, the behavior of her son on +this occasion certainly effaced them in the eyes of the aristocracy. +There was great nobility and grandeur in thus risking her only son, and +the heir of an historic name. Some persons are said to intentionally +cover the faults of their private life by public services, and vice +versa; but the Princesse de Cadignan made no such calculation. Possibly +those who apparently so conduct themselves make none. Events count for +much in such cases. + +On one of the first fine days in the month of May, 1833, the Marquise +d’Espard and the princess were turning about--one could hardly call +it walking--in the single path which wound round the grass-plat in +the garden, about half-past two in the afternoon, just as the sun was +leaving it. The rays reflected on the walls gave a warm atmosphere +to the little space, which was fragrant with flowers, the gift of the +marquise. + +“We shall soon lose de Marsay,” said the marquise; “and with him will +disappear your last hope of fortune for your son. Ever since you played +him that clever trick, he has returned to his affection for you.” + +“My son will never capitulate to the younger branch,” returned the +princess, “if he has to die of hunger, or I have to work with my hands +to feed him. Besides, Berthe de Cinq-Cygne has no aversion to him.” + +“Children don’t bind themselves to their parents’ principles,” said +Madame d’Espard. + +“Don’t let us talk about it,” said the princess. “If I can’t coax over +the Marquise de Cinq-Cygne, I shall marry Georges to the daughter of +some iron-founderer, as that little d’Esgrignon did.” + +“Did you love Victurnien?” asked the marquise. + +“No,” replied the princess, gravely, “d’Esgrignon’s simplicity was +really only a sort of provincial silliness, which I perceived rather too +late--or, if you choose, too soon.” + +“And de Marsay?” + +“De Marsay played with me as if I were a doll. I was so young at the +time! We never love men who pretend to teach us; they rub up all our +little vanities.” + +“And that wretched boy who hanged himself?” + +“Lucien? An Antinous and a great poet. I worshiped him in all +conscience, and I might have been happy. But he was in love with a girl +of the town; and I gave him up to Madame de Serizy.... If he had cared +to love me, should I have given him up?” + +“What an odd thing, that you should come into collision with an Esther!” + +“She was handsomer than I,” said the Princess.--“Very soon it shall be +three years that I have lived in solitude,” she resumed, after a pause, +“and this tranquillity has nothing painful to me about it. To you +alone can I dare to say that I feel I am happy. I was surfeited with +adoration, weary of pleasure, emotional on the surface of things, but +conscious that emotion itself never reached my heart. I have found all +the men whom I have known petty, paltry, superficial; none of them ever +caused me a surprise; they had no innocence, no grandeur, no delicacy. I +wish I could have met with one man able to inspire me with respect.” + +“Then are you like me, my dear?” asked the marquise; “have you never +felt the emotion of love while trying to love?” + +“Never,” replied the princess, laying her hand on the arm of her friend. + +They turned and seated themselves on a rustic bench beneath a jasmine +then coming into flower. Each had uttered one of those sayings that are +solemn to women who have reached their age. + +“Like you,” resumed the princess, “I have received more love than most +women; but through all my many adventures, I have never found happiness. +I committed great follies, but they had an object, and that object +retreated as fast as I approached it. I feel to-day in my heart, old +as it is, an innocence which has never been touched. Yes, under all my +experience, lies a first love intact,--just as I myself, in spite of all +my losses and fatigues, feel young and beautiful. We may love and not +be happy; we may be happy and never love; but to love and be happy, to +unite those two immense human experiences, is a miracle. That miracle +has not taken place for me.” + +“Nor for me,” said Madame d’Espard. + +“I own I am pursued in this retreat by dreadful regret: I have amused +myself all through life, but I have never loved.” + +“What an incredible secret!” cried the marquise. + +“Ah! my dear,” replied the princess, “such secrets we can tell to +ourselves, you and I, but nobody in Paris would believe us.” + +“And,” said the marquise, “if we were not both over thirty-six years of +age, perhaps we would not tell them to each other.” + +“Yes; when women are young they have so many stupid conceits,” replied +the princess. “We are like those poor young men who play with a +toothpick to pretend they have dined.” + +“Well, at any rate, here we are!” said Madame d’Espard, with coquettish +grace, and a charming gesture of well-informed innocence; “and, it seems +to me, sufficiently alive to think of taking our revenge.” + +“When you told me, the other day, that Beatrix had gone off with Conti, +I thought of it all night long,” said the princess, after a pause. “I +suppose there was happiness in sacrificing her position, her future, and +renouncing society forever.” + +“She was a little fool,” said Madame d’Espard, gravely. “Mademoiselle +des Touches was delighted to get rid of Conti. Beatrix never perceived +how that surrender, made by a superior woman who never for a moment +defended her claims, proved Conti’s nothingness.” + +“Then you think she will be unhappy?” + +“She is so now,” replied Madame d’Espard. “Why did she leave her +husband? What an acknowledgment of weakness!” + +“Then you think that Madame de Rochefide was not influenced by the +desire to enjoy a true love in peace?” asked the princess. + +“No; she was simply imitating Madame de Beausant and Madame de Langeais, +who, be it said, between you and me, would have been, in a less vulgar +period than ours, the La Villiere, the Diane de Poitiers, the Gabrielle +d’Estrees of history.” + +“Less the king, my dear. Ah! I wish I could evoke the shades of those +women, and ask them--” + +“But,” said the marquise, interrupting the princess, “why ask the dead? +We know living women who have been happy. I have talked on this very +subject a score of times with Madame de Montcornet since she married +that little Emile Blondet, who makes her the happiest woman in the +world; not an infidelity, not a thought that turns aside from her; they +are as happy as they were the first day. These long attachments, like +that of Rastignac and Madame de Nucingen, and your cousin, Madame de +Camps, for her Octave, have a secret, and that secret you and I don’t +know, my dear. The world has paid us the extreme compliment of thinking +we are two rakes worthy of the court of the regent; whereas we are, in +truth, as innocent as a couple of school-girls.” + +“I should like that sort of innocence,” cried the princess, laughing; +“but ours is worse, and it is very humiliating. Well, it is a +mortification we offer up in expiation of our fruitless search; yes, +my dear, fruitless, for it isn’t probable we shall find in our autumn +season the fine flower we missed in the spring and summer.” + +“That’s not the question,” resumed the marquise, after a meditative +pause. “We are both still beautiful enough to inspire love, but we could +never convince any one of our innocence and virtue.” + +“If it were a lie, how easy to dress it up with commentaries, and +serve it as some delicious fruit to be eagerly swallowed! But how is +it possible to get a truth believed? Ah! the greatest of men have been +mistaken there!” added the princess, with one of those meaning smiles +which the pencil of Leonardo da Vinci alone has rendered. + +“Fools love well, sometimes,” returned the marquise. + +“But in this case,” said the princess, “fools wouldn’t have enough +credulity in their nature.” + +“You are right,” said the marquise. “But what we ought to look for is +neither a fool nor even a man of talent. To solve our problem we need a +man of genius. Genius alone has the faith of childhood, the religion of +love, and willingly allows us to band its eyes. Look at Canalis and the +Duchesse de Chaulieu! Though we have both encountered men of genius, +they were either too far removed from us or too busy, and we too +absorbed, too frivolous.” + +“Ah! how I wish I might not leave this world without knowing the +happiness of true love,” exclaimed the princess. + +“It is nothing to inspire it,” said Madame d’Espard; “the thing is to +feel it. I see many women who are only the pretext for a passion without +being both its cause and its effect.” + +“The last love I inspired was a beautiful and sacred thing,” said the +princess. “It had a future in it. Chance had brought me, for once in a +way, the man of genius who is due to us, and yet so difficult to obtain; +there are more pretty women than men of genius. But the devil interfered +with the affair.” + +“Tell me about it, my dear; this is all news to me.” + +“I first noticed this beautiful passion about the middle of the winter +of 1829. Every Friday, at the opera, I observed a young man, about +thirty years of age, in the orchestra stalls, who evidently came there +for me. He was always in the same stall, gazing at me with eyes of fire, +but, seemingly, saddened by the distance between us, perhaps by the +hopelessness of reaching me.” + +“Poor fellow! When a man loves he becomes eminently stupid,” said the +marquise. + +“Between every act he would slip into the corridor,” continued the +princess, smiling at her friend’s epigrammatic remark. “Once or twice, +either to see me or to make me see him, he looked through the glass +sash of the box exactly opposite to mine. If I received a visit, I was +certain to see him in the corridor close to my door, casting a furtive +glance upon me. He had apparently learned to know the persons belonging +to my circle; and he followed them when he saw them turning in the +direction of my box, in order to obtain the benefit of the opening door. +I also found my mysterious adorer at the Italian opera-house; there he +had a stall directly opposite to my box, where he could gaze at me in +naive ecstasy--oh! it was pretty! On leaving either house I always found +him planted in the lobby, motionless; he was elbowed and jostled, but +he never moved. His eyes grew less brilliant if he saw me on the arm of +some favorite. But not a word, not a letter, no demonstration. You must +acknowledge that was in good taste. Sometimes, on getting home late +at night, I found him sitting upon one of the stone posts of the +porte-cochere. This lover of mine had very handsome eyes, a long, thick, +fan-shaped beard, with a moustache and side-whiskers; nothing could be +seen of his skin but his white cheek-bones, and a noble forehead; it was +truly an antique head. The prince, as you know, defended the Tuileries +on the riverside, during the July days. He returned to Saint-Cloud that +night, when all was lost, and said to me: ‘I came near being killed at +four o’clock. I was aimed at by one of the insurgents, when a young +man, with a long beard, whom I have often seen at the opera, and who was +leading the attack, threw up the man’s gun, and saved me.’ So my adorer +was evidently a republican! In 1831, after I came to lodge in this +house, I found him, one day, leaning with his back against the wall of +it; he seemed pleased with my disasters; possibly he may have thought +they drew us nearer together. But after the affair of Saint-Merri I +saw him no more; he was killed there. The evening before the funeral of +General Lamarque, I had gone out on foot with my son, and my republican +accompanied us, sometimes behind, sometimes in front, from the Madeleine +to the Passage des Panoramas, where I was going.” + +“Is that all?” asked the marquise. + +“Yes, all,” replied the princess. “Except that on the morning +Saint-Merri was taken, a gamin came here and insisted on seeing me. He +gave me a letter, written on common paper, signed by my republican.” + +“Show it to me,” said the marquise. + +“No, my dear. Love was too great and too sacred in the heart of that +man to let me violate its secrets. The letter, short and terrible, still +stirs my soul when I think of it. That dead man gives me more emotions +than all the living men I ever coquetted with; he constantly recurs to +my mind.” + +“What was his name?” asked the marquise. + +“Oh! a very common one: Michel Chrestien.” + +“You have done well to tell me,” said Madame d’Espard, eagerly. “I have +often heard of him. This Michel Chrestien was the intimate friend of +a remarkable man you have already expressed a wish to see,--Daniel +d’Arthez, who comes to my house some two or three times a year. +Chrestien, who was really killed at Saint-Merri, had no lack of friends. +I have heard it said that he was one of those born statesmen to whom, +like de Marsay, nothing is wanting but opportunity to become all they +might be.” + +“Then he had better be dead,” said the princess, with a melancholy air, +under which she concealed her thoughts. + +“Will you come to my house some evening and meet d’Arthez?” said the +marquise. “You can talk of your ghost.” + +“Yes, I will,” replied the princess. + + + + +CHAPTER II. DANIEL D’ARTHEZ + + +A few days after this conversation Blondet and Rastignac, who knew +d’Arthez, promised Madame d’Espard that they would bring him to dine +with her. This promise might have proved rash had it not been for +the name of the princess, a meeting with whom was not a matter of +indifference to the great writer. + +Daniel d’Arthez, one of the rare men who, in our day, unite a noble +character with great talent, had already obtained, not all the +popularity his works deserve, but a respectful esteem to which souls +of his own calibre could add nothing. His reputation will certainly +increase; but in the eyes of connoisseurs it had already attained its +full development. He is one of those authors who, sooner or later, are +put in their right place, and never lose it. A poor nobleman, he had +understood his epoch well enough to seek personal distinction only. He +had struggled long in the Parisian arena, against the wishes of a rich +uncle who, by a contradiction which vanity must explain, after leaving +his nephew a prey to the utmost penury, bequeathed to the man who had +reached celebrity the fortune so pitilessly refused to the unknown +writer. This sudden change in his position made no change in Daniel +d’Arthez’s habits; he continued to work with a simplicity worthy of +the antique past, and even assumed new toils by accepting a seat in the +Chamber of Deputies, where he took his seat on the Right. + +Since his accession to fame he had sometimes gone into society. One of +his old friends, the now-famous physician, Horace Bianchon, persuaded +him to make the acquaintance of the Baron de Rastignac, under-secretary +of State, and a friend of de Marsay, the prime minister. These two +political officials acquiesced, rather nobly, in the strong wish of +d’Arthez, Bianchon, and other friends of Michel Chrestien for the +removal of the body of that republican to the church of Saint-Merri for +the purpose of giving it funeral honors. Gratitude for a service which +contrasted with the administrative rigor displayed at a time when +political passions were so violent, had bound, so to speak, d’Arthez to +Rastignac. The latter and de Marsay were much too clever not to profit +by that circumstance; and thus they won over other friends of Michel +Chrestien, who did not share his political opinions, and who now +attached themselves to the new government. One of them, Leon Giraud, +appointed in the first instance master of petitions, became eventually a +Councillor of State. + +The whole existence of Daniel d’Arthez is consecrated to work; he sees +society only by snatches; it is to him a sort of dream. His house is a +convent, where he leads the life of a Benedictine; the same sobriety of +regimen, the same regularity of occupation. His friends knew that up to +the present time woman had been to him no more than an always dreaded +circumstance; he had observed her too much not to fear her; but by dint +of studying her he had ceased to understand her,--like, in this, to +those deep strategists who are always beaten on unexpected ground, +where their scientific axioms are either modified or contradicted. In +character he still remains a simple-hearted child, all the while +proving himself an observer of the first rank. This contrast, apparently +impossible, is explainable to those who know how to measure the depths +which separate faculties from feelings; the former proceed from the +head, the latter from the heart. A man can be a great man and a wicked +one, just as he can be a fool and a devoted lover. D’Arthez is one of +those privileged beings in whom shrewdness of mind and a broad expanse +of the qualities of the brain do not exclude either the strength or +the grandeur of sentiments. He is, by rare privilege, equally a man of +action and a man of thought. His private life is noble and generous. If +he carefully avoided love, it was because he knew himself, and felt a +premonition of the empire such a passion would exercise upon him. + +For several years the crushing toil by which he prepared the solid +ground of his subsequent works, and the chill of poverty, were +marvellous preservatives. But when ease with his inherited fortune came +to him, he formed a vulgar and most incomprehensible connection with a +rather handsome woman, belonging to the lower classes, without education +or manners, whom he carefully concealed from every eye. Michel Chrestien +attributed to men of genius the power of transforming the most +massive creatures into sylphs, fools into clever women, peasants into +countesses; the more accomplished a woman was, the more she lost her +value in their eyes, for, according to Michel, their imagination had the +less to do. In his opinion love, a mere matter of the senses to inferior +beings, was to great souls the most immense of all moral creations +and the most binding. To justify d’Arthez, he instanced the example of +Raffaele and the Fornarina. He might have offered himself as an +instance for this theory, he who had seen an angel in the Duchesse +de Maufrigneuse. This strange fancy of d’Arthez might, however, be +explained in other ways; perhaps he had despaired of meeting here below +with a woman who answered to that delightful vision which all men of +intellect dream of and cherish; perhaps his heart was too sensitive, too +delicate, to yield itself to a woman of society; perhaps he thought best +to let nature have her way, and keep his illusions by cultivating his +ideal; perhaps he had laid aside love as being incompatible with his +work and the regularity of a monastic life which love would have wholly +upset. + +For several months past d’Arthez had been subjected to the jests and +satire of Blondet and Rastignac, who reproached him with knowing neither +the world nor women. According to them, his authorship was sufficiently +advanced, and his works numerous enough, to allow him a few +distractions; he had a fine fortune, and here he was living like a +student; he enjoyed nothing,--neither his money nor his fame; he was +ignorant of the exquisite enjoyments of the noble and delicate love +which well-born and well-bred women could inspire and feel; he knew +nothing of the charming refinements of language, nothing of the proofs +of affection incessantly given by refined women to the commonest things. +He might, perhaps, know woman; but he knew nothing of the divinity. +Why not take his rightful place in the world, and taste the delights of +Parisian society? + +“Why doesn’t a man who bears party per bend gules and or, a bezant and +crab counterchanged,” cried Rastignac, “display that ancient escutcheon +of Picardy on the panels of a carriage? You have thirty thousand francs +a year, and the proceeds of your pen; you have justified your motto: +Ars thesaurusque virtus, that punning device our ancestors were always +seeking, and yet you never appear in the Bois de Boulogne! We live in +times when virtue ought to show itself.” + +“If you read your works to that species of stout Laforet, whom you seem +to fancy, I would forgive you,” said Blondet. “But, my dear fellow, you +are living on dry bread, materially speaking; in the matter of intellect +you haven’t even bread.” + +This friendly little warfare had been going on for several months +between Daniel and his friends, when Madame d’Espard asked Rastignac and +Blondet to induce d’Arthez to come and dine with her, telling them that +the Princesse de Cadignan had a great desire to see that celebrated +man. Such curiosities are to certain women what magic lanterns are +to children,--a pleasure to the eyes, but rather shallow and full +of disappointments. The more sentiments a man of talent excites at +a distance, the less he responds to them on nearer view; the more +brilliant fancy has pictured him, the duller he will seem in reality. +Consequently, disenchanted curiosity is often unjust. + +Neither Blondet nor Rastignac could deceive d’Arthez; but they told +him, laughing, that they now offered him a most seductive opportunity +to polish up his heart and know the supreme fascinations which love +conferred on a Parisian great lady. The princess was evidently in love +with him; he had nothing to fear but everything to gain by accepting the +interview; it was quite impossible he could descend from the pedestal on +which madame de Cadignan had placed him. Neither Blondet nor Rastignac +saw any impropriety in attributing this love to the princess; she whose +past had given rise to so many anecdotes could very well stand that +lesser calumny. Together they began to relate to d’Arthez the adventures +of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse: her first affair with de Marsay; her +second with d’Ajuda, whom she had, they said, distracted from his wife, +thus avenging Madame de Beausant; also her later connection with young +d’Esgrignon, who had travelled with her in Italy, and had horribly +compromised himself on her account; after that they told him how unhappy +she had been with a certain celebrated ambassador, how happy with a +Russian general, besides becoming the Egeria of two ministers of Foreign +affairs, and various other anecdotes. D’Arthez replied that he knew a +great deal more than they could tell him about her through their poor +friend, Michel Chrestien, who adored her secretly for four years, and +had well-nigh gone mad about her. + +“I have often accompanied him,” said Daniel, “to the opera. He would +make me run through the streets as far as her horses that he might see +the princess through the window of her coupe.” + +“Well, there you have a topic all ready for you,” said Blondet, smiling. +“This is the very woman you need; she’ll initiate you most gracefully +into the mysteries of elegance; but take care! she has wasted many +fortunes. The beautiful Diane is one of those spendthrifts who don’t +cost a penny, but for whom a man spends millions. Give yourself up to +her, body and soul, if you choose; but keep your money in your hand, +like the old fellow in Girodet’s ‘Deluge.’” + +From the tenor of these remarks it was to be inferred that the princess +had the depth of a precipice, the grace of a queen, the corruption +of diplomatists, the mystery of a first initiation, and the dangerous +qualities of a siren. The two clever men of the world, incapable of +foreseeing the denouement of their joke, succeeded in presenting Diane +d’Uxelles as a consummate specimen of the Parisian woman, the cleverest +of coquettes, the most enchanting mistress in the world. Right or wrong, +the woman whom they thus treated so lightly was sacred to d’Arthez; his +desire to meet her needed no spur; he consented to do so at the first +word, which was all the two friends wanted of him. + +Madame d’Espard went to see the princess as soon as she had received +this answer. + +“My dear, do you feel yourself in full beauty and coquetry?” she said. +“If so, come and dine with me a few days hence, and I’ll serve up +d’Arthez. Our man of genius is by nature, it seems, a savage; he +fears women, and has never loved! Make your plans on that. He is +all intellect, and so simple that he’ll mislead you into feeling no +distrust. But his penetration, which is wholly retrospective, acts +later, and frustrates calculation. You may hoodwink him to-day, but +to-morrow nothing can dupe him.” + +“Ah!” cried the princess, “if I were only thirty years old what +amusement I might have with him! The one enjoyment I have lacked up to +the present is a man of intellect to fool. I have had only partners, +never adversaries. Love was a mere game instead of being a battle.” + +“Dear princess, admit that I am very generous; for, after all, you +know!--charity begins at home.” + +The two women looked at each other, laughing, and clasped hands in a +friendly way. Assuredly they both knew each other’s secrets, and this +was not the first man nor the first service that one had given to the +other; for sincere and lasting friendships between women of the world +need to be cemented by a few little crimes. When two friends are liable +to kill each other reciprocally, and see a poisoned dagger in each +other’s hand, they present a touching spectacle of harmony, which is +never troubled, unless, by chance, one of them is careless enough to +drop her weapon. + +So, eight days later, a little dinner such as are given to intimates by +verbal invitation only, during which the doors are closed to all other +visitors, took place at Madame d’Espard’s house. Five persons were +invited,--Emile Blondet and Madame de Montcornet, Daniel d’Arthez, +Rastignac, and the Princesse de Cadignan. Counting the mistress of the +house, there were as many men as women. + +Chance never exerted itself to make wiser preparations than those which +opened the way to a meeting between d’Arthez and Madame de Cadignan. +The princess is still considered one of the chief authorities on dress, +which, to women, is the first of arts. On this occasion she wore a gown +of blue velvet with flowing white sleeves, and a tulle guimpe, slightly +frilled and edged with blue, covering the shoulders, and rising nearly +to the throat, as we see in several of Raffaele’s portraits. Her maid +had dressed her hair with white heather, adroitly placed among its blond +cascades, which were one of the great beauties to which she owed her +celebrity. + +Certainly Diane did not look to be more than twenty-five years old. +Four years of solitude and repose had restored the freshness of her +complexion. Besides, there are moments when the desire to please gives +an increase of beauty to women. The will is not without influence on the +variations of the face. If violent emotions have the power to yellow +the white tones of persons of bilious and melancholy temperament, and to +green lymphatic faces, shall we not grant to desire, hope, and joy, +the faculty of clearing the skin, giving brilliancy to the eye, and +brightening the glow of beauty with a light as jocund as that of a +lovely morning? The celebrated faintness of the princess had taken on +a ripeness which now made her seem more august. At this moment of her +life, impressed by her many vicissitudes and by serious reflections, +her noble, dreamy brow harmonized delightfully with the slow, majestic +glance of her blue eyes. It was impossible for the ablest physiognomist +to imagine calculation or self-will beneath that unspeakable delicacy of +feature. There were faces of women which deceive knowledge, and mislead +observation by their calmness and delicacy; it is necessary to examine +such faces when passions speak, and that is difficult, or after they +have spoken, which is no longer of any use, for then the woman is old +and has ceased to dissimulate. + +The princess is one of those impenetrable women; she can make herself +what she pleases to be: playful, childlike, distractingly innocent; or +reflective, serious, and profound enough to excite anxiety. She came to +Madame d’Espard’s dinner with the intention of being a gentle, simple +woman, to whom life was known only through its deceptions: a woman full +of soul, and calumniated, but resigned,--in short, a wounded angel. + +She arrived early, so as to pose on a sofa near the fire beside Madame +d’Espard, as she wished to be first seen: that is, in one of +those attitudes in which science is concealed beneath an exquisite +naturalness; a studied attitude, putting in relief the beautiful +serpentine outline which, starting from the foot, rises gracefully to +the hip, and continues with adorable curves to the shoulder, presenting, +in fact, a profile of the whole body. With a subtlety which few women +would have dreamed of, Diane, to the great amazement of the marquise, +had brought her son with her. After a moment’s reflection, Madame +d’Espard pressed the princess’s hand, with a look of intelligence that +seemed to say:-- + +“I understand you! By making d’Arthez accept all the difficulties at +once you will not have to conquer them later.” + +Rastignac brought d’Arthez. The princess made none of those compliments +to the celebrated author with which vulgar persons overwhelmed him; but +she treated him with a kindness full of graceful respect, which, with +her, was the utmost extent of her concessions. Her manner was doubtless +the same with the King of France and the royal princes. She seemed happy +to see this great man, and glad that she had sought him. Persons of +taste, like the princess, are especially distinguished for their manner +of listening, for an affability without superciliousness, which is to +politeness what practice is to virtue. When the celebrated man spoke, +she took an attentive attitude, a thousand times more flattering than +the best-seasoned compliments. The mutual presentation was made quietly, +without emphasis, and in perfectly good taste, by the marquise. + +At dinner d’Arthez was placed beside the princess, who, far from +imitating the eccentricities of diet which many affected women display, +ate her dinner with a very good appetite, making it a point of honor +to seem a natural woman, without strange ways or fancies. Between two +courses she took advantage of the conversation becoming general to say +to d’Arthez, in a sort of aside:-- + +“The secret of the pleasure I take in finding myself beside you, is +the desire I feel to learn something of an unfortunate friend of yours, +monsieur. He died for another cause greater than ours; but I was under +the greatest obligations to him, although unable to acknowledge or thank +him for them. I know that you were one of his best friends. Your mutual +friendship, pure and unalterable, is a claim upon me. You will not, I am +sure, think it extraordinary, that I have wished to know all you could +tell me of a man so dear to you. Though I am attached to the exiled +family, and bound, of course, to hold monarchical opinions, I am not +among those who think it is impossible to be both republican and noble +in heart. Monarchy and the republic are two forms of government which do +not stifle noble sentiments.” + +“Michel Chrestien was an angel, madame,” replied Daniel, in a voice of +emotion. “I don’t know among the heroes of antiquity a greater than he. +Be careful not to think him one of those narrow-minded republicans who +would like to restore the Convention and the amenities of the Committee +of Public Safety. No, Michel dreamed of the Swiss federation applied +to all Europe. Let us own, between ourselves, that _after_ the glorious +government of one man only, which, as I think, is particularly suited to +our nation, Michel’s system would lead to the suppression of war in this +old world, and its reconstruction on bases other than those of conquest, +which formerly feudalized it. From this point of view the republicans +came nearest to his idea. That is why he lent them his arm in July, and +was killed at Saint-Merri. Though completely apart in opinion, he and I +were closely bound together as friends.” + +“That is noble praise for both natures,” said Madame de Cadignan, +timidly. + +“During the last four years of his life,” continued Daniel, “he made to +me alone a confidence of his love for you, and this confidence knitted +closer than ever the already strong ties of brotherly affection. He +alone, madame, can have loved you as you ought to be loved. Many a time +I have been pelted with rain as we accompanied your carriage at the pace +of the horses, to keep at a parallel distance, and see you--admire you.” + +“Ah! monsieur,” said the princess, “how can I repay such feelings!” + +“Why is Michel not here!” exclaimed Daniel, in melancholy accents. + +“Perhaps he would not have loved me long,” said the princess, shaking +her head sadly. “Republicans are more absolute in their ideas than we +absolutists, whose fault is indulgence. No doubt he imagined me perfect, +and society would have cruelly undeceived him. We are pursued, we women, +by as many calumnies as you authors are compelled to endure in your +literary life; but we, alas! cannot defend ourselves either by our works +or by our fame. The world will not believe us to be what we are, but +what it thinks us to be. It would soon have hidden from his eyes the +real but unknown woman that is in me, behind the false portrait of the +imaginary woman which the world considers true. He would have come to +think me unworthy of the noble feelings he had for me, and incapable of +comprehending him.” + +Here the princess shook her head, swaying the beautiful blond curls, +full of heather, with a touching gesture. This plaintive expression of +grievous doubts and hidden sorrows is indescribable. Daniel understood +them all; and he looked at the princess with keen emotion. + +“And yet, the night on which I last saw him, after the revolution of +July, I was on the point of giving way to the desire I felt to take +his hand and press it before all the world, under the peristyle of the +opera-house. But the thought came to me that such a proof of gratitude +might be misinterpreted; like so many other little things done +from noble motives which are called to-day the follies of Madame de +Maufrigneuse--things which I can never explain, for none but my son and +God have understood me.” + +These words, breathed into the ear of the listener, in tones inaudible +to the other guests, and with accents worthy of the cleverest actress, +were calculated to reach the heart; and they did reach that of d’Arthez. +There was no question of himself in the matter; this woman was seeking +to rehabilitate herself in favor of the dead. She had been calumniated; +and she evidently wanted to know if anything had tarnished her in the +eyes of him who had loved her; had he died with all his illusions? + +“Michel,” replied d’Arthez, “was one of those men who love absolutely, +and who, if they choose ill, can suffer without renouncing the woman +they have once elected.” + +“Was I loved thus?” she said, with an air of exalted beatitude. + +“Yes, madame.” + +“I made his happiness?” + +“For four years.” + +“A woman never hears of such a thing without a sentiment of proud +satisfaction,” she said, turning her sweet and noble face to d’Arthez +with a movement full of modest confusion. + +One of the most skilful manoeuvres of these actresses is to veil their +manner when words are too expressive, and speak with their eyes when +language is restrained. These clever discords, slipped into the music of +their love, be it false or true, produce irresistible attractions. + +“Is it not,” she said, lowering her voice and her eyes, after feeling +well assured they had produced her effect,--“is it not fulfilling one’s +destiny to have rendered a great man happy?” + +“Did he not write that to you?” + +“Yes; but I wanted to be sure, quite sure; for, believe me, monsieur, in +putting me so high he was not mistaken.” + +Women know how to give a peculiar sacredness to their words; they +communicate something vibrant to them, which extends the meaning +of their ideas, and gives them depth; though later their fascinated +listener may not remember precisely what they said, their end has been +completely attained,--which is the object of all eloquence. The princess +might at that moment have been wearing the diadem of France, and her +brow could not have seemed more imposing than it was beneath that crown +of golden hair, braided like a coronet, and adorned with heather. She +was simple and calm; nothing betrayed a sense of any necessity to appear +so, nor any desire to seem grand or loving. D’Arthez, the solitary +toiler, to whom the ways of the world were unknown, whom study had +wrapped in its protecting veils, was the dupe of her tones and words. He +was under the spell of those exquisite manners; he admired that perfect +beauty, ripened by misfortune, placid in retirement; he adored the union +of so rare a mind and so noble a soul; and he longed to become, himself, +the heir of Michel Chrestien. + +The beginning of this passion was, as in the case of almost all deep +thinkers, an idea. Looking at the princess, studying the shape of her +head, the arrangement of those sweet features, her figure, her hand, +so finely modelled, closer than when he accompanied his friend in +their wild rush through the streets, he was struck by the surprising +phenomenon of the moral second-sight which a man exalted by love +invariably finds within him. With what lucidity had Michel Chrestien +read into that soul, that heart, illumined by the fires of love! Thus +the princess acquired, in d’Arthez’s eyes, another charm; a halo of +poesy surrounded her. + +As the dinner proceeded, Daniel called to mind the various confidences +of his friend, his despair, his hopes, the noble poems of a true +sentiment sung to his ear alone, in honor of this woman. It is rare that +a man passes without remorse from the position of confidant to that of +rival, and d’Arthez was free to do so without dishonor. He had suddenly, +in a moment, perceived the enormous differences existing between a +well-bred woman, that flower of the great world, and common women, +though of the latter he did not know beyond one specimen. He was thus +captured on the most accessible and sensitive sides of his soul and of +his genius. Impelled by his simplicity, and by the impetuosity of his +ideas, to lay immediate claim to this woman, he found himself restrained +by society, also by the barrier which the manners and, let us say the +word, the majesty of the princess placed between them. The conversation, +which remained upon the topic of Michel Chrestien until the dessert, was +an excellent pretext for both to speak in a low voice: love, sympathy, +comprehension! she could pose as a maligned and misunderstood woman; he +could slip his feet into the shoes of the dead republican. Perhaps his +candid mind detected itself in regretting his dead friend less. The +princess, at the moment when the dessert appeared upon the table, and +the guests were separated by a brilliant hedge of fruits and sweetmeats, +thought best to put an end to this flow of confidences by a charming +little speech, in which she delicately expressed the idea that Daniel +and Michel were twin souls. + +After this d’Arthez threw himself into the general conversation with +the gayety of a child, and a self-conceited air that was worthy of a +schoolboy. When they left the dining-room, the princess took d’Arthez’s +arm, in the simplest manner, to return to Madame d’Espard’s little +salon. As they crossed the grand salon she walked slowly, and when +sufficiently separated from the marquise, who was on Blondet’s arm, she +stopped. + +“I do not wish to be inaccessible to the friend of that poor man,” + she said to d’Arthez; “and though I have made it a rule to receive no +visitors, you will always be welcome in my house. Do not think this a +favor. A favor is only for strangers, and to my mind you and I seem old +friends; I see in you the brother of Michel.” + +D’Arthez could only press her arm, unable to make other reply. + +After coffee was served, Diane de Cadignan wrapped herself, with +coquettish motions, in a large shawl, and rose. Blondet and Rastignac +were too much men of the world, and too polite to make the least +remonstrance, or try to detain her; but Madame d’Espard compelled her +friend to sit down again, whispering in her ear:-- + +“Wait till the servants have had their dinner; the carriage is not ready +yet.” + +So saying, the marquise made a sign to the footman, who was taking away +the coffee-tray. Madame de Montcornet perceived that the princess and +Madame d’Espard had a word to say to each other, and she drew around her +d’Arthez, Rastignac, and Blondet, amusing them with one of those clever +paradoxical attacks which Parisian women understand so thoroughly. + +“Well,” said the marquise to Diane, “what do you think of him?” + +“He is an adorable child, just out of swaddling-clothes! This time, like +all other times, it will only be a triumph without a struggle.” + +“Well, it is disappointing,” said Madame d’Espard. “But we might evade +it.” + +“How?” + +“Let me be your rival.” + +“Just as you please,” replied the princess. “I’ve decided on my course. +Genius is a condition of the brain; I don’t know what the heart gets out +of it; we’ll talk about that later.” + +Hearing the last few words, which were wholly incomprehensible to her, +Madame d’Espard returned to the general conversation, showing neither +offence at that indifferent “As you please,” nor curiosity as to the +outcome of the interview. The princess stayed an hour longer, seated on +the sofa near the fire, in the careless, nonchalant attitude of Guerin’s +Dido, listening with the attention of an absorbed mind, and looking +at Daniel now and then, without disguising her admiration, which never +went, however, beyond due limits. She slipped away when the carriage +was announced, with a pressure of the hand to the marquise, and an +inclination of the head to Madame de Montcornet. + +The evening concluded without any allusion to the princess. The other +guests profited by the sort of exaltation which d’Arthez had reached, +for he put forth the treasures of his mind. In Blondet and Rastignac +he certainly had two acolytes of the first quality to bring forth the +delicacy of his wit and the breadth of his intellect. As for the two +women, they had long been counted among the cleverest in society. This +evening was like a halt in the oasis of a desert,--a rare enjoyment, +and well appreciated by these four persons, habitually victimized to the +endless caution entailed by the world of salons and politics. There +are beings who have the privilege of passing among men like beneficent +stars, whose light illumines the mind, while its rays send a glow to +the heart. D’Arthez was one of those beings. A writer who rises to his +level, accustoms himself to free thought, and forgets that in society +all things cannot be said; it is impossible for such a man to observe +the restraint of persons who live in the world perpetually; but as his +eccentricities of thought bore the mark of originality, no one felt +inclined to complain. This zest, this piquancy, rare in mere talent, +this youthfulness and simplicity of soul which made d’Arthez so nobly +original, gave a delightful charm to this evening. He left the house +with Rastignac, who, as they drove home, asked him how he liked the +princess. + +“Michel did well to love her,” replied d’Arthez; “she is, indeed, an +extraordinary woman.” + +“Very extraordinary,” replied Rastignac, dryly. “By the tone of your +voice I should judge you were in love with her already. You will be in +her house within three days; and I am too old a denizen of Paris not to +know what will be the upshot of that. Well, my dear Daniel, I do entreat +you not to allow yourself to be drawn into any confusion of interests, +so to speak. Love the princess if you feel any love for her in your +heart, but keep an eye on your fortune. She has never taken or asked a +penny from any man on earth, she is far too much of a d’Uxelles and a +Cadignan for that; but, to my knowledge, she has not only spent her +own fortune, which was very considerable, but she has made others +waste millions. How? why? by what means? No one knows; she doesn’t +know herself. I myself saw her swallow up, some thirteen years ago, the +entire fortune of a charming young fellow, and that of an old notary, in +twenty months.” + +“Thirteen years ago!” exclaimed d’Arthez,--“why, how old is she now?” + +“Didn’t you see, at dinner,” replied Rastignac, laughing, “her son, the +Duc de Maufrigneuse. That young man is nineteen years old; nineteen and +seventeen make--” + +“Thirty-six!” cried the amazed author. “I gave her twenty.” + +“She’ll accept them,” said Rastignac; “but don’t be uneasy, she will +always be twenty to you. You are about to enter the most fantastic +of worlds. Good-night, here you are at home,” said the baron, as they +entered the rue de Bellefond, where d’Arthez lived in a pretty little +house of his own. “We shall meet at Mademoiselle des Touches’s in the +course of the week.” + + + + +CHAPTER III. THE PRINCESS GOES TO WORK + + +D’Arthez allowed love to enter his heart after the manner of my Uncle +Toby, without making the slightest resistance; he proceeded by adoration +without criticism, and by exclusive admiration. The princess, that noble +creature, one of the most remarkable creations of our monstrous Paris, +where all things are possible, good as well as evil, became--whatever +vulgarity the course of time may have given to the expression--the angel +of his dreams. To fully understand the sudden transformation of this +illustrious author, it is necessary to realize the simplicity that +constant work and solitude leave in the heart; all that love--reduced +to a mere need, and now repugnant, beside an ignoble woman--excites of +regret and longings for diviner sentiments in the higher regions of the +soul. D’Arthez was, indeed, the child, the boy that Madame de Cadignan +had recognized. An illumination something like his own had taken place +in the beautiful Diane. At last she had met that superior man whom all +women desire and seek, if only to make a plaything of him,--that power +which they consent to obey, if only for the pleasure of subduing it; +at last she had found the grandeurs of the intellect united with +the simplicity of a heart all new to love; and she saw, with untold +happiness, that these merits were contained in a form that pleased her. +She thought d’Arthez handsome, and perhaps he was. Though he had reached +the age of gravity (for he was now thirty-eight), he still preserved +a flower of youth, due to the sober and ascetic life which he had led. +Like all men of sedentary habits, and statesmen, he had acquired +a certainly reasonable embonpoint. When very young, he bore some +resemblance to Bonaparte; and the likeness still continued, as much as a +man with black eyes and thick, dark hair could resemble a sovereign +with blue eyes and scanty, chestnut hair. But whatever there once was of +ardent and noble ambition in the great author’s eyes had been somewhat +quenched by successes. The thoughts with which that brow once teemed had +flowered; the lines of the hollow face were filling out. Ease now spread +its golden tints where, in youth, poverty had laid the yellow tones +of the class of temperament whose forces band together to support a +crushing and long-continued struggle. If you observe carefully the noble +faces of ancient philosophers, you will always find those deviations +from the type of a perfect human face which show the characteristic to +which each countenance owes its originality, chastened by the habit of +meditation, and by the calmness necessary for intellectual labor. The +most irregular features, like those of Socrates, for instance, become, +after a time, expressive of an almost divine serenity. + +To the noble simplicity which characterized his head, d’Arthez added a +naive expression, the naturalness of a child, and a touching kindliness. +He did not have that politeness tinged with insincerity with which, in +society, the best-bred persons and the most amiable assume qualities in +which they are often lacking, leaving those they have thus duped wounded +and distressed. He might, indeed, fail to observe certain rules of +social life, owing to his isolated mode of living; but he never shocked +the sensibilities, and therefore this perfume of savagery made the +peculiar affability of a man of great talent the more agreeable; such +men know how to leave their superiority in their studies, and come +down to the social level, lending their backs, like Henry IV., to the +children’s leap-frog, and their minds to fools. + +If d’Arthez did not brace himself against the spell which the princess +had cast about him, neither did she herself argue the matter in her own +mind, on returning home. It was settled for her. She loved with all her +knowledge and all her ignorance. If she questioned herself at all, it +was to ask whether she deserved so great a happiness, and what she had +done that Heaven should send her such an angel. She wanted to be worthy +of that love, to perpetuate it, to make it her own forever, and to +gently end her career of frivolity in the paradise she now foresaw. As +for coquetting, quibbling, resisting, she never once thought of it. She +was thinking of something very different!--of the grandeur of men of +genius, and the certainty which her heart divined that they would never +subject the woman they chose to ordinary laws. + +Here begins one of those unseen comedies, played in the secret regions +of the consciousness between two beings of whom one will be the dupe of +the other, though it keeps on this side of wickedness; one of those +dark and comic dramas to which that of _Tartuffe_ is mere child’s +play,--dramas that do not enter the scenic domain, although they are +natural, conceivable, and even justifiable by necessity; dramas which +may be characterized as not vice, only the other side of it. + +The princess began by sending for d’Arthez’s books, of which she had +never, as yet, read a single word, although she had managed to maintain +a twenty minutes’ eulogism and discussion of them without a blunder. She +now read them all. Then she wanted to compare these books with the best +that contemporary literature had produced. By the time d’Arthez came to +see her she was having an indigestion of mind. Expecting this visit, she +had daily made a toilet of what may be called the superior order; that +is, a toilet which expresses an idea, and makes it accepted by the eye +without the owner of the eye knowing why or wherefore. She presented an +harmonious combination of shades of gray, a sort of semi-mourning, full +of graceful renunciation,--the garments of a woman who holds to life +only through a few natural ties,--her child, for instance,--but who is +weary of life. Those garments bore witness to an elegant disgust, not +reaching, however, as far as suicide; no, she would live out her days in +these earthly galleys. + +She received d’Arthez as a woman who expected him, and as if he had +already been to see her a hundred times; she did him the honor to treat +him like an old acquaintance, and she put him at his ease by pointing +to a seat on a sofa, while she finished a note she was then writing. The +conversation began in a commonplace manner: the weather, the ministry, +de Marsay’s illness, the hopes of the legitimists. D’Arthez was an +absolutist; the princess could not be ignorant of the opinions of a +man who sat in the Chamber among the fifteen or twenty persons who +represented the legitimist party; she found means to tell him how she +had fooled de Marsay to the top of his bent, then, by an easy transition +to the royal family and to “Madame,” and the devotion of the Prince +de Cadignan to their service, she drew d’Arthez’s attention to the +prince:-- + +“There is this to be said for him: he loved his masters, and was +faithful to them. His public character consoles me for the sufferings +his private life has inflicted upon me--Have you never remarked,” she +went on, cleverly leaving the prince aside, “you who observe so much, +that men have two natures: one of their homes, their wives, their +private lives,--this is their true self; here no mask, no dissimulation; +they do not give themselves the trouble to disguise a feeling; they are +what they ARE, and it is often horrible! The other man is for others, +for the world, for salons; the court, the sovereign, the public often +see them grand, and noble, and generous, embroidered with virtues, +adorned with fine language, full of admirable qualities. What a horrible +jest it is!--and the world is surprised, sometimes, at the caustic smile +of certain women, at their air of superiority to their husbands, and +their indifference--” + +She let her hand fall along the arm of her chair, without ending her +sentence, but the gesture admirably completed the speech. She saw +d’Arthez watching her flexible figure, gracefully bending in the depths +of her easy-chair, noting the folds of her gown, and the pretty little +ruffle which sported on her breast,--one of those audacities of the +toilet that are suited only to slender waists,--and she resumed the +thread of her thoughts as if she were speaking to herself:-- + +“But I will say no more. You writers have ended by making ridiculous +all women who think they are misunderstood, or ill-mated, and who try to +make themselves dramatically interesting,--attempts which seem to me, I +must say, intolerably vulgar. There are but two things for women in that +plight to do,--yield, and all is over; resist, and amuse themselves; in +either case they should keep silence. It is true that I neither yielded +wholly, nor resisted wholly; but, perhaps, that was only the more reason +why I should be silent. What folly for women to complain! If they +have not proved the stronger, they have failed in sense, in tact, in +capacity, and they deserve their fate. Are they not queens in France? +They can play with you as they like, when they like, and as much as they +like.” Here she danced her vinaigrette with an airy movement of feminine +impertinence and mocking gayety. “I have often heard miserable little +specimens of my sex regretting that they were women, wishing they were +men; I have always regarded them with pity. If I had to choose, I should +still elect to be a woman. A fine pleasure, indeed, to owe one’s triumph +to force, and to all those powers which you give yourselves by the +laws you make! But to see you at our feet, saying and doing foolish +things,--ah! it is an intoxicating pleasure to feel within our souls +that weakness triumphs! But when we triumph, we ought to keep silence, +under pain of losing our empire. Beaten, a woman’s pride should gag her. +The slave’s silence alarms the master.” + +This chatter was uttered in a voice so softly sarcastic, so dainty, and +with such coquettish motions of the head, that d’Arthez, to whom this +style of woman was totally unknown, sat before her exactly like a +partridge charmed by a setter. + +“I entreat you, madame,” he said, at last, “to tell me how it was +possible that a man could make you suffer? Be assured that where, as you +say, other women are common and vulgar, you can only seem distinguished; +your manner of saying things would make a cook-book interesting.” + +“You go fast in friendship,” she said, in a grave voice which made +d’Arthez extremely uneasy. + +The conversation changed; the hour was late, and the poor man of genius +went away contrite for having seemed curious, and for wounding the +sensitive heart of that rare woman who had so strangely suffered. As +for her, she had passed her life in amusing herself with men, and was +another Don Juan in female attire, with this difference: she would +certainly not have invited the Commander to supper, and would have got +the better of any statue. + +It is impossible to continue this tale without saying a word about +the Prince de Cadignan, better known under the name of the Duc de +Maufrigneuse, otherwise the spice of the princess’s confidences would +be lost, and strangers would not understand the Parisian comedy she was +about to play for her man of genius. + +The Duc de Maufrigneuse, like a true son of the old Prince de Cadignan, +is a tall, lean man, of elegant shape, very graceful, a sayer of witty +things, colonel by the grace of God, and a good soldier by accident; +brave as a Pole, which means without sense or discernment, and hiding +the emptiness of his mind under the jargon of good society. After the +age of thirty-six he was forced to be as absolutely indifferent to +the fair sex as his master Charles X., punished, like that master, for +having pleased it too well. For eighteen years the idol of the faubourg +Saint-Germain, he had, like other heirs of great families led a +dissipated life, spent solely on pleasure. His father, ruined by the +revolution, had somewhat recovered his position on the return of the +Bourbons, as governor of a royal domain, with salary and perquisites; +but this uncertain fortune the old prince spent, as it came, in keeping +up the traditions of a great seigneur before the revolution; so that +when the law of indemnity was passed, the sums he received were all +swallowed up in the luxury he displayed in his vast hotel. + +The old prince died some little time before the revolution of July aged +eighty-seven. He had ruined his wife, and had long been on bad terms +with the Duc de Navarreins, who had married his daughter for a first +wife, and to whom he very reluctantly rendered his accounts. The Duc +de Maufrigneuse, early in life, had had relations with the Duchesse +d’Uxelles. About the year 1814, when Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was +forty-six years of age, the duchess, pitying his poverty, and seeing +that he stood very well at court, gave him her daughter Diane, then in +her seventeenth year, and possessing, in her own right, some fifty or +sixty thousand francs a year, not counting her future expectations. +Mademoiselle d’Uxelles thus became a duchess, and, as her mother very +well knew, she enjoyed the utmost liberty. The duke, after obtaining +the unexpected happiness of an heir, left his wife entirely to her +own devices, and went off to amuse himself in the various garrisons of +France, returning occasionally to Paris, where he made debts which his +father paid. He professed the most entire conjugal indulgence, always +giving the duchess a week’s warning of his return; he was adored by +his regiment, beloved by the Dauphin, an adroit courtier, somewhat of +a gambler, and totally devoid of affectation. Having succeeded to his +father’s office as governor of one of the royal domains, he managed to +please the two kings, Louis XVIII. and Charles X., which proves he made +the most of his nonentity; and even the liberals liked him; but his +conduct and life were covered with the finest varnish; language, noble +manners, and deportment were brought by him to a state of perfection. +But, as the old prince said, it was impossible for him to continue the +traditions of the Cadignans, who were all well known to have ruined +their wives, for the duchess was running through her property on her own +account. + +These particulars were so well understood in the court circles and +in the faubourg Saint-Germain, that during the last five years of +the Restoration they were considered ancient history, and any one who +mentioned them would have been laughed at. Women never spoke of the +charming duke without praising him; he was excellent, they said, to his +wife; could a man be better? He had left her the entire disposal of her +own property, and had always defended her on every occasion. It is +true that, whether from pride, kindliness, or chivalry, Monsieur de +Maufrigneuse had saved the duchess under various circumstances which +might have ruined other women, in spite of Diane’s surroundings, and +the influence of her mother and that of the Duc de Navarreins, her +father-in-law, and her husband’s aunt. + +For several ensuing days the princess revealed herself to d’Arthez as +remarkable for her knowledge of literature. She discussed with perfect +fearlessness the most difficult questions, thanks to her daily and +nightly reading, pursued with an intrepidity worthy of the highest +praise. D’Arthez, amazed, and incapable of suspecting that Diane +d’Uxelles merely repeated at night that which she read in the morning +(as some writers do), regarded her as a most superior woman. These +conversations, however, led away from Diane’s object, and she tried to +get back to the region of confidences from which d’Arthez had prudently +retired after her coquettish rebuff; but it was not as easy as she +expected to bring back a man of his nature who had once been startled +away. + +However, after a month of literary campaigning and the finest platonic +discourses, d’Arthez grew bolder, and arrived every day at three +o’clock. He retired at six, and returned at nine, to remain until +midnight, or one in the morning, with the regularity of an ardent and +impatient lover. The princess was always dressed with more or less +studied elegance at the hour when d’Arthez presented himself. This +mutual fidelity, the care they each took of their appearance, in fact, +all about them expressed sentiments that neither dared avow, for the +princess discerned very plainly that the great child with whom she had +to do shrank from the combat as much as she desired it. Nevertheless +d’Arthez put into his mute declarations a respectful awe which was +infinitely pleasing to her. Both felt, every day, all the more united +because nothing acknowledged or definite checked the course of their +ideas, as occurs between lovers when there are formal demands on one +side, and sincere or coquettish refusals on the other. + +Like all men younger than their actual age, d’Arthez was a prey to those +agitating irresolutions which are caused by the force of desires and +the terror of displeasing,--a situation which a young woman does not +comprehend when she shares it, but which the princess had too often +deliberately produced not to enjoy its pleasures. In fact, Diane enjoyed +these delightful juvenilities all the more keenly because she knew that +she could put an end to them at any moment. She was like a great artist +delighting in the vague, undecided lines of his sketch, knowing well +that in a moment of inspiration he can complete the masterpiece still +waiting to come to birth. Many a time, seeing d’Arthez on the point +of advancing, she enjoyed stopping him short, with an imposing air and +manner. She drove back the hidden storms of that still young heart, +raised them again, and stilled them with a look, holding out her hand +to be kissed, or saying some trifling insignificant words in a tender +voice. + +These manoeuvres, planned in cold blood, but enchantingly executed, +carved her image deeper and deeper on the soul of that great writer and +thinker whom she revelled in making childlike, confiding, simple, and +almost silly beside her. And yet she had moments of repulsion against +her own act, moments in which she could not help admiring the grandeur +of such simplicity. This game of choicest coquetry attached her, +insensibly, to her slave. At last, however, Diane grew impatient with +an Epictetus of love; and when she thought she had trained him to the +utmost credulity, she set to work to tie a thicker bandage still over +his eyes. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. THE CONFESSION OF A PRETTY WOMAN + + +One evening Daniel found the princess thoughtful, one elbow resting on +a little table, her beautiful blond head bathed in light from the lamp. +She was toying with a letter which lay on the table-cloth. When d’Arthez +had seen the paper distinctly, she folded it up, and stuck it in her +belt. + +“What is the matter?” asked d’Arthez; “you seem distressed.” + +“I have received a letter from Monsieur de Cadignan,” she replied. +“However great the wrongs he has done me, I cannot help thinking of his +exile--without family, without son--from his native land.” + +These words, said in a soulful voice, betrayed angelic sensibility. +D’Arthez was deeply moved. The curiosity of the lover became, so to +speak, a psychological and literary curiosity. He wanted to know the +height that woman had attained, and what were the injuries she thus +forgave; he longed to know how these women of the world, taxed with +frivolity, cold-heartedness, and egotism, could be such angels. +Remembering how the princess had already repulsed him when he first +tried to read that celestial heart, his voice, and he himself, trembled +as he took the transparent, slender hand of the beautiful Diane with its +curving finger-tips, and said,-- + +“Are we now such friends that you will tell me what you have suffered?” + +“Yes,” she said, breathing forth the syllable like the most mellifluous +note that Tulou’s flute had ever sighed. + +Then she fell into a revery, and her eyes were veiled. Daniel remained +in a state of anxious expectation, impressed with the solemnity of the +occasion. His poetic imagination made him see, as it were, clouds slowly +dispersing and disclosing to him the sanctuary where the wounded lamb +was kneeling at the divine feet. + +“Well?” he said, in a soft, still voice. + +Diane looked at the tender petitioner; then she lowered her eyes slowly, +dropping their lids with a movement of noble modesty. None but a +monster would have been capable of imagining hypocrisy in the graceful +undulation of the neck with which the princess again lifted her charming +head, to look once more into the eager eyes of that great man. + +“Can I? ought I?” she murmured, with a gesture of hesitation, gazing at +d’Arthez with a sublime expression of dreamy tenderness. “Men have so +little faith in things of this kind; they think themselves so little +bound to be discreet!” + +“Ah! if you distrust me, why am I here?” cried d’Arthez. + +“Oh, friend!” she said, giving to the exclamation the grace of an +involuntary avowal, “when a woman attaches herself for life, think you +she calculates? It is not question of refusal (how could I refuse you +anything?), but the idea of what you may think of me if I speak. I would +willingly confide to you the strange position in which I am at my age; +but what would you think of a woman who could reveal the secret wounds +of her married life? Turenne kept his word to robbers; do I not owe to +my torturers the honor of a Turenne?” + +“Have you passed your word to say nothing?” + +“Monsieur de Cadignan did not think it necessary to bind me to +secrecy--You are asking more than my soul! Tyrant! you want me to bury +my honor itself in your breast,” she said, casting upon d’Arthez a +look, by which she gave more value to her coming confidence than to her +personal self. + +“You must think me a very ordinary man, if you fear any evil, no matter +what, from me,” he said, with ill-concealed bitterness. + +“Forgive me, friend,” she replied, taking his hand in hers caressingly, +and letting her fingers wander gently over it. “I know your worth. You +have related to me your whole life; it is noble, it is beautiful, it is +sublime, and worthy of your name; perhaps, in return, I owe you mine. +But I fear to lower myself in your eyes by relating secrets which +are not wholly mine. How can you believe--you, a man of solitude and +poesy--the horrors of social life? Ah! you little think when you invent +your dramas that they are far surpassed by those that are played in +families apparently united. You are wholly ignorant of certain gilded +sorrows.” + +“I know all!” he cried. + +“No, you know nothing.” + +D’Arthez felt like a man lost on the Alps of a dark night, who sees, +at the first gleam of dawn, a precipice at his feet. He looked at the +princess with a bewildered air, and felt a cold chill running down his +back. Diane thought for a moment that her man of genius was a weakling, +but a flash from his eyes reassured her. + +“You have become to me almost my judge,” she said, with a desperate air. +“I must speak now, in virtue of the right that all calumniated beings +have to show their innocence. I have been, I am still (if a poor recluse +forced by the world to renounce the world is still remembered) accused +of such light conduct, and so many evil things, that it may be allowed +me to find in one strong heart a haven from which I cannot be driven. +Hitherto I have always considered self-justification an insult to +innocence; and that is why I have disdained to defend myself. Besides, +to whom could I appeal? Such cruel things can be confided to none but +God or to one who seems to us very near Him--a priest, or another self. +Well! I do know this, if my secrets are not as safe there,” she said, +laying her hand on d’Arthez’s heart, “as they are here” (pressing the +upper end of her busk beneath her fingers), “then you are not the grand +d’Arthez I think you--I shall have been deceived.” + +A tear moistened d’Arthez’s eyes, and Diane drank it in with a side +look, which, however, gave no motion either to the pupils or the lids of +her eyes. It was quick and neat, like the action of a cat pouncing on a +mouse. + +D’Arthez, for the first time, after sixty days of protocols, ventured +to take that warm and perfumed hand, and press it to his lips with a +long-drawn kiss, extending from the wrist to the tip of the fingers, +which made the princess augur well of literature. She thought to herself +that men of genius must know how to love with more perfection than +conceited fops, men of the world, diplomatists, and even soldiers, +although such beings have nothing else to do. She was a connoisseur, and +knew very well that the capacity for love reveals itself chiefly in mere +nothings. A woman well informed in such matters can read her future in +a simple gesture; just as Cuvier could say from the fragment of a bone: +This belonged to an animal of such or such dimensions, with or without +horns, carnivorous, herbivorous, amphibious, etc., age, so many thousand +years. Sure now of finding in d’Arthez as much imagination in love as +there was in his written style, she thought it wise to bring him up at +once to the highest pitch of passion and belief. + +She withdrew her hand hastily, with a magnificent movement full of +varied emotions. If she had said in words: “Stop, or I shall die,” she +could not have spoken more plainly. She remained for a moment with +her eyes in d’Arthez’s eyes, expressing in that one glance happiness, +prudery, fear, confidence, languor, a vague longing, and virgin modesty. +She was twenty years old! but remember, she had prepared for this hour +of comic falsehood by the choicest art of dress; she was there in her +armchair like a flower, ready to blossom at the first kiss of sunshine. +True or false, she intoxicated Daniel. + +It if is permissible to risk a personal opinion we must avow that it +would be delightful to be thus deceived for a good long time. Certainly +Talma on the stage was often above and beyond nature, but the Princesse +de Cadignan is the greatest true comedian of our day. Nothing was +wanting to this woman but an attentive audience. Unfortunately, at +epochs perturbed by political storms, women disappear like water-lilies +which need a cloudless sky and balmy zephyrs to spread their bloom to +our enraptured eyes. + +The hour had come; Diane was now to entangle that great man in the +inextricable meshes of a romance carefully prepared, to which he was +fated to listen as the neophyte of early Christian times listened to the +epistles of an apostle. + +“My friend,” began Diane, “my mother, who still lives at Uxelles, +married me in 1814, when I was seventeen years old (you see how old I am +now!) to Monsieur de Maufrigneuse, not out of affection for me, but out +of regard for him. She discharged her debt to the only man she had ever +loved, for the happiness she had once received from him. Oh! you need +not be astonished at so horrible a conspiracy; it frequently takes +place. Many women are more lovers than mothers, though the majority +are more mothers than wives. The two sentiments, love and motherhood, +developed as they are by our manners and customs, often struggle +together in the hearts of women; one or other must succumb when they +are not of equal strength; when they are, they produce some exceptional +women, the glory of our sex. A man of your genius must surely comprehend +many things that bewilder fools but are none the less true; indeed I may +go further and call them justifiable through difference of characters, +temperaments, attachments, situations. I, for example, at this moment, +after twenty years of misfortunes, of deceptions, of calumnies endured, +and weary days and hollow pleasures, is it not natural that I should +incline to fall at the feet of a man who would love me sincerely and +forever? And yet, the world would condemn me. But twenty years of +suffering might well excuse a few brief years which may still remain to +me of youth given to a sacred and real love. This will not happen. I am +not so rash as to sacrifice my hopes of heaven. I have borne the burden +and heat of the day, I shall finish my course and win my recompense.” + +“Angel!” thought d’Arthez. + +“After all, I have never blamed my mother; she knew little of me. +Mothers who lead a life like that of the Duchesse d’Uxelles keep their +children at a distance. I saw and knew nothing of the world until my +marriage. You can judge of my innocence! I knew nothing; I was incapable +of understanding the causes of my marriage. I had a fine fortune; sixty +thousand francs a year in forests, which the Revolution overlooked (or +had not been able to sell) in the Nivernais, with the noble chateau of +d’Anzy. Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was steeped in debt. Later I learned +what it was to have debts, but then I was too utterly ignorant of life +to suspect my position; the money saved out of my fortune went to pacify +my husband’s creditors. Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was forty-eight years +of age when I married him; but those years were like military campaigns, +they ought to count for twice what they were. Ah! what a life I led for +ten years! If any one had known the suffering of this poor, calumniated +little woman! To be watched by a mother jealous of her daughter! +Heavens! You who make dramas, you will never invent anything as direful +as that. Ordinarily, according to the little that I know of literature, +a drama is a suite of actions, speeches, movements which hurry to a +catastrophe; but what I speak of was a catastrophe in action. It was an +avalanche fallen in the morning and falling again at night only to +fall again the next day. I am cold now as I speak to you of that cavern +without an opening, cold, sombre, in which I lived. I, poor little thing +that I was! brought up in a convent like a mystic rose, knowing nothing +of marriage, developing late, I was happy at first; I enjoyed the +goodwill and harmony of our family. The birth of my poor boy, who is +all me--you must have been struck by the likeness? my hair, my eyes, the +shape of my face, my mouth, my smile, my teeth!--well, his birth was a +relief to me; my thoughts were diverted by the first joys of maternity +from my husband, who gave me no pleasure and did nothing for me that +was kind or amiable; those joys were all the keener because I knew no +others. It had been so often rung into my ears that a mother should +respect herself. Besides, a young girl loves to play the mother. I was +so proud of my flower--for Georges was beautiful, a miracle, I thought! +I saw and thought of nothing but my son, I lived with my son. I never +let his nurse dress or undress him. Such cares, so wearing to mothers +who have a regiment of children, were all my pleasure. But after three +or four years, as I was not an actual fool, light came to my eyes in +spite of the pains taken to blindfold me. Can you see me at that +final awakening, in 1819? The drama of ‘The Brothers at enmity’ is a +rose-water tragedy beside that of a mother and daughter placed as we +then were. But I braved them all, my mother, my husband, the world, +by public coquetries which society talked of,--and heaven knows how it +talked! You can see, my friend, how the men with whom I was accused of +folly were to me the dagger with which to stab my enemies. Thinking only +of my vengeance, I did not see or feel the wounds I was inflicting on +myself. Innocent as a child, I was thought a wicked woman, the worst of +women, and I knew nothing of it! The world is very foolish, very blind, +very ignorant; it can penetrate no secrets but those which amuse it and +serve its malice: noble things, great things, it puts its hand before +its eyes to avoid seeing. But, as I look back, it seems to me that I had +an attitude and aspect of indignant innocence, with movements of pride, +which a great painter would have recognized. I must have enlivened many +a ball with my tempests of anger and disdain. Lost poesy! such sublime +poems are only made in the glowing indignation which seizes us at +twenty. Later, we are wrathful no longer, we are too weary, vice no +longer amazes us, we are cowards, we fear. But then--oh! I kept a great +pace! For all that I played the silliest personage in the world; I was +charged with crimes by which I never benefited. But I had such pleasure +in compromising myself. That was my revenge! Ah! I have played many +childish tricks! I went to Italy with a thoughtless youth, whom I +crushed when he spoke to me of love, but later, when I herd that he was +compromised on my account (he had committed a forgery to get money) I +rushed to save him. My mother and husband kept me almost without means; +but, this time, I went to the king. Louis XVIII., that man without a +heart, was touched; he gave me a hundred thousand francs from his privy +purse. The Marquis d’Esgrignon--you must have seen him in society for he +ended by making a rich marriage--was saved from the abyss into which he +had plunged for my sake. That adventure, caused by my own folly, led me +to reflect. I saw that I myself was the first victim of my vengeance. +My mother, who knew I was too proud, too d’Uxelles, to conduct +myself really ill, began to see the harm that she had done me and was +frightened by it. She was then fifty-two years of age; she left Paris +and went to live at Uxelles. There she expiates her wrong-doing by a +life of devotion and expresses the utmost affection for me. After her +departure I was face to face, alone, with Monsieur de Maufrigneuse. Oh! +my friend, you men can never know what an old man of gallantry can be. +What a home is that of a man accustomed to the adulation of women of the +world, when he finds neither incense nor censer in his own house! dead +to all! and yet, perhaps for that very reason, jealous. I wished--when +Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was wholly mine--I wished to be a good wife, +but I found myself repulsed with the harshness of a soured spirit by +a man who treated me like a child and took pleasure in humiliating +my self-respect at every turn, in crushing me under the scorn of his +experience, and in convicting me of total ignorance. He wounded me on +all occasions. He did everything to make me detest him and to give me +the right to betray him; but I was still the dupe of my own hope and of +my desire to do right through several years. Shall I tell you the cruel +saying that drove me to further follies? ‘The Duchesse de Maufrigneuse +has gone back to her husband,’ said the world. ‘Bah! it is always a +triumph to bring the dead to life; it is all she can now do,’ replied my +best friend, a relation, she, at whose house I met you--” + +“Madame d’Espard!” cried Daniel, with a gesture of horror. + +“Oh! I have forgiven her. Besides, it was very witty; and I have myself +made just as cruel epigrams on other poor women as innocent as myself.” + +D’Arthez again kissed the hand of that saintly woman who, having hacked +her mother in pieces, and turned the Prince de Cadignan into an Othello, +now proceeded to accuse herself in order to appear in the eyes of that +innocent great man as immaculate as the silliest or the wisest of women +desire to seem at all costs to their lovers. + +“You will readily understand, my friend, that I returned to society for +the purpose of excitement and I may say of notoriety. I felt that I must +conquer my independence. I led a life of dissipation. To divert my mind, +to forget my real life in fictitious enjoyments I was gay, I shone, I +gave fetes, I played the princess, and I ran in debt. At home I could +forget myself in the sleep of weariness, able to rise the next day gay, +and frivolous for the world; but in that sad struggle to escape my real +life I wasted my fortune. The revolution of 1830 came; it came at the +very moment when I had met, at the end of that _Arabian Nights’_ life, a +pure and sacred love which (I desire to be honest) I had longed to know. +Was it not natural in a woman whose heart, repressed by many causes and +accidents, was awakening at an age when a woman feels herself cheated +if she has never known, like the women she sees about her, a happy love? +Ah! why was Michel Chrestien so respectful? Why did he not seek to meet +me? There again was another mockery! But what of that? in falling, I +have lost everything; I have no illusions left; I had tasted of all +things except the one fruit for which I have no longer teeth. Yes, I +found myself disenchanted with the world at the very moment when I was +forced to leave it. Providential, was it not? like all those strange +insensibilities which prepare us for death” (she made a gesture full +of pious unction). “All things served me then,” she continued; “the +disasters of the monarchy and its ruin helped me to bury myself. My son +consoles me for much. Maternal love takes the place of all frustrated +feelings. The world is surprised at my retirement, but to me it has +brought peace. Ah! if you knew how happy the poor creature before you is +in this little place. In sacrificing all to my son I forget to think of +joys of which I am and ever must be ignorant. Yes, hope has flown, I +now fear everything; no doubt I should repulse the truest sentiment, +the purest and most veritable love, in memory of the deceptions and the +miseries of my life. It is all horrible, is it not? and yet, what I have +told you is the history of many women.” + +The last few words were said in a tone of easy pleasantry which recalled +the presence of the woman of the world. D’Arthez was dumbfounded. In his +eyes convicts sent to the galleys for murder, or aggravated robbery, or +for putting a wrong name to checks, were saints compared to the men and +women of society. This atrocious elegy, forged in the arsenal of lies, +and steeped in the waters of the Parisian Styx, had been poured into his +ears with the inimitable accent of truth. The grave author contemplated +for a moment that adorable woman lying back in her easy-chair, her two +hands pendant from its arms like dewdrops from a rose-leaf, overcome +by her own revelation, living over again the sorrows of her life as she +told them--in short an angel of melancholy. + +“And judge,” she cried, suddenly lifting herself with a spring and +raising her hand, while lightning flashed from eyes where twenty chaste +years shone--“judge of the impression the love of a man like Michel +must have made upon me. But by some irony of fate--or was it the hand of +God?--well, he died; died in saving the life of, whom do you suppose? of +Monsieur de Cadignan. Are you now surprised to find me thoughtful?” + +This was the last drop; poor d’Arthez could bear no more. He fell upon +his knees, and laid his head on Diane’s hand, weeping soft tears such +as the angels shed,--if angels weep. As Daniel was in that bent posture, +Madame de Cadignan could safely let a malicious smile of triumph flicker +on her lips, a smile such as the monkeys wear after playing a sly +trick--if monkeys smile. + +“Ah! I have him,” thought she; and, indeed, she had him fast. + +“But you are--” he said, raising his fine head and looking at her with +eyes of love. + +“Virgin and martyr,” she replied, smiling at the commonness of that +hackneyed expression, but giving it a freshness of meaning by her smile, +so full of painful gayety. “If I laugh,” she continued, “it is that I am +thinking of that princess whom the world thinks it knows, that Duchesse +de Maufrigneuse to whom it gives as lovers de Marsay, that infamous de +Trailles (a political cutthroat), and that little fool of a d’Esgrignon, +and Rastignac, Rubempre, ambassadors, ministers, Russian generals, +heaven knows who! all Europe! They have gossiped about that album which +I ordered made, believing that those who admired me were my friends. Ah! +it is frightful! I wonder that I allow a man at my feet! Despise them +all, THAT should be my religion.” + +She rose and went to the window with a gait and bearing magnificent in +motifs. + +D’Arthez remained on the low seat to which he had returned not daring +to follow the princess; but he looked at her; he heard her blowing her +nose. Was there ever a princess who blew her nose? but Diane attempted +the impossible to convey an idea of her sensibility. D’Arthez believed +his angel was in tears; he rushed to her side, took her round the waist, +and pressed her to his heart. + +“No, no, leave me!” she murmured in a feeble voice. “I have too many +doubts to be good for anything. To reconcile me with life is a task +beyond the powers of any man.” + +“Diane! I will love you for your whole lost life.” + +“No; don’t speak to me thus,” she answered. “At this moment I tremble, I +am ashamed as though I had committed the greatest sins.” + +She was now entirely restored to the innocence of little girls, and +yet her bearing was august, grand, noble as that of a queen. It is +impossible to describe the effect of these manoeuvres, so clever that +they acted like the purest truth on a soul as fresh and honest as that +of d’Arthez. The great author remained dumb with admiration, passive +beside her in the recess of that window awaiting a word, while the +princess awaited a kiss; but she was far too sacred to him for that. +Feeling cold, the princess returned to her easy-chair; her feet were +frozen. + +“It will take a long time,” she said to herself, looking at Daniel’s +noble brow and head. + +“Is this a woman?” thought that profound observer of human nature. “How +ought I to treat her?” + +Until two o’clock in the morning they spent their time in saying to each +other the silly things that women of genius, like the princess, know how +to make adorable. Diane pretended to be too worn, too old, too faded; +D’Arthez proved to her (facts of which she was well convinced) that her +skin was the most delicate, the softest to the touch, the whitest to the +eye, the most fragrant; she was young and in her bloom, how could she +think otherwise? Thus they disputed, beauty by beauty, detail by detail +with many: “Oh! do you think so?”--“You are beside yourself!”--“It is +hope, it is fancy!”--“You will soon see me as I am.--I am almost forty +years of age. Can a man love so old a woman?” + +D’Arthez responded with impetuous and school-boy eloquence, larded with +exaggerated epithets. When the princess heard this wise and witty writer +talking the nonsense of an amorous sub-lieutenant she listened with an +absorbed air and much sensibility; but she laughed in her sleeve. + +When d’Arthez was in the street, he asked himself whether he might not +have been rather less respectful. He went over in memory those strange +confidences--which have, naturally, been much abridged here, for they +needed a volume to convey their mellifluous abundance and the graces +which accompanied them. The retrospective perspicacity of this man, so +natural, so profound, was baffled by the candor of that tale and its +poignancy, and by the tones of the princess. + +“It is true,” he said to himself, being unable to sleep, “there are such +dramas as that in society. Society covers great horrors with the flowers +of its elegance, the embroidery of its gossip, the wit of its lies. We +writers invent no more than the truth. Poor Diane! Michel had penetrated +that enigma; he said that beneath her covering of ice there lay +volcanoes! Bianchon and Rastignac were right; when a man can join the +grandeurs of the ideal and the enjoyments of human passion in loving +a woman of perfect manners, of intellect, of delicacy, it must be +happiness beyond words.” + +So thinking, he sounded the love that was in him and found it infinite. + + + + +CHAPTER V. A TRIAL OF FAITH + + +The next day, about two in the afternoon, Madame d’Espard, who had seen +and heard nothing of the princess for more than a month, went to see her +under the impulse of extreme curiosity. Nothing was ever more amusing +of its kind than the conversation of these two crafty adders during the +first half-hour of this visit. + +Diane d’Uxelles cautiously avoided, as she would the wearing of a yellow +gown, all mention of d’Arthez. The marquise circled round and round that +topic like a Bedouin round a caravan. Diane amused herself; the marquise +fumed. Diane waited; she intended to utilize her friend and use her in +the chase. Of these two women, both so celebrated in the social world, +one was far stronger than the other. The princess rose by a head +above the marquise, and the marquise was inwardly conscious of that +superiority. In this, perhaps, lay the secret of their intimacy. The +weaker of the two crouched low in her false attachment, watching for the +hour, long awaited by feeble beings, of springing at the throat of the +stronger and leaving the mark of a joyful bite. Diane saw clear; but the +world was the dupe of the wile caresses of the two friends. + +The instant that the princess perceived a direct question on the lips of +her friend, she said:-- + +“Ah! dearest, I owe you a most complete, immense, infinite, celestial +happiness.” + +“What can you mean?” + +“Have you forgotten what we ruminated three months ago in the little +garden, sitting on a bench in the sun, under the jasmine? Ah! there are +none but men of genius who know how to love! I apply to my grand Daniel +d’Arthez the Duke of Alba’s saying to Catherine de’ Medici: ‘The head of +a single salmon is worth all the frogs in the world.’” + +“I am not surprised that I no longer see you,” said Madame d’Espard. + +“Promise me, if you meet him, not to say to him one word about me, my +angel,” said the princess, taking her friend’s hand. “I am happy, oh! +happy beyond all expression; but you know that in society a word, a mere +jest can do much harm. One speech can kill, for they put such venom into +a single sentence! Ah! if you knew how I long that you might meet with +a love like this! Yes, it is a sweet, a precious triumph for women like +ourselves to end our woman’s life in this way; to rest in an ardent, +pure, devoted, complete and absolute love; above all, when we have +sought it long.” + +“Why do you ask me to be faithful to my dearest friend?” said Madame +d’Espard. “Do you think me capable of playing you some villainous +trick?” + +“When a woman possesses such a treasure the fear of losing it is so +strong that it naturally inspires a feeling of terror. I am absurd, I +know; forgive me, dear.” + +A few moments later the marquise departed; as she watched her go the +princess said to herself:-- + +“How she will pluck me! But to save her the trouble of trying to get +Daniel away from here I’ll send him to her.” + +At three o’clock, or a few moments after, d’Arthez arrived. In the midst +of some interesting topic on which he was discoursing eloquently, the +princess suddenly cut him short by laying her hand on his arm. + +“Pardon me, my dear friend,” she said, interrupting him, “but I fear +I may forget a thing which seems a mere trifle but may be of great +importance. You have not set foot in Madame d’Espard’s salon since the +ever-blessed day when I met you there. Pray go at once; not for your +sake, nor by way of politeness, but for me. You may already have made +her an enemy of mine, if by chance she has discovered that since her +dinner you have scarcely left my house. Besides, my friend, I don’t like +to see you dropping your connection with society, and neglecting your +occupations and your work. I should again be strangely calumniated. What +would the world say? That I held you in leading-strings, absorbed you, +feared comparisons, and clung to my conquest knowing it to be my last! +Who will know that you are my friend, my only friend? If you love me +indeed, as you say you love me, you will make the world believe that +we are purely and simply brother and sister--Go on with what you were +saying.” + +In his armor of tenderness, riveted by the knowledge of so many splendid +virtues, d’Arthez obeyed this behest on the following day and went +to see Madame d’Espard, who received him with charming coquetry. The +marquise took very good care not to say a single word to him about the +princess, but she asked him to dinner on a coming day. + +On this occasion d’Arthez found a numerous company. The marquise +had invited Rastignac, Blondet, the Marquis d’Ajuda-Pinto, Maxime de +Trailles, the Marquis d’Esgrignon, the two brothers Vandenesse, du +Tillet, one of the richest bankers in Paris, the Baron de Nucingen, +Raoul Nathan, Lady Dudley, two very treacherous secretaries of embassies +and the Chevalier d’Espard, the wiliest person in this assemblage and +the chief instigator of his sister-in-law’s policy. + +When dinner was well under way, Maxime de Trailles turned to d’Arthez +and said smiling:-- + +“You see a great deal, don’t you, of the Princesse de Cadignan?” + +To this question d’Arthez responded by curtly nodding his head. Maxime +de Trailles was a “bravo” of the social order, without faith or law, +capable of everything, ruining the women who trusted him, compelling +them to pawn their diamonds to give him money, but covering this conduct +with a brilliant varnish; a man of charming manners and satanic mind. +He inspired all who knew him with equal contempt and fear; but as no +one was bold enough to show him any sentiments but those of the utmost +courtesy he saw nothing of this public opinion, or else he accepted and +shared the general dissimulation. He owed to the Comte de Marsay the +greatest degree of elevation to which he could attain. De Marsay, +whose knowledge of Maxime was of long-standing, judged him capable of +fulfilling certain secret and diplomatic functions which he confided to +him and of which de Trailles acquitted himself admirably. D’Arthez had +for some time past mingled sufficiently in political matters to know the +man for what he was, and he alone had sufficient strength and height of +character to express aloud what others thought or said in a whisper. + +“Is it for her that you neglect the Chamber?” asked Baron de Nucingen in +his German accent. + +“Ah! the princess is one of the most dangerous women a man can have +anything to do with. I owe to her the miseries of my marriage,” + exclaimed the Marquis d’Esgrignon. + +“Dangerous?” said Madame d’Espard. “Don’t speak so of my nearest friend. +I have never seen or known anything in the princess that did not seem to +come from the noblest sentiments.” + +“Let the marquis say what he thinks,” cried Rastignac. “When a man has +been thrown by a fine horse he thinks it has vices and he sells it.” + +Piqued by these words, the Marquis d’Esgrignon looked at d’Arthez and +said:-- + +“Monsieur is not, I trust, on such terms with the princess that we +cannot speak freely of her?” + +D’Arthez kept silence. D’Esgrignon, who was not wanting in cleverness, +replied to Rastignac’s speech with an apologetic portrait of the +princess, which put the whole table in good humor. As the jest was +extremely obscure to d’Arthez he leaned towards his neighbor, Madame de +Montcornet, and asked her, in a whisper, what it meant. + +“Excepting yourself--judging by the excellent opinion you seem to have +of the princess--all the other guests are said to have been in her good +graces.” + +“I can assure you that such an accusation is absolutely false,” said +Daniel. + +“And yet, here is Monsieur d’Esgrignon of an old family of Alencon, who +completely ruined himself for her some twelve years ago, and, if all is +true, came very near going to the scaffold.” + +“I know the particulars of that affair,” said d’Arthez. “Madame de +Cadignan went to Alencon to save Monsieur d’Esgrignon from a trial +before the court of assizes; and this is how he rewards her to-day!” + +Madame de Montcornet looked at d’Arthez with a surprise and curiosity +that were almost stupid, then she turned her eyes on Madame d’Espard +with a look which seemed to say: “He is bewitched!” + +During this short conversation Madame de Cadignan was protected by +Madame d’Espard, whose protection was like that of the lightning-rod +which draws the flash. When d’Arthez returned to the general +conversation Maxime de Trailles was saying:-- + +“With Diane, depravity is not an effect but a cause; perhaps she owes +that cause to her exquisite nature; she doesn’t invent, she makes no +effort, she offers you the choicest refinements as the inspiration of +a spontaneous and naive love; and it is absolutely impossible not to +believe her.” + +This speech, which seemed to have been prepared for a man of d’Arthez’s +stamp, was so tremendous an arraignment that the company appeared to +accept it as a conclusion. No one said more; the princess was crushed. +D’Arthez looked straight at de Trailles and then at d’Esgrignon with a +sarcastic air, and said:-- + +“The greatest fault of that woman is that she has followed in the wake +of men. She squanders patrimonies as they do; she drives her lovers to +usurers; she pockets ‘dots’; she ruins orphans; she inspires, possibly +she commits, crimes, but--” + +Never had the two men, whom d’Arthez was chiefly addressing, listened +to such plain talk. At that BUT the whole table was startled, every one +paused, fork in air, their eyes fixed alternately on the brave author +and on the assailants of the princess, awaiting the conclusion of that +horrible silence. + +“_But_,” said d’Arthez, with sarcastic airiness, “Madame la Princesse +de Cadignan has one advantage over men: when they have put themselves in +danger for her sake, she saves them, and says no harm of any one. Among +the multitude, why shouldn’t there be one woman who amuses herself with +men as men amuse themselves with women? Why not allow the fair sex to +take, from time to time, its revenge?” + +“Genius is stronger than wit,” said Blondet to Nathan. + +This broadside of sarcasms was in fact the discharge of a battery of +cannons against a platoon of musketry. When coffee was served, Blondet +and Nathan went up to d’Arthez with an eagerness no one else dared to +imitate, so unable were the rest of the company to show the admiration +his conduct inspired from the fear of making two powerful enemies. + +“This is not the first time we have seen that your character equals your +talent in grandeur,” said Blondet. “You behaved just now more like a +demi-god than a man. Not to have been carried away by your heart or +your imagination, not to have taken up the defence of a beloved woman--a +fault they were enticing you to commit, because it would have given +those men of society eaten up with jealousy of your literary fame a +triumph over you--ah! give me leave to say you have attained the height +of private statesmanship.” + +“Yes, you are a statesman,” said Nathan. “It is as clever as it is +difficult to avenge a woman without defending her.” + +“The princess is one of those heroines of the legitimist party, and +it is the duty of all men of honor to protect her quand meme,” replied +d’Arthez, coldly. “What she has done for the cause of her masters would +excuse all follies.” + +“He keeps his own counsel!” said Nathan to Blondet. + +“Precisely as if the princess were worth it,” said Rastignac, joining +the other two. + +D’Arthez went to the princess, who was awaiting him with the keenest +anxiety. The result of this experiment, which Diane had herself brought +about, might be fatal to her. For the first time in her life this woman +suffered in her heart. She knew not what she should do in case d’Arthez +believed the world which spoke the truth, instead of believing her who +lied; for never had so noble a nature, so complete a man, a soul so +pure, a conscience so ingenuous come beneath her hand. Though she had +told him cruel lies she was driven to do so by the desire of knowing a +true love. That love--she felt it dawning in her heart; yes, she loved +d’Arthez; and now she was condemned forever to deceive him! She must +henceforth remain to him the actress who had played that comedy to blind +his eyes. + +When she heard Daniel’s step in the dining-room a violent commotion, a +shudder which reached to her very vitals came over her. That convulsion, +never felt during all the years of her adventurous existence, told her +that she had staked her happiness on this issue. Her eyes, gazing +into space, took in the whole of d’Arthez’s person; their light poured +through his flesh, she read his soul; suspicion had not so much as +touched him with its bat’s-wing. The terrible emotion of that fear then +came to its reaction; joy almost stifled her; for there is no human +being who is not more able to endure grief than to bear extreme +felicity. + +“Daniel, they have calumniated me, and you have avenged me!” she cried, +rising, and opening her arms to him. + +In the profound amazement caused by these words, the roots of which were +utterly unknown to him, Daniel allowed his hand to be taken between her +beautiful hands, as the princess kissed him sacredly on the forehead. + +“But,” he said, “how could you know--” + +“Oh! illustrious ninny! do you not see that I love you fondly?” + +Since that day nothing has been said of the Princess de Cadignan, nor +of d’Arthez. The princess has inherited some fortune from her mother and +she spends all her summers in a villa on the lake of Geneva, where the +great writer joins her. She returns to Paris for a few months in winter. +D’Arthez is never seen except in the Chamber. His writings are becoming +exceedingly rare. Is this a conclusion? Yes, for people of sense; no, +for persons who want to know everything. + + + + +ADDENDUM + +The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + + Ajuda-Pinto, Marquis Miguel d’ + Father Goriot + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Beatrix + + Arthez, Daniel d’ + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Member for Arcis + + Bianchon, Horace + Father Goriot + The Atheist’s Mass + Cesar Birotteau + The Commission in Lunacy + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor’s Establishment + The Government Clerks + Pierrette + A Study of Woman + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Honorine + The Seamy Side of History + The Magic Skin + A Second Home + A Prince of Bohemia + Letters of Two Brides + The Muse of the Department + The Imaginary Mistress + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + The Country Parson + In addition, M. Bianchon narrated the following: + Another Study of Woman + La Grande Breteche + + Blondet, Emile + Jealousies of a Country Town + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Modeste Mignon + Another Study of Woman + A Daughter of Eve + The Firm of Nucingen + The Peasantry + + Blondet, Virginie + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Another Study of Woman + The Member for Arcis + A Daughter of Eve + + Cadignan, Prince de + Modeste Mignon + + Chrestien, Michel + A Bachelor’s Establishment + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + + Cinq-Cygne, Laurence, Comtesse (afterwards Marquise de) + The Gondreville Mystery + The Seamy Side of History + The Member for Arcis + + Dudley, Lady Arabella + The Lily of the Valley + The Ball at Sceaux + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + + Esgrignon, Victurnien, Comte (then Marquis d’) + Jealousies of a Country Town + Letters of Two Brides + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + + Espard, Chevalier d’ + The Commission in Lunacy + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + + Espard, Jeanne-Clementine-Athenais de Blamont-Chauvry, Marquise d’ + The Commission in Lunacy + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + + Galathionne, Prince and Princess (both not in each story) + The Middle Classes + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + + Giraud, Leon + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor’s Establishment + The Unconscious Humorists + + Marsay, Henri de + The Thirteen + The Unconscious Humorists + Another Study of Woman + The Lily of the Valley + Father Goriot + Jealousies of a Country Town + Ursule Mirouet + A Marriage Settlement + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Ball at Sceaux + Modest Mignon + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + + Maufrigneuse, Duc de + A Start in Life + A Bachelor’s Establishment + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + + Maufrigneuse, Duchesse de + Modeste Mignon + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Muse of the Department + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + The Member for Arcis + + Maufrigneuse, Georges de + The Gondreville Mystery + Beatrix + The Member for Arcis + + Mirbel, Madame de + Letters of Two Brides + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + + Nathan, Raoul + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + The Seamy Side of History + The Muse of the Department + A Prince of Bohemia + A Man of Business + The Unconscious Humorists + + Navarreins, Duc de + A Bachelor’s Establishment + Colonel Chabert + The Muse of the Department + The Thirteen + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + The Country Parson + The Magic Skin + The Gondreville Mystery + Cousin Betty + + Nucingen, Baron Frederic de + The Firm of Nucingen + Father Goriot + Pierrette + Cesar Birotteau + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Another Study of Woman + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + The Muse of the Department + The Unconscious Humorists + + Rastignac, Eugene de + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + The Ball at Sceaux + The Interdiction + A Study of Woman + Another Study of Woman + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + The Gondreville Mystery + The Firm of Nucingen + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + The Unconscious Humorists + + Rochefide, Marquise de + Beatrix + A Daughter of Eve + Sarrasine + A Prince of Bohemia + + Tillet, Ferdinand du + Cesar Birotteau + The Firm of Nucingen + The Middle Classes + A Bachelor’s Establishment + Pierrette + Melmoth Reconciled + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Unconscious Humorists + + Toby (Joby, Paddy) + The Firm of Nucingen + + Trailles, Comte Maxime de + Cesar Birotteau + Father Goriot + Gobseck + Ursule Mirouet + A Man of Business + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + Beatrix + The Unconscious Humorists + + Vandenesse, Comte Felix de + The Lily of the Valley + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Cesar Birotteau + Letters of Two Brides + A Start in Life + The Marriage Settlement + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secrets of the Princesse de +Cadignan, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1344 *** diff --git a/1344-h/1344-h.htm b/1344-h/1344-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a0ebf80 --- /dev/null +++ b/1344-h/1344-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2707 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan, by Honore de Balzac + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1344 ***</div> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE SECRETS OF <br /><br />THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Honore De Balzac + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + DEDICATION<br /><br /> To Theophile Gautier<br /> + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <h3> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN</b> + </a> + </h3> + <h3> + </h3> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTES + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </td> + <td> + DANIEL D’ARTHEZ + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE PRINCESS GOES TO WORK + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE CONFESSION OF A PRETTY WOMAN + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </td> + <td> + A TRIAL OF FAITH + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <h3> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> ADDENDUM </a> + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + THE SECRETS OF THE <br />PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTES + </h2> + <p> + After the disasters of the revolution of July, which destroyed so many + aristocratic fortunes dependent on the court, Madame la Princesse de + Cadignan was clever enough to attribute to political events the total ruin + she had caused by her own extravagance. The prince left France with the + royal family, and never returned to it, leaving the princess in Paris, + protected by the fact of his absence; for their debts, which the sale of + all their salable property had not been able to extinguish, could only be + recovered through him. The revenues of the entailed estates had been + seized. In short, the affairs of this great family were in as bad a state + as those of the elder branch of the Bourbons. + </p> + <p> + This woman, so celebrated under her first name of Duchesse de + Maufrigneuse, very wisely decided to live in retirement, and to make + herself, if possible, forgotten. Paris was then so carried away by the + whirling current of events that the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, buried in + the Princesse de Cadignan, a change of name unknown to most of the new + actors brought upon the stage of society by the revolution of July, did + really become a stranger in her own city. + </p> + <p> + In Paris the title of duke ranks all others, even that of prince; though, + in heraldic theory, free of all sophism, titles signify nothing; there is + absolute equality among gentlemen. This fine equality was formerly + maintained by the House of France itself; and in our day it is so still, + at least, nominally; witness the care with which the kings of France give + to their sons the simple title of count. It was in virtue of this system + that Francois I. crushed the splendid titles assumed by the pompous + Charles the Fifth, by signing his answer: “Francois, seigneur de Vanves.” + Louis XI. did better still by marrying his daughter to an untitled + gentleman, Pierre de Beaujeu. The feudal system was so thoroughly broken + up by Louis XIV. that the title of duke became, during his reign, the + supreme honor of the aristocracy, and the most coveted. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless there are two or three families in France in which the + principality, richly endowed in former times, takes precedence of the + duchy. The house of Cadignan, which possesses the title of Duc de + Maufrigneuse for its eldest sons, is one of these exceptional families. + Like the princes of the house of Rohan in earlier days, the princes of + Cadignan had the right to a throne in their own domain; they could have + pages and gentlemen in their service. This explanation is necessary, as + much to escape foolish critics who know nothing, as to record the customs + of a world which, we are told, is about to disappear, and which, + evidently, so many persons are assisting to push away without knowing what + it is. + </p> + <p> + The Cadignans bear: or, five lozenges sable appointed, placed fess-wise, + with the word “Memini” for motto, a crown with a cap of maintenance, no + supporters or mantle. In these days the great crowd of strangers flocking + to Paris, and the almost universal ignorance of the science of heraldry, + are beginning to bring the title of prince into fashion. There are no real + princes but those possessed of principalities, to whom belongs the title + of highness. The disdain shown by the French nobility for the title of + prince, and the reasons which caused Louis XIV. to give supremacy to the + title of duke, have prevented Frenchmen from claiming the appellation of + “highness” for the few princes who exist in France, those of Napoleon + excepted. This is why the princes of Cadignan hold an inferior position, + nominally, to the princes of the continent. + </p> + <p> + The members of the society called the faubourg Saint-Germain protected the + princess by a respectful silence due to her name, which is one of those + that all men honor, to her misfortunes, which they ceased to discuss, and + to her beauty, the only thing she saved of her departed opulence. Society, + of which she had once been the ornament, was thankful to her for having, + as it were, taken the veil, and cloistered herself in her own home. This + act of good taste was for her, more than for any other woman, an immense + sacrifice. Great deeds are always so keenly felt in France that the + princess gained, by her retreat, as much as she had lost in public opinion + in the days of her splendor. + </p> + <p> + She now saw only one of her old friends, the Marquise d’Espard, and even + to her she never went on festive occasions or to parties. The princess and + the marquise visited each other in the forenoons, with a certain amount of + secrecy. When the princess went to dine with her friend, the marquise + closed her doors. Madame d’Espard treated the princess charmingly; she + changed her box at the opera, leaving the first tier for a baignoire on + the ground-floor, so that Madame de Cadignan could come to the theatre + unseen, and depart incognito. Few women would have been capable of a + delicacy which deprived them of the pleasure of bearing in their train a + fallen rival, and of publicly being her benefactress. Thus relieved of the + necessity for costly toilets, the princess could enjoy the theatre, + whither she went in Madame d’Espard’s carriage, which she would never have + accepted openly in the daytime. No one has ever known Madame d’Espard’s + reasons for behaving thus to the Princesse de Cadignan; but her conduct + was admirable, and for a long time included a number of little acts which, + viewed single, seem mere trifles, but taken in the mass become gigantic. + </p> + <p> + In 1832, three years had thrown a mantle of snow over the follies and + adventures of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, and had whitened them so + thoroughly that it now required a serious effort of memory to recall them. + Of the queen once adored by so many courtiers, and whose follies might + have given a theme to a variety of novels, there remained a woman still + adorably beautiful, thirty-six years of age, but quite justified in + calling herself thirty, although she was the mother of Duc Georges de + Maufrigneuse, a young man of eighteen, handsome as Antinous, poor as Job, + who was expected to obtain great successes, and for whom his mother + desired, above all things, to find a rich wife. Perhaps this hope was the + secret of the intimacy she still kept up with the marquise, in whose + salon, which was one of the first in Paris, she might eventually be able + to choose among many heiresses for Georges’ wife. The princess saw five + years between the present moment and her son’s marriage,—five + solitary and desolate years; for, in order to obtain such a marriage for + her son, she knew that her own conduct must be marked in the corner with + discretion. + </p> + <p> + The princess lived in the rue de Miromesnil, in a small house, of which + she occupied the ground-floor at a moderate rent. There she made the most + of the relics of her past magnificence. The elegance of the great lady was + still redolent about her. She was still surrounded by beautiful things + which recalled her former existence. On her chimney-piece was a fine + miniature portrait of Charles X., by Madame Mirbel, beneath which were + engraved the words, “Given by the King”; and, as a pendant, the portrait + of “Madame”, who was always her kind friend. On a table lay an album of + costliest price, such as none of the bourgeoises who now lord it in our + industrial and fault-finding society would have dared to exhibit. This + album contained portraits, about thirty in number, of her intimate + friends, whom the world, first and last, had given her as lovers. The + number was a calumny; but had rumor said ten, it might have been, as her + friend Madame d’Espard remarked, good, sound gossip. The portraits of + Maxime de Trailles, de Marsay, Rastignac, the Marquis d’Esgrignon, General + Montriveau, the Marquis de Ronquerolles and d’Ajuda-Pinto, Prince + Galathionne, the young Ducs de Grandlieu and de Rhetore, the Vicomte de + Serizy, and the handsome Lucien de Rubempre, had all been treated with the + utmost coquetry of brush and pencil by celebrated artists. As the princess + now received only two or three of these personages, she called the book, + jokingly, the collection of her errors. + </p> + <p> + Misfortune had made this woman a good mother. During the fifteen years of + the Restoration she had amused herself far too much to think of her son; + but on taking refuge in obscurity, this illustrious egoist bethought her + that the maternal sentiment, developed to its extreme, might be an + absolution for her past follies in the eyes of sensible persons, who + pardon everything to a good mother. She loved her son all the more because + she had nothing else to love. Georges de Maufrigneuse was, moreover, one + of those children who flatter the vanities of a mother; and the princess + had, accordingly, made all sorts of sacrifices for him. She hired a stable + and coach-house, above which he lived in a little entresol with three + rooms looking on the street, and charmingly furnished; she had even borne + several privations to keep a saddle-horse, a cab-horse, and a little groom + for his use. For herself, she had only her own maid, and as cook, a former + kitchen-maid. The duke’s groom had, therefore, rather a hard place. Toby, + formerly tiger to the “late” Beaudenord (such was the jesting term applied + by the gay world to that ruined gentleman),—Toby, who at twenty-five + years of age was still considered only fourteen, was expected to groom the + horses, clean the cabriolet, or the tilbury, and the harnesses, accompany + his master, take care of the apartments, and be in the princess’s + antechamber to announce a visitor, if, by chance, she happened to receive + one. + </p> + <p> + When one thinks of what the beautiful Duchesse de Maufrigneuse had been + under the Restoration,—one of the queens of Paris, a dazzling queen, + whose luxurious existence equalled that of the richest women of fashion in + London,—there was something touching in the sight of her in that + humble little abode in the rue de Miromesnil, a few steps away from her + splendid mansion, which no amount of fortune had enabled her to keep, and + which the hammer of speculators has since demolished. The woman who + thought she was scarcely well served by thirty servants, who possessed the + most beautiful reception-rooms in all Paris, and the loveliest little + private apartments, and who made them the scene of such delightful fetes, + now lived in a small apartment of five rooms,—an antechamber, + dining-room, salon, one bed-chamber, and a dressing-room, with two + women-servants only. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! she is devoted to her son,” said that clever creature, Madame + d’Espard, “and devoted without ostentation; she is happy. Who would ever + have believed so frivolous a woman was capable of such persistent + resolution! Our good archbishop has, consequently, greatly encouraged her; + he is most kind to her, and has just induced the old Comtesse de + Cinq-Cygne to pay her a visit.” + </p> + <p> + Let us admit a truth! One must be a queen to know how to abdicate, and to + descend with dignity from a lofty position which is never wholly lost. + Those only who have an inner consciousness of being nothing in themselves, + show regrets in falling, or struggle, murmuring, to return to a past which + can never return,—a fact of which they themselves are well aware. + Compelled to do without the choice exotics in the midst of which she had + lived, and which set off so charmingly her whole being (for it is + impossible not to compare her to a flower), the princess had wisely chosen + a ground-floor apartment; there she enjoyed a pretty little garden which + belonged to it,—a garden full of shrubs, and an always verdant turf, + which brightened her peaceful retreat. She had about twelve thousand + francs a year; but that modest income was partly made up of an annual + stipend sent her by the old Duchesse de Navarreins, paternal aunt of the + young duke, and another stipend given by her mother, the Duchesse + d’Uxelles, who was living on her estate in the country, where she + economized as old duchesses alone know how to economize; for Harpagon is a + mere novice compared to them. The princess still retained some of her past + relations with the exiled royal family; and it was in her house that the + marshal to whom we owe the conquest of Africa had conferences, at the time + of “Madame’s” attempt in La Vendee, with the principal leaders of + legitimist opinion,—so great was the obscurity in which the princess + lived, and so little distrust did the government feel for her in her + present distress. + </p> + <p> + Beholding the approach of that terrible fortieth year, the bankruptcy of + love, beyond which there is so little for a woman as woman, the princess + had flung herself into the kingdom of philosophy. She took to reading, she + who for sixteen years had felt a cordial horror for serious things. + Literature and politics are to-day what piety and devotion once were to + her sex,—the last refuge of their feminine pretensions. In her late + social circle it was said that Diane was writing a book. Since her + transformation from a queen and beauty to a woman of intellect, the + princess had contrived to make a reception in her little house a great + honor which distinguished the favored person. Sheltered by her supposed + occupation, she was able to deceive one of her former adorers, de Marsay, + the most influential personage of the political bourgeoisie brought to the + fore in July 1830. She received him sometimes in the evenings, and, + occupied his attention while the marshal and a few legitimists were + talking, in a low voice, in her bedroom, about the recovery of power, + which could be attained only by a general co-operation of ideas,—the + one element of success which all conspirators overlook. It was the clever + vengeance of the pretty woman, who thus inveigled the prime minister, and + made him act as screen for a conspiracy against his own government. + </p> + <p> + This adventure, worthy of the finest days of the Fronde, was the text of a + very witty letter, in which the princess rendered to “Madame” an account + of the negotiations. The Duc de Maufrigneuse went to La Vendee, and was + able to return secretly without being compromised, but not without taking + part in “Madame’s” perils; the latter, however, sent him home the moment + she saw that her cause was lost. Perhaps, had he remained, the eager + vigilance of the young man might have foiled that treachery. However great + the faults of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse may have seemed in the eyes of + the bourgeoisie, the behavior of her son on this occasion certainly + effaced them in the eyes of the aristocracy. There was great nobility and + grandeur in thus risking her only son, and the heir of an historic name. + Some persons are said to intentionally cover the faults of their private + life by public services, and vice versa; but the Princesse de Cadignan + made no such calculation. Possibly those who apparently so conduct + themselves make none. Events count for much in such cases. + </p> + <p> + On one of the first fine days in the month of May, 1833, the Marquise + d’Espard and the princess were turning about—one could hardly call + it walking—in the single path which wound round the grass-plat in + the garden, about half-past two in the afternoon, just as the sun was + leaving it. The rays reflected on the walls gave a warm atmosphere to the + little space, which was fragrant with flowers, the gift of the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “We shall soon lose de Marsay,” said the marquise; “and with him will + disappear your last hope of fortune for your son. Ever since you played + him that clever trick, he has returned to his affection for you.” + </p> + <p> + “My son will never capitulate to the younger branch,” returned the + princess, “if he has to die of hunger, or I have to work with my hands to + feed him. Besides, Berthe de Cinq-Cygne has no aversion to him.” + </p> + <p> + “Children don’t bind themselves to their parents’ principles,” said Madame + d’Espard. + </p> + <p> + “Don’t let us talk about it,” said the princess. “If I can’t coax over the + Marquise de Cinq-Cygne, I shall marry Georges to the daughter of some + iron-founderer, as that little d’Esgrignon did.” + </p> + <p> + “Did you love Victurnien?” asked the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “No,” replied the princess, gravely, “d’Esgrignon’s simplicity was really + only a sort of provincial silliness, which I perceived rather too late—or, + if you choose, too soon.” + </p> + <p> + “And de Marsay?” + </p> + <p> + “De Marsay played with me as if I were a doll. I was so young at the time! + We never love men who pretend to teach us; they rub up all our little + vanities.” + </p> + <p> + “And that wretched boy who hanged himself?” + </p> + <p> + “Lucien? An Antinous and a great poet. I worshiped him in all conscience, + and I might have been happy. But he was in love with a girl of the town; + and I gave him up to Madame de Serizy.... If he had cared to love me, + should I have given him up?” + </p> + <p> + “What an odd thing, that you should come into collision with an Esther!” + </p> + <p> + “She was handsomer than I,” said the Princess.—“Very soon it shall + be three years that I have lived in solitude,” she resumed, after a pause, + “and this tranquillity has nothing painful to me about it. To you alone + can I dare to say that I feel I am happy. I was surfeited with adoration, + weary of pleasure, emotional on the surface of things, but conscious that + emotion itself never reached my heart. I have found all the men whom I + have known petty, paltry, superficial; none of them ever caused me a + surprise; they had no innocence, no grandeur, no delicacy. I wish I could + have met with one man able to inspire me with respect.” + </p> + <p> + “Then are you like me, my dear?” asked the marquise; “have you never felt + the emotion of love while trying to love?” + </p> + <p> + “Never,” replied the princess, laying her hand on the arm of her friend. + </p> + <p> + They turned and seated themselves on a rustic bench beneath a jasmine then + coming into flower. Each had uttered one of those sayings that are solemn + to women who have reached their age. + </p> + <p> + “Like you,” resumed the princess, “I have received more love than most + women; but through all my many adventures, I have never found happiness. I + committed great follies, but they had an object, and that object retreated + as fast as I approached it. I feel to-day in my heart, old as it is, an + innocence which has never been touched. Yes, under all my experience, lies + a first love intact,—just as I myself, in spite of all my losses and + fatigues, feel young and beautiful. We may love and not be happy; we may + be happy and never love; but to love and be happy, to unite those two + immense human experiences, is a miracle. That miracle has not taken place + for me.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor for me,” said Madame d’Espard. + </p> + <p> + “I own I am pursued in this retreat by dreadful regret: I have amused + myself all through life, but I have never loved.” + </p> + <p> + “What an incredible secret!” cried the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! my dear,” replied the princess, “such secrets we can tell to + ourselves, you and I, but nobody in Paris would believe us.” + </p> + <p> + “And,” said the marquise, “if we were not both over thirty-six years of + age, perhaps we would not tell them to each other.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; when women are young they have so many stupid conceits,” replied the + princess. “We are like those poor young men who play with a toothpick to + pretend they have dined.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, at any rate, here we are!” said Madame d’Espard, with coquettish + grace, and a charming gesture of well-informed innocence; “and, it seems + to me, sufficiently alive to think of taking our revenge.” + </p> + <p> + “When you told me, the other day, that Beatrix had gone off with Conti, I + thought of it all night long,” said the princess, after a pause. “I + suppose there was happiness in sacrificing her position, her future, and + renouncing society forever.” + </p> + <p> + “She was a little fool,” said Madame d’Espard, gravely. “Mademoiselle des + Touches was delighted to get rid of Conti. Beatrix never perceived how + that surrender, made by a superior woman who never for a moment defended + her claims, proved Conti’s nothingness.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you think she will be unhappy?” + </p> + <p> + “She is so now,” replied Madame d’Espard. “Why did she leave her husband? + What an acknowledgment of weakness!” + </p> + <p> + “Then you think that Madame de Rochefide was not influenced by the desire + to enjoy a true love in peace?” asked the princess. + </p> + <p> + “No; she was simply imitating Madame de Beausant and Madame de Langeais, + who, be it said, between you and me, would have been, in a less vulgar + period than ours, the La Villiere, the Diane de Poitiers, the Gabrielle + d’Estrees of history.” + </p> + <p> + “Less the king, my dear. Ah! I wish I could evoke the shades of those + women, and ask them—” + </p> + <p> + “But,” said the marquise, interrupting the princess, “why ask the dead? We + know living women who have been happy. I have talked on this very subject + a score of times with Madame de Montcornet since she married that little + Emile Blondet, who makes her the happiest woman in the world; not an + infidelity, not a thought that turns aside from her; they are as happy as + they were the first day. These long attachments, like that of Rastignac + and Madame de Nucingen, and your cousin, Madame de Camps, for her Octave, + have a secret, and that secret you and I don’t know, my dear. The world + has paid us the extreme compliment of thinking we are two rakes worthy of + the court of the regent; whereas we are, in truth, as innocent as a couple + of school-girls.” + </p> + <p> + “I should like that sort of innocence,” cried the princess, laughing; “but + ours is worse, and it is very humiliating. Well, it is a mortification we + offer up in expiation of our fruitless search; yes, my dear, fruitless, + for it isn’t probable we shall find in our autumn season the fine flower + we missed in the spring and summer.” + </p> + <p> + “That’s not the question,” resumed the marquise, after a meditative pause. + “We are both still beautiful enough to inspire love, but we could never + convince any one of our innocence and virtue.” + </p> + <p> + “If it were a lie, how easy to dress it up with commentaries, and serve it + as some delicious fruit to be eagerly swallowed! But how is it possible to + get a truth believed? Ah! the greatest of men have been mistaken there!” + added the princess, with one of those meaning smiles which the pencil of + Leonardo da Vinci alone has rendered. + </p> + <p> + “Fools love well, sometimes,” returned the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “But in this case,” said the princess, “fools wouldn’t have enough + credulity in their nature.” + </p> + <p> + “You are right,” said the marquise. “But what we ought to look for is + neither a fool nor even a man of talent. To solve our problem we need a + man of genius. Genius alone has the faith of childhood, the religion of + love, and willingly allows us to band its eyes. Look at Canalis and the + Duchesse de Chaulieu! Though we have both encountered men of genius, they + were either too far removed from us or too busy, and we too absorbed, too + frivolous.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! how I wish I might not leave this world without knowing the happiness + of true love,” exclaimed the princess. + </p> + <p> + “It is nothing to inspire it,” said Madame d’Espard; “the thing is to feel + it. I see many women who are only the pretext for a passion without being + both its cause and its effect.” + </p> + <p> + “The last love I inspired was a beautiful and sacred thing,” said the + princess. “It had a future in it. Chance had brought me, for once in a + way, the man of genius who is due to us, and yet so difficult to obtain; + there are more pretty women than men of genius. But the devil interfered + with the affair.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me about it, my dear; this is all news to me.” + </p> + <p> + “I first noticed this beautiful passion about the middle of the winter of + 1829. Every Friday, at the opera, I observed a young man, about thirty + years of age, in the orchestra stalls, who evidently came there for me. He + was always in the same stall, gazing at me with eyes of fire, but, + seemingly, saddened by the distance between us, perhaps by the + hopelessness of reaching me.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor fellow! When a man loves he becomes eminently stupid,” said the + marquise. + </p> + <p> + “Between every act he would slip into the corridor,” continued the + princess, smiling at her friend’s epigrammatic remark. “Once or twice, + either to see me or to make me see him, he looked through the glass sash + of the box exactly opposite to mine. If I received a visit, I was certain + to see him in the corridor close to my door, casting a furtive glance upon + me. He had apparently learned to know the persons belonging to my circle; + and he followed them when he saw them turning in the direction of my box, + in order to obtain the benefit of the opening door. I also found my + mysterious adorer at the Italian opera-house; there he had a stall + directly opposite to my box, where he could gaze at me in naive ecstasy—oh! + it was pretty! On leaving either house I always found him planted in the + lobby, motionless; he was elbowed and jostled, but he never moved. His + eyes grew less brilliant if he saw me on the arm of some favorite. But not + a word, not a letter, no demonstration. You must acknowledge that was in + good taste. Sometimes, on getting home late at night, I found him sitting + upon one of the stone posts of the porte-cochere. This lover of mine had + very handsome eyes, a long, thick, fan-shaped beard, with a moustache and + side-whiskers; nothing could be seen of his skin but his white + cheek-bones, and a noble forehead; it was truly an antique head. The + prince, as you know, defended the Tuileries on the riverside, during the + July days. He returned to Saint-Cloud that night, when all was lost, and + said to me: ‘I came near being killed at four o’clock. I was aimed at by + one of the insurgents, when a young man, with a long beard, whom I have + often seen at the opera, and who was leading the attack, threw up the + man’s gun, and saved me.’ So my adorer was evidently a republican! In + 1831, after I came to lodge in this house, I found him, one day, leaning + with his back against the wall of it; he seemed pleased with my disasters; + possibly he may have thought they drew us nearer together. But after the + affair of Saint-Merri I saw him no more; he was killed there. The evening + before the funeral of General Lamarque, I had gone out on foot with my + son, and my republican accompanied us, sometimes behind, sometimes in + front, from the Madeleine to the Passage des Panoramas, where I was + going.” + </p> + <p> + “Is that all?” asked the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, all,” replied the princess. “Except that on the morning Saint-Merri + was taken, a gamin came here and insisted on seeing me. He gave me a + letter, written on common paper, signed by my republican.” + </p> + <p> + “Show it to me,” said the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “No, my dear. Love was too great and too sacred in the heart of that man + to let me violate its secrets. The letter, short and terrible, still stirs + my soul when I think of it. That dead man gives me more emotions than all + the living men I ever coquetted with; he constantly recurs to my mind.” + </p> + <p> + “What was his name?” asked the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! a very common one: Michel Chrestien.” + </p> + <p> + “You have done well to tell me,” said Madame d’Espard, eagerly. “I have + often heard of him. This Michel Chrestien was the intimate friend of a + remarkable man you have already expressed a wish to see,—Daniel + d’Arthez, who comes to my house some two or three times a year. Chrestien, + who was really killed at Saint-Merri, had no lack of friends. I have heard + it said that he was one of those born statesmen to whom, like de Marsay, + nothing is wanting but opportunity to become all they might be.” + </p> + <p> + “Then he had better be dead,” said the princess, with a melancholy air, + under which she concealed her thoughts. + </p> + <p> + “Will you come to my house some evening and meet d’Arthez?” said the + marquise. “You can talk of your ghost.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I will,” replied the princess. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. DANIEL D’ARTHEZ + </h2> + <p> + A few days after this conversation Blondet and Rastignac, who knew + d’Arthez, promised Madame d’Espard that they would bring him to dine with + her. This promise might have proved rash had it not been for the name of + the princess, a meeting with whom was not a matter of indifference to the + great writer. + </p> + <p> + Daniel d’Arthez, one of the rare men who, in our day, unite a noble + character with great talent, had already obtained, not all the popularity + his works deserve, but a respectful esteem to which souls of his own + calibre could add nothing. His reputation will certainly increase; but in + the eyes of connoisseurs it had already attained its full development. He + is one of those authors who, sooner or later, are put in their right + place, and never lose it. A poor nobleman, he had understood his epoch + well enough to seek personal distinction only. He had struggled long in + the Parisian arena, against the wishes of a rich uncle who, by a + contradiction which vanity must explain, after leaving his nephew a prey + to the utmost penury, bequeathed to the man who had reached celebrity the + fortune so pitilessly refused to the unknown writer. This sudden change in + his position made no change in Daniel d’Arthez’s habits; he continued to + work with a simplicity worthy of the antique past, and even assumed new + toils by accepting a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, where he took his + seat on the Right. + </p> + <p> + Since his accession to fame he had sometimes gone into society. One of his + old friends, the now-famous physician, Horace Bianchon, persuaded him to + make the acquaintance of the Baron de Rastignac, under-secretary of State, + and a friend of de Marsay, the prime minister. These two political + officials acquiesced, rather nobly, in the strong wish of d’Arthez, + Bianchon, and other friends of Michel Chrestien for the removal of the + body of that republican to the church of Saint-Merri for the purpose of + giving it funeral honors. Gratitude for a service which contrasted with + the administrative rigor displayed at a time when political passions were + so violent, had bound, so to speak, d’Arthez to Rastignac. The latter and + de Marsay were much too clever not to profit by that circumstance; and + thus they won over other friends of Michel Chrestien, who did not share + his political opinions, and who now attached themselves to the new + government. One of them, Leon Giraud, appointed in the first instance + master of petitions, became eventually a Councillor of State. + </p> + <p> + The whole existence of Daniel d’Arthez is consecrated to work; he sees + society only by snatches; it is to him a sort of dream. His house is a + convent, where he leads the life of a Benedictine; the same sobriety of + regimen, the same regularity of occupation. His friends knew that up to + the present time woman had been to him no more than an always dreaded + circumstance; he had observed her too much not to fear her; but by dint of + studying her he had ceased to understand her,—like, in this, to + those deep strategists who are always beaten on unexpected ground, where + their scientific axioms are either modified or contradicted. In character + he still remains a simple-hearted child, all the while proving himself an + observer of the first rank. This contrast, apparently impossible, is + explainable to those who know how to measure the depths which separate + faculties from feelings; the former proceed from the head, the latter from + the heart. A man can be a great man and a wicked one, just as he can be a + fool and a devoted lover. D’Arthez is one of those privileged beings in + whom shrewdness of mind and a broad expanse of the qualities of the brain + do not exclude either the strength or the grandeur of sentiments. He is, + by rare privilege, equally a man of action and a man of thought. His + private life is noble and generous. If he carefully avoided love, it was + because he knew himself, and felt a premonition of the empire such a + passion would exercise upon him. + </p> + <p> + For several years the crushing toil by which he prepared the solid ground + of his subsequent works, and the chill of poverty, were marvellous + preservatives. But when ease with his inherited fortune came to him, he + formed a vulgar and most incomprehensible connection with a rather + handsome woman, belonging to the lower classes, without education or + manners, whom he carefully concealed from every eye. Michel Chrestien + attributed to men of genius the power of transforming the most massive + creatures into sylphs, fools into clever women, peasants into countesses; + the more accomplished a woman was, the more she lost her value in their + eyes, for, according to Michel, their imagination had the less to do. In + his opinion love, a mere matter of the senses to inferior beings, was to + great souls the most immense of all moral creations and the most binding. + To justify d’Arthez, he instanced the example of Raffaele and the + Fornarina. He might have offered himself as an instance for this theory, + he who had seen an angel in the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse. This strange + fancy of d’Arthez might, however, be explained in other ways; perhaps he + had despaired of meeting here below with a woman who answered to that + delightful vision which all men of intellect dream of and cherish; perhaps + his heart was too sensitive, too delicate, to yield itself to a woman of + society; perhaps he thought best to let nature have her way, and keep his + illusions by cultivating his ideal; perhaps he had laid aside love as + being incompatible with his work and the regularity of a monastic life + which love would have wholly upset. + </p> + <p> + For several months past d’Arthez had been subjected to the jests and + satire of Blondet and Rastignac, who reproached him with knowing neither + the world nor women. According to them, his authorship was sufficiently + advanced, and his works numerous enough, to allow him a few distractions; + he had a fine fortune, and here he was living like a student; he enjoyed + nothing,—neither his money nor his fame; he was ignorant of the + exquisite enjoyments of the noble and delicate love which well-born and + well-bred women could inspire and feel; he knew nothing of the charming + refinements of language, nothing of the proofs of affection incessantly + given by refined women to the commonest things. He might, perhaps, know + woman; but he knew nothing of the divinity. Why not take his rightful + place in the world, and taste the delights of Parisian society? + </p> + <p> + “Why doesn’t a man who bears party per bend gules and or, a bezant and + crab counterchanged,” cried Rastignac, “display that ancient escutcheon of + Picardy on the panels of a carriage? You have thirty thousand francs a + year, and the proceeds of your pen; you have justified your motto: Ars + thesaurusque virtus, that punning device our ancestors were always + seeking, and yet you never appear in the Bois de Boulogne! We live in + times when virtue ought to show itself.” + </p> + <p> + “If you read your works to that species of stout Laforet, whom you seem to + fancy, I would forgive you,” said Blondet. “But, my dear fellow, you are + living on dry bread, materially speaking; in the matter of intellect you + haven’t even bread.” + </p> + <p> + This friendly little warfare had been going on for several months between + Daniel and his friends, when Madame d’Espard asked Rastignac and Blondet + to induce d’Arthez to come and dine with her, telling them that the + Princesse de Cadignan had a great desire to see that celebrated man. Such + curiosities are to certain women what magic lanterns are to children,—a + pleasure to the eyes, but rather shallow and full of disappointments. The + more sentiments a man of talent excites at a distance, the less he + responds to them on nearer view; the more brilliant fancy has pictured + him, the duller he will seem in reality. Consequently, disenchanted + curiosity is often unjust. + </p> + <p> + Neither Blondet nor Rastignac could deceive d’Arthez; but they told him, + laughing, that they now offered him a most seductive opportunity to polish + up his heart and know the supreme fascinations which love conferred on a + Parisian great lady. The princess was evidently in love with him; he had + nothing to fear but everything to gain by accepting the interview; it was + quite impossible he could descend from the pedestal on which madame de + Cadignan had placed him. Neither Blondet nor Rastignac saw any impropriety + in attributing this love to the princess; she whose past had given rise to + so many anecdotes could very well stand that lesser calumny. Together they + began to relate to d’Arthez the adventures of the Duchesse de + Maufrigneuse: her first affair with de Marsay; her second with d’Ajuda, + whom she had, they said, distracted from his wife, thus avenging Madame de + Beausant; also her later connection with young d’Esgrignon, who had + travelled with her in Italy, and had horribly compromised himself on her + account; after that they told him how unhappy she had been with a certain + celebrated ambassador, how happy with a Russian general, besides becoming + the Egeria of two ministers of Foreign affairs, and various other + anecdotes. D’Arthez replied that he knew a great deal more than they could + tell him about her through their poor friend, Michel Chrestien, who adored + her secretly for four years, and had well-nigh gone mad about her. + </p> + <p> + “I have often accompanied him,” said Daniel, “to the opera. He would make + me run through the streets as far as her horses that he might see the + princess through the window of her coupe.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, there you have a topic all ready for you,” said Blondet, smiling. + “This is the very woman you need; she’ll initiate you most gracefully into + the mysteries of elegance; but take care! she has wasted many fortunes. + The beautiful Diane is one of those spendthrifts who don’t cost a penny, + but for whom a man spends millions. Give yourself up to her, body and + soul, if you choose; but keep your money in your hand, like the old fellow + in Girodet’s ‘Deluge.’” + </p> + <p> + From the tenor of these remarks it was to be inferred that the princess + had the depth of a precipice, the grace of a queen, the corruption of + diplomatists, the mystery of a first initiation, and the dangerous + qualities of a siren. The two clever men of the world, incapable of + foreseeing the denouement of their joke, succeeded in presenting Diane + d’Uxelles as a consummate specimen of the Parisian woman, the cleverest of + coquettes, the most enchanting mistress in the world. Right or wrong, the + woman whom they thus treated so lightly was sacred to d’Arthez; his desire + to meet her needed no spur; he consented to do so at the first word, which + was all the two friends wanted of him. + </p> + <p> + Madame d’Espard went to see the princess as soon as she had received this + answer. + </p> + <p> + “My dear, do you feel yourself in full beauty and coquetry?” she said. “If + so, come and dine with me a few days hence, and I’ll serve up d’Arthez. + Our man of genius is by nature, it seems, a savage; he fears women, and + has never loved! Make your plans on that. He is all intellect, and so + simple that he’ll mislead you into feeling no distrust. But his + penetration, which is wholly retrospective, acts later, and frustrates + calculation. You may hoodwink him to-day, but to-morrow nothing can dupe + him.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” cried the princess, “if I were only thirty years old what amusement + I might have with him! The one enjoyment I have lacked up to the present + is a man of intellect to fool. I have had only partners, never + adversaries. Love was a mere game instead of being a battle.” + </p> + <p> + “Dear princess, admit that I am very generous; for, after all, you know!—charity + begins at home.” + </p> + <p> + The two women looked at each other, laughing, and clasped hands in a + friendly way. Assuredly they both knew each other’s secrets, and this was + not the first man nor the first service that one had given to the other; + for sincere and lasting friendships between women of the world need to be + cemented by a few little crimes. When two friends are liable to kill each + other reciprocally, and see a poisoned dagger in each other’s hand, they + present a touching spectacle of harmony, which is never troubled, unless, + by chance, one of them is careless enough to drop her weapon. + </p> + <p> + So, eight days later, a little dinner such as are given to intimates by + verbal invitation only, during which the doors are closed to all other + visitors, took place at Madame d’Espard’s house. Five persons were + invited,—Emile Blondet and Madame de Montcornet, Daniel d’Arthez, + Rastignac, and the Princesse de Cadignan. Counting the mistress of the + house, there were as many men as women. + </p> + <p> + Chance never exerted itself to make wiser preparations than those which + opened the way to a meeting between d’Arthez and Madame de Cadignan. The + princess is still considered one of the chief authorities on dress, which, + to women, is the first of arts. On this occasion she wore a gown of blue + velvet with flowing white sleeves, and a tulle guimpe, slightly frilled + and edged with blue, covering the shoulders, and rising nearly to the + throat, as we see in several of Raffaele’s portraits. Her maid had dressed + her hair with white heather, adroitly placed among its blond cascades, + which were one of the great beauties to which she owed her celebrity. + </p> + <p> + Certainly Diane did not look to be more than twenty-five years old. Four + years of solitude and repose had restored the freshness of her complexion. + Besides, there are moments when the desire to please gives an increase of + beauty to women. The will is not without influence on the variations of + the face. If violent emotions have the power to yellow the white tones of + persons of bilious and melancholy temperament, and to green lymphatic + faces, shall we not grant to desire, hope, and joy, the faculty of + clearing the skin, giving brilliancy to the eye, and brightening the glow + of beauty with a light as jocund as that of a lovely morning? The + celebrated faintness of the princess had taken on a ripeness which now + made her seem more august. At this moment of her life, impressed by her + many vicissitudes and by serious reflections, her noble, dreamy brow + harmonized delightfully with the slow, majestic glance of her blue eyes. + It was impossible for the ablest physiognomist to imagine calculation or + self-will beneath that unspeakable delicacy of feature. There were faces + of women which deceive knowledge, and mislead observation by their + calmness and delicacy; it is necessary to examine such faces when passions + speak, and that is difficult, or after they have spoken, which is no + longer of any use, for then the woman is old and has ceased to + dissimulate. + </p> + <p> + The princess is one of those impenetrable women; she can make herself what + she pleases to be: playful, childlike, distractingly innocent; or + reflective, serious, and profound enough to excite anxiety. She came to + Madame d’Espard’s dinner with the intention of being a gentle, simple + woman, to whom life was known only through its deceptions: a woman full of + soul, and calumniated, but resigned,—in short, a wounded angel. + </p> + <p> + She arrived early, so as to pose on a sofa near the fire beside Madame + d’Espard, as she wished to be first seen: that is, in one of those + attitudes in which science is concealed beneath an exquisite naturalness; + a studied attitude, putting in relief the beautiful serpentine outline + which, starting from the foot, rises gracefully to the hip, and continues + with adorable curves to the shoulder, presenting, in fact, a profile of + the whole body. With a subtlety which few women would have dreamed of, + Diane, to the great amazement of the marquise, had brought her son with + her. After a moment’s reflection, Madame d’Espard pressed the princess’s + hand, with a look of intelligence that seemed to say:— + </p> + <p> + “I understand you! By making d’Arthez accept all the difficulties at once + you will not have to conquer them later.” + </p> + <p> + Rastignac brought d’Arthez. The princess made none of those compliments to + the celebrated author with which vulgar persons overwhelmed him; but she + treated him with a kindness full of graceful respect, which, with her, was + the utmost extent of her concessions. Her manner was doubtless the same + with the King of France and the royal princes. She seemed happy to see + this great man, and glad that she had sought him. Persons of taste, like + the princess, are especially distinguished for their manner of listening, + for an affability without superciliousness, which is to politeness what + practice is to virtue. When the celebrated man spoke, she took an + attentive attitude, a thousand times more flattering than the + best-seasoned compliments. The mutual presentation was made quietly, + without emphasis, and in perfectly good taste, by the marquise. + </p> + <p> + At dinner d’Arthez was placed beside the princess, who, far from imitating + the eccentricities of diet which many affected women display, ate her + dinner with a very good appetite, making it a point of honor to seem a + natural woman, without strange ways or fancies. Between two courses she + took advantage of the conversation becoming general to say to d’Arthez, in + a sort of aside:— + </p> + <p> + “The secret of the pleasure I take in finding myself beside you, is the + desire I feel to learn something of an unfortunate friend of yours, + monsieur. He died for another cause greater than ours; but I was under the + greatest obligations to him, although unable to acknowledge or thank him + for them. I know that you were one of his best friends. Your mutual + friendship, pure and unalterable, is a claim upon me. You will not, I am + sure, think it extraordinary, that I have wished to know all you could + tell me of a man so dear to you. Though I am attached to the exiled + family, and bound, of course, to hold monarchical opinions, I am not among + those who think it is impossible to be both republican and noble in heart. + Monarchy and the republic are two forms of government which do not stifle + noble sentiments.” + </p> + <p> + “Michel Chrestien was an angel, madame,” replied Daniel, in a voice of + emotion. “I don’t know among the heroes of antiquity a greater than he. Be + careful not to think him one of those narrow-minded republicans who would + like to restore the Convention and the amenities of the Committee of + Public Safety. No, Michel dreamed of the Swiss federation applied to all + Europe. Let us own, between ourselves, that <i>after</i> the glorious + government of one man only, which, as I think, is particularly suited to + our nation, Michel’s system would lead to the suppression of war in this + old world, and its reconstruction on bases other than those of conquest, + which formerly feudalized it. From this point of view the republicans came + nearest to his idea. That is why he lent them his arm in July, and was + killed at Saint-Merri. Though completely apart in opinion, he and I were + closely bound together as friends.” + </p> + <p> + “That is noble praise for both natures,” said Madame de Cadignan, timidly. + </p> + <p> + “During the last four years of his life,” continued Daniel, “he made to me + alone a confidence of his love for you, and this confidence knitted closer + than ever the already strong ties of brotherly affection. He alone, + madame, can have loved you as you ought to be loved. Many a time I have + been pelted with rain as we accompanied your carriage at the pace of the + horses, to keep at a parallel distance, and see you—admire you.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! monsieur,” said the princess, “how can I repay such feelings!” + </p> + <p> + “Why is Michel not here!” exclaimed Daniel, in melancholy accents. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps he would not have loved me long,” said the princess, shaking her + head sadly. “Republicans are more absolute in their ideas than we + absolutists, whose fault is indulgence. No doubt he imagined me perfect, + and society would have cruelly undeceived him. We are pursued, we women, + by as many calumnies as you authors are compelled to endure in your + literary life; but we, alas! cannot defend ourselves either by our works + or by our fame. The world will not believe us to be what we are, but what + it thinks us to be. It would soon have hidden from his eyes the real but + unknown woman that is in me, behind the false portrait of the imaginary + woman which the world considers true. He would have come to think me + unworthy of the noble feelings he had for me, and incapable of + comprehending him.” + </p> + <p> + Here the princess shook her head, swaying the beautiful blond curls, full + of heather, with a touching gesture. This plaintive expression of grievous + doubts and hidden sorrows is indescribable. Daniel understood them all; + and he looked at the princess with keen emotion. + </p> + <p> + “And yet, the night on which I last saw him, after the revolution of July, + I was on the point of giving way to the desire I felt to take his hand and + press it before all the world, under the peristyle of the opera-house. But + the thought came to me that such a proof of gratitude might be + misinterpreted; like so many other little things done from noble motives + which are called to-day the follies of Madame de Maufrigneuse—things + which I can never explain, for none but my son and God have understood + me.” + </p> + <p> + These words, breathed into the ear of the listener, in tones inaudible to + the other guests, and with accents worthy of the cleverest actress, were + calculated to reach the heart; and they did reach that of d’Arthez. There + was no question of himself in the matter; this woman was seeking to + rehabilitate herself in favor of the dead. She had been calumniated; and + she evidently wanted to know if anything had tarnished her in the eyes of + him who had loved her; had he died with all his illusions? + </p> + <p> + “Michel,” replied d’Arthez, “was one of those men who love absolutely, and + who, if they choose ill, can suffer without renouncing the woman they have + once elected.” + </p> + <p> + “Was I loved thus?” she said, with an air of exalted beatitude. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, madame.” + </p> + <p> + “I made his happiness?” + </p> + <p> + “For four years.” + </p> + <p> + “A woman never hears of such a thing without a sentiment of proud + satisfaction,” she said, turning her sweet and noble face to d’Arthez with + a movement full of modest confusion. + </p> + <p> + One of the most skilful manoeuvres of these actresses is to veil their + manner when words are too expressive, and speak with their eyes when + language is restrained. These clever discords, slipped into the music of + their love, be it false or true, produce irresistible attractions. + </p> + <p> + “Is it not,” she said, lowering her voice and her eyes, after feeling well + assured they had produced her effect,—“is it not fulfilling one’s + destiny to have rendered a great man happy?” + </p> + <p> + “Did he not write that to you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; but I wanted to be sure, quite sure; for, believe me, monsieur, in + putting me so high he was not mistaken.” + </p> + <p> + Women know how to give a peculiar sacredness to their words; they + communicate something vibrant to them, which extends the meaning of their + ideas, and gives them depth; though later their fascinated listener may + not remember precisely what they said, their end has been completely + attained,—which is the object of all eloquence. The princess might + at that moment have been wearing the diadem of France, and her brow could + not have seemed more imposing than it was beneath that crown of golden + hair, braided like a coronet, and adorned with heather. She was simple and + calm; nothing betrayed a sense of any necessity to appear so, nor any + desire to seem grand or loving. D’Arthez, the solitary toiler, to whom the + ways of the world were unknown, whom study had wrapped in its protecting + veils, was the dupe of her tones and words. He was under the spell of + those exquisite manners; he admired that perfect beauty, ripened by + misfortune, placid in retirement; he adored the union of so rare a mind + and so noble a soul; and he longed to become, himself, the heir of Michel + Chrestien. + </p> + <p> + The beginning of this passion was, as in the case of almost all deep + thinkers, an idea. Looking at the princess, studying the shape of her + head, the arrangement of those sweet features, her figure, her hand, so + finely modelled, closer than when he accompanied his friend in their wild + rush through the streets, he was struck by the surprising phenomenon of + the moral second-sight which a man exalted by love invariably finds within + him. With what lucidity had Michel Chrestien read into that soul, that + heart, illumined by the fires of love! Thus the princess acquired, in + d’Arthez’s eyes, another charm; a halo of poesy surrounded her. + </p> + <p> + As the dinner proceeded, Daniel called to mind the various confidences of + his friend, his despair, his hopes, the noble poems of a true sentiment + sung to his ear alone, in honor of this woman. It is rare that a man + passes without remorse from the position of confidant to that of rival, + and d’Arthez was free to do so without dishonor. He had suddenly, in a + moment, perceived the enormous differences existing between a well-bred + woman, that flower of the great world, and common women, though of the + latter he did not know beyond one specimen. He was thus captured on the + most accessible and sensitive sides of his soul and of his genius. + Impelled by his simplicity, and by the impetuosity of his ideas, to lay + immediate claim to this woman, he found himself restrained by society, + also by the barrier which the manners and, let us say the word, the + majesty of the princess placed between them. The conversation, which + remained upon the topic of Michel Chrestien until the dessert, was an + excellent pretext for both to speak in a low voice: love, sympathy, + comprehension! she could pose as a maligned and misunderstood woman; he + could slip his feet into the shoes of the dead republican. Perhaps his + candid mind detected itself in regretting his dead friend less. The + princess, at the moment when the dessert appeared upon the table, and the + guests were separated by a brilliant hedge of fruits and sweetmeats, + thought best to put an end to this flow of confidences by a charming + little speech, in which she delicately expressed the idea that Daniel and + Michel were twin souls. + </p> + <p> + After this d’Arthez threw himself into the general conversation with the + gayety of a child, and a self-conceited air that was worthy of a + schoolboy. When they left the dining-room, the princess took d’Arthez’s + arm, in the simplest manner, to return to Madame d’Espard’s little salon. + As they crossed the grand salon she walked slowly, and when sufficiently + separated from the marquise, who was on Blondet’s arm, she stopped. + </p> + <p> + “I do not wish to be inaccessible to the friend of that poor man,” she + said to d’Arthez; “and though I have made it a rule to receive no + visitors, you will always be welcome in my house. Do not think this a + favor. A favor is only for strangers, and to my mind you and I seem old + friends; I see in you the brother of Michel.” + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez could only press her arm, unable to make other reply. + </p> + <p> + After coffee was served, Diane de Cadignan wrapped herself, with + coquettish motions, in a large shawl, and rose. Blondet and Rastignac were + too much men of the world, and too polite to make the least remonstrance, + or try to detain her; but Madame d’Espard compelled her friend to sit down + again, whispering in her ear:— + </p> + <p> + “Wait till the servants have had their dinner; the carriage is not ready + yet.” + </p> + <p> + So saying, the marquise made a sign to the footman, who was taking away + the coffee-tray. Madame de Montcornet perceived that the princess and + Madame d’Espard had a word to say to each other, and she drew around her + d’Arthez, Rastignac, and Blondet, amusing them with one of those clever + paradoxical attacks which Parisian women understand so thoroughly. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said the marquise to Diane, “what do you think of him?” + </p> + <p> + “He is an adorable child, just out of swaddling-clothes! This time, like + all other times, it will only be a triumph without a struggle.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, it is disappointing,” said Madame d’Espard. “But we might evade + it.” + </p> + <p> + “How?” + </p> + <p> + “Let me be your rival.” + </p> + <p> + “Just as you please,” replied the princess. “I’ve decided on my course. + Genius is a condition of the brain; I don’t know what the heart gets out + of it; we’ll talk about that later.” + </p> + <p> + Hearing the last few words, which were wholly incomprehensible to her, + Madame d’Espard returned to the general conversation, showing neither + offence at that indifferent “As you please,” nor curiosity as to the + outcome of the interview. The princess stayed an hour longer, seated on + the sofa near the fire, in the careless, nonchalant attitude of Guerin’s + Dido, listening with the attention of an absorbed mind, and looking at + Daniel now and then, without disguising her admiration, which never went, + however, beyond due limits. She slipped away when the carriage was + announced, with a pressure of the hand to the marquise, and an inclination + of the head to Madame de Montcornet. + </p> + <p> + The evening concluded without any allusion to the princess. The other + guests profited by the sort of exaltation which d’Arthez had reached, for + he put forth the treasures of his mind. In Blondet and Rastignac he + certainly had two acolytes of the first quality to bring forth the + delicacy of his wit and the breadth of his intellect. As for the two + women, they had long been counted among the cleverest in society. This + evening was like a halt in the oasis of a desert,—a rare enjoyment, + and well appreciated by these four persons, habitually victimized to the + endless caution entailed by the world of salons and politics. There are + beings who have the privilege of passing among men like beneficent stars, + whose light illumines the mind, while its rays send a glow to the heart. + D’Arthez was one of those beings. A writer who rises to his level, + accustoms himself to free thought, and forgets that in society all things + cannot be said; it is impossible for such a man to observe the restraint + of persons who live in the world perpetually; but as his eccentricities of + thought bore the mark of originality, no one felt inclined to complain. + This zest, this piquancy, rare in mere talent, this youthfulness and + simplicity of soul which made d’Arthez so nobly original, gave a + delightful charm to this evening. He left the house with Rastignac, who, + as they drove home, asked him how he liked the princess. + </p> + <p> + “Michel did well to love her,” replied d’Arthez; “she is, indeed, an + extraordinary woman.” + </p> + <p> + “Very extraordinary,” replied Rastignac, dryly. “By the tone of your voice + I should judge you were in love with her already. You will be in her house + within three days; and I am too old a denizen of Paris not to know what + will be the upshot of that. Well, my dear Daniel, I do entreat you not to + allow yourself to be drawn into any confusion of interests, so to speak. + Love the princess if you feel any love for her in your heart, but keep an + eye on your fortune. She has never taken or asked a penny from any man on + earth, she is far too much of a d’Uxelles and a Cadignan for that; but, to + my knowledge, she has not only spent her own fortune, which was very + considerable, but she has made others waste millions. How? why? by what + means? No one knows; she doesn’t know herself. I myself saw her swallow + up, some thirteen years ago, the entire fortune of a charming young + fellow, and that of an old notary, in twenty months.” + </p> + <p> + “Thirteen years ago!” exclaimed d’Arthez,—“why, how old is she now?” + </p> + <p> + “Didn’t you see, at dinner,” replied Rastignac, laughing, “her son, the + Duc de Maufrigneuse. That young man is nineteen years old; nineteen and + seventeen make—” + </p> + <p> + “Thirty-six!” cried the amazed author. “I gave her twenty.” + </p> + <p> + “She’ll accept them,” said Rastignac; “but don’t be uneasy, she will + always be twenty to you. You are about to enter the most fantastic of + worlds. Good-night, here you are at home,” said the baron, as they entered + the rue de Bellefond, where d’Arthez lived in a pretty little house of his + own. “We shall meet at Mademoiselle des Touches’s in the course of the + week.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. THE PRINCESS GOES TO WORK + </h2> + <p> + D’Arthez allowed love to enter his heart after the manner of my Uncle + Toby, without making the slightest resistance; he proceeded by adoration + without criticism, and by exclusive admiration. The princess, that noble + creature, one of the most remarkable creations of our monstrous Paris, + where all things are possible, good as well as evil, became—whatever + vulgarity the course of time may have given to the expression—the + angel of his dreams. To fully understand the sudden transformation of this + illustrious author, it is necessary to realize the simplicity that + constant work and solitude leave in the heart; all that love—reduced + to a mere need, and now repugnant, beside an ignoble woman—excites + of regret and longings for diviner sentiments in the higher regions of the + soul. D’Arthez was, indeed, the child, the boy that Madame de Cadignan had + recognized. An illumination something like his own had taken place in the + beautiful Diane. At last she had met that superior man whom all women + desire and seek, if only to make a plaything of him,—that power + which they consent to obey, if only for the pleasure of subduing it; at + last she had found the grandeurs of the intellect united with the + simplicity of a heart all new to love; and she saw, with untold happiness, + that these merits were contained in a form that pleased her. She thought + d’Arthez handsome, and perhaps he was. Though he had reached the age of + gravity (for he was now thirty-eight), he still preserved a flower of + youth, due to the sober and ascetic life which he had led. Like all men of + sedentary habits, and statesmen, he had acquired a certainly reasonable + embonpoint. When very young, he bore some resemblance to Bonaparte; and + the likeness still continued, as much as a man with black eyes and thick, + dark hair could resemble a sovereign with blue eyes and scanty, chestnut + hair. But whatever there once was of ardent and noble ambition in the + great author’s eyes had been somewhat quenched by successes. The thoughts + with which that brow once teemed had flowered; the lines of the hollow + face were filling out. Ease now spread its golden tints where, in youth, + poverty had laid the yellow tones of the class of temperament whose forces + band together to support a crushing and long-continued struggle. If you + observe carefully the noble faces of ancient philosophers, you will always + find those deviations from the type of a perfect human face which show the + characteristic to which each countenance owes its originality, chastened + by the habit of meditation, and by the calmness necessary for intellectual + labor. The most irregular features, like those of Socrates, for instance, + become, after a time, expressive of an almost divine serenity. + </p> + <p> + To the noble simplicity which characterized his head, d’Arthez added a + naive expression, the naturalness of a child, and a touching kindliness. + He did not have that politeness tinged with insincerity with which, in + society, the best-bred persons and the most amiable assume qualities in + which they are often lacking, leaving those they have thus duped wounded + and distressed. He might, indeed, fail to observe certain rules of social + life, owing to his isolated mode of living; but he never shocked the + sensibilities, and therefore this perfume of savagery made the peculiar + affability of a man of great talent the more agreeable; such men know how + to leave their superiority in their studies, and come down to the social + level, lending their backs, like Henry IV., to the children’s leap-frog, + and their minds to fools. + </p> + <p> + If d’Arthez did not brace himself against the spell which the princess had + cast about him, neither did she herself argue the matter in her own mind, + on returning home. It was settled for her. She loved with all her + knowledge and all her ignorance. If she questioned herself at all, it was + to ask whether she deserved so great a happiness, and what she had done + that Heaven should send her such an angel. She wanted to be worthy of that + love, to perpetuate it, to make it her own forever, and to gently end her + career of frivolity in the paradise she now foresaw. As for coquetting, + quibbling, resisting, she never once thought of it. She was thinking of + something very different!—of the grandeur of men of genius, and the + certainty which her heart divined that they would never subject the woman + they chose to ordinary laws. + </p> + <p> + Here begins one of those unseen comedies, played in the secret regions of + the consciousness between two beings of whom one will be the dupe of the + other, though it keeps on this side of wickedness; one of those dark and + comic dramas to which that of <i>Tartuffe</i> is mere child’s play,—dramas + that do not enter the scenic domain, although they are natural, + conceivable, and even justifiable by necessity; dramas which may be + characterized as not vice, only the other side of it. + </p> + <p> + The princess began by sending for d’Arthez’s books, of which she had + never, as yet, read a single word, although she had managed to maintain a + twenty minutes’ eulogism and discussion of them without a blunder. She now + read them all. Then she wanted to compare these books with the best that + contemporary literature had produced. By the time d’Arthez came to see her + she was having an indigestion of mind. Expecting this visit, she had daily + made a toilet of what may be called the superior order; that is, a toilet + which expresses an idea, and makes it accepted by the eye without the + owner of the eye knowing why or wherefore. She presented an harmonious + combination of shades of gray, a sort of semi-mourning, full of graceful + renunciation,—the garments of a woman who holds to life only through + a few natural ties,—her child, for instance,—but who is weary + of life. Those garments bore witness to an elegant disgust, not reaching, + however, as far as suicide; no, she would live out her days in these + earthly galleys. + </p> + <p> + She received d’Arthez as a woman who expected him, and as if he had + already been to see her a hundred times; she did him the honor to treat + him like an old acquaintance, and she put him at his ease by pointing to a + seat on a sofa, while she finished a note she was then writing. The + conversation began in a commonplace manner: the weather, the ministry, de + Marsay’s illness, the hopes of the legitimists. D’Arthez was an + absolutist; the princess could not be ignorant of the opinions of a man + who sat in the Chamber among the fifteen or twenty persons who represented + the legitimist party; she found means to tell him how she had fooled de + Marsay to the top of his bent, then, by an easy transition to the royal + family and to “Madame,” and the devotion of the Prince de Cadignan to + their service, she drew d’Arthez’s attention to the prince:— + </p> + <p> + “There is this to be said for him: he loved his masters, and was faithful + to them. His public character consoles me for the sufferings his private + life has inflicted upon me—Have you never remarked,” she went on, + cleverly leaving the prince aside, “you who observe so much, that men have + two natures: one of their homes, their wives, their private lives,—this + is their true self; here no mask, no dissimulation; they do not give + themselves the trouble to disguise a feeling; they are what they ARE, and + it is often horrible! The other man is for others, for the world, for + salons; the court, the sovereign, the public often see them grand, and + noble, and generous, embroidered with virtues, adorned with fine language, + full of admirable qualities. What a horrible jest it is!—and the + world is surprised, sometimes, at the caustic smile of certain women, at + their air of superiority to their husbands, and their indifference—” + </p> + <p> + She let her hand fall along the arm of her chair, without ending her + sentence, but the gesture admirably completed the speech. She saw d’Arthez + watching her flexible figure, gracefully bending in the depths of her + easy-chair, noting the folds of her gown, and the pretty little ruffle + which sported on her breast,—one of those audacities of the toilet + that are suited only to slender waists,—and she resumed the thread + of her thoughts as if she were speaking to herself:— + </p> + <p> + “But I will say no more. You writers have ended by making ridiculous all + women who think they are misunderstood, or ill-mated, and who try to make + themselves dramatically interesting,—attempts which seem to me, I + must say, intolerably vulgar. There are but two things for women in that + plight to do,—yield, and all is over; resist, and amuse themselves; + in either case they should keep silence. It is true that I neither yielded + wholly, nor resisted wholly; but, perhaps, that was only the more reason + why I should be silent. What folly for women to complain! If they have not + proved the stronger, they have failed in sense, in tact, in capacity, and + they deserve their fate. Are they not queens in France? They can play with + you as they like, when they like, and as much as they like.” Here she + danced her vinaigrette with an airy movement of feminine impertinence and + mocking gayety. “I have often heard miserable little specimens of my sex + regretting that they were women, wishing they were men; I have always + regarded them with pity. If I had to choose, I should still elect to be a + woman. A fine pleasure, indeed, to owe one’s triumph to force, and to all + those powers which you give yourselves by the laws you make! But to see + you at our feet, saying and doing foolish things,—ah! it is an + intoxicating pleasure to feel within our souls that weakness triumphs! But + when we triumph, we ought to keep silence, under pain of losing our + empire. Beaten, a woman’s pride should gag her. The slave’s silence alarms + the master.” + </p> + <p> + This chatter was uttered in a voice so softly sarcastic, so dainty, and + with such coquettish motions of the head, that d’Arthez, to whom this + style of woman was totally unknown, sat before her exactly like a + partridge charmed by a setter. + </p> + <p> + “I entreat you, madame,” he said, at last, “to tell me how it was possible + that a man could make you suffer? Be assured that where, as you say, other + women are common and vulgar, you can only seem distinguished; your manner + of saying things would make a cook-book interesting.” + </p> + <p> + “You go fast in friendship,” she said, in a grave voice which made + d’Arthez extremely uneasy. + </p> + <p> + The conversation changed; the hour was late, and the poor man of genius + went away contrite for having seemed curious, and for wounding the + sensitive heart of that rare woman who had so strangely suffered. As for + her, she had passed her life in amusing herself with men, and was another + Don Juan in female attire, with this difference: she would certainly not + have invited the Commander to supper, and would have got the better of any + statue. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible to continue this tale without saying a word about the + Prince de Cadignan, better known under the name of the Duc de + Maufrigneuse, otherwise the spice of the princess’s confidences would be + lost, and strangers would not understand the Parisian comedy she was about + to play for her man of genius. + </p> + <p> + The Duc de Maufrigneuse, like a true son of the old Prince de Cadignan, is + a tall, lean man, of elegant shape, very graceful, a sayer of witty + things, colonel by the grace of God, and a good soldier by accident; brave + as a Pole, which means without sense or discernment, and hiding the + emptiness of his mind under the jargon of good society. After the age of + thirty-six he was forced to be as absolutely indifferent to the fair sex + as his master Charles X., punished, like that master, for having pleased + it too well. For eighteen years the idol of the faubourg Saint-Germain, he + had, like other heirs of great families led a dissipated life, spent + solely on pleasure. His father, ruined by the revolution, had somewhat + recovered his position on the return of the Bourbons, as governor of a + royal domain, with salary and perquisites; but this uncertain fortune the + old prince spent, as it came, in keeping up the traditions of a great + seigneur before the revolution; so that when the law of indemnity was + passed, the sums he received were all swallowed up in the luxury he + displayed in his vast hotel. + </p> + <p> + The old prince died some little time before the revolution of July aged + eighty-seven. He had ruined his wife, and had long been on bad terms with + the Duc de Navarreins, who had married his daughter for a first wife, and + to whom he very reluctantly rendered his accounts. The Duc de + Maufrigneuse, early in life, had had relations with the Duchesse + d’Uxelles. About the year 1814, when Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was + forty-six years of age, the duchess, pitying his poverty, and seeing that + he stood very well at court, gave him her daughter Diane, then in her + seventeenth year, and possessing, in her own right, some fifty or sixty + thousand francs a year, not counting her future expectations. Mademoiselle + d’Uxelles thus became a duchess, and, as her mother very well knew, she + enjoyed the utmost liberty. The duke, after obtaining the unexpected + happiness of an heir, left his wife entirely to her own devices, and went + off to amuse himself in the various garrisons of France, returning + occasionally to Paris, where he made debts which his father paid. He + professed the most entire conjugal indulgence, always giving the duchess a + week’s warning of his return; he was adored by his regiment, beloved by + the Dauphin, an adroit courtier, somewhat of a gambler, and totally devoid + of affectation. Having succeeded to his father’s office as governor of one + of the royal domains, he managed to please the two kings, Louis XVIII. and + Charles X., which proves he made the most of his nonentity; and even the + liberals liked him; but his conduct and life were covered with the finest + varnish; language, noble manners, and deportment were brought by him to a + state of perfection. But, as the old prince said, it was impossible for + him to continue the traditions of the Cadignans, who were all well known + to have ruined their wives, for the duchess was running through her + property on her own account. + </p> + <p> + These particulars were so well understood in the court circles and in the + faubourg Saint-Germain, that during the last five years of the Restoration + they were considered ancient history, and any one who mentioned them would + have been laughed at. Women never spoke of the charming duke without + praising him; he was excellent, they said, to his wife; could a man be + better? He had left her the entire disposal of her own property, and had + always defended her on every occasion. It is true that, whether from + pride, kindliness, or chivalry, Monsieur de Maufrigneuse had saved the + duchess under various circumstances which might have ruined other women, + in spite of Diane’s surroundings, and the influence of her mother and that + of the Duc de Navarreins, her father-in-law, and her husband’s aunt. + </p> + <p> + For several ensuing days the princess revealed herself to d’Arthez as + remarkable for her knowledge of literature. She discussed with perfect + fearlessness the most difficult questions, thanks to her daily and nightly + reading, pursued with an intrepidity worthy of the highest praise. + D’Arthez, amazed, and incapable of suspecting that Diane d’Uxelles merely + repeated at night that which she read in the morning (as some writers do), + regarded her as a most superior woman. These conversations, however, led + away from Diane’s object, and she tried to get back to the region of + confidences from which d’Arthez had prudently retired after her coquettish + rebuff; but it was not as easy as she expected to bring back a man of his + nature who had once been startled away. + </p> + <p> + However, after a month of literary campaigning and the finest platonic + discourses, d’Arthez grew bolder, and arrived every day at three o’clock. + He retired at six, and returned at nine, to remain until midnight, or one + in the morning, with the regularity of an ardent and impatient lover. The + princess was always dressed with more or less studied elegance at the hour + when d’Arthez presented himself. This mutual fidelity, the care they each + took of their appearance, in fact, all about them expressed sentiments + that neither dared avow, for the princess discerned very plainly that the + great child with whom she had to do shrank from the combat as much as she + desired it. Nevertheless d’Arthez put into his mute declarations a + respectful awe which was infinitely pleasing to her. Both felt, every day, + all the more united because nothing acknowledged or definite checked the + course of their ideas, as occurs between lovers when there are formal + demands on one side, and sincere or coquettish refusals on the other. + </p> + <p> + Like all men younger than their actual age, d’Arthez was a prey to those + agitating irresolutions which are caused by the force of desires and the + terror of displeasing,—a situation which a young woman does not + comprehend when she shares it, but which the princess had too often + deliberately produced not to enjoy its pleasures. In fact, Diane enjoyed + these delightful juvenilities all the more keenly because she knew that + she could put an end to them at any moment. She was like a great artist + delighting in the vague, undecided lines of his sketch, knowing well that + in a moment of inspiration he can complete the masterpiece still waiting + to come to birth. Many a time, seeing d’Arthez on the point of advancing, + she enjoyed stopping him short, with an imposing air and manner. She drove + back the hidden storms of that still young heart, raised them again, and + stilled them with a look, holding out her hand to be kissed, or saying + some trifling insignificant words in a tender voice. + </p> + <p> + These manoeuvres, planned in cold blood, but enchantingly executed, carved + her image deeper and deeper on the soul of that great writer and thinker + whom she revelled in making childlike, confiding, simple, and almost silly + beside her. And yet she had moments of repulsion against her own act, + moments in which she could not help admiring the grandeur of such + simplicity. This game of choicest coquetry attached her, insensibly, to + her slave. At last, however, Diane grew impatient with an Epictetus of + love; and when she thought she had trained him to the utmost credulity, + she set to work to tie a thicker bandage still over his eyes. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. THE CONFESSION OF A PRETTY WOMAN + </h2> + <p> + One evening Daniel found the princess thoughtful, one elbow resting on a + little table, her beautiful blond head bathed in light from the lamp. She + was toying with a letter which lay on the table-cloth. When d’Arthez had + seen the paper distinctly, she folded it up, and stuck it in her belt. + </p> + <p> + “What is the matter?” asked d’Arthez; “you seem distressed.” + </p> + <p> + “I have received a letter from Monsieur de Cadignan,” she replied. + “However great the wrongs he has done me, I cannot help thinking of his + exile—without family, without son—from his native land.” + </p> + <p> + These words, said in a soulful voice, betrayed angelic sensibility. + D’Arthez was deeply moved. The curiosity of the lover became, so to speak, + a psychological and literary curiosity. He wanted to know the height that + woman had attained, and what were the injuries she thus forgave; he longed + to know how these women of the world, taxed with frivolity, + cold-heartedness, and egotism, could be such angels. Remembering how the + princess had already repulsed him when he first tried to read that + celestial heart, his voice, and he himself, trembled as he took the + transparent, slender hand of the beautiful Diane with its curving + finger-tips, and said,— + </p> + <p> + “Are we now such friends that you will tell me what you have suffered?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she said, breathing forth the syllable like the most mellifluous + note that Tulou’s flute had ever sighed. + </p> + <p> + Then she fell into a revery, and her eyes were veiled. Daniel remained in + a state of anxious expectation, impressed with the solemnity of the + occasion. His poetic imagination made him see, as it were, clouds slowly + dispersing and disclosing to him the sanctuary where the wounded lamb was + kneeling at the divine feet. + </p> + <p> + “Well?” he said, in a soft, still voice. + </p> + <p> + Diane looked at the tender petitioner; then she lowered her eyes slowly, + dropping their lids with a movement of noble modesty. None but a monster + would have been capable of imagining hypocrisy in the graceful undulation + of the neck with which the princess again lifted her charming head, to + look once more into the eager eyes of that great man. + </p> + <p> + “Can I? ought I?” she murmured, with a gesture of hesitation, gazing at + d’Arthez with a sublime expression of dreamy tenderness. “Men have so + little faith in things of this kind; they think themselves so little bound + to be discreet!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! if you distrust me, why am I here?” cried d’Arthez. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, friend!” she said, giving to the exclamation the grace of an + involuntary avowal, “when a woman attaches herself for life, think you she + calculates? It is not question of refusal (how could I refuse you + anything?), but the idea of what you may think of me if I speak. I would + willingly confide to you the strange position in which I am at my age; but + what would you think of a woman who could reveal the secret wounds of her + married life? Turenne kept his word to robbers; do I not owe to my + torturers the honor of a Turenne?” + </p> + <p> + “Have you passed your word to say nothing?” + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur de Cadignan did not think it necessary to bind me to secrecy—You + are asking more than my soul! Tyrant! you want me to bury my honor itself + in your breast,” she said, casting upon d’Arthez a look, by which she gave + more value to her coming confidence than to her personal self. + </p> + <p> + “You must think me a very ordinary man, if you fear any evil, no matter + what, from me,” he said, with ill-concealed bitterness. + </p> + <p> + “Forgive me, friend,” she replied, taking his hand in hers caressingly, + and letting her fingers wander gently over it. “I know your worth. You + have related to me your whole life; it is noble, it is beautiful, it is + sublime, and worthy of your name; perhaps, in return, I owe you mine. But + I fear to lower myself in your eyes by relating secrets which are not + wholly mine. How can you believe—you, a man of solitude and poesy—the + horrors of social life? Ah! you little think when you invent your dramas + that they are far surpassed by those that are played in families + apparently united. You are wholly ignorant of certain gilded sorrows.” + </p> + <p> + “I know all!” he cried. + </p> + <p> + “No, you know nothing.” + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez felt like a man lost on the Alps of a dark night, who sees, at + the first gleam of dawn, a precipice at his feet. He looked at the + princess with a bewildered air, and felt a cold chill running down his + back. Diane thought for a moment that her man of genius was a weakling, + but a flash from his eyes reassured her. + </p> + <p> + “You have become to me almost my judge,” she said, with a desperate air. + “I must speak now, in virtue of the right that all calumniated beings have + to show their innocence. I have been, I am still (if a poor recluse forced + by the world to renounce the world is still remembered) accused of such + light conduct, and so many evil things, that it may be allowed me to find + in one strong heart a haven from which I cannot be driven. Hitherto I have + always considered self-justification an insult to innocence; and that is + why I have disdained to defend myself. Besides, to whom could I appeal? + Such cruel things can be confided to none but God or to one who seems to + us very near Him—a priest, or another self. Well! I do know this, if + my secrets are not as safe there,” she said, laying her hand on d’Arthez’s + heart, “as they are here” (pressing the upper end of her busk beneath her + fingers), “then you are not the grand d’Arthez I think you—I shall + have been deceived.” + </p> + <p> + A tear moistened d’Arthez’s eyes, and Diane drank it in with a side look, + which, however, gave no motion either to the pupils or the lids of her + eyes. It was quick and neat, like the action of a cat pouncing on a mouse. + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez, for the first time, after sixty days of protocols, ventured to + take that warm and perfumed hand, and press it to his lips with a + long-drawn kiss, extending from the wrist to the tip of the fingers, which + made the princess augur well of literature. She thought to herself that + men of genius must know how to love with more perfection than conceited + fops, men of the world, diplomatists, and even soldiers, although such + beings have nothing else to do. She was a connoisseur, and knew very well + that the capacity for love reveals itself chiefly in mere nothings. A + woman well informed in such matters can read her future in a simple + gesture; just as Cuvier could say from the fragment of a bone: This + belonged to an animal of such or such dimensions, with or without horns, + carnivorous, herbivorous, amphibious, etc., age, so many thousand years. + Sure now of finding in d’Arthez as much imagination in love as there was + in his written style, she thought it wise to bring him up at once to the + highest pitch of passion and belief. + </p> + <p> + She withdrew her hand hastily, with a magnificent movement full of varied + emotions. If she had said in words: “Stop, or I shall die,” she could not + have spoken more plainly. She remained for a moment with her eyes in + d’Arthez’s eyes, expressing in that one glance happiness, prudery, fear, + confidence, languor, a vague longing, and virgin modesty. She was twenty + years old! but remember, she had prepared for this hour of comic falsehood + by the choicest art of dress; she was there in her armchair like a flower, + ready to blossom at the first kiss of sunshine. True or false, she + intoxicated Daniel. + </p> + <p> + It if is permissible to risk a personal opinion we must avow that it would + be delightful to be thus deceived for a good long time. Certainly Talma on + the stage was often above and beyond nature, but the Princesse de Cadignan + is the greatest true comedian of our day. Nothing was wanting to this + woman but an attentive audience. Unfortunately, at epochs perturbed by + political storms, women disappear like water-lilies which need a cloudless + sky and balmy zephyrs to spread their bloom to our enraptured eyes. + </p> + <p> + The hour had come; Diane was now to entangle that great man in the + inextricable meshes of a romance carefully prepared, to which he was fated + to listen as the neophyte of early Christian times listened to the + epistles of an apostle. + </p> + <p> + “My friend,” began Diane, “my mother, who still lives at Uxelles, married + me in 1814, when I was seventeen years old (you see how old I am now!) to + Monsieur de Maufrigneuse, not out of affection for me, but out of regard + for him. She discharged her debt to the only man she had ever loved, for + the happiness she had once received from him. Oh! you need not be + astonished at so horrible a conspiracy; it frequently takes place. Many + women are more lovers than mothers, though the majority are more mothers + than wives. The two sentiments, love and motherhood, developed as they are + by our manners and customs, often struggle together in the hearts of + women; one or other must succumb when they are not of equal strength; when + they are, they produce some exceptional women, the glory of our sex. A man + of your genius must surely comprehend many things that bewilder fools but + are none the less true; indeed I may go further and call them justifiable + through difference of characters, temperaments, attachments, situations. + I, for example, at this moment, after twenty years of misfortunes, of + deceptions, of calumnies endured, and weary days and hollow pleasures, is + it not natural that I should incline to fall at the feet of a man who + would love me sincerely and forever? And yet, the world would condemn me. + But twenty years of suffering might well excuse a few brief years which + may still remain to me of youth given to a sacred and real love. This will + not happen. I am not so rash as to sacrifice my hopes of heaven. I have + borne the burden and heat of the day, I shall finish my course and win my + recompense.” + </p> + <p> + “Angel!” thought d’Arthez. + </p> + <p> + “After all, I have never blamed my mother; she knew little of me. Mothers + who lead a life like that of the Duchesse d’Uxelles keep their children at + a distance. I saw and knew nothing of the world until my marriage. You can + judge of my innocence! I knew nothing; I was incapable of understanding + the causes of my marriage. I had a fine fortune; sixty thousand francs a + year in forests, which the Revolution overlooked (or had not been able to + sell) in the Nivernais, with the noble chateau of d’Anzy. Monsieur de + Maufrigneuse was steeped in debt. Later I learned what it was to have + debts, but then I was too utterly ignorant of life to suspect my position; + the money saved out of my fortune went to pacify my husband’s creditors. + Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was forty-eight years of age when I married him; + but those years were like military campaigns, they ought to count for + twice what they were. Ah! what a life I led for ten years! If any one had + known the suffering of this poor, calumniated little woman! To be watched + by a mother jealous of her daughter! Heavens! You who make dramas, you + will never invent anything as direful as that. Ordinarily, according to + the little that I know of literature, a drama is a suite of actions, + speeches, movements which hurry to a catastrophe; but what I speak of was + a catastrophe in action. It was an avalanche fallen in the morning and + falling again at night only to fall again the next day. I am cold now as I + speak to you of that cavern without an opening, cold, sombre, in which I + lived. I, poor little thing that I was! brought up in a convent like a + mystic rose, knowing nothing of marriage, developing late, I was happy at + first; I enjoyed the goodwill and harmony of our family. The birth of my + poor boy, who is all me—you must have been struck by the likeness? + my hair, my eyes, the shape of my face, my mouth, my smile, my teeth!—well, + his birth was a relief to me; my thoughts were diverted by the first joys + of maternity from my husband, who gave me no pleasure and did nothing for + me that was kind or amiable; those joys were all the keener because I knew + no others. It had been so often rung into my ears that a mother should + respect herself. Besides, a young girl loves to play the mother. I was so + proud of my flower—for Georges was beautiful, a miracle, I thought! + I saw and thought of nothing but my son, I lived with my son. I never let + his nurse dress or undress him. Such cares, so wearing to mothers who have + a regiment of children, were all my pleasure. But after three or four + years, as I was not an actual fool, light came to my eyes in spite of the + pains taken to blindfold me. Can you see me at that final awakening, in + 1819? The drama of ‘The Brothers at enmity’ is a rose-water tragedy beside + that of a mother and daughter placed as we then were. But I braved them + all, my mother, my husband, the world, by public coquetries which society + talked of,—and heaven knows how it talked! You can see, my friend, + how the men with whom I was accused of folly were to me the dagger with + which to stab my enemies. Thinking only of my vengeance, I did not see or + feel the wounds I was inflicting on myself. Innocent as a child, I was + thought a wicked woman, the worst of women, and I knew nothing of it! The + world is very foolish, very blind, very ignorant; it can penetrate no + secrets but those which amuse it and serve its malice: noble things, great + things, it puts its hand before its eyes to avoid seeing. But, as I look + back, it seems to me that I had an attitude and aspect of indignant + innocence, with movements of pride, which a great painter would have + recognized. I must have enlivened many a ball with my tempests of anger + and disdain. Lost poesy! such sublime poems are only made in the glowing + indignation which seizes us at twenty. Later, we are wrathful no longer, + we are too weary, vice no longer amazes us, we are cowards, we fear. But + then—oh! I kept a great pace! For all that I played the silliest + personage in the world; I was charged with crimes by which I never + benefited. But I had such pleasure in compromising myself. That was my + revenge! Ah! I have played many childish tricks! I went to Italy with a + thoughtless youth, whom I crushed when he spoke to me of love, but later, + when I herd that he was compromised on my account (he had committed a + forgery to get money) I rushed to save him. My mother and husband kept me + almost without means; but, this time, I went to the king. Louis XVIII., + that man without a heart, was touched; he gave me a hundred thousand + francs from his privy purse. The Marquis d’Esgrignon—you must have + seen him in society for he ended by making a rich marriage—was saved + from the abyss into which he had plunged for my sake. That adventure, + caused by my own folly, led me to reflect. I saw that I myself was the + first victim of my vengeance. My mother, who knew I was too proud, too + d’Uxelles, to conduct myself really ill, began to see the harm that she + had done me and was frightened by it. She was then fifty-two years of age; + she left Paris and went to live at Uxelles. There she expiates her + wrong-doing by a life of devotion and expresses the utmost affection for + me. After her departure I was face to face, alone, with Monsieur de + Maufrigneuse. Oh! my friend, you men can never know what an old man of + gallantry can be. What a home is that of a man accustomed to the adulation + of women of the world, when he finds neither incense nor censer in his own + house! dead to all! and yet, perhaps for that very reason, jealous. I + wished—when Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was wholly mine—I wished + to be a good wife, but I found myself repulsed with the harshness of a + soured spirit by a man who treated me like a child and took pleasure in + humiliating my self-respect at every turn, in crushing me under the scorn + of his experience, and in convicting me of total ignorance. He wounded me + on all occasions. He did everything to make me detest him and to give me + the right to betray him; but I was still the dupe of my own hope and of my + desire to do right through several years. Shall I tell you the cruel + saying that drove me to further follies? ‘The Duchesse de Maufrigneuse has + gone back to her husband,’ said the world. ‘Bah! it is always a triumph to + bring the dead to life; it is all she can now do,’ replied my best friend, + a relation, she, at whose house I met you—” + </p> + <p> + “Madame d’Espard!” cried Daniel, with a gesture of horror. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! I have forgiven her. Besides, it was very witty; and I have myself + made just as cruel epigrams on other poor women as innocent as myself.” + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez again kissed the hand of that saintly woman who, having hacked + her mother in pieces, and turned the Prince de Cadignan into an Othello, + now proceeded to accuse herself in order to appear in the eyes of that + innocent great man as immaculate as the silliest or the wisest of women + desire to seem at all costs to their lovers. + </p> + <p> + “You will readily understand, my friend, that I returned to society for + the purpose of excitement and I may say of notoriety. I felt that I must + conquer my independence. I led a life of dissipation. To divert my mind, + to forget my real life in fictitious enjoyments I was gay, I shone, I gave + fetes, I played the princess, and I ran in debt. At home I could forget + myself in the sleep of weariness, able to rise the next day gay, and + frivolous for the world; but in that sad struggle to escape my real life I + wasted my fortune. The revolution of 1830 came; it came at the very moment + when I had met, at the end of that <i>Arabian Nights’’</i> life, a pure and + sacred love which (I desire to be honest) I had longed to know. Was it not + natural in a woman whose heart, repressed by many causes and accidents, + was awakening at an age when a woman feels herself cheated if she has + never known, like the women she sees about her, a happy love? Ah! why was + Michel Chrestien so respectful? Why did he not seek to meet me? There + again was another mockery! But what of that? in falling, I have lost + everything; I have no illusions left; I had tasted of all things except + the one fruit for which I have no longer teeth. Yes, I found myself + disenchanted with the world at the very moment when I was forced to leave + it. Providential, was it not? like all those strange insensibilities which + prepare us for death” (she made a gesture full of pious unction). “All + things served me then,” she continued; “the disasters of the monarchy and + its ruin helped me to bury myself. My son consoles me for much. Maternal + love takes the place of all frustrated feelings. The world is surprised at + my retirement, but to me it has brought peace. Ah! if you knew how happy + the poor creature before you is in this little place. In sacrificing all + to my son I forget to think of joys of which I am and ever must be + ignorant. Yes, hope has flown, I now fear everything; no doubt I should + repulse the truest sentiment, the purest and most veritable love, in + memory of the deceptions and the miseries of my life. It is all horrible, + is it not? and yet, what I have told you is the history of many women.” + </p> + <p> + The last few words were said in a tone of easy pleasantry which recalled + the presence of the woman of the world. D’Arthez was dumbfounded. In his + eyes convicts sent to the galleys for murder, or aggravated robbery, or + for putting a wrong name to checks, were saints compared to the men and + women of society. This atrocious elegy, forged in the arsenal of lies, and + steeped in the waters of the Parisian Styx, had been poured into his ears + with the inimitable accent of truth. The grave author contemplated for a + moment that adorable woman lying back in her easy-chair, her two hands + pendant from its arms like dewdrops from a rose-leaf, overcome by her own + revelation, living over again the sorrows of her life as she told them—in + short an angel of melancholy. + </p> + <p> + “And judge,” she cried, suddenly lifting herself with a spring and raising + her hand, while lightning flashed from eyes where twenty chaste years + shone—“judge of the impression the love of a man like Michel must + have made upon me. But by some irony of fate—or was it the hand of + God?—well, he died; died in saving the life of, whom do you suppose? + of Monsieur de Cadignan. Are you now surprised to find me thoughtful?” + </p> + <p> + This was the last drop; poor d’Arthez could bear no more. He fell upon his + knees, and laid his head on Diane’s hand, weeping soft tears such as the + angels shed,—if angels weep. As Daniel was in that bent posture, + Madame de Cadignan could safely let a malicious smile of triumph flicker + on her lips, a smile such as the monkeys wear after playing a sly trick—if + monkeys smile. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! I have him,” thought she; and, indeed, she had him fast. + </p> + <p> + “But you are—” he said, raising his fine head and looking at her + with eyes of love. + </p> + <p> + “Virgin and martyr,” she replied, smiling at the commonness of that + hackneyed expression, but giving it a freshness of meaning by her smile, + so full of painful gayety. “If I laugh,” she continued, “it is that I am + thinking of that princess whom the world thinks it knows, that Duchesse de + Maufrigneuse to whom it gives as lovers de Marsay, that infamous de + Trailles (a political cutthroat), and that little fool of a d’Esgrignon, + and Rastignac, Rubempre, ambassadors, ministers, Russian generals, heaven + knows who! all Europe! They have gossiped about that album which I ordered + made, believing that those who admired me were my friends. Ah! it is + frightful! I wonder that I allow a man at my feet! Despise them all, THAT + should be my religion.” + </p> + <p> + She rose and went to the window with a gait and bearing magnificent in + motifs. + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez remained on the low seat to which he had returned not daring to + follow the princess; but he looked at her; he heard her blowing her nose. + Was there ever a princess who blew her nose? but Diane attempted the + impossible to convey an idea of her sensibility. D’Arthez believed his + angel was in tears; he rushed to her side, took her round the waist, and + pressed her to his heart. + </p> + <p> + “No, no, leave me!” she murmured in a feeble voice. “I have too many + doubts to be good for anything. To reconcile me with life is a task beyond + the powers of any man.” + </p> + <p> + “Diane! I will love you for your whole lost life.” + </p> + <p> + “No; don’t speak to me thus,” she answered. “At this moment I tremble, I + am ashamed as though I had committed the greatest sins.” + </p> + <p> + She was now entirely restored to the innocence of little girls, and yet + her bearing was august, grand, noble as that of a queen. It is impossible + to describe the effect of these manoeuvres, so clever that they acted like + the purest truth on a soul as fresh and honest as that of d’Arthez. The + great author remained dumb with admiration, passive beside her in the + recess of that window awaiting a word, while the princess awaited a kiss; + but she was far too sacred to him for that. Feeling cold, the princess + returned to her easy-chair; her feet were frozen. + </p> + <p> + “It will take a long time,” she said to herself, looking at Daniel’s noble + brow and head. + </p> + <p> + “Is this a woman?” thought that profound observer of human nature. “How + ought I to treat her?” + </p> + <p> + Until two o’clock in the morning they spent their time in saying to each + other the silly things that women of genius, like the princess, know how + to make adorable. Diane pretended to be too worn, too old, too faded; + D’Arthez proved to her (facts of which she was well convinced) that her + skin was the most delicate, the softest to the touch, the whitest to the + eye, the most fragrant; she was young and in her bloom, how could she + think otherwise? Thus they disputed, beauty by beauty, detail by detail + with many: “Oh! do you think so?”—“You are beside yourself!”—“It + is hope, it is fancy!”—“You will soon see me as I am.—I am + almost forty years of age. Can a man love so old a woman?” + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez responded with impetuous and school-boy eloquence, larded with + exaggerated epithets. When the princess heard this wise and witty writer + talking the nonsense of an amorous sub-lieutenant she listened with an + absorbed air and much sensibility; but she laughed in her sleeve. + </p> + <p> + When d’Arthez was in the street, he asked himself whether he might not + have been rather less respectful. He went over in memory those strange + confidences—which have, naturally, been much abridged here, for they + needed a volume to convey their mellifluous abundance and the graces which + accompanied them. The retrospective perspicacity of this man, so natural, + so profound, was baffled by the candor of that tale and its poignancy, and + by the tones of the princess. + </p> + <p> + “It is true,” he said to himself, being unable to sleep, “there are such + dramas as that in society. Society covers great horrors with the flowers + of its elegance, the embroidery of its gossip, the wit of its lies. We + writers invent no more than the truth. Poor Diane! Michel had penetrated + that enigma; he said that beneath her covering of ice there lay volcanoes! + Bianchon and Rastignac were right; when a man can join the grandeurs of + the ideal and the enjoyments of human passion in loving a woman of perfect + manners, of intellect, of delicacy, it must be happiness beyond words.” + </p> + <p> + So thinking, he sounded the love that was in him and found it infinite. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. A TRIAL OF FAITH + </h2> + <p> + The next day, about two in the afternoon, Madame d’Espard, who had seen + and heard nothing of the princess for more than a month, went to see her + under the impulse of extreme curiosity. Nothing was ever more amusing of + its kind than the conversation of these two crafty adders during the first + half-hour of this visit. + </p> + <p> + Diane d’Uxelles cautiously avoided, as she would the wearing of a yellow + gown, all mention of d’Arthez. The marquise circled round and round that + topic like a Bedouin round a caravan. Diane amused herself; the marquise + fumed. Diane waited; she intended to utilize her friend and use her in the + chase. Of these two women, both so celebrated in the social world, one was + far stronger than the other. The princess rose by a head above the + marquise, and the marquise was inwardly conscious of that superiority. In + this, perhaps, lay the secret of their intimacy. The weaker of the two + crouched low in her false attachment, watching for the hour, long awaited + by feeble beings, of springing at the throat of the stronger and leaving + the mark of a joyful bite. Diane saw clear; but the world was the dupe of + the wile caresses of the two friends. + </p> + <p> + The instant that the princess perceived a direct question on the lips of + her friend, she said:— + </p> + <p> + “Ah! dearest, I owe you a most complete, immense, infinite, celestial + happiness.” + </p> + <p> + “What can you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “Have you forgotten what we ruminated three months ago in the little + garden, sitting on a bench in the sun, under the jasmine? Ah! there are + none but men of genius who know how to love! I apply to my grand Daniel + d’Arthez the Duke of Alba’s saying to Catherine de’ Medici: ‘The head of a + single salmon is worth all the frogs in the world.’” + </p> + <p> + “I am not surprised that I no longer see you,” said Madame d’Espard. + </p> + <p> + “Promise me, if you meet him, not to say to him one word about me, my + angel,” said the princess, taking her friend’s hand. “I am happy, oh! + happy beyond all expression; but you know that in society a word, a mere + jest can do much harm. One speech can kill, for they put such venom into a + single sentence! Ah! if you knew how I long that you might meet with a + love like this! Yes, it is a sweet, a precious triumph for women like + ourselves to end our woman’s life in this way; to rest in an ardent, pure, + devoted, complete and absolute love; above all, when we have sought it + long.” + </p> + <p> + “Why do you ask me to be faithful to my dearest friend?” said Madame + d’Espard. “Do you think me capable of playing you some villainous trick?” + </p> + <p> + “When a woman possesses such a treasure the fear of losing it is so strong + that it naturally inspires a feeling of terror. I am absurd, I know; + forgive me, dear.” + </p> + <p> + A few moments later the marquise departed; as she watched her go the + princess said to herself:— + </p> + <p> + “How she will pluck me! But to save her the trouble of trying to get + Daniel away from here I’ll send him to her.” + </p> + <p> + At three o’clock, or a few moments after, d’Arthez arrived. In the midst + of some interesting topic on which he was discoursing eloquently, the + princess suddenly cut him short by laying her hand on his arm. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me, my dear friend,” she said, interrupting him, “but I fear I may + forget a thing which seems a mere trifle but may be of great importance. + You have not set foot in Madame d’Espard’s salon since the ever-blessed + day when I met you there. Pray go at once; not for your sake, nor by way + of politeness, but for me. You may already have made her an enemy of mine, + if by chance she has discovered that since her dinner you have scarcely + left my house. Besides, my friend, I don’t like to see you dropping your + connection with society, and neglecting your occupations and your work. I + should again be strangely calumniated. What would the world say? That I + held you in leading-strings, absorbed you, feared comparisons, and clung + to my conquest knowing it to be my last! Who will know that you are my + friend, my only friend? If you love me indeed, as you say you love me, you + will make the world believe that we are purely and simply brother and + sister—Go on with what you were saying.” + </p> + <p> + In his armor of tenderness, riveted by the knowledge of so many splendid + virtues, d’Arthez obeyed this behest on the following day and went to see + Madame d’Espard, who received him with charming coquetry. The marquise + took very good care not to say a single word to him about the princess, + but she asked him to dinner on a coming day. + </p> + <p> + On this occasion d’Arthez found a numerous company. The marquise had + invited Rastignac, Blondet, the Marquis d’Ajuda-Pinto, Maxime de Trailles, + the Marquis d’Esgrignon, the two brothers Vandenesse, du Tillet, one of + the richest bankers in Paris, the Baron de Nucingen, Raoul Nathan, Lady + Dudley, two very treacherous secretaries of embassies and the Chevalier + d’Espard, the wiliest person in this assemblage and the chief instigator + of his sister-in-law’s policy. + </p> + <p> + When dinner was well under way, Maxime de Trailles turned to d’Arthez and + said smiling:— + </p> + <p> + “You see a great deal, don’t you, of the Princesse de Cadignan?” + </p> + <p> + To this question d’Arthez responded by curtly nodding his head. Maxime de + Trailles was a “bravo” of the social order, without faith or law, capable + of everything, ruining the women who trusted him, compelling them to pawn + their diamonds to give him money, but covering this conduct with a + brilliant varnish; a man of charming manners and satanic mind. He inspired + all who knew him with equal contempt and fear; but as no one was bold + enough to show him any sentiments but those of the utmost courtesy he saw + nothing of this public opinion, or else he accepted and shared the general + dissimulation. He owed to the Comte de Marsay the greatest degree of + elevation to which he could attain. De Marsay, whose knowledge of Maxime + was of long-standing, judged him capable of fulfilling certain secret and + diplomatic functions which he confided to him and of which de Trailles + acquitted himself admirably. D’Arthez had for some time past mingled + sufficiently in political matters to know the man for what he was, and he + alone had sufficient strength and height of character to express aloud + what others thought or said in a whisper. + </p> + <p> + “Is it for her that you neglect the Chamber?” asked Baron de Nucingen in + his German accent. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! the princess is one of the most dangerous women a man can have + anything to do with. I owe to her the miseries of my marriage,” exclaimed + the Marquis d’Esgrignon. + </p> + <p> + “Dangerous?” said Madame d’Espard. “Don’t speak so of my nearest friend. I + have never seen or known anything in the princess that did not seem to + come from the noblest sentiments.” + </p> + <p> + “Let the marquis say what he thinks,” cried Rastignac. “When a man has + been thrown by a fine horse he thinks it has vices and he sells it.” + </p> + <p> + Piqued by these words, the Marquis d’Esgrignon looked at d’Arthez and + said:— + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur is not, I trust, on such terms with the princess that we cannot + speak freely of her?” + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez kept silence. D’Esgrignon, who was not wanting in cleverness, + replied to Rastignac’s speech with an apologetic portrait of the princess, + which put the whole table in good humor. As the jest was extremely obscure + to d’Arthez he leaned towards his neighbor, Madame de Montcornet, and + asked her, in a whisper, what it meant. + </p> + <p> + “Excepting yourself—judging by the excellent opinion you seem to + have of the princess—all the other guests are said to have been in + her good graces.” + </p> + <p> + “I can assure you that such an accusation is absolutely false,” said + Daniel. + </p> + <p> + “And yet, here is Monsieur d’Esgrignon of an old family of Alencon, who + completely ruined himself for her some twelve years ago, and, if all is + true, came very near going to the scaffold.” + </p> + <p> + “I know the particulars of that affair,” said d’Arthez. “Madame de + Cadignan went to Alencon to save Monsieur d’Esgrignon from a trial before + the court of assizes; and this is how he rewards her to-day!” + </p> + <p> + Madame de Montcornet looked at d’Arthez with a surprise and curiosity that + were almost stupid, then she turned her eyes on Madame d’Espard with a + look which seemed to say: “He is bewitched!” + </p> + <p> + During this short conversation Madame de Cadignan was protected by Madame + d’Espard, whose protection was like that of the lightning-rod which draws + the flash. When d’Arthez returned to the general conversation Maxime de + Trailles was saying:— + </p> + <p> + “With Diane, depravity is not an effect but a cause; perhaps she owes that + cause to her exquisite nature; she doesn’t invent, she makes no effort, + she offers you the choicest refinements as the inspiration of a + spontaneous and naive love; and it is absolutely impossible not to believe + her.” + </p> + <p> + This speech, which seemed to have been prepared for a man of d’Arthez’s + stamp, was so tremendous an arraignment that the company appeared to + accept it as a conclusion. No one said more; the princess was crushed. + D’Arthez looked straight at de Trailles and then at d’Esgrignon with a + sarcastic air, and said:— + </p> + <p> + “The greatest fault of that woman is that she has followed in the wake of + men. She squanders patrimonies as they do; she drives her lovers to + usurers; she pockets ‘dots’; she ruins orphans; she inspires, possibly she + commits, crimes, but—” + </p> + <p> + Never had the two men, whom d’Arthez was chiefly addressing, listened to + such plain talk. At that BUT the whole table was startled, every one + paused, fork in air, their eyes fixed alternately on the brave author and + on the assailants of the princess, awaiting the conclusion of that + horrible silence. + </p> + <p> + “<i>But</i>,” said d’Arthez, with sarcastic airiness, “Madame la Princesse + de Cadignan has one advantage over men: when they have put themselves in + danger for her sake, she saves them, and says no harm of any one. Among + the multitude, why shouldn’t there be one woman who amuses herself with + men as men amuse themselves with women? Why not allow the fair sex to + take, from time to time, its revenge?” + </p> + <p> + “Genius is stronger than wit,” said Blondet to Nathan. + </p> + <p> + This broadside of sarcasms was in fact the discharge of a battery of + cannons against a platoon of musketry. When coffee was served, Blondet and + Nathan went up to d’Arthez with an eagerness no one else dared to imitate, + so unable were the rest of the company to show the admiration his conduct + inspired from the fear of making two powerful enemies. + </p> + <p> + “This is not the first time we have seen that your character equals your + talent in grandeur,” said Blondet. “You behaved just now more like a + demi-god than a man. Not to have been carried away by your heart or your + imagination, not to have taken up the defence of a beloved woman—a + fault they were enticing you to commit, because it would have given those + men of society eaten up with jealousy of your literary fame a triumph over + you—ah! give me leave to say you have attained the height of private + statesmanship.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, you are a statesman,” said Nathan. “It is as clever as it is + difficult to avenge a woman without defending her.” + </p> + <p> + “The princess is one of those heroines of the legitimist party, and it is + the duty of all men of honor to protect her quand meme,” replied d’Arthez, + coldly. “What she has done for the cause of her masters would excuse all + follies.” + </p> + <p> + “He keeps his own counsel!” said Nathan to Blondet. + </p> + <p> + “Precisely as if the princess were worth it,” said Rastignac, joining the + other two. + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez went to the princess, who was awaiting him with the keenest + anxiety. The result of this experiment, which Diane had herself brought + about, might be fatal to her. For the first time in her life this woman + suffered in her heart. She knew not what she should do in case d’Arthez + believed the world which spoke the truth, instead of believing her who + lied; for never had so noble a nature, so complete a man, a soul so pure, + a conscience so ingenuous come beneath her hand. Though she had told him + cruel lies she was driven to do so by the desire of knowing a true love. + That love—she felt it dawning in her heart; yes, she loved d’Arthez; + and now she was condemned forever to deceive him! She must henceforth + remain to him the actress who had played that comedy to blind his eyes. + </p> + <p> + When she heard Daniel’s step in the dining-room a violent commotion, a + shudder which reached to her very vitals came over her. That convulsion, + never felt during all the years of her adventurous existence, told her + that she had staked her happiness on this issue. Her eyes, gazing into + space, took in the whole of d’Arthez’s person; their light poured through + his flesh, she read his soul; suspicion had not so much as touched him + with its bat’s-wing. The terrible emotion of that fear then came to its + reaction; joy almost stifled her; for there is no human being who is not + more able to endure grief than to bear extreme felicity. + </p> + <p> + “Daniel, they have calumniated me, and you have avenged me!” she cried, + rising, and opening her arms to him. + </p> + <p> + In the profound amazement caused by these words, the roots of which were + utterly unknown to him, Daniel allowed his hand to be taken between her + beautiful hands, as the princess kissed him sacredly on the forehead. + </p> + <p> + “But,” he said, “how could you know—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! illustrious ninny! do you not see that I love you fondly?” + </p> + <p> + Since that day nothing has been said of the Princess de Cadignan, nor of + d’Arthez. The princess has inherited some fortune from her mother and she + spends all her summers in a villa on the lake of Geneva, where the great + writer joins her. She returns to Paris for a few months in winter. + D’Arthez is never seen except in the Chamber. His writings are becoming + exceedingly rare. Is this a conclusion? Yes, for people of sense; no, for + persons who want to know everything. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + ADDENDUM + </h2> + <h3> + The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Ajuda-Pinto, Marquis Miguel d’ + Father Goriot + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Beatrix + + Arthez, Daniel d’ + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Member for Arcis + + Bianchon, Horace + Father Goriot + The Atheist’s Mass + Cesar Birotteau + The Commission in Lunacy + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor’s Establishment + The Government Clerks + Pierrette + A Study of Woman + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Honorine + The Seamy Side of History + The Magic Skin + A Second Home + A Prince of Bohemia + Letters of Two Brides + The Muse of the Department + The Imaginary Mistress + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + The Country Parson + In addition, M. Bianchon narrated the following: + Another Study of Woman + La Grande Breteche + + Blondet, Emile + Jealousies of a Country Town + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Modeste Mignon + Another Study of Woman + A Daughter of Eve + The Firm of Nucingen + The Peasantry + + Blondet, Virginie + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Another Study of Woman + The Member for Arcis + A Daughter of Eve + + Cadignan, Prince de + Modeste Mignon + + Chrestien, Michel + A Bachelor’s Establishment + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + + Cinq-Cygne, Laurence, Comtesse (afterwards Marquise de) + The Gondreville Mystery + The Seamy Side of History + The Member for Arcis + + Dudley, Lady Arabella + The Lily of the Valley + The Ball at Sceaux + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + + Esgrignon, Victurnien, Comte (then Marquis d’) + Jealousies of a Country Town + Letters of Two Brides + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + + Espard, Chevalier d’ + The Commission in Lunacy + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + + Espard, Jeanne-Clementine-Athenais de Blamont-Chauvry, Marquise d’ + The Commission in Lunacy + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + + Galathionne, Prince and Princess (both not in each story) + The Middle Classes + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + + Giraud, Leon + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor’s Establishment + The Unconscious Humorists + + Marsay, Henri de + The Thirteen + The Unconscious Humorists + Another Study of Woman + The Lily of the Valley + Father Goriot + Jealousies of a Country Town + Ursule Mirouet + A Marriage Settlement + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Ball at Sceaux + Modest Mignon + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + + Maufrigneuse, Duc de + A Start in Life + A Bachelor’s Establishment + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + + Maufrigneuse, Duchesse de + Modeste Mignon + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Muse of the Department + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + The Member for Arcis + + Maufrigneuse, Georges de + The Gondreville Mystery + Beatrix + The Member for Arcis + + Mirbel, Madame de + Letters of Two Brides + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + + Nathan, Raoul + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + The Seamy Side of History + The Muse of the Department + A Prince of Bohemia + A Man of Business + The Unconscious Humorists + + Navarreins, Duc de + A Bachelor’s Establishment + Colonel Chabert + The Muse of the Department + The Thirteen + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + The Country Parson + The Magic Skin + The Gondreville Mystery + Cousin Betty + + Nucingen, Baron Frederic de + The Firm of Nucingen + Father Goriot + Pierrette + Cesar Birotteau + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Another Study of Woman + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + The Muse of the Department + The Unconscious Humorists + + Rastignac, Eugene de + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + The Ball at Sceaux + The Interdiction + A Study of Woman + Another Study of Woman + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + The Gondreville Mystery + The Firm of Nucingen + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + The Unconscious Humorists + + Rochefide, Marquise de + Beatrix + A Daughter of Eve + Sarrasine + A Prince of Bohemia + + Tillet, Ferdinand du + Cesar Birotteau + The Firm of Nucingen + The Middle Classes + A Bachelor’s Establishment + Pierrette + Melmoth Reconciled + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Unconscious Humorists + + Toby (Joby, Paddy) + The Firm of Nucingen + + Trailles, Comte Maxime de + Cesar Birotteau + Father Goriot + Gobseck + Ursule Mirouet + A Man of Business + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + Beatrix + The Unconscious Humorists + + Vandenesse, Comte Felix de + The Lily of the Valley + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Cesar Birotteau + Letters of Two Brides + A Start in Life + The Marriage Settlement + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1344 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b5700e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #1344 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1344) diff --git a/old/1344-0.txt b/old/1344-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..52f9de8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1344-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2732 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan, by +Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley + +Release Date: June, 1997 [Etext #1344] +Posting Date: February 22, 2010 +Last Updated: November 23, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + + + + + +THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + + +By Honore De Balzac + + + +Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + + + + DEDICATION + + To Theophile Gautier + + + + + +THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + + + + +CHAPTER I. THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTES + + +After the disasters of the revolution of July, which destroyed so many +aristocratic fortunes dependent on the court, Madame la Princesse de +Cadignan was clever enough to attribute to political events the total +ruin she had caused by her own extravagance. The prince left France +with the royal family, and never returned to it, leaving the princess in +Paris, protected by the fact of his absence; for their debts, which +the sale of all their salable property had not been able to extinguish, +could only be recovered through him. The revenues of the entailed +estates had been seized. In short, the affairs of this great family were +in as bad a state as those of the elder branch of the Bourbons. + +This woman, so celebrated under her first name of Duchesse de +Maufrigneuse, very wisely decided to live in retirement, and to make +herself, if possible, forgotten. Paris was then so carried away by the +whirling current of events that the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, buried in +the Princesse de Cadignan, a change of name unknown to most of the new +actors brought upon the stage of society by the revolution of July, did +really become a stranger in her own city. + +In Paris the title of duke ranks all others, even that of prince; +though, in heraldic theory, free of all sophism, titles signify nothing; +there is absolute equality among gentlemen. This fine equality was +formerly maintained by the House of France itself; and in our day it is +so still, at least, nominally; witness the care with which the kings of +France give to their sons the simple title of count. It was in virtue of +this system that Francois I. crushed the splendid titles assumed by the +pompous Charles the Fifth, by signing his answer: Francois, seigneur +de Vanves. Louis XI. did better still by marrying his daughter to +an untitled gentleman, Pierre de Beaujeu. The feudal system was so +thoroughly broken up by Louis XIV. that the title of duke became, during +his reign, the supreme honor of the aristocracy, and the most coveted. + +Nevertheless there are two or three families in France in which the +principality, richly endowed in former times, takes precedence of +the duchy. The house of Cadignan, which possesses the title of Duc de +Maufrigneuse for its eldest sons, is one of these exceptional families. +Like the princes of the house of Rohan in earlier days, the princes of +Cadignan had the right to a throne in their own domain; they could have +pages and gentlemen in their service. This explanation is necessary, +as much to escape foolish critics who know nothing, as to record the +customs of a world which, we are told, is about to disappear, and which, +evidently, so many persons are assisting to push away without knowing +what it is. + +The Cadignans bear: or, five lozenges sable appointed, placed fess-wise, +with the word Memini for motto, a crown with a cap of maintenance, +no supporters or mantle. In these days the great crowd of strangers +flocking to Paris, and the almost universal ignorance of the science of +heraldry, are beginning to bring the title of prince into fashion. +There are no real princes but those possessed of principalities, to whom +belongs the title of highness. The disdain shown by the French nobility +for the title of prince, and the reasons which caused Louis XIV. to give +supremacy to the title of duke, have prevented Frenchmen from claiming +the appellation of highness for the few princes who exist in France, +those of Napoleon excepted. This is why the princes of Cadignan hold an +inferior position, nominally, to the princes of the continent. + +The members of the society called the faubourg Saint-Germain protected +the princess by a respectful silence due to her name, which is one +of those that all men honor, to her misfortunes, which they ceased to +discuss, and to her beauty, the only thing she saved of her departed +opulence. Society, of which she had once been the ornament, was thankful +to her for having, as it were, taken the veil, and cloistered herself +in her own home. This act of good taste was for her, more than for any +other woman, an immense sacrifice. Great deeds are always so keenly felt +in France that the princess gained, by her retreat, as much as she had +lost in public opinion in the days of her splendor. + +She now saw only one of her old friends, the Marquise dEspard, and even +to her she never went on festive occasions or to parties. The princess +and the marquise visited each other in the forenoons, with a certain +amount of secrecy. When the princess went to dine with her friend, +the marquise closed her doors. Madame dEspard treated the princess +charmingly; she changed her box at the opera, leaving the first tier for +a baignoire on the ground-floor, so that Madame de Cadignan could come +to the theatre unseen, and depart incognito. Few women would have been +capable of a delicacy which deprived them of the pleasure of bearing in +their train a fallen rival, and of publicly being her benefactress. Thus +relieved of the necessity for costly toilets, the princess could enjoy +the theatre, whither she went in Madame dEspards carriage, which she +would never have accepted openly in the daytime. No one has ever +known Madame dEspards reasons for behaving thus to the Princesse de +Cadignan; but her conduct was admirable, and for a long time included a +number of little acts which, viewed single, seem mere trifles, but taken +in the mass become gigantic. + +In 1832, three years had thrown a mantle of snow over the follies and +adventures of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, and had whitened them so +thoroughly that it now required a serious effort of memory to recall +them. Of the queen once adored by so many courtiers, and whose follies +might have given a theme to a variety of novels, there remained a woman +still adorably beautiful, thirty-six years of age, but quite justified +in calling herself thirty, although she was the mother of Duc Georges +de Maufrigneuse, a young man of eighteen, handsome as Antinous, poor as +Job, who was expected to obtain great successes, and for whom his mother +desired, above all things, to find a rich wife. Perhaps this hope was +the secret of the intimacy she still kept up with the marquise, in whose +salon, which was one of the first in Paris, she might eventually be able +to choose among many heiresses for Georges wife. The princess saw five +years between the present moment and her sons marriage,--five solitary +and desolate years; for, in order to obtain such a marriage for her +son, she knew that her own conduct must be marked in the corner with +discretion. + +The princess lived in the rue de Miromesnil, in a small house, of which +she occupied the ground-floor at a moderate rent. There she made the +most of the relics of her past magnificence. The elegance of the great +lady was still redolent about her. She was still surrounded by beautiful +things which recalled her former existence. On her chimney-piece was a +fine miniature portrait of Charles X., by Madame Mirbel, beneath which +were engraved the words, Given by the King; and, as a pendant, the +portrait of Madame, who was always her kind friend. On a table lay an +album of costliest price, such as none of the bourgeoises who now lord +it in our industrial and fault-finding society would have dared to +exhibit. This album contained portraits, about thirty in number, of +her intimate friends, whom the world, first and last, had given her as +lovers. The number was a calumny; but had rumor said ten, it might have +been, as her friend Madame dEspard remarked, good, sound gossip. The +portraits of Maxime de Trailles, de Marsay, Rastignac, the Marquis +dEsgrignon, General Montriveau, the Marquis de Ronquerolles and +dAjuda-Pinto, Prince Galathionne, the young Ducs de Grandlieu and de +Rhetore, the Vicomte de Serizy, and the handsome Lucien de Rubempre, +had all been treated with the utmost coquetry of brush and pencil by +celebrated artists. As the princess now received only two or three of +these personages, she called the book, jokingly, the collection of her +errors. + +Misfortune had made this woman a good mother. During the fifteen years +of the Restoration she had amused herself far too much to think of +her son; but on taking refuge in obscurity, this illustrious egoist +bethought her that the maternal sentiment, developed to its extreme, +might be an absolution for her past follies in the eyes of sensible +persons, who pardon everything to a good mother. She loved her son all +the more because she had nothing else to love. Georges de Maufrigneuse +was, moreover, one of those children who flatter the vanities of a +mother; and the princess had, accordingly, made all sorts of sacrifices +for him. She hired a stable and coach-house, above which he lived in a +little entresol with three rooms looking on the street, and charmingly +furnished; she had even borne several privations to keep a saddle-horse, +a cab-horse, and a little groom for his use. For herself, she had only +her own maid, and as cook, a former kitchen-maid. The dukes groom +had, therefore, rather a hard place. Toby, formerly tiger to the late + Beaudenord (such was the jesting term applied by the gay world to that +ruined gentleman),--Toby, who at twenty-five years of age was still +considered only fourteen, was expected to groom the horses, clean the +cabriolet, or the tilbury, and the harnesses, accompany his master, take +care of the apartments, and be in the princesss antechamber to announce +a visitor, if, by chance, she happened to receive one. + +When one thinks of what the beautiful Duchesse de Maufrigneuse had been +under the Restoration,--one of the queens of Paris, a dazzling queen, +whose luxurious existence equalled that of the richest women of fashion +in London,--there was something touching in the sight of her in that +humble little abode in the rue de Miromesnil, a few steps away from her +splendid mansion, which no amount of fortune had enabled her to keep, +and which the hammer of speculators has since demolished. The woman who +thought she was scarcely well served by thirty servants, who possessed +the most beautiful reception-rooms in all Paris, and the loveliest +little private apartments, and who made them the scene of such +delightful fetes, now lived in a small apartment of five rooms,--an +antechamber, dining-room, salon, one bed-chamber, and a dressing-room, +with two women-servants only. + +Ah! she is devoted to her son, said that clever creature, Madame +dEspard, and devoted without ostentation; she is happy. Who would +ever have believed so frivolous a woman was capable of such persistent +resolution! Our good archbishop has, consequently, greatly encouraged +her; he is most kind to her, and has just induced the old Comtesse de +Cinq-Cygne to pay her a visit. + +Let us admit a truth! One must be a queen to know how to abdicate, and +to descend with dignity from a lofty position which is never wholly +lost. Those only who have an inner consciousness of being nothing in +themselves, show regrets in falling, or struggle, murmuring, to return +to a past which can never return,--a fact of which they themselves are +well aware. Compelled to do without the choice exotics in the midst of +which she had lived, and which set off so charmingly her whole being +(for it is impossible not to compare her to a flower), the princess +had wisely chosen a ground-floor apartment; there she enjoyed a pretty +little garden which belonged to it,--a garden full of shrubs, and an +always verdant turf, which brightened her peaceful retreat. She had +about twelve thousand francs a year; but that modest income was partly +made up of an annual stipend sent her by the old Duchesse de Navarreins, +paternal aunt of the young duke, and another stipend given by her +mother, the Duchesse dUxelles, who was living on her estate in the +country, where she economized as old duchesses alone know how to +economize; for Harpagon is a mere novice compared to them. The princess +still retained some of her past relations with the exiled royal family; +and it was in her house that the marshal to whom we owe the conquest of +Africa had conferences, at the time of Madames attempt in La Vendee, +with the principal leaders of legitimist opinion,--so great was the +obscurity in which the princess lived, and so little distrust did the +government feel for her in her present distress. + +Beholding the approach of that terrible fortieth year, the bankruptcy of +love, beyond which there is so little for a woman as woman, the princess +had flung herself into the kingdom of philosophy. She took to reading, +she who for sixteen years had felt a cordial horror for serious things. +Literature and politics are to-day what piety and devotion once were +to her sex,--the last refuge of their feminine pretensions. In her +late social circle it was said that Diane was writing a book. Since +her transformation from a queen and beauty to a woman of intellect, the +princess had contrived to make a reception in her little house a great +honor which distinguished the favored person. Sheltered by her supposed +occupation, she was able to deceive one of her former adorers, de +Marsay, the most influential personage of the political bourgeoisie +brought to the fore in July 1830. She received him sometimes in the +evenings, and, occupied his attention while the marshal and a few +legitimists were talking, in a low voice, in her bedroom, about +the recovery of power, which could be attained only by a general +co-operation of ideas,--the one element of success which all +conspirators overlook. It was the clever vengeance of the pretty woman, +who thus inveigled the prime minister, and made him act as screen for a +conspiracy against his own government. + +This adventure, worthy of the finest days of the Fronde, was the text +of a very witty letter, in which the princess rendered to Madame an +account of the negotiations. The Duc de Maufrigneuse went to La Vendee, +and was able to return secretly without being compromised, but not +without taking part in Madames perils; the latter, however, sent +him home the moment she saw that her cause was lost. Perhaps, had he +remained, the eager vigilance of the young man might have foiled that +treachery. However great the faults of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse may +have seemed in the eyes of the bourgeoisie, the behavior of her son on +this occasion certainly effaced them in the eyes of the aristocracy. +There was great nobility and grandeur in thus risking her only son, and +the heir of an historic name. Some persons are said to intentionally +cover the faults of their private life by public services, and vice +versa; but the Princesse de Cadignan made no such calculation. Possibly +those who apparently so conduct themselves make none. Events count for +much in such cases. + +On one of the first fine days in the month of May, 1833, the Marquise +dEspard and the princess were turning about--one could hardly call +it walking--in the single path which wound round the grass-plat in +the garden, about half-past two in the afternoon, just as the sun was +leaving it. The rays reflected on the walls gave a warm atmosphere +to the little space, which was fragrant with flowers, the gift of the +marquise. + +We shall soon lose de Marsay, said the marquise; and with him will +disappear your last hope of fortune for your son. Ever since you played +him that clever trick, he has returned to his affection for you. + +My son will never capitulate to the younger branch, returned the +princess, if he has to die of hunger, or I have to work with my hands +to feed him. Besides, Berthe de Cinq-Cygne has no aversion to him. + +Children dont bind themselves to their parents principles, said +Madame dEspard. + +Dont let us talk about it, said the princess. If I cant coax over +the Marquise de Cinq-Cygne, I shall marry Georges to the daughter of +some iron-founderer, as that little dEsgrignon did. + +Did you love Victurnien? asked the marquise. + +No, replied the princess, gravely, dEsgrignons simplicity was +really only a sort of provincial silliness, which I perceived rather too +late--or, if you choose, too soon. + +And de Marsay? + +De Marsay played with me as if I were a doll. I was so young at the +time! We never love men who pretend to teach us; they rub up all our +little vanities. + +And that wretched boy who hanged himself? + +Lucien? An Antinous and a great poet. I worshiped him in all +conscience, and I might have been happy. But he was in love with a girl +of the town; and I gave him up to Madame de Serizy.... If he had cared +to love me, should I have given him up? + +What an odd thing, that you should come into collision with an Esther! + +She was handsomer than I, said the Princess.--Very soon it shall be +three years that I have lived in solitude, she resumed, after a pause, +and this tranquillity has nothing painful to me about it. To you +alone can I dare to say that I feel I am happy. I was surfeited with +adoration, weary of pleasure, emotional on the surface of things, but +conscious that emotion itself never reached my heart. I have found all +the men whom I have known petty, paltry, superficial; none of them ever +caused me a surprise; they had no innocence, no grandeur, no delicacy. I +wish I could have met with one man able to inspire me with respect. + +Then are you like me, my dear? asked the marquise; have you never +felt the emotion of love while trying to love? + +Never, replied the princess, laying her hand on the arm of her friend. + +They turned and seated themselves on a rustic bench beneath a jasmine +then coming into flower. Each had uttered one of those sayings that are +solemn to women who have reached their age. + +Like you, resumed the princess, I have received more love than most +women; but through all my many adventures, I have never found happiness. +I committed great follies, but they had an object, and that object +retreated as fast as I approached it. I feel to-day in my heart, old +as it is, an innocence which has never been touched. Yes, under all my +experience, lies a first love intact,--just as I myself, in spite of all +my losses and fatigues, feel young and beautiful. We may love and not +be happy; we may be happy and never love; but to love and be happy, to +unite those two immense human experiences, is a miracle. That miracle +has not taken place for me. + +Nor for me, said Madame dEspard. + +I own I am pursued in this retreat by dreadful regret: I have amused +myself all through life, but I have never loved. + +What an incredible secret! cried the marquise. + +Ah! my dear, replied the princess, such secrets we can tell to +ourselves, you and I, but nobody in Paris would believe us. + +And, said the marquise, if we were not both over thirty-six years of +age, perhaps we would not tell them to each other. + +Yes; when women are young they have so many stupid conceits, replied +the princess. We are like those poor young men who play with a +toothpick to pretend they have dined. + +Well, at any rate, here we are! said Madame dEspard, with coquettish +grace, and a charming gesture of well-informed innocence; and, it seems +to me, sufficiently alive to think of taking our revenge. + +When you told me, the other day, that Beatrix had gone off with Conti, +I thought of it all night long, said the princess, after a pause. I +suppose there was happiness in sacrificing her position, her future, and +renouncing society forever. + +She was a little fool, said Madame dEspard, gravely. Mademoiselle +des Touches was delighted to get rid of Conti. Beatrix never perceived +how that surrender, made by a superior woman who never for a moment +defended her claims, proved Contis nothingness. + +Then you think she will be unhappy? + +She is so now, replied Madame dEspard. Why did she leave her +husband? What an acknowledgment of weakness! + +Then you think that Madame de Rochefide was not influenced by the +desire to enjoy a true love in peace? asked the princess. + +No; she was simply imitating Madame de Beausant and Madame de Langeais, +who, be it said, between you and me, would have been, in a less vulgar +period than ours, the La Villiere, the Diane de Poitiers, the Gabrielle +dEstrees of history. + +Less the king, my dear. Ah! I wish I could evoke the shades of those +women, and ask them-- + +But, said the marquise, interrupting the princess, why ask the dead? +We know living women who have been happy. I have talked on this very +subject a score of times with Madame de Montcornet since she married +that little Emile Blondet, who makes her the happiest woman in the +world; not an infidelity, not a thought that turns aside from her; they +are as happy as they were the first day. These long attachments, like +that of Rastignac and Madame de Nucingen, and your cousin, Madame de +Camps, for her Octave, have a secret, and that secret you and I dont +know, my dear. The world has paid us the extreme compliment of thinking +we are two rakes worthy of the court of the regent; whereas we are, in +truth, as innocent as a couple of school-girls. + +I should like that sort of innocence, cried the princess, laughing; +but ours is worse, and it is very humiliating. Well, it is a +mortification we offer up in expiation of our fruitless search; yes, +my dear, fruitless, for it isnt probable we shall find in our autumn +season the fine flower we missed in the spring and summer. + +Thats not the question, resumed the marquise, after a meditative +pause. We are both still beautiful enough to inspire love, but we could +never convince any one of our innocence and virtue. + +If it were a lie, how easy to dress it up with commentaries, and +serve it as some delicious fruit to be eagerly swallowed! But how is +it possible to get a truth believed? Ah! the greatest of men have been +mistaken there! added the princess, with one of those meaning smiles +which the pencil of Leonardo da Vinci alone has rendered. + +Fools love well, sometimes, returned the marquise. + +But in this case, said the princess, fools wouldnt have enough +credulity in their nature. + +You are right, said the marquise. But what we ought to look for is +neither a fool nor even a man of talent. To solve our problem we need a +man of genius. Genius alone has the faith of childhood, the religion of +love, and willingly allows us to band its eyes. Look at Canalis and the +Duchesse de Chaulieu! Though we have both encountered men of genius, +they were either too far removed from us or too busy, and we too +absorbed, too frivolous. + +Ah! how I wish I might not leave this world without knowing the +happiness of true love, exclaimed the princess. + +It is nothing to inspire it, said Madame dEspard; the thing is to +feel it. I see many women who are only the pretext for a passion without +being both its cause and its effect. + +The last love I inspired was a beautiful and sacred thing, said the +princess. It had a future in it. Chance had brought me, for once in a +way, the man of genius who is due to us, and yet so difficult to obtain; +there are more pretty women than men of genius. But the devil interfered +with the affair. + +Tell me about it, my dear; this is all news to me. + +I first noticed this beautiful passion about the middle of the winter +of 1829. Every Friday, at the opera, I observed a young man, about +thirty years of age, in the orchestra stalls, who evidently came there +for me. He was always in the same stall, gazing at me with eyes of fire, +but, seemingly, saddened by the distance between us, perhaps by the +hopelessness of reaching me. + +Poor fellow! When a man loves he becomes eminently stupid, said the +marquise. + +Between every act he would slip into the corridor, continued the +princess, smiling at her friends epigrammatic remark. Once or twice, +either to see me or to make me see him, he looked through the glass +sash of the box exactly opposite to mine. If I received a visit, I was +certain to see him in the corridor close to my door, casting a furtive +glance upon me. He had apparently learned to know the persons belonging +to my circle; and he followed them when he saw them turning in the +direction of my box, in order to obtain the benefit of the opening door. +I also found my mysterious adorer at the Italian opera-house; there he +had a stall directly opposite to my box, where he could gaze at me in +naive ecstasy--oh! it was pretty! On leaving either house I always found +him planted in the lobby, motionless; he was elbowed and jostled, but +he never moved. His eyes grew less brilliant if he saw me on the arm of +some favorite. But not a word, not a letter, no demonstration. You must +acknowledge that was in good taste. Sometimes, on getting home late +at night, I found him sitting upon one of the stone posts of the +porte-cochere. This lover of mine had very handsome eyes, a long, thick, +fan-shaped beard, with a moustache and side-whiskers; nothing could be +seen of his skin but his white cheek-bones, and a noble forehead; it was +truly an antique head. The prince, as you know, defended the Tuileries +on the riverside, during the July days. He returned to Saint-Cloud that +night, when all was lost, and said to me: I came near being killed at +four oclock. I was aimed at by one of the insurgents, when a young +man, with a long beard, whom I have often seen at the opera, and who was +leading the attack, threw up the mans gun, and saved me. So my adorer +was evidently a republican! In 1831, after I came to lodge in this +house, I found him, one day, leaning with his back against the wall of +it; he seemed pleased with my disasters; possibly he may have thought +they drew us nearer together. But after the affair of Saint-Merri I +saw him no more; he was killed there. The evening before the funeral of +General Lamarque, I had gone out on foot with my son, and my republican +accompanied us, sometimes behind, sometimes in front, from the Madeleine +to the Passage des Panoramas, where I was going. + +Is that all? asked the marquise. + +Yes, all, replied the princess. Except that on the morning +Saint-Merri was taken, a gamin came here and insisted on seeing me. He +gave me a letter, written on common paper, signed by my republican. + +Show it to me, said the marquise. + +No, my dear. Love was too great and too sacred in the heart of that +man to let me violate its secrets. The letter, short and terrible, still +stirs my soul when I think of it. That dead man gives me more emotions +than all the living men I ever coquetted with; he constantly recurs to +my mind. + +What was his name? asked the marquise. + +Oh! a very common one: Michel Chrestien. + +You have done well to tell me, said Madame dEspard, eagerly. I have +often heard of him. This Michel Chrestien was the intimate friend of +a remarkable man you have already expressed a wish to see,--Daniel +dArthez, who comes to my house some two or three times a year. +Chrestien, who was really killed at Saint-Merri, had no lack of friends. +I have heard it said that he was one of those born statesmen to whom, +like de Marsay, nothing is wanting but opportunity to become all they +might be. + +Then he had better be dead, said the princess, with a melancholy air, +under which she concealed her thoughts. + +Will you come to my house some evening and meet dArthez? said the +marquise. You can talk of your ghost. + +Yes, I will, replied the princess. + + + + +CHAPTER II. DANIEL DARTHEZ + + +A few days after this conversation Blondet and Rastignac, who knew +dArthez, promised Madame dEspard that they would bring him to dine +with her. This promise might have proved rash had it not been for +the name of the princess, a meeting with whom was not a matter of +indifference to the great writer. + +Daniel dArthez, one of the rare men who, in our day, unite a noble +character with great talent, had already obtained, not all the +popularity his works deserve, but a respectful esteem to which souls +of his own calibre could add nothing. His reputation will certainly +increase; but in the eyes of connoisseurs it had already attained its +full development. He is one of those authors who, sooner or later, are +put in their right place, and never lose it. A poor nobleman, he had +understood his epoch well enough to seek personal distinction only. He +had struggled long in the Parisian arena, against the wishes of a rich +uncle who, by a contradiction which vanity must explain, after leaving +his nephew a prey to the utmost penury, bequeathed to the man who had +reached celebrity the fortune so pitilessly refused to the unknown +writer. This sudden change in his position made no change in Daniel +dArthezs habits; he continued to work with a simplicity worthy of +the antique past, and even assumed new toils by accepting a seat in the +Chamber of Deputies, where he took his seat on the Right. + +Since his accession to fame he had sometimes gone into society. One of +his old friends, the now-famous physician, Horace Bianchon, persuaded +him to make the acquaintance of the Baron de Rastignac, under-secretary +of State, and a friend of de Marsay, the prime minister. These two +political officials acquiesced, rather nobly, in the strong wish of +dArthez, Bianchon, and other friends of Michel Chrestien for the +removal of the body of that republican to the church of Saint-Merri for +the purpose of giving it funeral honors. Gratitude for a service which +contrasted with the administrative rigor displayed at a time when +political passions were so violent, had bound, so to speak, dArthez to +Rastignac. The latter and de Marsay were much too clever not to profit +by that circumstance; and thus they won over other friends of Michel +Chrestien, who did not share his political opinions, and who now +attached themselves to the new government. One of them, Leon Giraud, +appointed in the first instance master of petitions, became eventually a +Councillor of State. + +The whole existence of Daniel dArthez is consecrated to work; he sees +society only by snatches; it is to him a sort of dream. His house is a +convent, where he leads the life of a Benedictine; the same sobriety of +regimen, the same regularity of occupation. His friends knew that up to +the present time woman had been to him no more than an always dreaded +circumstance; he had observed her too much not to fear her; but by dint +of studying her he had ceased to understand her,--like, in this, to +those deep strategists who are always beaten on unexpected ground, +where their scientific axioms are either modified or contradicted. In +character he still remains a simple-hearted child, all the while +proving himself an observer of the first rank. This contrast, apparently +impossible, is explainable to those who know how to measure the depths +which separate faculties from feelings; the former proceed from the +head, the latter from the heart. A man can be a great man and a wicked +one, just as he can be a fool and a devoted lover. DArthez is one of +those privileged beings in whom shrewdness of mind and a broad expanse +of the qualities of the brain do not exclude either the strength or +the grandeur of sentiments. He is, by rare privilege, equally a man of +action and a man of thought. His private life is noble and generous. If +he carefully avoided love, it was because he knew himself, and felt a +premonition of the empire such a passion would exercise upon him. + +For several years the crushing toil by which he prepared the solid +ground of his subsequent works, and the chill of poverty, were +marvellous preservatives. But when ease with his inherited fortune came +to him, he formed a vulgar and most incomprehensible connection with a +rather handsome woman, belonging to the lower classes, without education +or manners, whom he carefully concealed from every eye. Michel Chrestien +attributed to men of genius the power of transforming the most +massive creatures into sylphs, fools into clever women, peasants into +countesses; the more accomplished a woman was, the more she lost her +value in their eyes, for, according to Michel, their imagination had the +less to do. In his opinion love, a mere matter of the senses to inferior +beings, was to great souls the most immense of all moral creations +and the most binding. To justify dArthez, he instanced the example of +Raffaele and the Fornarina. He might have offered himself as an +instance for this theory, he who had seen an angel in the Duchesse +de Maufrigneuse. This strange fancy of dArthez might, however, be +explained in other ways; perhaps he had despaired of meeting here below +with a woman who answered to that delightful vision which all men of +intellect dream of and cherish; perhaps his heart was too sensitive, too +delicate, to yield itself to a woman of society; perhaps he thought best +to let nature have her way, and keep his illusions by cultivating his +ideal; perhaps he had laid aside love as being incompatible with his +work and the regularity of a monastic life which love would have wholly +upset. + +For several months past dArthez had been subjected to the jests and +satire of Blondet and Rastignac, who reproached him with knowing neither +the world nor women. According to them, his authorship was sufficiently +advanced, and his works numerous enough, to allow him a few +distractions; he had a fine fortune, and here he was living like a +student; he enjoyed nothing,--neither his money nor his fame; he was +ignorant of the exquisite enjoyments of the noble and delicate love +which well-born and well-bred women could inspire and feel; he knew +nothing of the charming refinements of language, nothing of the proofs +of affection incessantly given by refined women to the commonest things. +He might, perhaps, know woman; but he knew nothing of the divinity. +Why not take his rightful place in the world, and taste the delights of +Parisian society? + +Why doesnt a man who bears party per bend gules and or, a bezant and +crab counterchanged, cried Rastignac, display that ancient escutcheon +of Picardy on the panels of a carriage? You have thirty thousand francs +a year, and the proceeds of your pen; you have justified your motto: +Ars thesaurusque virtus, that punning device our ancestors were always +seeking, and yet you never appear in the Bois de Boulogne! We live in +times when virtue ought to show itself. + +If you read your works to that species of stout Laforet, whom you seem +to fancy, I would forgive you, said Blondet. But, my dear fellow, you +are living on dry bread, materially speaking; in the matter of intellect +you havent even bread. + +This friendly little warfare had been going on for several months +between Daniel and his friends, when Madame dEspard asked Rastignac and +Blondet to induce dArthez to come and dine with her, telling them that +the Princesse de Cadignan had a great desire to see that celebrated +man. Such curiosities are to certain women what magic lanterns are +to children,--a pleasure to the eyes, but rather shallow and full +of disappointments. The more sentiments a man of talent excites at +a distance, the less he responds to them on nearer view; the more +brilliant fancy has pictured him, the duller he will seem in reality. +Consequently, disenchanted curiosity is often unjust. + +Neither Blondet nor Rastignac could deceive dArthez; but they told +him, laughing, that they now offered him a most seductive opportunity +to polish up his heart and know the supreme fascinations which love +conferred on a Parisian great lady. The princess was evidently in love +with him; he had nothing to fear but everything to gain by accepting the +interview; it was quite impossible he could descend from the pedestal on +which madame de Cadignan had placed him. Neither Blondet nor Rastignac +saw any impropriety in attributing this love to the princess; she whose +past had given rise to so many anecdotes could very well stand that +lesser calumny. Together they began to relate to dArthez the adventures +of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse: her first affair with de Marsay; her +second with dAjuda, whom she had, they said, distracted from his wife, +thus avenging Madame de Beausant; also her later connection with young +dEsgrignon, who had travelled with her in Italy, and had horribly +compromised himself on her account; after that they told him how unhappy +she had been with a certain celebrated ambassador, how happy with a +Russian general, besides becoming the Egeria of two ministers of Foreign +affairs, and various other anecdotes. DArthez replied that he knew a +great deal more than they could tell him about her through their poor +friend, Michel Chrestien, who adored her secretly for four years, and +had well-nigh gone mad about her. + +I have often accompanied him, said Daniel, to the opera. He would +make me run through the streets as far as her horses that he might see +the princess through the window of her coupe. + +Well, there you have a topic all ready for you, said Blondet, smiling. +This is the very woman you need; shell initiate you most gracefully +into the mysteries of elegance; but take care! she has wasted many +fortunes. The beautiful Diane is one of those spendthrifts who dont +cost a penny, but for whom a man spends millions. Give yourself up to +her, body and soul, if you choose; but keep your money in your hand, +like the old fellow in Girodets Deluge. + +From the tenor of these remarks it was to be inferred that the princess +had the depth of a precipice, the grace of a queen, the corruption +of diplomatists, the mystery of a first initiation, and the dangerous +qualities of a siren. The two clever men of the world, incapable of +foreseeing the denouement of their joke, succeeded in presenting Diane +dUxelles as a consummate specimen of the Parisian woman, the cleverest +of coquettes, the most enchanting mistress in the world. Right or wrong, +the woman whom they thus treated so lightly was sacred to dArthez; his +desire to meet her needed no spur; he consented to do so at the first +word, which was all the two friends wanted of him. + +Madame dEspard went to see the princess as soon as she had received +this answer. + +My dear, do you feel yourself in full beauty and coquetry? she said. +If so, come and dine with me a few days hence, and Ill serve up +dArthez. Our man of genius is by nature, it seems, a savage; he +fears women, and has never loved! Make your plans on that. He is +all intellect, and so simple that hell mislead you into feeling no +distrust. But his penetration, which is wholly retrospective, acts +later, and frustrates calculation. You may hoodwink him to-day, but +to-morrow nothing can dupe him. + +Ah! cried the princess, if I were only thirty years old what +amusement I might have with him! The one enjoyment I have lacked up to +the present is a man of intellect to fool. I have had only partners, +never adversaries. Love was a mere game instead of being a battle. + +Dear princess, admit that I am very generous; for, after all, you +know!--charity begins at home. + +The two women looked at each other, laughing, and clasped hands in a +friendly way. Assuredly they both knew each others secrets, and this +was not the first man nor the first service that one had given to the +other; for sincere and lasting friendships between women of the world +need to be cemented by a few little crimes. When two friends are liable +to kill each other reciprocally, and see a poisoned dagger in each +others hand, they present a touching spectacle of harmony, which is +never troubled, unless, by chance, one of them is careless enough to +drop her weapon. + +So, eight days later, a little dinner such as are given to intimates by +verbal invitation only, during which the doors are closed to all other +visitors, took place at Madame dEspards house. Five persons were +invited,--Emile Blondet and Madame de Montcornet, Daniel dArthez, +Rastignac, and the Princesse de Cadignan. Counting the mistress of the +house, there were as many men as women. + +Chance never exerted itself to make wiser preparations than those which +opened the way to a meeting between dArthez and Madame de Cadignan. +The princess is still considered one of the chief authorities on dress, +which, to women, is the first of arts. On this occasion she wore a gown +of blue velvet with flowing white sleeves, and a tulle guimpe, slightly +frilled and edged with blue, covering the shoulders, and rising nearly +to the throat, as we see in several of Raffaeles portraits. Her maid +had dressed her hair with white heather, adroitly placed among its blond +cascades, which were one of the great beauties to which she owed her +celebrity. + +Certainly Diane did not look to be more than twenty-five years old. +Four years of solitude and repose had restored the freshness of her +complexion. Besides, there are moments when the desire to please gives +an increase of beauty to women. The will is not without influence on the +variations of the face. If violent emotions have the power to yellow +the white tones of persons of bilious and melancholy temperament, and to +green lymphatic faces, shall we not grant to desire, hope, and joy, +the faculty of clearing the skin, giving brilliancy to the eye, and +brightening the glow of beauty with a light as jocund as that of a +lovely morning? The celebrated faintness of the princess had taken on +a ripeness which now made her seem more august. At this moment of her +life, impressed by her many vicissitudes and by serious reflections, +her noble, dreamy brow harmonized delightfully with the slow, majestic +glance of her blue eyes. It was impossible for the ablest physiognomist +to imagine calculation or self-will beneath that unspeakable delicacy of +feature. There were faces of women which deceive knowledge, and mislead +observation by their calmness and delicacy; it is necessary to examine +such faces when passions speak, and that is difficult, or after they +have spoken, which is no longer of any use, for then the woman is old +and has ceased to dissimulate. + +The princess is one of those impenetrable women; she can make herself +what she pleases to be: playful, childlike, distractingly innocent; or +reflective, serious, and profound enough to excite anxiety. She came to +Madame dEspards dinner with the intention of being a gentle, simple +woman, to whom life was known only through its deceptions: a woman full +of soul, and calumniated, but resigned,--in short, a wounded angel. + +She arrived early, so as to pose on a sofa near the fire beside Madame +dEspard, as she wished to be first seen: that is, in one of +those attitudes in which science is concealed beneath an exquisite +naturalness; a studied attitude, putting in relief the beautiful +serpentine outline which, starting from the foot, rises gracefully to +the hip, and continues with adorable curves to the shoulder, presenting, +in fact, a profile of the whole body. With a subtlety which few women +would have dreamed of, Diane, to the great amazement of the marquise, +had brought her son with her. After a moments reflection, Madame +dEspard pressed the princesss hand, with a look of intelligence that +seemed to say:-- + +I understand you! By making dArthez accept all the difficulties at +once you will not have to conquer them later. + +Rastignac brought dArthez. The princess made none of those compliments +to the celebrated author with which vulgar persons overwhelmed him; but +she treated him with a kindness full of graceful respect, which, with +her, was the utmost extent of her concessions. Her manner was doubtless +the same with the King of France and the royal princes. She seemed happy +to see this great man, and glad that she had sought him. Persons of +taste, like the princess, are especially distinguished for their manner +of listening, for an affability without superciliousness, which is to +politeness what practice is to virtue. When the celebrated man spoke, +she took an attentive attitude, a thousand times more flattering than +the best-seasoned compliments. The mutual presentation was made quietly, +without emphasis, and in perfectly good taste, by the marquise. + +At dinner dArthez was placed beside the princess, who, far from +imitating the eccentricities of diet which many affected women display, +ate her dinner with a very good appetite, making it a point of honor +to seem a natural woman, without strange ways or fancies. Between two +courses she took advantage of the conversation becoming general to say +to dArthez, in a sort of aside:-- + +The secret of the pleasure I take in finding myself beside you, is +the desire I feel to learn something of an unfortunate friend of yours, +monsieur. He died for another cause greater than ours; but I was under +the greatest obligations to him, although unable to acknowledge or thank +him for them. I know that you were one of his best friends. Your mutual +friendship, pure and unalterable, is a claim upon me. You will not, I am +sure, think it extraordinary, that I have wished to know all you could +tell me of a man so dear to you. Though I am attached to the exiled +family, and bound, of course, to hold monarchical opinions, I am not +among those who think it is impossible to be both republican and noble +in heart. Monarchy and the republic are two forms of government which do +not stifle noble sentiments. + +Michel Chrestien was an angel, madame, replied Daniel, in a voice of +emotion. I dont know among the heroes of antiquity a greater than he. +Be careful not to think him one of those narrow-minded republicans who +would like to restore the Convention and the amenities of the Committee +of Public Safety. No, Michel dreamed of the Swiss federation applied +to all Europe. Let us own, between ourselves, that _after_ the glorious +government of one man only, which, as I think, is particularly suited to +our nation, Michels system would lead to the suppression of war in this +old world, and its reconstruction on bases other than those of conquest, +which formerly feudalized it. From this point of view the republicans +came nearest to his idea. That is why he lent them his arm in July, and +was killed at Saint-Merri. Though completely apart in opinion, he and I +were closely bound together as friends. + +That is noble praise for both natures, said Madame de Cadignan, +timidly. + +During the last four years of his life, continued Daniel, he made to +me alone a confidence of his love for you, and this confidence knitted +closer than ever the already strong ties of brotherly affection. He +alone, madame, can have loved you as you ought to be loved. Many a time +I have been pelted with rain as we accompanied your carriage at the pace +of the horses, to keep at a parallel distance, and see you--admire you. + +Ah! monsieur, said the princess, how can I repay such feelings! + +Why is Michel not here! exclaimed Daniel, in melancholy accents. + +Perhaps he would not have loved me long, said the princess, shaking +her head sadly. Republicans are more absolute in their ideas than we +absolutists, whose fault is indulgence. No doubt he imagined me perfect, +and society would have cruelly undeceived him. We are pursued, we women, +by as many calumnies as you authors are compelled to endure in your +literary life; but we, alas! cannot defend ourselves either by our works +or by our fame. The world will not believe us to be what we are, but +what it thinks us to be. It would soon have hidden from his eyes the +real but unknown woman that is in me, behind the false portrait of the +imaginary woman which the world considers true. He would have come to +think me unworthy of the noble feelings he had for me, and incapable of +comprehending him. + +Here the princess shook her head, swaying the beautiful blond curls, +full of heather, with a touching gesture. This plaintive expression of +grievous doubts and hidden sorrows is indescribable. Daniel understood +them all; and he looked at the princess with keen emotion. + +And yet, the night on which I last saw him, after the revolution of +July, I was on the point of giving way to the desire I felt to take +his hand and press it before all the world, under the peristyle of the +opera-house. But the thought came to me that such a proof of gratitude +might be misinterpreted; like so many other little things done +from noble motives which are called to-day the follies of Madame de +Maufrigneuse--things which I can never explain, for none but my son and +God have understood me. + +These words, breathed into the ear of the listener, in tones inaudible +to the other guests, and with accents worthy of the cleverest actress, +were calculated to reach the heart; and they did reach that of dArthez. +There was no question of himself in the matter; this woman was seeking +to rehabilitate herself in favor of the dead. She had been calumniated; +and she evidently wanted to know if anything had tarnished her in the +eyes of him who had loved her; had he died with all his illusions? + +Michel, replied dArthez, was one of those men who love absolutely, +and who, if they choose ill, can suffer without renouncing the woman +they have once elected. + +Was I loved thus? she said, with an air of exalted beatitude. + +Yes, madame. + +I made his happiness? + +For four years. + +A woman never hears of such a thing without a sentiment of proud +satisfaction, she said, turning her sweet and noble face to dArthez +with a movement full of modest confusion. + +One of the most skilful manoeuvres of these actresses is to veil their +manner when words are too expressive, and speak with their eyes when +language is restrained. These clever discords, slipped into the music of +their love, be it false or true, produce irresistible attractions. + +Is it not, she said, lowering her voice and her eyes, after feeling +well assured they had produced her effect,--is it not fulfilling ones +destiny to have rendered a great man happy? + +Did he not write that to you? + +Yes; but I wanted to be sure, quite sure; for, believe me, monsieur, in +putting me so high he was not mistaken. + +Women know how to give a peculiar sacredness to their words; they +communicate something vibrant to them, which extends the meaning +of their ideas, and gives them depth; though later their fascinated +listener may not remember precisely what they said, their end has been +completely attained,--which is the object of all eloquence. The princess +might at that moment have been wearing the diadem of France, and her +brow could not have seemed more imposing than it was beneath that crown +of golden hair, braided like a coronet, and adorned with heather. She +was simple and calm; nothing betrayed a sense of any necessity to appear +so, nor any desire to seem grand or loving. DArthez, the solitary +toiler, to whom the ways of the world were unknown, whom study had +wrapped in its protecting veils, was the dupe of her tones and words. He +was under the spell of those exquisite manners; he admired that perfect +beauty, ripened by misfortune, placid in retirement; he adored the union +of so rare a mind and so noble a soul; and he longed to become, himself, +the heir of Michel Chrestien. + +The beginning of this passion was, as in the case of almost all deep +thinkers, an idea. Looking at the princess, studying the shape of her +head, the arrangement of those sweet features, her figure, her hand, +so finely modelled, closer than when he accompanied his friend in +their wild rush through the streets, he was struck by the surprising +phenomenon of the moral second-sight which a man exalted by love +invariably finds within him. With what lucidity had Michel Chrestien +read into that soul, that heart, illumined by the fires of love! Thus +the princess acquired, in dArthezs eyes, another charm; a halo of +poesy surrounded her. + +As the dinner proceeded, Daniel called to mind the various confidences +of his friend, his despair, his hopes, the noble poems of a true +sentiment sung to his ear alone, in honor of this woman. It is rare that +a man passes without remorse from the position of confidant to that of +rival, and dArthez was free to do so without dishonor. He had suddenly, +in a moment, perceived the enormous differences existing between a +well-bred woman, that flower of the great world, and common women, +though of the latter he did not know beyond one specimen. He was thus +captured on the most accessible and sensitive sides of his soul and of +his genius. Impelled by his simplicity, and by the impetuosity of his +ideas, to lay immediate claim to this woman, he found himself restrained +by society, also by the barrier which the manners and, let us say the +word, the majesty of the princess placed between them. The conversation, +which remained upon the topic of Michel Chrestien until the dessert, was +an excellent pretext for both to speak in a low voice: love, sympathy, +comprehension! she could pose as a maligned and misunderstood woman; he +could slip his feet into the shoes of the dead republican. Perhaps his +candid mind detected itself in regretting his dead friend less. The +princess, at the moment when the dessert appeared upon the table, and +the guests were separated by a brilliant hedge of fruits and sweetmeats, +thought best to put an end to this flow of confidences by a charming +little speech, in which she delicately expressed the idea that Daniel +and Michel were twin souls. + +After this dArthez threw himself into the general conversation with +the gayety of a child, and a self-conceited air that was worthy of a +schoolboy. When they left the dining-room, the princess took dArthezs +arm, in the simplest manner, to return to Madame dEspards little +salon. As they crossed the grand salon she walked slowly, and when +sufficiently separated from the marquise, who was on Blondets arm, she +stopped. + +I do not wish to be inaccessible to the friend of that poor man, + she said to dArthez; and though I have made it a rule to receive no +visitors, you will always be welcome in my house. Do not think this a +favor. A favor is only for strangers, and to my mind you and I seem old +friends; I see in you the brother of Michel. + +DArthez could only press her arm, unable to make other reply. + +After coffee was served, Diane de Cadignan wrapped herself, with +coquettish motions, in a large shawl, and rose. Blondet and Rastignac +were too much men of the world, and too polite to make the least +remonstrance, or try to detain her; but Madame dEspard compelled her +friend to sit down again, whispering in her ear:-- + +Wait till the servants have had their dinner; the carriage is not ready +yet. + +So saying, the marquise made a sign to the footman, who was taking away +the coffee-tray. Madame de Montcornet perceived that the princess and +Madame dEspard had a word to say to each other, and she drew around her +dArthez, Rastignac, and Blondet, amusing them with one of those clever +paradoxical attacks which Parisian women understand so thoroughly. + +Well, said the marquise to Diane, what do you think of him? + +He is an adorable child, just out of swaddling-clothes! This time, like +all other times, it will only be a triumph without a struggle. + +Well, it is disappointing, said Madame dEspard. But we might evade +it. + +How? + +Let me be your rival. + +Just as you please, replied the princess. Ive decided on my course. +Genius is a condition of the brain; I dont know what the heart gets out +of it; well talk about that later. + +Hearing the last few words, which were wholly incomprehensible to her, +Madame dEspard returned to the general conversation, showing neither +offence at that indifferent As you please, nor curiosity as to the +outcome of the interview. The princess stayed an hour longer, seated on +the sofa near the fire, in the careless, nonchalant attitude of Guerins +Dido, listening with the attention of an absorbed mind, and looking +at Daniel now and then, without disguising her admiration, which never +went, however, beyond due limits. She slipped away when the carriage +was announced, with a pressure of the hand to the marquise, and an +inclination of the head to Madame de Montcornet. + +The evening concluded without any allusion to the princess. The other +guests profited by the sort of exaltation which dArthez had reached, +for he put forth the treasures of his mind. In Blondet and Rastignac +he certainly had two acolytes of the first quality to bring forth the +delicacy of his wit and the breadth of his intellect. As for the two +women, they had long been counted among the cleverest in society. This +evening was like a halt in the oasis of a desert,--a rare enjoyment, +and well appreciated by these four persons, habitually victimized to the +endless caution entailed by the world of salons and politics. There +are beings who have the privilege of passing among men like beneficent +stars, whose light illumines the mind, while its rays send a glow to +the heart. DArthez was one of those beings. A writer who rises to his +level, accustoms himself to free thought, and forgets that in society +all things cannot be said; it is impossible for such a man to observe +the restraint of persons who live in the world perpetually; but as his +eccentricities of thought bore the mark of originality, no one felt +inclined to complain. This zest, this piquancy, rare in mere talent, +this youthfulness and simplicity of soul which made dArthez so nobly +original, gave a delightful charm to this evening. He left the house +with Rastignac, who, as they drove home, asked him how he liked the +princess. + +Michel did well to love her, replied dArthez; she is, indeed, an +extraordinary woman. + +Very extraordinary, replied Rastignac, dryly. By the tone of your +voice I should judge you were in love with her already. You will be in +her house within three days; and I am too old a denizen of Paris not to +know what will be the upshot of that. Well, my dear Daniel, I do entreat +you not to allow yourself to be drawn into any confusion of interests, +so to speak. Love the princess if you feel any love for her in your +heart, but keep an eye on your fortune. She has never taken or asked a +penny from any man on earth, she is far too much of a dUxelles and a +Cadignan for that; but, to my knowledge, she has not only spent her +own fortune, which was very considerable, but she has made others +waste millions. How? why? by what means? No one knows; she doesnt +know herself. I myself saw her swallow up, some thirteen years ago, the +entire fortune of a charming young fellow, and that of an old notary, in +twenty months. + +Thirteen years ago! exclaimed dArthez,--why, how old is she now? + +Didnt you see, at dinner, replied Rastignac, laughing, her son, the +Duc de Maufrigneuse. That young man is nineteen years old; nineteen and +seventeen make-- + +Thirty-six! cried the amazed author. I gave her twenty. + +Shell accept them, said Rastignac; but dont be uneasy, she will +always be twenty to you. You are about to enter the most fantastic +of worlds. Good-night, here you are at home, said the baron, as they +entered the rue de Bellefond, where dArthez lived in a pretty little +house of his own. We shall meet at Mademoiselle des Touchess in the +course of the week. + + + + +CHAPTER III. THE PRINCESS GOES TO WORK + + +DArthez allowed love to enter his heart after the manner of my Uncle +Toby, without making the slightest resistance; he proceeded by adoration +without criticism, and by exclusive admiration. The princess, that noble +creature, one of the most remarkable creations of our monstrous Paris, +where all things are possible, good as well as evil, became--whatever +vulgarity the course of time may have given to the expression--the angel +of his dreams. To fully understand the sudden transformation of this +illustrious author, it is necessary to realize the simplicity that +constant work and solitude leave in the heart; all that love--reduced +to a mere need, and now repugnant, beside an ignoble woman--excites of +regret and longings for diviner sentiments in the higher regions of the +soul. DArthez was, indeed, the child, the boy that Madame de Cadignan +had recognized. An illumination something like his own had taken place +in the beautiful Diane. At last she had met that superior man whom all +women desire and seek, if only to make a plaything of him,--that power +which they consent to obey, if only for the pleasure of subduing it; +at last she had found the grandeurs of the intellect united with +the simplicity of a heart all new to love; and she saw, with untold +happiness, that these merits were contained in a form that pleased her. +She thought dArthez handsome, and perhaps he was. Though he had reached +the age of gravity (for he was now thirty-eight), he still preserved +a flower of youth, due to the sober and ascetic life which he had led. +Like all men of sedentary habits, and statesmen, he had acquired +a certainly reasonable embonpoint. When very young, he bore some +resemblance to Bonaparte; and the likeness still continued, as much as a +man with black eyes and thick, dark hair could resemble a sovereign +with blue eyes and scanty, chestnut hair. But whatever there once was of +ardent and noble ambition in the great authors eyes had been somewhat +quenched by successes. The thoughts with which that brow once teemed had +flowered; the lines of the hollow face were filling out. Ease now spread +its golden tints where, in youth, poverty had laid the yellow tones +of the class of temperament whose forces band together to support a +crushing and long-continued struggle. If you observe carefully the noble +faces of ancient philosophers, you will always find those deviations +from the type of a perfect human face which show the characteristic to +which each countenance owes its originality, chastened by the habit of +meditation, and by the calmness necessary for intellectual labor. The +most irregular features, like those of Socrates, for instance, become, +after a time, expressive of an almost divine serenity. + +To the noble simplicity which characterized his head, dArthez added a +naive expression, the naturalness of a child, and a touching kindliness. +He did not have that politeness tinged with insincerity with which, in +society, the best-bred persons and the most amiable assume qualities in +which they are often lacking, leaving those they have thus duped wounded +and distressed. He might, indeed, fail to observe certain rules of +social life, owing to his isolated mode of living; but he never shocked +the sensibilities, and therefore this perfume of savagery made the +peculiar affability of a man of great talent the more agreeable; such +men know how to leave their superiority in their studies, and come +down to the social level, lending their backs, like Henry IV., to the +childrens leap-frog, and their minds to fools. + +If dArthez did not brace himself against the spell which the princess +had cast about him, neither did she herself argue the matter in her own +mind, on returning home. It was settled for her. She loved with all her +knowledge and all her ignorance. If she questioned herself at all, it +was to ask whether she deserved so great a happiness, and what she had +done that Heaven should send her such an angel. She wanted to be worthy +of that love, to perpetuate it, to make it her own forever, and to +gently end her career of frivolity in the paradise she now foresaw. As +for coquetting, quibbling, resisting, she never once thought of it. She +was thinking of something very different!--of the grandeur of men of +genius, and the certainty which her heart divined that they would never +subject the woman they chose to ordinary laws. + +Here begins one of those unseen comedies, played in the secret regions +of the consciousness between two beings of whom one will be the dupe of +the other, though it keeps on this side of wickedness; one of those +dark and comic dramas to which that of _Tartuffe_ is mere childs +play,--dramas that do not enter the scenic domain, although they are +natural, conceivable, and even justifiable by necessity; dramas which +may be characterized as not vice, only the other side of it. + +The princess began by sending for dArthezs books, of which she had +never, as yet, read a single word, although she had managed to maintain +a twenty minutes eulogism and discussion of them without a blunder. She +now read them all. Then she wanted to compare these books with the best +that contemporary literature had produced. By the time dArthez came to +see her she was having an indigestion of mind. Expecting this visit, she +had daily made a toilet of what may be called the superior order; that +is, a toilet which expresses an idea, and makes it accepted by the eye +without the owner of the eye knowing why or wherefore. She presented an +harmonious combination of shades of gray, a sort of semi-mourning, full +of graceful renunciation,--the garments of a woman who holds to life +only through a few natural ties,--her child, for instance,--but who is +weary of life. Those garments bore witness to an elegant disgust, not +reaching, however, as far as suicide; no, she would live out her days in +these earthly galleys. + +She received dArthez as a woman who expected him, and as if he had +already been to see her a hundred times; she did him the honor to treat +him like an old acquaintance, and she put him at his ease by pointing +to a seat on a sofa, while she finished a note she was then writing. The +conversation began in a commonplace manner: the weather, the ministry, +de Marsays illness, the hopes of the legitimists. DArthez was an +absolutist; the princess could not be ignorant of the opinions of a +man who sat in the Chamber among the fifteen or twenty persons who +represented the legitimist party; she found means to tell him how she +had fooled de Marsay to the top of his bent, then, by an easy transition +to the royal family and to Madame, and the devotion of the Prince +de Cadignan to their service, she drew dArthezs attention to the +prince:-- + +There is this to be said for him: he loved his masters, and was +faithful to them. His public character consoles me for the sufferings +his private life has inflicted upon me--Have you never remarked, she +went on, cleverly leaving the prince aside, you who observe so much, +that men have two natures: one of their homes, their wives, their +private lives,--this is their true self; here no mask, no dissimulation; +they do not give themselves the trouble to disguise a feeling; they are +what they ARE, and it is often horrible! The other man is for others, +for the world, for salons; the court, the sovereign, the public often +see them grand, and noble, and generous, embroidered with virtues, +adorned with fine language, full of admirable qualities. What a horrible +jest it is!--and the world is surprised, sometimes, at the caustic smile +of certain women, at their air of superiority to their husbands, and +their indifference-- + +She let her hand fall along the arm of her chair, without ending her +sentence, but the gesture admirably completed the speech. She saw +dArthez watching her flexible figure, gracefully bending in the depths +of her easy-chair, noting the folds of her gown, and the pretty little +ruffle which sported on her breast,--one of those audacities of the +toilet that are suited only to slender waists,--and she resumed the +thread of her thoughts as if she were speaking to herself:-- + +But I will say no more. You writers have ended by making ridiculous +all women who think they are misunderstood, or ill-mated, and who try to +make themselves dramatically interesting,--attempts which seem to me, I +must say, intolerably vulgar. There are but two things for women in that +plight to do,--yield, and all is over; resist, and amuse themselves; in +either case they should keep silence. It is true that I neither yielded +wholly, nor resisted wholly; but, perhaps, that was only the more reason +why I should be silent. What folly for women to complain! If they +have not proved the stronger, they have failed in sense, in tact, in +capacity, and they deserve their fate. Are they not queens in France? +They can play with you as they like, when they like, and as much as they +like. Here she danced her vinaigrette with an airy movement of feminine +impertinence and mocking gayety. I have often heard miserable little +specimens of my sex regretting that they were women, wishing they were +men; I have always regarded them with pity. If I had to choose, I should +still elect to be a woman. A fine pleasure, indeed, to owe ones triumph +to force, and to all those powers which you give yourselves by the +laws you make! But to see you at our feet, saying and doing foolish +things,--ah! it is an intoxicating pleasure to feel within our souls +that weakness triumphs! But when we triumph, we ought to keep silence, +under pain of losing our empire. Beaten, a womans pride should gag her. +The slaves silence alarms the master. + +This chatter was uttered in a voice so softly sarcastic, so dainty, and +with such coquettish motions of the head, that dArthez, to whom this +style of woman was totally unknown, sat before her exactly like a +partridge charmed by a setter. + +I entreat you, madame, he said, at last, to tell me how it was +possible that a man could make you suffer? Be assured that where, as you +say, other women are common and vulgar, you can only seem distinguished; +your manner of saying things would make a cook-book interesting. + +You go fast in friendship, she said, in a grave voice which made +dArthez extremely uneasy. + +The conversation changed; the hour was late, and the poor man of genius +went away contrite for having seemed curious, and for wounding the +sensitive heart of that rare woman who had so strangely suffered. As +for her, she had passed her life in amusing herself with men, and was +another Don Juan in female attire, with this difference: she would +certainly not have invited the Commander to supper, and would have got +the better of any statue. + +It is impossible to continue this tale without saying a word about +the Prince de Cadignan, better known under the name of the Duc de +Maufrigneuse, otherwise the spice of the princesss confidences would +be lost, and strangers would not understand the Parisian comedy she was +about to play for her man of genius. + +The Duc de Maufrigneuse, like a true son of the old Prince de Cadignan, +is a tall, lean man, of elegant shape, very graceful, a sayer of witty +things, colonel by the grace of God, and a good soldier by accident; +brave as a Pole, which means without sense or discernment, and hiding +the emptiness of his mind under the jargon of good society. After the +age of thirty-six he was forced to be as absolutely indifferent to +the fair sex as his master Charles X., punished, like that master, for +having pleased it too well. For eighteen years the idol of the faubourg +Saint-Germain, he had, like other heirs of great families led a +dissipated life, spent solely on pleasure. His father, ruined by the +revolution, had somewhat recovered his position on the return of the +Bourbons, as governor of a royal domain, with salary and perquisites; +but this uncertain fortune the old prince spent, as it came, in keeping +up the traditions of a great seigneur before the revolution; so that +when the law of indemnity was passed, the sums he received were all +swallowed up in the luxury he displayed in his vast hotel. + +The old prince died some little time before the revolution of July aged +eighty-seven. He had ruined his wife, and had long been on bad terms +with the Duc de Navarreins, who had married his daughter for a first +wife, and to whom he very reluctantly rendered his accounts. The Duc +de Maufrigneuse, early in life, had had relations with the Duchesse +dUxelles. About the year 1814, when Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was +forty-six years of age, the duchess, pitying his poverty, and seeing +that he stood very well at court, gave him her daughter Diane, then in +her seventeenth year, and possessing, in her own right, some fifty or +sixty thousand francs a year, not counting her future expectations. +Mademoiselle dUxelles thus became a duchess, and, as her mother very +well knew, she enjoyed the utmost liberty. The duke, after obtaining +the unexpected happiness of an heir, left his wife entirely to her +own devices, and went off to amuse himself in the various garrisons of +France, returning occasionally to Paris, where he made debts which his +father paid. He professed the most entire conjugal indulgence, always +giving the duchess a weeks warning of his return; he was adored by +his regiment, beloved by the Dauphin, an adroit courtier, somewhat of +a gambler, and totally devoid of affectation. Having succeeded to his +fathers office as governor of one of the royal domains, he managed to +please the two kings, Louis XVIII. and Charles X., which proves he made +the most of his nonentity; and even the liberals liked him; but his +conduct and life were covered with the finest varnish; language, noble +manners, and deportment were brought by him to a state of perfection. +But, as the old prince said, it was impossible for him to continue the +traditions of the Cadignans, who were all well known to have ruined +their wives, for the duchess was running through her property on her own +account. + +These particulars were so well understood in the court circles and +in the faubourg Saint-Germain, that during the last five years of +the Restoration they were considered ancient history, and any one who +mentioned them would have been laughed at. Women never spoke of the +charming duke without praising him; he was excellent, they said, to his +wife; could a man be better? He had left her the entire disposal of her +own property, and had always defended her on every occasion. It is +true that, whether from pride, kindliness, or chivalry, Monsieur de +Maufrigneuse had saved the duchess under various circumstances which +might have ruined other women, in spite of Dianes surroundings, and +the influence of her mother and that of the Duc de Navarreins, her +father-in-law, and her husbands aunt. + +For several ensuing days the princess revealed herself to dArthez as +remarkable for her knowledge of literature. She discussed with perfect +fearlessness the most difficult questions, thanks to her daily and +nightly reading, pursued with an intrepidity worthy of the highest +praise. DArthez, amazed, and incapable of suspecting that Diane +dUxelles merely repeated at night that which she read in the morning +(as some writers do), regarded her as a most superior woman. These +conversations, however, led away from Dianes object, and she tried to +get back to the region of confidences from which dArthez had prudently +retired after her coquettish rebuff; but it was not as easy as she +expected to bring back a man of his nature who had once been startled +away. + +However, after a month of literary campaigning and the finest platonic +discourses, dArthez grew bolder, and arrived every day at three +oclock. He retired at six, and returned at nine, to remain until +midnight, or one in the morning, with the regularity of an ardent and +impatient lover. The princess was always dressed with more or less +studied elegance at the hour when dArthez presented himself. This +mutual fidelity, the care they each took of their appearance, in fact, +all about them expressed sentiments that neither dared avow, for the +princess discerned very plainly that the great child with whom she had +to do shrank from the combat as much as she desired it. Nevertheless +dArthez put into his mute declarations a respectful awe which was +infinitely pleasing to her. Both felt, every day, all the more united +because nothing acknowledged or definite checked the course of their +ideas, as occurs between lovers when there are formal demands on one +side, and sincere or coquettish refusals on the other. + +Like all men younger than their actual age, dArthez was a prey to those +agitating irresolutions which are caused by the force of desires and +the terror of displeasing,--a situation which a young woman does not +comprehend when she shares it, but which the princess had too often +deliberately produced not to enjoy its pleasures. In fact, Diane enjoyed +these delightful juvenilities all the more keenly because she knew that +she could put an end to them at any moment. She was like a great artist +delighting in the vague, undecided lines of his sketch, knowing well +that in a moment of inspiration he can complete the masterpiece still +waiting to come to birth. Many a time, seeing dArthez on the point +of advancing, she enjoyed stopping him short, with an imposing air and +manner. She drove back the hidden storms of that still young heart, +raised them again, and stilled them with a look, holding out her hand +to be kissed, or saying some trifling insignificant words in a tender +voice. + +These manoeuvres, planned in cold blood, but enchantingly executed, +carved her image deeper and deeper on the soul of that great writer and +thinker whom she revelled in making childlike, confiding, simple, and +almost silly beside her. And yet she had moments of repulsion against +her own act, moments in which she could not help admiring the grandeur +of such simplicity. This game of choicest coquetry attached her, +insensibly, to her slave. At last, however, Diane grew impatient with +an Epictetus of love; and when she thought she had trained him to the +utmost credulity, she set to work to tie a thicker bandage still over +his eyes. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. THE CONFESSION OF A PRETTY WOMAN + + +One evening Daniel found the princess thoughtful, one elbow resting on +a little table, her beautiful blond head bathed in light from the lamp. +She was toying with a letter which lay on the table-cloth. When dArthez +had seen the paper distinctly, she folded it up, and stuck it in her +belt. + +What is the matter? asked dArthez; you seem distressed. + +I have received a letter from Monsieur de Cadignan, she replied. +However great the wrongs he has done me, I cannot help thinking of his +exile--without family, without son--from his native land. + +These words, said in a soulful voice, betrayed angelic sensibility. +DArthez was deeply moved. The curiosity of the lover became, so to +speak, a psychological and literary curiosity. He wanted to know the +height that woman had attained, and what were the injuries she thus +forgave; he longed to know how these women of the world, taxed with +frivolity, cold-heartedness, and egotism, could be such angels. +Remembering how the princess had already repulsed him when he first +tried to read that celestial heart, his voice, and he himself, trembled +as he took the transparent, slender hand of the beautiful Diane with its +curving finger-tips, and said,-- + +Are we now such friends that you will tell me what you have suffered? + +Yes, she said, breathing forth the syllable like the most mellifluous +note that Tulous flute had ever sighed. + +Then she fell into a revery, and her eyes were veiled. Daniel remained +in a state of anxious expectation, impressed with the solemnity of the +occasion. His poetic imagination made him see, as it were, clouds slowly +dispersing and disclosing to him the sanctuary where the wounded lamb +was kneeling at the divine feet. + +Well? he said, in a soft, still voice. + +Diane looked at the tender petitioner; then she lowered her eyes slowly, +dropping their lids with a movement of noble modesty. None but a +monster would have been capable of imagining hypocrisy in the graceful +undulation of the neck with which the princess again lifted her charming +head, to look once more into the eager eyes of that great man. + +Can I? ought I? she murmured, with a gesture of hesitation, gazing at +dArthez with a sublime expression of dreamy tenderness. Men have so +little faith in things of this kind; they think themselves so little +bound to be discreet! + +Ah! if you distrust me, why am I here? cried dArthez. + +Oh, friend! she said, giving to the exclamation the grace of an +involuntary avowal, when a woman attaches herself for life, think you +she calculates? It is not question of refusal (how could I refuse you +anything?), but the idea of what you may think of me if I speak. I would +willingly confide to you the strange position in which I am at my age; +but what would you think of a woman who could reveal the secret wounds +of her married life? Turenne kept his word to robbers; do I not owe to +my torturers the honor of a Turenne? + +Have you passed your word to say nothing? + +Monsieur de Cadignan did not think it necessary to bind me to +secrecy--You are asking more than my soul! Tyrant! you want me to bury +my honor itself in your breast, she said, casting upon dArthez a +look, by which she gave more value to her coming confidence than to her +personal self. + +You must think me a very ordinary man, if you fear any evil, no matter +what, from me, he said, with ill-concealed bitterness. + +Forgive me, friend, she replied, taking his hand in hers caressingly, +and letting her fingers wander gently over it. I know your worth. You +have related to me your whole life; it is noble, it is beautiful, it is +sublime, and worthy of your name; perhaps, in return, I owe you mine. +But I fear to lower myself in your eyes by relating secrets which +are not wholly mine. How can you believe--you, a man of solitude and +poesy--the horrors of social life? Ah! you little think when you invent +your dramas that they are far surpassed by those that are played in +families apparently united. You are wholly ignorant of certain gilded +sorrows. + +I know all! he cried. + +No, you know nothing. + +DArthez felt like a man lost on the Alps of a dark night, who sees, +at the first gleam of dawn, a precipice at his feet. He looked at the +princess with a bewildered air, and felt a cold chill running down his +back. Diane thought for a moment that her man of genius was a weakling, +but a flash from his eyes reassured her. + +You have become to me almost my judge, she said, with a desperate air. +I must speak now, in virtue of the right that all calumniated beings +have to show their innocence. I have been, I am still (if a poor recluse +forced by the world to renounce the world is still remembered) accused +of such light conduct, and so many evil things, that it may be allowed +me to find in one strong heart a haven from which I cannot be driven. +Hitherto I have always considered self-justification an insult to +innocence; and that is why I have disdained to defend myself. Besides, +to whom could I appeal? Such cruel things can be confided to none but +God or to one who seems to us very near Him--a priest, or another self. +Well! I do know this, if my secrets are not as safe there, she said, +laying her hand on dArthezs heart, as they are here (pressing the +upper end of her busk beneath her fingers), then you are not the grand +dArthez I think you--I shall have been deceived. + +A tear moistened dArthezs eyes, and Diane drank it in with a side +look, which, however, gave no motion either to the pupils or the lids of +her eyes. It was quick and neat, like the action of a cat pouncing on a +mouse. + +DArthez, for the first time, after sixty days of protocols, ventured +to take that warm and perfumed hand, and press it to his lips with a +long-drawn kiss, extending from the wrist to the tip of the fingers, +which made the princess augur well of literature. She thought to herself +that men of genius must know how to love with more perfection than +conceited fops, men of the world, diplomatists, and even soldiers, +although such beings have nothing else to do. She was a connoisseur, and +knew very well that the capacity for love reveals itself chiefly in mere +nothings. A woman well informed in such matters can read her future in +a simple gesture; just as Cuvier could say from the fragment of a bone: +This belonged to an animal of such or such dimensions, with or without +horns, carnivorous, herbivorous, amphibious, etc., age, so many thousand +years. Sure now of finding in dArthez as much imagination in love as +there was in his written style, she thought it wise to bring him up at +once to the highest pitch of passion and belief. + +She withdrew her hand hastily, with a magnificent movement full of +varied emotions. If she had said in words: Stop, or I shall die, she +could not have spoken more plainly. She remained for a moment with +her eyes in dArthezs eyes, expressing in that one glance happiness, +prudery, fear, confidence, languor, a vague longing, and virgin modesty. +She was twenty years old! but remember, she had prepared for this hour +of comic falsehood by the choicest art of dress; she was there in her +armchair like a flower, ready to blossom at the first kiss of sunshine. +True or false, she intoxicated Daniel. + +It if is permissible to risk a personal opinion we must avow that it +would be delightful to be thus deceived for a good long time. Certainly +Talma on the stage was often above and beyond nature, but the Princesse +de Cadignan is the greatest true comedian of our day. Nothing was +wanting to this woman but an attentive audience. Unfortunately, at +epochs perturbed by political storms, women disappear like water-lilies +which need a cloudless sky and balmy zephyrs to spread their bloom to +our enraptured eyes. + +The hour had come; Diane was now to entangle that great man in the +inextricable meshes of a romance carefully prepared, to which he was +fated to listen as the neophyte of early Christian times listened to the +epistles of an apostle. + +My friend, began Diane, my mother, who still lives at Uxelles, +married me in 1814, when I was seventeen years old (you see how old I am +now!) to Monsieur de Maufrigneuse, not out of affection for me, but out +of regard for him. She discharged her debt to the only man she had ever +loved, for the happiness she had once received from him. Oh! you need +not be astonished at so horrible a conspiracy; it frequently takes +place. Many women are more lovers than mothers, though the majority +are more mothers than wives. The two sentiments, love and motherhood, +developed as they are by our manners and customs, often struggle +together in the hearts of women; one or other must succumb when they +are not of equal strength; when they are, they produce some exceptional +women, the glory of our sex. A man of your genius must surely comprehend +many things that bewilder fools but are none the less true; indeed I may +go further and call them justifiable through difference of characters, +temperaments, attachments, situations. I, for example, at this moment, +after twenty years of misfortunes, of deceptions, of calumnies endured, +and weary days and hollow pleasures, is it not natural that I should +incline to fall at the feet of a man who would love me sincerely and +forever? And yet, the world would condemn me. But twenty years of +suffering might well excuse a few brief years which may still remain to +me of youth given to a sacred and real love. This will not happen. I am +not so rash as to sacrifice my hopes of heaven. I have borne the burden +and heat of the day, I shall finish my course and win my recompense. + +Angel! thought dArthez. + +After all, I have never blamed my mother; she knew little of me. +Mothers who lead a life like that of the Duchesse dUxelles keep their +children at a distance. I saw and knew nothing of the world until my +marriage. You can judge of my innocence! I knew nothing; I was incapable +of understanding the causes of my marriage. I had a fine fortune; sixty +thousand francs a year in forests, which the Revolution overlooked (or +had not been able to sell) in the Nivernais, with the noble chateau of +dAnzy. Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was steeped in debt. Later I learned +what it was to have debts, but then I was too utterly ignorant of life +to suspect my position; the money saved out of my fortune went to pacify +my husbands creditors. Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was forty-eight years +of age when I married him; but those years were like military campaigns, +they ought to count for twice what they were. Ah! what a life I led for +ten years! If any one had known the suffering of this poor, calumniated +little woman! To be watched by a mother jealous of her daughter! +Heavens! You who make dramas, you will never invent anything as direful +as that. Ordinarily, according to the little that I know of literature, +a drama is a suite of actions, speeches, movements which hurry to a +catastrophe; but what I speak of was a catastrophe in action. It was an +avalanche fallen in the morning and falling again at night only to +fall again the next day. I am cold now as I speak to you of that cavern +without an opening, cold, sombre, in which I lived. I, poor little thing +that I was! brought up in a convent like a mystic rose, knowing nothing +of marriage, developing late, I was happy at first; I enjoyed the +goodwill and harmony of our family. The birth of my poor boy, who is +all me--you must have been struck by the likeness? my hair, my eyes, the +shape of my face, my mouth, my smile, my teeth!--well, his birth was a +relief to me; my thoughts were diverted by the first joys of maternity +from my husband, who gave me no pleasure and did nothing for me that +was kind or amiable; those joys were all the keener because I knew no +others. It had been so often rung into my ears that a mother should +respect herself. Besides, a young girl loves to play the mother. I was +so proud of my flower--for Georges was beautiful, a miracle, I thought! +I saw and thought of nothing but my son, I lived with my son. I never +let his nurse dress or undress him. Such cares, so wearing to mothers +who have a regiment of children, were all my pleasure. But after three +or four years, as I was not an actual fool, light came to my eyes in +spite of the pains taken to blindfold me. Can you see me at that +final awakening, in 1819? The drama of The Brothers at enmity is a +rose-water tragedy beside that of a mother and daughter placed as we +then were. But I braved them all, my mother, my husband, the world, +by public coquetries which society talked of,--and heaven knows how it +talked! You can see, my friend, how the men with whom I was accused of +folly were to me the dagger with which to stab my enemies. Thinking only +of my vengeance, I did not see or feel the wounds I was inflicting on +myself. Innocent as a child, I was thought a wicked woman, the worst of +women, and I knew nothing of it! The world is very foolish, very blind, +very ignorant; it can penetrate no secrets but those which amuse it and +serve its malice: noble things, great things, it puts its hand before +its eyes to avoid seeing. But, as I look back, it seems to me that I had +an attitude and aspect of indignant innocence, with movements of pride, +which a great painter would have recognized. I must have enlivened many +a ball with my tempests of anger and disdain. Lost poesy! such sublime +poems are only made in the glowing indignation which seizes us at +twenty. Later, we are wrathful no longer, we are too weary, vice no +longer amazes us, we are cowards, we fear. But then--oh! I kept a great +pace! For all that I played the silliest personage in the world; I was +charged with crimes by which I never benefited. But I had such pleasure +in compromising myself. That was my revenge! Ah! I have played many +childish tricks! I went to Italy with a thoughtless youth, whom I +crushed when he spoke to me of love, but later, when I herd that he was +compromised on my account (he had committed a forgery to get money) I +rushed to save him. My mother and husband kept me almost without means; +but, this time, I went to the king. Louis XVIII., that man without a +heart, was touched; he gave me a hundred thousand francs from his privy +purse. The Marquis dEsgrignon--you must have seen him in society for he +ended by making a rich marriage--was saved from the abyss into which he +had plunged for my sake. That adventure, caused by my own folly, led me +to reflect. I saw that I myself was the first victim of my vengeance. +My mother, who knew I was too proud, too dUxelles, to conduct +myself really ill, began to see the harm that she had done me and was +frightened by it. She was then fifty-two years of age; she left Paris +and went to live at Uxelles. There she expiates her wrong-doing by a +life of devotion and expresses the utmost affection for me. After her +departure I was face to face, alone, with Monsieur de Maufrigneuse. Oh! +my friend, you men can never know what an old man of gallantry can be. +What a home is that of a man accustomed to the adulation of women of the +world, when he finds neither incense nor censer in his own house! dead +to all! and yet, perhaps for that very reason, jealous. I wished--when +Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was wholly mine--I wished to be a good wife, +but I found myself repulsed with the harshness of a soured spirit by +a man who treated me like a child and took pleasure in humiliating +my self-respect at every turn, in crushing me under the scorn of his +experience, and in convicting me of total ignorance. He wounded me on +all occasions. He did everything to make me detest him and to give me +the right to betray him; but I was still the dupe of my own hope and of +my desire to do right through several years. Shall I tell you the cruel +saying that drove me to further follies? The Duchesse de Maufrigneuse +has gone back to her husband, said the world. Bah! it is always a +triumph to bring the dead to life; it is all she can now do, replied my +best friend, a relation, she, at whose house I met you-- + +Madame dEspard! cried Daniel, with a gesture of horror. + +Oh! I have forgiven her. Besides, it was very witty; and I have myself +made just as cruel epigrams on other poor women as innocent as myself. + +DArthez again kissed the hand of that saintly woman who, having hacked +her mother in pieces, and turned the Prince de Cadignan into an Othello, +now proceeded to accuse herself in order to appear in the eyes of that +innocent great man as immaculate as the silliest or the wisest of women +desire to seem at all costs to their lovers. + +You will readily understand, my friend, that I returned to society for +the purpose of excitement and I may say of notoriety. I felt that I must +conquer my independence. I led a life of dissipation. To divert my mind, +to forget my real life in fictitious enjoyments I was gay, I shone, I +gave fetes, I played the princess, and I ran in debt. At home I could +forget myself in the sleep of weariness, able to rise the next day gay, +and frivolous for the world; but in that sad struggle to escape my real +life I wasted my fortune. The revolution of 1830 came; it came at the +very moment when I had met, at the end of that _Arabian Nights_ life, a +pure and sacred love which (I desire to be honest) I had longed to know. +Was it not natural in a woman whose heart, repressed by many causes and +accidents, was awakening at an age when a woman feels herself cheated +if she has never known, like the women she sees about her, a happy love? +Ah! why was Michel Chrestien so respectful? Why did he not seek to meet +me? There again was another mockery! But what of that? in falling, I +have lost everything; I have no illusions left; I had tasted of all +things except the one fruit for which I have no longer teeth. Yes, I +found myself disenchanted with the world at the very moment when I was +forced to leave it. Providential, was it not? like all those strange +insensibilities which prepare us for death (she made a gesture full +of pious unction). All things served me then, she continued; the +disasters of the monarchy and its ruin helped me to bury myself. My son +consoles me for much. Maternal love takes the place of all frustrated +feelings. The world is surprised at my retirement, but to me it has +brought peace. Ah! if you knew how happy the poor creature before you is +in this little place. In sacrificing all to my son I forget to think of +joys of which I am and ever must be ignorant. Yes, hope has flown, I +now fear everything; no doubt I should repulse the truest sentiment, +the purest and most veritable love, in memory of the deceptions and the +miseries of my life. It is all horrible, is it not? and yet, what I have +told you is the history of many women. + +The last few words were said in a tone of easy pleasantry which recalled +the presence of the woman of the world. DArthez was dumbfounded. In his +eyes convicts sent to the galleys for murder, or aggravated robbery, or +for putting a wrong name to checks, were saints compared to the men and +women of society. This atrocious elegy, forged in the arsenal of lies, +and steeped in the waters of the Parisian Styx, had been poured into his +ears with the inimitable accent of truth. The grave author contemplated +for a moment that adorable woman lying back in her easy-chair, her two +hands pendant from its arms like dewdrops from a rose-leaf, overcome +by her own revelation, living over again the sorrows of her life as she +told them--in short an angel of melancholy. + +And judge, she cried, suddenly lifting herself with a spring and +raising her hand, while lightning flashed from eyes where twenty chaste +years shone--judge of the impression the love of a man like Michel +must have made upon me. But by some irony of fate--or was it the hand of +God?--well, he died; died in saving the life of, whom do you suppose? of +Monsieur de Cadignan. Are you now surprised to find me thoughtful? + +This was the last drop; poor dArthez could bear no more. He fell upon +his knees, and laid his head on Dianes hand, weeping soft tears such +as the angels shed,--if angels weep. As Daniel was in that bent posture, +Madame de Cadignan could safely let a malicious smile of triumph flicker +on her lips, a smile such as the monkeys wear after playing a sly +trick--if monkeys smile. + +Ah! I have him, thought she; and, indeed, she had him fast. + +But you are-- he said, raising his fine head and looking at her with +eyes of love. + +Virgin and martyr, she replied, smiling at the commonness of that +hackneyed expression, but giving it a freshness of meaning by her smile, +so full of painful gayety. If I laugh, she continued, it is that I am +thinking of that princess whom the world thinks it knows, that Duchesse +de Maufrigneuse to whom it gives as lovers de Marsay, that infamous de +Trailles (a political cutthroat), and that little fool of a dEsgrignon, +and Rastignac, Rubempre, ambassadors, ministers, Russian generals, +heaven knows who! all Europe! They have gossiped about that album which +I ordered made, believing that those who admired me were my friends. Ah! +it is frightful! I wonder that I allow a man at my feet! Despise them +all, THAT should be my religion. + +She rose and went to the window with a gait and bearing magnificent in +motifs. + +DArthez remained on the low seat to which he had returned not daring +to follow the princess; but he looked at her; he heard her blowing her +nose. Was there ever a princess who blew her nose? but Diane attempted +the impossible to convey an idea of her sensibility. DArthez believed +his angel was in tears; he rushed to her side, took her round the waist, +and pressed her to his heart. + +No, no, leave me! she murmured in a feeble voice. I have too many +doubts to be good for anything. To reconcile me with life is a task +beyond the powers of any man. + +Diane! I will love you for your whole lost life. + +No; dont speak to me thus, she answered. At this moment I tremble, I +am ashamed as though I had committed the greatest sins. + +She was now entirely restored to the innocence of little girls, and +yet her bearing was august, grand, noble as that of a queen. It is +impossible to describe the effect of these manoeuvres, so clever that +they acted like the purest truth on a soul as fresh and honest as that +of dArthez. The great author remained dumb with admiration, passive +beside her in the recess of that window awaiting a word, while the +princess awaited a kiss; but she was far too sacred to him for that. +Feeling cold, the princess returned to her easy-chair; her feet were +frozen. + +It will take a long time, she said to herself, looking at Daniels +noble brow and head. + +Is this a woman? thought that profound observer of human nature. How +ought I to treat her? + +Until two oclock in the morning they spent their time in saying to each +other the silly things that women of genius, like the princess, know how +to make adorable. Diane pretended to be too worn, too old, too faded; +DArthez proved to her (facts of which she was well convinced) that her +skin was the most delicate, the softest to the touch, the whitest to the +eye, the most fragrant; she was young and in her bloom, how could she +think otherwise? Thus they disputed, beauty by beauty, detail by detail +with many: Oh! do you think so?--You are beside yourself!--It is +hope, it is fancy!--You will soon see me as I am.--I am almost forty +years of age. Can a man love so old a woman? + +DArthez responded with impetuous and school-boy eloquence, larded with +exaggerated epithets. When the princess heard this wise and witty writer +talking the nonsense of an amorous sub-lieutenant she listened with an +absorbed air and much sensibility; but she laughed in her sleeve. + +When dArthez was in the street, he asked himself whether he might not +have been rather less respectful. He went over in memory those strange +confidences--which have, naturally, been much abridged here, for they +needed a volume to convey their mellifluous abundance and the graces +which accompanied them. The retrospective perspicacity of this man, so +natural, so profound, was baffled by the candor of that tale and its +poignancy, and by the tones of the princess. + +It is true, he said to himself, being unable to sleep, there are such +dramas as that in society. Society covers great horrors with the flowers +of its elegance, the embroidery of its gossip, the wit of its lies. We +writers invent no more than the truth. Poor Diane! Michel had penetrated +that enigma; he said that beneath her covering of ice there lay +volcanoes! Bianchon and Rastignac were right; when a man can join the +grandeurs of the ideal and the enjoyments of human passion in loving +a woman of perfect manners, of intellect, of delicacy, it must be +happiness beyond words. + +So thinking, he sounded the love that was in him and found it infinite. + + + + +CHAPTER V. A TRIAL OF FAITH + + +The next day, about two in the afternoon, Madame dEspard, who had seen +and heard nothing of the princess for more than a month, went to see her +under the impulse of extreme curiosity. Nothing was ever more amusing +of its kind than the conversation of these two crafty adders during the +first half-hour of this visit. + +Diane dUxelles cautiously avoided, as she would the wearing of a yellow +gown, all mention of dArthez. The marquise circled round and round that +topic like a Bedouin round a caravan. Diane amused herself; the marquise +fumed. Diane waited; she intended to utilize her friend and use her in +the chase. Of these two women, both so celebrated in the social world, +one was far stronger than the other. The princess rose by a head +above the marquise, and the marquise was inwardly conscious of that +superiority. In this, perhaps, lay the secret of their intimacy. The +weaker of the two crouched low in her false attachment, watching for the +hour, long awaited by feeble beings, of springing at the throat of the +stronger and leaving the mark of a joyful bite. Diane saw clear; but the +world was the dupe of the wile caresses of the two friends. + +The instant that the princess perceived a direct question on the lips of +her friend, she said:-- + +Ah! dearest, I owe you a most complete, immense, infinite, celestial +happiness. + +What can you mean? + +Have you forgotten what we ruminated three months ago in the little +garden, sitting on a bench in the sun, under the jasmine? Ah! there are +none but men of genius who know how to love! I apply to my grand Daniel +dArthez the Duke of Albas saying to Catherine de Medici: The head of +a single salmon is worth all the frogs in the world. + +I am not surprised that I no longer see you, said Madame dEspard. + +Promise me, if you meet him, not to say to him one word about me, my +angel, said the princess, taking her friends hand. I am happy, oh! +happy beyond all expression; but you know that in society a word, a mere +jest can do much harm. One speech can kill, for they put such venom into +a single sentence! Ah! if you knew how I long that you might meet with +a love like this! Yes, it is a sweet, a precious triumph for women like +ourselves to end our womans life in this way; to rest in an ardent, +pure, devoted, complete and absolute love; above all, when we have +sought it long. + +Why do you ask me to be faithful to my dearest friend? said Madame +dEspard. Do you think me capable of playing you some villainous +trick? + +When a woman possesses such a treasure the fear of losing it is so +strong that it naturally inspires a feeling of terror. I am absurd, I +know; forgive me, dear. + +A few moments later the marquise departed; as she watched her go the +princess said to herself:-- + +How she will pluck me! But to save her the trouble of trying to get +Daniel away from here Ill send him to her. + +At three oclock, or a few moments after, dArthez arrived. In the midst +of some interesting topic on which he was discoursing eloquently, the +princess suddenly cut him short by laying her hand on his arm. + +Pardon me, my dear friend, she said, interrupting him, but I fear +I may forget a thing which seems a mere trifle but may be of great +importance. You have not set foot in Madame dEspards salon since the +ever-blessed day when I met you there. Pray go at once; not for your +sake, nor by way of politeness, but for me. You may already have made +her an enemy of mine, if by chance she has discovered that since her +dinner you have scarcely left my house. Besides, my friend, I dont like +to see you dropping your connection with society, and neglecting your +occupations and your work. I should again be strangely calumniated. What +would the world say? That I held you in leading-strings, absorbed you, +feared comparisons, and clung to my conquest knowing it to be my last! +Who will know that you are my friend, my only friend? If you love me +indeed, as you say you love me, you will make the world believe that +we are purely and simply brother and sister--Go on with what you were +saying. + +In his armor of tenderness, riveted by the knowledge of so many splendid +virtues, dArthez obeyed this behest on the following day and went +to see Madame dEspard, who received him with charming coquetry. The +marquise took very good care not to say a single word to him about the +princess, but she asked him to dinner on a coming day. + +On this occasion dArthez found a numerous company. The marquise +had invited Rastignac, Blondet, the Marquis dAjuda-Pinto, Maxime de +Trailles, the Marquis dEsgrignon, the two brothers Vandenesse, du +Tillet, one of the richest bankers in Paris, the Baron de Nucingen, +Raoul Nathan, Lady Dudley, two very treacherous secretaries of embassies +and the Chevalier dEspard, the wiliest person in this assemblage and +the chief instigator of his sister-in-laws policy. + +When dinner was well under way, Maxime de Trailles turned to dArthez +and said smiling:-- + +You see a great deal, dont you, of the Princesse de Cadignan? + +To this question dArthez responded by curtly nodding his head. Maxime +de Trailles was a bravo of the social order, without faith or law, +capable of everything, ruining the women who trusted him, compelling +them to pawn their diamonds to give him money, but covering this conduct +with a brilliant varnish; a man of charming manners and satanic mind. +He inspired all who knew him with equal contempt and fear; but as no +one was bold enough to show him any sentiments but those of the utmost +courtesy he saw nothing of this public opinion, or else he accepted and +shared the general dissimulation. He owed to the Comte de Marsay the +greatest degree of elevation to which he could attain. De Marsay, +whose knowledge of Maxime was of long-standing, judged him capable of +fulfilling certain secret and diplomatic functions which he confided to +him and of which de Trailles acquitted himself admirably. DArthez had +for some time past mingled sufficiently in political matters to know the +man for what he was, and he alone had sufficient strength and height of +character to express aloud what others thought or said in a whisper. + +Is it for her that you neglect the Chamber? asked Baron de Nucingen in +his German accent. + +Ah! the princess is one of the most dangerous women a man can have +anything to do with. I owe to her the miseries of my marriage, + exclaimed the Marquis dEsgrignon. + +Dangerous? said Madame dEspard. Dont speak so of my nearest friend. +I have never seen or known anything in the princess that did not seem to +come from the noblest sentiments. + +Let the marquis say what he thinks, cried Rastignac. When a man has +been thrown by a fine horse he thinks it has vices and he sells it. + +Piqued by these words, the Marquis dEsgrignon looked at dArthez and +said:-- + +Monsieur is not, I trust, on such terms with the princess that we +cannot speak freely of her? + +DArthez kept silence. DEsgrignon, who was not wanting in cleverness, +replied to Rastignacs speech with an apologetic portrait of the +princess, which put the whole table in good humor. As the jest was +extremely obscure to dArthez he leaned towards his neighbor, Madame de +Montcornet, and asked her, in a whisper, what it meant. + +Excepting yourself--judging by the excellent opinion you seem to have +of the princess--all the other guests are said to have been in her good +graces. + +I can assure you that such an accusation is absolutely false, said +Daniel. + +And yet, here is Monsieur dEsgrignon of an old family of Alencon, who +completely ruined himself for her some twelve years ago, and, if all is +true, came very near going to the scaffold. + +I know the particulars of that affair, said dArthez. Madame de +Cadignan went to Alencon to save Monsieur dEsgrignon from a trial +before the court of assizes; and this is how he rewards her to-day! + +Madame de Montcornet looked at dArthez with a surprise and curiosity +that were almost stupid, then she turned her eyes on Madame dEspard +with a look which seemed to say: He is bewitched! + +During this short conversation Madame de Cadignan was protected by +Madame dEspard, whose protection was like that of the lightning-rod +which draws the flash. When dArthez returned to the general +conversation Maxime de Trailles was saying:-- + +With Diane, depravity is not an effect but a cause; perhaps she owes +that cause to her exquisite nature; she doesnt invent, she makes no +effort, she offers you the choicest refinements as the inspiration of +a spontaneous and naive love; and it is absolutely impossible not to +believe her. + +This speech, which seemed to have been prepared for a man of dArthezs +stamp, was so tremendous an arraignment that the company appeared to +accept it as a conclusion. No one said more; the princess was crushed. +DArthez looked straight at de Trailles and then at dEsgrignon with a +sarcastic air, and said:-- + +The greatest fault of that woman is that she has followed in the wake +of men. She squanders patrimonies as they do; she drives her lovers to +usurers; she pockets dots; she ruins orphans; she inspires, possibly +she commits, crimes, but-- + +Never had the two men, whom dArthez was chiefly addressing, listened +to such plain talk. At that BUT the whole table was startled, every one +paused, fork in air, their eyes fixed alternately on the brave author +and on the assailants of the princess, awaiting the conclusion of that +horrible silence. + +_But_, said dArthez, with sarcastic airiness, Madame la Princesse +de Cadignan has one advantage over men: when they have put themselves in +danger for her sake, she saves them, and says no harm of any one. Among +the multitude, why shouldnt there be one woman who amuses herself with +men as men amuse themselves with women? Why not allow the fair sex to +take, from time to time, its revenge? + +Genius is stronger than wit, said Blondet to Nathan. + +This broadside of sarcasms was in fact the discharge of a battery of +cannons against a platoon of musketry. When coffee was served, Blondet +and Nathan went up to dArthez with an eagerness no one else dared to +imitate, so unable were the rest of the company to show the admiration +his conduct inspired from the fear of making two powerful enemies. + +This is not the first time we have seen that your character equals your +talent in grandeur, said Blondet. You behaved just now more like a +demi-god than a man. Not to have been carried away by your heart or +your imagination, not to have taken up the defence of a beloved woman--a +fault they were enticing you to commit, because it would have given +those men of society eaten up with jealousy of your literary fame a +triumph over you--ah! give me leave to say you have attained the height +of private statesmanship. + +Yes, you are a statesman, said Nathan. It is as clever as it is +difficult to avenge a woman without defending her. + +The princess is one of those heroines of the legitimist party, and +it is the duty of all men of honor to protect her quand meme, replied +dArthez, coldly. What she has done for the cause of her masters would +excuse all follies. + +He keeps his own counsel! said Nathan to Blondet. + +Precisely as if the princess were worth it, said Rastignac, joining +the other two. + +DArthez went to the princess, who was awaiting him with the keenest +anxiety. The result of this experiment, which Diane had herself brought +about, might be fatal to her. For the first time in her life this woman +suffered in her heart. She knew not what she should do in case dArthez +believed the world which spoke the truth, instead of believing her who +lied; for never had so noble a nature, so complete a man, a soul so +pure, a conscience so ingenuous come beneath her hand. Though she had +told him cruel lies she was driven to do so by the desire of knowing a +true love. That love--she felt it dawning in her heart; yes, she loved +dArthez; and now she was condemned forever to deceive him! She must +henceforth remain to him the actress who had played that comedy to blind +his eyes. + +When she heard Daniels step in the dining-room a violent commotion, a +shudder which reached to her very vitals came over her. That convulsion, +never felt during all the years of her adventurous existence, told her +that she had staked her happiness on this issue. Her eyes, gazing +into space, took in the whole of dArthezs person; their light poured +through his flesh, she read his soul; suspicion had not so much as +touched him with its bats-wing. The terrible emotion of that fear then +came to its reaction; joy almost stifled her; for there is no human +being who is not more able to endure grief than to bear extreme +felicity. + +Daniel, they have calumniated me, and you have avenged me! she cried, +rising, and opening her arms to him. + +In the profound amazement caused by these words, the roots of which were +utterly unknown to him, Daniel allowed his hand to be taken between her +beautiful hands, as the princess kissed him sacredly on the forehead. + +But, he said, how could you know-- + +Oh! illustrious ninny! do you not see that I love you fondly? + +Since that day nothing has been said of the Princess de Cadignan, nor +of dArthez. The princess has inherited some fortune from her mother and +she spends all her summers in a villa on the lake of Geneva, where the +great writer joins her. She returns to Paris for a few months in winter. +DArthez is never seen except in the Chamber. His writings are becoming +exceedingly rare. Is this a conclusion? Yes, for people of sense; no, +for persons who want to know everything. + + + + +ADDENDUM + +The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + + Ajuda-Pinto, Marquis Miguel d + Father Goriot + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + Beatrix + + Arthez, Daniel d + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Member for Arcis + + Bianchon, Horace + Father Goriot + The Atheists Mass + Cesar Birotteau + The Commission in Lunacy + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelors Establishment + The Government Clerks + Pierrette + A Study of Woman + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + Honorine + The Seamy Side of History + The Magic Skin + A Second Home + A Prince of Bohemia + Letters of Two Brides + The Muse of the Department + The Imaginary Mistress + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + The Country Parson + In addition, M. Bianchon narrated the following: + Another Study of Woman + La Grande Breteche + + Blondet, Emile + Jealousies of a Country Town + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + Modeste Mignon + Another Study of Woman + A Daughter of Eve + The Firm of Nucingen + The Peasantry + + Blondet, Virginie + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Another Study of Woman + The Member for Arcis + A Daughter of Eve + + Cadignan, Prince de + Modeste Mignon + + Chrestien, Michel + A Bachelors Establishment + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + + Cinq-Cygne, Laurence, Comtesse (afterwards Marquise de) + The Gondreville Mystery + The Seamy Side of History + The Member for Arcis + + Dudley, Lady Arabella + The Lily of the Valley + The Ball at Sceaux + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + + Esgrignon, Victurnien, Comte (then Marquis d) + Jealousies of a Country Town + Letters of Two Brides + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + + Espard, Chevalier d + The Commission in Lunacy + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + + Espard, Jeanne-Clementine-Athenais de Blamont-Chauvry, Marquise d + The Commission in Lunacy + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + + Galathionne, Prince and Princess (both not in each story) + The Middle Classes + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + + Giraud, Leon + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelors Establishment + The Unconscious Humorists + + Marsay, Henri de + The Thirteen + The Unconscious Humorists + Another Study of Woman + The Lily of the Valley + Father Goriot + Jealousies of a Country Town + Ursule Mirouet + A Marriage Settlement + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Ball at Sceaux + Modest Mignon + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + + Maufrigneuse, Duc de + A Start in Life + A Bachelors Establishment + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + + Maufrigneuse, Duchesse de + Modeste Mignon + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Muse of the Department + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + The Member for Arcis + + Maufrigneuse, Georges de + The Gondreville Mystery + Beatrix + The Member for Arcis + + Mirbel, Madame de + Letters of Two Brides + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + + Nathan, Raoul + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + The Seamy Side of History + The Muse of the Department + A Prince of Bohemia + A Man of Business + The Unconscious Humorists + + Navarreins, Duc de + A Bachelors Establishment + Colonel Chabert + The Muse of the Department + The Thirteen + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + The Country Parson + The Magic Skin + The Gondreville Mystery + Cousin Betty + + Nucingen, Baron Frederic de + The Firm of Nucingen + Father Goriot + Pierrette + Cesar Birotteau + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + Another Study of Woman + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + The Muse of the Department + The Unconscious Humorists + + Rastignac, Eugene de + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesans Life + The Ball at Sceaux + The Interdiction + A Study of Woman + Another Study of Woman + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + The Gondreville Mystery + The Firm of Nucingen + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + The Unconscious Humorists + + Rochefide, Marquise de + Beatrix + A Daughter of Eve + Sarrasine + A Prince of Bohemia + + Tillet, Ferdinand du + Cesar Birotteau + The Firm of Nucingen + The Middle Classes + A Bachelors Establishment + Pierrette + Melmoth Reconciled + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Unconscious Humorists + + Toby (Joby, Paddy) + The Firm of Nucingen + + Trailles, Comte Maxime de + Cesar Birotteau + Father Goriot + Gobseck + Ursule Mirouet + A Man of Business + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + Beatrix + The Unconscious Humorists + + Vandenesse, Comte Felix de + The Lily of the Valley + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Cesar Birotteau + Letters of Two Brides + A Start in Life + The Marriage Settlement + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secrets of the Princesse de +Cadignan, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN *** + +***** This file should be named 1344-0.txt or 1344-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/4/1344/ + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase Project +Gutenberg), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (the Foundation + or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase Project Gutenberg appears, or with which the phrase Project +Gutenberg is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase Project Gutenberg associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +Plain Vanilla ASCII or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original Plain Vanilla ASCII or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +Defects, such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the Right +of Replacement or Refund described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you AS-IS WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tms +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundations EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your states laws. + +The Foundations principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundations web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/1344-0.zip b/old/1344-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7436d88 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1344-0.zip diff --git a/old/1344-h.zip b/old/1344-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..312ddb6 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1344-h.zip diff --git a/old/1344-h/1344-h.htm b/old/1344-h/1344-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8aec33d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1344-h/1344-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3114 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan, by Honore de Balzac + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan, by +Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley + +Release Date: February 22, 2010 [EBook #1344] +Last Updated: November 23, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE SECRETS OF <br /><br />THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Honore De Balzac + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + DEDICATION<br /><br /> To Theophile Gautier<br /> + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <h3> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN</b> + </a> + </h3> + <h3> + </h3> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTES + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </td> + <td> + DANIEL D’ARTHEZ + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE PRINCESS GOES TO WORK + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE CONFESSION OF A PRETTY WOMAN + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </td> + <td> + A TRIAL OF FAITH + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <h3> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> ADDENDUM </a> + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + THE SECRETS OF THE <br />PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTES + </h2> + <p> + After the disasters of the revolution of July, which destroyed so many + aristocratic fortunes dependent on the court, Madame la Princesse de + Cadignan was clever enough to attribute to political events the total ruin + she had caused by her own extravagance. The prince left France with the + royal family, and never returned to it, leaving the princess in Paris, + protected by the fact of his absence; for their debts, which the sale of + all their salable property had not been able to extinguish, could only be + recovered through him. The revenues of the entailed estates had been + seized. In short, the affairs of this great family were in as bad a state + as those of the elder branch of the Bourbons. + </p> + <p> + This woman, so celebrated under her first name of Duchesse de + Maufrigneuse, very wisely decided to live in retirement, and to make + herself, if possible, forgotten. Paris was then so carried away by the + whirling current of events that the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, buried in + the Princesse de Cadignan, a change of name unknown to most of the new + actors brought upon the stage of society by the revolution of July, did + really become a stranger in her own city. + </p> + <p> + In Paris the title of duke ranks all others, even that of prince; though, + in heraldic theory, free of all sophism, titles signify nothing; there is + absolute equality among gentlemen. This fine equality was formerly + maintained by the House of France itself; and in our day it is so still, + at least, nominally; witness the care with which the kings of France give + to their sons the simple title of count. It was in virtue of this system + that Francois I. crushed the splendid titles assumed by the pompous + Charles the Fifth, by signing his answer: “Francois, seigneur de Vanves.” + Louis XI. did better still by marrying his daughter to an untitled + gentleman, Pierre de Beaujeu. The feudal system was so thoroughly broken + up by Louis XIV. that the title of duke became, during his reign, the + supreme honor of the aristocracy, and the most coveted. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless there are two or three families in France in which the + principality, richly endowed in former times, takes precedence of the + duchy. The house of Cadignan, which possesses the title of Duc de + Maufrigneuse for its eldest sons, is one of these exceptional families. + Like the princes of the house of Rohan in earlier days, the princes of + Cadignan had the right to a throne in their own domain; they could have + pages and gentlemen in their service. This explanation is necessary, as + much to escape foolish critics who know nothing, as to record the customs + of a world which, we are told, is about to disappear, and which, + evidently, so many persons are assisting to push away without knowing what + it is. + </p> + <p> + The Cadignans bear: or, five lozenges sable appointed, placed fess-wise, + with the word “Memini” for motto, a crown with a cap of maintenance, no + supporters or mantle. In these days the great crowd of strangers flocking + to Paris, and the almost universal ignorance of the science of heraldry, + are beginning to bring the title of prince into fashion. There are no real + princes but those possessed of principalities, to whom belongs the title + of highness. The disdain shown by the French nobility for the title of + prince, and the reasons which caused Louis XIV. to give supremacy to the + title of duke, have prevented Frenchmen from claiming the appellation of + “highness” for the few princes who exist in France, those of Napoleon + excepted. This is why the princes of Cadignan hold an inferior position, + nominally, to the princes of the continent. + </p> + <p> + The members of the society called the faubourg Saint-Germain protected the + princess by a respectful silence due to her name, which is one of those + that all men honor, to her misfortunes, which they ceased to discuss, and + to her beauty, the only thing she saved of her departed opulence. Society, + of which she had once been the ornament, was thankful to her for having, + as it were, taken the veil, and cloistered herself in her own home. This + act of good taste was for her, more than for any other woman, an immense + sacrifice. Great deeds are always so keenly felt in France that the + princess gained, by her retreat, as much as she had lost in public opinion + in the days of her splendor. + </p> + <p> + She now saw only one of her old friends, the Marquise d’Espard, and even + to her she never went on festive occasions or to parties. The princess and + the marquise visited each other in the forenoons, with a certain amount of + secrecy. When the princess went to dine with her friend, the marquise + closed her doors. Madame d’Espard treated the princess charmingly; she + changed her box at the opera, leaving the first tier for a baignoire on + the ground-floor, so that Madame de Cadignan could come to the theatre + unseen, and depart incognito. Few women would have been capable of a + delicacy which deprived them of the pleasure of bearing in their train a + fallen rival, and of publicly being her benefactress. Thus relieved of the + necessity for costly toilets, the princess could enjoy the theatre, + whither she went in Madame d’Espard’s carriage, which she would never have + accepted openly in the daytime. No one has ever known Madame d’Espard’s + reasons for behaving thus to the Princesse de Cadignan; but her conduct + was admirable, and for a long time included a number of little acts which, + viewed single, seem mere trifles, but taken in the mass become gigantic. + </p> + <p> + In 1832, three years had thrown a mantle of snow over the follies and + adventures of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, and had whitened them so + thoroughly that it now required a serious effort of memory to recall them. + Of the queen once adored by so many courtiers, and whose follies might + have given a theme to a variety of novels, there remained a woman still + adorably beautiful, thirty-six years of age, but quite justified in + calling herself thirty, although she was the mother of Duc Georges de + Maufrigneuse, a young man of eighteen, handsome as Antinous, poor as Job, + who was expected to obtain great successes, and for whom his mother + desired, above all things, to find a rich wife. Perhaps this hope was the + secret of the intimacy she still kept up with the marquise, in whose + salon, which was one of the first in Paris, she might eventually be able + to choose among many heiresses for Georges’ wife. The princess saw five + years between the present moment and her son’s marriage,—five + solitary and desolate years; for, in order to obtain such a marriage for + her son, she knew that her own conduct must be marked in the corner with + discretion. + </p> + <p> + The princess lived in the rue de Miromesnil, in a small house, of which + she occupied the ground-floor at a moderate rent. There she made the most + of the relics of her past magnificence. The elegance of the great lady was + still redolent about her. She was still surrounded by beautiful things + which recalled her former existence. On her chimney-piece was a fine + miniature portrait of Charles X., by Madame Mirbel, beneath which were + engraved the words, “Given by the King”; and, as a pendant, the portrait + of “Madame”, who was always her kind friend. On a table lay an album of + costliest price, such as none of the bourgeoises who now lord it in our + industrial and fault-finding society would have dared to exhibit. This + album contained portraits, about thirty in number, of her intimate + friends, whom the world, first and last, had given her as lovers. The + number was a calumny; but had rumor said ten, it might have been, as her + friend Madame d’Espard remarked, good, sound gossip. The portraits of + Maxime de Trailles, de Marsay, Rastignac, the Marquis d’Esgrignon, General + Montriveau, the Marquis de Ronquerolles and d’Ajuda-Pinto, Prince + Galathionne, the young Ducs de Grandlieu and de Rhetore, the Vicomte de + Serizy, and the handsome Lucien de Rubempre, had all been treated with the + utmost coquetry of brush and pencil by celebrated artists. As the princess + now received only two or three of these personages, she called the book, + jokingly, the collection of her errors. + </p> + <p> + Misfortune had made this woman a good mother. During the fifteen years of + the Restoration she had amused herself far too much to think of her son; + but on taking refuge in obscurity, this illustrious egoist bethought her + that the maternal sentiment, developed to its extreme, might be an + absolution for her past follies in the eyes of sensible persons, who + pardon everything to a good mother. She loved her son all the more because + she had nothing else to love. Georges de Maufrigneuse was, moreover, one + of those children who flatter the vanities of a mother; and the princess + had, accordingly, made all sorts of sacrifices for him. She hired a stable + and coach-house, above which he lived in a little entresol with three + rooms looking on the street, and charmingly furnished; she had even borne + several privations to keep a saddle-horse, a cab-horse, and a little groom + for his use. For herself, she had only her own maid, and as cook, a former + kitchen-maid. The duke’s groom had, therefore, rather a hard place. Toby, + formerly tiger to the “late” Beaudenord (such was the jesting term applied + by the gay world to that ruined gentleman),—Toby, who at twenty-five + years of age was still considered only fourteen, was expected to groom the + horses, clean the cabriolet, or the tilbury, and the harnesses, accompany + his master, take care of the apartments, and be in the princess’s + antechamber to announce a visitor, if, by chance, she happened to receive + one. + </p> + <p> + When one thinks of what the beautiful Duchesse de Maufrigneuse had been + under the Restoration,—one of the queens of Paris, a dazzling queen, + whose luxurious existence equalled that of the richest women of fashion in + London,—there was something touching in the sight of her in that + humble little abode in the rue de Miromesnil, a few steps away from her + splendid mansion, which no amount of fortune had enabled her to keep, and + which the hammer of speculators has since demolished. The woman who + thought she was scarcely well served by thirty servants, who possessed the + most beautiful reception-rooms in all Paris, and the loveliest little + private apartments, and who made them the scene of such delightful fetes, + now lived in a small apartment of five rooms,—an antechamber, + dining-room, salon, one bed-chamber, and a dressing-room, with two + women-servants only. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! she is devoted to her son,” said that clever creature, Madame + d’Espard, “and devoted without ostentation; she is happy. Who would ever + have believed so frivolous a woman was capable of such persistent + resolution! Our good archbishop has, consequently, greatly encouraged her; + he is most kind to her, and has just induced the old Comtesse de + Cinq-Cygne to pay her a visit.” + </p> + <p> + Let us admit a truth! One must be a queen to know how to abdicate, and to + descend with dignity from a lofty position which is never wholly lost. + Those only who have an inner consciousness of being nothing in themselves, + show regrets in falling, or struggle, murmuring, to return to a past which + can never return,—a fact of which they themselves are well aware. + Compelled to do without the choice exotics in the midst of which she had + lived, and which set off so charmingly her whole being (for it is + impossible not to compare her to a flower), the princess had wisely chosen + a ground-floor apartment; there she enjoyed a pretty little garden which + belonged to it,—a garden full of shrubs, and an always verdant turf, + which brightened her peaceful retreat. She had about twelve thousand + francs a year; but that modest income was partly made up of an annual + stipend sent her by the old Duchesse de Navarreins, paternal aunt of the + young duke, and another stipend given by her mother, the Duchesse + d’Uxelles, who was living on her estate in the country, where she + economized as old duchesses alone know how to economize; for Harpagon is a + mere novice compared to them. The princess still retained some of her past + relations with the exiled royal family; and it was in her house that the + marshal to whom we owe the conquest of Africa had conferences, at the time + of “Madame’s” attempt in La Vendee, with the principal leaders of + legitimist opinion,—so great was the obscurity in which the princess + lived, and so little distrust did the government feel for her in her + present distress. + </p> + <p> + Beholding the approach of that terrible fortieth year, the bankruptcy of + love, beyond which there is so little for a woman as woman, the princess + had flung herself into the kingdom of philosophy. She took to reading, she + who for sixteen years had felt a cordial horror for serious things. + Literature and politics are to-day what piety and devotion once were to + her sex,—the last refuge of their feminine pretensions. In her late + social circle it was said that Diane was writing a book. Since her + transformation from a queen and beauty to a woman of intellect, the + princess had contrived to make a reception in her little house a great + honor which distinguished the favored person. Sheltered by her supposed + occupation, she was able to deceive one of her former adorers, de Marsay, + the most influential personage of the political bourgeoisie brought to the + fore in July 1830. She received him sometimes in the evenings, and, + occupied his attention while the marshal and a few legitimists were + talking, in a low voice, in her bedroom, about the recovery of power, + which could be attained only by a general co-operation of ideas,—the + one element of success which all conspirators overlook. It was the clever + vengeance of the pretty woman, who thus inveigled the prime minister, and + made him act as screen for a conspiracy against his own government. + </p> + <p> + This adventure, worthy of the finest days of the Fronde, was the text of a + very witty letter, in which the princess rendered to “Madame” an account + of the negotiations. The Duc de Maufrigneuse went to La Vendee, and was + able to return secretly without being compromised, but not without taking + part in “Madame’s” perils; the latter, however, sent him home the moment + she saw that her cause was lost. Perhaps, had he remained, the eager + vigilance of the young man might have foiled that treachery. However great + the faults of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse may have seemed in the eyes of + the bourgeoisie, the behavior of her son on this occasion certainly + effaced them in the eyes of the aristocracy. There was great nobility and + grandeur in thus risking her only son, and the heir of an historic name. + Some persons are said to intentionally cover the faults of their private + life by public services, and vice versa; but the Princesse de Cadignan + made no such calculation. Possibly those who apparently so conduct + themselves make none. Events count for much in such cases. + </p> + <p> + On one of the first fine days in the month of May, 1833, the Marquise + d’Espard and the princess were turning about—one could hardly call + it walking—in the single path which wound round the grass-plat in + the garden, about half-past two in the afternoon, just as the sun was + leaving it. The rays reflected on the walls gave a warm atmosphere to the + little space, which was fragrant with flowers, the gift of the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “We shall soon lose de Marsay,” said the marquise; “and with him will + disappear your last hope of fortune for your son. Ever since you played + him that clever trick, he has returned to his affection for you.” + </p> + <p> + “My son will never capitulate to the younger branch,” returned the + princess, “if he has to die of hunger, or I have to work with my hands to + feed him. Besides, Berthe de Cinq-Cygne has no aversion to him.” + </p> + <p> + “Children don’t bind themselves to their parents’ principles,” said Madame + d’Espard. + </p> + <p> + “Don’t let us talk about it,” said the princess. “If I can’t coax over the + Marquise de Cinq-Cygne, I shall marry Georges to the daughter of some + iron-founderer, as that little d’Esgrignon did.” + </p> + <p> + “Did you love Victurnien?” asked the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “No,” replied the princess, gravely, “d’Esgrignon’s simplicity was really + only a sort of provincial silliness, which I perceived rather too late—or, + if you choose, too soon.” + </p> + <p> + “And de Marsay?” + </p> + <p> + “De Marsay played with me as if I were a doll. I was so young at the time! + We never love men who pretend to teach us; they rub up all our little + vanities.” + </p> + <p> + “And that wretched boy who hanged himself?” + </p> + <p> + “Lucien? An Antinous and a great poet. I worshiped him in all conscience, + and I might have been happy. But he was in love with a girl of the town; + and I gave him up to Madame de Serizy.... If he had cared to love me, + should I have given him up?” + </p> + <p> + “What an odd thing, that you should come into collision with an Esther!” + </p> + <p> + “She was handsomer than I,” said the Princess.—“Very soon it shall + be three years that I have lived in solitude,” she resumed, after a pause, + “and this tranquillity has nothing painful to me about it. To you alone + can I dare to say that I feel I am happy. I was surfeited with adoration, + weary of pleasure, emotional on the surface of things, but conscious that + emotion itself never reached my heart. I have found all the men whom I + have known petty, paltry, superficial; none of them ever caused me a + surprise; they had no innocence, no grandeur, no delicacy. I wish I could + have met with one man able to inspire me with respect.” + </p> + <p> + “Then are you like me, my dear?” asked the marquise; “have you never felt + the emotion of love while trying to love?” + </p> + <p> + “Never,” replied the princess, laying her hand on the arm of her friend. + </p> + <p> + They turned and seated themselves on a rustic bench beneath a jasmine then + coming into flower. Each had uttered one of those sayings that are solemn + to women who have reached their age. + </p> + <p> + “Like you,” resumed the princess, “I have received more love than most + women; but through all my many adventures, I have never found happiness. I + committed great follies, but they had an object, and that object retreated + as fast as I approached it. I feel to-day in my heart, old as it is, an + innocence which has never been touched. Yes, under all my experience, lies + a first love intact,—just as I myself, in spite of all my losses and + fatigues, feel young and beautiful. We may love and not be happy; we may + be happy and never love; but to love and be happy, to unite those two + immense human experiences, is a miracle. That miracle has not taken place + for me.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor for me,” said Madame d’Espard. + </p> + <p> + “I own I am pursued in this retreat by dreadful regret: I have amused + myself all through life, but I have never loved.” + </p> + <p> + “What an incredible secret!” cried the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! my dear,” replied the princess, “such secrets we can tell to + ourselves, you and I, but nobody in Paris would believe us.” + </p> + <p> + “And,” said the marquise, “if we were not both over thirty-six years of + age, perhaps we would not tell them to each other.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; when women are young they have so many stupid conceits,” replied the + princess. “We are like those poor young men who play with a toothpick to + pretend they have dined.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, at any rate, here we are!” said Madame d’Espard, with coquettish + grace, and a charming gesture of well-informed innocence; “and, it seems + to me, sufficiently alive to think of taking our revenge.” + </p> + <p> + “When you told me, the other day, that Beatrix had gone off with Conti, I + thought of it all night long,” said the princess, after a pause. “I + suppose there was happiness in sacrificing her position, her future, and + renouncing society forever.” + </p> + <p> + “She was a little fool,” said Madame d’Espard, gravely. “Mademoiselle des + Touches was delighted to get rid of Conti. Beatrix never perceived how + that surrender, made by a superior woman who never for a moment defended + her claims, proved Conti’s nothingness.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you think she will be unhappy?” + </p> + <p> + “She is so now,” replied Madame d’Espard. “Why did she leave her husband? + What an acknowledgment of weakness!” + </p> + <p> + “Then you think that Madame de Rochefide was not influenced by the desire + to enjoy a true love in peace?” asked the princess. + </p> + <p> + “No; she was simply imitating Madame de Beausant and Madame de Langeais, + who, be it said, between you and me, would have been, in a less vulgar + period than ours, the La Villiere, the Diane de Poitiers, the Gabrielle + d’Estrees of history.” + </p> + <p> + “Less the king, my dear. Ah! I wish I could evoke the shades of those + women, and ask them—” + </p> + <p> + “But,” said the marquise, interrupting the princess, “why ask the dead? We + know living women who have been happy. I have talked on this very subject + a score of times with Madame de Montcornet since she married that little + Emile Blondet, who makes her the happiest woman in the world; not an + infidelity, not a thought that turns aside from her; they are as happy as + they were the first day. These long attachments, like that of Rastignac + and Madame de Nucingen, and your cousin, Madame de Camps, for her Octave, + have a secret, and that secret you and I don’t know, my dear. The world + has paid us the extreme compliment of thinking we are two rakes worthy of + the court of the regent; whereas we are, in truth, as innocent as a couple + of school-girls.” + </p> + <p> + “I should like that sort of innocence,” cried the princess, laughing; “but + ours is worse, and it is very humiliating. Well, it is a mortification we + offer up in expiation of our fruitless search; yes, my dear, fruitless, + for it isn’t probable we shall find in our autumn season the fine flower + we missed in the spring and summer.” + </p> + <p> + “That’s not the question,” resumed the marquise, after a meditative pause. + “We are both still beautiful enough to inspire love, but we could never + convince any one of our innocence and virtue.” + </p> + <p> + “If it were a lie, how easy to dress it up with commentaries, and serve it + as some delicious fruit to be eagerly swallowed! But how is it possible to + get a truth believed? Ah! the greatest of men have been mistaken there!” + added the princess, with one of those meaning smiles which the pencil of + Leonardo da Vinci alone has rendered. + </p> + <p> + “Fools love well, sometimes,” returned the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “But in this case,” said the princess, “fools wouldn’t have enough + credulity in their nature.” + </p> + <p> + “You are right,” said the marquise. “But what we ought to look for is + neither a fool nor even a man of talent. To solve our problem we need a + man of genius. Genius alone has the faith of childhood, the religion of + love, and willingly allows us to band its eyes. Look at Canalis and the + Duchesse de Chaulieu! Though we have both encountered men of genius, they + were either too far removed from us or too busy, and we too absorbed, too + frivolous.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! how I wish I might not leave this world without knowing the happiness + of true love,” exclaimed the princess. + </p> + <p> + “It is nothing to inspire it,” said Madame d’Espard; “the thing is to feel + it. I see many women who are only the pretext for a passion without being + both its cause and its effect.” + </p> + <p> + “The last love I inspired was a beautiful and sacred thing,” said the + princess. “It had a future in it. Chance had brought me, for once in a + way, the man of genius who is due to us, and yet so difficult to obtain; + there are more pretty women than men of genius. But the devil interfered + with the affair.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me about it, my dear; this is all news to me.” + </p> + <p> + “I first noticed this beautiful passion about the middle of the winter of + 1829. Every Friday, at the opera, I observed a young man, about thirty + years of age, in the orchestra stalls, who evidently came there for me. He + was always in the same stall, gazing at me with eyes of fire, but, + seemingly, saddened by the distance between us, perhaps by the + hopelessness of reaching me.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor fellow! When a man loves he becomes eminently stupid,” said the + marquise. + </p> + <p> + “Between every act he would slip into the corridor,” continued the + princess, smiling at her friend’s epigrammatic remark. “Once or twice, + either to see me or to make me see him, he looked through the glass sash + of the box exactly opposite to mine. If I received a visit, I was certain + to see him in the corridor close to my door, casting a furtive glance upon + me. He had apparently learned to know the persons belonging to my circle; + and he followed them when he saw them turning in the direction of my box, + in order to obtain the benefit of the opening door. I also found my + mysterious adorer at the Italian opera-house; there he had a stall + directly opposite to my box, where he could gaze at me in naive ecstasy—oh! + it was pretty! On leaving either house I always found him planted in the + lobby, motionless; he was elbowed and jostled, but he never moved. His + eyes grew less brilliant if he saw me on the arm of some favorite. But not + a word, not a letter, no demonstration. You must acknowledge that was in + good taste. Sometimes, on getting home late at night, I found him sitting + upon one of the stone posts of the porte-cochere. This lover of mine had + very handsome eyes, a long, thick, fan-shaped beard, with a moustache and + side-whiskers; nothing could be seen of his skin but his white + cheek-bones, and a noble forehead; it was truly an antique head. The + prince, as you know, defended the Tuileries on the riverside, during the + July days. He returned to Saint-Cloud that night, when all was lost, and + said to me: ‘I came near being killed at four o’clock. I was aimed at by + one of the insurgents, when a young man, with a long beard, whom I have + often seen at the opera, and who was leading the attack, threw up the + man’s gun, and saved me.’ So my adorer was evidently a republican! In + 1831, after I came to lodge in this house, I found him, one day, leaning + with his back against the wall of it; he seemed pleased with my disasters; + possibly he may have thought they drew us nearer together. But after the + affair of Saint-Merri I saw him no more; he was killed there. The evening + before the funeral of General Lamarque, I had gone out on foot with my + son, and my republican accompanied us, sometimes behind, sometimes in + front, from the Madeleine to the Passage des Panoramas, where I was + going.” + </p> + <p> + “Is that all?” asked the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, all,” replied the princess. “Except that on the morning Saint-Merri + was taken, a gamin came here and insisted on seeing me. He gave me a + letter, written on common paper, signed by my republican.” + </p> + <p> + “Show it to me,” said the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “No, my dear. Love was too great and too sacred in the heart of that man + to let me violate its secrets. The letter, short and terrible, still stirs + my soul when I think of it. That dead man gives me more emotions than all + the living men I ever coquetted with; he constantly recurs to my mind.” + </p> + <p> + “What was his name?” asked the marquise. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! a very common one: Michel Chrestien.” + </p> + <p> + “You have done well to tell me,” said Madame d’Espard, eagerly. “I have + often heard of him. This Michel Chrestien was the intimate friend of a + remarkable man you have already expressed a wish to see,—Daniel + d’Arthez, who comes to my house some two or three times a year. Chrestien, + who was really killed at Saint-Merri, had no lack of friends. I have heard + it said that he was one of those born statesmen to whom, like de Marsay, + nothing is wanting but opportunity to become all they might be.” + </p> + <p> + “Then he had better be dead,” said the princess, with a melancholy air, + under which she concealed her thoughts. + </p> + <p> + “Will you come to my house some evening and meet d’Arthez?” said the + marquise. “You can talk of your ghost.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I will,” replied the princess. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. DANIEL D’ARTHEZ + </h2> + <p> + A few days after this conversation Blondet and Rastignac, who knew + d’Arthez, promised Madame d’Espard that they would bring him to dine with + her. This promise might have proved rash had it not been for the name of + the princess, a meeting with whom was not a matter of indifference to the + great writer. + </p> + <p> + Daniel d’Arthez, one of the rare men who, in our day, unite a noble + character with great talent, had already obtained, not all the popularity + his works deserve, but a respectful esteem to which souls of his own + calibre could add nothing. His reputation will certainly increase; but in + the eyes of connoisseurs it had already attained its full development. He + is one of those authors who, sooner or later, are put in their right + place, and never lose it. A poor nobleman, he had understood his epoch + well enough to seek personal distinction only. He had struggled long in + the Parisian arena, against the wishes of a rich uncle who, by a + contradiction which vanity must explain, after leaving his nephew a prey + to the utmost penury, bequeathed to the man who had reached celebrity the + fortune so pitilessly refused to the unknown writer. This sudden change in + his position made no change in Daniel d’Arthez’s habits; he continued to + work with a simplicity worthy of the antique past, and even assumed new + toils by accepting a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, where he took his + seat on the Right. + </p> + <p> + Since his accession to fame he had sometimes gone into society. One of his + old friends, the now-famous physician, Horace Bianchon, persuaded him to + make the acquaintance of the Baron de Rastignac, under-secretary of State, + and a friend of de Marsay, the prime minister. These two political + officials acquiesced, rather nobly, in the strong wish of d’Arthez, + Bianchon, and other friends of Michel Chrestien for the removal of the + body of that republican to the church of Saint-Merri for the purpose of + giving it funeral honors. Gratitude for a service which contrasted with + the administrative rigor displayed at a time when political passions were + so violent, had bound, so to speak, d’Arthez to Rastignac. The latter and + de Marsay were much too clever not to profit by that circumstance; and + thus they won over other friends of Michel Chrestien, who did not share + his political opinions, and who now attached themselves to the new + government. One of them, Leon Giraud, appointed in the first instance + master of petitions, became eventually a Councillor of State. + </p> + <p> + The whole existence of Daniel d’Arthez is consecrated to work; he sees + society only by snatches; it is to him a sort of dream. His house is a + convent, where he leads the life of a Benedictine; the same sobriety of + regimen, the same regularity of occupation. His friends knew that up to + the present time woman had been to him no more than an always dreaded + circumstance; he had observed her too much not to fear her; but by dint of + studying her he had ceased to understand her,—like, in this, to + those deep strategists who are always beaten on unexpected ground, where + their scientific axioms are either modified or contradicted. In character + he still remains a simple-hearted child, all the while proving himself an + observer of the first rank. This contrast, apparently impossible, is + explainable to those who know how to measure the depths which separate + faculties from feelings; the former proceed from the head, the latter from + the heart. A man can be a great man and a wicked one, just as he can be a + fool and a devoted lover. D’Arthez is one of those privileged beings in + whom shrewdness of mind and a broad expanse of the qualities of the brain + do not exclude either the strength or the grandeur of sentiments. He is, + by rare privilege, equally a man of action and a man of thought. His + private life is noble and generous. If he carefully avoided love, it was + because he knew himself, and felt a premonition of the empire such a + passion would exercise upon him. + </p> + <p> + For several years the crushing toil by which he prepared the solid ground + of his subsequent works, and the chill of poverty, were marvellous + preservatives. But when ease with his inherited fortune came to him, he + formed a vulgar and most incomprehensible connection with a rather + handsome woman, belonging to the lower classes, without education or + manners, whom he carefully concealed from every eye. Michel Chrestien + attributed to men of genius the power of transforming the most massive + creatures into sylphs, fools into clever women, peasants into countesses; + the more accomplished a woman was, the more she lost her value in their + eyes, for, according to Michel, their imagination had the less to do. In + his opinion love, a mere matter of the senses to inferior beings, was to + great souls the most immense of all moral creations and the most binding. + To justify d’Arthez, he instanced the example of Raffaele and the + Fornarina. He might have offered himself as an instance for this theory, + he who had seen an angel in the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse. This strange + fancy of d’Arthez might, however, be explained in other ways; perhaps he + had despaired of meeting here below with a woman who answered to that + delightful vision which all men of intellect dream of and cherish; perhaps + his heart was too sensitive, too delicate, to yield itself to a woman of + society; perhaps he thought best to let nature have her way, and keep his + illusions by cultivating his ideal; perhaps he had laid aside love as + being incompatible with his work and the regularity of a monastic life + which love would have wholly upset. + </p> + <p> + For several months past d’Arthez had been subjected to the jests and + satire of Blondet and Rastignac, who reproached him with knowing neither + the world nor women. According to them, his authorship was sufficiently + advanced, and his works numerous enough, to allow him a few distractions; + he had a fine fortune, and here he was living like a student; he enjoyed + nothing,—neither his money nor his fame; he was ignorant of the + exquisite enjoyments of the noble and delicate love which well-born and + well-bred women could inspire and feel; he knew nothing of the charming + refinements of language, nothing of the proofs of affection incessantly + given by refined women to the commonest things. He might, perhaps, know + woman; but he knew nothing of the divinity. Why not take his rightful + place in the world, and taste the delights of Parisian society? + </p> + <p> + “Why doesn’t a man who bears party per bend gules and or, a bezant and + crab counterchanged,” cried Rastignac, “display that ancient escutcheon of + Picardy on the panels of a carriage? You have thirty thousand francs a + year, and the proceeds of your pen; you have justified your motto: Ars + thesaurusque virtus, that punning device our ancestors were always + seeking, and yet you never appear in the Bois de Boulogne! We live in + times when virtue ought to show itself.” + </p> + <p> + “If you read your works to that species of stout Laforet, whom you seem to + fancy, I would forgive you,” said Blondet. “But, my dear fellow, you are + living on dry bread, materially speaking; in the matter of intellect you + haven’t even bread.” + </p> + <p> + This friendly little warfare had been going on for several months between + Daniel and his friends, when Madame d’Espard asked Rastignac and Blondet + to induce d’Arthez to come and dine with her, telling them that the + Princesse de Cadignan had a great desire to see that celebrated man. Such + curiosities are to certain women what magic lanterns are to children,—a + pleasure to the eyes, but rather shallow and full of disappointments. The + more sentiments a man of talent excites at a distance, the less he + responds to them on nearer view; the more brilliant fancy has pictured + him, the duller he will seem in reality. Consequently, disenchanted + curiosity is often unjust. + </p> + <p> + Neither Blondet nor Rastignac could deceive d’Arthez; but they told him, + laughing, that they now offered him a most seductive opportunity to polish + up his heart and know the supreme fascinations which love conferred on a + Parisian great lady. The princess was evidently in love with him; he had + nothing to fear but everything to gain by accepting the interview; it was + quite impossible he could descend from the pedestal on which madame de + Cadignan had placed him. Neither Blondet nor Rastignac saw any impropriety + in attributing this love to the princess; she whose past had given rise to + so many anecdotes could very well stand that lesser calumny. Together they + began to relate to d’Arthez the adventures of the Duchesse de + Maufrigneuse: her first affair with de Marsay; her second with d’Ajuda, + whom she had, they said, distracted from his wife, thus avenging Madame de + Beausant; also her later connection with young d’Esgrignon, who had + travelled with her in Italy, and had horribly compromised himself on her + account; after that they told him how unhappy she had been with a certain + celebrated ambassador, how happy with a Russian general, besides becoming + the Egeria of two ministers of Foreign affairs, and various other + anecdotes. D’Arthez replied that he knew a great deal more than they could + tell him about her through their poor friend, Michel Chrestien, who adored + her secretly for four years, and had well-nigh gone mad about her. + </p> + <p> + “I have often accompanied him,” said Daniel, “to the opera. He would make + me run through the streets as far as her horses that he might see the + princess through the window of her coupe.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, there you have a topic all ready for you,” said Blondet, smiling. + “This is the very woman you need; she’ll initiate you most gracefully into + the mysteries of elegance; but take care! she has wasted many fortunes. + The beautiful Diane is one of those spendthrifts who don’t cost a penny, + but for whom a man spends millions. Give yourself up to her, body and + soul, if you choose; but keep your money in your hand, like the old fellow + in Girodet’s ‘Deluge.’” + </p> + <p> + From the tenor of these remarks it was to be inferred that the princess + had the depth of a precipice, the grace of a queen, the corruption of + diplomatists, the mystery of a first initiation, and the dangerous + qualities of a siren. The two clever men of the world, incapable of + foreseeing the denouement of their joke, succeeded in presenting Diane + d’Uxelles as a consummate specimen of the Parisian woman, the cleverest of + coquettes, the most enchanting mistress in the world. Right or wrong, the + woman whom they thus treated so lightly was sacred to d’Arthez; his desire + to meet her needed no spur; he consented to do so at the first word, which + was all the two friends wanted of him. + </p> + <p> + Madame d’Espard went to see the princess as soon as she had received this + answer. + </p> + <p> + “My dear, do you feel yourself in full beauty and coquetry?” she said. “If + so, come and dine with me a few days hence, and I’ll serve up d’Arthez. + Our man of genius is by nature, it seems, a savage; he fears women, and + has never loved! Make your plans on that. He is all intellect, and so + simple that he’ll mislead you into feeling no distrust. But his + penetration, which is wholly retrospective, acts later, and frustrates + calculation. You may hoodwink him to-day, but to-morrow nothing can dupe + him.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” cried the princess, “if I were only thirty years old what amusement + I might have with him! The one enjoyment I have lacked up to the present + is a man of intellect to fool. I have had only partners, never + adversaries. Love was a mere game instead of being a battle.” + </p> + <p> + “Dear princess, admit that I am very generous; for, after all, you know!—charity + begins at home.” + </p> + <p> + The two women looked at each other, laughing, and clasped hands in a + friendly way. Assuredly they both knew each other’s secrets, and this was + not the first man nor the first service that one had given to the other; + for sincere and lasting friendships between women of the world need to be + cemented by a few little crimes. When two friends are liable to kill each + other reciprocally, and see a poisoned dagger in each other’s hand, they + present a touching spectacle of harmony, which is never troubled, unless, + by chance, one of them is careless enough to drop her weapon. + </p> + <p> + So, eight days later, a little dinner such as are given to intimates by + verbal invitation only, during which the doors are closed to all other + visitors, took place at Madame d’Espard’s house. Five persons were + invited,—Emile Blondet and Madame de Montcornet, Daniel d’Arthez, + Rastignac, and the Princesse de Cadignan. Counting the mistress of the + house, there were as many men as women. + </p> + <p> + Chance never exerted itself to make wiser preparations than those which + opened the way to a meeting between d’Arthez and Madame de Cadignan. The + princess is still considered one of the chief authorities on dress, which, + to women, is the first of arts. On this occasion she wore a gown of blue + velvet with flowing white sleeves, and a tulle guimpe, slightly frilled + and edged with blue, covering the shoulders, and rising nearly to the + throat, as we see in several of Raffaele’s portraits. Her maid had dressed + her hair with white heather, adroitly placed among its blond cascades, + which were one of the great beauties to which she owed her celebrity. + </p> + <p> + Certainly Diane did not look to be more than twenty-five years old. Four + years of solitude and repose had restored the freshness of her complexion. + Besides, there are moments when the desire to please gives an increase of + beauty to women. The will is not without influence on the variations of + the face. If violent emotions have the power to yellow the white tones of + persons of bilious and melancholy temperament, and to green lymphatic + faces, shall we not grant to desire, hope, and joy, the faculty of + clearing the skin, giving brilliancy to the eye, and brightening the glow + of beauty with a light as jocund as that of a lovely morning? The + celebrated faintness of the princess had taken on a ripeness which now + made her seem more august. At this moment of her life, impressed by her + many vicissitudes and by serious reflections, her noble, dreamy brow + harmonized delightfully with the slow, majestic glance of her blue eyes. + It was impossible for the ablest physiognomist to imagine calculation or + self-will beneath that unspeakable delicacy of feature. There were faces + of women which deceive knowledge, and mislead observation by their + calmness and delicacy; it is necessary to examine such faces when passions + speak, and that is difficult, or after they have spoken, which is no + longer of any use, for then the woman is old and has ceased to + dissimulate. + </p> + <p> + The princess is one of those impenetrable women; she can make herself what + she pleases to be: playful, childlike, distractingly innocent; or + reflective, serious, and profound enough to excite anxiety. She came to + Madame d’Espard’s dinner with the intention of being a gentle, simple + woman, to whom life was known only through its deceptions: a woman full of + soul, and calumniated, but resigned,—in short, a wounded angel. + </p> + <p> + She arrived early, so as to pose on a sofa near the fire beside Madame + d’Espard, as she wished to be first seen: that is, in one of those + attitudes in which science is concealed beneath an exquisite naturalness; + a studied attitude, putting in relief the beautiful serpentine outline + which, starting from the foot, rises gracefully to the hip, and continues + with adorable curves to the shoulder, presenting, in fact, a profile of + the whole body. With a subtlety which few women would have dreamed of, + Diane, to the great amazement of the marquise, had brought her son with + her. After a moment’s reflection, Madame d’Espard pressed the princess’s + hand, with a look of intelligence that seemed to say:— + </p> + <p> + “I understand you! By making d’Arthez accept all the difficulties at once + you will not have to conquer them later.” + </p> + <p> + Rastignac brought d’Arthez. The princess made none of those compliments to + the celebrated author with which vulgar persons overwhelmed him; but she + treated him with a kindness full of graceful respect, which, with her, was + the utmost extent of her concessions. Her manner was doubtless the same + with the King of France and the royal princes. She seemed happy to see + this great man, and glad that she had sought him. Persons of taste, like + the princess, are especially distinguished for their manner of listening, + for an affability without superciliousness, which is to politeness what + practice is to virtue. When the celebrated man spoke, she took an + attentive attitude, a thousand times more flattering than the + best-seasoned compliments. The mutual presentation was made quietly, + without emphasis, and in perfectly good taste, by the marquise. + </p> + <p> + At dinner d’Arthez was placed beside the princess, who, far from imitating + the eccentricities of diet which many affected women display, ate her + dinner with a very good appetite, making it a point of honor to seem a + natural woman, without strange ways or fancies. Between two courses she + took advantage of the conversation becoming general to say to d’Arthez, in + a sort of aside:— + </p> + <p> + “The secret of the pleasure I take in finding myself beside you, is the + desire I feel to learn something of an unfortunate friend of yours, + monsieur. He died for another cause greater than ours; but I was under the + greatest obligations to him, although unable to acknowledge or thank him + for them. I know that you were one of his best friends. Your mutual + friendship, pure and unalterable, is a claim upon me. You will not, I am + sure, think it extraordinary, that I have wished to know all you could + tell me of a man so dear to you. Though I am attached to the exiled + family, and bound, of course, to hold monarchical opinions, I am not among + those who think it is impossible to be both republican and noble in heart. + Monarchy and the republic are two forms of government which do not stifle + noble sentiments.” + </p> + <p> + “Michel Chrestien was an angel, madame,” replied Daniel, in a voice of + emotion. “I don’t know among the heroes of antiquity a greater than he. Be + careful not to think him one of those narrow-minded republicans who would + like to restore the Convention and the amenities of the Committee of + Public Safety. No, Michel dreamed of the Swiss federation applied to all + Europe. Let us own, between ourselves, that <i>after</i> the glorious + government of one man only, which, as I think, is particularly suited to + our nation, Michel’s system would lead to the suppression of war in this + old world, and its reconstruction on bases other than those of conquest, + which formerly feudalized it. From this point of view the republicans came + nearest to his idea. That is why he lent them his arm in July, and was + killed at Saint-Merri. Though completely apart in opinion, he and I were + closely bound together as friends.” + </p> + <p> + “That is noble praise for both natures,” said Madame de Cadignan, timidly. + </p> + <p> + “During the last four years of his life,” continued Daniel, “he made to me + alone a confidence of his love for you, and this confidence knitted closer + than ever the already strong ties of brotherly affection. He alone, + madame, can have loved you as you ought to be loved. Many a time I have + been pelted with rain as we accompanied your carriage at the pace of the + horses, to keep at a parallel distance, and see you—admire you.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! monsieur,” said the princess, “how can I repay such feelings!” + </p> + <p> + “Why is Michel not here!” exclaimed Daniel, in melancholy accents. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps he would not have loved me long,” said the princess, shaking her + head sadly. “Republicans are more absolute in their ideas than we + absolutists, whose fault is indulgence. No doubt he imagined me perfect, + and society would have cruelly undeceived him. We are pursued, we women, + by as many calumnies as you authors are compelled to endure in your + literary life; but we, alas! cannot defend ourselves either by our works + or by our fame. The world will not believe us to be what we are, but what + it thinks us to be. It would soon have hidden from his eyes the real but + unknown woman that is in me, behind the false portrait of the imaginary + woman which the world considers true. He would have come to think me + unworthy of the noble feelings he had for me, and incapable of + comprehending him.” + </p> + <p> + Here the princess shook her head, swaying the beautiful blond curls, full + of heather, with a touching gesture. This plaintive expression of grievous + doubts and hidden sorrows is indescribable. Daniel understood them all; + and he looked at the princess with keen emotion. + </p> + <p> + “And yet, the night on which I last saw him, after the revolution of July, + I was on the point of giving way to the desire I felt to take his hand and + press it before all the world, under the peristyle of the opera-house. But + the thought came to me that such a proof of gratitude might be + misinterpreted; like so many other little things done from noble motives + which are called to-day the follies of Madame de Maufrigneuse—things + which I can never explain, for none but my son and God have understood + me.” + </p> + <p> + These words, breathed into the ear of the listener, in tones inaudible to + the other guests, and with accents worthy of the cleverest actress, were + calculated to reach the heart; and they did reach that of d’Arthez. There + was no question of himself in the matter; this woman was seeking to + rehabilitate herself in favor of the dead. She had been calumniated; and + she evidently wanted to know if anything had tarnished her in the eyes of + him who had loved her; had he died with all his illusions? + </p> + <p> + “Michel,” replied d’Arthez, “was one of those men who love absolutely, and + who, if they choose ill, can suffer without renouncing the woman they have + once elected.” + </p> + <p> + “Was I loved thus?” she said, with an air of exalted beatitude. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, madame.” + </p> + <p> + “I made his happiness?” + </p> + <p> + “For four years.” + </p> + <p> + “A woman never hears of such a thing without a sentiment of proud + satisfaction,” she said, turning her sweet and noble face to d’Arthez with + a movement full of modest confusion. + </p> + <p> + One of the most skilful manoeuvres of these actresses is to veil their + manner when words are too expressive, and speak with their eyes when + language is restrained. These clever discords, slipped into the music of + their love, be it false or true, produce irresistible attractions. + </p> + <p> + “Is it not,” she said, lowering her voice and her eyes, after feeling well + assured they had produced her effect,—“is it not fulfilling one’s + destiny to have rendered a great man happy?” + </p> + <p> + “Did he not write that to you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; but I wanted to be sure, quite sure; for, believe me, monsieur, in + putting me so high he was not mistaken.” + </p> + <p> + Women know how to give a peculiar sacredness to their words; they + communicate something vibrant to them, which extends the meaning of their + ideas, and gives them depth; though later their fascinated listener may + not remember precisely what they said, their end has been completely + attained,—which is the object of all eloquence. The princess might + at that moment have been wearing the diadem of France, and her brow could + not have seemed more imposing than it was beneath that crown of golden + hair, braided like a coronet, and adorned with heather. She was simple and + calm; nothing betrayed a sense of any necessity to appear so, nor any + desire to seem grand or loving. D’Arthez, the solitary toiler, to whom the + ways of the world were unknown, whom study had wrapped in its protecting + veils, was the dupe of her tones and words. He was under the spell of + those exquisite manners; he admired that perfect beauty, ripened by + misfortune, placid in retirement; he adored the union of so rare a mind + and so noble a soul; and he longed to become, himself, the heir of Michel + Chrestien. + </p> + <p> + The beginning of this passion was, as in the case of almost all deep + thinkers, an idea. Looking at the princess, studying the shape of her + head, the arrangement of those sweet features, her figure, her hand, so + finely modelled, closer than when he accompanied his friend in their wild + rush through the streets, he was struck by the surprising phenomenon of + the moral second-sight which a man exalted by love invariably finds within + him. With what lucidity had Michel Chrestien read into that soul, that + heart, illumined by the fires of love! Thus the princess acquired, in + d’Arthez’s eyes, another charm; a halo of poesy surrounded her. + </p> + <p> + As the dinner proceeded, Daniel called to mind the various confidences of + his friend, his despair, his hopes, the noble poems of a true sentiment + sung to his ear alone, in honor of this woman. It is rare that a man + passes without remorse from the position of confidant to that of rival, + and d’Arthez was free to do so without dishonor. He had suddenly, in a + moment, perceived the enormous differences existing between a well-bred + woman, that flower of the great world, and common women, though of the + latter he did not know beyond one specimen. He was thus captured on the + most accessible and sensitive sides of his soul and of his genius. + Impelled by his simplicity, and by the impetuosity of his ideas, to lay + immediate claim to this woman, he found himself restrained by society, + also by the barrier which the manners and, let us say the word, the + majesty of the princess placed between them. The conversation, which + remained upon the topic of Michel Chrestien until the dessert, was an + excellent pretext for both to speak in a low voice: love, sympathy, + comprehension! she could pose as a maligned and misunderstood woman; he + could slip his feet into the shoes of the dead republican. Perhaps his + candid mind detected itself in regretting his dead friend less. The + princess, at the moment when the dessert appeared upon the table, and the + guests were separated by a brilliant hedge of fruits and sweetmeats, + thought best to put an end to this flow of confidences by a charming + little speech, in which she delicately expressed the idea that Daniel and + Michel were twin souls. + </p> + <p> + After this d’Arthez threw himself into the general conversation with the + gayety of a child, and a self-conceited air that was worthy of a + schoolboy. When they left the dining-room, the princess took d’Arthez’s + arm, in the simplest manner, to return to Madame d’Espard’s little salon. + As they crossed the grand salon she walked slowly, and when sufficiently + separated from the marquise, who was on Blondet’s arm, she stopped. + </p> + <p> + “I do not wish to be inaccessible to the friend of that poor man,” she + said to d’Arthez; “and though I have made it a rule to receive no + visitors, you will always be welcome in my house. Do not think this a + favor. A favor is only for strangers, and to my mind you and I seem old + friends; I see in you the brother of Michel.” + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez could only press her arm, unable to make other reply. + </p> + <p> + After coffee was served, Diane de Cadignan wrapped herself, with + coquettish motions, in a large shawl, and rose. Blondet and Rastignac were + too much men of the world, and too polite to make the least remonstrance, + or try to detain her; but Madame d’Espard compelled her friend to sit down + again, whispering in her ear:— + </p> + <p> + “Wait till the servants have had their dinner; the carriage is not ready + yet.” + </p> + <p> + So saying, the marquise made a sign to the footman, who was taking away + the coffee-tray. Madame de Montcornet perceived that the princess and + Madame d’Espard had a word to say to each other, and she drew around her + d’Arthez, Rastignac, and Blondet, amusing them with one of those clever + paradoxical attacks which Parisian women understand so thoroughly. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said the marquise to Diane, “what do you think of him?” + </p> + <p> + “He is an adorable child, just out of swaddling-clothes! This time, like + all other times, it will only be a triumph without a struggle.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, it is disappointing,” said Madame d’Espard. “But we might evade + it.” + </p> + <p> + “How?” + </p> + <p> + “Let me be your rival.” + </p> + <p> + “Just as you please,” replied the princess. “I’ve decided on my course. + Genius is a condition of the brain; I don’t know what the heart gets out + of it; we’ll talk about that later.” + </p> + <p> + Hearing the last few words, which were wholly incomprehensible to her, + Madame d’Espard returned to the general conversation, showing neither + offence at that indifferent “As you please,” nor curiosity as to the + outcome of the interview. The princess stayed an hour longer, seated on + the sofa near the fire, in the careless, nonchalant attitude of Guerin’s + Dido, listening with the attention of an absorbed mind, and looking at + Daniel now and then, without disguising her admiration, which never went, + however, beyond due limits. She slipped away when the carriage was + announced, with a pressure of the hand to the marquise, and an inclination + of the head to Madame de Montcornet. + </p> + <p> + The evening concluded without any allusion to the princess. The other + guests profited by the sort of exaltation which d’Arthez had reached, for + he put forth the treasures of his mind. In Blondet and Rastignac he + certainly had two acolytes of the first quality to bring forth the + delicacy of his wit and the breadth of his intellect. As for the two + women, they had long been counted among the cleverest in society. This + evening was like a halt in the oasis of a desert,—a rare enjoyment, + and well appreciated by these four persons, habitually victimized to the + endless caution entailed by the world of salons and politics. There are + beings who have the privilege of passing among men like beneficent stars, + whose light illumines the mind, while its rays send a glow to the heart. + D’Arthez was one of those beings. A writer who rises to his level, + accustoms himself to free thought, and forgets that in society all things + cannot be said; it is impossible for such a man to observe the restraint + of persons who live in the world perpetually; but as his eccentricities of + thought bore the mark of originality, no one felt inclined to complain. + This zest, this piquancy, rare in mere talent, this youthfulness and + simplicity of soul which made d’Arthez so nobly original, gave a + delightful charm to this evening. He left the house with Rastignac, who, + as they drove home, asked him how he liked the princess. + </p> + <p> + “Michel did well to love her,” replied d’Arthez; “she is, indeed, an + extraordinary woman.” + </p> + <p> + “Very extraordinary,” replied Rastignac, dryly. “By the tone of your voice + I should judge you were in love with her already. You will be in her house + within three days; and I am too old a denizen of Paris not to know what + will be the upshot of that. Well, my dear Daniel, I do entreat you not to + allow yourself to be drawn into any confusion of interests, so to speak. + Love the princess if you feel any love for her in your heart, but keep an + eye on your fortune. She has never taken or asked a penny from any man on + earth, she is far too much of a d’Uxelles and a Cadignan for that; but, to + my knowledge, she has not only spent her own fortune, which was very + considerable, but she has made others waste millions. How? why? by what + means? No one knows; she doesn’t know herself. I myself saw her swallow + up, some thirteen years ago, the entire fortune of a charming young + fellow, and that of an old notary, in twenty months.” + </p> + <p> + “Thirteen years ago!” exclaimed d’Arthez,—“why, how old is she now?” + </p> + <p> + “Didn’t you see, at dinner,” replied Rastignac, laughing, “her son, the + Duc de Maufrigneuse. That young man is nineteen years old; nineteen and + seventeen make—” + </p> + <p> + “Thirty-six!” cried the amazed author. “I gave her twenty.” + </p> + <p> + “She’ll accept them,” said Rastignac; “but don’t be uneasy, she will + always be twenty to you. You are about to enter the most fantastic of + worlds. Good-night, here you are at home,” said the baron, as they entered + the rue de Bellefond, where d’Arthez lived in a pretty little house of his + own. “We shall meet at Mademoiselle des Touches’s in the course of the + week.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. THE PRINCESS GOES TO WORK + </h2> + <p> + D’Arthez allowed love to enter his heart after the manner of my Uncle + Toby, without making the slightest resistance; he proceeded by adoration + without criticism, and by exclusive admiration. The princess, that noble + creature, one of the most remarkable creations of our monstrous Paris, + where all things are possible, good as well as evil, became—whatever + vulgarity the course of time may have given to the expression—the + angel of his dreams. To fully understand the sudden transformation of this + illustrious author, it is necessary to realize the simplicity that + constant work and solitude leave in the heart; all that love—reduced + to a mere need, and now repugnant, beside an ignoble woman—excites + of regret and longings for diviner sentiments in the higher regions of the + soul. D’Arthez was, indeed, the child, the boy that Madame de Cadignan had + recognized. An illumination something like his own had taken place in the + beautiful Diane. At last she had met that superior man whom all women + desire and seek, if only to make a plaything of him,—that power + which they consent to obey, if only for the pleasure of subduing it; at + last she had found the grandeurs of the intellect united with the + simplicity of a heart all new to love; and she saw, with untold happiness, + that these merits were contained in a form that pleased her. She thought + d’Arthez handsome, and perhaps he was. Though he had reached the age of + gravity (for he was now thirty-eight), he still preserved a flower of + youth, due to the sober and ascetic life which he had led. Like all men of + sedentary habits, and statesmen, he had acquired a certainly reasonable + embonpoint. When very young, he bore some resemblance to Bonaparte; and + the likeness still continued, as much as a man with black eyes and thick, + dark hair could resemble a sovereign with blue eyes and scanty, chestnut + hair. But whatever there once was of ardent and noble ambition in the + great author’s eyes had been somewhat quenched by successes. The thoughts + with which that brow once teemed had flowered; the lines of the hollow + face were filling out. Ease now spread its golden tints where, in youth, + poverty had laid the yellow tones of the class of temperament whose forces + band together to support a crushing and long-continued struggle. If you + observe carefully the noble faces of ancient philosophers, you will always + find those deviations from the type of a perfect human face which show the + characteristic to which each countenance owes its originality, chastened + by the habit of meditation, and by the calmness necessary for intellectual + labor. The most irregular features, like those of Socrates, for instance, + become, after a time, expressive of an almost divine serenity. + </p> + <p> + To the noble simplicity which characterized his head, d’Arthez added a + naive expression, the naturalness of a child, and a touching kindliness. + He did not have that politeness tinged with insincerity with which, in + society, the best-bred persons and the most amiable assume qualities in + which they are often lacking, leaving those they have thus duped wounded + and distressed. He might, indeed, fail to observe certain rules of social + life, owing to his isolated mode of living; but he never shocked the + sensibilities, and therefore this perfume of savagery made the peculiar + affability of a man of great talent the more agreeable; such men know how + to leave their superiority in their studies, and come down to the social + level, lending their backs, like Henry IV., to the children’s leap-frog, + and their minds to fools. + </p> + <p> + If d’Arthez did not brace himself against the spell which the princess had + cast about him, neither did she herself argue the matter in her own mind, + on returning home. It was settled for her. She loved with all her + knowledge and all her ignorance. If she questioned herself at all, it was + to ask whether she deserved so great a happiness, and what she had done + that Heaven should send her such an angel. She wanted to be worthy of that + love, to perpetuate it, to make it her own forever, and to gently end her + career of frivolity in the paradise she now foresaw. As for coquetting, + quibbling, resisting, she never once thought of it. She was thinking of + something very different!—of the grandeur of men of genius, and the + certainty which her heart divined that they would never subject the woman + they chose to ordinary laws. + </p> + <p> + Here begins one of those unseen comedies, played in the secret regions of + the consciousness between two beings of whom one will be the dupe of the + other, though it keeps on this side of wickedness; one of those dark and + comic dramas to which that of <i>Tartuffe</i> is mere child’s play,—dramas + that do not enter the scenic domain, although they are natural, + conceivable, and even justifiable by necessity; dramas which may be + characterized as not vice, only the other side of it. + </p> + <p> + The princess began by sending for d’Arthez’s books, of which she had + never, as yet, read a single word, although she had managed to maintain a + twenty minutes’ eulogism and discussion of them without a blunder. She now + read them all. Then she wanted to compare these books with the best that + contemporary literature had produced. By the time d’Arthez came to see her + she was having an indigestion of mind. Expecting this visit, she had daily + made a toilet of what may be called the superior order; that is, a toilet + which expresses an idea, and makes it accepted by the eye without the + owner of the eye knowing why or wherefore. She presented an harmonious + combination of shades of gray, a sort of semi-mourning, full of graceful + renunciation,—the garments of a woman who holds to life only through + a few natural ties,—her child, for instance,—but who is weary + of life. Those garments bore witness to an elegant disgust, not reaching, + however, as far as suicide; no, she would live out her days in these + earthly galleys. + </p> + <p> + She received d’Arthez as a woman who expected him, and as if he had + already been to see her a hundred times; she did him the honor to treat + him like an old acquaintance, and she put him at his ease by pointing to a + seat on a sofa, while she finished a note she was then writing. The + conversation began in a commonplace manner: the weather, the ministry, de + Marsay’s illness, the hopes of the legitimists. D’Arthez was an + absolutist; the princess could not be ignorant of the opinions of a man + who sat in the Chamber among the fifteen or twenty persons who represented + the legitimist party; she found means to tell him how she had fooled de + Marsay to the top of his bent, then, by an easy transition to the royal + family and to “Madame,” and the devotion of the Prince de Cadignan to + their service, she drew d’Arthez’s attention to the prince:— + </p> + <p> + “There is this to be said for him: he loved his masters, and was faithful + to them. His public character consoles me for the sufferings his private + life has inflicted upon me—Have you never remarked,” she went on, + cleverly leaving the prince aside, “you who observe so much, that men have + two natures: one of their homes, their wives, their private lives,—this + is their true self; here no mask, no dissimulation; they do not give + themselves the trouble to disguise a feeling; they are what they ARE, and + it is often horrible! The other man is for others, for the world, for + salons; the court, the sovereign, the public often see them grand, and + noble, and generous, embroidered with virtues, adorned with fine language, + full of admirable qualities. What a horrible jest it is!—and the + world is surprised, sometimes, at the caustic smile of certain women, at + their air of superiority to their husbands, and their indifference—” + </p> + <p> + She let her hand fall along the arm of her chair, without ending her + sentence, but the gesture admirably completed the speech. She saw d’Arthez + watching her flexible figure, gracefully bending in the depths of her + easy-chair, noting the folds of her gown, and the pretty little ruffle + which sported on her breast,—one of those audacities of the toilet + that are suited only to slender waists,—and she resumed the thread + of her thoughts as if she were speaking to herself:— + </p> + <p> + “But I will say no more. You writers have ended by making ridiculous all + women who think they are misunderstood, or ill-mated, and who try to make + themselves dramatically interesting,—attempts which seem to me, I + must say, intolerably vulgar. There are but two things for women in that + plight to do,—yield, and all is over; resist, and amuse themselves; + in either case they should keep silence. It is true that I neither yielded + wholly, nor resisted wholly; but, perhaps, that was only the more reason + why I should be silent. What folly for women to complain! If they have not + proved the stronger, they have failed in sense, in tact, in capacity, and + they deserve their fate. Are they not queens in France? They can play with + you as they like, when they like, and as much as they like.” Here she + danced her vinaigrette with an airy movement of feminine impertinence and + mocking gayety. “I have often heard miserable little specimens of my sex + regretting that they were women, wishing they were men; I have always + regarded them with pity. If I had to choose, I should still elect to be a + woman. A fine pleasure, indeed, to owe one’s triumph to force, and to all + those powers which you give yourselves by the laws you make! But to see + you at our feet, saying and doing foolish things,—ah! it is an + intoxicating pleasure to feel within our souls that weakness triumphs! But + when we triumph, we ought to keep silence, under pain of losing our + empire. Beaten, a woman’s pride should gag her. The slave’s silence alarms + the master.” + </p> + <p> + This chatter was uttered in a voice so softly sarcastic, so dainty, and + with such coquettish motions of the head, that d’Arthez, to whom this + style of woman was totally unknown, sat before her exactly like a + partridge charmed by a setter. + </p> + <p> + “I entreat you, madame,” he said, at last, “to tell me how it was possible + that a man could make you suffer? Be assured that where, as you say, other + women are common and vulgar, you can only seem distinguished; your manner + of saying things would make a cook-book interesting.” + </p> + <p> + “You go fast in friendship,” she said, in a grave voice which made + d’Arthez extremely uneasy. + </p> + <p> + The conversation changed; the hour was late, and the poor man of genius + went away contrite for having seemed curious, and for wounding the + sensitive heart of that rare woman who had so strangely suffered. As for + her, she had passed her life in amusing herself with men, and was another + Don Juan in female attire, with this difference: she would certainly not + have invited the Commander to supper, and would have got the better of any + statue. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible to continue this tale without saying a word about the + Prince de Cadignan, better known under the name of the Duc de + Maufrigneuse, otherwise the spice of the princess’s confidences would be + lost, and strangers would not understand the Parisian comedy she was about + to play for her man of genius. + </p> + <p> + The Duc de Maufrigneuse, like a true son of the old Prince de Cadignan, is + a tall, lean man, of elegant shape, very graceful, a sayer of witty + things, colonel by the grace of God, and a good soldier by accident; brave + as a Pole, which means without sense or discernment, and hiding the + emptiness of his mind under the jargon of good society. After the age of + thirty-six he was forced to be as absolutely indifferent to the fair sex + as his master Charles X., punished, like that master, for having pleased + it too well. For eighteen years the idol of the faubourg Saint-Germain, he + had, like other heirs of great families led a dissipated life, spent + solely on pleasure. His father, ruined by the revolution, had somewhat + recovered his position on the return of the Bourbons, as governor of a + royal domain, with salary and perquisites; but this uncertain fortune the + old prince spent, as it came, in keeping up the traditions of a great + seigneur before the revolution; so that when the law of indemnity was + passed, the sums he received were all swallowed up in the luxury he + displayed in his vast hotel. + </p> + <p> + The old prince died some little time before the revolution of July aged + eighty-seven. He had ruined his wife, and had long been on bad terms with + the Duc de Navarreins, who had married his daughter for a first wife, and + to whom he very reluctantly rendered his accounts. The Duc de + Maufrigneuse, early in life, had had relations with the Duchesse + d’Uxelles. About the year 1814, when Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was + forty-six years of age, the duchess, pitying his poverty, and seeing that + he stood very well at court, gave him her daughter Diane, then in her + seventeenth year, and possessing, in her own right, some fifty or sixty + thousand francs a year, not counting her future expectations. Mademoiselle + d’Uxelles thus became a duchess, and, as her mother very well knew, she + enjoyed the utmost liberty. The duke, after obtaining the unexpected + happiness of an heir, left his wife entirely to her own devices, and went + off to amuse himself in the various garrisons of France, returning + occasionally to Paris, where he made debts which his father paid. He + professed the most entire conjugal indulgence, always giving the duchess a + week’s warning of his return; he was adored by his regiment, beloved by + the Dauphin, an adroit courtier, somewhat of a gambler, and totally devoid + of affectation. Having succeeded to his father’s office as governor of one + of the royal domains, he managed to please the two kings, Louis XVIII. and + Charles X., which proves he made the most of his nonentity; and even the + liberals liked him; but his conduct and life were covered with the finest + varnish; language, noble manners, and deportment were brought by him to a + state of perfection. But, as the old prince said, it was impossible for + him to continue the traditions of the Cadignans, who were all well known + to have ruined their wives, for the duchess was running through her + property on her own account. + </p> + <p> + These particulars were so well understood in the court circles and in the + faubourg Saint-Germain, that during the last five years of the Restoration + they were considered ancient history, and any one who mentioned them would + have been laughed at. Women never spoke of the charming duke without + praising him; he was excellent, they said, to his wife; could a man be + better? He had left her the entire disposal of her own property, and had + always defended her on every occasion. It is true that, whether from + pride, kindliness, or chivalry, Monsieur de Maufrigneuse had saved the + duchess under various circumstances which might have ruined other women, + in spite of Diane’s surroundings, and the influence of her mother and that + of the Duc de Navarreins, her father-in-law, and her husband’s aunt. + </p> + <p> + For several ensuing days the princess revealed herself to d’Arthez as + remarkable for her knowledge of literature. She discussed with perfect + fearlessness the most difficult questions, thanks to her daily and nightly + reading, pursued with an intrepidity worthy of the highest praise. + D’Arthez, amazed, and incapable of suspecting that Diane d’Uxelles merely + repeated at night that which she read in the morning (as some writers do), + regarded her as a most superior woman. These conversations, however, led + away from Diane’s object, and she tried to get back to the region of + confidences from which d’Arthez had prudently retired after her coquettish + rebuff; but it was not as easy as she expected to bring back a man of his + nature who had once been startled away. + </p> + <p> + However, after a month of literary campaigning and the finest platonic + discourses, d’Arthez grew bolder, and arrived every day at three o’clock. + He retired at six, and returned at nine, to remain until midnight, or one + in the morning, with the regularity of an ardent and impatient lover. The + princess was always dressed with more or less studied elegance at the hour + when d’Arthez presented himself. This mutual fidelity, the care they each + took of their appearance, in fact, all about them expressed sentiments + that neither dared avow, for the princess discerned very plainly that the + great child with whom she had to do shrank from the combat as much as she + desired it. Nevertheless d’Arthez put into his mute declarations a + respectful awe which was infinitely pleasing to her. Both felt, every day, + all the more united because nothing acknowledged or definite checked the + course of their ideas, as occurs between lovers when there are formal + demands on one side, and sincere or coquettish refusals on the other. + </p> + <p> + Like all men younger than their actual age, d’Arthez was a prey to those + agitating irresolutions which are caused by the force of desires and the + terror of displeasing,—a situation which a young woman does not + comprehend when she shares it, but which the princess had too often + deliberately produced not to enjoy its pleasures. In fact, Diane enjoyed + these delightful juvenilities all the more keenly because she knew that + she could put an end to them at any moment. She was like a great artist + delighting in the vague, undecided lines of his sketch, knowing well that + in a moment of inspiration he can complete the masterpiece still waiting + to come to birth. Many a time, seeing d’Arthez on the point of advancing, + she enjoyed stopping him short, with an imposing air and manner. She drove + back the hidden storms of that still young heart, raised them again, and + stilled them with a look, holding out her hand to be kissed, or saying + some trifling insignificant words in a tender voice. + </p> + <p> + These manoeuvres, planned in cold blood, but enchantingly executed, carved + her image deeper and deeper on the soul of that great writer and thinker + whom she revelled in making childlike, confiding, simple, and almost silly + beside her. And yet she had moments of repulsion against her own act, + moments in which she could not help admiring the grandeur of such + simplicity. This game of choicest coquetry attached her, insensibly, to + her slave. At last, however, Diane grew impatient with an Epictetus of + love; and when she thought she had trained him to the utmost credulity, + she set to work to tie a thicker bandage still over his eyes. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. THE CONFESSION OF A PRETTY WOMAN + </h2> + <p> + One evening Daniel found the princess thoughtful, one elbow resting on a + little table, her beautiful blond head bathed in light from the lamp. She + was toying with a letter which lay on the table-cloth. When d’Arthez had + seen the paper distinctly, she folded it up, and stuck it in her belt. + </p> + <p> + “What is the matter?” asked d’Arthez; “you seem distressed.” + </p> + <p> + “I have received a letter from Monsieur de Cadignan,” she replied. + “However great the wrongs he has done me, I cannot help thinking of his + exile—without family, without son—from his native land.” + </p> + <p> + These words, said in a soulful voice, betrayed angelic sensibility. + D’Arthez was deeply moved. The curiosity of the lover became, so to speak, + a psychological and literary curiosity. He wanted to know the height that + woman had attained, and what were the injuries she thus forgave; he longed + to know how these women of the world, taxed with frivolity, + cold-heartedness, and egotism, could be such angels. Remembering how the + princess had already repulsed him when he first tried to read that + celestial heart, his voice, and he himself, trembled as he took the + transparent, slender hand of the beautiful Diane with its curving + finger-tips, and said,— + </p> + <p> + “Are we now such friends that you will tell me what you have suffered?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she said, breathing forth the syllable like the most mellifluous + note that Tulou’s flute had ever sighed. + </p> + <p> + Then she fell into a revery, and her eyes were veiled. Daniel remained in + a state of anxious expectation, impressed with the solemnity of the + occasion. His poetic imagination made him see, as it were, clouds slowly + dispersing and disclosing to him the sanctuary where the wounded lamb was + kneeling at the divine feet. + </p> + <p> + “Well?” he said, in a soft, still voice. + </p> + <p> + Diane looked at the tender petitioner; then she lowered her eyes slowly, + dropping their lids with a movement of noble modesty. None but a monster + would have been capable of imagining hypocrisy in the graceful undulation + of the neck with which the princess again lifted her charming head, to + look once more into the eager eyes of that great man. + </p> + <p> + “Can I? ought I?” she murmured, with a gesture of hesitation, gazing at + d’Arthez with a sublime expression of dreamy tenderness. “Men have so + little faith in things of this kind; they think themselves so little bound + to be discreet!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! if you distrust me, why am I here?” cried d’Arthez. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, friend!” she said, giving to the exclamation the grace of an + involuntary avowal, “when a woman attaches herself for life, think you she + calculates? It is not question of refusal (how could I refuse you + anything?), but the idea of what you may think of me if I speak. I would + willingly confide to you the strange position in which I am at my age; but + what would you think of a woman who could reveal the secret wounds of her + married life? Turenne kept his word to robbers; do I not owe to my + torturers the honor of a Turenne?” + </p> + <p> + “Have you passed your word to say nothing?” + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur de Cadignan did not think it necessary to bind me to secrecy—You + are asking more than my soul! Tyrant! you want me to bury my honor itself + in your breast,” she said, casting upon d’Arthez a look, by which she gave + more value to her coming confidence than to her personal self. + </p> + <p> + “You must think me a very ordinary man, if you fear any evil, no matter + what, from me,” he said, with ill-concealed bitterness. + </p> + <p> + “Forgive me, friend,” she replied, taking his hand in hers caressingly, + and letting her fingers wander gently over it. “I know your worth. You + have related to me your whole life; it is noble, it is beautiful, it is + sublime, and worthy of your name; perhaps, in return, I owe you mine. But + I fear to lower myself in your eyes by relating secrets which are not + wholly mine. How can you believe—you, a man of solitude and poesy—the + horrors of social life? Ah! you little think when you invent your dramas + that they are far surpassed by those that are played in families + apparently united. You are wholly ignorant of certain gilded sorrows.” + </p> + <p> + “I know all!” he cried. + </p> + <p> + “No, you know nothing.” + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez felt like a man lost on the Alps of a dark night, who sees, at + the first gleam of dawn, a precipice at his feet. He looked at the + princess with a bewildered air, and felt a cold chill running down his + back. Diane thought for a moment that her man of genius was a weakling, + but a flash from his eyes reassured her. + </p> + <p> + “You have become to me almost my judge,” she said, with a desperate air. + “I must speak now, in virtue of the right that all calumniated beings have + to show their innocence. I have been, I am still (if a poor recluse forced + by the world to renounce the world is still remembered) accused of such + light conduct, and so many evil things, that it may be allowed me to find + in one strong heart a haven from which I cannot be driven. Hitherto I have + always considered self-justification an insult to innocence; and that is + why I have disdained to defend myself. Besides, to whom could I appeal? + Such cruel things can be confided to none but God or to one who seems to + us very near Him—a priest, or another self. Well! I do know this, if + my secrets are not as safe there,” she said, laying her hand on d’Arthez’s + heart, “as they are here” (pressing the upper end of her busk beneath her + fingers), “then you are not the grand d’Arthez I think you—I shall + have been deceived.” + </p> + <p> + A tear moistened d’Arthez’s eyes, and Diane drank it in with a side look, + which, however, gave no motion either to the pupils or the lids of her + eyes. It was quick and neat, like the action of a cat pouncing on a mouse. + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez, for the first time, after sixty days of protocols, ventured to + take that warm and perfumed hand, and press it to his lips with a + long-drawn kiss, extending from the wrist to the tip of the fingers, which + made the princess augur well of literature. She thought to herself that + men of genius must know how to love with more perfection than conceited + fops, men of the world, diplomatists, and even soldiers, although such + beings have nothing else to do. She was a connoisseur, and knew very well + that the capacity for love reveals itself chiefly in mere nothings. A + woman well informed in such matters can read her future in a simple + gesture; just as Cuvier could say from the fragment of a bone: This + belonged to an animal of such or such dimensions, with or without horns, + carnivorous, herbivorous, amphibious, etc., age, so many thousand years. + Sure now of finding in d’Arthez as much imagination in love as there was + in his written style, she thought it wise to bring him up at once to the + highest pitch of passion and belief. + </p> + <p> + She withdrew her hand hastily, with a magnificent movement full of varied + emotions. If she had said in words: “Stop, or I shall die,” she could not + have spoken more plainly. She remained for a moment with her eyes in + d’Arthez’s eyes, expressing in that one glance happiness, prudery, fear, + confidence, languor, a vague longing, and virgin modesty. She was twenty + years old! but remember, she had prepared for this hour of comic falsehood + by the choicest art of dress; she was there in her armchair like a flower, + ready to blossom at the first kiss of sunshine. True or false, she + intoxicated Daniel. + </p> + <p> + It if is permissible to risk a personal opinion we must avow that it would + be delightful to be thus deceived for a good long time. Certainly Talma on + the stage was often above and beyond nature, but the Princesse de Cadignan + is the greatest true comedian of our day. Nothing was wanting to this + woman but an attentive audience. Unfortunately, at epochs perturbed by + political storms, women disappear like water-lilies which need a cloudless + sky and balmy zephyrs to spread their bloom to our enraptured eyes. + </p> + <p> + The hour had come; Diane was now to entangle that great man in the + inextricable meshes of a romance carefully prepared, to which he was fated + to listen as the neophyte of early Christian times listened to the + epistles of an apostle. + </p> + <p> + “My friend,” began Diane, “my mother, who still lives at Uxelles, married + me in 1814, when I was seventeen years old (you see how old I am now!) to + Monsieur de Maufrigneuse, not out of affection for me, but out of regard + for him. She discharged her debt to the only man she had ever loved, for + the happiness she had once received from him. Oh! you need not be + astonished at so horrible a conspiracy; it frequently takes place. Many + women are more lovers than mothers, though the majority are more mothers + than wives. The two sentiments, love and motherhood, developed as they are + by our manners and customs, often struggle together in the hearts of + women; one or other must succumb when they are not of equal strength; when + they are, they produce some exceptional women, the glory of our sex. A man + of your genius must surely comprehend many things that bewilder fools but + are none the less true; indeed I may go further and call them justifiable + through difference of characters, temperaments, attachments, situations. + I, for example, at this moment, after twenty years of misfortunes, of + deceptions, of calumnies endured, and weary days and hollow pleasures, is + it not natural that I should incline to fall at the feet of a man who + would love me sincerely and forever? And yet, the world would condemn me. + But twenty years of suffering might well excuse a few brief years which + may still remain to me of youth given to a sacred and real love. This will + not happen. I am not so rash as to sacrifice my hopes of heaven. I have + borne the burden and heat of the day, I shall finish my course and win my + recompense.” + </p> + <p> + “Angel!” thought d’Arthez. + </p> + <p> + “After all, I have never blamed my mother; she knew little of me. Mothers + who lead a life like that of the Duchesse d’Uxelles keep their children at + a distance. I saw and knew nothing of the world until my marriage. You can + judge of my innocence! I knew nothing; I was incapable of understanding + the causes of my marriage. I had a fine fortune; sixty thousand francs a + year in forests, which the Revolution overlooked (or had not been able to + sell) in the Nivernais, with the noble chateau of d’Anzy. Monsieur de + Maufrigneuse was steeped in debt. Later I learned what it was to have + debts, but then I was too utterly ignorant of life to suspect my position; + the money saved out of my fortune went to pacify my husband’s creditors. + Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was forty-eight years of age when I married him; + but those years were like military campaigns, they ought to count for + twice what they were. Ah! what a life I led for ten years! If any one had + known the suffering of this poor, calumniated little woman! To be watched + by a mother jealous of her daughter! Heavens! You who make dramas, you + will never invent anything as direful as that. Ordinarily, according to + the little that I know of literature, a drama is a suite of actions, + speeches, movements which hurry to a catastrophe; but what I speak of was + a catastrophe in action. It was an avalanche fallen in the morning and + falling again at night only to fall again the next day. I am cold now as I + speak to you of that cavern without an opening, cold, sombre, in which I + lived. I, poor little thing that I was! brought up in a convent like a + mystic rose, knowing nothing of marriage, developing late, I was happy at + first; I enjoyed the goodwill and harmony of our family. The birth of my + poor boy, who is all me—you must have been struck by the likeness? + my hair, my eyes, the shape of my face, my mouth, my smile, my teeth!—well, + his birth was a relief to me; my thoughts were diverted by the first joys + of maternity from my husband, who gave me no pleasure and did nothing for + me that was kind or amiable; those joys were all the keener because I knew + no others. It had been so often rung into my ears that a mother should + respect herself. Besides, a young girl loves to play the mother. I was so + proud of my flower—for Georges was beautiful, a miracle, I thought! + I saw and thought of nothing but my son, I lived with my son. I never let + his nurse dress or undress him. Such cares, so wearing to mothers who have + a regiment of children, were all my pleasure. But after three or four + years, as I was not an actual fool, light came to my eyes in spite of the + pains taken to blindfold me. Can you see me at that final awakening, in + 1819? The drama of ‘The Brothers at enmity’ is a rose-water tragedy beside + that of a mother and daughter placed as we then were. But I braved them + all, my mother, my husband, the world, by public coquetries which society + talked of,—and heaven knows how it talked! You can see, my friend, + how the men with whom I was accused of folly were to me the dagger with + which to stab my enemies. Thinking only of my vengeance, I did not see or + feel the wounds I was inflicting on myself. Innocent as a child, I was + thought a wicked woman, the worst of women, and I knew nothing of it! The + world is very foolish, very blind, very ignorant; it can penetrate no + secrets but those which amuse it and serve its malice: noble things, great + things, it puts its hand before its eyes to avoid seeing. But, as I look + back, it seems to me that I had an attitude and aspect of indignant + innocence, with movements of pride, which a great painter would have + recognized. I must have enlivened many a ball with my tempests of anger + and disdain. Lost poesy! such sublime poems are only made in the glowing + indignation which seizes us at twenty. Later, we are wrathful no longer, + we are too weary, vice no longer amazes us, we are cowards, we fear. But + then—oh! I kept a great pace! For all that I played the silliest + personage in the world; I was charged with crimes by which I never + benefited. But I had such pleasure in compromising myself. That was my + revenge! Ah! I have played many childish tricks! I went to Italy with a + thoughtless youth, whom I crushed when he spoke to me of love, but later, + when I herd that he was compromised on my account (he had committed a + forgery to get money) I rushed to save him. My mother and husband kept me + almost without means; but, this time, I went to the king. Louis XVIII., + that man without a heart, was touched; he gave me a hundred thousand + francs from his privy purse. The Marquis d’Esgrignon—you must have + seen him in society for he ended by making a rich marriage—was saved + from the abyss into which he had plunged for my sake. That adventure, + caused by my own folly, led me to reflect. I saw that I myself was the + first victim of my vengeance. My mother, who knew I was too proud, too + d’Uxelles, to conduct myself really ill, began to see the harm that she + had done me and was frightened by it. She was then fifty-two years of age; + she left Paris and went to live at Uxelles. There she expiates her + wrong-doing by a life of devotion and expresses the utmost affection for + me. After her departure I was face to face, alone, with Monsieur de + Maufrigneuse. Oh! my friend, you men can never know what an old man of + gallantry can be. What a home is that of a man accustomed to the adulation + of women of the world, when he finds neither incense nor censer in his own + house! dead to all! and yet, perhaps for that very reason, jealous. I + wished—when Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was wholly mine—I wished + to be a good wife, but I found myself repulsed with the harshness of a + soured spirit by a man who treated me like a child and took pleasure in + humiliating my self-respect at every turn, in crushing me under the scorn + of his experience, and in convicting me of total ignorance. He wounded me + on all occasions. He did everything to make me detest him and to give me + the right to betray him; but I was still the dupe of my own hope and of my + desire to do right through several years. Shall I tell you the cruel + saying that drove me to further follies? ‘The Duchesse de Maufrigneuse has + gone back to her husband,’ said the world. ‘Bah! it is always a triumph to + bring the dead to life; it is all she can now do,’ replied my best friend, + a relation, she, at whose house I met you—” + </p> + <p> + “Madame d’Espard!” cried Daniel, with a gesture of horror. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! I have forgiven her. Besides, it was very witty; and I have myself + made just as cruel epigrams on other poor women as innocent as myself.” + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez again kissed the hand of that saintly woman who, having hacked + her mother in pieces, and turned the Prince de Cadignan into an Othello, + now proceeded to accuse herself in order to appear in the eyes of that + innocent great man as immaculate as the silliest or the wisest of women + desire to seem at all costs to their lovers. + </p> + <p> + “You will readily understand, my friend, that I returned to society for + the purpose of excitement and I may say of notoriety. I felt that I must + conquer my independence. I led a life of dissipation. To divert my mind, + to forget my real life in fictitious enjoyments I was gay, I shone, I gave + fetes, I played the princess, and I ran in debt. At home I could forget + myself in the sleep of weariness, able to rise the next day gay, and + frivolous for the world; but in that sad struggle to escape my real life I + wasted my fortune. The revolution of 1830 came; it came at the very moment + when I had met, at the end of that <i>Arabian Nights’’</i> life, a pure and + sacred love which (I desire to be honest) I had longed to know. Was it not + natural in a woman whose heart, repressed by many causes and accidents, + was awakening at an age when a woman feels herself cheated if she has + never known, like the women she sees about her, a happy love? Ah! why was + Michel Chrestien so respectful? Why did he not seek to meet me? There + again was another mockery! But what of that? in falling, I have lost + everything; I have no illusions left; I had tasted of all things except + the one fruit for which I have no longer teeth. Yes, I found myself + disenchanted with the world at the very moment when I was forced to leave + it. Providential, was it not? like all those strange insensibilities which + prepare us for death” (she made a gesture full of pious unction). “All + things served me then,” she continued; “the disasters of the monarchy and + its ruin helped me to bury myself. My son consoles me for much. Maternal + love takes the place of all frustrated feelings. The world is surprised at + my retirement, but to me it has brought peace. Ah! if you knew how happy + the poor creature before you is in this little place. In sacrificing all + to my son I forget to think of joys of which I am and ever must be + ignorant. Yes, hope has flown, I now fear everything; no doubt I should + repulse the truest sentiment, the purest and most veritable love, in + memory of the deceptions and the miseries of my life. It is all horrible, + is it not? and yet, what I have told you is the history of many women.” + </p> + <p> + The last few words were said in a tone of easy pleasantry which recalled + the presence of the woman of the world. D’Arthez was dumbfounded. In his + eyes convicts sent to the galleys for murder, or aggravated robbery, or + for putting a wrong name to checks, were saints compared to the men and + women of society. This atrocious elegy, forged in the arsenal of lies, and + steeped in the waters of the Parisian Styx, had been poured into his ears + with the inimitable accent of truth. The grave author contemplated for a + moment that adorable woman lying back in her easy-chair, her two hands + pendant from its arms like dewdrops from a rose-leaf, overcome by her own + revelation, living over again the sorrows of her life as she told them—in + short an angel of melancholy. + </p> + <p> + “And judge,” she cried, suddenly lifting herself with a spring and raising + her hand, while lightning flashed from eyes where twenty chaste years + shone—“judge of the impression the love of a man like Michel must + have made upon me. But by some irony of fate—or was it the hand of + God?—well, he died; died in saving the life of, whom do you suppose? + of Monsieur de Cadignan. Are you now surprised to find me thoughtful?” + </p> + <p> + This was the last drop; poor d’Arthez could bear no more. He fell upon his + knees, and laid his head on Diane’s hand, weeping soft tears such as the + angels shed,—if angels weep. As Daniel was in that bent posture, + Madame de Cadignan could safely let a malicious smile of triumph flicker + on her lips, a smile such as the monkeys wear after playing a sly trick—if + monkeys smile. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! I have him,” thought she; and, indeed, she had him fast. + </p> + <p> + “But you are—” he said, raising his fine head and looking at her + with eyes of love. + </p> + <p> + “Virgin and martyr,” she replied, smiling at the commonness of that + hackneyed expression, but giving it a freshness of meaning by her smile, + so full of painful gayety. “If I laugh,” she continued, “it is that I am + thinking of that princess whom the world thinks it knows, that Duchesse de + Maufrigneuse to whom it gives as lovers de Marsay, that infamous de + Trailles (a political cutthroat), and that little fool of a d’Esgrignon, + and Rastignac, Rubempre, ambassadors, ministers, Russian generals, heaven + knows who! all Europe! They have gossiped about that album which I ordered + made, believing that those who admired me were my friends. Ah! it is + frightful! I wonder that I allow a man at my feet! Despise them all, THAT + should be my religion.” + </p> + <p> + She rose and went to the window with a gait and bearing magnificent in + motifs. + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez remained on the low seat to which he had returned not daring to + follow the princess; but he looked at her; he heard her blowing her nose. + Was there ever a princess who blew her nose? but Diane attempted the + impossible to convey an idea of her sensibility. D’Arthez believed his + angel was in tears; he rushed to her side, took her round the waist, and + pressed her to his heart. + </p> + <p> + “No, no, leave me!” she murmured in a feeble voice. “I have too many + doubts to be good for anything. To reconcile me with life is a task beyond + the powers of any man.” + </p> + <p> + “Diane! I will love you for your whole lost life.” + </p> + <p> + “No; don’t speak to me thus,” she answered. “At this moment I tremble, I + am ashamed as though I had committed the greatest sins.” + </p> + <p> + She was now entirely restored to the innocence of little girls, and yet + her bearing was august, grand, noble as that of a queen. It is impossible + to describe the effect of these manoeuvres, so clever that they acted like + the purest truth on a soul as fresh and honest as that of d’Arthez. The + great author remained dumb with admiration, passive beside her in the + recess of that window awaiting a word, while the princess awaited a kiss; + but she was far too sacred to him for that. Feeling cold, the princess + returned to her easy-chair; her feet were frozen. + </p> + <p> + “It will take a long time,” she said to herself, looking at Daniel’s noble + brow and head. + </p> + <p> + “Is this a woman?” thought that profound observer of human nature. “How + ought I to treat her?” + </p> + <p> + Until two o’clock in the morning they spent their time in saying to each + other the silly things that women of genius, like the princess, know how + to make adorable. Diane pretended to be too worn, too old, too faded; + D’Arthez proved to her (facts of which she was well convinced) that her + skin was the most delicate, the softest to the touch, the whitest to the + eye, the most fragrant; she was young and in her bloom, how could she + think otherwise? Thus they disputed, beauty by beauty, detail by detail + with many: “Oh! do you think so?”—“You are beside yourself!”—“It + is hope, it is fancy!”—“You will soon see me as I am.—I am + almost forty years of age. Can a man love so old a woman?” + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez responded with impetuous and school-boy eloquence, larded with + exaggerated epithets. When the princess heard this wise and witty writer + talking the nonsense of an amorous sub-lieutenant she listened with an + absorbed air and much sensibility; but she laughed in her sleeve. + </p> + <p> + When d’Arthez was in the street, he asked himself whether he might not + have been rather less respectful. He went over in memory those strange + confidences—which have, naturally, been much abridged here, for they + needed a volume to convey their mellifluous abundance and the graces which + accompanied them. The retrospective perspicacity of this man, so natural, + so profound, was baffled by the candor of that tale and its poignancy, and + by the tones of the princess. + </p> + <p> + “It is true,” he said to himself, being unable to sleep, “there are such + dramas as that in society. Society covers great horrors with the flowers + of its elegance, the embroidery of its gossip, the wit of its lies. We + writers invent no more than the truth. Poor Diane! Michel had penetrated + that enigma; he said that beneath her covering of ice there lay volcanoes! + Bianchon and Rastignac were right; when a man can join the grandeurs of + the ideal and the enjoyments of human passion in loving a woman of perfect + manners, of intellect, of delicacy, it must be happiness beyond words.” + </p> + <p> + So thinking, he sounded the love that was in him and found it infinite. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. A TRIAL OF FAITH + </h2> + <p> + The next day, about two in the afternoon, Madame d’Espard, who had seen + and heard nothing of the princess for more than a month, went to see her + under the impulse of extreme curiosity. Nothing was ever more amusing of + its kind than the conversation of these two crafty adders during the first + half-hour of this visit. + </p> + <p> + Diane d’Uxelles cautiously avoided, as she would the wearing of a yellow + gown, all mention of d’Arthez. The marquise circled round and round that + topic like a Bedouin round a caravan. Diane amused herself; the marquise + fumed. Diane waited; she intended to utilize her friend and use her in the + chase. Of these two women, both so celebrated in the social world, one was + far stronger than the other. The princess rose by a head above the + marquise, and the marquise was inwardly conscious of that superiority. In + this, perhaps, lay the secret of their intimacy. The weaker of the two + crouched low in her false attachment, watching for the hour, long awaited + by feeble beings, of springing at the throat of the stronger and leaving + the mark of a joyful bite. Diane saw clear; but the world was the dupe of + the wile caresses of the two friends. + </p> + <p> + The instant that the princess perceived a direct question on the lips of + her friend, she said:— + </p> + <p> + “Ah! dearest, I owe you a most complete, immense, infinite, celestial + happiness.” + </p> + <p> + “What can you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “Have you forgotten what we ruminated three months ago in the little + garden, sitting on a bench in the sun, under the jasmine? Ah! there are + none but men of genius who know how to love! I apply to my grand Daniel + d’Arthez the Duke of Alba’s saying to Catherine de’ Medici: ‘The head of a + single salmon is worth all the frogs in the world.’” + </p> + <p> + “I am not surprised that I no longer see you,” said Madame d’Espard. + </p> + <p> + “Promise me, if you meet him, not to say to him one word about me, my + angel,” said the princess, taking her friend’s hand. “I am happy, oh! + happy beyond all expression; but you know that in society a word, a mere + jest can do much harm. One speech can kill, for they put such venom into a + single sentence! Ah! if you knew how I long that you might meet with a + love like this! Yes, it is a sweet, a precious triumph for women like + ourselves to end our woman’s life in this way; to rest in an ardent, pure, + devoted, complete and absolute love; above all, when we have sought it + long.” + </p> + <p> + “Why do you ask me to be faithful to my dearest friend?” said Madame + d’Espard. “Do you think me capable of playing you some villainous trick?” + </p> + <p> + “When a woman possesses such a treasure the fear of losing it is so strong + that it naturally inspires a feeling of terror. I am absurd, I know; + forgive me, dear.” + </p> + <p> + A few moments later the marquise departed; as she watched her go the + princess said to herself:— + </p> + <p> + “How she will pluck me! But to save her the trouble of trying to get + Daniel away from here I’ll send him to her.” + </p> + <p> + At three o’clock, or a few moments after, d’Arthez arrived. In the midst + of some interesting topic on which he was discoursing eloquently, the + princess suddenly cut him short by laying her hand on his arm. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me, my dear friend,” she said, interrupting him, “but I fear I may + forget a thing which seems a mere trifle but may be of great importance. + You have not set foot in Madame d’Espard’s salon since the ever-blessed + day when I met you there. Pray go at once; not for your sake, nor by way + of politeness, but for me. You may already have made her an enemy of mine, + if by chance she has discovered that since her dinner you have scarcely + left my house. Besides, my friend, I don’t like to see you dropping your + connection with society, and neglecting your occupations and your work. I + should again be strangely calumniated. What would the world say? That I + held you in leading-strings, absorbed you, feared comparisons, and clung + to my conquest knowing it to be my last! Who will know that you are my + friend, my only friend? If you love me indeed, as you say you love me, you + will make the world believe that we are purely and simply brother and + sister—Go on with what you were saying.” + </p> + <p> + In his armor of tenderness, riveted by the knowledge of so many splendid + virtues, d’Arthez obeyed this behest on the following day and went to see + Madame d’Espard, who received him with charming coquetry. The marquise + took very good care not to say a single word to him about the princess, + but she asked him to dinner on a coming day. + </p> + <p> + On this occasion d’Arthez found a numerous company. The marquise had + invited Rastignac, Blondet, the Marquis d’Ajuda-Pinto, Maxime de Trailles, + the Marquis d’Esgrignon, the two brothers Vandenesse, du Tillet, one of + the richest bankers in Paris, the Baron de Nucingen, Raoul Nathan, Lady + Dudley, two very treacherous secretaries of embassies and the Chevalier + d’Espard, the wiliest person in this assemblage and the chief instigator + of his sister-in-law’s policy. + </p> + <p> + When dinner was well under way, Maxime de Trailles turned to d’Arthez and + said smiling:— + </p> + <p> + “You see a great deal, don’t you, of the Princesse de Cadignan?” + </p> + <p> + To this question d’Arthez responded by curtly nodding his head. Maxime de + Trailles was a “bravo” of the social order, without faith or law, capable + of everything, ruining the women who trusted him, compelling them to pawn + their diamonds to give him money, but covering this conduct with a + brilliant varnish; a man of charming manners and satanic mind. He inspired + all who knew him with equal contempt and fear; but as no one was bold + enough to show him any sentiments but those of the utmost courtesy he saw + nothing of this public opinion, or else he accepted and shared the general + dissimulation. He owed to the Comte de Marsay the greatest degree of + elevation to which he could attain. De Marsay, whose knowledge of Maxime + was of long-standing, judged him capable of fulfilling certain secret and + diplomatic functions which he confided to him and of which de Trailles + acquitted himself admirably. D’Arthez had for some time past mingled + sufficiently in political matters to know the man for what he was, and he + alone had sufficient strength and height of character to express aloud + what others thought or said in a whisper. + </p> + <p> + “Is it for her that you neglect the Chamber?” asked Baron de Nucingen in + his German accent. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! the princess is one of the most dangerous women a man can have + anything to do with. I owe to her the miseries of my marriage,” exclaimed + the Marquis d’Esgrignon. + </p> + <p> + “Dangerous?” said Madame d’Espard. “Don’t speak so of my nearest friend. I + have never seen or known anything in the princess that did not seem to + come from the noblest sentiments.” + </p> + <p> + “Let the marquis say what he thinks,” cried Rastignac. “When a man has + been thrown by a fine horse he thinks it has vices and he sells it.” + </p> + <p> + Piqued by these words, the Marquis d’Esgrignon looked at d’Arthez and + said:— + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur is not, I trust, on such terms with the princess that we cannot + speak freely of her?” + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez kept silence. D’Esgrignon, who was not wanting in cleverness, + replied to Rastignac’s speech with an apologetic portrait of the princess, + which put the whole table in good humor. As the jest was extremely obscure + to d’Arthez he leaned towards his neighbor, Madame de Montcornet, and + asked her, in a whisper, what it meant. + </p> + <p> + “Excepting yourself—judging by the excellent opinion you seem to + have of the princess—all the other guests are said to have been in + her good graces.” + </p> + <p> + “I can assure you that such an accusation is absolutely false,” said + Daniel. + </p> + <p> + “And yet, here is Monsieur d’Esgrignon of an old family of Alencon, who + completely ruined himself for her some twelve years ago, and, if all is + true, came very near going to the scaffold.” + </p> + <p> + “I know the particulars of that affair,” said d’Arthez. “Madame de + Cadignan went to Alencon to save Monsieur d’Esgrignon from a trial before + the court of assizes; and this is how he rewards her to-day!” + </p> + <p> + Madame de Montcornet looked at d’Arthez with a surprise and curiosity that + were almost stupid, then she turned her eyes on Madame d’Espard with a + look which seemed to say: “He is bewitched!” + </p> + <p> + During this short conversation Madame de Cadignan was protected by Madame + d’Espard, whose protection was like that of the lightning-rod which draws + the flash. When d’Arthez returned to the general conversation Maxime de + Trailles was saying:— + </p> + <p> + “With Diane, depravity is not an effect but a cause; perhaps she owes that + cause to her exquisite nature; she doesn’t invent, she makes no effort, + she offers you the choicest refinements as the inspiration of a + spontaneous and naive love; and it is absolutely impossible not to believe + her.” + </p> + <p> + This speech, which seemed to have been prepared for a man of d’Arthez’s + stamp, was so tremendous an arraignment that the company appeared to + accept it as a conclusion. No one said more; the princess was crushed. + D’Arthez looked straight at de Trailles and then at d’Esgrignon with a + sarcastic air, and said:— + </p> + <p> + “The greatest fault of that woman is that she has followed in the wake of + men. She squanders patrimonies as they do; she drives her lovers to + usurers; she pockets ‘dots’; she ruins orphans; she inspires, possibly she + commits, crimes, but—” + </p> + <p> + Never had the two men, whom d’Arthez was chiefly addressing, listened to + such plain talk. At that BUT the whole table was startled, every one + paused, fork in air, their eyes fixed alternately on the brave author and + on the assailants of the princess, awaiting the conclusion of that + horrible silence. + </p> + <p> + “<i>But</i>,” said d’Arthez, with sarcastic airiness, “Madame la Princesse + de Cadignan has one advantage over men: when they have put themselves in + danger for her sake, she saves them, and says no harm of any one. Among + the multitude, why shouldn’t there be one woman who amuses herself with + men as men amuse themselves with women? Why not allow the fair sex to + take, from time to time, its revenge?” + </p> + <p> + “Genius is stronger than wit,” said Blondet to Nathan. + </p> + <p> + This broadside of sarcasms was in fact the discharge of a battery of + cannons against a platoon of musketry. When coffee was served, Blondet and + Nathan went up to d’Arthez with an eagerness no one else dared to imitate, + so unable were the rest of the company to show the admiration his conduct + inspired from the fear of making two powerful enemies. + </p> + <p> + “This is not the first time we have seen that your character equals your + talent in grandeur,” said Blondet. “You behaved just now more like a + demi-god than a man. Not to have been carried away by your heart or your + imagination, not to have taken up the defence of a beloved woman—a + fault they were enticing you to commit, because it would have given those + men of society eaten up with jealousy of your literary fame a triumph over + you—ah! give me leave to say you have attained the height of private + statesmanship.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, you are a statesman,” said Nathan. “It is as clever as it is + difficult to avenge a woman without defending her.” + </p> + <p> + “The princess is one of those heroines of the legitimist party, and it is + the duty of all men of honor to protect her quand meme,” replied d’Arthez, + coldly. “What she has done for the cause of her masters would excuse all + follies.” + </p> + <p> + “He keeps his own counsel!” said Nathan to Blondet. + </p> + <p> + “Precisely as if the princess were worth it,” said Rastignac, joining the + other two. + </p> + <p> + D’Arthez went to the princess, who was awaiting him with the keenest + anxiety. The result of this experiment, which Diane had herself brought + about, might be fatal to her. For the first time in her life this woman + suffered in her heart. She knew not what she should do in case d’Arthez + believed the world which spoke the truth, instead of believing her who + lied; for never had so noble a nature, so complete a man, a soul so pure, + a conscience so ingenuous come beneath her hand. Though she had told him + cruel lies she was driven to do so by the desire of knowing a true love. + That love—she felt it dawning in her heart; yes, she loved d’Arthez; + and now she was condemned forever to deceive him! She must henceforth + remain to him the actress who had played that comedy to blind his eyes. + </p> + <p> + When she heard Daniel’s step in the dining-room a violent commotion, a + shudder which reached to her very vitals came over her. That convulsion, + never felt during all the years of her adventurous existence, told her + that she had staked her happiness on this issue. Her eyes, gazing into + space, took in the whole of d’Arthez’s person; their light poured through + his flesh, she read his soul; suspicion had not so much as touched him + with its bat’s-wing. The terrible emotion of that fear then came to its + reaction; joy almost stifled her; for there is no human being who is not + more able to endure grief than to bear extreme felicity. + </p> + <p> + “Daniel, they have calumniated me, and you have avenged me!” she cried, + rising, and opening her arms to him. + </p> + <p> + In the profound amazement caused by these words, the roots of which were + utterly unknown to him, Daniel allowed his hand to be taken between her + beautiful hands, as the princess kissed him sacredly on the forehead. + </p> + <p> + “But,” he said, “how could you know—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! illustrious ninny! do you not see that I love you fondly?” + </p> + <p> + Since that day nothing has been said of the Princess de Cadignan, nor of + d’Arthez. The princess has inherited some fortune from her mother and she + spends all her summers in a villa on the lake of Geneva, where the great + writer joins her. She returns to Paris for a few months in winter. + D’Arthez is never seen except in the Chamber. His writings are becoming + exceedingly rare. Is this a conclusion? Yes, for people of sense; no, for + persons who want to know everything. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + ADDENDUM + </h2> + <h3> + The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Ajuda-Pinto, Marquis Miguel d’ + Father Goriot + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Beatrix + + Arthez, Daniel d’ + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Member for Arcis + + Bianchon, Horace + Father Goriot + The Atheist’s Mass + Cesar Birotteau + The Commission in Lunacy + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor’s Establishment + The Government Clerks + Pierrette + A Study of Woman + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Honorine + The Seamy Side of History + The Magic Skin + A Second Home + A Prince of Bohemia + Letters of Two Brides + The Muse of the Department + The Imaginary Mistress + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + The Country Parson + In addition, M. Bianchon narrated the following: + Another Study of Woman + La Grande Breteche + + Blondet, Emile + Jealousies of a Country Town + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Modeste Mignon + Another Study of Woman + A Daughter of Eve + The Firm of Nucingen + The Peasantry + + Blondet, Virginie + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Another Study of Woman + The Member for Arcis + A Daughter of Eve + + Cadignan, Prince de + Modeste Mignon + + Chrestien, Michel + A Bachelor’s Establishment + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + + Cinq-Cygne, Laurence, Comtesse (afterwards Marquise de) + The Gondreville Mystery + The Seamy Side of History + The Member for Arcis + + Dudley, Lady Arabella + The Lily of the Valley + The Ball at Sceaux + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + + Esgrignon, Victurnien, Comte (then Marquis d’) + Jealousies of a Country Town + Letters of Two Brides + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + + Espard, Chevalier d’ + The Commission in Lunacy + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + + Espard, Jeanne-Clementine-Athenais de Blamont-Chauvry, Marquise d’ + The Commission in Lunacy + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + + Galathionne, Prince and Princess (both not in each story) + The Middle Classes + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + + Giraud, Leon + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor’s Establishment + The Unconscious Humorists + + Marsay, Henri de + The Thirteen + The Unconscious Humorists + Another Study of Woman + The Lily of the Valley + Father Goriot + Jealousies of a Country Town + Ursule Mirouet + A Marriage Settlement + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Ball at Sceaux + Modest Mignon + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + + Maufrigneuse, Duc de + A Start in Life + A Bachelor’s Establishment + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + + Maufrigneuse, Duchesse de + Modeste Mignon + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Muse of the Department + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + The Member for Arcis + + Maufrigneuse, Georges de + The Gondreville Mystery + Beatrix + The Member for Arcis + + Mirbel, Madame de + Letters of Two Brides + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + + Nathan, Raoul + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + The Seamy Side of History + The Muse of the Department + A Prince of Bohemia + A Man of Business + The Unconscious Humorists + + Navarreins, Duc de + A Bachelor’s Establishment + Colonel Chabert + The Muse of the Department + The Thirteen + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + The Country Parson + The Magic Skin + The Gondreville Mystery + Cousin Betty + + Nucingen, Baron Frederic de + The Firm of Nucingen + Father Goriot + Pierrette + Cesar Birotteau + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + Another Study of Woman + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + The Muse of the Department + The Unconscious Humorists + + Rastignac, Eugene de + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + The Ball at Sceaux + The Interdiction + A Study of Woman + Another Study of Woman + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + The Gondreville Mystery + The Firm of Nucingen + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + The Unconscious Humorists + + Rochefide, Marquise de + Beatrix + A Daughter of Eve + Sarrasine + A Prince of Bohemia + + Tillet, Ferdinand du + Cesar Birotteau + The Firm of Nucingen + The Middle Classes + A Bachelor’s Establishment + Pierrette + Melmoth Reconciled + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Unconscious Humorists + + Toby (Joby, Paddy) + The Firm of Nucingen + + Trailles, Comte Maxime de + Cesar Birotteau + Father Goriot + Gobseck + Ursule Mirouet + A Man of Business + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + Beatrix + The Unconscious Humorists + + Vandenesse, Comte Felix de + The Lily of the Valley + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Cesar Birotteau + Letters of Two Brides + A Start in Life + The Marriage Settlement + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secrets of the Princesse de +Cadignan, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN *** + +***** This file should be named 1344-h.htm or 1344-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/4/1344/ + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project +Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” + or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project +Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +“Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.” + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +“Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right +of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’ WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm’s +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. + +The Foundation’s principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation’s web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + </body> +</html> diff --git a/old/1344.txt b/old/1344.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e4d319a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1344.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2731 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan, by +Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley + +Release Date: June, 1997 [Etext #1344] +Posting Date: February 22, 2010 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + + + + + +THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + + +By Honore De Balzac + + + +Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + + + + DEDICATION + + To Theophile Gautier + + + + + +THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + + + + +CHAPTER I. THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTES + + +After the disasters of the revolution of July, which destroyed so many +aristocratic fortunes dependent on the court, Madame la Princesse de +Cadignan was clever enough to attribute to political events the total +ruin she had caused by her own extravagance. The prince left France +with the royal family, and never returned to it, leaving the princess in +Paris, protected by the fact of his absence; for their debts, which +the sale of all their salable property had not been able to extinguish, +could only be recovered through him. The revenues of the entailed +estates had been seized. In short, the affairs of this great family were +in as bad a state as those of the elder branch of the Bourbons. + +This woman, so celebrated under her first name of Duchesse de +Maufrigneuse, very wisely decided to live in retirement, and to make +herself, if possible, forgotten. Paris was then so carried away by the +whirling current of events that the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, buried in +the Princesse de Cadignan, a change of name unknown to most of the new +actors brought upon the stage of society by the revolution of July, did +really become a stranger in her own city. + +In Paris the title of duke ranks all others, even that of prince; +though, in heraldic theory, free of all sophism, titles signify nothing; +there is absolute equality among gentlemen. This fine equality was +formerly maintained by the House of France itself; and in our day it is +so still, at least, nominally; witness the care with which the kings of +France give to their sons the simple title of count. It was in virtue of +this system that Francois I. crushed the splendid titles assumed by the +pompous Charles the Fifth, by signing his answer: "Francois, seigneur +de Vanves." Louis XI. did better still by marrying his daughter to +an untitled gentleman, Pierre de Beaujeu. The feudal system was so +thoroughly broken up by Louis XIV. that the title of duke became, during +his reign, the supreme honor of the aristocracy, and the most coveted. + +Nevertheless there are two or three families in France in which the +principality, richly endowed in former times, takes precedence of +the duchy. The house of Cadignan, which possesses the title of Duc de +Maufrigneuse for its eldest sons, is one of these exceptional families. +Like the princes of the house of Rohan in earlier days, the princes of +Cadignan had the right to a throne in their own domain; they could have +pages and gentlemen in their service. This explanation is necessary, +as much to escape foolish critics who know nothing, as to record the +customs of a world which, we are told, is about to disappear, and which, +evidently, so many persons are assisting to push away without knowing +what it is. + +The Cadignans bear: or, five lozenges sable appointed, placed fess-wise, +with the word "Memini" for motto, a crown with a cap of maintenance, +no supporters or mantle. In these days the great crowd of strangers +flocking to Paris, and the almost universal ignorance of the science of +heraldry, are beginning to bring the title of prince into fashion. +There are no real princes but those possessed of principalities, to whom +belongs the title of highness. The disdain shown by the French nobility +for the title of prince, and the reasons which caused Louis XIV. to give +supremacy to the title of duke, have prevented Frenchmen from claiming +the appellation of "highness" for the few princes who exist in France, +those of Napoleon excepted. This is why the princes of Cadignan hold an +inferior position, nominally, to the princes of the continent. + +The members of the society called the faubourg Saint-Germain protected +the princess by a respectful silence due to her name, which is one +of those that all men honor, to her misfortunes, which they ceased to +discuss, and to her beauty, the only thing she saved of her departed +opulence. Society, of which she had once been the ornament, was thankful +to her for having, as it were, taken the veil, and cloistered herself +in her own home. This act of good taste was for her, more than for any +other woman, an immense sacrifice. Great deeds are always so keenly felt +in France that the princess gained, by her retreat, as much as she had +lost in public opinion in the days of her splendor. + +She now saw only one of her old friends, the Marquise d'Espard, and even +to her she never went on festive occasions or to parties. The princess +and the marquise visited each other in the forenoons, with a certain +amount of secrecy. When the princess went to dine with her friend, +the marquise closed her doors. Madame d'Espard treated the princess +charmingly; she changed her box at the opera, leaving the first tier for +a baignoire on the ground-floor, so that Madame de Cadignan could come +to the theatre unseen, and depart incognito. Few women would have been +capable of a delicacy which deprived them of the pleasure of bearing in +their train a fallen rival, and of publicly being her benefactress. Thus +relieved of the necessity for costly toilets, the princess could enjoy +the theatre, whither she went in Madame d'Espard's carriage, which she +would never have accepted openly in the daytime. No one has ever +known Madame d'Espard's reasons for behaving thus to the Princesse de +Cadignan; but her conduct was admirable, and for a long time included a +number of little acts which, viewed single, seem mere trifles, but taken +in the mass become gigantic. + +In 1832, three years had thrown a mantle of snow over the follies and +adventures of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, and had whitened them so +thoroughly that it now required a serious effort of memory to recall +them. Of the queen once adored by so many courtiers, and whose follies +might have given a theme to a variety of novels, there remained a woman +still adorably beautiful, thirty-six years of age, but quite justified +in calling herself thirty, although she was the mother of Duc Georges +de Maufrigneuse, a young man of eighteen, handsome as Antinous, poor as +Job, who was expected to obtain great successes, and for whom his mother +desired, above all things, to find a rich wife. Perhaps this hope was +the secret of the intimacy she still kept up with the marquise, in whose +salon, which was one of the first in Paris, she might eventually be able +to choose among many heiresses for Georges' wife. The princess saw five +years between the present moment and her son's marriage,--five solitary +and desolate years; for, in order to obtain such a marriage for her +son, she knew that her own conduct must be marked in the corner with +discretion. + +The princess lived in the rue de Miromesnil, in a small house, of which +she occupied the ground-floor at a moderate rent. There she made the +most of the relics of her past magnificence. The elegance of the great +lady was still redolent about her. She was still surrounded by beautiful +things which recalled her former existence. On her chimney-piece was a +fine miniature portrait of Charles X., by Madame Mirbel, beneath which +were engraved the words, "Given by the King"; and, as a pendant, the +portrait of "Madame", who was always her kind friend. On a table lay an +album of costliest price, such as none of the bourgeoises who now lord +it in our industrial and fault-finding society would have dared to +exhibit. This album contained portraits, about thirty in number, of +her intimate friends, whom the world, first and last, had given her as +lovers. The number was a calumny; but had rumor said ten, it might have +been, as her friend Madame d'Espard remarked, good, sound gossip. The +portraits of Maxime de Trailles, de Marsay, Rastignac, the Marquis +d'Esgrignon, General Montriveau, the Marquis de Ronquerolles and +d'Ajuda-Pinto, Prince Galathionne, the young Ducs de Grandlieu and de +Rhetore, the Vicomte de Serizy, and the handsome Lucien de Rubempre, +had all been treated with the utmost coquetry of brush and pencil by +celebrated artists. As the princess now received only two or three of +these personages, she called the book, jokingly, the collection of her +errors. + +Misfortune had made this woman a good mother. During the fifteen years +of the Restoration she had amused herself far too much to think of +her son; but on taking refuge in obscurity, this illustrious egoist +bethought her that the maternal sentiment, developed to its extreme, +might be an absolution for her past follies in the eyes of sensible +persons, who pardon everything to a good mother. She loved her son all +the more because she had nothing else to love. Georges de Maufrigneuse +was, moreover, one of those children who flatter the vanities of a +mother; and the princess had, accordingly, made all sorts of sacrifices +for him. She hired a stable and coach-house, above which he lived in a +little entresol with three rooms looking on the street, and charmingly +furnished; she had even borne several privations to keep a saddle-horse, +a cab-horse, and a little groom for his use. For herself, she had only +her own maid, and as cook, a former kitchen-maid. The duke's groom +had, therefore, rather a hard place. Toby, formerly tiger to the "late" +Beaudenord (such was the jesting term applied by the gay world to that +ruined gentleman),--Toby, who at twenty-five years of age was still +considered only fourteen, was expected to groom the horses, clean the +cabriolet, or the tilbury, and the harnesses, accompany his master, take +care of the apartments, and be in the princess's antechamber to announce +a visitor, if, by chance, she happened to receive one. + +When one thinks of what the beautiful Duchesse de Maufrigneuse had been +under the Restoration,--one of the queens of Paris, a dazzling queen, +whose luxurious existence equalled that of the richest women of fashion +in London,--there was something touching in the sight of her in that +humble little abode in the rue de Miromesnil, a few steps away from her +splendid mansion, which no amount of fortune had enabled her to keep, +and which the hammer of speculators has since demolished. The woman who +thought she was scarcely well served by thirty servants, who possessed +the most beautiful reception-rooms in all Paris, and the loveliest +little private apartments, and who made them the scene of such +delightful fetes, now lived in a small apartment of five rooms,--an +antechamber, dining-room, salon, one bed-chamber, and a dressing-room, +with two women-servants only. + +"Ah! she is devoted to her son," said that clever creature, Madame +d'Espard, "and devoted without ostentation; she is happy. Who would +ever have believed so frivolous a woman was capable of such persistent +resolution! Our good archbishop has, consequently, greatly encouraged +her; he is most kind to her, and has just induced the old Comtesse de +Cinq-Cygne to pay her a visit." + +Let us admit a truth! One must be a queen to know how to abdicate, and +to descend with dignity from a lofty position which is never wholly +lost. Those only who have an inner consciousness of being nothing in +themselves, show regrets in falling, or struggle, murmuring, to return +to a past which can never return,--a fact of which they themselves are +well aware. Compelled to do without the choice exotics in the midst of +which she had lived, and which set off so charmingly her whole being +(for it is impossible not to compare her to a flower), the princess +had wisely chosen a ground-floor apartment; there she enjoyed a pretty +little garden which belonged to it,--a garden full of shrubs, and an +always verdant turf, which brightened her peaceful retreat. She had +about twelve thousand francs a year; but that modest income was partly +made up of an annual stipend sent her by the old Duchesse de Navarreins, +paternal aunt of the young duke, and another stipend given by her +mother, the Duchesse d'Uxelles, who was living on her estate in the +country, where she economized as old duchesses alone know how to +economize; for Harpagon is a mere novice compared to them. The princess +still retained some of her past relations with the exiled royal family; +and it was in her house that the marshal to whom we owe the conquest of +Africa had conferences, at the time of "Madame's" attempt in La Vendee, +with the principal leaders of legitimist opinion,--so great was the +obscurity in which the princess lived, and so little distrust did the +government feel for her in her present distress. + +Beholding the approach of that terrible fortieth year, the bankruptcy of +love, beyond which there is so little for a woman as woman, the princess +had flung herself into the kingdom of philosophy. She took to reading, +she who for sixteen years had felt a cordial horror for serious things. +Literature and politics are to-day what piety and devotion once were +to her sex,--the last refuge of their feminine pretensions. In her +late social circle it was said that Diane was writing a book. Since +her transformation from a queen and beauty to a woman of intellect, the +princess had contrived to make a reception in her little house a great +honor which distinguished the favored person. Sheltered by her supposed +occupation, she was able to deceive one of her former adorers, de +Marsay, the most influential personage of the political bourgeoisie +brought to the fore in July 1830. She received him sometimes in the +evenings, and, occupied his attention while the marshal and a few +legitimists were talking, in a low voice, in her bedroom, about +the recovery of power, which could be attained only by a general +co-operation of ideas,--the one element of success which all +conspirators overlook. It was the clever vengeance of the pretty woman, +who thus inveigled the prime minister, and made him act as screen for a +conspiracy against his own government. + +This adventure, worthy of the finest days of the Fronde, was the text +of a very witty letter, in which the princess rendered to "Madame" an +account of the negotiations. The Duc de Maufrigneuse went to La Vendee, +and was able to return secretly without being compromised, but not +without taking part in "Madame's" perils; the latter, however, sent +him home the moment she saw that her cause was lost. Perhaps, had he +remained, the eager vigilance of the young man might have foiled that +treachery. However great the faults of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse may +have seemed in the eyes of the bourgeoisie, the behavior of her son on +this occasion certainly effaced them in the eyes of the aristocracy. +There was great nobility and grandeur in thus risking her only son, and +the heir of an historic name. Some persons are said to intentionally +cover the faults of their private life by public services, and vice +versa; but the Princesse de Cadignan made no such calculation. Possibly +those who apparently so conduct themselves make none. Events count for +much in such cases. + +On one of the first fine days in the month of May, 1833, the Marquise +d'Espard and the princess were turning about--one could hardly call +it walking--in the single path which wound round the grass-plat in +the garden, about half-past two in the afternoon, just as the sun was +leaving it. The rays reflected on the walls gave a warm atmosphere +to the little space, which was fragrant with flowers, the gift of the +marquise. + +"We shall soon lose de Marsay," said the marquise; "and with him will +disappear your last hope of fortune for your son. Ever since you played +him that clever trick, he has returned to his affection for you." + +"My son will never capitulate to the younger branch," returned the +princess, "if he has to die of hunger, or I have to work with my hands +to feed him. Besides, Berthe de Cinq-Cygne has no aversion to him." + +"Children don't bind themselves to their parents' principles," said +Madame d'Espard. + +"Don't let us talk about it," said the princess. "If I can't coax over +the Marquise de Cinq-Cygne, I shall marry Georges to the daughter of +some iron-founderer, as that little d'Esgrignon did." + +"Did you love Victurnien?" asked the marquise. + +"No," replied the princess, gravely, "d'Esgrignon's simplicity was +really only a sort of provincial silliness, which I perceived rather too +late--or, if you choose, too soon." + +"And de Marsay?" + +"De Marsay played with me as if I were a doll. I was so young at the +time! We never love men who pretend to teach us; they rub up all our +little vanities." + +"And that wretched boy who hanged himself?" + +"Lucien? An Antinous and a great poet. I worshiped him in all +conscience, and I might have been happy. But he was in love with a girl +of the town; and I gave him up to Madame de Serizy.... If he had cared +to love me, should I have given him up?" + +"What an odd thing, that you should come into collision with an Esther!" + +"She was handsomer than I," said the Princess.--"Very soon it shall be +three years that I have lived in solitude," she resumed, after a pause, +"and this tranquillity has nothing painful to me about it. To you +alone can I dare to say that I feel I am happy. I was surfeited with +adoration, weary of pleasure, emotional on the surface of things, but +conscious that emotion itself never reached my heart. I have found all +the men whom I have known petty, paltry, superficial; none of them ever +caused me a surprise; they had no innocence, no grandeur, no delicacy. I +wish I could have met with one man able to inspire me with respect." + +"Then are you like me, my dear?" asked the marquise; "have you never +felt the emotion of love while trying to love?" + +"Never," replied the princess, laying her hand on the arm of her friend. + +They turned and seated themselves on a rustic bench beneath a jasmine +then coming into flower. Each had uttered one of those sayings that are +solemn to women who have reached their age. + +"Like you," resumed the princess, "I have received more love than most +women; but through all my many adventures, I have never found happiness. +I committed great follies, but they had an object, and that object +retreated as fast as I approached it. I feel to-day in my heart, old +as it is, an innocence which has never been touched. Yes, under all my +experience, lies a first love intact,--just as I myself, in spite of all +my losses and fatigues, feel young and beautiful. We may love and not +be happy; we may be happy and never love; but to love and be happy, to +unite those two immense human experiences, is a miracle. That miracle +has not taken place for me." + +"Nor for me," said Madame d'Espard. + +"I own I am pursued in this retreat by dreadful regret: I have amused +myself all through life, but I have never loved." + +"What an incredible secret!" cried the marquise. + +"Ah! my dear," replied the princess, "such secrets we can tell to +ourselves, you and I, but nobody in Paris would believe us." + +"And," said the marquise, "if we were not both over thirty-six years of +age, perhaps we would not tell them to each other." + +"Yes; when women are young they have so many stupid conceits," replied +the princess. "We are like those poor young men who play with a +toothpick to pretend they have dined." + +"Well, at any rate, here we are!" said Madame d'Espard, with coquettish +grace, and a charming gesture of well-informed innocence; "and, it seems +to me, sufficiently alive to think of taking our revenge." + +"When you told me, the other day, that Beatrix had gone off with Conti, +I thought of it all night long," said the princess, after a pause. "I +suppose there was happiness in sacrificing her position, her future, and +renouncing society forever." + +"She was a little fool," said Madame d'Espard, gravely. "Mademoiselle +des Touches was delighted to get rid of Conti. Beatrix never perceived +how that surrender, made by a superior woman who never for a moment +defended her claims, proved Conti's nothingness." + +"Then you think she will be unhappy?" + +"She is so now," replied Madame d'Espard. "Why did she leave her +husband? What an acknowledgment of weakness!" + +"Then you think that Madame de Rochefide was not influenced by the +desire to enjoy a true love in peace?" asked the princess. + +"No; she was simply imitating Madame de Beausant and Madame de Langeais, +who, be it said, between you and me, would have been, in a less vulgar +period than ours, the La Villiere, the Diane de Poitiers, the Gabrielle +d'Estrees of history." + +"Less the king, my dear. Ah! I wish I could evoke the shades of those +women, and ask them--" + +"But," said the marquise, interrupting the princess, "why ask the dead? +We know living women who have been happy. I have talked on this very +subject a score of times with Madame de Montcornet since she married +that little Emile Blondet, who makes her the happiest woman in the +world; not an infidelity, not a thought that turns aside from her; they +are as happy as they were the first day. These long attachments, like +that of Rastignac and Madame de Nucingen, and your cousin, Madame de +Camps, for her Octave, have a secret, and that secret you and I don't +know, my dear. The world has paid us the extreme compliment of thinking +we are two rakes worthy of the court of the regent; whereas we are, in +truth, as innocent as a couple of school-girls." + +"I should like that sort of innocence," cried the princess, laughing; +"but ours is worse, and it is very humiliating. Well, it is a +mortification we offer up in expiation of our fruitless search; yes, +my dear, fruitless, for it isn't probable we shall find in our autumn +season the fine flower we missed in the spring and summer." + +"That's not the question," resumed the marquise, after a meditative +pause. "We are both still beautiful enough to inspire love, but we could +never convince any one of our innocence and virtue." + +"If it were a lie, how easy to dress it up with commentaries, and +serve it as some delicious fruit to be eagerly swallowed! But how is +it possible to get a truth believed? Ah! the greatest of men have been +mistaken there!" added the princess, with one of those meaning smiles +which the pencil of Leonardo da Vinci alone has rendered. + +"Fools love well, sometimes," returned the marquise. + +"But in this case," said the princess, "fools wouldn't have enough +credulity in their nature." + +"You are right," said the marquise. "But what we ought to look for is +neither a fool nor even a man of talent. To solve our problem we need a +man of genius. Genius alone has the faith of childhood, the religion of +love, and willingly allows us to band its eyes. Look at Canalis and the +Duchesse de Chaulieu! Though we have both encountered men of genius, +they were either too far removed from us or too busy, and we too +absorbed, too frivolous." + +"Ah! how I wish I might not leave this world without knowing the +happiness of true love," exclaimed the princess. + +"It is nothing to inspire it," said Madame d'Espard; "the thing is to +feel it. I see many women who are only the pretext for a passion without +being both its cause and its effect." + +"The last love I inspired was a beautiful and sacred thing," said the +princess. "It had a future in it. Chance had brought me, for once in a +way, the man of genius who is due to us, and yet so difficult to obtain; +there are more pretty women than men of genius. But the devil interfered +with the affair." + +"Tell me about it, my dear; this is all news to me." + +"I first noticed this beautiful passion about the middle of the winter +of 1829. Every Friday, at the opera, I observed a young man, about +thirty years of age, in the orchestra stalls, who evidently came there +for me. He was always in the same stall, gazing at me with eyes of fire, +but, seemingly, saddened by the distance between us, perhaps by the +hopelessness of reaching me." + +"Poor fellow! When a man loves he becomes eminently stupid," said the +marquise. + +"Between every act he would slip into the corridor," continued the +princess, smiling at her friend's epigrammatic remark. "Once or twice, +either to see me or to make me see him, he looked through the glass +sash of the box exactly opposite to mine. If I received a visit, I was +certain to see him in the corridor close to my door, casting a furtive +glance upon me. He had apparently learned to know the persons belonging +to my circle; and he followed them when he saw them turning in the +direction of my box, in order to obtain the benefit of the opening door. +I also found my mysterious adorer at the Italian opera-house; there he +had a stall directly opposite to my box, where he could gaze at me in +naive ecstasy--oh! it was pretty! On leaving either house I always found +him planted in the lobby, motionless; he was elbowed and jostled, but +he never moved. His eyes grew less brilliant if he saw me on the arm of +some favorite. But not a word, not a letter, no demonstration. You must +acknowledge that was in good taste. Sometimes, on getting home late +at night, I found him sitting upon one of the stone posts of the +porte-cochere. This lover of mine had very handsome eyes, a long, thick, +fan-shaped beard, with a moustache and side-whiskers; nothing could be +seen of his skin but his white cheek-bones, and a noble forehead; it was +truly an antique head. The prince, as you know, defended the Tuileries +on the riverside, during the July days. He returned to Saint-Cloud that +night, when all was lost, and said to me: 'I came near being killed at +four o'clock. I was aimed at by one of the insurgents, when a young +man, with a long beard, whom I have often seen at the opera, and who was +leading the attack, threw up the man's gun, and saved me.' So my adorer +was evidently a republican! In 1831, after I came to lodge in this +house, I found him, one day, leaning with his back against the wall of +it; he seemed pleased with my disasters; possibly he may have thought +they drew us nearer together. But after the affair of Saint-Merri I +saw him no more; he was killed there. The evening before the funeral of +General Lamarque, I had gone out on foot with my son, and my republican +accompanied us, sometimes behind, sometimes in front, from the Madeleine +to the Passage des Panoramas, where I was going." + +"Is that all?" asked the marquise. + +"Yes, all," replied the princess. "Except that on the morning +Saint-Merri was taken, a gamin came here and insisted on seeing me. He +gave me a letter, written on common paper, signed by my republican." + +"Show it to me," said the marquise. + +"No, my dear. Love was too great and too sacred in the heart of that +man to let me violate its secrets. The letter, short and terrible, still +stirs my soul when I think of it. That dead man gives me more emotions +than all the living men I ever coquetted with; he constantly recurs to +my mind." + +"What was his name?" asked the marquise. + +"Oh! a very common one: Michel Chrestien." + +"You have done well to tell me," said Madame d'Espard, eagerly. "I have +often heard of him. This Michel Chrestien was the intimate friend of +a remarkable man you have already expressed a wish to see,--Daniel +d'Arthez, who comes to my house some two or three times a year. +Chrestien, who was really killed at Saint-Merri, had no lack of friends. +I have heard it said that he was one of those born statesmen to whom, +like de Marsay, nothing is wanting but opportunity to become all they +might be." + +"Then he had better be dead," said the princess, with a melancholy air, +under which she concealed her thoughts. + +"Will you come to my house some evening and meet d'Arthez?" said the +marquise. "You can talk of your ghost." + +"Yes, I will," replied the princess. + + + + +CHAPTER II. DANIEL D'ARTHEZ + + +A few days after this conversation Blondet and Rastignac, who knew +d'Arthez, promised Madame d'Espard that they would bring him to dine +with her. This promise might have proved rash had it not been for +the name of the princess, a meeting with whom was not a matter of +indifference to the great writer. + +Daniel d'Arthez, one of the rare men who, in our day, unite a noble +character with great talent, had already obtained, not all the +popularity his works deserve, but a respectful esteem to which souls +of his own calibre could add nothing. His reputation will certainly +increase; but in the eyes of connoisseurs it had already attained its +full development. He is one of those authors who, sooner or later, are +put in their right place, and never lose it. A poor nobleman, he had +understood his epoch well enough to seek personal distinction only. He +had struggled long in the Parisian arena, against the wishes of a rich +uncle who, by a contradiction which vanity must explain, after leaving +his nephew a prey to the utmost penury, bequeathed to the man who had +reached celebrity the fortune so pitilessly refused to the unknown +writer. This sudden change in his position made no change in Daniel +d'Arthez's habits; he continued to work with a simplicity worthy of +the antique past, and even assumed new toils by accepting a seat in the +Chamber of Deputies, where he took his seat on the Right. + +Since his accession to fame he had sometimes gone into society. One of +his old friends, the now-famous physician, Horace Bianchon, persuaded +him to make the acquaintance of the Baron de Rastignac, under-secretary +of State, and a friend of de Marsay, the prime minister. These two +political officials acquiesced, rather nobly, in the strong wish of +d'Arthez, Bianchon, and other friends of Michel Chrestien for the +removal of the body of that republican to the church of Saint-Merri for +the purpose of giving it funeral honors. Gratitude for a service which +contrasted with the administrative rigor displayed at a time when +political passions were so violent, had bound, so to speak, d'Arthez to +Rastignac. The latter and de Marsay were much too clever not to profit +by that circumstance; and thus they won over other friends of Michel +Chrestien, who did not share his political opinions, and who now +attached themselves to the new government. One of them, Leon Giraud, +appointed in the first instance master of petitions, became eventually a +Councillor of State. + +The whole existence of Daniel d'Arthez is consecrated to work; he sees +society only by snatches; it is to him a sort of dream. His house is a +convent, where he leads the life of a Benedictine; the same sobriety of +regimen, the same regularity of occupation. His friends knew that up to +the present time woman had been to him no more than an always dreaded +circumstance; he had observed her too much not to fear her; but by dint +of studying her he had ceased to understand her,--like, in this, to +those deep strategists who are always beaten on unexpected ground, +where their scientific axioms are either modified or contradicted. In +character he still remains a simple-hearted child, all the while +proving himself an observer of the first rank. This contrast, apparently +impossible, is explainable to those who know how to measure the depths +which separate faculties from feelings; the former proceed from the +head, the latter from the heart. A man can be a great man and a wicked +one, just as he can be a fool and a devoted lover. D'Arthez is one of +those privileged beings in whom shrewdness of mind and a broad expanse +of the qualities of the brain do not exclude either the strength or +the grandeur of sentiments. He is, by rare privilege, equally a man of +action and a man of thought. His private life is noble and generous. If +he carefully avoided love, it was because he knew himself, and felt a +premonition of the empire such a passion would exercise upon him. + +For several years the crushing toil by which he prepared the solid +ground of his subsequent works, and the chill of poverty, were +marvellous preservatives. But when ease with his inherited fortune came +to him, he formed a vulgar and most incomprehensible connection with a +rather handsome woman, belonging to the lower classes, without education +or manners, whom he carefully concealed from every eye. Michel Chrestien +attributed to men of genius the power of transforming the most +massive creatures into sylphs, fools into clever women, peasants into +countesses; the more accomplished a woman was, the more she lost her +value in their eyes, for, according to Michel, their imagination had the +less to do. In his opinion love, a mere matter of the senses to inferior +beings, was to great souls the most immense of all moral creations +and the most binding. To justify d'Arthez, he instanced the example of +Raffaele and the Fornarina. He might have offered himself as an +instance for this theory, he who had seen an angel in the Duchesse +de Maufrigneuse. This strange fancy of d'Arthez might, however, be +explained in other ways; perhaps he had despaired of meeting here below +with a woman who answered to that delightful vision which all men of +intellect dream of and cherish; perhaps his heart was too sensitive, too +delicate, to yield itself to a woman of society; perhaps he thought best +to let nature have her way, and keep his illusions by cultivating his +ideal; perhaps he had laid aside love as being incompatible with his +work and the regularity of a monastic life which love would have wholly +upset. + +For several months past d'Arthez had been subjected to the jests and +satire of Blondet and Rastignac, who reproached him with knowing neither +the world nor women. According to them, his authorship was sufficiently +advanced, and his works numerous enough, to allow him a few +distractions; he had a fine fortune, and here he was living like a +student; he enjoyed nothing,--neither his money nor his fame; he was +ignorant of the exquisite enjoyments of the noble and delicate love +which well-born and well-bred women could inspire and feel; he knew +nothing of the charming refinements of language, nothing of the proofs +of affection incessantly given by refined women to the commonest things. +He might, perhaps, know woman; but he knew nothing of the divinity. +Why not take his rightful place in the world, and taste the delights of +Parisian society? + +"Why doesn't a man who bears party per bend gules and or, a bezant and +crab counterchanged," cried Rastignac, "display that ancient escutcheon +of Picardy on the panels of a carriage? You have thirty thousand francs +a year, and the proceeds of your pen; you have justified your motto: +Ars thesaurusque virtus, that punning device our ancestors were always +seeking, and yet you never appear in the Bois de Boulogne! We live in +times when virtue ought to show itself." + +"If you read your works to that species of stout Laforet, whom you seem +to fancy, I would forgive you," said Blondet. "But, my dear fellow, you +are living on dry bread, materially speaking; in the matter of intellect +you haven't even bread." + +This friendly little warfare had been going on for several months +between Daniel and his friends, when Madame d'Espard asked Rastignac and +Blondet to induce d'Arthez to come and dine with her, telling them that +the Princesse de Cadignan had a great desire to see that celebrated +man. Such curiosities are to certain women what magic lanterns are +to children,--a pleasure to the eyes, but rather shallow and full +of disappointments. The more sentiments a man of talent excites at +a distance, the less he responds to them on nearer view; the more +brilliant fancy has pictured him, the duller he will seem in reality. +Consequently, disenchanted curiosity is often unjust. + +Neither Blondet nor Rastignac could deceive d'Arthez; but they told +him, laughing, that they now offered him a most seductive opportunity +to polish up his heart and know the supreme fascinations which love +conferred on a Parisian great lady. The princess was evidently in love +with him; he had nothing to fear but everything to gain by accepting the +interview; it was quite impossible he could descend from the pedestal on +which madame de Cadignan had placed him. Neither Blondet nor Rastignac +saw any impropriety in attributing this love to the princess; she whose +past had given rise to so many anecdotes could very well stand that +lesser calumny. Together they began to relate to d'Arthez the adventures +of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse: her first affair with de Marsay; her +second with d'Ajuda, whom she had, they said, distracted from his wife, +thus avenging Madame de Beausant; also her later connection with young +d'Esgrignon, who had travelled with her in Italy, and had horribly +compromised himself on her account; after that they told him how unhappy +she had been with a certain celebrated ambassador, how happy with a +Russian general, besides becoming the Egeria of two ministers of Foreign +affairs, and various other anecdotes. D'Arthez replied that he knew a +great deal more than they could tell him about her through their poor +friend, Michel Chrestien, who adored her secretly for four years, and +had well-nigh gone mad about her. + +"I have often accompanied him," said Daniel, "to the opera. He would +make me run through the streets as far as her horses that he might see +the princess through the window of her coupe." + +"Well, there you have a topic all ready for you," said Blondet, smiling. +"This is the very woman you need; she'll initiate you most gracefully +into the mysteries of elegance; but take care! she has wasted many +fortunes. The beautiful Diane is one of those spendthrifts who don't +cost a penny, but for whom a man spends millions. Give yourself up to +her, body and soul, if you choose; but keep your money in your hand, +like the old fellow in Girodet's 'Deluge.'" + +From the tenor of these remarks it was to be inferred that the princess +had the depth of a precipice, the grace of a queen, the corruption +of diplomatists, the mystery of a first initiation, and the dangerous +qualities of a siren. The two clever men of the world, incapable of +foreseeing the denouement of their joke, succeeded in presenting Diane +d'Uxelles as a consummate specimen of the Parisian woman, the cleverest +of coquettes, the most enchanting mistress in the world. Right or wrong, +the woman whom they thus treated so lightly was sacred to d'Arthez; his +desire to meet her needed no spur; he consented to do so at the first +word, which was all the two friends wanted of him. + +Madame d'Espard went to see the princess as soon as she had received +this answer. + +"My dear, do you feel yourself in full beauty and coquetry?" she said. +"If so, come and dine with me a few days hence, and I'll serve up +d'Arthez. Our man of genius is by nature, it seems, a savage; he +fears women, and has never loved! Make your plans on that. He is +all intellect, and so simple that he'll mislead you into feeling no +distrust. But his penetration, which is wholly retrospective, acts +later, and frustrates calculation. You may hoodwink him to-day, but +to-morrow nothing can dupe him." + +"Ah!" cried the princess, "if I were only thirty years old what +amusement I might have with him! The one enjoyment I have lacked up to +the present is a man of intellect to fool. I have had only partners, +never adversaries. Love was a mere game instead of being a battle." + +"Dear princess, admit that I am very generous; for, after all, you +know!--charity begins at home." + +The two women looked at each other, laughing, and clasped hands in a +friendly way. Assuredly they both knew each other's secrets, and this +was not the first man nor the first service that one had given to the +other; for sincere and lasting friendships between women of the world +need to be cemented by a few little crimes. When two friends are liable +to kill each other reciprocally, and see a poisoned dagger in each +other's hand, they present a touching spectacle of harmony, which is +never troubled, unless, by chance, one of them is careless enough to +drop her weapon. + +So, eight days later, a little dinner such as are given to intimates by +verbal invitation only, during which the doors are closed to all other +visitors, took place at Madame d'Espard's house. Five persons were +invited,--Emile Blondet and Madame de Montcornet, Daniel d'Arthez, +Rastignac, and the Princesse de Cadignan. Counting the mistress of the +house, there were as many men as women. + +Chance never exerted itself to make wiser preparations than those which +opened the way to a meeting between d'Arthez and Madame de Cadignan. +The princess is still considered one of the chief authorities on dress, +which, to women, is the first of arts. On this occasion she wore a gown +of blue velvet with flowing white sleeves, and a tulle guimpe, slightly +frilled and edged with blue, covering the shoulders, and rising nearly +to the throat, as we see in several of Raffaele's portraits. Her maid +had dressed her hair with white heather, adroitly placed among its blond +cascades, which were one of the great beauties to which she owed her +celebrity. + +Certainly Diane did not look to be more than twenty-five years old. +Four years of solitude and repose had restored the freshness of her +complexion. Besides, there are moments when the desire to please gives +an increase of beauty to women. The will is not without influence on the +variations of the face. If violent emotions have the power to yellow +the white tones of persons of bilious and melancholy temperament, and to +green lymphatic faces, shall we not grant to desire, hope, and joy, +the faculty of clearing the skin, giving brilliancy to the eye, and +brightening the glow of beauty with a light as jocund as that of a +lovely morning? The celebrated faintness of the princess had taken on +a ripeness which now made her seem more august. At this moment of her +life, impressed by her many vicissitudes and by serious reflections, +her noble, dreamy brow harmonized delightfully with the slow, majestic +glance of her blue eyes. It was impossible for the ablest physiognomist +to imagine calculation or self-will beneath that unspeakable delicacy of +feature. There were faces of women which deceive knowledge, and mislead +observation by their calmness and delicacy; it is necessary to examine +such faces when passions speak, and that is difficult, or after they +have spoken, which is no longer of any use, for then the woman is old +and has ceased to dissimulate. + +The princess is one of those impenetrable women; she can make herself +what she pleases to be: playful, childlike, distractingly innocent; or +reflective, serious, and profound enough to excite anxiety. She came to +Madame d'Espard's dinner with the intention of being a gentle, simple +woman, to whom life was known only through its deceptions: a woman full +of soul, and calumniated, but resigned,--in short, a wounded angel. + +She arrived early, so as to pose on a sofa near the fire beside Madame +d'Espard, as she wished to be first seen: that is, in one of +those attitudes in which science is concealed beneath an exquisite +naturalness; a studied attitude, putting in relief the beautiful +serpentine outline which, starting from the foot, rises gracefully to +the hip, and continues with adorable curves to the shoulder, presenting, +in fact, a profile of the whole body. With a subtlety which few women +would have dreamed of, Diane, to the great amazement of the marquise, +had brought her son with her. After a moment's reflection, Madame +d'Espard pressed the princess's hand, with a look of intelligence that +seemed to say:-- + +"I understand you! By making d'Arthez accept all the difficulties at +once you will not have to conquer them later." + +Rastignac brought d'Arthez. The princess made none of those compliments +to the celebrated author with which vulgar persons overwhelmed him; but +she treated him with a kindness full of graceful respect, which, with +her, was the utmost extent of her concessions. Her manner was doubtless +the same with the King of France and the royal princes. She seemed happy +to see this great man, and glad that she had sought him. Persons of +taste, like the princess, are especially distinguished for their manner +of listening, for an affability without superciliousness, which is to +politeness what practice is to virtue. When the celebrated man spoke, +she took an attentive attitude, a thousand times more flattering than +the best-seasoned compliments. The mutual presentation was made quietly, +without emphasis, and in perfectly good taste, by the marquise. + +At dinner d'Arthez was placed beside the princess, who, far from +imitating the eccentricities of diet which many affected women display, +ate her dinner with a very good appetite, making it a point of honor +to seem a natural woman, without strange ways or fancies. Between two +courses she took advantage of the conversation becoming general to say +to d'Arthez, in a sort of aside:-- + +"The secret of the pleasure I take in finding myself beside you, is +the desire I feel to learn something of an unfortunate friend of yours, +monsieur. He died for another cause greater than ours; but I was under +the greatest obligations to him, although unable to acknowledge or thank +him for them. I know that you were one of his best friends. Your mutual +friendship, pure and unalterable, is a claim upon me. You will not, I am +sure, think it extraordinary, that I have wished to know all you could +tell me of a man so dear to you. Though I am attached to the exiled +family, and bound, of course, to hold monarchical opinions, I am not +among those who think it is impossible to be both republican and noble +in heart. Monarchy and the republic are two forms of government which do +not stifle noble sentiments." + +"Michel Chrestien was an angel, madame," replied Daniel, in a voice of +emotion. "I don't know among the heroes of antiquity a greater than he. +Be careful not to think him one of those narrow-minded republicans who +would like to restore the Convention and the amenities of the Committee +of Public Safety. No, Michel dreamed of the Swiss federation applied +to all Europe. Let us own, between ourselves, that _after_ the glorious +government of one man only, which, as I think, is particularly suited to +our nation, Michel's system would lead to the suppression of war in this +old world, and its reconstruction on bases other than those of conquest, +which formerly feudalized it. From this point of view the republicans +came nearest to his idea. That is why he lent them his arm in July, and +was killed at Saint-Merri. Though completely apart in opinion, he and I +were closely bound together as friends." + +"That is noble praise for both natures," said Madame de Cadignan, +timidly. + +"During the last four years of his life," continued Daniel, "he made to +me alone a confidence of his love for you, and this confidence knitted +closer than ever the already strong ties of brotherly affection. He +alone, madame, can have loved you as you ought to be loved. Many a time +I have been pelted with rain as we accompanied your carriage at the pace +of the horses, to keep at a parallel distance, and see you--admire you." + +"Ah! monsieur," said the princess, "how can I repay such feelings!" + +"Why is Michel not here!" exclaimed Daniel, in melancholy accents. + +"Perhaps he would not have loved me long," said the princess, shaking +her head sadly. "Republicans are more absolute in their ideas than we +absolutists, whose fault is indulgence. No doubt he imagined me perfect, +and society would have cruelly undeceived him. We are pursued, we women, +by as many calumnies as you authors are compelled to endure in your +literary life; but we, alas! cannot defend ourselves either by our works +or by our fame. The world will not believe us to be what we are, but +what it thinks us to be. It would soon have hidden from his eyes the +real but unknown woman that is in me, behind the false portrait of the +imaginary woman which the world considers true. He would have come to +think me unworthy of the noble feelings he had for me, and incapable of +comprehending him." + +Here the princess shook her head, swaying the beautiful blond curls, +full of heather, with a touching gesture. This plaintive expression of +grievous doubts and hidden sorrows is indescribable. Daniel understood +them all; and he looked at the princess with keen emotion. + +"And yet, the night on which I last saw him, after the revolution of +July, I was on the point of giving way to the desire I felt to take +his hand and press it before all the world, under the peristyle of the +opera-house. But the thought came to me that such a proof of gratitude +might be misinterpreted; like so many other little things done +from noble motives which are called to-day the follies of Madame de +Maufrigneuse--things which I can never explain, for none but my son and +God have understood me." + +These words, breathed into the ear of the listener, in tones inaudible +to the other guests, and with accents worthy of the cleverest actress, +were calculated to reach the heart; and they did reach that of d'Arthez. +There was no question of himself in the matter; this woman was seeking +to rehabilitate herself in favor of the dead. She had been calumniated; +and she evidently wanted to know if anything had tarnished her in the +eyes of him who had loved her; had he died with all his illusions? + +"Michel," replied d'Arthez, "was one of those men who love absolutely, +and who, if they choose ill, can suffer without renouncing the woman +they have once elected." + +"Was I loved thus?" she said, with an air of exalted beatitude. + +"Yes, madame." + +"I made his happiness?" + +"For four years." + +"A woman never hears of such a thing without a sentiment of proud +satisfaction," she said, turning her sweet and noble face to d'Arthez +with a movement full of modest confusion. + +One of the most skilful manoeuvres of these actresses is to veil their +manner when words are too expressive, and speak with their eyes when +language is restrained. These clever discords, slipped into the music of +their love, be it false or true, produce irresistible attractions. + +"Is it not," she said, lowering her voice and her eyes, after feeling +well assured they had produced her effect,--"is it not fulfilling one's +destiny to have rendered a great man happy?" + +"Did he not write that to you?" + +"Yes; but I wanted to be sure, quite sure; for, believe me, monsieur, in +putting me so high he was not mistaken." + +Women know how to give a peculiar sacredness to their words; they +communicate something vibrant to them, which extends the meaning +of their ideas, and gives them depth; though later their fascinated +listener may not remember precisely what they said, their end has been +completely attained,--which is the object of all eloquence. The princess +might at that moment have been wearing the diadem of France, and her +brow could not have seemed more imposing than it was beneath that crown +of golden hair, braided like a coronet, and adorned with heather. She +was simple and calm; nothing betrayed a sense of any necessity to appear +so, nor any desire to seem grand or loving. D'Arthez, the solitary +toiler, to whom the ways of the world were unknown, whom study had +wrapped in its protecting veils, was the dupe of her tones and words. He +was under the spell of those exquisite manners; he admired that perfect +beauty, ripened by misfortune, placid in retirement; he adored the union +of so rare a mind and so noble a soul; and he longed to become, himself, +the heir of Michel Chrestien. + +The beginning of this passion was, as in the case of almost all deep +thinkers, an idea. Looking at the princess, studying the shape of her +head, the arrangement of those sweet features, her figure, her hand, +so finely modelled, closer than when he accompanied his friend in +their wild rush through the streets, he was struck by the surprising +phenomenon of the moral second-sight which a man exalted by love +invariably finds within him. With what lucidity had Michel Chrestien +read into that soul, that heart, illumined by the fires of love! Thus +the princess acquired, in d'Arthez's eyes, another charm; a halo of +poesy surrounded her. + +As the dinner proceeded, Daniel called to mind the various confidences +of his friend, his despair, his hopes, the noble poems of a true +sentiment sung to his ear alone, in honor of this woman. It is rare that +a man passes without remorse from the position of confidant to that of +rival, and d'Arthez was free to do so without dishonor. He had suddenly, +in a moment, perceived the enormous differences existing between a +well-bred woman, that flower of the great world, and common women, +though of the latter he did not know beyond one specimen. He was thus +captured on the most accessible and sensitive sides of his soul and of +his genius. Impelled by his simplicity, and by the impetuosity of his +ideas, to lay immediate claim to this woman, he found himself restrained +by society, also by the barrier which the manners and, let us say the +word, the majesty of the princess placed between them. The conversation, +which remained upon the topic of Michel Chrestien until the dessert, was +an excellent pretext for both to speak in a low voice: love, sympathy, +comprehension! she could pose as a maligned and misunderstood woman; he +could slip his feet into the shoes of the dead republican. Perhaps his +candid mind detected itself in regretting his dead friend less. The +princess, at the moment when the dessert appeared upon the table, and +the guests were separated by a brilliant hedge of fruits and sweetmeats, +thought best to put an end to this flow of confidences by a charming +little speech, in which she delicately expressed the idea that Daniel +and Michel were twin souls. + +After this d'Arthez threw himself into the general conversation with +the gayety of a child, and a self-conceited air that was worthy of a +schoolboy. When they left the dining-room, the princess took d'Arthez's +arm, in the simplest manner, to return to Madame d'Espard's little +salon. As they crossed the grand salon she walked slowly, and when +sufficiently separated from the marquise, who was on Blondet's arm, she +stopped. + +"I do not wish to be inaccessible to the friend of that poor man," +she said to d'Arthez; "and though I have made it a rule to receive no +visitors, you will always be welcome in my house. Do not think this a +favor. A favor is only for strangers, and to my mind you and I seem old +friends; I see in you the brother of Michel." + +D'Arthez could only press her arm, unable to make other reply. + +After coffee was served, Diane de Cadignan wrapped herself, with +coquettish motions, in a large shawl, and rose. Blondet and Rastignac +were too much men of the world, and too polite to make the least +remonstrance, or try to detain her; but Madame d'Espard compelled her +friend to sit down again, whispering in her ear:-- + +"Wait till the servants have had their dinner; the carriage is not ready +yet." + +So saying, the marquise made a sign to the footman, who was taking away +the coffee-tray. Madame de Montcornet perceived that the princess and +Madame d'Espard had a word to say to each other, and she drew around her +d'Arthez, Rastignac, and Blondet, amusing them with one of those clever +paradoxical attacks which Parisian women understand so thoroughly. + +"Well," said the marquise to Diane, "what do you think of him?" + +"He is an adorable child, just out of swaddling-clothes! This time, like +all other times, it will only be a triumph without a struggle." + +"Well, it is disappointing," said Madame d'Espard. "But we might evade +it." + +"How?" + +"Let me be your rival." + +"Just as you please," replied the princess. "I've decided on my course. +Genius is a condition of the brain; I don't know what the heart gets out +of it; we'll talk about that later." + +Hearing the last few words, which were wholly incomprehensible to her, +Madame d'Espard returned to the general conversation, showing neither +offence at that indifferent "As you please," nor curiosity as to the +outcome of the interview. The princess stayed an hour longer, seated on +the sofa near the fire, in the careless, nonchalant attitude of Guerin's +Dido, listening with the attention of an absorbed mind, and looking +at Daniel now and then, without disguising her admiration, which never +went, however, beyond due limits. She slipped away when the carriage +was announced, with a pressure of the hand to the marquise, and an +inclination of the head to Madame de Montcornet. + +The evening concluded without any allusion to the princess. The other +guests profited by the sort of exaltation which d'Arthez had reached, +for he put forth the treasures of his mind. In Blondet and Rastignac +he certainly had two acolytes of the first quality to bring forth the +delicacy of his wit and the breadth of his intellect. As for the two +women, they had long been counted among the cleverest in society. This +evening was like a halt in the oasis of a desert,--a rare enjoyment, +and well appreciated by these four persons, habitually victimized to the +endless caution entailed by the world of salons and politics. There +are beings who have the privilege of passing among men like beneficent +stars, whose light illumines the mind, while its rays send a glow to +the heart. D'Arthez was one of those beings. A writer who rises to his +level, accustoms himself to free thought, and forgets that in society +all things cannot be said; it is impossible for such a man to observe +the restraint of persons who live in the world perpetually; but as his +eccentricities of thought bore the mark of originality, no one felt +inclined to complain. This zest, this piquancy, rare in mere talent, +this youthfulness and simplicity of soul which made d'Arthez so nobly +original, gave a delightful charm to this evening. He left the house +with Rastignac, who, as they drove home, asked him how he liked the +princess. + +"Michel did well to love her," replied d'Arthez; "she is, indeed, an +extraordinary woman." + +"Very extraordinary," replied Rastignac, dryly. "By the tone of your +voice I should judge you were in love with her already. You will be in +her house within three days; and I am too old a denizen of Paris not to +know what will be the upshot of that. Well, my dear Daniel, I do entreat +you not to allow yourself to be drawn into any confusion of interests, +so to speak. Love the princess if you feel any love for her in your +heart, but keep an eye on your fortune. She has never taken or asked a +penny from any man on earth, she is far too much of a d'Uxelles and a +Cadignan for that; but, to my knowledge, she has not only spent her +own fortune, which was very considerable, but she has made others +waste millions. How? why? by what means? No one knows; she doesn't +know herself. I myself saw her swallow up, some thirteen years ago, the +entire fortune of a charming young fellow, and that of an old notary, in +twenty months." + +"Thirteen years ago!" exclaimed d'Arthez,--"why, how old is she now?" + +"Didn't you see, at dinner," replied Rastignac, laughing, "her son, the +Duc de Maufrigneuse. That young man is nineteen years old; nineteen and +seventeen make--" + +"Thirty-six!" cried the amazed author. "I gave her twenty." + +"She'll accept them," said Rastignac; "but don't be uneasy, she will +always be twenty to you. You are about to enter the most fantastic +of worlds. Good-night, here you are at home," said the baron, as they +entered the rue de Bellefond, where d'Arthez lived in a pretty little +house of his own. "We shall meet at Mademoiselle des Touches's in the +course of the week." + + + + +CHAPTER III. THE PRINCESS GOES TO WORK + + +D'Arthez allowed love to enter his heart after the manner of my Uncle +Toby, without making the slightest resistance; he proceeded by adoration +without criticism, and by exclusive admiration. The princess, that noble +creature, one of the most remarkable creations of our monstrous Paris, +where all things are possible, good as well as evil, became--whatever +vulgarity the course of time may have given to the expression--the angel +of his dreams. To fully understand the sudden transformation of this +illustrious author, it is necessary to realize the simplicity that +constant work and solitude leave in the heart; all that love--reduced +to a mere need, and now repugnant, beside an ignoble woman--excites of +regret and longings for diviner sentiments in the higher regions of the +soul. D'Arthez was, indeed, the child, the boy that Madame de Cadignan +had recognized. An illumination something like his own had taken place +in the beautiful Diane. At last she had met that superior man whom all +women desire and seek, if only to make a plaything of him,--that power +which they consent to obey, if only for the pleasure of subduing it; +at last she had found the grandeurs of the intellect united with +the simplicity of a heart all new to love; and she saw, with untold +happiness, that these merits were contained in a form that pleased her. +She thought d'Arthez handsome, and perhaps he was. Though he had reached +the age of gravity (for he was now thirty-eight), he still preserved +a flower of youth, due to the sober and ascetic life which he had led. +Like all men of sedentary habits, and statesmen, he had acquired +a certainly reasonable embonpoint. When very young, he bore some +resemblance to Bonaparte; and the likeness still continued, as much as a +man with black eyes and thick, dark hair could resemble a sovereign +with blue eyes and scanty, chestnut hair. But whatever there once was of +ardent and noble ambition in the great author's eyes had been somewhat +quenched by successes. The thoughts with which that brow once teemed had +flowered; the lines of the hollow face were filling out. Ease now spread +its golden tints where, in youth, poverty had laid the yellow tones +of the class of temperament whose forces band together to support a +crushing and long-continued struggle. If you observe carefully the noble +faces of ancient philosophers, you will always find those deviations +from the type of a perfect human face which show the characteristic to +which each countenance owes its originality, chastened by the habit of +meditation, and by the calmness necessary for intellectual labor. The +most irregular features, like those of Socrates, for instance, become, +after a time, expressive of an almost divine serenity. + +To the noble simplicity which characterized his head, d'Arthez added a +naive expression, the naturalness of a child, and a touching kindliness. +He did not have that politeness tinged with insincerity with which, in +society, the best-bred persons and the most amiable assume qualities in +which they are often lacking, leaving those they have thus duped wounded +and distressed. He might, indeed, fail to observe certain rules of +social life, owing to his isolated mode of living; but he never shocked +the sensibilities, and therefore this perfume of savagery made the +peculiar affability of a man of great talent the more agreeable; such +men know how to leave their superiority in their studies, and come +down to the social level, lending their backs, like Henry IV., to the +children's leap-frog, and their minds to fools. + +If d'Arthez did not brace himself against the spell which the princess +had cast about him, neither did she herself argue the matter in her own +mind, on returning home. It was settled for her. She loved with all her +knowledge and all her ignorance. If she questioned herself at all, it +was to ask whether she deserved so great a happiness, and what she had +done that Heaven should send her such an angel. She wanted to be worthy +of that love, to perpetuate it, to make it her own forever, and to +gently end her career of frivolity in the paradise she now foresaw. As +for coquetting, quibbling, resisting, she never once thought of it. She +was thinking of something very different!--of the grandeur of men of +genius, and the certainty which her heart divined that they would never +subject the woman they chose to ordinary laws. + +Here begins one of those unseen comedies, played in the secret regions +of the consciousness between two beings of whom one will be the dupe of +the other, though it keeps on this side of wickedness; one of those +dark and comic dramas to which that of _Tartuffe_ is mere child's +play,--dramas that do not enter the scenic domain, although they are +natural, conceivable, and even justifiable by necessity; dramas which +may be characterized as not vice, only the other side of it. + +The princess began by sending for d'Arthez's books, of which she had +never, as yet, read a single word, although she had managed to maintain +a twenty minutes' eulogism and discussion of them without a blunder. She +now read them all. Then she wanted to compare these books with the best +that contemporary literature had produced. By the time d'Arthez came to +see her she was having an indigestion of mind. Expecting this visit, she +had daily made a toilet of what may be called the superior order; that +is, a toilet which expresses an idea, and makes it accepted by the eye +without the owner of the eye knowing why or wherefore. She presented an +harmonious combination of shades of gray, a sort of semi-mourning, full +of graceful renunciation,--the garments of a woman who holds to life +only through a few natural ties,--her child, for instance,--but who is +weary of life. Those garments bore witness to an elegant disgust, not +reaching, however, as far as suicide; no, she would live out her days in +these earthly galleys. + +She received d'Arthez as a woman who expected him, and as if he had +already been to see her a hundred times; she did him the honor to treat +him like an old acquaintance, and she put him at his ease by pointing +to a seat on a sofa, while she finished a note she was then writing. The +conversation began in a commonplace manner: the weather, the ministry, +de Marsay's illness, the hopes of the legitimists. D'Arthez was an +absolutist; the princess could not be ignorant of the opinions of a +man who sat in the Chamber among the fifteen or twenty persons who +represented the legitimist party; she found means to tell him how she +had fooled de Marsay to the top of his bent, then, by an easy transition +to the royal family and to "Madame," and the devotion of the Prince +de Cadignan to their service, she drew d'Arthez's attention to the +prince:-- + +"There is this to be said for him: he loved his masters, and was +faithful to them. His public character consoles me for the sufferings +his private life has inflicted upon me--Have you never remarked," she +went on, cleverly leaving the prince aside, "you who observe so much, +that men have two natures: one of their homes, their wives, their +private lives,--this is their true self; here no mask, no dissimulation; +they do not give themselves the trouble to disguise a feeling; they are +what they ARE, and it is often horrible! The other man is for others, +for the world, for salons; the court, the sovereign, the public often +see them grand, and noble, and generous, embroidered with virtues, +adorned with fine language, full of admirable qualities. What a horrible +jest it is!--and the world is surprised, sometimes, at the caustic smile +of certain women, at their air of superiority to their husbands, and +their indifference--" + +She let her hand fall along the arm of her chair, without ending her +sentence, but the gesture admirably completed the speech. She saw +d'Arthez watching her flexible figure, gracefully bending in the depths +of her easy-chair, noting the folds of her gown, and the pretty little +ruffle which sported on her breast,--one of those audacities of the +toilet that are suited only to slender waists,--and she resumed the +thread of her thoughts as if she were speaking to herself:-- + +"But I will say no more. You writers have ended by making ridiculous +all women who think they are misunderstood, or ill-mated, and who try to +make themselves dramatically interesting,--attempts which seem to me, I +must say, intolerably vulgar. There are but two things for women in that +plight to do,--yield, and all is over; resist, and amuse themselves; in +either case they should keep silence. It is true that I neither yielded +wholly, nor resisted wholly; but, perhaps, that was only the more reason +why I should be silent. What folly for women to complain! If they +have not proved the stronger, they have failed in sense, in tact, in +capacity, and they deserve their fate. Are they not queens in France? +They can play with you as they like, when they like, and as much as they +like." Here she danced her vinaigrette with an airy movement of feminine +impertinence and mocking gayety. "I have often heard miserable little +specimens of my sex regretting that they were women, wishing they were +men; I have always regarded them with pity. If I had to choose, I should +still elect to be a woman. A fine pleasure, indeed, to owe one's triumph +to force, and to all those powers which you give yourselves by the +laws you make! But to see you at our feet, saying and doing foolish +things,--ah! it is an intoxicating pleasure to feel within our souls +that weakness triumphs! But when we triumph, we ought to keep silence, +under pain of losing our empire. Beaten, a woman's pride should gag her. +The slave's silence alarms the master." + +This chatter was uttered in a voice so softly sarcastic, so dainty, and +with such coquettish motions of the head, that d'Arthez, to whom this +style of woman was totally unknown, sat before her exactly like a +partridge charmed by a setter. + +"I entreat you, madame," he said, at last, "to tell me how it was +possible that a man could make you suffer? Be assured that where, as you +say, other women are common and vulgar, you can only seem distinguished; +your manner of saying things would make a cook-book interesting." + +"You go fast in friendship," she said, in a grave voice which made +d'Arthez extremely uneasy. + +The conversation changed; the hour was late, and the poor man of genius +went away contrite for having seemed curious, and for wounding the +sensitive heart of that rare woman who had so strangely suffered. As +for her, she had passed her life in amusing herself with men, and was +another Don Juan in female attire, with this difference: she would +certainly not have invited the Commander to supper, and would have got +the better of any statue. + +It is impossible to continue this tale without saying a word about +the Prince de Cadignan, better known under the name of the Duc de +Maufrigneuse, otherwise the spice of the princess's confidences would +be lost, and strangers would not understand the Parisian comedy she was +about to play for her man of genius. + +The Duc de Maufrigneuse, like a true son of the old Prince de Cadignan, +is a tall, lean man, of elegant shape, very graceful, a sayer of witty +things, colonel by the grace of God, and a good soldier by accident; +brave as a Pole, which means without sense or discernment, and hiding +the emptiness of his mind under the jargon of good society. After the +age of thirty-six he was forced to be as absolutely indifferent to +the fair sex as his master Charles X., punished, like that master, for +having pleased it too well. For eighteen years the idol of the faubourg +Saint-Germain, he had, like other heirs of great families led a +dissipated life, spent solely on pleasure. His father, ruined by the +revolution, had somewhat recovered his position on the return of the +Bourbons, as governor of a royal domain, with salary and perquisites; +but this uncertain fortune the old prince spent, as it came, in keeping +up the traditions of a great seigneur before the revolution; so that +when the law of indemnity was passed, the sums he received were all +swallowed up in the luxury he displayed in his vast hotel. + +The old prince died some little time before the revolution of July aged +eighty-seven. He had ruined his wife, and had long been on bad terms +with the Duc de Navarreins, who had married his daughter for a first +wife, and to whom he very reluctantly rendered his accounts. The Duc +de Maufrigneuse, early in life, had had relations with the Duchesse +d'Uxelles. About the year 1814, when Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was +forty-six years of age, the duchess, pitying his poverty, and seeing +that he stood very well at court, gave him her daughter Diane, then in +her seventeenth year, and possessing, in her own right, some fifty or +sixty thousand francs a year, not counting her future expectations. +Mademoiselle d'Uxelles thus became a duchess, and, as her mother very +well knew, she enjoyed the utmost liberty. The duke, after obtaining +the unexpected happiness of an heir, left his wife entirely to her +own devices, and went off to amuse himself in the various garrisons of +France, returning occasionally to Paris, where he made debts which his +father paid. He professed the most entire conjugal indulgence, always +giving the duchess a week's warning of his return; he was adored by +his regiment, beloved by the Dauphin, an adroit courtier, somewhat of +a gambler, and totally devoid of affectation. Having succeeded to his +father's office as governor of one of the royal domains, he managed to +please the two kings, Louis XVIII. and Charles X., which proves he made +the most of his nonentity; and even the liberals liked him; but his +conduct and life were covered with the finest varnish; language, noble +manners, and deportment were brought by him to a state of perfection. +But, as the old prince said, it was impossible for him to continue the +traditions of the Cadignans, who were all well known to have ruined +their wives, for the duchess was running through her property on her own +account. + +These particulars were so well understood in the court circles and +in the faubourg Saint-Germain, that during the last five years of +the Restoration they were considered ancient history, and any one who +mentioned them would have been laughed at. Women never spoke of the +charming duke without praising him; he was excellent, they said, to his +wife; could a man be better? He had left her the entire disposal of her +own property, and had always defended her on every occasion. It is +true that, whether from pride, kindliness, or chivalry, Monsieur de +Maufrigneuse had saved the duchess under various circumstances which +might have ruined other women, in spite of Diane's surroundings, and +the influence of her mother and that of the Duc de Navarreins, her +father-in-law, and her husband's aunt. + +For several ensuing days the princess revealed herself to d'Arthez as +remarkable for her knowledge of literature. She discussed with perfect +fearlessness the most difficult questions, thanks to her daily and +nightly reading, pursued with an intrepidity worthy of the highest +praise. D'Arthez, amazed, and incapable of suspecting that Diane +d'Uxelles merely repeated at night that which she read in the morning +(as some writers do), regarded her as a most superior woman. These +conversations, however, led away from Diane's object, and she tried to +get back to the region of confidences from which d'Arthez had prudently +retired after her coquettish rebuff; but it was not as easy as she +expected to bring back a man of his nature who had once been startled +away. + +However, after a month of literary campaigning and the finest platonic +discourses, d'Arthez grew bolder, and arrived every day at three +o'clock. He retired at six, and returned at nine, to remain until +midnight, or one in the morning, with the regularity of an ardent and +impatient lover. The princess was always dressed with more or less +studied elegance at the hour when d'Arthez presented himself. This +mutual fidelity, the care they each took of their appearance, in fact, +all about them expressed sentiments that neither dared avow, for the +princess discerned very plainly that the great child with whom she had +to do shrank from the combat as much as she desired it. Nevertheless +d'Arthez put into his mute declarations a respectful awe which was +infinitely pleasing to her. Both felt, every day, all the more united +because nothing acknowledged or definite checked the course of their +ideas, as occurs between lovers when there are formal demands on one +side, and sincere or coquettish refusals on the other. + +Like all men younger than their actual age, d'Arthez was a prey to those +agitating irresolutions which are caused by the force of desires and +the terror of displeasing,--a situation which a young woman does not +comprehend when she shares it, but which the princess had too often +deliberately produced not to enjoy its pleasures. In fact, Diane enjoyed +these delightful juvenilities all the more keenly because she knew that +she could put an end to them at any moment. She was like a great artist +delighting in the vague, undecided lines of his sketch, knowing well +that in a moment of inspiration he can complete the masterpiece still +waiting to come to birth. Many a time, seeing d'Arthez on the point +of advancing, she enjoyed stopping him short, with an imposing air and +manner. She drove back the hidden storms of that still young heart, +raised them again, and stilled them with a look, holding out her hand +to be kissed, or saying some trifling insignificant words in a tender +voice. + +These manoeuvres, planned in cold blood, but enchantingly executed, +carved her image deeper and deeper on the soul of that great writer and +thinker whom she revelled in making childlike, confiding, simple, and +almost silly beside her. And yet she had moments of repulsion against +her own act, moments in which she could not help admiring the grandeur +of such simplicity. This game of choicest coquetry attached her, +insensibly, to her slave. At last, however, Diane grew impatient with +an Epictetus of love; and when she thought she had trained him to the +utmost credulity, she set to work to tie a thicker bandage still over +his eyes. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. THE CONFESSION OF A PRETTY WOMAN + + +One evening Daniel found the princess thoughtful, one elbow resting on +a little table, her beautiful blond head bathed in light from the lamp. +She was toying with a letter which lay on the table-cloth. When d'Arthez +had seen the paper distinctly, she folded it up, and stuck it in her +belt. + +"What is the matter?" asked d'Arthez; "you seem distressed." + +"I have received a letter from Monsieur de Cadignan," she replied. +"However great the wrongs he has done me, I cannot help thinking of his +exile--without family, without son--from his native land." + +These words, said in a soulful voice, betrayed angelic sensibility. +D'Arthez was deeply moved. The curiosity of the lover became, so to +speak, a psychological and literary curiosity. He wanted to know the +height that woman had attained, and what were the injuries she thus +forgave; he longed to know how these women of the world, taxed with +frivolity, cold-heartedness, and egotism, could be such angels. +Remembering how the princess had already repulsed him when he first +tried to read that celestial heart, his voice, and he himself, trembled +as he took the transparent, slender hand of the beautiful Diane with its +curving finger-tips, and said,-- + +"Are we now such friends that you will tell me what you have suffered?" + +"Yes," she said, breathing forth the syllable like the most mellifluous +note that Tulou's flute had ever sighed. + +Then she fell into a revery, and her eyes were veiled. Daniel remained +in a state of anxious expectation, impressed with the solemnity of the +occasion. His poetic imagination made him see, as it were, clouds slowly +dispersing and disclosing to him the sanctuary where the wounded lamb +was kneeling at the divine feet. + +"Well?" he said, in a soft, still voice. + +Diane looked at the tender petitioner; then she lowered her eyes slowly, +dropping their lids with a movement of noble modesty. None but a +monster would have been capable of imagining hypocrisy in the graceful +undulation of the neck with which the princess again lifted her charming +head, to look once more into the eager eyes of that great man. + +"Can I? ought I?" she murmured, with a gesture of hesitation, gazing at +d'Arthez with a sublime expression of dreamy tenderness. "Men have so +little faith in things of this kind; they think themselves so little +bound to be discreet!" + +"Ah! if you distrust me, why am I here?" cried d'Arthez. + +"Oh, friend!" she said, giving to the exclamation the grace of an +involuntary avowal, "when a woman attaches herself for life, think you +she calculates? It is not question of refusal (how could I refuse you +anything?), but the idea of what you may think of me if I speak. I would +willingly confide to you the strange position in which I am at my age; +but what would you think of a woman who could reveal the secret wounds +of her married life? Turenne kept his word to robbers; do I not owe to +my torturers the honor of a Turenne?" + +"Have you passed your word to say nothing?" + +"Monsieur de Cadignan did not think it necessary to bind me to +secrecy--You are asking more than my soul! Tyrant! you want me to bury +my honor itself in your breast," she said, casting upon d'Arthez a +look, by which she gave more value to her coming confidence than to her +personal self. + +"You must think me a very ordinary man, if you fear any evil, no matter +what, from me," he said, with ill-concealed bitterness. + +"Forgive me, friend," she replied, taking his hand in hers caressingly, +and letting her fingers wander gently over it. "I know your worth. You +have related to me your whole life; it is noble, it is beautiful, it is +sublime, and worthy of your name; perhaps, in return, I owe you mine. +But I fear to lower myself in your eyes by relating secrets which +are not wholly mine. How can you believe--you, a man of solitude and +poesy--the horrors of social life? Ah! you little think when you invent +your dramas that they are far surpassed by those that are played in +families apparently united. You are wholly ignorant of certain gilded +sorrows." + +"I know all!" he cried. + +"No, you know nothing." + +D'Arthez felt like a man lost on the Alps of a dark night, who sees, +at the first gleam of dawn, a precipice at his feet. He looked at the +princess with a bewildered air, and felt a cold chill running down his +back. Diane thought for a moment that her man of genius was a weakling, +but a flash from his eyes reassured her. + +"You have become to me almost my judge," she said, with a desperate air. +"I must speak now, in virtue of the right that all calumniated beings +have to show their innocence. I have been, I am still (if a poor recluse +forced by the world to renounce the world is still remembered) accused +of such light conduct, and so many evil things, that it may be allowed +me to find in one strong heart a haven from which I cannot be driven. +Hitherto I have always considered self-justification an insult to +innocence; and that is why I have disdained to defend myself. Besides, +to whom could I appeal? Such cruel things can be confided to none but +God or to one who seems to us very near Him--a priest, or another self. +Well! I do know this, if my secrets are not as safe there," she said, +laying her hand on d'Arthez's heart, "as they are here" (pressing the +upper end of her busk beneath her fingers), "then you are not the grand +d'Arthez I think you--I shall have been deceived." + +A tear moistened d'Arthez's eyes, and Diane drank it in with a side +look, which, however, gave no motion either to the pupils or the lids of +her eyes. It was quick and neat, like the action of a cat pouncing on a +mouse. + +D'Arthez, for the first time, after sixty days of protocols, ventured +to take that warm and perfumed hand, and press it to his lips with a +long-drawn kiss, extending from the wrist to the tip of the fingers, +which made the princess augur well of literature. She thought to herself +that men of genius must know how to love with more perfection than +conceited fops, men of the world, diplomatists, and even soldiers, +although such beings have nothing else to do. She was a connoisseur, and +knew very well that the capacity for love reveals itself chiefly in mere +nothings. A woman well informed in such matters can read her future in +a simple gesture; just as Cuvier could say from the fragment of a bone: +This belonged to an animal of such or such dimensions, with or without +horns, carnivorous, herbivorous, amphibious, etc., age, so many thousand +years. Sure now of finding in d'Arthez as much imagination in love as +there was in his written style, she thought it wise to bring him up at +once to the highest pitch of passion and belief. + +She withdrew her hand hastily, with a magnificent movement full of +varied emotions. If she had said in words: "Stop, or I shall die," she +could not have spoken more plainly. She remained for a moment with +her eyes in d'Arthez's eyes, expressing in that one glance happiness, +prudery, fear, confidence, languor, a vague longing, and virgin modesty. +She was twenty years old! but remember, she had prepared for this hour +of comic falsehood by the choicest art of dress; she was there in her +armchair like a flower, ready to blossom at the first kiss of sunshine. +True or false, she intoxicated Daniel. + +It if is permissible to risk a personal opinion we must avow that it +would be delightful to be thus deceived for a good long time. Certainly +Talma on the stage was often above and beyond nature, but the Princesse +de Cadignan is the greatest true comedian of our day. Nothing was +wanting to this woman but an attentive audience. Unfortunately, at +epochs perturbed by political storms, women disappear like water-lilies +which need a cloudless sky and balmy zephyrs to spread their bloom to +our enraptured eyes. + +The hour had come; Diane was now to entangle that great man in the +inextricable meshes of a romance carefully prepared, to which he was +fated to listen as the neophyte of early Christian times listened to the +epistles of an apostle. + +"My friend," began Diane, "my mother, who still lives at Uxelles, +married me in 1814, when I was seventeen years old (you see how old I am +now!) to Monsieur de Maufrigneuse, not out of affection for me, but out +of regard for him. She discharged her debt to the only man she had ever +loved, for the happiness she had once received from him. Oh! you need +not be astonished at so horrible a conspiracy; it frequently takes +place. Many women are more lovers than mothers, though the majority +are more mothers than wives. The two sentiments, love and motherhood, +developed as they are by our manners and customs, often struggle +together in the hearts of women; one or other must succumb when they +are not of equal strength; when they are, they produce some exceptional +women, the glory of our sex. A man of your genius must surely comprehend +many things that bewilder fools but are none the less true; indeed I may +go further and call them justifiable through difference of characters, +temperaments, attachments, situations. I, for example, at this moment, +after twenty years of misfortunes, of deceptions, of calumnies endured, +and weary days and hollow pleasures, is it not natural that I should +incline to fall at the feet of a man who would love me sincerely and +forever? And yet, the world would condemn me. But twenty years of +suffering might well excuse a few brief years which may still remain to +me of youth given to a sacred and real love. This will not happen. I am +not so rash as to sacrifice my hopes of heaven. I have borne the burden +and heat of the day, I shall finish my course and win my recompense." + +"Angel!" thought d'Arthez. + +"After all, I have never blamed my mother; she knew little of me. +Mothers who lead a life like that of the Duchesse d'Uxelles keep their +children at a distance. I saw and knew nothing of the world until my +marriage. You can judge of my innocence! I knew nothing; I was incapable +of understanding the causes of my marriage. I had a fine fortune; sixty +thousand francs a year in forests, which the Revolution overlooked (or +had not been able to sell) in the Nivernais, with the noble chateau of +d'Anzy. Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was steeped in debt. Later I learned +what it was to have debts, but then I was too utterly ignorant of life +to suspect my position; the money saved out of my fortune went to pacify +my husband's creditors. Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was forty-eight years +of age when I married him; but those years were like military campaigns, +they ought to count for twice what they were. Ah! what a life I led for +ten years! If any one had known the suffering of this poor, calumniated +little woman! To be watched by a mother jealous of her daughter! +Heavens! You who make dramas, you will never invent anything as direful +as that. Ordinarily, according to the little that I know of literature, +a drama is a suite of actions, speeches, movements which hurry to a +catastrophe; but what I speak of was a catastrophe in action. It was an +avalanche fallen in the morning and falling again at night only to +fall again the next day. I am cold now as I speak to you of that cavern +without an opening, cold, sombre, in which I lived. I, poor little thing +that I was! brought up in a convent like a mystic rose, knowing nothing +of marriage, developing late, I was happy at first; I enjoyed the +goodwill and harmony of our family. The birth of my poor boy, who is +all me--you must have been struck by the likeness? my hair, my eyes, the +shape of my face, my mouth, my smile, my teeth!--well, his birth was a +relief to me; my thoughts were diverted by the first joys of maternity +from my husband, who gave me no pleasure and did nothing for me that +was kind or amiable; those joys were all the keener because I knew no +others. It had been so often rung into my ears that a mother should +respect herself. Besides, a young girl loves to play the mother. I was +so proud of my flower--for Georges was beautiful, a miracle, I thought! +I saw and thought of nothing but my son, I lived with my son. I never +let his nurse dress or undress him. Such cares, so wearing to mothers +who have a regiment of children, were all my pleasure. But after three +or four years, as I was not an actual fool, light came to my eyes in +spite of the pains taken to blindfold me. Can you see me at that +final awakening, in 1819? The drama of 'The Brothers at enmity' is a +rose-water tragedy beside that of a mother and daughter placed as we +then were. But I braved them all, my mother, my husband, the world, +by public coquetries which society talked of,--and heaven knows how it +talked! You can see, my friend, how the men with whom I was accused of +folly were to me the dagger with which to stab my enemies. Thinking only +of my vengeance, I did not see or feel the wounds I was inflicting on +myself. Innocent as a child, I was thought a wicked woman, the worst of +women, and I knew nothing of it! The world is very foolish, very blind, +very ignorant; it can penetrate no secrets but those which amuse it and +serve its malice: noble things, great things, it puts its hand before +its eyes to avoid seeing. But, as I look back, it seems to me that I had +an attitude and aspect of indignant innocence, with movements of pride, +which a great painter would have recognized. I must have enlivened many +a ball with my tempests of anger and disdain. Lost poesy! such sublime +poems are only made in the glowing indignation which seizes us at +twenty. Later, we are wrathful no longer, we are too weary, vice no +longer amazes us, we are cowards, we fear. But then--oh! I kept a great +pace! For all that I played the silliest personage in the world; I was +charged with crimes by which I never benefited. But I had such pleasure +in compromising myself. That was my revenge! Ah! I have played many +childish tricks! I went to Italy with a thoughtless youth, whom I +crushed when he spoke to me of love, but later, when I herd that he was +compromised on my account (he had committed a forgery to get money) I +rushed to save him. My mother and husband kept me almost without means; +but, this time, I went to the king. Louis XVIII., that man without a +heart, was touched; he gave me a hundred thousand francs from his privy +purse. The Marquis d'Esgrignon--you must have seen him in society for he +ended by making a rich marriage--was saved from the abyss into which he +had plunged for my sake. That adventure, caused by my own folly, led me +to reflect. I saw that I myself was the first victim of my vengeance. +My mother, who knew I was too proud, too d'Uxelles, to conduct +myself really ill, began to see the harm that she had done me and was +frightened by it. She was then fifty-two years of age; she left Paris +and went to live at Uxelles. There she expiates her wrong-doing by a +life of devotion and expresses the utmost affection for me. After her +departure I was face to face, alone, with Monsieur de Maufrigneuse. Oh! +my friend, you men can never know what an old man of gallantry can be. +What a home is that of a man accustomed to the adulation of women of the +world, when he finds neither incense nor censer in his own house! dead +to all! and yet, perhaps for that very reason, jealous. I wished--when +Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was wholly mine--I wished to be a good wife, +but I found myself repulsed with the harshness of a soured spirit by +a man who treated me like a child and took pleasure in humiliating +my self-respect at every turn, in crushing me under the scorn of his +experience, and in convicting me of total ignorance. He wounded me on +all occasions. He did everything to make me detest him and to give me +the right to betray him; but I was still the dupe of my own hope and of +my desire to do right through several years. Shall I tell you the cruel +saying that drove me to further follies? 'The Duchesse de Maufrigneuse +has gone back to her husband,' said the world. 'Bah! it is always a +triumph to bring the dead to life; it is all she can now do,' replied my +best friend, a relation, she, at whose house I met you--" + +"Madame d'Espard!" cried Daniel, with a gesture of horror. + +"Oh! I have forgiven her. Besides, it was very witty; and I have myself +made just as cruel epigrams on other poor women as innocent as myself." + +D'Arthez again kissed the hand of that saintly woman who, having hacked +her mother in pieces, and turned the Prince de Cadignan into an Othello, +now proceeded to accuse herself in order to appear in the eyes of that +innocent great man as immaculate as the silliest or the wisest of women +desire to seem at all costs to their lovers. + +"You will readily understand, my friend, that I returned to society for +the purpose of excitement and I may say of notoriety. I felt that I must +conquer my independence. I led a life of dissipation. To divert my mind, +to forget my real life in fictitious enjoyments I was gay, I shone, I +gave fetes, I played the princess, and I ran in debt. At home I could +forget myself in the sleep of weariness, able to rise the next day gay, +and frivolous for the world; but in that sad struggle to escape my real +life I wasted my fortune. The revolution of 1830 came; it came at the +very moment when I had met, at the end of that _Arabian Nights'_ life, a +pure and sacred love which (I desire to be honest) I had longed to know. +Was it not natural in a woman whose heart, repressed by many causes and +accidents, was awakening at an age when a woman feels herself cheated +if she has never known, like the women she sees about her, a happy love? +Ah! why was Michel Chrestien so respectful? Why did he not seek to meet +me? There again was another mockery! But what of that? in falling, I +have lost everything; I have no illusions left; I had tasted of all +things except the one fruit for which I have no longer teeth. Yes, I +found myself disenchanted with the world at the very moment when I was +forced to leave it. Providential, was it not? like all those strange +insensibilities which prepare us for death" (she made a gesture full +of pious unction). "All things served me then," she continued; "the +disasters of the monarchy and its ruin helped me to bury myself. My son +consoles me for much. Maternal love takes the place of all frustrated +feelings. The world is surprised at my retirement, but to me it has +brought peace. Ah! if you knew how happy the poor creature before you is +in this little place. In sacrificing all to my son I forget to think of +joys of which I am and ever must be ignorant. Yes, hope has flown, I +now fear everything; no doubt I should repulse the truest sentiment, +the purest and most veritable love, in memory of the deceptions and the +miseries of my life. It is all horrible, is it not? and yet, what I have +told you is the history of many women." + +The last few words were said in a tone of easy pleasantry which recalled +the presence of the woman of the world. D'Arthez was dumbfounded. In his +eyes convicts sent to the galleys for murder, or aggravated robbery, or +for putting a wrong name to checks, were saints compared to the men and +women of society. This atrocious elegy, forged in the arsenal of lies, +and steeped in the waters of the Parisian Styx, had been poured into his +ears with the inimitable accent of truth. The grave author contemplated +for a moment that adorable woman lying back in her easy-chair, her two +hands pendant from its arms like dewdrops from a rose-leaf, overcome +by her own revelation, living over again the sorrows of her life as she +told them--in short an angel of melancholy. + +"And judge," she cried, suddenly lifting herself with a spring and +raising her hand, while lightning flashed from eyes where twenty chaste +years shone--"judge of the impression the love of a man like Michel +must have made upon me. But by some irony of fate--or was it the hand of +God?--well, he died; died in saving the life of, whom do you suppose? of +Monsieur de Cadignan. Are you now surprised to find me thoughtful?" + +This was the last drop; poor d'Arthez could bear no more. He fell upon +his knees, and laid his head on Diane's hand, weeping soft tears such +as the angels shed,--if angels weep. As Daniel was in that bent posture, +Madame de Cadignan could safely let a malicious smile of triumph flicker +on her lips, a smile such as the monkeys wear after playing a sly +trick--if monkeys smile. + +"Ah! I have him," thought she; and, indeed, she had him fast. + +"But you are--" he said, raising his fine head and looking at her with +eyes of love. + +"Virgin and martyr," she replied, smiling at the commonness of that +hackneyed expression, but giving it a freshness of meaning by her smile, +so full of painful gayety. "If I laugh," she continued, "it is that I am +thinking of that princess whom the world thinks it knows, that Duchesse +de Maufrigneuse to whom it gives as lovers de Marsay, that infamous de +Trailles (a political cutthroat), and that little fool of a d'Esgrignon, +and Rastignac, Rubempre, ambassadors, ministers, Russian generals, +heaven knows who! all Europe! They have gossiped about that album which +I ordered made, believing that those who admired me were my friends. Ah! +it is frightful! I wonder that I allow a man at my feet! Despise them +all, THAT should be my religion." + +She rose and went to the window with a gait and bearing magnificent in +motifs. + +D'Arthez remained on the low seat to which he had returned not daring +to follow the princess; but he looked at her; he heard her blowing her +nose. Was there ever a princess who blew her nose? but Diane attempted +the impossible to convey an idea of her sensibility. D'Arthez believed +his angel was in tears; he rushed to her side, took her round the waist, +and pressed her to his heart. + +"No, no, leave me!" she murmured in a feeble voice. "I have too many +doubts to be good for anything. To reconcile me with life is a task +beyond the powers of any man." + +"Diane! I will love you for your whole lost life." + +"No; don't speak to me thus," she answered. "At this moment I tremble, I +am ashamed as though I had committed the greatest sins." + +She was now entirely restored to the innocence of little girls, and +yet her bearing was august, grand, noble as that of a queen. It is +impossible to describe the effect of these manoeuvres, so clever that +they acted like the purest truth on a soul as fresh and honest as that +of d'Arthez. The great author remained dumb with admiration, passive +beside her in the recess of that window awaiting a word, while the +princess awaited a kiss; but she was far too sacred to him for that. +Feeling cold, the princess returned to her easy-chair; her feet were +frozen. + +"It will take a long time," she said to herself, looking at Daniel's +noble brow and head. + +"Is this a woman?" thought that profound observer of human nature. "How +ought I to treat her?" + +Until two o'clock in the morning they spent their time in saying to each +other the silly things that women of genius, like the princess, know how +to make adorable. Diane pretended to be too worn, too old, too faded; +D'Arthez proved to her (facts of which she was well convinced) that her +skin was the most delicate, the softest to the touch, the whitest to the +eye, the most fragrant; she was young and in her bloom, how could she +think otherwise? Thus they disputed, beauty by beauty, detail by detail +with many: "Oh! do you think so?"--"You are beside yourself!"--"It is +hope, it is fancy!"--"You will soon see me as I am.--I am almost forty +years of age. Can a man love so old a woman?" + +D'Arthez responded with impetuous and school-boy eloquence, larded with +exaggerated epithets. When the princess heard this wise and witty writer +talking the nonsense of an amorous sub-lieutenant she listened with an +absorbed air and much sensibility; but she laughed in her sleeve. + +When d'Arthez was in the street, he asked himself whether he might not +have been rather less respectful. He went over in memory those strange +confidences--which have, naturally, been much abridged here, for they +needed a volume to convey their mellifluous abundance and the graces +which accompanied them. The retrospective perspicacity of this man, so +natural, so profound, was baffled by the candor of that tale and its +poignancy, and by the tones of the princess. + +"It is true," he said to himself, being unable to sleep, "there are such +dramas as that in society. Society covers great horrors with the flowers +of its elegance, the embroidery of its gossip, the wit of its lies. We +writers invent no more than the truth. Poor Diane! Michel had penetrated +that enigma; he said that beneath her covering of ice there lay +volcanoes! Bianchon and Rastignac were right; when a man can join the +grandeurs of the ideal and the enjoyments of human passion in loving +a woman of perfect manners, of intellect, of delicacy, it must be +happiness beyond words." + +So thinking, he sounded the love that was in him and found it infinite. + + + + +CHAPTER V. A TRIAL OF FAITH + + +The next day, about two in the afternoon, Madame d'Espard, who had seen +and heard nothing of the princess for more than a month, went to see her +under the impulse of extreme curiosity. Nothing was ever more amusing +of its kind than the conversation of these two crafty adders during the +first half-hour of this visit. + +Diane d'Uxelles cautiously avoided, as she would the wearing of a yellow +gown, all mention of d'Arthez. The marquise circled round and round that +topic like a Bedouin round a caravan. Diane amused herself; the marquise +fumed. Diane waited; she intended to utilize her friend and use her in +the chase. Of these two women, both so celebrated in the social world, +one was far stronger than the other. The princess rose by a head +above the marquise, and the marquise was inwardly conscious of that +superiority. In this, perhaps, lay the secret of their intimacy. The +weaker of the two crouched low in her false attachment, watching for the +hour, long awaited by feeble beings, of springing at the throat of the +stronger and leaving the mark of a joyful bite. Diane saw clear; but the +world was the dupe of the wile caresses of the two friends. + +The instant that the princess perceived a direct question on the lips of +her friend, she said:-- + +"Ah! dearest, I owe you a most complete, immense, infinite, celestial +happiness." + +"What can you mean?" + +"Have you forgotten what we ruminated three months ago in the little +garden, sitting on a bench in the sun, under the jasmine? Ah! there are +none but men of genius who know how to love! I apply to my grand Daniel +d'Arthez the Duke of Alba's saying to Catherine de' Medici: 'The head of +a single salmon is worth all the frogs in the world.'" + +"I am not surprised that I no longer see you," said Madame d'Espard. + +"Promise me, if you meet him, not to say to him one word about me, my +angel," said the princess, taking her friend's hand. "I am happy, oh! +happy beyond all expression; but you know that in society a word, a mere +jest can do much harm. One speech can kill, for they put such venom into +a single sentence! Ah! if you knew how I long that you might meet with +a love like this! Yes, it is a sweet, a precious triumph for women like +ourselves to end our woman's life in this way; to rest in an ardent, +pure, devoted, complete and absolute love; above all, when we have +sought it long." + +"Why do you ask me to be faithful to my dearest friend?" said Madame +d'Espard. "Do you think me capable of playing you some villainous +trick?" + +"When a woman possesses such a treasure the fear of losing it is so +strong that it naturally inspires a feeling of terror. I am absurd, I +know; forgive me, dear." + +A few moments later the marquise departed; as she watched her go the +princess said to herself:-- + +"How she will pluck me! But to save her the trouble of trying to get +Daniel away from here I'll send him to her." + +At three o'clock, or a few moments after, d'Arthez arrived. In the midst +of some interesting topic on which he was discoursing eloquently, the +princess suddenly cut him short by laying her hand on his arm. + +"Pardon me, my dear friend," she said, interrupting him, "but I fear +I may forget a thing which seems a mere trifle but may be of great +importance. You have not set foot in Madame d'Espard's salon since the +ever-blessed day when I met you there. Pray go at once; not for your +sake, nor by way of politeness, but for me. You may already have made +her an enemy of mine, if by chance she has discovered that since her +dinner you have scarcely left my house. Besides, my friend, I don't like +to see you dropping your connection with society, and neglecting your +occupations and your work. I should again be strangely calumniated. What +would the world say? That I held you in leading-strings, absorbed you, +feared comparisons, and clung to my conquest knowing it to be my last! +Who will know that you are my friend, my only friend? If you love me +indeed, as you say you love me, you will make the world believe that +we are purely and simply brother and sister--Go on with what you were +saying." + +In his armor of tenderness, riveted by the knowledge of so many splendid +virtues, d'Arthez obeyed this behest on the following day and went +to see Madame d'Espard, who received him with charming coquetry. The +marquise took very good care not to say a single word to him about the +princess, but she asked him to dinner on a coming day. + +On this occasion d'Arthez found a numerous company. The marquise +had invited Rastignac, Blondet, the Marquis d'Ajuda-Pinto, Maxime de +Trailles, the Marquis d'Esgrignon, the two brothers Vandenesse, du +Tillet, one of the richest bankers in Paris, the Baron de Nucingen, +Raoul Nathan, Lady Dudley, two very treacherous secretaries of embassies +and the Chevalier d'Espard, the wiliest person in this assemblage and +the chief instigator of his sister-in-law's policy. + +When dinner was well under way, Maxime de Trailles turned to d'Arthez +and said smiling:-- + +"You see a great deal, don't you, of the Princesse de Cadignan?" + +To this question d'Arthez responded by curtly nodding his head. Maxime +de Trailles was a "bravo" of the social order, without faith or law, +capable of everything, ruining the women who trusted him, compelling +them to pawn their diamonds to give him money, but covering this conduct +with a brilliant varnish; a man of charming manners and satanic mind. +He inspired all who knew him with equal contempt and fear; but as no +one was bold enough to show him any sentiments but those of the utmost +courtesy he saw nothing of this public opinion, or else he accepted and +shared the general dissimulation. He owed to the Comte de Marsay the +greatest degree of elevation to which he could attain. De Marsay, +whose knowledge of Maxime was of long-standing, judged him capable of +fulfilling certain secret and diplomatic functions which he confided to +him and of which de Trailles acquitted himself admirably. D'Arthez had +for some time past mingled sufficiently in political matters to know the +man for what he was, and he alone had sufficient strength and height of +character to express aloud what others thought or said in a whisper. + +"Is it for her that you neglect the Chamber?" asked Baron de Nucingen in +his German accent. + +"Ah! the princess is one of the most dangerous women a man can have +anything to do with. I owe to her the miseries of my marriage," +exclaimed the Marquis d'Esgrignon. + +"Dangerous?" said Madame d'Espard. "Don't speak so of my nearest friend. +I have never seen or known anything in the princess that did not seem to +come from the noblest sentiments." + +"Let the marquis say what he thinks," cried Rastignac. "When a man has +been thrown by a fine horse he thinks it has vices and he sells it." + +Piqued by these words, the Marquis d'Esgrignon looked at d'Arthez and +said:-- + +"Monsieur is not, I trust, on such terms with the princess that we +cannot speak freely of her?" + +D'Arthez kept silence. D'Esgrignon, who was not wanting in cleverness, +replied to Rastignac's speech with an apologetic portrait of the +princess, which put the whole table in good humor. As the jest was +extremely obscure to d'Arthez he leaned towards his neighbor, Madame de +Montcornet, and asked her, in a whisper, what it meant. + +"Excepting yourself--judging by the excellent opinion you seem to have +of the princess--all the other guests are said to have been in her good +graces." + +"I can assure you that such an accusation is absolutely false," said +Daniel. + +"And yet, here is Monsieur d'Esgrignon of an old family of Alencon, who +completely ruined himself for her some twelve years ago, and, if all is +true, came very near going to the scaffold." + +"I know the particulars of that affair," said d'Arthez. "Madame de +Cadignan went to Alencon to save Monsieur d'Esgrignon from a trial +before the court of assizes; and this is how he rewards her to-day!" + +Madame de Montcornet looked at d'Arthez with a surprise and curiosity +that were almost stupid, then she turned her eyes on Madame d'Espard +with a look which seemed to say: "He is bewitched!" + +During this short conversation Madame de Cadignan was protected by +Madame d'Espard, whose protection was like that of the lightning-rod +which draws the flash. When d'Arthez returned to the general +conversation Maxime de Trailles was saying:-- + +"With Diane, depravity is not an effect but a cause; perhaps she owes +that cause to her exquisite nature; she doesn't invent, she makes no +effort, she offers you the choicest refinements as the inspiration of +a spontaneous and naive love; and it is absolutely impossible not to +believe her." + +This speech, which seemed to have been prepared for a man of d'Arthez's +stamp, was so tremendous an arraignment that the company appeared to +accept it as a conclusion. No one said more; the princess was crushed. +D'Arthez looked straight at de Trailles and then at d'Esgrignon with a +sarcastic air, and said:-- + +"The greatest fault of that woman is that she has followed in the wake +of men. She squanders patrimonies as they do; she drives her lovers to +usurers; she pockets 'dots'; she ruins orphans; she inspires, possibly +she commits, crimes, but--" + +Never had the two men, whom d'Arthez was chiefly addressing, listened +to such plain talk. At that BUT the whole table was startled, every one +paused, fork in air, their eyes fixed alternately on the brave author +and on the assailants of the princess, awaiting the conclusion of that +horrible silence. + +"_But_," said d'Arthez, with sarcastic airiness, "Madame la Princesse +de Cadignan has one advantage over men: when they have put themselves in +danger for her sake, she saves them, and says no harm of any one. Among +the multitude, why shouldn't there be one woman who amuses herself with +men as men amuse themselves with women? Why not allow the fair sex to +take, from time to time, its revenge?" + +"Genius is stronger than wit," said Blondet to Nathan. + +This broadside of sarcasms was in fact the discharge of a battery of +cannons against a platoon of musketry. When coffee was served, Blondet +and Nathan went up to d'Arthez with an eagerness no one else dared to +imitate, so unable were the rest of the company to show the admiration +his conduct inspired from the fear of making two powerful enemies. + +"This is not the first time we have seen that your character equals your +talent in grandeur," said Blondet. "You behaved just now more like a +demi-god than a man. Not to have been carried away by your heart or +your imagination, not to have taken up the defence of a beloved woman--a +fault they were enticing you to commit, because it would have given +those men of society eaten up with jealousy of your literary fame a +triumph over you--ah! give me leave to say you have attained the height +of private statesmanship." + +"Yes, you are a statesman," said Nathan. "It is as clever as it is +difficult to avenge a woman without defending her." + +"The princess is one of those heroines of the legitimist party, and +it is the duty of all men of honor to protect her quand meme," replied +d'Arthez, coldly. "What she has done for the cause of her masters would +excuse all follies." + +"He keeps his own counsel!" said Nathan to Blondet. + +"Precisely as if the princess were worth it," said Rastignac, joining +the other two. + +D'Arthez went to the princess, who was awaiting him with the keenest +anxiety. The result of this experiment, which Diane had herself brought +about, might be fatal to her. For the first time in her life this woman +suffered in her heart. She knew not what she should do in case d'Arthez +believed the world which spoke the truth, instead of believing her who +lied; for never had so noble a nature, so complete a man, a soul so +pure, a conscience so ingenuous come beneath her hand. Though she had +told him cruel lies she was driven to do so by the desire of knowing a +true love. That love--she felt it dawning in her heart; yes, she loved +d'Arthez; and now she was condemned forever to deceive him! She must +henceforth remain to him the actress who had played that comedy to blind +his eyes. + +When she heard Daniel's step in the dining-room a violent commotion, a +shudder which reached to her very vitals came over her. That convulsion, +never felt during all the years of her adventurous existence, told her +that she had staked her happiness on this issue. Her eyes, gazing +into space, took in the whole of d'Arthez's person; their light poured +through his flesh, she read his soul; suspicion had not so much as +touched him with its bat's-wing. The terrible emotion of that fear then +came to its reaction; joy almost stifled her; for there is no human +being who is not more able to endure grief than to bear extreme +felicity. + +"Daniel, they have calumniated me, and you have avenged me!" she cried, +rising, and opening her arms to him. + +In the profound amazement caused by these words, the roots of which were +utterly unknown to him, Daniel allowed his hand to be taken between her +beautiful hands, as the princess kissed him sacredly on the forehead. + +"But," he said, "how could you know--" + +"Oh! illustrious ninny! do you not see that I love you fondly?" + +Since that day nothing has been said of the Princess de Cadignan, nor +of d'Arthez. The princess has inherited some fortune from her mother and +she spends all her summers in a villa on the lake of Geneva, where the +great writer joins her. She returns to Paris for a few months in winter. +D'Arthez is never seen except in the Chamber. His writings are becoming +exceedingly rare. Is this a conclusion? Yes, for people of sense; no, +for persons who want to know everything. + + + + +ADDENDUM + +The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + + Ajuda-Pinto, Marquis Miguel d' + Father Goriot + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Beatrix + + Arthez, Daniel d' + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Member for Arcis + + Bianchon, Horace + Father Goriot + The Atheist's Mass + Cesar Birotteau + The Commission in Lunacy + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor's Establishment + The Government Clerks + Pierrette + A Study of Woman + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Honorine + The Seamy Side of History + The Magic Skin + A Second Home + A Prince of Bohemia + Letters of Two Brides + The Muse of the Department + The Imaginary Mistress + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + The Country Parson + In addition, M. Bianchon narrated the following: + Another Study of Woman + La Grande Breteche + + Blondet, Emile + Jealousies of a Country Town + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Modeste Mignon + Another Study of Woman + A Daughter of Eve + The Firm of Nucingen + The Peasantry + + Blondet, Virginie + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Another Study of Woman + The Member for Arcis + A Daughter of Eve + + Cadignan, Prince de + Modeste Mignon + + Chrestien, Michel + A Bachelor's Establishment + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + + Cinq-Cygne, Laurence, Comtesse (afterwards Marquise de) + The Gondreville Mystery + The Seamy Side of History + The Member for Arcis + + Dudley, Lady Arabella + The Lily of the Valley + The Ball at Sceaux + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + + Esgrignon, Victurnien, Comte (then Marquis d') + Jealousies of a Country Town + Letters of Two Brides + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + + Espard, Chevalier d' + The Commission in Lunacy + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + + Espard, Jeanne-Clementine-Athenais de Blamont-Chauvry, Marquise d' + The Commission in Lunacy + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + + Galathionne, Prince and Princess (both not in each story) + The Middle Classes + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + + Giraud, Leon + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor's Establishment + The Unconscious Humorists + + Marsay, Henri de + The Thirteen + The Unconscious Humorists + Another Study of Woman + The Lily of the Valley + Father Goriot + Jealousies of a Country Town + Ursule Mirouet + A Marriage Settlement + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Ball at Sceaux + Modest Mignon + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + + Maufrigneuse, Duc de + A Start in Life + A Bachelor's Establishment + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + + Maufrigneuse, Duchesse de + Modeste Mignon + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Muse of the Department + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + The Member for Arcis + + Maufrigneuse, Georges de + The Gondreville Mystery + Beatrix + The Member for Arcis + + Mirbel, Madame de + Letters of Two Brides + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + + Nathan, Raoul + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + The Seamy Side of History + The Muse of the Department + A Prince of Bohemia + A Man of Business + The Unconscious Humorists + + Navarreins, Duc de + A Bachelor's Establishment + Colonel Chabert + The Muse of the Department + The Thirteen + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + The Country Parson + The Magic Skin + The Gondreville Mystery + Cousin Betty + + Nucingen, Baron Frederic de + The Firm of Nucingen + Father Goriot + Pierrette + Cesar Birotteau + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Another Study of Woman + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + The Muse of the Department + The Unconscious Humorists + + Rastignac, Eugene de + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + The Ball at Sceaux + The Interdiction + A Study of Woman + Another Study of Woman + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + The Gondreville Mystery + The Firm of Nucingen + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + The Unconscious Humorists + + Rochefide, Marquise de + Beatrix + A Daughter of Eve + Sarrasine + A Prince of Bohemia + + Tillet, Ferdinand du + Cesar Birotteau + The Firm of Nucingen + The Middle Classes + A Bachelor's Establishment + Pierrette + Melmoth Reconciled + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Unconscious Humorists + + Toby (Joby, Paddy) + The Firm of Nucingen + + Trailles, Comte Maxime de + Cesar Birotteau + Father Goriot + Gobseck + Ursule Mirouet + A Man of Business + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + Beatrix + The Unconscious Humorists + + Vandenesse, Comte Felix de + The Lily of the Valley + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Cesar Birotteau + Letters of Two Brides + A Start in Life + The Marriage Settlement + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secrets of the Princesse de +Cadignan, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN *** + +***** This file should be named 1344.txt or 1344.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/4/1344/ + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/1344.zip b/old/1344.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..dd02b93 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1344.zip diff --git a/old/old/20050831-1344.txt b/old/old/20050831-1344.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a9370cb --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/20050831-1344.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2775 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan +by Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net + + +Title: The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley + +Release Date: August 31, 2005 [EBook #1344] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers and Dagny + + + + + + THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + + BY + + HONORE DE BALZAC + + + + Translated by + Katharine Prescott Wormeley + + + + DEDICATION + + To Theophile Gautier + + + + + THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + + + + CHAPTER I + + THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTES + +After the disasters of the revolution of July, which destroyed so many +aristocratic fortunes dependent on the court, Madame la Princesse de +Cadignan was clever enough to attribute to political events the total +ruin she had caused by her own extravagance. The prince left France +with the royal family, and never returned to it, leaving the princess +in Paris, protected by the fact of his absence; for their debts, which +the sale of all their salable property had not been able to +extinguish, could only be recovered through him. The revenues of the +entailed estates had been seized. In short, the affairs of this great +family were in as bad a state as those of the elder branch of the +Bourbons. + +This woman, so celebrated under her first name of Duchesse de +Maufrigneuse, very wisely decided to live in retirement, and to make +herself, if possible, forgotten. Paris was then so carried away by the +whirling current of events that the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, buried +in the Princesse de Cadignan, a change of name unknown to most of the +new actors brought upon the stage of society by the revolution of +July, did really become a stranger in her own city. + +In Paris the title of duke ranks all others, even that of prince; +though, in heraldic theory, free of all sophism, titles signify +nothing; there is absolute equality among gentlemen. This fine +equality was formerly maintained by the House of France itself; and in +our day it is so still, at least, nominally; witness the care with +which the kings of France give to their sons the simple title of +count. It was in virtue of this system that Francois I. crushed the +splendid titles assumed by the pompous Charles the Fifth, by signing +his answer: "Francois, seigneur de Vanves." Louis XI. did better still +by marrying his daughter to an untitled gentleman, Pierre de Beaujeu. +The feudal system was so thoroughly broken up by Louis XIV. that the +title of duke became, during his reign, the supreme honor of the +aristocracy, and the most coveted. + +Nevertheless there are two or three families in France in which the +principality, richly endowed in former times, takes precedence of the +duchy. The house of Cadignan, which possesses the title of Duc de +Maufrigneuse for its eldest sons, is one of these exceptional +families. Like the princes of the house of Rohan in earlier days, the +princes of Cadignan had the right to a throne in their own domain; +they could have pages and gentlemen in their service. This explanation +is necessary, as much to escape foolish critics who know nothing, as +to record the customs of a world which, we are told, is about to +disappear, and which, evidently, so many persons are assisting to push +away without knowing what it is. + +The Cadignans bear: or, five lozenges sable appointed, placed +fess-wise, with the word "Memini" for motto, a crown with a cap of +maintenance, no supporters or mantle. In these days the great crowd of +strangers flocking to Paris, and the almost universal ignorance of the +science of heraldry, are beginning to bring the title of prince into +fashion. There are no real princes but those possessed of +principalities, to whom belongs the title of highness. The disdain +shown by the French nobility for the title of prince, and the reasons +which caused Louis XIV. to give supremacy to the title of duke, have +prevented Frenchmen from claiming the appellation of "highness" for +the few princes who exist in France, those of Napoleon excepted. This +is why the princes of Cadignan hold an inferior position, nominally, +to the princes of the continent. + +The members of the society called the faubourg Saint-Germain protected +the princess by a respectful silence due to her name, which is one of +those that all men honor, to her misfortunes, which they ceased to +discuss, and to her beauty, the only thing she saved of her departed +opulence. Society, of which she had once been the ornament, was +thankful to her for having, as it were, taken the veil, and cloistered +herself in her own home. This act of good taste was for her, more than +for any other woman, an immense sacrifice. Great deeds are always so +keenly felt in France that the princess gained, by her retreat, as +much as she had lost in public opinion in the days of her splendor. + +She now saw only one of her old friends, the Marquise d'Espard, and +even to her she never went on festive occasions or to parties. The +princess and the marquise visited each other in the forenoons, with a +certain amount of secrecy. When the princess went to dine with her +friend, the marquise closed her doors. Madame d'Espard treated the +princess charmingly; she changed her box at the opera, leaving the +first tier for a baignoire on the ground-floor, so that Madame de +Cadignan could come to the theatre unseen, and depart incognito. Few +women would have been capable of a delicacy which deprived them of the +pleasure of bearing in their train a fallen rival, and of publicly +being her benefactress. Thus relieved of the necessity for costly +toilets, the princess could enjoy the theatre, whither she went in +Madame d'Espard's carriage, which she would never have accepted openly +in the daytime. No one has ever known Madame d'Espard's reasons for +behaving thus to the Princesse de Cadignan; but her conduct was +admirable, and for a long time included a number of little acts which, +viewed single, seem mere trifles, but taken in the mass become +gigantic. + +In 1832, three years had thrown a mantle of snow over the follies and +adventures of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, and had whitened them so +thoroughly that it now required a serious effort of memory to recall +them. Of the queen once adored by so many courtiers, and whose follies +might have given a theme to a variety of novels, there remained a +woman still adorably beautiful, thirty-six years of age, but quite +justified in calling herself thirty, although she was the mother of +Duc Georges de Maufrigneuse, a young man of eighteen, handsome as +Antinous, poor as Job, who was expected to obtain great successes, and +for whom his mother desired, above all things, to find a rich wife. +Perhaps this hope was the secret of the intimacy she still kept up +with the marquise, in whose salon, which was one of the first in +Paris, she might eventually be able to choose among many heiresses for +Georges' wife. The princess saw five years between the present moment +and her son's marriage,--five solitary and desolate years; for, in +order to obtain such a marriage for her son, she knew that her own +conduct must be marked in the corner with discretion. + +The princess lived in the rue de Miromesnil, in a small house, of +which she occupied the ground-floor at a moderate rent. There she made +the most of the relics of her past magnificence. The elegance of the +great lady was still redolent about her. She was still surrounded by +beautiful things which recalled her former existence. On her +chimney-piece was a fine miniature portrait of Charles X., by Madame +Mirbel, beneath which were engraved the words, "Given by the King"; +and, as a pendant, the portrait of "Madame", who was always her kind +friend. On a table lay an album of costliest price, such as none of +the bourgeoises who now lord it in our industrial and fault-finding +society would have dared to exhibit. This album contained portraits, +about thirty in number, of her intimate friends, whom the world, first +and last, had given her as lovers. The number was a calumny; but had +rumor said ten, it might have been, as her friend Madame d'Espard +remarked, good, sound gossip. The portraits of Maxime de Trailles, de +Marsay, Rastignac, the Marquis d'Esgrignon, General Montriveau, the +Marquis de Ronquerolles and d'Ajuda-Pinto, Prince Galathionne, the +young Ducs de Grandlieu and de Rhetore, the Vicomte de Serizy, and the +handsome Lucien de Rubempre, had all been treated with the utmost +coquetry of brush and pencil by celebrated artists. As the princess +now received only two or three of these personages, she called the +book, jokingly, the collection of her errors. + +Misfortune had made this woman a good mother. During the fifteen years +of the Restoration she had amused herself far too much to think of her +son; but on taking refuge in obscurity, this illustrious egoist +bethought her that the maternal sentiment, developed to its extreme, +might be an absolution for her past follies in the eyes of sensible +persons, who pardon everything to a good mother. She loved her son all +the more because she had nothing else to love. Georges de Maufrigneuse +was, moreover, one of those children who flatter the vanities of a +mother; and the princess had, accordingly, made all sorts of +sacrifices for him. She hired a stable and coach-house, above which he +lived in a little entresol with three rooms looking on the street, and +charmingly furnished; she had even borne several privations to keep a +saddle-horse, a cab-horse, and a little groom for his use. For +herself, she had only her own maid, and as cook, a former +kitchen-maid. The duke's groom had, therefore, rather a hard place. +Toby, formerly tiger to the "late" Beaudenord (such was the jesting +term applied by the gay world to that ruined gentleman),--Toby, who at +twenty-five years of age was still considered only fourteen, was +expected to groom the horses, clean the cabriolet, or the tilbury, and +the harnesses, accompany his master, take care of the apartments, and +be in the princess's antechamber to announce a visitor, if, by chance, +she happened to receive one. + +When one thinks of what the beautiful Duchesse de Maufrigneuse had +been under the Restoration,--one of the queens of Paris, a dazzling +queen, whose luxurious existence equalled that of the richest women of +fashion in London,--there was something touching in the sight of her +in that humble little abode in the rue de Miromesnil, a few steps away +from her splendid mansion, which no amount of fortune had enabled her +to keep, and which the hammer of speculators has since demolished. The +woman who thought she was scarcely well served by thirty servants, who +possessed the most beautiful reception-rooms in all Paris, and the +loveliest little private apartments, and who made them the scene of +such delightful fetes, now lived in a small apartment of five rooms, +--an antechamber, dining-room, salon, one bed-chamber, and a +dressing-room, with two women-servants only. + +"Ah! she is devoted to her son," said that clever creature, Madame +d'Espard, "and devoted without ostentation; she is happy. Who would +ever have believed so frivolous a woman was capable of such persistent +resolution! Our good archbishop has, consequently, greatly encouraged +her; he is most kind to her, and has just induced the old Comtesse de +Cinq-Cygne to pay her a visit." + +Let us admit a truth! One must be a queen to know how to abdicate, and +to descend with dignity from a lofty position which is never wholly +lost. Those only who have an inner consciousness of being nothing in +themselves, show regrets in falling, or struggle, murmuring, to return +to a past which can never return,--a fact of which they themselves are +well aware. Compelled to do without the choice exotics in the midst of +which she had lived, and which set off so charmingly her whole being +(for it is impossible not to compare her to a flower), the princess +had wisely chosen a ground-floor apartment; there she enjoyed a pretty +little garden which belonged to it,--a garden full of shrubs, and an +always verdant turf, which brightened her peaceful retreat. She had +about twelve thousand francs a year; but that modest income was partly +made up of an annual stipend sent her by the old Duchesse de +Navarreins, paternal aunt of the young duke, and another stipend given +by her mother, the Duchesse d'Uxelles, who was living on her estate in +the country, where she economized as old duchesses alone know how to +economize; for Harpagon is a mere novice compared to them. The +princess still retained some of her past relations with the exiled +royal family; and it was in her house that the marshal to whom we owe +the conquest of Africa had conferences, at the time of "Madame's" +attempt in La Vendee, with the principal leaders of legitimist +opinion,--so great was the obscurity in which the princess lived, and +so little distrust did the government feel for her in her present +distress. + +Beholding the approach of that terrible fortieth year, the bankruptcy +of love, beyond which there is so little for a woman as woman, the +princess had flung herself into the kingdom of philosophy. She took to +reading, she who for sixteen years had felt a cordial horror for +serious things. Literature and politics are to-day what piety and +devotion once were to her sex,--the last refuge of their feminine +pretensions. In her late social circle it was said that Diane was +writing a book. Since her transformation from a queen and beauty to a +woman of intellect, the princess had contrived to make a reception in +her little house a great honor which distinguished the favored person. +Sheltered by her supposed occupation, she was able to deceive one of +her former adorers, de Marsay, the most influential personage of the +political bourgeoisie brought to the fore in July 1830. She received +him sometimes in the evenings, and, occupied his attention while the +marshal and a few legitimists were talking, in a low voice, in her +bedroom, about the recovery of power, which could be attained only by +a general co-operation of ideas,--the one element of success which all +conspirators overlook. It was the clever vengeance of the pretty +woman, who thus inveigled the prime minister, and made him act as +screen for a conspiracy against his own government. + +This adventure, worthy of the finest days of the Fronde, was the text +of a very witty letter, in which the princess rendered to "Madame" an +account of the negotiations. The Duc de Maufrigneuse went to La +Vendee, and was able to return secretly without being compromised, but +not without taking part in "Madame's" perils; the latter, however, +sent him home the moment she saw that her cause was lost. Perhaps, had +he remained, the eager vigilance of the young man might have foiled +that treachery. However great the faults of the Duchesse de +Maufrigneuse may have seemed in the eyes of the bourgeoisie, the +behavior of her son on this occasion certainly effaced them in the +eyes of the aristocracy. There was great nobility and grandeur in thus +risking her only son, and the heir of an historic name. Some persons +are said to intentionally cover the faults of their private life by +public services, and vice versa; but the Princesse de Cadignan made no +such calculation. Possibly those who apparently so conduct themselves +make none. Events count for much in such cases. + +On one of the first fine days in the month of May, 1833, the Marquise +d'Espard and the princess were turning about--one could hardly call it +walking--in the single path which wound round the grass-plat in the +garden, about half-past two in the afternoon, just as the sun was +leaving it. The rays reflected on the walls gave a warm atmosphere to +the little space, which was fragrant with flowers, the gift of the +marquise. + +"We shall soon lose de Marsay," said the marquise; "and with him will +disappear your last hope of fortune for your son. Ever since you +played him that clever trick, he has returned to his affection for +you." + +"My son will never capitulate to the younger branch," returned the +princess, "if he has to die of hunger, or I have to work with my hands +to feed him. Besides, Berthe de Cinq-Cygne has no aversion to him." + +"Children don't bind themselves to their parents' principles," said +Madame d'Espard. + +"Don't let us talk about it," said the princess. "If I can't coax over +the Marquise de Cinq-Cygne, I shall marry Georges to the daughter of +some iron-founderer, as that little d'Esgrignon did." + +"Did you love Victurnien?" asked the marquise. + +"No," replied the princess, gravely, "d'Esgrignon's simplicity was +really only a sort of provincial silliness, which I perceived rather +too late--or, if you choose, too soon." + +"And de Marsay?" + +"De Marsay played with me as if I were a doll. I was so young at the +time! We never love men who pretend to teach us; they rub up all our +little vanities." + +"And that wretched boy who hanged himself?" + +"Lucien? An Antinous and a great poet. I worshiped him in all +conscience, and I might have been happy. But he was in love with a +girl of the town; and I gave him up to Madame. de Serizy. . . . If he +had cared to love me, should I have given him up?" + +"What an odd thing, that you should come into collision with an Esther!" + +"She was handsomer than I," said the Princess.--"Very soon it shall be +three years that I have lived in solitude," she resumed, after a +pause, "and this tranquillity has nothing painful to me about it. To +you alone can I dare to say that I feel I am happy. I was surfeited +with adoration, weary of pleasure, emotional on the surface of things, +but conscious that emotion itself never reached my heart. I have found +all the men whom I have known petty, paltry, superficial; none of them +ever caused me a surprise; they had no innocence, no grandeur, no +delicacy. I wish I could have met with one man able to inspire me with +respect." + +"Then are you like me, my dear?" asked the marquise; "have you never +felt the emotion of love while trying to love?" + +"Never," replied the princess, laying her hand on the arm of her +friend. + +They turned and seated themselves on a rustic bench beneath a jasmine +then coming into flower. Each had uttered one of those sayings that +are solemn to women who have reached their age. + +"Like you," resumed the princess, "I have received more love than most +women; but through all my many adventures, I have never found +happiness. I committed great follies, but they had an object, and that +object retreated as fast as I approached it. I feel to-day in my +heart, old as it is, an innocence which has never been touched. Yes, +under all my experience, lies a first love intact,--just as I myself, +in spite of all my losses and fatigues, feel young and beautiful. We +may love and not be happy; we may be happy and never love; but to love +and be happy, to unite those two immense human experiences, is a +miracle. That miracle has not taken place for me." + +"Nor for me," said Madame d'Espard. + +"I own I am pursued in this retreat by dreadful regret: I have amused +myself all through life, but I have never loved." + +"What an incredible secret!" cried the marquise. + +"Ah! my dear," replied the princess, "such secrets we can tell to +ourselves, you and I, but nobody in Paris would believe us." + +"And," said the marquise, "if we were not both over thirty-six years +of age, perhaps we would not tell them to each other." + +"Yes; when women are young they have so many stupid conceits," replied +the princess. "We are like those poor young men who play with a +toothpick to pretend they have dined." + +"Well, at any rate, here we are!" said Madame d'Espard, with +coquettish grace, and a charming gesture of well-informed innocence; +"and, it seems to me, sufficiently alive to think of taking our +revenge." + +"When you told me, the other day, that Beatrix had gone off with +Conti, I thought of it all night long," said the princess, after a +pause. "I suppose there was happiness in sacrificing her position, her +future, and renouncing society forever." + +"She was a little fool," said Madame d'Espard, gravely. "Mademoiselle +des Touches was delighted to get rid of Conti. Beatrix never perceived +how that surrender, made by a superior woman who never for a moment +defended her claims, proved Conti's nothingness." + +"Then you think she will be unhappy?" + +"She is so now," replied Madame d'Espard. "Why did she leave her +husband? What an acknowledgment of weakness!" + +"Then you think that Madame de Rochefide was not influenced by the +desire to enjoy a true love in peace?" asked the princess. + +"No; she was simply imitating Madame de Beausant and Madame de +Langeais, who, be it said, between you and me, would have been, in a +less vulgar period than ours, the La Villiere, the Diane de Poitiers, +the Gabrielle d'Estrees of history." + +"Less the king, my dear. Ah! I wish I could evoke the shades of those +women, and ask them--" + +"But," said the marquise, interrupting the princess, "why ask the +dead? We know living women who have been happy. I have talked on this +very subject a score of times with Madame de Montcornet since she +married that little Emile Blondet, who makes her the happiest woman in +the world; not an infidelity, not a thought that turns aside from her; +they are as happy as they were the first day. These long attachments, +like that of Rastignac and Madame de Nucingen, and your cousin, Madame +de Camps, for her Octave, have a secret, and that secret you and I +don't know, my dear. The world has paid us the extreme compliment of +thinking we are two rakes worthy of the court of the regent; whereas +we are, in truth, as innocent as a couple of school-girls." + +"I should like that sort of innocence," cried the princess, laughing; +"but ours is worse, and it is very humiliating. Well, it is a +mortification we offer up in expiation of our fruitless search; yes, +my dear, fruitless, for it isn't probable we shall find in our autumn +season the fine flower we missed in the spring and summer." + +"That's not the question," resumed the marquise, after a meditative +pause. "We are both still beautiful enough to inspire love, but we +could never convince any one of our innocence and virtue." + +"If it were a lie, how easy to dress it up with commentaries, and +serve it as some delicious fruit to be eagerly swallowed! But how is +it possible to get a truth believed? Ah! the greatest of men have been +mistaken there!" added the princess, with one of those meaning smiles +which the pencil of Leonardo da Vinci alone has rendered. + +"Fools love well, sometimes," returned the marquise. + +"But in this case," said the princess, "fools wouldn't have enough +credulity in their nature." + +"You are right," said the marquise. "But what we ought to look for is +neither a fool nor even a man of talent. To solve our problem we need +a man of genius. Genius alone has the faith of childhood, the religion +of love, and willingly allows us to band its eyes. Look at Canalis and +the Duchesse de Chaulieu! Though we have both encountered men of +genius, they were either too far removed from us or too busy, and we +too absorbed, too frivolous." + +"Ah! how I wish I might not leave this world without knowing the +happiness of true love," exclaimed the princess. + +"It is nothing to inspire it," said Madame d'Espard; "the thing is to +feel it. I see many women who are only the pretext for a passion +without being both its cause and its effect." + +"The last love I inspired was a beautiful and sacred thing," said the +princess. "It had a future in it. Chance had brought me, for once in a +way, the man of genius who is due to us, and yet so difficult to +obtain; there are more pretty women than men of genius. But the devil +interfered with the affair." + +"Tell me about it, my dear; this is all news to me." + +"I first noticed this beautiful passion about the middle of the winter +of 1829. Every Friday, at the opera, I observed a young man, about +thirty years of age, in the orchestra stalls, who evidently came there +for me. He was always in the same stall, gazing at me with eyes of +fire, but, seemingly, saddened by the distance between us, perhaps by +the hopelessness of reaching me." + +"Poor fellow! When a man loves he becomes eminently stupid," said the +marquise. + +"Between every act he would slip into the corridor," continued the +princess, smiling at her friend's epigrammatic remark. "Once or twice, +either to see me or to make me see him, he looked through the glass +sash of the box exactly opposite to mine. If I received a visit, I was +certain to see him in the corridor close to my door, casting a furtive +glance upon me. He had apparently learned to know the persons +belonging to my circle; and he followed them when he saw them turning +in the direction of my box, in order to obtain the benefit of the +opening door. I also found my mysterious adorer at the Italian +opera-house; there he had a stall directly opposite to my box, where +he could gaze at me in naive ecstasy--oh! it was pretty! On leaving +either house I always found him planted in the lobby, motionless; he +was elbowed and jostled, but he never moved. His eyes grew less +brilliant if he saw me on the arm of some favorite. But not a word, +not a letter, no demonstration. You must acknowledge that was in good +taste. Sometimes, on getting home late at night, I found him sitting +upon one of the stone posts of the porte-cochere. This lover of mine +had very handsome eyes, a long, thick, fan-shaped beard, with a +moustache and side-whiskers; nothing could be seen of his skin but his +white cheek-bones, and a noble forehead; it was truly an antique head. +The prince, as you know, defended the Tuileries on the riverside, +during the July days. He returned to Saint-Cloud that night, when all +was lost, and said to me: 'I came near being killed at four o'clock. I +was aimed at by one of the insurgents, when a young man, with a long +beard, whom I have often seen at the opera, and who was leading the +attack, threw up the man's gun, and saved me.' So my adorer was +evidently a republican! In 1831, after I came to lodge in this house, +I found him, one day, leaning with his back against the wall of it; he +seemed pleased with my disasters; possibly he may have thought they +drew us nearer together. But after the affair of Saint-Merri I saw him +no more; he was killed there. The evening before the funeral of +General Lamarque, I had gone out on foot with my son, and my +republican accompanied us, sometimes behind, sometimes in front, from +the Madeleine to the Passage des Panoramas, where I was going." + +"Is that all?" asked the marquise. + +"Yes, all," replied the princess. "Except that on the morning +Saint-Merri was taken, a gamin came here and insisted on seeing me. He +gave me a letter, written on common paper, signed by my republican." + +"Show it to me," said the marquise. + +"No, my dear. Love was too great and too sacred in the heart of that +man to let me violate its secrets. The letter, short and terrible, +still stirs my soul when I think of it. That dead man gives me more +emotions than all the living men I ever coquetted with; he constantly +recurs to my mind." + +"What was his name?" asked the marquise. + +"Oh! a very common one: Michel Chrestien." + +"You have done well to tell me," said Madame d'Espard, eagerly. "I +have often heard of him. This Michel Chrestien was the intimate friend +of a remarkable man you have already expressed a wish to see,--Daniel +d'Arthez, who comes to my house some two or three times a year. +Chrestien, who was really killed at Saint-Merri, had no lack of +friends. I have heard it said that he was one of those born statesmen +to whom, like de Marsay, nothing is wanting but opportunity to become +all they might be." + +"Then he had better be dead," said the princess, with a melancholy +air, under which she concealed her thoughts. + +"Will you come to my house some evening and meet d'Arthez?" said the +marquise. "You can talk of your ghost." + +"Yes, I will," replied the princess. + + + + CHAPTER II + + DANIEL D'ARTHEZ + +A few days after this conversation Blondet and Rastignac, who knew +d'Arthez, promised Madame d'Espard that they would bring him to dine +with her. This promise might have proved rash had it not been for the +name of the princess, a meeting with whom was not a matter of +indifference to the great writer. + +Daniel d'Arthez, one of the rare men who, in our day, unite a noble +character with great talent, had already obtained, not all the +popularity his works deserve, but a respectful esteem to which souls +of his own calibre could add nothing. His reputation will certainly +increase; but in the eyes of connoisseurs it had already attained its +full development. He is one of those authors who, sooner or later, are +put in their right place, and never lose it. A poor nobleman, he had +understood his epoch well enough to seek personal distinction only. He +had struggled long in the Parisian arena, against the wishes of a rich +uncle who, by a contradiction which vanity must explain, after leaving +his nephew a prey to the utmost penury, bequeathed to the man who had +reached celebrity the fortune so pitilessly refused to the unknown +writer. This sudden change in his position made no change in Daniel +d'Arthez's habits; he continued to work with a simplicity worthy of +the antique past, and even assumed new toils by accepting a seat in +the Chamber of Deputies, where he took his seat on the Right. + +Since his accession to fame he had sometimes gone into society. One of +his old friends, the now-famous physician, Horace Bianchon, persuaded +him to make the acquaintance of the Baron de Rastignac, under-secretary +of State, and a friend of de Marsay, the prime minister. These two +political officials acquiesced, rather nobly, in the strong wish of +d'Arthez, Bianchon, and other friends of Michel Chrestien for the +removal of the body of that republican to the church of Saint-Merri +for the purpose of giving it funeral honors. Gratitude for a service +which contrasted with the administrative rigor displayed at a time +when political passions were so violent, had bound, so to speak, +d'Arthez to Rastignac. The latter and de Marsay were much too clever +not to profit by that circumstance; and thus they won over other +friends of Michel Chrestien, who did not share his political opinions, +and who now attached themselves to the new government. One of them, +Leon Giraud, appointed in the first instance master of petitions, +became eventually a Councillor of State. + +The whole existence of Daniel d'Arthez is consecrated to work; he sees +society only by snatches; it is to him a sort of dream. His house is a +convent, where he leads the life of a Benedictine; the same sobriety +of regimen, the same regularity of occupation. His friends knew that +up to the present time woman had been to him no more than an always +dreaded circumstance; he had observed her too much not to fear her; +but by dint of studying her he had ceased to understand her,--like, in +this, to those deep strategists who are always beaten on unexpected +ground, where their scientific axioms are either modified or +contradicted. In character he still remains a simple-hearted child, +all the while proving himself an observer of the first rank. This +contrast, apparently impossible, is explainable to those who know how +to measure the depths which separate faculties from feelings; the +former proceed from the head, the latter from the heart. A man can be +a great man and a wicked one, just as he can be a fool and a devoted +lover. D'Arthez is one of those privileged beings in whom shrewdness +of mind and a broad expanse of the qualities of the brain do not +exclude either the strength or the grandeur of sentiments. He is, by +rare privilege, equally a man of action and a man of thought. His +private life is noble and generous. If he carefully avoided love, it +was because he knew himself, and felt a premonition of the empire such +a passion would exercise upon him. + +For several years the crushing toil by which he prepared the solid +ground of his subsequent works, and the chill of poverty, were +marvellous preservatives. But when ease with his inherited fortune +came to him, he formed a vulgar and most incomprehensible connection +with a rather handsome woman, belonging to the lower classes, without +education or manners, whom he carefully concealed from every eye. +Michel Chrestien attributed to men of genius the power of transforming +the most massive creatures into sylphs, fools into clever women, +peasants into countesses; the more accomplished a woman was, the more +she lost her value in their eyes, for, according to Michel, their +imagination had the less to do. In his opinion love, a mere matter of +the senses to inferior beings, was to great souls the most immense of +all moral creations and the most binding. To justify d'Arthez, he +instanced the example of Raffaele and the Fornarina. He might have +offered himself as an instance for this theory, he who had seen an +angel in the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse. This strange fancy of d'Arthez +might, however, be explained in other ways; perhaps he had despaired +of meeting here below with a woman who answered to that delightful +vision which all men of intellect dream of and cherish; perhaps his +heart was too sensitive, too delicate, to yield itself to a woman of +society; perhaps he thought best to let nature have her way, and keep +his illusions by cultivating his ideal; perhaps he had laid aside love +as being incompatible with his work and the regularity of a monastic +life which love would have wholly upset. + +For several months past d'Arthez had been subjected to the jests and +satire of Blondet and Rastignac, who reproached him with knowing +neither the world nor women. According to them, his authorship was +sufficiently advanced, and his works numerous enough, to allow him a +few distractions; he had a fine fortune, and here he was living like a +student; he enjoyed nothing,--neither his money nor his fame; he was +ignorant of the exquisite enjoyments of the noble and delicate love +which well-born and well-bred women could inspire and feel; he knew +nothing of the charming refinements of language, nothing of the proofs +of affection incessantly given by refined women to the commonest +things. He might, perhaps, know woman; but he knew nothing of the +divinity. Why not take his rightful place in the world, and taste the +delights of Parisian society? + +"Why doesn't a man who bears party per bend gules and or, a bezant and +crab counterchanged," cried Rastignac, "display that ancient +escutcheon of Picardy on the panels of a carriage? You have thirty +thousand francs a year, and the proceeds of your pen; you have +justified your motto: Ars thesaurusque virtus, that punning device our +ancestors were always seeking, and yet you never appear in the Bois de +Boulogne! We live in times when virtue ought to show itself." + +"If you read your works to that species of stout Laforet, whom you +seem to fancy, I would forgive you," said Blondet. "But, my dear +fellow, you are living on dry bread, materially speaking; in the +matter of intellect you haven't even bread." + +This friendly little warfare had been going on for several months +between Daniel and his friends, when Madame d'Espard asked Rastignac +and Blondet to induce d'Arthez to come and dine with her, telling them +that the Princesse de Cadignan had a great desire to see that +celebrated man. Such curiosities are to certain women what magic +lanterns are to children,--a pleasure to the eyes, but rather shallow +and full of disappointments. The more sentiments a man of talent +excites at a distance, the less he responds to them on nearer view; +the more brilliant fancy has pictured him, the duller he will seem in +reality. Consequently, disenchanted curiosity is often unjust. + +Neither Blondet nor Rastignac could deceive d'Arthez; but they told +him, laughing, that they now offered him a most seductive opportunity +to polish up his heart and know the supreme fascinations which love +conferred on a Parisian great lady. The princess was evidently in love +with him; he had nothing to fear but everything to gain by accepting +the interview; it was quite impossible he could descend from the +pedestal on which madame de Cadignan had placed him. Neither Blondet +nor Rastignac saw any impropriety in attributing this love to the +princess; she whose past had given rise to so many anecdotes could +very well stand that lesser calumny. Together they began to relate to +d'Arthez the adventures of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse: her first +affair with de Marsay; her second with d'Ajuda, whom she had, they +said, distracted from his wife, thus avenging Madame de Beausant; also +her later connection with young d'Esgrignon, who had travelled with +her in Italy, and had horribly compromised himself on her account; +after that they told him how unhappy she had been with a certain +celebrated ambassador, how happy with a Russian general, besides +becoming the Egeria of two ministers of Foreign affairs, and various +other anecdotes. D'Arthez replied that he knew a great deal more than +they could tell him about her through their poor friend, Michel +Chrestien, who adored her secretly for four years, and had well-nigh +gone mad about her. + +"I have often accompanied him," said Daniel, "to the opera. He would +make me run through the streets as far as her horses that he might see +the princess through the window of her coupe." + +"Well, there you have a topic all ready for you," said Blondet, +smiling. "This is the very woman you need; she'll initiate you most +gracefully into the mysteries of elegance; but take care! she has +wasted many fortunes. The beautiful Diane is one of those spendthrifts +who don't cost a penny, but for whom a man spends millions. Give +yourself up to her, body and soul, if you choose; but keep your money +in your hand, like the old fellow in Girodet's 'Deluge.'" + +From the tenor of these remarks it was to be inferred that the +princess had the depth of a precipice, the grace of a queen, the +corruption of diplomatists, the mystery of a first initiation, and the +dangerous qualities of a siren. The two clever men of the world, +incapable of foreseeing the denouement of their joke, succeeded in +presenting Diane d'Uxelles as a consummate specimen of the Parisian +woman, the cleverest of coquettes, the most enchanting mistress in the +world. Right or wrong, the woman whom they thus treated so lightly was +sacred to d'Arthez; his desire to meet her needed no spur; he +consented to do so at the first word, which was all the two friends +wanted of him. + +Madame d'Espard went to see the princess as soon as she had received +this answer. + +"My dear, do you feel yourself in full beauty and coquetry?" she said. +"If so, come and dine with me a few days hence, and I'll serve up +d'Arthez. Our man of genius is by nature, it seems, a savage; he fears +women, and has never loved! Make your plans on that. He is all +intellect, and so simple that he'll mislead you into feeling no +distrust. But his penetration, which is wholly retrospective, acts +later, and frustrates calculation. You may hoodwink him to-day, but +to-morrow nothing can dupe him." + +"Ah!" cried the princess, "if I were only thirty years old what +amusement I might have with him! The one enjoyment I have lacked up to +the present is a man of intellect to fool. I have had only partners, +never adversaries. Love was a mere game instead of being a battle." + +"Dear princess, admit that I am very generous; for, after all, you +know!--charity begins at home." + +The two women looked at each other, laughing, and clasped hands in a +friendly way. Assuredly they both knew each other's secrets, and this +was not the first man nor the first service that one had given to the +other; for sincere and lasting friendships between women of the world +need to be cemented by a few little crimes. When two friends are +liable to kill each other reciprocally, and see a poisoned dagger in +each other's hand, they present a touching spectacle of harmony, which +is never troubled, unless, by chance, one of them is careless enough +to drop her weapon. + +So, eight days later, a little dinner such as are given to intimates +by verbal invitation only, during which the doors are closed to all +other visitors, took place at Madame d'Espard's house. Five persons +were invited,--Emile Blondet and Madame de Montcornet, Daniel +d'Arthez, Rastignac, and the Princesse de Cadignan. Counting the +mistress of the house, there were as many men as women. + +Chance never exerted itself to make wiser preparations than those +which opened the way to a meeting between d'Arthez and Madame de +Cadignan. The princess is still considered one of the chief +authorities on dress, which, to women, is the first of arts. On this +occasion she wore a gown of blue velvet with flowing white sleeves, +and a tulle guimpe, slightly frilled and edged with blue, covering the +shoulders, and rising nearly to the throat, as we see in several of +Raffaele's portraits. Her maid had dressed her hair with white +heather, adroitly placed among its blond cascades, which were one of +the great beauties to which she owed her celebrity. + +Certainly Diane did not look to be more than twenty-five years old. +Four years of solitude and repose had restored the freshness of her +complexion. Besides, there are moments when the desire to please gives +an increase of beauty to women. The will is not without influence on +the variations of the face. If violent emotions have the power to +yellow the white tones of persons of bilious and melancholy +temperament, and to green lymphatic faces, shall we not grant to +desire, hope, and joy, the faculty of clearing the skin, giving +brilliancy to the eye, and brightening the glow of beauty with a light +as jocund as that of a lovely morning? The celebrated faintness of the +princess had taken on a ripeness which now made her seem more august. +At this moment of her life, impressed by her many vicissitudes and by +serious reflections, her noble, dreamy brow harmonized delightfully +with the slow, majestic glance of her blue eyes. It was impossible for +the ablest physiognomist to imagine calculation or self-will beneath +that unspeakable delicacy of feature. There were faces of women which +deceive knowledge, and mislead observation by their calmness and +delicacy; it is necessary to examine such faces when passions speak, +and that is difficult, or after they have spoken, which is no longer +of any use, for then the woman is old and has ceased to dissimulate. + +The princess is one of those impenetrable women; she can make herself +what she pleases to be: playful, childlike, distractingly innocent; or +reflective, serious, and profound enough to excite anxiety. She came +to Madame d'Espard's dinner with the intention of being a gentle, +simple woman, to whom life was known only through its deceptions: a +woman full of soul, and calumniated, but resigned,--in short, a +wounded angel. + +She arrived early, so as to pose on a sofa near the fire beside Madame +d'Espard, as she wished to be first seen: that is, in one of those +attitudes in which science is concealed beneath an exquisite +naturalness; a studied attitude, putting in relief the beautiful +serpentine outline which, starting from the foot, rises gracefully to +the hip, and continues with adorable curves to the shoulder, +presenting, in fact, a profile of the whole body. With a subtlety +which few women would have dreamed of, Diane, to the great amazement +of the marquise, had brought her son with her. After a moment's +reflection, Madame d'Espard pressed the princess's hand, with a look +of intelligence that seemed to say:-- + +"I understand you! By making d'Arthez accept all the difficulties at +once you will not have to conquer them later." + +Rastignac brought d'Arthez. The princess made none of those +compliments to the celebrated author with which vulgar persons +overwhelmed him; but she treated him with a kindness full of graceful +respect, which, with her, was the utmost extent of her concessions. +Her manner was doubtless the same with the King of France and the +royal princes. She seemed happy to see this great man, and glad that +she had sought him. Persons of taste, like the princess, are +especially distinguished for their manner of listening, for an +affability without superciliousness, which is to politeness what +practice is to virtue. When the celebrated man spoke, she took an +attentive attitude, a thousand times more flattering than the +best-seasoned compliments. The mutual presentation was made quietly, +without emphasis, and in perfectly good taste, by the marquise. + +At dinner d'Arthez was placed beside the princess, who, far from +imitating the eccentricities of diet which many affected women +display, ate her dinner with a very good appetite, making it a point +of honor to seem a natural woman, without strange ways or fancies. +Between two courses she took advantage of the conversation becoming +general to say to d'Arthez, in a sort of aside:-- + +"The secret of the pleasure I take in finding myself beside you, is +the desire I feel to learn something of an unfortunate friend of +yours, monsieur. He died for another cause greater than ours; but I +was under the greatest obligations to him, although unable to +acknowledge or thank him for them. I know that you were one of his +best friends. Your mutual friendship, pure and unalterable, is a claim +upon me. You will not, I am sure, think it extraordinary, that I have +wished to know all you could tell me of a man so dear to you. Though I +am attached to the exiled family, and bound, of course, to hold +monarchical opinions, I am not among those who think it is impossible +to be both republican and noble in heart. Monarchy and the republic +are two forms of government which do not stifle noble sentiments." + +"Michel Chrestien was an angel, madame," replied Daniel, in a voice of +emotion. "I don't know among the heroes of antiquity a greater than +he. Be careful not to think him one of those narrow-minded republicans +who would like to restore the Convention and the amenities of the +Committee of Public Safety. No, Michel dreamed of the Swiss federation +applied to all Europe. Let us own, between ourselves, that _after_ +the glorious government of one man only, which, as I think, is +particularly suited to our nation, Michel's system would lead to the +suppression of war in this old world, and its reconstruction on bases +other than those of conquest, which formerly feudalized it. From this +point of view the republicans came nearest to his idea. That is why he +lent them his arm in July, and was killed at Saint-Merri. Though +completely apart in opinion, he and I were closely bound together as +friends." + +"That is noble praise for both natures," said Madame de Cadignan, +timidly. + +"During the last four years of his life," continued Daniel, "he made +to me alone a confidence of his love for you, and this confidence +knitted closer than ever the already strong ties of brotherly +affection. He alone, madame, can have loved you as you ought to be +loved. Many a time I have been pelted with rain as we accompanied your +carriage at the pace of the horses, to keep at a parallel distance, +and see you--admire you." + +"Ah! monsieur," said the princess, "how can I repay such feelings!" + +"Why is Michel not here!" exclaimed Daniel, in melancholy accents. + +"Perhaps he would not have loved me long," said the princess, shaking +her head sadly. "Republicans are more absolute in their ideas than we +absolutists, whose fault is indulgence. No doubt he imagined me +perfect, and society would have cruelly undeceived him. We are +pursued, we women, by as many calumnies as you authors are compelled +to endure in your literary life; but we, alas! cannot defend ourselves +either by our works or by our fame. The world will not believe us to +be what we are, but what it thinks us to be. It would soon have hidden +from his eyes the real but unknown woman that is in me, behind the +false portrait of the imaginary woman which the world considers true. +He would have come to think me unworthy of the noble feelings he had +for me, and incapable of comprehending him." + +Here the princess shook her head, swaying the beautiful blond curls, +full of heather, with a touching gesture. This plaintive expression of +grievous doubts and hidden sorrows is indescribable. Daniel understood +them all; and he looked at the princess with keen emotion. + +"And yet, the night on which I last saw him, after the revolution of +July, I was on the point of giving way to the desire I felt to take +his hand and press it before all the world, under the peristyle of the +opera-house. But the thought came to me that such a proof of gratitude +might be misinterpreted; like so many other little things done from +noble motives which are called to-day the follies of Madame de +Maufrigneuse--things which I can never explain, for none but my son +and God have understood me." + +These words, breathed into the ear of the listener, in tones inaudible +to the other guests, and with accents worthy of the cleverest actress, +were calculated to reach the heart; and they did reach that of +d'Arthez. There was no question of himself in the matter; this woman +was seeking to rehabilitate herself in favor of the dead. She had been +calumniated; and she evidently wanted to know if anything had +tarnished her in the eyes of him who had loved her; had he died with +all his illusions? + +"Michel," replied d'Arthez, "was one of those men who love absolutely, +and who, if they choose ill, can suffer without renouncing the woman +they have once elected." + +"Was I loved thus?" she said, with an air of exalted beatitude. + +"Yes, madame." + +"I made his happiness?" + +"For four years." + +"A woman never hears of such a thing without a sentiment of proud +satisfaction," she said, turning her sweet and noble face to d'Arthez +with a movement full of modest confusion. + +One of the most skilful manoeuvres of these actresses is to veil their +manner when words are too expressive, and speak with their eyes when +language is restrained. These clever discords, slipped into the music +of their love, be it false or true, produce irresistible attractions. + +"Is it not," she said, lowering her voice and her eyes, after feeling +well assured they had produced her effect,--"is it not fulfilling +one's destiny to have rendered a great man happy?" + +"Did he not write that to you?" + +"Yes; but I wanted to be sure, quite sure; for, believe me, monsieur, +in putting me so high he was not mistaken." + +Women know how to give a peculiar sacredness to their words; they +communicate something vibrant to them, which extends the meaning of +their ideas, and gives them depth; though later their fascinated +listener may not remember precisely what they said, their end has been +completely attained,--which is the object of all eloquence. The +princess might at that moment have been wearing the diadem of France, +and her brow could not have seemed more imposing than it was beneath +that crown of golden hair, braided like a coronet, and adorned with +heather. She was simple and calm; nothing betrayed a sense of any +necessity to appear so, nor any desire to seem grand or loving. +D'Arthez, the solitary toiler, to whom the ways of the world were +unknown, whom study had wrapped in its protecting veils, was the dupe +of her tones and words. He was under the spell of those exquisite +manners; he admired that perfect beauty, ripened by misfortune, placid +in retirement; he adored the union of so rare a mind and so noble a +soul; and he longed to become, himself, the heir of Michel Chrestien. + +The beginning of this passion was, as in the case of almost all deep +thinkers, an idea. Looking at the princess, studying the shape of her +head, the arrangement of those sweet features, her figure, her hand, +so finely modelled, closer than when he accompanied his friend in +their wild rush through the streets, he was struck by the surprising +phenomenon of the moral second-sight which a man exalted by love +invariably finds within him. With what lucidity had Michel Chrestien +read into that soul, that heart, illumined by the fires of love! Thus +the princess acquired, in d'Arthez's eyes, another charm; a halo of +poesy surrounded her. + +As the dinner proceeded, Daniel called to mind the various confidences +of his friend, his despair, his hopes, the noble poems of a true +sentiment sung to his ear alone, in honor of this woman. It is rare +that a man passes without remorse from the position of confidant to +that of rival, and d'Arthez was free to do so without dishonor. He had +suddenly, in a moment, perceived the enormous differences existing +between a well-bred woman, that flower of the great world, and common +women, though of the latter he did not know beyond one specimen. He +was thus captured on the most accessible and sensitive sides of his +soul and of his genius. Impelled by his simplicity, and by the +impetuosity of his ideas, to lay immediate claim to this woman, he +found himself restrained by society, also by the barrier which the +manners and, let us say the word, the majesty of the princess placed +between them. The conversation, which remained upon the topic of +Michel Chrestien until the dessert, was an excellent pretext for both +to speak in a low voice: love, sympathy, comprehension! she could pose +as a maligned and misunderstood woman; he could slip his feet into the +shoes of the dead republican. Perhaps his candid mind detected itself +in regretting his dead friend less. The princess, at the moment when +the dessert appeared upon the table, and the guests were separated by +a brilliant hedge of fruits and sweetmeats, thought best to put an end +to this flow of confidences by a charming little speech, in which she +delicately expressed the idea that Daniel and Michel were twin souls. + +After this d'Arthez threw himself into the general conversation with +the gayety of a child, and a self-conceited air that was worthy of a +schoolboy. When they left the dining-room, the princess took +d'Arthez's arm, in the simplest manner, to return to Madame d'Espard's +little salon. As they crossed the grand salon she walked slowly, and +when sufficiently separated from the marquise, who was on Blondet's +arm, she stopped. + +"I do not wish to be inaccessible to the friend of that poor man," she +said to d'Arthez; "and though I have made it a rule to receive no +visitors, you will always be welcome in my house. Do not think this a +favor. A favor is only for strangers, and to my mind you and I seem +old friends; I see in you the brother of Michel." + +D'Arthez could only press her arm, unable to make other reply. + +After coffee was served, Diane de Cadignan wrapped herself, with +coquettish motions, in a large shawl, and rose. Blondet and Rastignac +were too much men of the world, and too polite to make the least +remonstrance, or try to detain her; but Madame d'Espard compelled her +friend to sit down again, whispering in her ear:-- + +"Wait till the servants have had their dinner; the carriage is not +ready yet." + +So saying, the marquise made a sign to the footman, who was taking +away the coffee-tray. Madame de Montcornet perceived that the princess +and Madame d'Espard had a word to say to each other, and she drew +around her d'Arthez, Rastignac, and Blondet, amusing them with one of +those clever paradoxical attacks which Parisian women understand so +thoroughly. + +"Well," said the marquise to Diane, "what do you think of him?" + +"He is an adorable child, just out of swaddling-clothes! This time, +like all other times, it will only be a triumph without a struggle." + +"Well, it is disappointing," said Madame d'Espard. "But we might evade +it." + +"How?" + +"Let me be your rival." + +"Just as you please," replied the princess. "I've decided on my +course. Genius is a condition of the brain; I don't know what the +heart gets out of it; we'll talk about that later." + +Hearing the last few words, which were wholly incomprehensible to her, +Madame d'Espard returned to the general conversation, showing neither +offence at that indifferent "As you please," nor curiosity as to the +outcome of the interview. The princess stayed an hour longer, seated +on the sofa near the fire, in the careless, nonchalant attitude of +Guerin's Dido, listening with the attention of an absorbed mind, and +looking at Daniel now and then, without disguising her admiration, +which never went, however, beyond due limits. She slipped away when +the carriage was announced, with a pressure of the hand to the +marquise, and an inclination of the head to Madame de Montcornet. + +The evening concluded without any allusion to the princess. The other +guests profited by the sort of exaltation which d'Arthez had reached, +for he put forth the treasures of his mind. In Blondet and Rastignac +he certainly had two acolytes of the first quality to bring forth the +delicacy of his wit and the breadth of his intellect. As for the two +women, they had long been counted among the cleverest in society. This +evening was like a halt in the oasis of a desert,--a rare enjoyment, +and well appreciated by these four persons, habitually victimized to +the endless caution entailed by the world of salons and politics. +There are beings who have the privilege of passing among men like +beneficent stars, whose light illumines the mind, while its rays send +a glow to the heart. D'Arthez was one of those beings. A writer who +rises to his level, accustoms himself to free thought, and forgets +that in society all things cannot be said; it is impossible for such a +man to observe the restraint of persons who live in the world +perpetually; but as his eccentricities of thought bore the mark of +originality, no one felt inclined to complain. This zest, this +piquancy, rare in mere talent, this youthfulness and simplicity of +soul which made d'Arthez so nobly original, gave a delightful charm to +this evening. He left the house with Rastignac, who, as they drove +home, asked him how he liked the princess. + +"Michel did well to love her," replied d'Arthez; "she is, indeed, an +extraordinary woman." + +"Very extraordinary," replied Rastignac, dryly. "By the tone of your +voice I should judge you were in love with her already. You will be in +her house within three days; and I am too old a denizen of Paris not +to know what will be the upshot of that. Well, my dear Daniel, I do +entreat you not to allow yourself to be drawn into any confusion of +interests, so to speak. Love the princess if you feel any love for her +in your heart, but keep an eye on your fortune. She has never taken or +asked a penny from any man on earth, she is far too much of a +d'Uxelles and a Cadignan for that; but, to my knowledge, she has not +only spent her own fortune, which was very considerable, but she has +made others waste millions. How? why? by what means? No one knows; she +doesn't know herself. I myself saw her swallow up, some thirteen years +ago, the entire fortune of a charming young fellow, and that of an old +notary, in twenty months." + +"Thirteen years ago!" exclaimed d'Arthez,--"why, how old is she now?" + +"Didn't you see, at dinner," replied Rastignac, laughing, "her son, +the Duc de Maufrigneuse. That young man is nineteen years old; +nineteen and seventeen make--" + +"Thirty-six!" cried the amazed author. "I gave her twenty." + +"She'll accept them," said Rastignac; "but don't be uneasy, she will +always be twenty to you. You are about to enter the most fantastic of +worlds. Good-night, here you are at home," said the baron, as they +entered the rue de Bellefond, where d'Arthez lived in a pretty little +house of his own. "We shall meet at Mademoiselle des Touches's in the +course of the week." + + + + CHAPTER III + + THE PRINCESS GOES TO WORK + +D'Arthez allowed love to enter his heart after the manner of my Uncle +Toby, without making the slightest resistance; he proceeded by +adoration without criticism, and by exclusive admiration. The +princess, that noble creature, one of the most remarkable creations of +our monstrous Paris, where all things are possible, good as well as +evil, became--whatever vulgarity the course of time may have given to +the expression--the angel of his dreams. To fully understand the +sudden transformation of this illustrious author, it is necessary to +realize the simplicity that constant work and solitude leave in the +heart; all that love--reduced to a mere need, and now repugnant, +beside an ignoble woman--excites of regret and longings for diviner +sentiments in the higher regions of the soul. D'Arthez was, indeed, +the child, the boy that Madame de Cadignan had recognized. An +illumination something like his own had taken place in the beautiful +Diane. At last she had met that superior man whom all women desire and +seek, if only to make a plaything of him,--that power which they +consent to obey, if only for the pleasure of subduing it; at last she +had found the grandeurs of the intellect united with the simplicity of +a heart all new to love; and she saw, with untold happiness, that +these merits were contained in a form that pleased her. She thought +d'Arthez handsome, and perhaps he was. Though he had reached the age +of gravity (for he was now thirty-eight), he still preserved a flower +of youth, due to the sober and ascetic life which he had led. Like all +men of sedentary habits, and statesmen, he had acquired a certainly +reasonable embonpoint. When very young, he bore some resemblance to +Bonaparte; and the likeness still continued, as much as a man with +black eyes and thick, dark hair could resemble a sovereign with blue +eyes and scanty, chestnut hair. But whatever there once was of ardent +and noble ambition in the great author's eyes had been somewhat +quenched by successes. The thoughts with which that brow once teemed +had flowered; the lines of the hollow face were filling out. Ease now +spread its golden tints where, in youth, poverty had laid the yellow +tones of the class of temperament whose forces band together to +support a crushing and long-continued struggle. If you observe +carefully the noble faces of ancient philosophers, you will always +find those deviations from the type of a perfect human face which show +the characteristic to which each countenance owes its originality, +chastened by the habit of meditation, and by the calmness necessary +for intellectual labor. The most irregular features, like those of +Socrates, for instance, become, after a time, expressive of an almost +divine serenity. + +To the noble simplicity which characterized his head, d'Arthez added a +naive expression, the naturalness of a child, and a touching +kindliness. He did not have that politeness tinged with insincerity +with which, in society, the best-bred persons and the most amiable +assume qualities in which they are often lacking, leaving those they +have thus duped wounded and distressed. He might, indeed, fail to +observe certain rules of social life, owing to his isolated mode of +living; but he never shocked the sensibilities, and therefore this +perfume of savagery made the peculiar affability of a man of great +talent the more agreeable; such men know how to leave their +superiority in their studies, and come down to the social level, +lending their backs, like Henry IV., to the children's leap-frog, and +their minds to fools. + +If d'Arthez did not brace himself against the spell which the princess +had cast about him, neither did she herself argue the matter in her +own mind, on returning home. It was settled for her. She loved with +all her knowledge and all her ignorance. If she questioned herself at +all, it was to ask whether she deserved so great a happiness, and what +she had done that Heaven should send her such an angel. She wanted to +be worthy of that love, to perpetuate it, to make it her own forever, +and to gently end her career of frivolity in the paradise she now +foresaw. As for coquetting, quibbling, resisting, she never once +thought of it. She was thinking of something very different!--of the +grandeur of men of genius, and the certainty which her heart divined +that they would never subject the woman they chose to ordinary laws. + +Here begins one of those unseen comedies, played in the secret regions +of the consciousness between two beings of whom one will be the dupe +of the other, though it keeps on this side of wickedness; one of those +dark and comic dramas to which that of _Tartuffe_ is mere child's play, +--dramas that do not enter the scenic domain, although they are +natural, conceivable, and even justifiable by necessity; dramas which +may be characterized as not vice, only the other side of it. + +The princess began by sending for d'Arthez's books, of which she had +never, as yet, read a single word, although she had managed to +maintain a twenty minutes' eulogism and discussion of them without a +blunder. She now read them all. Then she wanted to compare these books +with the best that contemporary literature had produced. By the time +d'Arthez came to see her she was having an indigestion of mind. +Expecting this visit, she had daily made a toilet of what may be +called the superior order; that is, a toilet which expresses an idea, +and makes it accepted by the eye without the owner of the eye knowing +why or wherefore. She presented an harmonious combination of shades of +gray, a sort of semi-mourning, full of graceful renunciation,--the +garments of a woman who holds to life only through a few natural ties, +--her child, for instance,--but who is weary of life. Those garments +bore witness to an elegant disgust, not reaching, however, as far as +suicide; no, she would live out her days in these earthly galleys. + +She received d'Arthez as a woman who expected him, and as if he had +already been to see her a hundred times; she did him the honor to +treat him like an old acquaintance, and she put him at his ease by +pointing to a seat on a sofa, while she finished a note she was then +writing. The conversation began in a commonplace manner: the weather, +the ministry, de Marsay's illness, the hopes of the legitimists. +D'Arthez was an absolutist; the princess could not be ignorant of the +opinions of a man who sat in the Chamber among the fifteen or twenty +persons who represented the legitimist party; she found means to tell +him how she had fooled de Marsay to the top of his bent, then, by an +easy transition to the royal family and to "Madame," and the devotion +of the Prince de Cadignan to their service, she drew d'Arthez's +attention to the prince:-- + +"There is this to be said for him: he loved his masters, and was +faithful to them. His public character consoles me for the sufferings +his private life has inflicted upon me-- Have you never remarked," she +went on, cleverly leaving the prince aside, "you who observe so much, +that men have two natures: one of their homes, their wives, their +private lives,--this is their true self; here no mask, no +dissimulation; they do not give themselves the trouble to disguise a +feeling; they are what they ARE, and it is often horrible! The other +man is for others, for the world, for salons; the court, the +sovereign, the public often see them grand, and noble, and generous, +embroidered with virtues, adorned with fine language, full of +admirable qualities. What a horrible jest it is!--and the world is +surprised, sometimes, at the caustic smile of certain women, at their +air of superiority to their husbands, and their indifference--" + +She let her hand fall along the arm of her chair, without ending her +sentence, but the gesture admirably completed the speech. She saw +d'Arthez watching her flexible figure, gracefully bending in the +depths of her easy-chair, noting the folds of her gown, and the pretty +little ruffle which sported on her breast,--one of those audacities of +the toilet that are suited only to slender waists,--and she resumed +the thread of her thoughts as if she were speaking to herself:-- + +"But I will say no more. You writers have ended by making ridiculous +all women who think they are misunderstood, or ill-mated, and who try +to make themselves dramatically interesting,--attempts which seem to +me, I must say, intolerably vulgar. There are but two things for women +in that plight to do,--yield, and all is over; resist, and amuse +themselves; in either case they should keep silence. It is true that I +neither yielded wholly, nor resisted wholly; but, perhaps, that was +only the more reason why I should be silent. What folly for women to +complain! If they have not proved the stronger, they have failed in +sense, in tact, in capacity, and they deserve their fate. Are they not +queens in France? They can play with you as they like, when they like, +and as much as they like." Here she danced her vinaigrette with an +airy movement of feminine impertinence and mocking gayety. "I have +often heard miserable little specimens of my sex regretting that they +were women, wishing they were men; I have always regarded them with +pity. If I had to choose, I should still elect to be a woman. A fine +pleasure, indeed, to owe one's triumph to force, and to all those +powers which you give yourselves by the laws you make! But to see you +at our feet, saying and doing foolish things,--ah! it is an +intoxicating pleasure to feel within our souls that weakness triumphs! +But when we triumph, we ought to keep silence, under pain of losing +our empire. Beaten, a woman's pride should gag her. The slave's +silence alarms the master." + +This chatter was uttered in a voice so softly sarcastic, so dainty, +and with such coquettish motions of the head, that d'Arthez, to whom +this style of woman was totally unknown, sat before her exactly like a +partridge charmed by a setter. + +"I entreat you, madame," he said, at last, "to tell me how it was +possible that a man could make you suffer? Be assured that where, as +you say, other women are common and vulgar, you can only seem +distinguished; your manner of saying things would make a cook-book +interesting." + +"You go fast in friendship," she said, in a grave voice which made +d'Arthez extremely uneasy. + +The conversation changed; the hour was late, and the poor man of +genius went away contrite for having seemed curious, and for wounding +the sensitive heart of that rare woman who had so strangely suffered. +As for her, she had passed her life in amusing herself with men, and +was another Don Juan in female attire, with this difference: she would +certainly not have invited the Commander to supper, and would have got +the better of any statue. + +It is impossible to continue this tale without saying a word about the +Prince de Cadignan, better known under the name of the Duc de +Maufrigneuse, otherwise the spice of the princess's confidences would +be lost, and strangers would not understand the Parisian comedy she +was about to play for her man of genius. + +The Duc de Maufrigneuse, like a true son of the old Prince de +Cadignan, is a tall, lean man, of elegant shape, very graceful, a +sayer of witty things, colonel by the grace of God, and a good soldier +by accident; brave as a Pole, which means without sense or +discernment, and hiding the emptiness of his mind under the jargon of +good society. After the age of thirty-six he was forced to be as +absolutely indifferent to the fair sex as his master Charles X., +punished, like that master, for having pleased it too well. For +eighteen years the idol of the faubourg Saint-Germain, he had, like +other heirs of great families led a dissipated life, spent solely on +pleasure. His father, ruined by the revolution, had somewhat recovered +his position on the return of the Bourbons, as governor of a royal +domain, with salary and perquisites; but this uncertain fortune the +old prince spent, as it came, in keeping up the traditions of a great +seigneur before the revolution; so that when the law of indemnity was +passed, the sums he received were all swallowed up in the luxury he +displayed in his vast hotel. + +The old prince died some little time before the revolution of July +aged eighty-seven. He had ruined his wife, and had long been on bad +terms with the Duc de Navarreins, who had married his daughter for a +first wife, and to whom he very reluctantly rendered his accounts. The +Duc de Maufrigneuse, early in life, had had relations with the +Duchesse d'Uxelles. About the year 1814, when Monsieur de Maufrigneuse +was forty-six years of age, the duchess, pitying his poverty, and +seeing that he stood very well at court, gave him her daughter Diane, +then in her seventeenth year, and possessing, in her own right, some +fifty or sixty thousand francs a year, not counting her future +expectations. Mademoiselle d'Uxelles thus became a duchess, and, as +her mother very well knew, she enjoyed the utmost liberty. The duke, +after obtaining the unexpected happiness of an heir, left his wife +entirely to her own devices, and went off to amuse himself in the +various garrisons of France, returning occasionally to Paris, where he +made debts which his father paid. He professed the most entire +conjugal indulgence, always giving the duchess a week's warning of his +return; he was adored by his regiment, beloved by the Dauphin, an +adroit courtier, somewhat of a gambler, and totally devoid of +affectation. Having succeeded to his father's office as governor of +one of the royal domains, he managed to please the two kings, Louis +XVIII. and Charles X., which proves he made the most of his nonentity; +and even the liberals liked him; but his conduct and life were covered +with the finest varnish; language, noble manners, and deportment were +brought by him to a state of perfection. But, as the old prince said, +it was impossible for him to continue the traditions of the Cadignans, +who were all well known to have ruined their wives, for the duchess +was running through her property on her own account. + +These particulars were so well understood in the court circles and in +the faubourg Saint-Germain, that during the last five years of the +Restoration they were considered ancient history, and any one who +mentioned them would have been laughed at. Women never spoke of the +charming duke without praising him; he was excellent, they said, to +his wife; could a man be better? He had left her the entire disposal +of her own property, and had always defended her on every occasion. It +is true that, whether from pride, kindliness, or chivalry, Monsieur de +Maufrigneuse had saved the duchess under various circumstances which +might have ruined other women, in spite of Diane's surroundings, and +the influence of her mother and that of the Duc de Navarreins, her +father-in-law, and her husband's aunt. + +For several ensuing days the princess revealed herself to d'Arthez as +remarkable for her knowledge of literature. She discussed with perfect +fearlessness the most difficult questions, thanks to her daily and +nightly reading, pursued with an intrepidity worthy of the highest +praise. D'Arthez, amazed, and incapable of suspecting that Diane +d'Uxelles merely repeated at night that which she read in the morning +(as some writers do), regarded her as a most superior woman. These +conversations, however, led away from Diane's object, and she tried to +get back to the region of confidences from which d'Arthez had +prudently retired after her coquettish rebuff; but it was not as easy +as she expected to bring back a man of his nature who had once been +startled away. + +However, after a month of literary campaigning and the finest platonic +discourses, d'Arthez grew bolder, and arrived every day at three +o'clock. He retired at six, and returned at nine, to remain until +midnight, or one in the morning, with the regularity of an ardent and +impatient lover. The princess was always dressed with more or less +studied elegance at the hour when d'Arthez presented himself. This +mutual fidelity, the care they each took of their appearance, in fact, +all about them expressed sentiments that neither dared avow, for the +princess discerned very plainly that the great child with whom she had +to do shrank from the combat as much as she desired it. Nevertheless +d'Arthez put into his mute declarations a respectful awe which was +infinitely pleasing to her. Both felt, every day, all the more united +because nothing acknowledged or definite checked the course of their +ideas, as occurs between lovers when there are formal demands on one +side, and sincere or coquettish refusals on the other. + +Like all men younger than their actual age, d'Arthez was a prey to +those agitating irresolutions which are caused by the force of desires +and the terror of displeasing,--a situation which a young woman does +not comprehend when she shares it, but which the princess had too +often deliberately produced not to enjoy its pleasures. In fact, Diane +enjoyed these delightful juvenilities all the more keenly because she +knew that she could put an end to them at any moment. She was like a +great artist delighting in the vague, undecided lines of his sketch, +knowing well that in a moment of inspiration he can complete the +masterpiece still waiting to come to birth. Many a time, seeing +d'Arthez on the point of advancing, she enjoyed stopping him short, +with an imposing air and manner. She drove back the hidden storms of +that still young heart, raised them again, and stilled them with a +look, holding out her hand to be kissed, or saying some trifling +insignificant words in a tender voice. + +These manoeuvres, planned in cold blood, but enchantingly executed, +carved her image deeper and deeper on the soul of that great writer +and thinker whom she revelled in making childlike, confiding, simple, +and almost silly beside her. And yet she had moments of repulsion +against her own act, moments in which she could not help admiring the +grandeur of such simplicity. This game of choicest coquetry attached +her, insensibly, to her slave. At last, however, Diane grew impatient +with an Epictetus of love; and when she thought she had trained him to +the utmost credulity, she set to work to tie a thicker bandage still +over his eyes. + + + + CHAPTER IV + + THE CONFESSION OF A PRETTY WOMAN + +One evening Daniel found the princess thoughtful, one elbow resting on +a little table, her beautiful blond head bathed in light from the +lamp. She was toying with a letter which lay on the table-cloth. When +d'Arthez had seen the paper distinctly, she folded it up, and stuck it +in her belt. + +"What is the matter?" asked d'Arthez; "you seem distressed." + +"I have received a letter from Monsieur de Cadignan," she replied. +"However great the wrongs he has done me, I cannot help thinking of +his exile--without family, without son--from his native land." + +These words, said in a soulful voice, betrayed angelic sensibility. +D'Arthez was deeply moved. The curiosity of the lover became, so to +speak, a psychological and literary curiosity. He wanted to know the +height that woman had attained, and what were the injuries she thus +forgave; he longed to know how these women of the world, taxed with +frivolity, cold-heartedness, and egotism, could be such angels. +Remembering how the princess had already repulsed him when he first +tried to read that celestial heart, his voice, and he himself, +trembled as he took the transparent, slender hand of the beautiful +Diane with its curving finger-tips, and said,-- + +"Are we now such friends that you will tell me what you have +suffered?" + +"Yes," she said, breathing forth the syllable like the most +mellifluous note that Tulou's flute had ever sighed. + +Then she fell into a revery, and her eyes were veiled. Daniel remained +in a state of anxious expectation, impressed with the solemnity of the +occasion. His poetic imagination made him see, as it were, clouds +slowly dispersing and disclosing to him the sanctuary where the +wounded lamb was kneeling at the divine feet. + +"Well?" he said, in a soft, still voice. + +Diane looked at the tender petitioner; then she lowered her eyes +slowly, dropping their lids with a movement of noble modesty. None but +a monster would have been capable of imagining hypocrisy in the +graceful undulation of the neck with which the princess again lifted +her charming head, to look once more into the eager eyes of that great +man. + +"Can I? ought I?" she murmured, with a gesture of hesitation, gazing +at d'Arthez with a sublime expression of dreamy tenderness. "Men have +so little faith in things of this kind; they think themselves so +little bound to be discreet!" + +"Ah! if you distrust me, why am I here?" cried d'Arthez. + +"Oh, friend!" she said, giving to the exclamation the grace of an +involuntary avowal, "when a woman attaches herself for life, think you +she calculates? It is not question of refusal (how could I refuse you +anything?), but the idea of what you may think of me if I speak. I +would willingly confide to you the strange position in which I am at +my age; but what would you think of a woman who could reveal the +secret wounds of her married life? Turenne kept his word to robbers; +do I not owe to my torturers the honor of a Turenne?" + +"Have you passed your word to say nothing?" + +"Monsieur de Cadignan did not think it necessary to bind me to +secrecy-- You are asking more than my soul! Tyrant! you want me to +bury my honor itself in your breast," she said, casting upon d'Arthez +a look, by which she gave more value to her coming confidence than to +her personal self. + +"You must think me a very ordinary man, if you fear any evil, no +matter what, from me," he said, with ill-concealed bitterness. + +"Forgive me, friend," she replied, taking his hand in hers +caressingly, and letting her fingers wander gently over it. "I know +your worth. You have related to me your whole life; it is noble, it is +beautiful, it is sublime, and worthy of your name; perhaps, in return, +I owe you mine. But I fear to lower myself in your eyes by relating +secrets which are not wholly mine. How can you believe--you, a man of +solitude and poesy--the horrors of social life? Ah! you little think +when you invent your dramas that they are far surpassed by those that +are played in families apparently united. You are wholly ignorant of +certain gilded sorrows." + +"I know all!" he cried. + +"No, you know nothing." + +D'Arthez felt like a man lost on the Alps of a dark night, who sees, +at the first gleam of dawn, a precipice at his feet. He looked at the +princess with a bewildered air, and felt a cold chill running down his +back. Diane thought for a moment that her man of genius was a +weakling, but a flash from his eyes reassured her. + +"You have become to me almost my judge," she said, with a desperate +air. "I must speak now, in virtue of the right that all calumniated +beings have to show their innocence. I have been, I am still (if a +poor recluse forced by the world to renounce the world is still +remembered) accused of such light conduct, and so many evil things, +that it may be allowed me to find in one strong heart a haven from +which I cannot be driven. Hitherto I have always considered +self-justification an insult to innocence; and that is why I have +disdained to defend myself. Besides, to whom could I appeal? Such +cruel things can be confided to none but God or to one who seems to us +very near Him--a priest, or another self. Well! I do know this, if my +secrets are not as safe there," she said, laying her hand on +d'Arthez's heart, "as they are here" (pressing the upper end of her +busk beneath her fingers), "then you are not the grand d'Arthez I +think you--I shall have been deceived." + +A tear moistened d'Arthez's eyes, and Diane drank it in with a side +look, which, however, gave no motion either to the pupils or the lids +of her eyes. It was quick and neat, like the action of a cat pouncing +on a mouse. + +D'Arthez, for the first time, after sixty days of protocols, ventured +to take that warm and perfumed hand, and press it to his lips with a +long-drawn kiss, extending from the wrist to the tip of the fingers, +which made the princess augur well of literature. She thought to +herself that men of genius must know how to love with more perfection +than conceited fops, men of the world, diplomatists, and even +soldiers, although such beings have nothing else to do. She was a +connoisseur, and knew very well that the capacity for love reveals +itself chiefly in mere nothings. A woman well informed in such matters +can read her future in a simple gesture; just as Cuvier could say from +the fragment of a bone: This belonged to an animal of such or such +dimensions, with or without horns, carnivorous, herbivorous, +amphibious, etc., age, so many thousand years. Sure now of finding in +d'Arthez as much imagination in love as there was in his written +style, she thought it wise to bring him up at once to the highest +pitch of passion and belief. + +She withdrew her hand hastily, with a magnificent movement full of +varied emotions. If she had said in words: "Stop, or I shall die," she +could not have spoken more plainly. She remained for a moment with her +eyes in d'Arthez's eyes, expressing in that one glance happiness, +prudery, fear, confidence, languor, a vague longing, and virgin +modesty. She was twenty years old! but remember, she had prepared for +this hour of comic falsehood by the choicest art of dress; she was +there in her armchair like a flower, ready to blossom at the first +kiss of sunshine. True or false, she intoxicated Daniel. + +It if is permissible to risk a personal opinion we must avow that it +would be delightful to be thus deceived for a good long time. +Certainly Talma on the stage was often above and beyond nature, but +the Princesse de Cadignan is the greatest true comedian of our day. +Nothing was wanting to this woman but an attentive audience. +Unfortunately, at epochs perturbed by political storms, women +disappear like water-lilies which need a cloudless sky and balmy +zephyrs to spread their bloom to our enraptured eyes. + +The hour had come; Diane was now to entangle that great man in the +inextricable meshes of a romance carefully prepared, to which he was +fated to listen as the neophyte of early Christian times listened to +the epistles of an apostle. + +"My friend," began Diane, "my mother, who still lives at Uxelles, +married me in 1814, when I was seventeen years old (you see how old I +am now!) to Monsieur de Maufrigneuse, not out of affection for me, but +out of regard for him. She discharged her debt to the only man she had +ever loved, for the happiness she had once received from him. Oh! you +need not be astonished at so horrible a conspiracy; it frequently +takes place. Many women are more lovers than mothers, though the +majority are more mothers than wives. The two sentiments, love and +motherhood, developed as they are by our manners and customs, often +struggle together in the hearts of women; one or other must succumb +when they are not of equal strength; when they are, they produce some +exceptional women, the glory of our sex. A man of your genius must +surely comprehend many things that bewilder fools but are none the +less true; indeed I may go further and call them justifiable through +difference of characters, temperaments, attachments, situations. I, +for example, at this moment, after twenty years of misfortunes, of +deceptions, of calumnies endured, and weary days and hollow pleasures, +is it not natural that I should incline to fall at the feet of a man +who would love me sincerely and forever? And yet, the world would +condemn me. But twenty years of suffering might well excuse a few +brief years which may still remain to me of youth given to a sacred +and real love. This will not happen. I am not so rash as to sacrifice +my hopes of heaven. I have borne the burden and heat of the day, I +shall finish my course and win my recompense." + +"Angel!" thought d'Arthez. + +"After all, I have never blamed my mother; she knew little of me. +Mothers who lead a life like that of the Duchesse d'Uxelles keep their +children at a distance. I saw and knew nothing of the world until my +marriage. You can judge of my innocence! I knew nothing; I was +incapable of understanding the causes of my marriage. I had a fine +fortune; sixty thousand francs a year in forests, which the Revolution +overlooked (or had not been able to sell) in the Nivernais, with the +noble chateau of d'Anzy. Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was steeped in debt. +Later I learned what it was to have debts, but then I was too utterly +ignorant of life to suspect my position; the money saved out of my +fortune went to pacify my husband's creditors. Monsieur de +Maufrigneuse was forty-eight years of age when I married him; but +those years were like military campaigns, they ought to count for +twice what they were. Ah! what a life I led for ten years! If any one +had known the suffering of this poor, calumniated little woman! To be +watched by a mother jealous of her daughter! Heavens! You who make +dramas, you will never invent anything as direful as that. Ordinarily, +according to the little that I know of literature, a drama is a suite +of actions, speeches, movements which hurry to a catastrophe; but what +I speak of was a catastrophe in action. It was an avalanche fallen in +the morning and falling again at night only to fall again the next +day. I am cold now as I speak to you of that cavern without an +opening, cold, sombre, in which I lived. I, poor little thing that I +was! brought up in a convent like a mystic rose, knowing nothing of +marriage, developing late, I was happy at first; I enjoyed the +goodwill and harmony of our family. The birth of my poor boy, who is +all me--you must have been struck by the likeness? my hair, my eyes, +the shape of my face, my mouth, my smile, my teeth!--well, his birth +was a relief to me; my thoughts were diverted by the first joys of +maternity from my husband, who gave me no pleasure and did nothing for +me that was kind or amiable; those joys were all the keener because I +knew no others. It had been so often rung into my ears that a mother +should respect herself. Besides, a young girl loves to play the +mother. I was so proud of my flower--for Georges was beautiful, a +miracle, I thought! I saw and thought of nothing but my son, I lived +with my son. I never let his nurse dress or undress him. Such cares, +so wearing to mothers who have a regiment of children, were all my +pleasure. But after three or four years, as I was not an actual fool, +light came to my eyes in spite of the pains taken to blindfold me. Can +you see me at that final awakening, in 1819? The drama of 'The +Brothers at enmity' is a rose-water tragedy beside that of a mother +and daughter placed as we then were. But I braved them all, my mother, +my husband, the world, by public coquetries which society talked of, +--and heaven knows how it talked! You can see, my friend, how the men +with whom I was accused of folly were to me the dagger with which to +stab my enemies. Thinking only of my vengeance, I did not see or feel +the wounds I was inflicting on myself. Innocent as a child, I was +thought a wicked woman, the worst of women, and I knew nothing of it! +The world is very foolish, very blind, very ignorant; it can penetrate +no secrets but those which amuse it and serve its malice: noble +things, great things, it puts its hand before its eyes to avoid +seeing. But, as I look back, it seems to me that I had an attitude and +aspect of indignant innocence, with movements of pride, which a great +painter would have recognized. I must have enlivened many a ball with +my tempests of anger and disdain. Lost poesy! such sublime poems are +only made in the glowing indignation which seizes us at twenty. Later, +we are wrathful no longer, we are too weary, vice no longer amazes us, +we are cowards, we fear. But then--oh! I kept a great pace! For all +that I played the silliest personage in the world; I was charged with +crimes by which I never benefited. But I had such pleasure in +compromising myself. That was my revenge! Ah! I have played many +childish tricks! I went to Italy with a thoughtless youth, whom I +crushed when he spoke to me of love, but later, when I herd that he +was compromised on my account (he had committed a forgery to get +money) I rushed to save him. My mother and husband kept me almost +without means; but, this time, I went to the king. Louis XVIII., that +man without a heart, was touched; he gave me a hundred thousand francs +from his privy purse. The Marquis d'Esgrignon--you must have seen him +in society for he ended by making a rich marriage--was saved from the +abyss into which he had plunged for my sake. That adventure, caused by +my own folly, led me to reflect. I saw that I myself was the first +victim of my vengeance. My mother, who knew I was too proud, too +d'Uxelles, to conduct myself really ill, began to see the harm that +she had done me and was frightened by it. She was then fifty-two years +of age; she left Paris and went to live at Uxelles. There she expiates +her wrong-doing by a life of devotion and expresses the utmost +affection for me. After her departure I was face to face, alone, with +Monsieur de Maufrigneuse. Oh! my friend, you men can never know what +an old man of gallantry can be. What a home is that of a man +accustomed to the adulation of women of the world, when he finds +neither incense nor censer in his own house! dead to all! and yet, +perhaps for that very reason, jealous. I wished--when Monsieur de +Maufrigneuse was wholly mine--I wished to be a good wife, but I found +myself repulsed with the harshness of a soured spirit by a man who +treated me like a child and took pleasure in humiliating my +self-respect at every turn, in crushing me under the scorn of his +experience, and in convicting me of total ignorance. He wounded me on +all occasions. He did everything to make me detest him and to give me +the right to betray him; but I was still the dupe of my own hope and +of my desire to do right through several years. Shall I tell you the +cruel saying that drove me to further follies? 'The Duchesse de +Maufrigneuse has gone back to her husband,' said the world. 'Bah! it +is always a triumph to bring the dead to life; it is all she can now +do,' replied my best friend, a relation, she, at whose house I met +you--" + +"Madame d'Espard!" cried Daniel, with a gesture of horror. + +"Oh! I have forgiven her. Besides, it was very witty; and I have +myself made just as cruel epigrams on other poor women as innocent as +myself." + +D'Arthez again kissed the hand of that saintly woman who, having +hacked her mother in pieces, and turned the Prince de Cadignan into an +Othello, now proceeded to accuse herself in order to appear in the +eyes of that innocent great man as immaculate as the silliest or the +wisest of women desire to seem at all costs to their lovers. + +"You will readily understand, my friend, that I returned to society +for the purpose of excitement and I may say of notoriety. I felt that +I must conquer my independence. I led a life of dissipation. To divert +my mind, to forget my real life in fictitious enjoyments I was gay, I +shone, I gave fetes, I played the princess, and I ran in debt. At home +I could forget myself in the sleep of weariness, able to rise the next +day gay, and frivolous for the world; but in that sad struggle to +escape my real life I wasted my fortune. The revolution of 1830 came; +it came at the very moment when I had met, at the end of that _Arabian +Nights'_ life, a pure and sacred love which (I desire to be honest) I +had longed to know. Was it not natural in a woman whose heart, +repressed by many causes and accidents, was awakening at an age when a +woman feels herself cheated if she has never known, like the women she +sees about her, a happy love? Ah! why was Michel Chrestien so +respectful? Why did he not seek to meet me? There again was another +mockery! But what of that? in falling, I have lost everything; I have +no illusions left; I had tasted of all things except the one fruit for +which I have no longer teeth. Yes, I found myself disenchanted with +the world at the very moment when I was forced to leave it. +Providential, was it not? like all those strange insensibilities which +prepare us for death" (she made a gesture full of pious unction). "All +things served me then," she continued; "the disasters of the monarchy +and its ruin helped me to bury myself. My son consoles me for much. +Maternal love takes the place of all frustrated feelings. The world is +surprised at my retirement, but to me it has brought peace. Ah! if you +knew how happy the poor creature before you is in this little place. +In sacrificing all to my son I forget to think of joys of which I am +and ever must be ignorant. Yes, hope has flown, I now fear everything; +no doubt I should repulse the truest sentiment, the purest and most +veritable love, in memory of the deceptions and the miseries of my +life. It is all horrible, is it not? and yet, what I have told you is +the history of many women." + +The last few words were said in a tone of easy pleasantry which +recalled the presence of the woman of the world. D'Arthez was +dumbfounded. In his eyes convicts sent to the galleys for murder, or +aggravated robbery, or for putting a wrong name to checks, were saints +compared to the men and women of society. This atrocious elegy, forged +in the arsenal of lies, and steeped in the waters of the Parisian +Styx, had been poured into his ears with the inimitable accent of +truth. The grave author contemplated for a moment that adorable woman +lying back in her easy-chair, her two hands pendant from its arms like +dewdrops from a rose-leaf, overcome by her own revelation, living over +again the sorrows of her life as she told them--in short an angel of +melancholy. + +"And judge," she cried, suddenly lifting herself with a spring and +raising her hand, while lightning flashed from eyes where twenty +chaste years shone--"judge of the impression the love of a man like +Michel must have made upon me. But by some irony of fate--or was it +the hand of God?--well, he died; died in saving the life of, whom do +you suppose? of Monsieur de Cadignan. Are you now surprised to find me +thoughtful?" + +This was the last drop; poor d'Arthez could bear no more. He fell upon +his knees, and laid his head on Diane's hand, weeping soft tears such +as the angels shed,--if angels weep. As Daniel was in that bent +posture, Madame de Cadignan could safely let a malicious smile of +triumph flicker on her lips, a smile such as the monkeys wear after +playing a sly trick--if monkeys smile. + +"Ah! I have him," thought she; and, indeed, she had him fast. + +"But you are--" he said, raising his fine head and looking at her with +eyes of love. + +"Virgin and martyr," she replied, smiling at the commonness of that +hackneyed expression, but giving it a freshness of meaning by her +smile, so full of painful gayety. "If I laugh," she continued, "it is +that I am thinking of that princess whom the world thinks it knows, +that Duchesse de Maufrigneuse to whom it gives as lovers de Marsay, +that infamous de Trailles (a political cutthroat), and that little +fool of a d'Esgrignon, and Rastignac, Rubempre, ambassadors, +ministers, Russian generals, heaven knows who! all Europe! They have +gossiped about that album which I ordered made, believing that those +who admired me were my friends. Ah! it is frightful! I wonder that I +allow a man at my feet! Despise them all, THAT should be my religion." + +She rose and went to the window with a gait and bearing magnificent in +motifs. + +D'Arthez remained on the low seat to which he had returned not daring +to follow the princess; but he looked at her; he heard her blowing her +nose. Was there ever a princess who blew her nose? but Diane attempted +the impossible to convey an idea of her sensibility. D'Arthez believed +his angel was in tears; he rushed to her side, took her round the +waist, and pressed her to his heart. + +"No, no, leave me!" she murmured in a feeble voice. "I have too many +doubts to be good for anything. To reconcile me with life is a task +beyond the powers of any man." + +"Diane! I will love you for your whole lost life." + +"No; don't speak to me thus," she answered. "At this moment I tremble, +I am ashamed as though I had committed the greatest sins." + +She was now entirely restored to the innocence of little girls, and +yet her bearing was august, grand, noble as that of a queen. It is +impossible to describe the effect of these manoeuvres, so clever that +they acted like the purest truth on a soul as fresh and honest as that +of d'Arthez. The great author remained dumb with admiration, passive +beside her in the recess of that window awaiting a word, while the +princess awaited a kiss; but she was far too sacred to him for that. +Feeling cold, the princess returned to her easy-chair; her feet were +frozen. + +"It will take a long time," she said to herself, looking at Daniel's +noble brow and head. + +"Is this a woman?" thought that profound observer of human nature. +"How ought I to treat her?" + +Until two o'clock in the morning they spent their time in saying to +each other the silly things that women of genius, like the princess, +know how to make adorable. Diane pretended to be too worn, too old, +too faded; D'Arthez proved to her (facts of which she was well +convinced) that her skin was the most delicate, the softest to the +touch, the whitest to the eye, the most fragrant; she was young and in +her bloom, how could she think otherwise? Thus they disputed, beauty +by beauty, detail by detail with many: "Oh! do you think so?"--"You +are beside yourself!"--"It is hope, it is fancy!"--"You will soon see +me as I am.--I am almost forty years of age. Can a man love so old a +woman?" + +D'Arthez responded with impetuous and school-boy eloquence, larded +with exaggerated epithets. When the princess heard this wise and witty +writer talking the nonsense of an amorous sub-lieutenant she listened +with an absorbed air and much sensibility; but she laughed in her +sleeve. + +When d'Arthez was in the street, he asked himself whether he might not +have been rather less respectful. He went over in memory those strange +confidences--which have, naturally, been much abridged here, for they +needed a volume to convey their mellifluous abundance and the graces +which accompanied them. The retrospective perspicacity of this man, so +natural, so profound, was baffled by the candor of that tale and its +poignancy, and by the tones of the princess. + +"It is true," he said to himself, being unable to sleep, "there are +such dramas as that in society. Society covers great horrors with the +flowers of its elegance, the embroidery of its gossip, the wit of its +lies. We writers invent no more than the truth. Poor Diane! Michel had +penetrated that enigma; he said that beneath her covering of ice there +lay volcanoes! Bianchon and Rastignac were right; when a man can join +the grandeurs of the ideal and the enjoyments of human passion in +loving a woman of perfect manners, of intellect, of delicacy, it must +be happiness beyond words." + +So thinking, he sounded the love that was in him and found it +infinite. + + + + CHAPTER V + + A TRIAL OF FAITH + +The next day, about two in the afternoon, Madame d'Espard, who had +seen and heard nothing of the princess for more than a month, went to +see her under the impulse of extreme curiosity. Nothing was ever more +amusing of its kind than the conversation of these two crafty adders +during the first half-hour of this visit. + +Diane d'Uxelles cautiously avoided, as she would the wearing of a +yellow gown, all mention of d'Arthez. The marquise circled round and +round that topic like a Bedouin round a caravan. Diane amused herself; +the marquise fumed. Diane waited; she intended to utilize her friend +and use her in the chase. Of these two women, both so celebrated in +the social world, one was far stronger than the other. The princess +rose by a head above the marquise, and the marquise was inwardly +conscious of that superiority. In this, perhaps, lay the secret of +their intimacy. The weaker of the two crouched low in her false +attachment, watching for the hour, long awaited by feeble beings, of +springing at the throat of the stronger and leaving the mark of a +joyful bite. Diane saw clear; but the world was the dupe of the wile +caresses of the two friends. + +The instant that the princess perceived a direct question on the lips +of her friend, she said:-- + +"Ah! dearest, I owe you a most complete, immense, infinite, celestial +happiness." + +"What can you mean?" + +"Have you forgotten what we ruminated three months ago in the little +garden, sitting on a bench in the sun, under the jasmine? Ah! there +are none but men of genius who know how to love! I apply to my grand +Daniel d'Arthez the Duke of Alba's saying to Catherine de' Medici: +'The head of a single salmon is worth all the frogs in the world.'" + +"I am not surprised that I no longer see you," said Madame d'Espard. + +"Promise me, if you meet him, not to say to him one word about me, my +angel," said the princess, taking her friend's hand. "I am happy, oh! +happy beyond all expression; but you know that in society a word, a +mere jest can do much harm. One speech can kill, for they put such +venom into a single sentence! Ah! if you knew how I long that you +might meet with a love like this! Yes, it is a sweet, a precious +triumph for women like ourselves to end our woman's life in this way; +to rest in an ardent, pure, devoted, complete and absolute love; above +all, when we have sought it long." + +"Why do you ask me to be faithful to my dearest friend?" said Madame +d'Espard. "Do you think me capable of playing you some villainous +trick?" + +"When a woman possesses such a treasure the fear of losing it is so +strong that it naturally inspires a feeling of terror. I am absurd, I +know; forgive me, dear." + +A few moments later the marquise departed; as she watched her go the +princess said to herself:-- + +"How she will pluck me! But to save her the trouble of trying to get +Daniel away from here I'll send him to her." + +At three o'clock, or a few moments after, d'Arthez arrived. In the +midst of some interesting topic on which he was discoursing +eloquently, the princess suddenly cut him short by laying her hand on +his arm. + +"Pardon me, my dear friend," she said, interrupting him, "but I fear I +may forget a thing which seems a mere trifle but may be of great +importance. You have not set foot in Madame d'Espard's salon since the +ever-blessed day when I met you there. Pray go at once; not for your +sake, nor by way of politeness, but for me. You may already have made +her an enemy of mine, if by chance she has discovered that since her +dinner you have scarcely left my house. Besides, my friend, I don't +like to see you dropping your connection with society, and neglecting +your occupations and your work. I should again be strangely +calumniated. What would the world say? That I held you in +leading-strings, absorbed you, feared comparisons, and clung to my +conquest knowing it to be my last! Who will know that you are my friend, +my only friend? If you love me indeed, as you say you love me, you will +make the world believe that we are purely and simply brother and +sister-- Go on with what you were saying." + +In his armor of tenderness, riveted by the knowledge of so many +splendid virtues, d'Arthez obeyed this behest on the following day and +went to see Madame d'Espard, who received him with charming coquetry. +The marquise took very good care not to say a single word to him about +the princess, but she asked him to dinner on a coming day. + +On this occasion d'Arthez found a numerous company. The marquise had +invited Rastignac, Blondet, the Marquis d'Ajuda-Pinto, Maxime de +Trailles, the Marquis d'Esgrignon, the two brothers Vandenesse, du +Tillet, one of the richest bankers in Paris, the Baron de Nucingen, +Raoul Nathan, Lady Dudley, two very treacherous secretaries of +embassies and the Chevalier d'Espard, the wiliest person in this +assemblage and the chief instigator of his sister-in-law's policy. + +When dinner was well under way, Maxime de Trailles turned to d'Arthez +and said smiling:-- + +"You see a great deal, don't you, of the Princesse de Cadignan?" + +To this question d'Arthez responded by curtly nodding his head. Maxime +de Trailles was a "bravo" of the social order, without faith or law, +capable of everything, ruining the women who trusted him, compelling +them to pawn their diamonds to give him money, but covering this +conduct with a brilliant varnish; a man of charming manners and +satanic mind. He inspired all who knew him with equal contempt and +fear; but as no one was bold enough to show him any sentiments but +those of the utmost courtesy he saw nothing of this public opinion, or +else he accepted and shared the general dissimulation. He owed to the +Comte de Marsay the greatest degree of elevation to which he could +attain. De Marsay, whose knowledge of Maxime was of long-standing, +judged him capable of fulfilling certain secret and diplomatic +functions which he confided to him and of which de Trailles acquitted +himself admirably. D'Arthez had for some time past mingled +sufficiently in political matters to know the man for what he was, and +he alone had sufficient strength and height of character to express +aloud what others thought or said in a whisper. + +"Is it for her that you neglect the Chamber?" asked Baron de Nucingen +in his German accent. + +"Ah! the princess is one of the most dangerous women a man can have +anything to do with. I owe to her the miseries of my marriage," +exclaimed the Marquis d'Esgrignon. + +"Dangerous?" said Madame d'Espard. "Don't speak so of my nearest +friend. I have never seen or known anything in the princess that did +not seem to come from the noblest sentiments." + +"Let the marquis say what he thinks," cried Rastignac. "When a man has +been thrown by a fine horse he thinks it has vices and he sells it." + +Piqued by these words, the Marquis d'Esgrignon looked at d'Arthez and +said:-- + +"Monsieur is not, I trust, on such terms with the princess that we +cannot speak freely of her?" + +D'Arthez kept silence. D'Esgrignon, who was not wanting in cleverness, +replied to Rastignac's speech with an apologetic portrait of the +princess, which put the whole table in good humor. As the jest was +extremely obscure to d'Arthez he leaned towards his neighbor, Madame +de Montcornet, and asked her, in a whisper, what it meant. + +"Excepting yourself--judging by the excellent opinion you seem to have +of the princess--all the other guests are said to have been in her +good graces." + +"I can assure you that such an accusation is absolutely false," said +Daniel. + +"And yet, here is Monsieur d'Esgrignon of an old family of Alencon, +who completely ruined himself for her some twelve years ago, and, if +all is true, came very near going to the scaffold." + +"I know the particulars of that affair," said d'Arthez. "Madame de +Cadignan went to Alencon to save Monsieur d'Esgrignon from a trial +before the court of assizes; and this is how he rewards her to-day!" + +Madame de Montcornet looked at d'Arthez with a surprise and curiosity +that were almost stupid, then she turned her eyes on Madame d'Espard +with a look which seemed to say: "He is bewitched!" + +During this short conversation Madame de Cadignan was protected by +Madame d'Espard, whose protection was like that of the lightning-rod +which draws the flash. When d'Arthez returned to the general +conversation Maxime de Trailles was saying:-- + +"With Diane, depravity is not an effect but a cause; perhaps she owes +that cause to her exquisite nature; she doesn't invent, she makes no +effort, she offers you the choicest refinements as the inspiration of +a spontaneous and naive love; and it is absolutely impossible not to +believe her." + +This speech, which seemed to have been prepared for a man of +d'Arthez's stamp, was so tremendous an arraignment that the company +appeared to accept it as a conclusion. No one said more; the princess +was crushed. D'Arthez looked straight at de Trailles and then at +d'Esgrignon with a sarcastic air, and said:-- + +"The greatest fault of that woman is that she has followed in the wake +of men. She squanders patrimonies as they do; she drives her lovers to +usurers; she pockets 'dots'; she ruins orphans; she inspires, possibly +she commits, crimes, but--" + +Never had the two men, whom d'Arthez was chiefly addressing, listened +to such plain talk. At that BUT the whole table was startled, every +one paused, fork in air, their eyes fixed alternately on the brave +author and on the assailants of the princess, awaiting the conclusion +of that horrible silence. + +"_But_," said d'Arthez, with sarcastic airiness, "Madame la Princesse de +Cadignan has one advantage over men: when they have put themselves in +danger for her sake, she saves them, and says no harm of any one. +Among the multitude, why shouldn't there be one woman who amuses +herself with men as men amuse themselves with women? Why not allow the +fair sex to take, from time to time, its revenge?" + +"Genius is stronger than wit," said Blondet to Nathan. + +This broadside of sarcasms was in fact the discharge of a battery of +cannons against a platoon of musketry. When coffee was served, Blondet +and Nathan went up to d'Arthez with an eagerness no one else dared to +imitate, so unable were the rest of the company to show the admiration +his conduct inspired from the fear of making two powerful enemies. + +"This is not the first time we have seen that your character equals +your talent in grandeur," said Blondet. "You behaved just now more +like a demi-god than a man. Not to have been carried away by your +heart or your imagination, not to have taken up the defence of a +beloved woman--a fault they were enticing you to commit, because it +would have given those men of society eaten up with jealousy of your +literary fame a triumph over you--ah! give me leave to say you have +attained the height of private statesmanship." + +"Yes, you are a statesman," said Nathan. "It is as clever as it is +difficult to avenge a woman without defending her." + +"The princess is one of those heroines of the legitimist party, and it +is the duty of all men of honor to protect her quand meme," replied +d'Arthez, coldly. "What she has done for the cause of her masters +would excuse all follies." + +"He keeps his own counsel!" said Nathan to Blondet. + +"Precisely as if the princess were worth it," said Rastignac, joining +the other two. + +D'Arthez went to the princess, who was awaiting him with the keenest +anxiety. The result of this experiment, which Diane had herself +brought about, might be fatal to her. For the first time in her life +this woman suffered in her heart. She knew not what she should do in +case d'Arthez believed the world which spoke the truth, instead of +believing her who lied; for never had so noble a nature, so complete a +man, a soul so pure, a conscience so ingenuous come beneath her hand. +Though she had told him cruel lies she was driven to do so by the +desire of knowing a true love. That love--she felt it dawning in her +heart; yes, she loved d'Arthez; and now she was condemned forever to +deceive him! She must henceforth remain to him the actress who had +played that comedy to blind his eyes. + +When she heard Daniel's step in the dining-room a violent commotion, a +shudder which reached to her very vitals came over her. That +convulsion, never felt during all the years of her adventurous +existence, told her that she had staked her happiness on this issue. +Her eyes, gazing into space, took in the whole of d'Arthez's person; +their light poured through his flesh, she read his soul; suspicion had +not so much as touched him with its bat's-wing. The terrible emotion +of that fear then came to its reaction; joy almost stifled her; for +there is no human being who is not more able to endure grief than to +bear extreme felicity. + +"Daniel, they have calumniated me, and you have avenged me!" she +cried, rising, and opening her arms to him. + +In the profound amazement caused by these words, the roots of which +were utterly unknown to him, Daniel allowed his hand to be taken +between her beautiful hands, as the princess kissed him sacredly on +the forehead. + +"But," he said, "how could you know--" + +"Oh! illustrious ninny! do you not see that I love you fondly?" + +Since that day nothing has been said of the Princess de Cadignan, nor +of d'Arthez. The princess has inherited some fortune from her mother +and she spends all her summers in a villa on the lake of Geneva, where +the great writer joins her. She returns to Paris for a few months in +winter. D'Arthez is never seen except in the Chamber. His writings are +becoming exceedingly rare. Is this a conclusion? Yes, for people of +sense; no, for persons who want to know everything. + + + +ADDENDUM + +The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + +Ajuda-Pinto, Marquis Miguel d' + Father Goriot + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Beatrix + +Arthez, Daniel d' + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Member for Arcis + +Bianchon, Horace + Father Goriot + The Atheist's Mass + Cesar Birotteau + The Commission in Lunacy + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor's Establishment + The Government Clerks + Pierrette + A Study of Woman + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Honorine + The Seamy Side of History + The Magic Skin + A Second Home + A Prince of Bohemia + Letters of Two Brides + The Muse of the Department + The Imaginary Mistress + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + The Country Parson +In addition, M. Bianchon narrated the following: + Another Study of Woman + La Grande Breteche + +Blondet, Emile + Jealousies of a Country Town + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Modeste Mignon + Another Study of Woman + A Daughter of Eve + The Firm of Nucingen + The Peasantry + +Blondet, Virginie + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Another Study of Woman + The Member for Arcis + A Daughter of Eve + +Cadignan, Prince de + Modeste Mignon + +Chrestien, Michel + A Bachelor's Establishment + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + +Cinq-Cygne, Laurence, Comtesse (afterwards Marquise de) + The Gondreville Mystery + The Seamy Side of History + The Member for Arcis + +Dudley, Lady Arabella + The Lily of the Valley + The Ball at Sceaux + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + +Esgrignon, Victurnien, Comte (then Marquis d') + Jealousies of a Country Town + Letters of Two Brides + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + +Espard, Chevalier d' + The Commission in Lunacy + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + +Espard, Jeanne-Clementine-Athenais de Blamont-Chauvry, Marquise d' + The Commission in Lunacy + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + +Galathionne, Prince and Princess (both not in each story) + The Middle Classes + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + +Giraud, Leon + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor's Establishment + The Unconscious Humorists + +Marsay, Henri de + The Thirteen + The Unconscious Humorists + Another Study of Woman + The Lily of the Valley + Father Goriot + Jealousies of a Country Town + Ursule Mirouet + A Marriage Settlement + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Ball at Sceaux + Modest Mignon + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + +Maufrigneuse, Duc de + A Start in Life + A Bachelor's Establishment + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + + Maufrigneuse, Duchesse de + Modeste Mignon + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Muse of the Department + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + The Member for Arcis + +Maufrigneuse, Georges de + The Gondreville Mystery + Beatrix + The Member for Arcis + +Mirbel, Madame de + Letters of Two Brides + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + +Nathan, Raoul + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + The Seamy Side of History + The Muse of the Department + A Prince of Bohemia + A Man of Business + The Unconscious Humorists + +Navarreins, Duc de + A Bachelor's Establishment + Colonel Chabert + The Muse of the Department + The Thirteen + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + The Country Parson + The Magic Skin + The Gondreville Mystery + Cousin Betty + +Nucingen, Baron Frederic de + The Firm of Nucingen + Father Goriot + Pierrette + Cesar Birotteau + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Another Study of Woman + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + The Muse of the Department + The Unconscious Humorists + +Rastignac, Eugene de + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + The Ball at Sceaux + The Interdiction + A Study of Woman + Another Study of Woman + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + The Gondreville Mystery + The Firm of Nucingen + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + The Unconscious Humorists + +Rochefide, Marquise de + Beatrix + A Daughter of Eve + Sarrasine + A Prince of Bohemia + +Tillet, Ferdinand du + Cesar Birotteau + The Firm of Nucingen + The Middle Classes + A Bachelor's Establishment + Pierrette + Melmoth Reconciled + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Unconscious Humorists + +Toby (Joby, Paddy) + The Firm of Nucingen + +Trailles, Comte Maxime de + Cesar Birotteau + Father Goriot + Gobseck + Ursule Mirouet + A Man of Business + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + Beatrix + The Unconscious Humorists + +Vandenesse, Comte Felix de + The Lily of the Valley + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Cesar Birotteau + Letters of Two Brides + A Start in Life + The Marriage Settlement + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secrets of the Princesse de +Cadignan, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE *** + +***** This file should be named 1344.txt or 1344.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/4/1344/ + +Produced by John Bickers and Dagny + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.net/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.net), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.net + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/old/20050831-1344.zip b/old/old/20050831-1344.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0b77562 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/20050831-1344.zip diff --git a/old/old/sdpdc10.txt b/old/old/sdpdc10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..30298d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/sdpdc10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2650 @@ +Project Gutenberg Etext The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan +#15 in our series by Honore de Balzac + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. We need your donations. + + +The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan + +by Honore de Balzac + +Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley + +June, 1997 [Etext #1344] + + +Project Gutenberg Etext The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan +******This file should be named sdpdc10.txt or sdpdc10.zip****** + +Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, sdpdc11.txt. +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, sdpdc10a.txt. + + +Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz +and Dagny, dagnyj@hotmail.com + + +We are now trying to release all our books one month in advance +of the official release dates, for time for better editing. + +Please note: neither this list nor its contents are final till +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. To be sure you have an +up to date first edition [xxxxx10x.xxx] please check file sizes +in the first week of the next month. Since our ftp program has +a bug in it that scrambles the date [tried to fix and failed] a +look at the file size will have to do, but we will try to see a +new copy has at least one byte more or less. + + +Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) + +We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The +fifty hours is one conservative estimate for how long it we take +to get any etext selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright +searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. This +projected audience is one hundred million readers. If our value +per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 +million dollars per hour this year as we release thirty-two text +files per month, or 384 more Etexts in 1997 for a total of 1000+ +If these reach just 10% of the computerized population, then the +total should reach over 100 billion Etexts given away. + +The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away One Trillion Etext +Files by the December 31, 2001. [10,000 x 100,000,000=Trillion] +This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, +which is only 10% of the present number of computer users. 2001 +should have at least twice as many computer users as that, so it +will require us reaching less than 5% of the users in 2001. + + +We need your donations more than ever! + + +All donations should be made to "Project Gutenberg/CMU": and are +tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. (CMU = Carnegie- +Mellon University). + +For these and other matters, please mail to: + +Project Gutenberg +P. O. Box 2782 +Champaign, IL 61825 + +When all other email fails try our Executive Director: +Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com> + +We would prefer to send you this information by email +(Internet, Bitnet, Compuserve, ATTMAIL or MCImail). + +****** +If you have an FTP program (or emulator), please +FTP directly to the Project Gutenberg archives: +[Mac users, do NOT point and click. . .type] + +ftp uiarchive.cso.uiuc.edu +login: anonymous +password: your@login +cd etext/etext90 through /etext96 +or cd etext/articles [get suggest gut for more information] +dir [to see files] +get or mget [to get files. . .set bin for zip files] +GET INDEX?00.GUT +for a list of books +and +GET NEW GUT for general information +and +MGET GUT* for newsletters. + +**Information prepared by the Project Gutenberg legal advisor** +(Three Pages) + + +***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS**START*** +Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. +They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with +your copy of this etext, even if you got it for free from +someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our +fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement +disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how +you can distribute copies of this etext if you want to. + +*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS ETEXT +By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +etext, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept +this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive +a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this etext by +sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person +you got it from. If you received this etext on a physical +medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. + +ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM ETEXTS +This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG- +tm etexts, is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor +Michael S. Hart through the Project Gutenberg Association at +Carnegie-Mellon University (the "Project"). Among other +things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright +on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and +distribute it in the United States without permission and +without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth +below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this etext +under the Project's "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. + +To create these etexts, the Project expends considerable +efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain +works. Despite these efforts, the Project's etexts and any +medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other +things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged +disk or other etext medium, a computer virus, or computer +codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. + +LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES +But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, +[1] the Project (and any other party you may receive this +etext from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext) disclaims all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including +legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR +UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, +INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE +OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE +POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. + +If you discover a Defect in this etext within 90 days of +receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) +you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that +time to the person you received it from. If you received it +on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and +such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement +copy. If you received it electronically, such person may +choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to +receive it electronically. + +THIS ETEXT IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS +TO THE ETEXT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A +PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or +the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the +above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you +may have other legal rights. + +INDEMNITY +You will indemnify and hold the Project, its directors, +officers, members and agents harmless from all liability, cost +and expense, including legal fees, that arise directly or +indirectly from any of the following that you do or cause: +[1] distribution of this etext, [2] alteration, modification, +or addition to the etext, or [3] any Defect. + +DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" +You may distribute copies of this etext electronically, or by +disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this +"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, +or: + +[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this + requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the + etext or this "small print!" statement. You may however, + if you wish, distribute this etext in machine readable + binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, + including any form resulting from conversion by word pro- + cessing or hypertext software, but only so long as + *EITHER*: + + [*] The etext, when displayed, is clearly readable, and + does *not* contain characters other than those + intended by the author of the work, although tilde + (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may + be used to convey punctuation intended by the + author, and additional characters may be used to + indicate hypertext links; OR + + [*] The etext may be readily converted by the reader at + no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent + form by the program that displays the etext (as is + the case, for instance, with most word processors); + OR + + [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at + no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the + etext in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC + or other equivalent proprietary form). + +[2] Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this + "Small Print!" statement. + +[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the + net profits you derive calculated using the method you + already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz +and Dagny, dagnyj@hotmail.com + + + + + +THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + +BY + +HONORE DE BALZAC + + + +Translated By +Katharine Prescott Wormeley + + + +DEDICATION + +To Theophile Gautier + + + + +THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNAN + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTES + +After the disasters of the revolution of July, which destroyed so many +aristocratic fortunes dependent on the court, Madame la Princesse de +Cadignan was clever enough to attribute to political events the total +ruin she had caused by her own extravagance. The prince left France +with the royal family, and never returned to it, leaving the princess +in Paris, protected by the fact of his absence; for their debts, which +the sale of all their salable property had not been able to +extinguish, could only be recovered through him. The revenues of the +entailed estates had been seized. In short, the affairs of this great +family were in as bad a state as those of the elder branch of the +Bourbons. + +This woman, so celebrated under her first name of Duchesse de +Maufrigneuse, very wisely decided to live in retirement, and to make +herself, if possible, forgotten. Paris was then so carried away by the +whirling current of events that the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, buried +in the Princesse de Cadignan, a change of name unknown to most of the +new actors brought upon the stage of society by the revolution of +July, did really become a stranger in her own city. + +In Paris the title of duke ranks all others, even that of prince; +though, in heraldic theory, free of all sophism, titles signify +nothing; there is absolute equality among gentlemen. This fine +equality was formerly maintained by the House of France itself; and in +our day it is so still, at least, nominally; witness the care with +which the kings of France give to their sons the simple title of +count. It was in virtue of this system that Francois I. crushed the +splendid titles assumed by the pompous Charles the Fifth, by signing +his answer: "Francois, seigneur de Vanves." Louis XI. did better still +by marrying his daughter to an untitled gentleman, Pierre de Beaujeu. +The feudal system was so thoroughly broken up by Louis XIV. that the +title of duke became, during his reign, the supreme honor of the +aristocracy, and the most coveted. + +Nevertheless there are two or three families in France in which the +principality, richly endowed in former times, takes precedence of the +duchy. The house of Cadignan, which possesses the title of Duc de +Maufrigneuse for its eldest sons, is one of these exceptional +families. Like the princes of the house of Rohan in earlier days, the +princes of Cadignan had the right to a throne in their own domain; +they could have pages and gentlemen in their service. This explanation +is necessary, as much to escape foolish critics who know nothing, as +to record the customs of a world which, we are told, is about to +disappear, and which, evidently, so many persons are assisting to push +away without knowing what it is. + +The Cadignans bear: or, five lozenges sable appointed, placed fess- +wise, with the word "Memini" for motto, a crown with a cap of +maintenance, no supporters or mantle. In these days the great crowd of +strangers flocking to Paris, and the almost universal ignorance of the +science of heraldry, are beginning to bring the title of prince into +fashion. There are no real princes but those possessed of +principalities, to whom belongs the title of highness. The disdain +shown by the French nobility for the title of prince, and the reasons +which caused Louis XIV. to give supremacy to the title of duke, have +prevented Frenchmen from claiming the appellation of "highness" for +the few princes who exist in France, those of Napoleon excepted. This +is why the princes of Cadignan hold an inferior position, nominally, +to the princes of the continent. + +The members of the society called the faubourg Saint-Germain protected +the princess by a respectful silence due to her name, which is one of +those that all men honor, to her misfortunes, which they ceased to +discuss, and to her beauty, the only thing she saved of her departed +opulence. Society, of which she had once been the ornament, was +thankful to her for having, as it were, taken the veil, and cloistered +herself in her own home. This act of good taste was for her, more than +for any other woman, an immense sacrifice. Great deeds are always so +keenly felt in France that the princess gained, by her retreat, as +much as she had lost in public opinion in the days of her splendor. + +She now saw only one of her old friends, the Marquise d'Espard, and +even to her she never went on festive occasions or to parties. The +princess and the marquise visited each other in the forenoons, with a +certain amount of secrecy. When the princess went to dine with her +friend, the marquise closed her doors. Madame d'Espard treated the +princess charmingly; she changed her box at the opera, leaving the +first tier for a baignoire on the ground-floor, so that Madame de +Cadignan could come to the theatre unseen, and depart incognito. Few +women would have been capable of a delicacy which deprived them of the +pleasure of bearing in their train a fallen rival, and of publicly +being her benefactress. Thus relieved of the necessity for costly +toilets, the princess could enjoy the theatre, whither she went in +Madame d'Espard's carriage, which she would never have accepted openly +in the daytime. No one has ever known Madame d'Espard's reasons for +behaving thus to the Princesse de Cadignan; but her conduct was +admirable, and for a long time included a number of little acts which, +viewed single, seem mere trifles, but taken in the mass become +gigantic. + +In 1832, three years had thrown a mantle of snow over the follies and +adventures of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, and had whitened them so +thoroughly that it now required a serious effort of memory to recall +them. Of the queen once adored by so many courtiers, and whose follies +might have given a theme to a variety of novels, there remained a +woman still adorably beautiful, thirty-six years of age, but quite +justified in calling herself thirty, although she was the mother of +Duc Georges de Maufrigneuse, a young man of eighteen, handsome as +Antinous, poor as Job, who was expected to obtain great successes, and +for whom his mother desired, above all things, to find a rich wife. +Perhaps this hope was the secret of the intimacy she still kept up +with the marquise, in whose salon, which was one of the first in +Paris, she might eventually be able to choose among many heiresses for +Georges' wife. The princess saw five years between the present moment +and her son's marriage,--five solitary and desolate years; for, in +order to obtain such a marriage for her son, she knew that her own +conduct must be marked in the corner with discretion. + +The princess lived in the rue de Miromesnil, in a small house, of +which she occupied the ground-floor at a moderate rent. There she made +the most of the relics of her past magnificence. The elegance of the +great lady was still redolent about her. She was still surrounded by +beautiful things which recalled her former existence. On her chimney- +piece was a fine miniature portrait of Charles X., by Madame Mirbel, +beneath which were engraved the words, "Given by the King"; and, as a +pendant, the portrait of "Madame", who was always her kind friend. On +a table lay an album of costliest price, such as none of the +bourgeoises who now lord it in our industrial and fault-finding +society would have dared to exhibit. This album contained portraits, +about thirty in number, of her intimate friends, whom the world, first +and last, had given her as lovers. The number was a calumny; but had +rumor said ten, it might have been, as her friend Madame d'Espard +remarked, good, sound gossip. The portraits of Maxime de Trailles, de +Marsay, Rastignac, the Marquis d'Esgrignon, General Montriveau, the +Marquis de Ronquerolles and d'Ajuda-Pinto, Prince Galathionne, the +young Ducs de Grandlieu and de Rhetore, the Vicomte de Serizy, and the +handsome Lucien de Rubempre, had all been treated with the utmost +coquetry of brush and pencil by celebrated artists. As the princess +now received only two or three of these personages, she called the +book, jokingly, the collection of her errors. + +Misfortune had made this woman a good mother. During the fifteen years +of the Restoration she had amused herself far too much to think of her +son; but on taking refuge in obscurity, this illustrious egoist +bethought her that the maternal sentiment, developed to its extreme, +might be an absolution for her past follies in the eyes of sensible +persons, who pardon everything to a good mother. She loved her son all +the more because she had nothing else to love. Georges de Maufrigneuse +was, moreover, one of those children who flatter the vanities of a +mother; and the princess had, accordingly, made all sorts of +sacrifices for him. She hired a stable and coach-house, above which he +lived in a little entresol with three rooms looking on the street, and +charmingly furnished; she had even borne several privations to keep a +saddle-horse, a cab-horse, and a little groom for his use. For +herself, she had only her own maid, and as cook, a former kitchen- +maid. The duke's groom had, therefore, rather a hard place. Toby, +formerly tiger to the "late" Beaudenord (such was the jesting term +applied by the gay world to that ruined gentleman),--Toby, who at +twenty-five years of age was still considered only fourteen, was +expected to groom the horses, clean the cabriolet, or the tilbury, and +the harnesses, accompany his master, take care of the apartments, and +be in the princess's antechamber to announce a visitor, if, by chance, +she happened to receive one. + +When one thinks of what the beautiful Duchesse de Maufrigneuse had +been under the Restoration,--one of the queens of Paris, a dazzling +queen, whose luxurious existence equalled that of the richest women of +fashion in London,--there was something touching in the sight of her +in that humble little abode in the rue de Miromesnil, a few steps away +from her splendid mansion, which no amount of fortune had enabled her +to keep, and which the hammer of speculators has since demolished. The +woman who thought she was scarcely well served by thirty servants, who +possessed the most beautiful reception-rooms in all Paris, and the +loveliest little private apartments, and who made them the scene of +such delightful fetes, now lived in a small apartment of five rooms,-- +an antechamber, dining-room, salon, one bed-chamber, and a dressing- +room, with two women-servants only. + +"Ah! she is devoted to her son," said that clever creature, Madame +d'Espard, "and devoted without ostentation; she is happy. Who would +ever have believed so frivolous a woman was capable of such persistent +resolution! Our good archbishop has, consequently, greatly encouraged +her; he is most kind to her, and has just induced the old Comtesse de +Cinq-Cygne to pay her a visit." + +Let us admit a truth! One must be a queen to know how to abdicate, and +to descend with dignity from a lofty position which is never wholly +lost. Those only who have an inner consciousness of being nothing in +themselves, show regrets in falling, or struggle, murmuring, to return +to a past which can never return,--a fact of which they themselves are +well aware. Compelled to do without the choice exotics in the midst of +which she had lived, and which set off so charmingly her whole being +(for it is impossible not to compare her to a flower), the princess +had wisely chosen a ground-floor apartment; there she enjoyed a pretty +little garden which belonged to it,--a garden full of shrubs, and an +always verdant turf, which brightened her peaceful retreat. She had +about twelve thousand francs a year; but that modest income was partly +made up of an annual stipend sent her by the old Duchesse de +Navarreins, paternal aunt of the young duke, and another stipend given +by her mother, the Duchesse d'Uxelles, who was living on her estate in +the country, where she economized as old duchesses alone know how to +economize; for Harpagon is a mere novice compared to them. The +princess still retained some of her past relations with the exiled +royal family; and it was in her house that the marshal to whom we owe +the conquest of Africa had conferences, at the time of "Madame's" +attempt in La Vendee, with the principal leaders of legitimist +opinion,--so great was the obscurity in which the princess lived, and +so little distrust did the government feel for her in her present +distress. + +Beholding the approach of that terrible fortieth year, the bankruptcy +of love, beyond which there is so little for a woman as woman, the +princess had flung herself into the kingdom of philosophy. She took to +reading, she who for sixteen years had felt a cordial horror for +serious things. Literature and politics are to-day what piety and +devotion once were to her sex,--the last refuge of their feminine +pretensions. In her late social circle it was said that Diane was +writing a book. Since her transformation from a queen and beauty to a +woman of intellect, the princess had contrived to make a reception in +her little house a great honor which distinguished the favored person. +Sheltered by her supposed occupation, she was able to deceive one of +her former adorers, de Marsay, the most influential personage of the +political bourgeoisie brought to the fore in July 1830. She received +him sometimes in the evenings, and, occupied his attention while the +marshal and a few legitimists were talking, in a low voice, in her +bedroom, about the recovery of power, which could be attained only by +a general co-operation of ideas,--the one element of success which all +conspirators overlook. It was the clever vengeance of the pretty +woman, who thus inveigled the prime minister, and made him act as +screen for a conspiracy against his own government. + +This adventure, worthy of the finest days of the Fronde, was the text +of a very witty letter, in which the princess rendered to "Madame" an +account of the negotiations. The Duc de Maufrigneuse went to La +Vendee, and was able to return secretly without being compromised, but +not without taking part in "Madame's" perils; the latter, however, +sent him home the moment she saw that her cause was lost. Perhaps, had +he remained, the eager vigilance of the young man might have foiled +that treachery. However great the faults of the Duchesse de +Maufrigneuse may have seemed in the eyes of the bourgeoisie, the +behavior of her son on this occasion certainly effaced them in the +eyes of the aristocracy. There was great nobility and grandeur in thus +risking her only son, and the heir of an historic name. Some persons +are said to intentionally cover the faults of their private life by +public services, and vice versa; but the Princesse de Cadignan made no +such calculation. Possibly those who apparently so conduct themselves +make none. Events count for much in such cases. + +On one of the first fine days in the month of May, 1833, the Marquise +d'Espard and the princess were turning about--one could hardly call it +walking--in the single path which wound round the grass-plat in the +garden, about half-past two in the afternoon, just as the sun was +leaving it. The rays reflected on the walls gave a warm atmosphere to +the little space, which was fragrant with flowers, the gift of the +marquise. + +"We shall soon lose de Marsay," said the marquise; "and with him will +disappear your last hope of fortune for your son. Ever since you +played him that clever trick, he has returned to his affection for +you." + +"My son will never capitulate to the younger branch," returned the +princess, "if he has to die of hunger, or I have to work with my hands +to feed him. Besides, Berthe de Cinq-Cygne has no aversion to him." + +"Children don't bind themselves to their parents' principles," said +Madame d'Espard. + +"Don't let us talk about it," said the princess. "If I can't coax over +the Marquise de Cinq-Cygne, I shall marry Georges to the daughter of +some iron-founderer, as that little d'Esgrignon did." + +"Did you love Victurnien?" asked the marquise. + +"No," replied the princess, gravely, "d'Esgrignon's simplicity was +really only a sort of provincial silliness, which I perceived rather +too late--or, if you choose, too soon." + +"And de Marsay?" + +"De Marsay played with me as if I were a doll. I was so young at the +time! We never love men who pretend to teach us; they rub up all our +little vanities." + +"And that wretched boy who hanged himself?" + +"Lucien? An Antinous and a great poet. I worshiped him in all +conscience, and I might have been happy. But he was in love with a +girl of the town; and I gave him up to Madame. de Serizy. . . . If he +had cared to love me, should I have given him up?" + +"What an odd thing, that you should come into collision with an Esther!" + +"She was handsomer than I," said the Princess.--"Very soon it shall be +three years that I have lived in solitude," she resumed, after a +pause, "and this tranquillity has nothing painful to me about it. To +you alone can I dare to say that I feel I am happy. I was surfeited +with adoration, weary of pleasure, emotional on the surface of things, +but conscious that emotion itself never reached my heart. I have found +all the men whom I have known petty, paltry, superficial; none of them +ever caused me a surprise; they had no innocence, no grandeur, no +delicacy. I wish I could have met with one man able to inspire me with +respect." + +"Then are you like me, my dear?" asked the marquise; "have you never +felt the emotion of love while trying to love?" + +"Never," replied the princess, laying her hand on the arm of her +friend. + +They turned and seated themselves on a rustic bench beneath a jasmine +then coming into flower. Each had uttered one of those sayings that +are solemn to women who have reached their age. + +"Like you," resumed the princess, "I have received more love than most +women; but through all my many adventures, I have never found +happiness. I committed great follies, but they had an object, and that +object retreated as fast as I approached it. I feel to-day in my +heart, old as it is, an innocence which has never been touched. Yes, +under all my experience, lies a first love intact,--just as I myself, +in spite of all my losses and fatigues, feel young and beautiful. We +may love and not be happy; we may be happy and never love; but to love +and be happy, to unite those two immense human experiences, is a +miracle. That miracle has not taken place for me." + +"Nor for me," said Madame d'Espard. + +"I own I am pursued in this retreat by dreadful regret: I have amused +myself all through life, but I have never loved." + +"What an incredible secret!" cried the marquise. + +"Ah! my dear," replied the princess, "such secrets we can tell to +ourselves, you and I, but nobody in Paris would believe us." + +"And," said the marquise, "if we were not both over thirty-six years +of age, perhaps we would not tell them to each other." + +"Yes; when women are young they have so many stupid conceits," replied +the princess. "We are like those poor young men who play with a +toothpick to pretend they have dined." + +"Well, at any rate, here we are!" said Madame d'Espard, with +coquettish grace, and a charming gesture of well-informed innocence; +"and, it seems to me, sufficiently alive to think of taking our +revenge." + +"When you told me, the other day, that Beatrix had gone off with +Conti, I thought of it all night long," said the princess, after a +pause. "I suppose there was happiness in sacrificing her position, her +future, and renouncing society forever." + +"She was a little fool," said Madame d'Espard, gravely. "Mademoiselle +des Touches was delighted to get rid of Conti. Beatrix never perceived +how that surrender, made by a superior woman who never for a moment +defended her claims, proved Conti's nothingness." + +"Then you think she will be unhappy?" + +"She is so now," replied Madame d'Espard. "Why did she leave her +husband? What an acknowledgment of weakness!" + +"Then you think that Madame de Rochefide was not influenced by the +desire to enjoy a true love in peace?" asked the princess. + +"No; she was simply imitating Madame de Beausant and Madame de +Langeais, who, be it said, between you and me, would have been, in a +less vulgar period than ours, the La Villiere, the Diane de Poitiers, +the Gabrielle d'Estrees of history." + +"Less the king, my dear. Ah! I wish I could evoke the shades of those +women, and ask them--" + +"But," said the marquise, interrupting the princess, "why ask the +dead? We know living women who have been happy. I have talked on this +very subject a score of times with Madame de Montcornet since she +married that little Emile Blondet, who makes her the happiest woman in +the world; not an infidelity, not a thought that turns aside from her; +they are as happy as they were the first day. These long attachments, +like that of Rastignac and Madame de Nucingen, and your cousin, Madame +de Camps, for her Octave, have a secret, and that secret you and I +don't know, my dear. The world has paid us the extreme compliment of +thinking we are two rakes worthy of the court of the regent; whereas +we are, in truth, as innocent as a couple of school-girls." + +"I should like that sort of innocence," cried the princess, laughing; +"but ours is worse, and it is very humiliating. Well, it is a +mortification we offer up in expiation of our fruitless search; yes, +my dear, fruitless, for it isn't probable we shall find in our autumn +season the fine flower we missed in the spring and summer." + +"That's not the question," resumed the marquise, after a meditative +pause. "We are both still beautiful enough to inspire love, but we +could never convince any one of our innocence and virtue." + +"If it were a lie, how easy to dress it up with commentaries, and +serve it as some delicious fruit to be eagerly swallowed! But how is +it possible to get a truth believed? Ah! the greatest of men have been +mistaken there!" added the princess, with one of those meaning smiles +which the pencil of Leonardo da Vinci alone has rendered. + +"Fools love well, sometimes," returned the marquise. + +"But in this case," said the princess, "fools wouldn't have enough +credulity in their nature." + +"You are right," said the marquise. "But what we ought to look for is +neither a fool nor even a man of talent. To solve our problem we need +a man of genius. Genius alone has the faith of childhood, the religion +of love, and willingly allows us to band its eyes. Look at Canalis and +the Duchesse de Chaulieu! Though we have both encountered men of +genius, they were either too far removed from us or too busy, and we +too absorbed, too frivolous." + +"Ah! how I wish I might not leave this world without knowing the +happiness of true love," exclaimed the princess. + +"It is nothing to inspire it," said Madame d'Espard; "the thing is to +feel it. I see many women who are only the pretext for a passion +without being both its cause and its effect." + +"The last love I inspired was a beautiful and sacred thing," said the +princess. "It had a future in it. Chance had brought me, for once in a +way, the man of genius who is due to us, and yet so difficult to +obtain; there are more pretty women than men of genius. But the devil +interfered with the affair." + +"Tell me about it, my dear; this is all news to me." + +"I first noticed this beautiful passion about the middle of the winter +of 1829. Every Friday, at the opera, I observed a young man, about +thirty years of age, in the orchestra stalls, who evidently came there +for me. He was always in the same stall, gazing at me with eyes of +fire, but, seemingly, saddened by the distance between us, perhaps by +the hopelessness of reaching me." + +"Poor fellow! When a man loves he becomes eminently stupid," said the +marquise. + +"Between every act he would slip into the corridor," continued the +princess, smiling at her friend's epigrammatic remark. "Once or twice, +either to see me or to make me see him, he looked through the glass +sash of the box exactly opposite to mine. If I received a visit, I was +certain to see him in the corridor close to my door, casting a furtive +glance upon me. He had apparently learned to know the persons +belonging to my circle; and he followed them when he saw them turning +in the direction of my box, in order to obtain the benefit of the +opening door. I also found my mysterious adorer at the Italian opera- +house; there he had a stall directly opposite to my box, where he +could gaze at me in naive ecstasy--oh! it was pretty! On leaving +either house I always found him planted in the lobby, motionless; he +was elbowed and jostled, but he never moved. His eyes grew less +brilliant if he saw me on the arm of some favorite. But not a word, +not a letter, no demonstration. You must acknowledge that was in good +taste. Sometimes, on getting home late at night, I found him sitting +upon one of the stone posts of the porte-cochere. This lover of mine +had very handsome eyes, a long, thick, fan-shaped beard, with a +moustache and side-whiskers; nothing could be seen of his skin but his +white cheek-bones, and a noble forehead; it was truly an antique head. +The prince, as you know, defended the Tuileries on the riverside, +during the July days. He returned to Saint-Cloud that night, when all +was lost, and said to me: 'I came near being killed at four o'clock. I +was aimed at by one of the insurgents, when a young man, with a long +beard, whom I have often seen at the opera, and who was leading the +attack, threw up the man's gun, and saved me.' So my adorer was +evidently a republican! In 1831, after I came to lodge in this house, +I found him, one day, leaning with his back against the wall of it; he +seemed pleased with my disasters; possibly he may have thought they +drew us nearer together. But after the affair of Saint-Merri I saw him +no more; he was killed there. The evening before the funeral of +General Lamarque, I had gone out on foot with my son, and my +republican accompanied us, sometimes behind, sometimes in front, from +the Madeleine to the Passage des Panoramas, where I was going." + +"Is that all?" asked the marquise. + +"Yes, all," replied the princess. "Except that on the morning Saint- +Merri was taken, a gamin came here and insisted on seeing me. He gave +me a letter, written on common paper, signed by my republican." + +"Show it to me," said the marquise. + +"No, my dear. Love was too great and too sacred in the heart of that +man to let me violate its secrets. The letter, short and terrible, +still stirs my soul when I think of it. That dead man gives me more +emotions than all the living men I ever coquetted with; he constantly +recurs to my mind." + +"What was his name?" asked the marquise. + +"Oh! a very common one: Michel Chrestien." + +"You have done well to tell me," said Madame d'Espard, eagerly. "I +have often heard of him. This Michel Chrestien was the intimate friend +of a remarkable man you have already expressed a wish to see,--Daniel +d'Arthez, who comes to my house some two or three times a year. +Chrestien, who was really killed at Saint-Merri, had no lack of +friends. I have heard it said that he was one of those born statesmen +to whom, like de Marsay, nothing is wanting but opportunity to become +all they might be." + +"Then he had better be dead," said the princess, with a melancholy +air, under which she concealed her thoughts. + +"Will you come to my house some evening and meet d'Arthez?" said the +marquise. "You can talk of your ghost." + +"Yes, I will," replied the princess. + + + +CHAPTER II + +DANIEL D'ARTHEZ + +A few days after this conversation Blondet and Rastignac, who knew +d'Arthez, promised Madame d'Espard that they would bring him to dine +with her. This promise might have proved rash had it not been for the +name of the princess, a meeting with whom was not a matter of +indifference to the great writer. + +Daniel d'Arthez, one of the rare men who, in our day, unite a noble +character with great talent, had already obtained, not all the +popularity his works deserve, but a respectful esteem to which souls +of his own calibre could add nothing. His reputation will certainly +increase; but in the eyes of connoisseurs it had already attained its +full development. He is one of those authors who, sooner or later, are +put in their right place, and never lose it. A poor nobleman, he had +understood his epoch well enough to seek personal distinction only. He +had struggled long in the Parisian arena, against the wishes of a rich +uncle who, by a contradiction which vanity must explain, after leaving +his nephew a prey to the utmost penury, bequeathed to the man who had +reached celebrity the fortune so pitilessly refused to the unknown +writer. This sudden change in his position made no change in Daniel +d'Arthez's habits; he continued to work with a simplicity worthy of +the antique past, and even assumed new toils by accepting a seat in +the Chamber of Deputies, where he took his seat on the Right. + +Since his accession to fame he had sometimes gone into society. One of +his old friends, the now-famous physician, Horace Bianchon, persuaded +him to make the acquaintance of the Baron de Rastignac, under- +secretary of State, and a friend of de Marsay, the prime minister. +These two political officials acquiesced, rather nobly, in the strong +wish of d'Arthez, Bianchon, and other friends of Michel Chrestien for +the removal of the body of that republican to the church of Saint- +Merri for the purpose of giving it funeral honors. Gratitude for a +service which contrasted with the administrative rigor displayed at a +time when political passions were so violent, had bound, so to speak, +d'Arthez to Rastignac. The latter and de Marsay were much too clever +not to profit by that circumstance; and thus they won over other +friends of Michel Chrestien, who did not share his political opinions, +and who now attached themselves to the new government. One of them, +Leon Giraud, appointed in the first instance master of petitions, +became eventually a Councillor of State. + +The whole existence of Daniel d'Arthez is consecrated to work; he sees +society only by snatches; it is to him a sort of dream. His house is a +convent, where he leads the life of a Benedictine; the same sobriety +of regimen, the same regularity of occupation. His friends knew that +up to the present time woman had been to him no more than an always +dreaded circumstance; he had observed her too much not to fear her; +but by dint of studying her he had ceased to understand her,--like, in +this, to those deep strategists who are always beaten on unexpected +ground, where their scientific axioms are either modified or +contradicted. In character he still remains a simple-hearted child, +all the while proving himself an observer of the first rank. This +contrast, apparently impossible, is explainable to those who know how +to measure the depths which separate faculties from feelings; the +former proceed from the head, the latter from the heart. A man can be +a great man and a wicked one, just as he can be a fool and a devoted +lover. D'Arthez is one of those privileged beings in whom shrewdness +of mind and a broad expanse of the qualities of the brain do not +exclude either the strength or the grandeur of sentiments. He is, by +rare privilege, equally a man of action and a man of thought. His +private life is noble and generous. If he carefully avoided love, it +was because he knew himself, and felt a premonition of the empire such +a passion would exercise upon him. + +For several years the crushing toil by which he prepared the solid +ground of his subsequent works, and the chill of poverty, were +marvellous preservatives. But when ease with his inherited fortune +came to him, he formed a vulgar and most incomprehensible connection +with a rather handsome woman, belonging to the lower classes, without +education or manners, whom he carefully concealed from every eye. +Michel Chrestien attributed to men of genius the power of transforming +the most massive creatures into sylphs, fools into clever women, +peasants into countesses; the more accomplished a woman was, the more +she lost her value in their eyes, for, according to Michel, their +imagination had the less to do. In his opinion love, a mere matter of +the senses to inferior beings, was to great souls the most immense of +all moral creations and the most binding. To justify d'Arthez, he +instanced the example of Raffaele and the Fornarina. He might have +offered himself as an instance for this theory, he who had seen an +angel in the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse. This strange fancy of d'Arthez +might, however, be explained in other ways; perhaps he had despaired +of meeting here below with a woman who answered to that delightful +vision which all men of intellect dream of and cherish; perhaps his +heart was too sensitive, too delicate, to yield itself to a woman of +society; perhaps he thought best to let nature have her way, and keep +his illusions by cultivating his ideal; perhaps he had laid aside love +as being incompatible with his work and the regularity of a monastic +life which love would have wholly upset. + +For several months past d'Arthez had been subjected to the jests and +satire of Blondet and Rastignac, who reproached him with knowing +neither the world nor women. According to them, his authorship was +sufficiently advanced, and his works numerous enough, to allow him a +few distractions; he had a fine fortune, and here he was living like a +student; he enjoyed nothing,--neither his money nor his fame; he was +ignorant of the exquisite enjoyments of the noble and delicate love +which well-born and well-bred women could inspire and feel; he knew +nothing of the charming refinements of language, nothing of the proofs +of affection incessantly given by refined women to the commonest +things. He might, perhaps, know woman; but he knew nothing of the +divinity. Why not take his rightful place in the world, and taste the +delights of Parisian society? + +"Why doesn't a man who bears party per bend gules and or, a bezant and +crab counterchanged," cried Rastignac, "display that ancient +escutcheon of Picardy on the panels of a carriage? You have thirty +thousand francs a year, and the proceeds of your pen; you have +justified your motto: Ars thesaurusque virtus, that punning device our +ancestors were always seeking, and yet you never appear in the Bois de +Boulogne! We live in times when virtue ought to show itself." + +"If you read your works to that species of stout Laforet, whom you +seem to fancy, I would forgive you," said Blondet. "But, my dear +fellow, you are living on dry bread, materially speaking; in the +matter of intellect you haven't even bread." + +This friendly little warfare had been going on for several months +between Daniel and his friends, when Madame d'Espard asked Rastignac +and Blondet to induce d'Arthez to come and dine with her, telling them +that the Princesse de Cadignan had a great desire to see that +celebrated man. Such curiosities are to certain women what magic +lanterns are to children,--a pleasure to the eyes, but rather shallow +and full of disappointments. The more sentiments a man of talent +excites at a distance, the less he responds to them on nearer view; +the more brilliant fancy has pictured him, the duller he will seem in +reality. Consequently, disenchanted curiosity is often unjust. + +Neither Blondet nor Rastignac could deceive d'Arthez; but they told +him, laughing, that they now offered him a most seductive opportunity +to polish up his heart and know the supreme fascinations which love +conferred on a Parisian great lady. The princess was evidently in love +with him; he had nothing to fear but everything to gain by accepting +the interview; it was quite impossible he could descend from the +pedestal on which madame de Cadignan had placed him. Neither Blondet +nor Rastignac saw any impropriety in attributing this love to the +princess; she whose past had given rise to so many anecdotes could +very well stand that lesser calumny. Together they began to relate to +d'Arthez the adventures of the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse: her first +affair with de Marsay; her second with d'Ajuda, whom she had, they +said, distracted from his wife, thus avenging Madame de Beausant; also +her later connection with young d'Esgrignon, who had travelled with +her in Italy, and had horribly compromised himself on her account; +after that they told him how unhappy she had been with a certain +celebrated ambassador, how happy with a Russian general, besides +becoming the Egeria of two ministers of Foreign affairs, and various +other anecdotes. D'Arthez replied that he knew a great deal more than +they could tell him about her through their poor friend, Michel +Chrestien, who adored her secretly for four years, and had well-nigh +gone mad about her. + +"I have often accompanied him," said Daniel, "to the opera. He would +make me run through the streets as far as her horses that he might see +the princess through the window of her coupe." + +"Well, there you have a topic all ready for you," said Blondet, +smiling. "This is the very woman you need; she'll initiate you most +gracefully into the mysteries of elegance; but take care! she has +wasted many fortunes. The beautiful Diane is one of those spendthrifts +who don't cost a penny, but for whom a man spends millions. Give +yourself up to her, body and soul, if you choose; but keep your money +in your hand, like the old fellow in Girodet's 'Deluge.'" + +From the tenor of these remarks it was to be inferred that the +princess had the depth of a precipice, the grace of a queen, the +corruption of diplomatists, the mystery of a first initiation, and the +dangerous qualities of a siren. The two clever men of the world, +incapable of foreseeing the denouement of their joke, succeeded in +presenting Diane d'Uxelles as a consummate specimen of the Parisian +woman, the cleverest of coquettes, the most enchanting mistress in the +world. Right or wrong, the woman whom they thus treated so lightly was +sacred to d'Arthez; his desire to meet her needed no spur; he +consented to do so at the first word, which was all the two friends +wanted of him. + +Madame d'Espard went to see the princess as soon as she had received +this answer. + +"My dear, do you feel yourself in full beauty and coquetry?" she said. +"If so, come and dine with me a few days hence, and I'll serve up +d'Arthez. Our man of genius is by nature, it seems, a savage; he fears +women, and has never loved! Make your plans on that. He is all +intellect, and so simple that he'll mislead you into feeling no +distrust. But his penetration, which is wholly retrospective, acts +later, and frustrates calculation. You may hoodwink him to-day, but +to-morrow nothing can dupe him." + +"Ah!" cried the princess, "if I were only thirty years old what +amusement I might have with him! The one enjoyment I have lacked up to +the present is a man of intellect to fool. I have had only partners, +never adversaries. Love was a mere game instead of being a battle." + +"Dear princess, admit that I am very generous; for, after all, you +know!--charity begins at home." + +The two women looked at each other, laughing, and clasped hands in a +friendly way. Assuredly they both knew each other's secrets, and this +was not the first man nor the first service that one had given to the +other; for sincere and lasting friendships between women of the world +need to be cemented by a few little crimes. When two friends are +liable to kill each other reciprocally, and see a poisoned dagger in +each other's hand, they present a touching spectacle of harmony, which +is never troubled, unless, by chance, one of them is careless enough +to drop her weapon. + +So, eight days later, a little dinner such as are given to intimates +by verbal invitation only, during which the doors are closed to all +other visitors, took place at Madame d'Espard's house. Five persons +were invited,--Emile Blondet and Madame de Montcornet, Daniel +d'Arthez, Rastignac, and the Princesse de Cadignan. Counting the +mistress of the house, there were as many men as women. + +Chance never exerted itself to make wiser preparations than those +which opened the way to a meeting between d'Arthez and Madame de +Cadignan. The princess is still considered one of the chief +authorities on dress, which, to women, is the first of arts. On this +occasion she wore a gown of blue velvet with flowing white sleeves, +and a tulle guimpe, slightly frilled and edged with blue, covering the +shoulders, and rising nearly to the throat, as we see in several of +Raffaele's portraits. Her maid had dressed her hair with white +heather, adroitly placed among its blond cascades, which were one of +the great beauties to which she owed her celebrity. + +Certainly Diane did not look to be more than twenty-five years old. +Four years of solitude and repose had restored the freshness of her +complexion. Besides, there are moments when the desire to please gives +an increase of beauty to women. The will is not without influence on +the variations of the face. If violent emotions have the power to +yellow the white tones of persons of bilious and melancholy +temperament, and to green lymphatic faces, shall we not grant to +desire, hope, and joy, the faculty of clearing the skin, giving +brilliancy to the eye, and brightening the glow of beauty with a light +as jocund as that of a lovely morning? The celebrated faintness of the +princess had taken on a ripeness which now made her seem more august. +At this moment of her life, impressed by her many vicissitudes and by +serious reflections, her noble, dreamy brow harmonized delightfully +with the slow, majestic glance of her blue eyes. It was impossible for +the ablest physiognomist to imagine calculation or self-will beneath +that unspeakable delicacy of feature. There were faces of women which +deceive knowledge, and mislead observation by their calmness and +delicacy; it is necessary to examine such faces when passions speak, +and that is difficult, or after they have spoken, which is no longer +of any use, for then the woman is old and has ceased to dissimulate. + +The princess is one of those impenetrable women; she can make herself +what she pleases to be: playful, childlike, distractingly innocent; or +reflective, serious, and profound enough to excite anxiety. She came +to Madame d'Espard's dinner with the intention of being a gentle, +simple woman, to whom life was known only through its deceptions: a +woman full of soul, and calumniated, but resigned,--in short, a +wounded angel. + +She arrived early, so as to pose on a sofa near the fire beside Madame +d'Espard, as she wished to be first seen: that is, in one of those +attitudes in which science is concealed beneath an exquisite +naturalness; a studied attitude, putting in relief the beautiful +serpentine outline which, starting from the foot, rises gracefully to +the hip, and continues with adorable curves to the shoulder, +presenting, in fact, a profile of the whole body. With a subtlety +which few women would have dreamed of, Diane, to the great amazement +of the marquise, had brought her son with her. After a moment's +reflection, Madame d'Espard pressed the princess's hand, with a look +of intelligence that seemed to say:-- + +"I understand you! By making d'Arthez accept all the difficulties at +once you will not have to conquer them later." + +Rastignac brought d'Arthez. The princess made none of those +compliments to the celebrated author with which vulgar persons +overwhelmed him; but she treated him with a kindness full of graceful +respect, which, with her, was the utmost extent of her concessions. +Her manner was doubtless the same with the King of France and the +royal princes. She seemed happy to see this great man, and glad that +she had sought him. Persons of taste, like the princess, are +especially distinguished for their manner of listening, for an +affability without superciliousness, which is to politeness what +practice is to virtue. When the celebrated man spoke, she took an +attentive attitude, a thousand times more flattering than the best- +seasoned compliments. The mutual presentation was made quietly, +without emphasis, and in perfectly good taste, by the marquise. + +At dinner d'Arthez was placed beside the princess, who, far from +imitating the eccentricities of diet which many affected women +display, ate her dinner with a very good appetite, making it a point +of honor to seem a natural woman, without strange ways or fancies. +Between two courses she took advantage of the conversation becoming +general to say to d'Arthez, in a sort of aside:-- + +"The secret of the pleasure I take in finding myself beside you, is +the desire I feel to learn something of an unfortunate friend of +yours, monsieur. He died for another cause greater than ours; but I +was under the greatest obligations to him, although unable to +acknowledge or thank him for them. I know that you were one of his +best friends. Your mutual friendship, pure and unalterable, is a claim +upon me. You will not, I am sure, think it extraordinary, that I have +wished to know all you could tell me of a man so dear to you. Though I +am attached to the exiled family, and bound, of course, to hold +monarchical opinions, I am not among those who think it is impossible +to be both republican and noble in heart. Monarchy and the republic +are two forms of government which do not stifle noble sentiments." + +"Michel Chrestien was an angel, madame," replied Daniel, in a voice of +emotion. "I don't know among the heroes of antiquity a greater than +he. Be careful not to think him one of those narrow-minded republicans +who would like to restore the Convention and the amenities of the +Committee of Public Safety. No, Michel dreamed of the Swiss federation +applied to all Europe. Let us own, between ourselves, that AFTER the +glorious government of one man only, which, as I think, is +particularly suited to our nation, Michel's system would lead to the +suppression of war in this old world, and its reconstruction on bases +other than those of conquest, which formerly feudalized it. From this +point of view the republicans came nearest to his idea. That is why he +lent them his arm in July, and was killed at Saint-Merri. Though +completely apart in opinion, he and I were closely bound together as +friends." + +"That is noble praise for both natures," said Madame de Cadignan, +timidly. + +"During the last four years of his life," continued Daniel, "he made +to me alone a confidence of his love for you, and this confidence +knitted closer than ever the already strong ties of brotherly +affection. He alone, madame, can have loved you as you ought to be +loved. Many a time I have been pelted with rain as we accompanied your +carriage at the pace of the horses, to keep at a parallel distance, +and see you--admire you." + +"Ah! monsieur," said the princess, "how can I repay such feelings!" + +"Why is Michel not here!" exclaimed Daniel, in melancholy accents. + +"Perhaps he would not have loved me long," said the princess, shaking +her head sadly. "Republicans are more absolute in their ideas than we +absolutists, whose fault is indulgence. No doubt he imagined me +perfect, and society would have cruelly undeceived him. We are +pursued, we women, by as many calumnies as you authors are compelled +to endure in your literary life; but we, alas! cannot defend ourselves +either by our works or by our fame. The world will not believe us to +be what we are, but what it thinks us to be. It would soon have hidden +from his eyes the real but unknown woman that is in me, behind the +false portrait of the imaginary woman which the world considers true. +He would have come to think me unworthy of the noble feelings he had +for me, and incapable of comprehending him." + +Here the princess shook her head, swaying the beautiful blond curls, +full of heather, with a touching gesture. This plaintive expression of +grievous doubts and hidden sorrows is indescribable. Daniel understood +them all; and he looked at the princess with keen emotion. + +"And yet, the night on which I last saw him, after the revolution of +July, I was on the point of giving way to the desire I felt to take +his hand and press it before all the world, under the peristyle of the +opera-house. But the thought came to me that such a proof of gratitude +might be misinterpreted; like so many other little things done from +noble motives which are called to-day the follies of Madame de +Maufrigneuse--things which I can never explain, for none but my son +and God have understood me." + +These words, breathed into the ear of the listener, in tones inaudible +to the other guests, and with accents worthy of the cleverest actress, +were calculated to reach the heart; and they did reach that of +d'Arthez. There was no question of himself in the matter; this woman +was seeking to rehabilitate herself in favor of the dead. She had been +calumniated; and she evidently wanted to know if anything had +tarnished her in the eyes of him who had loved her; had he died with +all his illusions? + +"Michel," replied d'Arthez, "was one of those men who love absolutely, +and who, if they choose ill, can suffer without renouncing the woman +they have once elected." + +"Was I loved thus?" she said, with an air of exalted beatitude. + +"Yes, madame." + +"I made his happiness?" + +"For four years." + +"A woman never hears of such a thing without a sentiment of proud +satisfaction," she said, turning her sweet and noble face to d'Arthez +with a movement full of modest confusion. + +One of the most skilful manoeuvres of these actresses is to veil their +manner when words are too expressive, and speak with their eyes when +language is restrained. These clever discords, slipped into the music +of their love, be it false or true, produce irresistible attractions. + +"Is it not," she said, lowering her voice and her eyes, after feeling +well assured they had produced her effect,--"is it not fulfilling +one's destiny to have rendered a great man happy?" + +"Did he not write that to you?" + +"Yes; but I wanted to be sure, quite sure; for, believe me, monsieur, +in putting me so high he was not mistaken." + +Women know how to give a peculiar sacredness to their words; they +communicate something vibrant to them, which extends the meaning of +their ideas, and gives them depth; though later their fascinated +listener may not remember precisely what they said, their end has been +completely attained,--which is the object of all eloquence. The +princess might at that moment have been wearing the diadem of France, +and her brow could not have seemed more imposing than it was beneath +that crown of golden hair, braided like a coronet, and adorned with +heather. She was simple and calm; nothing betrayed a sense of any +necessity to appear so, nor any desire to seem grand or loving. +D'Arthez, the solitary toiler, to whom the ways of the world were +unknown, whom study had wrapped in its protecting veils, was the dupe +of her tones and words. He was under the spell of those exquisite +manners; he admired that perfect beauty, ripened by misfortune, placid +in retirement; he adored the union of so rare a mind and so noble a +soul; and he longed to become, himself, the heir of Michel Chrestien. + +The beginning of this passion was, as in the case of almost all deep +thinkers, an idea. Looking at the princess, studying the shape of her +head, the arrangement of those sweet features, her figure, her hand, +so finely modelled, closer than when he accompanied his friend in +their wild rush through the streets, he was struck by the surprising +phenomenon of the moral second-sight which a man exalted by love +invariably finds within him. With what lucidity had Michel Chrestien +read into that soul, that heart, illumined by the fires of love! Thus +the princess acquired, in d'Arthez's eyes, another charm; a halo of +poesy surrounded her. + +As the dinner proceeded, Daniel called to mind the various confidences +of his friend, his despair, his hopes, the noble poems of a true +sentiment sung to his ear alone, in honor of this woman. It is rare +that a man passes without remorse from the position of confidant to +that of rival, and d'Arthez was free to do so without dishonor. He had +suddenly, in a moment, perceived the enormous differences existing +between a well-bred woman, that flower of the great world, and common +women, though of the latter he did not know beyond one specimen. He +was thus captured on the most accessible and sensitive sides of his +soul and of his genius. Impelled by his simplicity, and by the +impetuosity of his ideas, to lay immediate claim to this woman, he +found himself restrained by society, also by the barrier which the +manners and, let us say the word, the majesty of the princess placed +between them. The conversation, which remained upon the topic of +Michel Chrestien until the dessert, was an excellent pretext for both +to speak in a low voice: love, sympathy, comprehension! she could pose +as a maligned and misunderstood woman; he could slip his feet into the +shoes of the dead republican. Perhaps his candid mind detected itself +in regretting his dead friend less. The princess, at the moment when +the dessert appeared upon the table, and the guests were separated by +a brilliant hedge of fruits and sweetmeats, thought best to put an end +to this flow of confidences by a charming little speech, in which she +delicately expressed the idea that Daniel and Michel were twin souls. + +After this d'Arthez threw himself into the general conversation with +the gayety of a child, and a self-conceited air that was worthy of a +schoolboy. When they left the dining-room, the princess took +d'Arthez's arm, in the simplest manner, to return to Madame d'Espard's +little salon. As they crossed the grand salon she walked slowly, and +when sufficiently separated from the marquise, who was on Blondet's +arm, she stopped. + +"I do not wish to be inaccessible to the friend of that poor man," she +said to d'Arthez; "and though I have made it a rule to receive no +visitors, you will always be welcome in my house. Do not think this a +favor. A favor is only for strangers, and to my mind you and I seem +old friends; I see in you the brother of Michel." + +D'Arthez could only press her arm, unable to make other reply. + +After coffee was served, Diane de Cadignan wrapped herself, with +coquettish motions, in a large shawl, and rose. Blondet and Rastignac +were too much men of the world, and too polite to make the least +remonstrance, or try to detain her; but Madame d'Espard compelled her +friend to sit down again, whispering in her ear:-- + +"Wait till the servants have had their dinner; the carriage is not +ready yet." + +So saying, the marquise made a sign to the footman, who was taking +away the coffee-tray. Madame de Montcornet perceived that the princess +and Madame d'Espard had a word to say to each other, and she drew +around her d'Arthez, Rastignac, and Blondet, amusing them with one of +those clever paradoxical attacks which Parisian women understand so +thoroughly. + +"Well," said the marquise to Diane, "what do you think of him?" + +"He is an adorable child, just out of swaddling-clothes! This time, +like all other times, it will only be a triumph without a struggle." + +"Well, it is disappointing," said Madame d'Espard. "But we might evade +it." + +"How?" + +"Let me be your rival." + +"Just as you please," replied the princess. "I've decided on my +course. Genius is a condition of the brain; I don't know what the +heart gets out of it; we'll talk about that later." + +Hearing the last few words, which were wholly incomprehensible to her, +Madame d'Espard returned to the general conversation, showing neither +offence at that indifferent "As you please," nor curiosity as to the +outcome of the interview. The princess stayed an hour longer, seated +on the sofa near the fire, in the careless, nonchalant attitude of +Guerin's Dido, listening with the attention of an absorbed mind, and +looking at Daniel now and then, without disguising her admiration, +which never went, however, beyond due limits. She slipped away when +the carriage was announced, with a pressure of the hand to the +marquise, and an inclination of the head to Madame de Montcornet. + +The evening concluded without any allusion to the princess. The other +guests profited by the sort of exaltation which d'Arthez had reached, +for he put forth the treasures of his mind. In Blondet and Rastignac +he certainly had two acolytes of the first quality to bring forth the +delicacy of his wit and the breadth of his intellect. As for the two +women, they had long been counted among the cleverest in society. This +evening was like a halt in the oasis of a desert,--a rare enjoyment, +and well appreciated by these four persons, habitually victimized to +the endless caution entailed by the world of salons and politics. +There are beings who have the privilege of passing among men like +beneficent stars, whose light illumines the mind, while its rays send +a glow to the heart. D'Arthez was one of those beings. A writer who +rises to his level, accustoms himself to free thought, and forgets +that in society all things cannot be said; it is impossible for such a +man to observe the restraint of persons who live in the world +perpetually; but as his eccentricities of thought bore the mark of +originality, no one felt inclined to complain. This zest, this +piquancy, rare in mere talent, this youthfulness and simplicity of +soul which made d'Arthez so nobly original, gave a delightful charm to +this evening. He left the house with Rastignac, who, as they drove +home, asked him how he liked the princess. + +"Michel did well to love her," replied d'Arthez; "she is, indeed, an +extraordinary woman." + +"Very extraordinary," replied Rastignac, dryly. "By the tone of your +voice I should judge you were in love with her already. You will be in +her house within three days; and I am too old a denizen of Paris not +to know what will be the upshot of that. Well, my dear Daniel, I do +entreat you not to allow yourself to be drawn into any confusion of +interests, so to speak. Love the princess if you feel any love for her +in your heart, but keep an eye on your fortune. She has never taken or +asked a penny from any man on earth, she is far too much of a +d'Uxelles and a Cadignan for that; but, to my knowledge, she has not +only spent her own fortune, which was very considerable, but she has +made others waste millions. How? why? by what means? No one knows; she +doesn't know herself. I myself saw her swallow up, some thirteen years +ago, the entire fortune of a charming young fellow, and that of an old +notary, in twenty months." + +"Thirteen years ago!" exclaimed d'Arthez,--"why, how old is she now?" + +"Didn't you see, at dinner," replied Rastignac, laughing, "her son, +the Duc de Maufrigneuse. That young man is nineteen years old; +nineteen and seventeen make--" + +"Thirty-six!" cried the amazed author. "I gave her twenty." + +"She'll accept them," said Rastignac; "but don't be uneasy, she will +always be twenty to you. You are about to enter the most fantastic of +worlds. Good-night, here you are at home," said the baron, as they +entered the rue de Bellefond, where d'Arthez lived in a pretty little +house of his own. "We shall meet at Mademoiselle des Touches's in the +course of the week." + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE PRINCESS GOES TO WORK + +D'Arthez allowed love to enter his heart after the manner of my Uncle +Toby, without making the slightest resistance; he proceeded by +adoration without criticism, and by exclusive admiration. The +princess, that noble creature, one of the most remarkable creations of +our monstrous Paris, where all things are possible, good as well as +evil, became--whatever vulgarity the course of time may have given to +the expression--the angel of his dreams. To fully understand the +sudden transformation of this illustrious author, it is necessary to +realize the simplicity that constant work and solitude leave in the +heart; all that love--reduced to a mere need, and now repugnant, +beside an ignoble woman--excites of regret and longings for diviner +sentiments in the higher regions of the soul. D'Arthez was, indeed, +the child, the boy that Madame de Cadignan had recognized. An +illumination something like his own had taken place in the beautiful +Diane. At last she had met that superior man whom all women desire and +seek, if only to make a plaything of him,--that power which they +consent to obey, if only for the pleasure of subduing it; at last she +had found the grandeurs of the intellect united with the simplicity of +a heart all new to love; and she saw, with untold happiness, that +these merits were contained in a form that pleased her. She thought +d'Arthez handsome, and perhaps he was. Though he had reached the age +of gravity (for he was now thirty-eight), he still preserved a flower +of youth, due to the sober and ascetic life which he had led. Like all +men of sedentary habits, and statesmen, he had acquired a certainly +reasonable embonpoint. When very young, he bore some resemblance to +Bonaparte; and the likeness still continued, as much as a man with +black eyes and thick, dark hair could resemble a sovereign with blue +eyes and scanty, chestnut hair. But whatever there once was of ardent +and noble ambition in the great author's eyes had been somewhat +quenched by successes. The thoughts with which that brow once teemed +had flowered; the lines of the hollow face were filling out. Ease now +spread its golden tints where, in youth, poverty had laid the yellow +tones of the class of temperament whose forces band together to +support a crushing and long-continued struggle. If you observe +carefully the noble faces of ancient philosophers, you will always +find those deviations from the type of a perfect human face which show +the characteristic to which each countenance owes its originality, +chastened by the habit of meditation, and by the calmness necessary +for intellectual labor. The most irregular features, like those of +Socrates, for instance, become, after a time, expressive of an almost +divine serenity. + +To the noble simplicity which characterized his head, d'Arthez added a +naive expression, the naturalness of a child, and a touching +kindliness. He did not have that politeness tinged with insincerity +with which, in society, the best-bred persons and the most amiable +assume qualities in which they are often lacking, leaving those they +have thus duped wounded and distressed. He might, indeed, fail to +observe certain rules of social life, owing to his isolated mode of +living; but he never shocked the sensibilities, and therefore this +perfume of savagery made the peculiar affability of a man of great +talent the more agreeable; such men know how to leave their +superiority in their studies, and come down to the social level, +lending their backs, like Henry IV., to the children's leap-frog, and +their minds to fools. + +If d'Arthez did not brace himself against the spell which the princess +had cast about him, neither did she herself argue the matter in her +own mind, on returning home. It was settled for her. She loved with +all her knowledge and all her ignorance. If she questioned herself at +all, it was to ask whether she deserved so great a happiness, and what +she had done that Heaven should send her such an angel. She wanted to +be worthy of that love, to perpetuate it, to make it her own forever, +and to gently end her career of frivolity in the paradise she now +foresaw. As for coquetting, quibbling, resisting, she never once +thought of it. She was thinking of something very different!--of the +grandeur of men of genius, and the certainty which her heart divined +that they would never subject the woman they chose to ordinary laws. + +Here begins one of those unseen comedies, played in the secret regions +of the consciousness between two beings of whom one will be the dupe +of the other, though it keeps on this side of wickedness; one of those +dark and comic dramas to which that of Tartuffe is mere child's play, +--dramas that do not enter the scenic domain, although they are +natural, conceivable, and even justifiable by necessity; dramas which +may be characterized as not vice, only the other side of it. + +The princess began by sending for d'Arthez's books, of which she had +never, as yet, read a single word, although she had managed to +maintain a twenty minutes' eulogism and discussion of them without a +blunder. She now read them all. Then she wanted to compare these books +with the best that contemporary literature had produced. By the time +d'Arthez came to see her she was having an indigestion of mind. +Expecting this visit, she had daily made a toilet of what may be +called the superior order; that is, a toilet which expresses an idea, +and makes it accepted by the eye without the owner of the eye knowing +why or wherefore. She presented an harmonious combination of shades of +gray, a sort of semi-mourning, full of graceful renunciation,--the +garments of a woman who holds to life only through a few natural ties, +--her child, for instance,--but who is weary of life. Those garments +bore witness to an elegant disgust, not reaching, however, as far as +suicide; no, she would live out her days in these earthly galleys. + +She received d'Arthez as a woman who expected him, and as if he had +already been to see her a hundred times; she did him the honor to +treat him like an old acquaintance, and she put him at his ease by +pointing to a seat on a sofa, while she finished a note she was then +writing. The conversation began in a commonplace manner: the weather, +the ministry, de Marsay's illness, the hopes of the legitimists. +D'Arthez was an absolutist; the princess could not be ignorant of the +opinions of a man who sat in the Chamber among the fifteen or twenty +persons who represented the legitimist party; she found means to tell +him how she had fooled de Marsay to the top of his bent, then, by an +easy transition to the royal family and to "Madame," and the devotion +of the Prince de Cadignan to their service, she drew d'Arthez's +attention to the prince:-- + +"There is this to be said for him: he loved his masters, and was +faithful to them. His public character consoles me for the sufferings +his private life has inflicted upon me-- Have you never remarked," she +went on, cleverly leaving the prince aside, "you who observe so much, +that men have two natures: one of their homes, their wives, their +private lives,--this is their true self; here no mask, no +dissimulation; they do not give themselves the trouble to disguise a +feeling; they are what they ARE, and it is often horrible! The other +man is for others, for the world, for salons; the court, the +sovereign, the public often see them grand, and noble, and generous, +embroidered with virtues, adorned with fine language, full of +admirable qualities. What a horrible jest it is!--and the world is +surprised, sometimes, at the caustic smile of certain women, at their +air of superiority to their husbands, and their indifference--" + +She let her hand fall along the arm of her chair, without ending her +sentence, but the gesture admirably completed the speech. She saw +d'Arthez watching her flexible figure, gracefully bending in the +depths of her easy-chair, noting the folds of her gown, and the pretty +little ruffle which sported on her breast,--one of those audacities of +the toilet that are suited only to slender waists,--and she resumed +the thread of her thoughts as if she were speaking to herself:-- + +"But I will say no more. You writers have ended by making ridiculous +all women who think they are misunderstood, or ill-mated, and who try +to make themselves dramatically interesting,--attempts which seem to +me, I must say, intolerably vulgar. There are but two things for women +in that plight to do,--yield, and all is over; resist, and amuse +themselves; in either case they should keep silence. It is true that I +neither yielded wholly, nor resisted wholly; but, perhaps, that was +only the more reason why I should be silent. What folly for women to +complain! If they have not proved the stronger, they have failed in +sense, in tact, in capacity, and they deserve their fate. Are they not +queens in France? They can play with you as they like, when they like, +and as much as they like." Here she danced her vinaigrette with an +airy movement of feminine impertinence and mocking gayety. "I have +often heard miserable little specimens of my sex regretting that they +were women, wishing they were men; I have always regarded them with +pity. If I had to choose, I should still elect to be a woman. A fine +pleasure, indeed, to owe one's triumph to force, and to all those +powers which you give yourselves by the laws you make! But to see you +at our feet, saying and doing foolish things,--ah! it is an +intoxicating pleasure to feel within our souls that weakness triumphs! +But when we triumph, we ought to keep silence, under pain of losing +our empire. Beaten, a woman's pride should gag her. The slave's +silence alarms the master." + +This chatter was uttered in a voice so softly sarcastic, so dainty, +and with such coquettish motions of the head, that d'Arthez, to whom +this style of woman was totally unknown, sat before her exactly like a +partridge charmed by a setter. + +"I entreat you, madame," he said, at last, "to tell me how it was +possible that a man could make you suffer? Be assured that where, as +you say, other women are common and vulgar, you can only seem +distinguished; your manner of saying things would make a cook-book +interesting." + +"You go fast in friendship," she said, in a grave voice which made +d'Arthez extremely uneasy. + +The conversation changed; the hour was late, and the poor man of +genius went away contrite for having seemed curious, and for wounding +the sensitive heart of that rare woman who had so strangely suffered. +As for her, she had passed her life in amusing herself with men, and +was another Don Juan in female attire, with this difference: she would +certainly not have invited the Commander to supper, and would have got +the better of any statue. + +It is impossible to continue this tale without saying a word about the +Prince de Cadignan, better known under the name of the Duc de +Maufrigneuse, otherwise the spice of the princess's confidences would +be lost, and strangers would not understand the Parisian comedy she +was about to play for her man of genius. + +The Duc de Maufrigneuse, like a true son of the old Prince de +Cadignan, is a tall, lean man, of elegant shape, very graceful, a +sayer of witty things, colonel by the grace of God, and a good soldier +by accident; brave as a Pole, which means without sense or +discernment, and hiding the emptiness of his mind under the jargon of +good society. After the age of thirty-six he was forced to be as +absolutely indifferent to the fair sex as his master Charles X., +punished, like that master, for having pleased it too well. For +eighteen years the idol of the faubourg Saint-Germain, he had, like +other heirs of great families led a dissipated life, spent solely on +pleasure. His father, ruined by the revolution, had somewhat recovered +his position on the return of the Bourbons, as governor of a royal +domain, with salary and perquisites; but this uncertain fortune the +old prince spent, as it came, in keeping up the traditions of a great +seigneur before the revolution; so that when the law of indemnity was +passed, the sums he received were all swallowed up in the luxury he +displayed in his vast hotel. + +The old prince died some little time before the revolution of July +aged eighty-seven. He had ruined his wife, and had long been on bad +terms with the Duc de Navarreins, who had married his daughter for a +first wife, and to whom he very reluctantly rendered his accounts. The +Duc de Maufrigneuse, early in life, had had relations with the +Duchesse d'Uxelles. About the year 1814, when Monsieur de Maufrigneuse +was forty-six years of age, the duchess, pitying his poverty, and +seeing that he stood very well at court, gave him her daughter Diane, +then in her seventeenth year, and possessing, in her own right, some +fifty or sixty thousand francs a year, not counting her future +expectations. Mademoiselle d'Uxelles thus became a duchess, and, as +her mother very well knew, she enjoyed the utmost liberty. The duke, +after obtaining the unexpected happiness of an heir, left his wife +entirely to her own devices, and went off to amuse himself in the +various garrisons of France, returning occasionally to Paris, where he +made debts which his father paid. He professed the most entire +conjugal indulgence, always giving the duchess a week's warning of his +return; he was adored by his regiment, beloved by the Dauphin, an +adroit courtier, somewhat of a gambler, and totally devoid of +affectation. Having succeeded to his father's office as governor of +one of the royal domains, he managed to please the two kings, Louis +XVIII. and Charles X., which proves he made the most of his nonentity; +and even the liberals liked him; but his conduct and life were covered +with the finest varnish; language, noble manners, and deportment were +brought by him to a state of perfection. But, as the old prince said, +it was impossible for him to continue the traditions of the Cadignans, +who were all well known to have ruined their wives, for the duchess +was running through her property on her own account. + +These particulars were so well understood in the court circles and in +the faubourg Saint-Germain, that during the last five years of the +Restoration they were considered ancient history, and any one who +mentioned them would have been laughed at. Women never spoke of the +charming duke without praising him; he was excellent, they said, to +his wife; could a man be better? He had left her the entire disposal +of her own property, and had always defended her on every occasion. It +is true that, whether from pride, kindliness, or chivalry, Monsieur de +Maufrigneuse had saved the duchess under various circumstances which +might have ruined other women, in spite of Diane's surroundings, and +the influence of her mother and that of the Duc de Navarreins, her +father-in-law, and her husband's aunt. + +For several ensuing days the princess revealed herself to d'Arthez as +remarkable for her knowledge of literature. She discussed with perfect +fearlessness the most difficult questions, thanks to her daily and +nightly reading, pursued with an intrepidity worthy of the highest +praise. D'Arthez, amazed, and incapable of suspecting that Diane +d'Uxelles merely repeated at night that which she read in the morning +(as some writers do), regarded her as a most superior woman. These +conversations, however, led away from Diane's object, and she tried to +get back to the region of confidences from which d'Arthez had +prudently retired after her coquettish rebuff; but it was not as easy +as she expected to bring back a man of his nature who had once been +startled away. + +However, after a month of literary campaigning and the finest platonic +discourses, d'Arthez grew bolder, and arrived every day at three +o'clock. He retired at six, and returned at nine, to remain until +midnight, or one in the morning, with the regularity of an ardent and +impatient lover. The princess was always dressed with more or less +studied elegance at the hour when d'Arthez presented himself. This +mutual fidelity, the care they each took of their appearance, in fact, +all about them expressed sentiments that neither dared avow, for the +princess discerned very plainly that the great child with whom she had +to do shrank from the combat as much as she desired it. Nevertheless +d'Arthez put into his mute declarations a respectful awe which was +infinitely pleasing to her. Both felt, every day, all the more united +because nothing acknowledged or definite checked the course of their +ideas, as occurs between lovers when there are formal demands on one +side, and sincere or coquettish refusals on the other. + +Like all men younger than their actual age, d'Arthez was a prey to +those agitating irresolutions which are caused by the force of desires +and the terror of displeasing,--a situation which a young woman does +not comprehend when she shares it, but which the princess had too +often deliberately produced not to enjoy its pleasures. In fact, Diane +enjoyed these delightful juvenilities all the more keenly because she +knew that she could put an end to them at any moment. She was like a +great artist delighting in the vague, undecided lines of his sketch, +knowing well that in a moment of inspiration he can complete the +masterpiece still waiting to come to birth. Many a time, seeing +d'Arthez on the point of advancing, she enjoyed stopping him short, +with an imposing air and manner. She drove back the hidden storms of +that still young heart, raised them again, and stilled them with a +look, holding out her hand to be kissed, or saying some trifling +insignificant words in a tender voice. + +These manoeuvres, planned in cold blood, but enchantingly executed, +carved her image deeper and deeper on the soul of that great writer +and thinker whom she revelled in making childlike, confiding, simple, +and almost silly beside her. And yet she had moments of repulsion +against her own act, moments in which she could not help admiring the +grandeur of such simplicity. This game of choicest coquetry attached +her, insensibly, to her slave. At last, however, Diane grew impatient +with an Epictetus of love; and when she thought she had trained him to +the utmost credulity, she set to work to tie a thicker bandage still +over his eyes. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE CONFESSION OF A PRETTY WOMAN + +One evening Daniel found the princess thoughtful, one elbow resting on +a little table, her beautiful blond head bathed in light from the +lamp. She was toying with a letter which lay on the table-cloth. When +d'Arthez had seen the paper distinctly, she folded it up, and stuck it +in her belt. + +"What is the matter?" asked d'Arthez; "you seem distressed." + +"I have received a letter from Monsieur de Cadignan," she replied. +"However great the wrongs he has done me, I cannot help thinking of +his exile--without family, without son--from his native land." + +These words, said in a soulful voice, betrayed angelic sensibility. +D'Arthez was deeply moved. The curiosity of the lover became, so to +speak, a psychological and literary curiosity. He wanted to know the +height that woman had attained, and what were the injuries she thus +forgave; he longed to know how these women of the world, taxed with +frivolity, cold-heartedness, and egotism, could be such angels. +Remembering how the princess had already repulsed him when he first +tried to read that celestial heart, his voice, and he himself, +trembled as he took the transparent, slender hand of the beautiful +Diane with its curving finger-tips, and said,-- + +"Are we now such friends that you will tell me what you have +suffered?" + +"Yes," she said, breathing forth the syllable like the most +mellifluous note that Tulou's flute had ever sighed. + +Then she fell into a revery, and her eyes were veiled. Daniel remained +in a state of anxious expectation, impressed with the solemnity of the +occasion. His poetic imagination made him see, as it were, clouds +slowly dispersing and disclosing to him the sanctuary where the +wounded lamb was kneeling at the divine feet. + +"Well?" he said, in a soft, still voice. + +Diane looked at the tender petitioner; then she lowered her eyes +slowly, dropping their lids with a movement of noble modesty. None but +a monster would have been capable of imagining hypocrisy in the +graceful undulation of the neck with which the princess again lifted +her charming head, to look once more into the eager eyes of that great +man. + +"Can I? ought I?" she murmured, with a gesture of hesitation, gazing +at d'Arthez with a sublime expression of dreamy tenderness. "Men have +so little faith in things of this kind; they think themselves so +little bound to be discreet!" + +"Ah! if you distrust me, why am I here?" cried d'Arthez. + +"Oh, friend!" she said, giving to the exclamation the grace of an +involuntary avowal, "when a woman attaches herself for life, think you +she calculates? It is not question of refusal (how could I refuse you +anything?), but the idea of what you may think of me if I speak. I +would willingly confide to you the strange position in which I am at +my age; but what would you think of a woman who could reveal the +secret wounds of her married life? Turenne kept his word to robbers; +do I not owe to my torturers the honor of a Turenne?" + +"Have you passed your word to say nothing?" + +"Monsieur de Cadignan did not think it necessary to bind me to +secrecy-- You are asking more than my soul! Tyrant! you want me to +bury my honor itself in your breast," she said, casting upon d'Arthez +a look, by which she gave more value to her coming confidence than to +her personal self. + +"You must think me a very ordinary man, if you fear any evil, no +matter what, from me," he said, with ill-concealed bitterness. + +"Forgive me, friend," she replied, taking his hand in hers +caressingly, and letting her fingers wander gently over it. "I know +your worth. You have related to me your whole life; it is noble, it is +beautiful, it is sublime, and worthy of your name; perhaps, in return, +I owe you mine. But I fear to lower myself in your eyes by relating +secrets which are not wholly mine. How can you believe--you, a man of +solitude and poesy--the horrors of social life? Ah! you little think +when you invent your dramas that they are far surpassed by those that +are played in families apparently united. You are wholly ignorant of +certain gilded sorrows." + +"I know all!" he cried. + +"No, you know nothing." + +D'Arthez felt like a man lost on the Alps of a dark night, who sees, +at the first gleam of dawn, a precipice at his feet. He looked at the +princess with a bewildered air, and felt a cold chill running down his +back. Diane thought for a moment that her man of genius was a +weakling, but a flash from his eyes reassured her. + +"You have become to me almost my judge," she said, with a desperate +air. "I must speak now, in virtue of the right that all calumniated +beings have to show their innocence. I have been, I am still (if a +poor recluse forced by the world to renounce the world is still +remembered) accused of such light conduct, and so many evil things, +that it may be allowed me to find in one strong heart a haven from +which I cannot be driven. Hitherto I have always considered self- +justification an insult to innocence; and that is why I have disdained +to defend myself. Besides, to whom could I appeal? Such cruel things +can be confided to none but God or to one who seems to us very near +Him--a priest, or another self. Well! I do know this, if my secrets +are not as safe there," she said, laying her hand on d'Arthez's heart, +"as they are here" (pressing the upper end of her busk beneath her +fingers), "then you are not the grand d'Arthez I think you--I shall +have been deceived." + +A tear moistened d'Arthez's eyes, and Diane drank it in with a side +look, which, however, gave no motion either to the pupils or the lids +of her eyes. It was quick and neat, like the action of a cat pouncing +on a mouse. + +D'Arthez, for the first time, after sixty days of protocols, ventured +to take that warm and perfumed hand, and press it to his lips with a +long-drawn kiss, extending from the wrist to the tip of the fingers, +which made the princess augur well of literature. She thought to +herself that men of genius must know how to love with more perfection +than conceited fops, men of the world, diplomatists, and even +soldiers, although such beings have nothing else to do. She was a +connoisseur, and knew very well that the capacity for love reveals +itself chiefly in mere nothings. A woman well informed in such matters +can read her future in a simple gesture; just as Cuvier could say from +the fragment of a bone: This belonged to an animal of such or such +dimensions, with or without horns, carnivorous, herbivorous, +amphibious, etc., age, so many thousand years. Sure now of finding in +d'Arthez as much imagination in love as there was in his written +style, she thought it wise to bring him up at once to the highest +pitch of passion and belief. + +She withdrew her hand hastily, with a magnificent movement full of +varied emotions. If she had said in words: "Stop, or I shall die," she +could not have spoken more plainly. She remained for a moment with her +eyes in d'Arthez's eyes, expressing in that one glance happiness, +prudery, fear, confidence, languor, a vague longing, and virgin +modesty. She was twenty years old! but remember, she had prepared for +this hour of comic falsehood by the choicest art of dress; she was +there in her armchair like a flower, ready to blossom at the first +kiss of sunshine. True or false, she intoxicated Daniel. + +It if is permissible to risk a personal opinion we must avow that it +would be delightful to be thus deceived for a good long time. +Certainly Talma on the stage was often above and beyond nature, but +the Princesse de Cadignan is the greatest true comedian of our day. +Nothing was wanting to this woman but an attentive audience. +Unfortunately, at epochs perturbed by political storms, women +disappear like water-lilies which need a cloudless sky and balmy +zephyrs to spread their bloom to our enraptured eyes. + +The hour had come; Diane was now to entangle that great man in the +inextricable meshes of a romance carefully prepared, to which he was +fated to listen as the neophyte of early Christian times listened to +the epistles of an apostle. + +"My friend," began Diane, "my mother, who still lives at Uxelles, +married me in 1814, when I was seventeen years old (you see how old I +am now!) to Monsieur de Maufrigneuse, not out of affection for me, but +out of regard for him. She discharged her debt to the only man she had +ever loved, for the happiness she had once received from him. Oh! you +need not be astonished at so horrible a conspiracy; it frequently +takes place. Many women are more lovers than mothers, though the +majority are more mothers than wives. The two sentiments, love and +motherhood, developed as they are by our manners and customs, often +struggle together in the hearts of women; one or other must succumb +when they are not of equal strength; when they are, they produce some +exceptional women, the glory of our sex. A man of your genius must +surely comprehend many things that bewilder fools but are none the +less true; indeed I may go further and call them justifiable through +difference of characters, temperaments, attachments, situations. I, +for example, at this moment, after twenty years of misfortunes, of +deceptions, of calumnies endured, and weary days and hollow pleasures, +is it not natural that I should incline to fall at the feet of a man +who would love me sincerely and forever? And yet, the world would +condemn me. But twenty years of suffering might well excuse a few +brief years which may still remain to me of youth given to a sacred +and real love. This will not happen. I am not so rash as to sacrifice +my hopes of heaven. I have borne the burden and heat of the day, I +shall finish my course and win my recompense." + +"Angel!" thought d'Arthez. + +"After all, I have never blamed my mother; she knew little of me. +Mothers who lead a life like that of the Duchesse d'Uxelles keep their +children at a distance. I saw and knew nothing of the world until my +marriage. You can judge of my innocence! I knew nothing; I was +incapable of understanding the causes of my marriage. I had a fine +fortune; sixty thousand francs a year in forests, which the Revolution +overlooked (or had not been able to sell) in the Nivernais, with the +noble chateau of d'Anzy. Monsieur de Maufrigneuse was steeped in debt. +Later I learned what it was to have debts, but then I was too utterly +ignorant of life to suspect my position; the money saved out of my +fortune went to pacify my husband's creditors. Monsieur de +Maufrigneuse was forty-eight years of age when I married him; but +those years were like military campaigns, they ought to count for +twice what they were. Ah! what a life I led for ten years! If any one +had known the suffering of this poor, calumniated little woman! To be +watched by a mother jealous of her daughter! Heavens! You who make +dramas, you will never invent anything as direful as that. Ordinarily, +according to the little that I know of literature, a drama is a suite +of actions, speeches, movements which hurry to a catastrophe; but what +I speak of was a catastrophe in action. It was an avalanche fallen in +the morning and falling again at night only to fall again the next +day. I am cold now as I speak to you of that cavern without an +opening, cold, sombre, in which I lived. I, poor little thing that I +was! brought up in a convent like a mystic rose, knowing nothing of +marriage, developing late, I was happy at first; I enjoyed the +goodwill and harmony of our family. The birth of my poor boy, who is +all me--you must have been struck by the likeness? my hair, my eyes, +the shape of my face, my mouth, my smile, my teeth!--well, his birth +was a relief to me; my thoughts were diverted by the first joys of +maternity from my husband, who gave me no pleasure and did nothing for +me that was kind or amiable; those joys were all the keener because I +knew no others. It had been so often rung into my ears that a mother +should respect herself. Besides, a young girl loves to play the +mother. I was so proud of my flower--for Georges was beautiful, a +miracle, I thought! I saw and thought of nothing but my son, I lived +with my son. I never let his nurse dress or undress him. Such cares, +so wearing to mothers who have a regiment of children, were all my +pleasure. But after three or four years, as I was not an actual fool, +light came to my eyes in spite of the pains taken to blindfold me. Can +you see me at that final awakening, in 1819? The drama of 'The +Brothers at enmity' is a rose-water tragedy beside that of a mother +and daughter placed as we then were. But I braved them all, my mother, +my husband, the world, by public coquetries which society talked of,-- +and heaven knows how it talked! You can see, my friend, how the men +with whom I was accused of folly were to me the dagger with which to +stab my enemies. Thinking only of my vengeance, I did not see or feel +the wounds I was inflicting on myself. Innocent as a child, I was +thought a wicked woman, the worst of women, and I knew nothing of it! +The world is very foolish, very blind, very ignorant; it can penetrate +no secrets but those which amuse it and serve its malice: noble +things, great things, it puts its hand before its eyes to avoid +seeing. But, as I look back, it seems to me that I had an attitude and +aspect of indignant innocence, with movements of pride, which a great +painter would have recognized. I must have enlivened many a ball with +my tempests of anger and disdain. Lost poesy! such sublime poems are +only made in the glowing indignation which seizes us at twenty. Later, +we are wrathful no longer, we are too weary, vice no longer amazes us, +we are cowards, we fear. But then--oh! I kept a great pace! For all +that I played the silliest personage in the world; I was charged with +crimes by which I never benefited. But I had such pleasure in +compromising myself. That was my revenge! Ah! I have played many +childish tricks! I went to Italy with a thoughtless youth, whom I +crushed when he spoke to me of love, but later, when I herd that he +was compromised on my account (he had committed a forgery to get +money) I rushed to save him. My mother and husband kept me almost +without means; but, this time, I went to the king. Louis XVIII., that +man without a heart, was touched; he gave me a hundred thousand francs +from his privy purse. The Marquis d'Esgrignon--you must have seen him +in society for he ended by making a rich marriage--was saved from the +abyss into which he had plunged for my sake. That adventure, caused by +my own folly, led me to reflect. I saw that I myself was the first +victim of my vengeance. My mother, who knew I was too proud, too +d'Uxelles, to conduct myself really ill, began to see the harm that +she had done me and was frightened by it. She was then fifty-two years +of age; she left Paris and went to live at Uxelles. There she expiates +her wrong-doing by a life of devotion and expresses the utmost +affection for me. After her departure I was face to face, alone, with +Monsieur de Maufrigneuse. Oh! my friend, you men can never know what +an old man of gallantry can be. What a home is that of a man +accustomed to the adulation of women of the world, when he finds +neither incense nor censer in his own house! dead to all! and yet, +perhaps for that very reason, jealous. I wished--when Monsieur de +Maufrigneuse was wholly mine--I wished to be a good wife, but I found +myself repulsed with the harshness of a soured spirit by a man who +treated me like a child and took pleasure in humiliating my self- +respect at every turn, in crushing me under the scorn of his +experience, and in convicting me of total ignorance. He wounded me on +all occasions. He did everything to make me detest him and to give me +the right to betray him; but I was still the dupe of my own hope and +of my desire to do right through several years. Shall I tell you the +cruel saying that drove me to further follies? 'The Duchesse de +Maufrigneuse has gone back to her husband,' said the world. 'Bah! it +is always a triumph to bring the dead to life; it is all she can now +do,' replied my best friend, a relation, she, at whose house I met +you--" + +"Madame d'Espard!" cried Daniel, with a gesture of horror. + +"Oh! I have forgiven her. Besides, it was very witty; and I have +myself made just as cruel epigrams on other poor women as innocent as +myself." + +D'Arthez again kissed the hand of that saintly woman who, having +hacked her mother in pieces, and turned the Prince de Cadignan into an +Othello, now proceeded to accuse herself in order to appear in the +eyes of that innocent great man as immaculate as the silliest or the +wisest of women desire to seem at all costs to their lovers. + +"You will readily understand, my friend, that I returned to society +for the purpose of excitement and I may say of notoriety. I felt that +I must conquer my independence. I led a life of dissipation. To divert +my mind, to forget my real life in fictitious enjoyments I was gay, I +shone, I gave fetes, I played the princess, and I ran in debt. At home +I could forget myself in the sleep of weariness, able to rise the next +day gay, and frivolous for the world; but in that sad struggle to +escape my real life I wasted my fortune. The revolution of 1830 came; +it came at the very moment when I had met, at the end of that Arabian +Nights' life, a pure and sacred love which (I desire to be honest) I +had longed to know. Was it not natural in a woman whose heart, +repressed by many causes and accidents, was awakening at an age when a +woman feels herself cheated if she has never known, like the women she +sees about her, a happy love? Ah! why was Michel Chrestien so +respectful? Why did he not seek to meet me? There again was another +mockery! But what of that? in falling, I have lost everything; I have +no illusions left; I had tasted of all things except the one fruit for +which I have no longer teeth. Yes, I found myself disenchanted with +the world at the very moment when I was forced to leave it. +Providential, was it not? like all those strange insensibilities which +prepare us for death" (she made a gesture full of pious unction). "All +things served me then," she continued; "the disasters of the monarchy +and its ruin helped me to bury myself. My son consoles me for much. +Maternal love takes the place of all frustrated feelings. The world is +surprised at my retirement, but to me it has brought peace. Ah! if you +knew how happy the poor creature before you is in this little place. +In sacrificing all to my son I forget to think of joys of which I am +and ever must be ignorant. Yes, hope has flown, I now fear everything; +no doubt I should repulse the truest sentiment, the purest and most +veritable love, in memory of the deceptions and the miseries of my +life. It is all horrible, is it not? and yet, what I have told you is +the history of many women." + +The last few words were said in a tone of easy pleasantry which +recalled the presence of the woman of the world. D'Arthez was +dumbfounded. In his eyes convicts sent to the galleys for murder, or +aggravated robbery, or for putting a wrong name to checks, were saints +compared to the men and women of society. This atrocious elegy, forged +in the arsenal of lies, and steeped in the waters of the Parisian +Styx, had been poured into his ears with the inimitable accent of +truth. The grave author contemplated for a moment that adorable woman +lying back in her easy-chair, her two hands pendant from its arms like +dewdrops from a rose-leaf, overcome by her own revelation, living over +again the sorrows of her life as she told them--in short an angel of +melancholy. + +"And judge," she cried, suddenly lifting herself with a spring and +raising her hand, while lightning flashed from eyes where twenty +chaste years shone--"judge of the impression the love of a man like +Michel must have made upon me. But by some irony of fate--or was it +the hand of God?--well, he died; died in saving the life of, whom do +you suppose? of Monsieur de Cadignan. Are you now surprised to find me +thoughtful?" + +This was the last drop; poor d'Arthez could bear no more. He fell upon +his knees, and laid his head on Diane's hand, weeping soft tears such +as the angels shed,--if angels weep. As Daniel was in that bent +posture, Madame de Cadignan could safely let a malicious smile of +triumph flicker on her lips, a smile such as the monkeys wear after +playing a sly trick--if monkeys smile. + +"Ah! I have him," thought she; and, indeed, she had him fast. + +"But you are--" he said, raising his fine head and looking at her with +eyes of love. + +"Virgin and martyr," she replied, smiling at the commonness of that +hackneyed expression, but giving it a freshness of meaning by her +smile, so full of painful gayety. "If I laugh," she continued, "it is +that I am thinking of that princess whom the world thinks it knows, +that Duchesse de Maufrigneuse to whom it gives as lovers de Marsay, +that infamous de Trailles (a political cutthroat), and that little +fool of a d'Esgrignon, and Rastignac, Rubempre, ambassadors, +ministers, Russian generals, heaven knows who! all Europe! They have +gossiped about that album which I ordered made, believing that those +who admired me were my friends. Ah! it is frightful! I wonder that I +allow a man at my feet! Despise them all, THAT should be my religion." + +She rose and went to the window with a gait and bearing magnificent in +motifs. + +D'Arthez remained on the low seat to which he had returned not daring +to follow the princess; but he looked at her; he heard her blowing her +nose. Was there ever a princess who blew her nose? but Diane attempted +the impossible to convey an idea of her sensibility. D'Arthez believed +his angel was in tears; he rushed to her side, took her round the +waist, and pressed her to his heart. + +"No, no, leave me!" she murmured in a feeble voice. "I have too many +doubts to be good for anything. To reconcile me with life is a task +beyond the powers of any man." + +"Diane! I will love you for your whole lost life." + +"No; don't speak to me thus," she answered. "At this moment I tremble, +I am ashamed as though I had committed the greatest sins." + +She was now entirely restored to the innocence of little girls, and +yet her bearing was august, grand, noble as that of a queen. It is +impossible to describe the effect of these manoeuvres, so clever that +they acted like the purest truth on a soul as fresh and honest as that +of d'Arthez. The great author remained dumb with admiration, passive +beside her in the recess of that window awaiting a word, while the +princess awaited a kiss; but she was far too sacred to him for that. +Feeling cold, the princess returned to her easy-chair; her feet were +frozen. + +"It will take a long time," she said to herself, looking at Daniel's +noble brow and head. + +"Is this a woman?" thought that profound observer of human nature. +"How ought I to treat her?" + +Until two o'clock in the morning they spent their time in saying to +each other the silly things that women of genius, like the princess, +know how to make adorable. Diane pretended to be too worn, too old, +too faded; D'Arthez proved to her (facts of which she was well +convinced) that her skin was the most delicate, the softest to the +touch, the whitest to the eye, the most fragrant; she was young and in +her bloom, how could she think otherwise? Thus they disputed, beauty +by beauty, detail by detail with many: "Oh! do you think so?"--"You +are beside yourself!"--"It is hope, it is fancy!"--"You will soon see +me as I am.--I am almost forty years of age. Can a man love so old a +woman?" + +D'Arthez responded with impetuous and school-boy eloquence, larded +with exaggerated epithets. When the princess heard this wise and witty +writer talking the nonsense of an amorous sub-lieutenant she listened +with an absorbed air and much sensibility; but she laughed in her +sleeve. + +When d'Arthez was in the street, he asked himself whether he might not +have been rather less respectful. He went over in memory those strange +confidences--which have, naturally, been much abridged here, for they +needed a volume to convey their mellifluous abundance and the graces +which accompanied them. The retrospective perspicacity of this man, so +natural, so profound, was baffled by the candor of that tale and its +poignancy, and by the tones of the princess. + +"It is true," he said to himself, being unable to sleep, "there are +such dramas as that in society. Society covers great horrors with the +flowers of its elegance, the embroidery of its gossip, the wit of its +lies. We writers invent no more than the truth. Poor Diane! Michel had +penetrated that enigma; he said that beneath her covering of ice there +lay volcanoes! Bianchon and Rastignac were right; when a man can join +the grandeurs of the ideal and the enjoyments of human passion in +loving a woman of perfect manners, of intellect, of delicacy, it must +be happiness beyond words." + +So thinking, he sounded the love that was in him and found it +infinite. + + + +CHAPTER V + +A TRIAL OF FAITH + +The next day, about two in the afternoon, Madame d'Espard, who had +seen and heard nothing of the princess for more than a month, went to +see her under the impulse of extreme curiosity. Nothing was ever more +amusing of its kind than the conversation of these two crafty adders +during the first half-hour of this visit. + +Diane d'Uxelles cautiously avoided, as she would the wearing of a +yellow gown, all mention of d'Arthez. The marquise circled round and +round that topic like a Bedouin round a caravan. Diane amused herself; +the marquise fumed. Diane waited; she intended to utilize her friend +and use her in the chase. Of these two women, both so celebrated in +the social world, one was far stronger than the other. The princess +rose by a head above the marquise, and the marquise was inwardly +conscious of that superiority. In this, perhaps, lay the secret of +their intimacy. The weaker of the two crouched low in her false +attachment, watching for the hour, long awaited by feeble beings, of +springing at the throat of the stronger and leaving the mark of a +joyful bite. Diane saw clear; but the world was the dupe of the wile +caresses of the two friends. + +The instant that the princess perceived a direct question on the lips +of her friend, she said:-- + +"Ah! dearest, I owe you a most complete, immense, infinite, celestial +happiness." + +"What can you mean?" + +"Have you forgotten what we ruminated three months ago in the little +garden, sitting on a bench in the sun, under the jasmine? Ah! there +are none but men of genius who know how to love! I apply to my grand +Daniel d'Arthez the Duke of Alba's saying to Catherine de' Medici: +'The head of a single salmon is worth all the frogs in the world.'" + +"I am not surprised that I no longer see you," said Madame d'Espard. + +"Promise me, if you meet him, not to say to him one word about me, my +angel," said the princess, taking her friend's hand. "I am happy, oh! +happy beyond all expression; but you know that in society a word, a +mere jest can do much harm. One speech can kill, for they put such +venom into a single sentence! Ah! if you knew how I long that you +might meet with a love like this! Yes, it is a sweet, a precious +triumph for women like ourselves to end our woman's life in this way; +to rest in an ardent, pure, devoted, complete and absolute love; above +all, when we have sought it long." + +"Why do you ask me to be faithful to my dearest friend?" said Madame +d'Espard. "Do you think me capable of playing you some villainous +trick?" + +"When a woman possesses such a treasure the fear of losing it is so +strong that it naturally inspires a feeling of terror. I am absurd, I +know; forgive me, dear." + +A few moments later the marquise departed; as she watched her go the +princess said to herself:-- + +"How she will pluck me! But to save her the trouble of trying to get +Daniel away from here I'll send him to her." + +At three o'clock, or a few moments after, d'Arthez arrived. In the +midst of some interesting topic on which he was discoursing +eloquently, the princess suddenly cut him short by laying her hand on +his arm. + +"Pardon me, my dear friend," she said, interrupting him, "but I fear I +may forget a thing which seems a mere trifle but may be of great +importance. You have not set foot in Madame d'Espard's salon since the +ever-blessed day when I met you there. Pray go at once; not for your +sake, nor by way of politeness, but for me. You may already have made +her an enemy of mine, if by chance she has discovered that since her +dinner you have scarcely left my house. Besides, my friend, I don't +like to see you dropping your connection with society, and neglecting +your occupations and your work. I should again be strangely +calumniated. What would the world say? That I held you in leading- +strings, absorbed you, feared comparisons, and clung to my conquest +knowing it to be my last! Who will know that you are my friend, my +only friend? If you love me indeed, as you say you love me, you will +make the world believe that we are purely and simply brother and +sister-- Go on with what you were saying." + +In his armor of tenderness, riveted by the knowledge of so many +splendid virtues, d'Arthez obeyed this behest on the following day and +went to see Madame d'Espard, who received him with charming coquetry. +The marquise took very good care not to say a single word to him about +the princess, but she asked him to dinner on a coming day. + +On this occasion d'Arthez found a numerous company. The marquise had +invited Rastignac, Blondet, the Marquis d'Ajuda-Pinto, Maxime de +Trailles, the Marquis d'Esgrignon, the two brothers Vandenesse, du +Tillet, one of the richest bankers in Paris, the Baron de Nucingen, +Raoul Nathan, Lady Dudley, two very treacherous secretaries of +embassies and the Chevalier d'Espard, the wiliest person in this +assemblage and the chief instigator of his sister-in-law's policy. + +When dinner was well under way, Maxime de Trailles turned to d'Arthez +and said smiling:-- + +"You see a great deal, don't you, of the Princesse de Cadignan?" + +To this question d'Arthez responded by curtly nodding his head. Maxime +de Trailles was a "bravo" of the social order, without faith or law, +capable of everything, ruining the women who trusted him, compelling +them to pawn their diamonds to give him money, but covering this +conduct with a brilliant varnish; a man of charming manners and +satanic mind. He inspired all who knew him with equal contempt and +fear; but as no one was bold enough to show him any sentiments but +those of the utmost courtesy he saw nothing of this public opinion, or +else he accepted and shared the general dissimulation. He owed to the +Comte de Marsay the greatest degree of elevation to which he could +attain. De Marsay, whose knowledge of Maxime was of long-standing, +judged him capable of fulfilling certain secret and diplomatic +functions which he confided to him and of which de Trailles acquitted +himself admirably. D'Arthez had for some time past mingled +sufficiently in political matters to know the man for what he was, and +he alone had sufficient strength and height of character to express +aloud what others thought or said in a whisper. + +"Is it for her that you neglect the Chamber?" asked Baron de Nucingen +in his German accent. + +"Ah! the princess is one of the most dangerous women a man can have +anything to do with. I owe to her the miseries of my marriage," +exclaimed the Marquis d'Esgrignon. + +"Dangerous?" said Madame d'Espard. "Don't speak so of my nearest +friend. I have never seen or known anything in the princess that did +not seem to come from the noblest sentiments." + +"Let the marquis say what he thinks," cried Rastignac. "When a man has +been thrown by a fine horse he thinks it has vices and he sells it." + +Piqued by these words, the Marquis d'Esgrignon looked at d'Arthez and +said:-- + +"Monsieur is not, I trust, on such terms with the princess that we +cannot speak freely of her?" + +D'Arthez kept silence. D'Esgrignon, who was not wanting in cleverness, +replied to Rastignac's speech with an apologetic portrait of the +princess, which put the whole table in good humor. As the jest was +extremely obscure to d'Arthez he leaned towards his neighbor, Madame +de Montcornet, and asked her, in a whisper, what it meant. + +"Excepting yourself--judging by the excellent opinion you seem to have +of the princess--all the other guests are said to have been in her +good graces." + +"I can assure you that such an accusation is absolutely false," said +Daniel. + +"And yet, here is Monsieur d'Esgrignon of an old family of Alencon, +who completely ruined himself for her some twelve years ago, and, if +all is true, came very near going to the scaffold." + +"I know the particulars of that affair," said d'Arthez. "Madame de +Cadignan went to Alencon to save Monsieur d'Esgrignon from a trial +before the court of assizes; and this is how he rewards her to-day!" + +Madame de Montcornet looked at d'Arthez with a surprise and curiosity +that were almost stupid, then she turned her eyes on Madame d'Espard +with a look which seemed to say: "He is bewitched!" + +During this short conversation Madame de Cadignan was protected by +Madame d'Espard, whose protection was like that of the lightning-rod +which draws the flash. When d'Arthez returned to the general +conversation Maxime de Trailles was saying:-- + +"With Diane, depravity is not an effect but a cause; perhaps she owes +that cause to her exquisite nature; she doesn't invent, she makes no +effort, she offers you the choicest refinements as the inspiration of +a spontaneous and naive love; and it is absolutely impossible not to +believe her." + +This speech, which seemed to have been prepared for a man of +d'Arthez's stamp, was so tremendous an arraignment that the company +appeared to accept it as a conclusion. No one said more; the princess +was crushed. D'Arthez looked straight at de Trailles and then at +d'Esgrignon with a sarcastic air, and said:-- + +"The greatest fault of that woman is that she has followed in the wake +of men. She squanders patrimonies as they do; she drives her lovers to +usurers; she pockets "dots"; she ruins orphans; she inspires, possibly +she commits, crimes, but--" + +Never had the two men, whom d'Arthez was chiefly addressing, listened +to such plain talk. At that BUT the whole table was startled, every +one paused, fork in air, their eyes fixed alternately on the brave +author and on the assailants of the princess, awaiting the conclusion +of that horrible silence. + +"But," said d'Arthez, with sarcastic airiness, "Madame la Princesse de +Cadignan has one advantage over men: when they have put themselves in +danger for her sake, she saves them, and says no harm of any one. +Among the multitude, why shouldn't there be one woman who amuses +herself with men as men amuse themselves with women? Why not allow the +fair sex to take, from time to time, its revenge?" + +"Genius is stronger than wit," said Blondet to Nathan. + +This broadside of sarcasms was in fact the discharge of a battery of +cannons against a platoon of musketry. When coffee was served, Blondet +and Nathan went up to d'Arthez with an eagerness no one else dared to +imitate, so unable were the rest of the company to show the admiration +his conduct inspired from the fear of making two powerful enemies. + +"This is not the first time we have seen that your character equals +your talent in grandeur," said Blondet. "You behaved just now more +like a demi-god than a man. Not to have been carried away by your +heart or your imagination, not to have taken up the defence of a +beloved woman--a fault they were enticing you to commit, because it +would have given those men of society eaten up with jealousy of your +literary fame a triumph over you--ah! give me leave to say you have +attained the height of private statesmanship." + +"Yes, you are a statesman," said Nathan. "It is as clever as it is +difficult to avenge a woman without defending her." + +"The princess is one of those heroines of the legitimist party, and it +is the duty of all men of honor to protect her quand meme," replied +d'Arthez, coldly. "What she has done for the cause of her masters +would excuse all follies." + +"He keeps his own counsel!" said Nathan to Blondet. + +"Precisely as if the princess were worth it," said Rastignac, joining +the other two. + +D'Arthez went to the princess, who was awaiting him with the keenest +anxiety. The result of this experiment, which Diane had herself +brought about, might be fatal to her. For the first time in her life +this woman suffered in her heart. She knew not what she should do in +case d'Arthez believed the world which spoke the truth, instead of +believing her who lied; for never had so noble a nature, so complete a +man, a soul so pure, a conscience so ingenuous come beneath her hand. +Though she had told him cruel lies she was driven to do so by the +desire of knowing a true love. That love--she felt it dawning in her +heart; yes, she loved d'Arthez; and now she was condemned forever to +deceive him! She must henceforth remain to him the actress who had +played that comedy to blind his eyes. + +When she heard Daniel's step in the dining-room a violent commotion, a +shudder which reached to her very vitals came over her. That +convulsion, never felt during all the years of her adventurous +existence, told her that she had staked her happiness on this issue. +Her eyes, gazing into space, took in the whole of d'Arthez's person; +their light poured through his flesh, she read his soul; suspicion had +not so much as touched him with its bat's-wing. The terrible emotion +of that fear then came to its reaction; joy almost stifled her; for +there is no human being who is not more able to endure grief than to +bear extreme felicity. + +"Daniel, they have calumniated me, and you have avenged me!" she +cried, rising, and opening her arms to him. + +In the profound amazement caused by these words, the roots of which +were utterly unknown to him, Daniel allowed his hand to be taken +between her beautiful hands, as the princess kissed him sacredly on +the forehead. + +"But," he said, "how could you know--" + +"Oh! illustrious ninny! do you not see that I love you fondly?" + +Since that day nothing has been said of the Princess de Cadignan, nor +of d'Arthez. The princess has inherited some fortune from her mother +and she spends all her summers in a villa on the lake of Geneva, where +the great writer joins her. She returns to Paris for a few months in +winter. D'Arthez is never seen except in the Chamber. His writings are +becoming exceedingly rare. Is this a conclusion? Yes, for people of +sense; no, for persons who want to know everything. + + + +ADDENDUM + +The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + +Ajuda-Pinto, Marquis Miguel d' + Father Goriot + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Beatrix + +Arthez, Daniel d' + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Member for Arcis + +Bianchon, Horace + Father Goriot + The Atheist's Mass + Cesar Birotteau + The Commission in Lunacy + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor's Establishment + The Government Clerks + Pierrette + A Study of Woman + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Honorine + The Seamy Side of History + The Magic Skin + A Second Home + A Prince of Bohemia + Letters of Two Brides + The Muse of the Department + The Imaginary Mistress + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + The Country Parson +In addition, M. Bianchon narrated the following: + Another Study of Woman + La Grande Breteche + +Blondet, Emile + Jealousies of a Country Town + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Modeste Mignon + Another Study of Woman + A Daughter of Eve + The Firm of Nucingen + The Peasantry + +Blondet, Virginie + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Another Study of Woman + The Member for Arcis + A Daughter of Eve + +Cadignan, Prince de + Modeste Mignon + +Chrestien, Michel + A Bachelor's Establishment + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + +Cinq-Cygne, Laurence, Comtesse (afterwards Marquise de) + The Gondreville Mystery + The Seamy Side of History + The Member for Arcis + +Dudley, Lady Arabella + The Lily of the Valley + The Ball at Sceaux + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + +Esgrignon, Victurnien, Comte (then Marquis d') + Jealousies of a Country Town + Letters of Two Brides + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + +Espard, Chevalier d' + The Commission in Lunacy + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + +Espard, Jeanne-Clementine-Athenais de Blamont-Chauvry, Marquise d' + The Commission in Lunacy + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + +Galathionne, Prince and Princess (both not in each story) + The Middle Classes + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + Beatrix + +Giraud, Leon + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Bachelor's Establishment + The Unconscious Humorists + +Marsay, Henri de + The Thirteen + The Unconscious Humorists + Another Study of Woman + The Lily of the Valley + Father Goriot + Jealousies of a Country Town + Ursule Mirouet + A Marriage Settlement + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Letters of Two Brides + The Ball at Sceaux + Modest Mignon + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + +Maufrigneuse, Duc de + A Start in Life + A Bachelor's Establishment + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + + Maufrigneuse, Duchesse de + Modeste Mignon + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Muse of the Department + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Letters of Two Brides + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + The Member for Arcis + +Maufrigneuse, Georges de + The Gondreville Mystery + Beatrix + The Member for Arcis + +Mirbel, Madame de + Letters of Two Brides + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + +Nathan, Raoul + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + A Daughter of Eve + Letters of Two Brides + The Seamy Side of History + The Muse of the Department + A Prince of Bohemia + A Man of Business + The Unconscious Humorists + +Navarreins, Duc de + A Bachelor's Establishment + Colonel Chabert + The Muse of the Department + The Thirteen + Jealousies of a Country Town + The Peasantry + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + The Country Parson + The Magic Skin + The Gondreville Mystery + Cousin Betty + +Nucingen, Baron Frederic de + The Firm of Nucingen + Father Goriot + Pierrette + Cesar Birotteau + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + Another Study of Woman + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + The Muse of the Department + The Unconscious Humorists + +Rastignac, Eugene de + Father Goriot + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + The Ball at Sceaux + The Interdiction + A Study of Woman + Another Study of Woman + The Magic Skin + A Daughter of Eve + The Gondreville Mystery + The Firm of Nucingen + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + The Unconscious Humorists + +Rochefide, Marquise de + Beatrix + A Daughter of Eve + Sarrasine + A Prince of Bohemia + +Tillet, Ferdinand du + Cesar Birotteau + The Firm of Nucingen + The Middle Classes + A Bachelor's Establishment + Pierrette + Melmoth Reconciled + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Unconscious Humorists + +Toby (Joby, Paddy) + The Firm of Nucingen + +Trailles, Comte Maxime de + Cesar Birotteau + Father Goriot + Gobseck + Ursule Mirouet + A Man of Business + The Member for Arcis + Cousin Betty + The Member for Arcis + Beatrix + The Unconscious Humorists + +Vandenesse, Comte Felix de + The Lily of the Valley + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Cesar Birotteau + Letters of Two Brides + A Start in Life + The Marriage Settlement + Another Study of Woman + The Gondreville Mystery + A Daughter of Eve + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg Etext of The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan + diff --git a/old/old/sdpdc10.zip b/old/old/sdpdc10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..18c24ac --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/sdpdc10.zip |