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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 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