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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/1411-0.txt b/1411-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..397c056 --- /dev/null +++ b/1411-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1550 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1411 *** + +DOMESTIC PEACE + + +By Honore De Balzac + + + +Translated By Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell + + + + Dedicated to my dear niece Valentine Surville. + + + + + +DOMESTIC PEACE + + +The incident recorded in this sketch took place towards the end of the +month of November, 1809, the moment when Napoleon’s fugitive empire +attained the apogee of its splendor. The trumpet-blasts of Wagram were +still sounding an echo in the heart of the Austrian monarchy. Peace was +being signed between France and the Coalition. Kings and princes came to +perform their orbits, like stars, round Napoleon, who gave himself the +pleasure of dragging all Europe in his train--a magnificent +experiment in the power he afterwards displayed at Dresden. Never, as +contemporaries tell us, did Paris see entertainments more superb than +those which preceded and followed the sovereign’s marriage with an +Austrian archduchess. Never, in the most splendid days of the Monarchy, +had so many crowned heads thronged the shores of the Seine, never +had the French aristocracy been so rich or so splendid. The diamonds +lavishly scattered over the women’s dresses, and the gold and silver +embroidery on the uniforms contrasted so strongly with the penury of the +Republic, that the wealth of the globe seemed to be rolling through the +drawing-rooms of Paris. Intoxication seemed to have turned the brains +of this Empire of a day. All the military, not excepting their chief, +reveled like parvenus in the treasure conquered for them by a million +men with worsted epaulettes, whose demands were satisfied by a few yards +of red ribbon. + +At this time most women affected that lightness of conduct and facility +of morals which distinguished the reign of Louis XV. Whether it were in +imitation of the tone of the fallen monarchy, or because certain members +of the Imperial family had set the example--as certain malcontents of +the Faubourg Saint-Germain chose to say--it is certain that men and +women alike flung themselves into a life of pleasure with an intrepidity +which seemed to forbode the end of the world. But there was at that +time another cause for such license. The infatuation of women for the +military became a frenzy, and was too consonant to the Emperor’s views +for him to try to check it. The frequent calls to arms, which gave every +treaty concluded between Napoleon and the rest of Europe the character +of an armistice, left every passion open to a termination as sudden as +the decisions of the Commander-in-chief of all these busbys, pelisses, +and aiguillettes, which so fascinated the fair sex. Hearts were as +nomadic as the regiments. Between the first and fifth bulletins from the +_Grand Armee_ a woman might be in succession mistress, wife, mother, and +widow. + +Was it the prospect of early widowhood, the hope of a jointure, or +that of bearing a name promised to history, which made the soldiers so +attractive? Were women drawn to them by the certainty that the secret +of their passions would be buried on the field of battle? or may we find +the reason of this gentle fanaticism in the noble charm that courage has +for a woman? Perhaps all these reasons, which the future historian +of the manners of the Empire will no doubt amuse himself by weighing, +counted for something in their facile readiness to abandon themselves +to love intrigues. Be that as it may, it must here be confessed that at +that time laurels hid many errors, women showed an ardent preference for +the brave adventurers, whom they regarded as the true fount of honor, +wealth, or pleasure; and in the eyes of young girls, an epaulette--the +hieroglyphic of a future--signified happiness and liberty. + +One feature, and a characteristic one, of this unique period in our +history was an unbridled mania for everything glittering. Never were +fireworks so much in vogue, never were diamonds so highly prized. The +men, as greedy as the women of these translucent pebbles, displayed them +no less lavishly. Possibly the necessity for carrying plunder in the +most portable form made gems the fashion in the army. A man was not +ridiculous then, as he would be now, if his shirt-frill or his fingers +blazed with large diamonds. Murat, an Oriental by nature, set the +example of preposterous luxury to modern soldiers. + +The Comte de Gondreville, formerly known as Citizen Malin, whose +elevation had made him famous, having become a Lucullus of the +Conservative Senate, which “conserved” nothing, had postponed an +entertainment in honor of the peace only that he might the better pay +his court to Napoleon by his efforts to eclipse those flatterers who had +been before-hand with him. The ambassadors from all the Powers +friendly with France, with an eye to favors to come, the most important +personages of the Empire, and even a few princes, were at this hour +assembled in the wealthy senator’s drawing-rooms. Dancing flagged; every +one was watching for the Emperor, whose presence the Count had promised +his guests. And Napoleon would have kept his word but for the scene +which had broken out that very evening between him and Josephine--the +scene which portended the impending divorce of the august pair. The +report of this incident, at the time kept very secret, but recorded by +history, did not reach the ears of the courtiers, and had no effect on +the gaiety of Comte de Gondreville’s party beyond keeping Napoleon away. + +The prettiest women in Paris, eager to be at the Count’s on the strength +of mere hearsay, at this moment were a besieging force of luxury, +coquettishness, elegance, and beauty. The financial world, proud of its +riches, challenged the splendor of the generals and high officials of +the Empire, so recently gorged with orders, titles, and honors. These +grand balls were always an opportunity seized upon by wealthy families +for introducing their heiresses to Napoleon’s Praetorian Guard, in the +foolish hope of exchanging their splendid fortunes for uncertain favors. +The women who believed themselves strong enough in their beauty alone +came to test their power. There, as elsewhere, amusement was but a +blind. Calm and smiling faces and placid brows covered sordid interests, +expressions of friendship were a lie, and more than one man was less +distrustful of his enemies than of his friends. + +These remarks are necessary to explain the incidents of the little +imbroglio which is the subject of this study, and the picture, softened +as it is, of the tone then dominant in Paris drawing-rooms. + +“Turn your eyes a little towards the pedestal supporting that +candelabrum--do you see a young lady with her hair drawn back _a la +Chinoise_!--There, in the corner to the left; she has bluebells in the +knot of chestnut curls which fall in clusters on her head. Do not you +see her? She is so pale you might fancy she was ill, delicate-looking, +and very small; there--now she is turning her head this way; her +almond-shaped blue eyes, so delightfully soft, look as if they were made +expressly for tears. Look, look! She is bending forward to see Madame +de Vaudremont below the crowd of heads in constant motion; the high +head-dresses prevent her having a clear view.” + +“I see her now, my dear fellow. You had only to say that she had the +whitest skin of all the women here; I should have known whom you meant. +I had noticed her before; she has the loveliest complexion I ever +admired. From hence I defy you to see against her throat the pearls +between the sapphires of her necklace. But she is a prude or a coquette, +for the tucker of her bodice scarcely lets one suspect the beauty of her +bust. What shoulders! what lily-whiteness!” + +“Who is she?” asked the first speaker. + +“Ah! that I do not know.” + +“Aristocrat!--Do you want to keep them all to yourself, Montcornet?” + +“You of all men to banter me!” replied Montcornet, with a smile. “Do you +think you have a right to insult a poor general like me because, being +a happy rival of Soulanges, you cannot even turn on your heel without +alarming Madame de Vaudremont? Or is it because I came only a month ago +into the Promised Land? How insolent you can be, you men in office, +who sit glued to your chairs while we are dodging shot and shell! Come, +Monsieur le Maitre des Requetes, allow us to glean in the field of which +you can only have precarious possession from the moment when we evacuate +it. The deuce is in it! We have a right to live! My good friend, if you +knew the German women, you would, I believe, do me a good turn with the +Parisian you love best.” + +“Well, General, since you have vouchsafed to turn your attention to that +lady, whom I never saw till now, have the charity to tell me if you have +seen her dance.” + +“Why, my dear Martial, where have you dropped from? If you are ever sent +with an embassy, I have small hopes of your success. Do not you see a +triple rank of the most undaunted coquettes of Paris between her and the +swarm of dancing men that buzz under the chandelier? And was it not only +by the help of your eyeglass that you were able to discover her at all +in the corner by that pillar, where she seems buried in the gloom, in +spite of the candles blazing above her head? Between her and us there is +such a sparkle of diamonds and glances, so many floating plumes, such a +flutter of lace, of flowers and curls, that it would be a real miracle +if any dancer could detect her among those stars. Why, Martial, how is +it that you have not understood her to be the wife of some sous-prefet +from Lippe or Dyle, who has come to try to get her husband promoted?” + +“Oh, he will be!” exclaimed the Master of Appeals quickly. + +“I doubt it,” replied the Colonel of Cuirassiers, laughing. “She seems +as raw in intrigue as you are in diplomacy. I dare bet, Martial, that +you do not know how she got into that place.” + +The lawyer looked at the Colonel of Cuirassiers with an expression as +much of contempt as of curiosity. + +“Well,” proceeded Montcornet, “she arrived, I have no doubt, punctually +at nine, the first of the company perhaps, and probably she greatly +embarrassed the Comtesse de Gondreville, who cannot put two ideas +together. Repulsed by the mistress of the house, routed from chair to +chair by each newcomer, and driven into the darkness of this little +corner, she allowed herself to be walled in, the victim of the jealousy +of the other ladies, who would gladly have buried that dangerous beauty. +She had, of course, no friend to encourage her to maintain the place she +first held in the front rank; then each of those treacherous fair ones +would have enjoined on the men of her circle on no account to take out +our poor friend, under pain of the severest punishment. That, my dear +fellow, is the way in which those sweet faces, in appearance so tender +and so artless, would have formed a coalition against the stranger, and +that without a word beyond the question, ‘Tell me, dear, do you know +that little woman in blue?’--Look here, Martial, if you care to run the +gauntlet of more flattering glances and inviting questions than you will +ever again meet in the whole of your life, just try to get through the +triple rampart which defends that Queen of Dyle, or Lippe, or Charente. +You will see whether the dullest woman of them all will not be equal +to inventing some wile that would hinder the most determined man from +bringing the plaintive stranger to the light. Does it not strike you +that she looks like an elegy?” + +“Do you think so, Montcornet? Then she must be a married woman?” + +“Why not a widow?” + +“She would be less passive,” said the lawyer, laughing. + +“She is perhaps the widow of a man who is gambling,” replied the +handsome Colonel. + +“To be sure; since the peace there are so many widows of that class!” + said Martial. “But my dear Montcornet, we are a couple of simpletons. +That face is still too ingenuous, there is too much youth and +freshness on the brow and temples for her to be married. What splendid +flesh-tints! Nothing has sunk in the modeling of the nose. Lips, chin, +everything in her face is as fresh as a white rosebud, though the +expression is veiled, as it were, by the clouds of sadness. Who can it +be that makes that young creature weep?” + +“Women cry for so little,” said the Colonel. + +“I do not know,” replied Martial; “but she does not cry because she is +left there without a partner; her grief is not of to-day. It is evident +that she has beautified herself for this evening with intention. I would +wager that she is in love already.” + +“Bah! She is perhaps the daughter of some German princeling; no one +talks to her,” said Montcornet. + +“Dear! how unhappy a poor child may be!” Martial went on. “Can there be +anything more graceful and refined than our little stranger? Well, not +one of those furies who stand round her, and who believe that they can +feel, will say a word to her. If she would but speak, we should see if +she has fine teeth. + +“Bless me, you boil over like milk at the least increase of +temperature!” cried the Colonel, a little nettled at so soon finding a +rival in his friend. + +“What!” exclaimed the lawyer, without heeding the Colonel’s question. +“Can nobody here tell us the name of this exotic flower?” + +“Some lady companion!” said Montcornet. + +“What next? A companion! wearing sapphires fit for a queen, and a dress +of Malines lace? Tell that to the marines, General. You, too, would not +shine in diplomacy if, in the course of your conjectures, you jump in a +breath from a German princess to a lady companion.” + +Montcornet stopped a man by taking his arm--a fat little man, whose +iron-gray hair and clever eyes were to be seen at the lintel of every +doorway, and who mingled unceremoniously with the various groups which +welcomed him respectfully. + +“Gondreville, my friend,” said Montcornet, “who is that quite charming +little woman sitting out there under that huge candelabrum?” + +“The candelabrum? Ravrio’s work; Isabey made the design.” + +“Oh, I recognized your lavishness and taste; but the lady?” + +“Ah! I do not know. Some friend of my wife’s, no doubt.” + +“Or your mistress, you old rascal.” + +“No, on my honor. The Comtesse de Gondreville is the only person capable +of inviting people whom no one knows.” + +In spite of this very acrimonious comment, the fat little man’s lips did +not lose the smile which the Colonel’s suggestion had brought to them. +Montcornet returned to the lawyer, who had rejoined a neighboring group, +intent on asking, but in vain, for information as to the fair unknown. +He grasped Martial’s arm, and said in his ear: + +“My dear Martial, mind what you are about. Madame de Vaudremont has been +watching you for some minutes with ominous attentiveness; she is a woman +who can guess by the mere movement of your lips what you say to me; +our eyes have already told her too much; she has perceived and followed +their direction, and I suspect that at this moment she is thinking even +more than we are of the little blue lady.” + +“That is too old a trick in warfare, my dear Montcornet! However, what +do I care? Like the Emperor, when I have made a conquest, I keep it.” + +“Martial, your fatuity cries out for a lesson. What! you, a civilian, +and so lucky as to be the husband-designate of Madame de Vaudremont, a +widow of two-and-twenty, burdened with four thousand napoleons a year--a +woman who slips such a diamond as this on your finger,” he added, taking +the lawyer’s left hand, which the young man complacently allowed; “and, +to crown all, you affect the Lovelace, just as if you were a colonel and +obliged to keep up the reputation of the military in home quarters! Fie, +fie! Only think of all you may lose.” + +“At any rate, I shall not lose my liberty,” replied Martial, with a +forced laugh. + +He cast a passionate glance at Madame de Vaudremont, who responded only +by a smile of some uneasiness, for she had seen the Colonel examining +the lawyer’s ring. + +“Listen to me, Martial. If you flutter round my young stranger, I shall +set to work to win Madame de Vaudremont.” + +“You have my full permission, my dear Cuirassier, but you will not +gain this much,” and the young Maitre des Requetes put his polished +thumb-nail under an upper tooth with a little mocking click. + +“Remember that I am unmarried,” said the Colonel; “that my sword is my +whole fortune; and that such a challenge is setting Tantalus down to a +banquet which he will devour.” + +“Prrr.” + +This defiant roll of consonants was the only reply to the Colonel’s +declaration, as Martial looked him from head to foot before turning +away. + +The fashion of the time required men to wear at a ball white kerseymere +breeches and silk stockings. This pretty costume showed to great +advantage the perfection of Montcornet’s fine shape. He was +five-and-thirty, and attracted attention by his stalwart height, +insisted on for the Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard whose handsome +uniform enhanced the dignity of his figure, still youthful in spite +of the stoutness occasioned by living on horseback. A black moustache +emphasized the frank expression of a thoroughly soldierly countenance, +with a broad, high forehead, an aquiline nose, and bright red lips. +Montcornet’s manner, stamped with a certain superiority due to the habit +of command, might please a woman sensible enough not to aim at making a +slave of her husband. The Colonel smiled as he looked at the lawyer, one +of his favorite college friends, whose small figure made it necessary +for Montcornet to look down a little as he answered his raillery with a +friendly glance. + +Baron Martial de la Roche-Hugon was a young Provencal patronized by +Napoleon; his fate might probably be some splendid embassy. He had +won the Emperor by his Italian suppleness and a genius for intrigue, a +drawing-room eloquence, and a knowledge of manners, which are so good a +substitute for the higher qualities of a sterling man. Through young +and eager, his face had already acquired the rigid brilliancy of tinned +iron, one of the indispensable characteristics of diplomatists, which +allows them to conceal their emotions and disguise their feelings, +unless, indeed, this impassibility indicates an absence of all emotion +and the death of every feeling. The heart of a diplomate may be regarded +as an insoluble problem, for the three most illustrious ambassadors of +the time have been distinguished by perdurable hatreds and most romantic +attachments. + +Martial, however, was one of those men who are capable of reckoning on +the future in the midst of their intensest enjoyment; he had already +learned to judge the world, and hid his ambition under the fatuity of a +lady-killer, cloaking his talent under the commonplace of mediocrity +as soon as he observed the rapid advancement of those men who gave the +master little umbrage. + +The two friends now had to part with a cordial grasp of hands. The +introductory tune, warning the ladies to form in squares for a fresh +quadrille, cleared the men away from the space they had filled while +talking in the middle of the large room. This hurried dialogue had taken +place during the usual interval between two dances, in front of the +fireplace of the great drawing-room of Gondreville’s mansion. The +questions and answers of this very ordinary ballroom gossip had been +almost whispered by each of the speakers into his neighbor’s ear. At the +same time, the chandeliers and the flambeaux on the chimney-shelf shed +such a flood of light on the two friends that their faces, strongly +illuminated, failed, in spite of their diplomatic discretion, to conceal +the faint expression of their feelings either from the keen-sighted +countess or the artless stranger. This espionage of people’s thoughts is +perhaps to idle persons one of the pleasures they find in society, while +numbers of disappointed numskulls are bored there without daring to own +it. + + + +Fully to appreciate the interest of this conversation, it is necessary +to relate an incident which would presently serve as an invisible bond, +drawing together the actors in this little drama, who were at present +scattered through the rooms. + +At about eleven o’clock, just as the dancers were returning to their +seats, the company had observed the entrance of the handsomest woman in +Paris, the queen of fashion, the only person wanting to the brilliant +assembly. She made it a rule never to appear till the moment when a +party had reached that pitch of excited movement which does not allow +the women to preserve much longer the freshness of their faces or of +their dress. This brief hour is, as it were, the springtime of a ball. +An hour after, when pleasure falls flat and fatigue is encroaching, +everything is spoilt. Madame de Vaudremont never committed the blunder +of remaining at a party to be seen with drooping flowers, hair out +of curl, tumbled frills, and a face like every other that sleep is +courting--not always without success. She took good care not to let her +beauty be seen drowsy, as her rivals did; she was so clever as to +keep up her reputation for smartness by always leaving a ballroom in +brilliant order, as she had entered it. Women whispered to each other +with a feeling of envy that she planned and wore as many different +dresses as the parties she went to in one evening. + +On the present occasion Madame de Vaudremont was not destined to be free +to leave when she would the ballroom she had entered in triumph. Pausing +for a moment on the threshold, she shot swift but observant glances on +the women present, hastily scrutinizing their dresses to assure herself +that her own eclipsed them all. + +The illustrious beauty presented herself to the admiration of the crowd +at the same moment with one of the bravest colonels of the Guards’ +Artillery and the Emperor’s favorite, the Comte de Soulanges. The +transient and fortuitous association of these two had about it a certain +air of mystery. On hearing the names announced of Monsieur de Soulanges +and the Comtesse de Vaudremont, a few women sitting by the wall rose, +and men, hurrying in from the side-rooms, pressed forward to the +principal doorway. One of the jesters who are always to be found in any +large assembly said, as the Countess and her escort came in, that “women +had quite as much curiosity about seeing a man who was faithful to his +passion as men had in studying a woman who was difficult to enthrall.” + +Though the Comte de Soulanges, a young man of about two-and-thirty, was +endowed with the nervous temperament which in a man gives rise to fine +qualities, his slender build and pale complexion were not at first sight +attractive; his black eyes betrayed great vivacity, but he was taciturn +in company, and there was nothing in his appearance to reveal the gift +for oratory which subsequently distinguished him, on the Right, in the +legislative assembly under the Restoration. + +The Comtesse de Vaudremont, a tall woman, rather fat, with a skin of +dazzling whiteness, a small head that she carried well, and the immense +advantage of inspiring love by the graciousness of her manner, was one +of those beings who keep all the promise of their beauty. + +The pair, who for a few minutes were the centre of general observation, +did not for long give curiosity an opportunity of exercising itself +about them. The Colonel and the Countess seemed perfectly to understand +that accident had placed them in an awkward position. Martial, as they +came forward, had hastened to join the group of men by the fireplace, +that he might watch Madame de Vaudremont with the jealous anxiety of +the first flame of passion, from behind the heads which formed a sort of +rampart; a secret voice seemed to warn him that the success on which he +prided himself might perhaps be precarious. But the coldly polite smile +with which the Countess thanked Monsieur de Soulanges, and her little +bow of dismissal as she sat down by Madame de Gondreville, relaxed the +muscles of his face which jealousy had made rigid. Seeing Soulanges, +however, still standing quite near the sofa on which Madame de +Vaudremont was seated, not apparently having understood the glance +by which the lady had conveyed to him that they were both playing a +ridiculous part, the volcanic Provencal again knit the black brows that +overshadowed his blue eyes, smoothed his chestnut curls to keep himself +in countenance, and without betraying the agitation which made his heart +beat, watched the faces of the Countess and of M. de Soulanges while +still chatting with his neighbors. He then took the hand of Colonel +Montcornet, who had just renewed their old acquaintance, but he listened +to him without hearing him; his mind was elsewhere. + +Soulanges was gazing calmly at the women, sitting four ranks deep all +round the immense ballroom, admiring this dado of diamonds, rubies, +masses of gold and shining hair, of which the lustre almost outshone the +blaze of waxlights, the cutglass of the chandeliers, and the gilding. +His rival’s stolid indifference put the lawyer out of countenance. Quite +incapable of controlling his secret transports of impatience, Martial +went towards Madame de Vaudremont with a bow. On seeing the Provencal, +Soulanges gave him a covert glance, and impertinently turned away his +head. Solemn silence now reigned in the room, where curiosity was at +the highest pitch. All these eager faces wore the strangest mixed +expressions; every one apprehended one of those outbreaks which men of +breeding carefully avoid. Suddenly the Count’s pale face turned as red +as the scarlet facings of his coat, and he fixed his gaze on the floor +that the cause of his agitation might not be guessed. On catching sight +of the unknown lady humbly seated by the pedestal of the candelabrum, +he moved away with a melancholy air, passing in front of the lawyer, and +took refuge in one of the cardrooms. Martial and all the company thought +that Soulanges had publicly surrendered the post, out of fear of the +ridicule which invariably attaches to a discarded lover. The lawyer +proudly raised his head and looked at the strange lady; then, as he took +his seat at his ease near Madame de Vaudremont, he listened to her so +inattentively that he did not catch these words spoken behind her fan: + +“Martial, you will oblige me this evening by not wearing that ring that +you snatched from me. I have my reasons, and will explain them to you +in a moment when we go away. You must give me your arm to go to the +Princess de Wagram’s.” + +“Why did you come in with the Colonel?” asked the Baron. + +“I met him in the hall,” she replied. “But leave me now; everybody is +looking at us.” + +Martial returned to the Colonel of Cuirassiers. Then it was that the +little blue lady had become the object of the curiosity which agitated +in such various ways the Colonel, Soulanges, Martial, and Madame de +Vaudremont. + +When the friends parted, after the challenge which closed their +conversation, the Baron flew to Madame de Vaudremont, and led her to +a place in the most brilliant quadrille. Favored by the sort of +intoxication which dancing always produces in a woman, and by the +turmoil of a ball, where men appear in all the trickery of dress, +which adds no less to their attractions than it does to those of women, +Martial thought he might yield with impunity to the charm that attracted +his gaze to the fair stranger. Though he succeeded in hiding his first +glances towards the lady in blue from the anxious activity of the +Countess’ eyes, he was ere long caught in the fact; and though he +managed to excuse himself once for his absence of mind, he could not +justify the unseemly silence with which he presently heard the most +insinuating question which a woman can put to a man: + +“Do you like me very much this evening?” + +And the more dreamy he became, the more the Countess pressed and teased +him. + +While Martial was dancing, the Colonel moved from group to group, +seeking information about the unknown lady. After exhausting the +good-humor even of the most indifferent, he had resolved to take +advantage of a moment when the Comtesse de Gondreville seemed to be at +liberty, to ask her the name of the mysterious lady, when he perceived a +little space left clear between the pedestal of the candelabrum and the +two sofas, which ended in that corner. The dance had left several of the +chairs vacant, which formed rows of fortifications held by mothers or +women of middle age; and the Colonel seized the opportunity to make his +way through this palisade hung with shawls and wraps. He began by making +himself agreeable to the dowagers, and so from one to another, and from +compliment to compliment, he at last reached the empty space next the +stranger. At the risk of catching on to the gryphons and chimaeras of +the huge candelabrum, he stood there, braving the glare and dropping of +the wax candles, to Martial’s extreme annoyance. + +The Colonel, far too tactful to speak suddenly to the little blue lady +on his right, began by saying to a plain woman who was seated on the +left: + +“This is a splendid ball, madame! What luxury! What life! On my word, +every woman here is pretty! You are not dancing--because you do not care +for it, no doubt.” + +This vapid conversation was solely intended to induce his right-hand +neighbor to speak; but she, silent and absent-minded, paid not the +least attention. The officer had in store a number of phrases which he +intended should lead up to: “And you, madame?”--a question from which he +hoped great things. But he was strangely surprised to see tears in the +strange lady’s eyes, which seemed wholly absorbed in gazing on Madame de +Vaudremont. + +“You are married, no doubt, madame?” he asked her at length, in +hesitating tones. + +“Yes, monsieur,” replied the lady. + +“And your husband is here, of course?” + +“Yes, monsieur.” + +“And why, madame, do you remain in this spot? Is it to attract +attention?” + +The mournful lady smiled sadly. + +“Allow me the honor, madame, of being your partner in the next +quadrille, and I will take care not to bring you back here. I see a +vacant settee near the fire; come and take it. When so many people +are ready to ascend the throne, and Royalty is the mania of the day, I +cannot imagine that you will refuse the title of Queen of the Ball which +your beauty may claim.” + +“I do not intend to dance, monsieur.” + +The curt tone of the lady’s replies was so discouraging that the Colonel +found himself compelled to raise the siege. Martial, who guessed what +the officer’s last request had been, and the refusal he had met with, +began to smile, and stroked his chin, making the diamond sparkle which +he wore on his finger. + +“What are you laughing at?” said the Comtesse de Vaudremont. + +“At the failure of the poor Colonel, who has just put his foot in +it----” + +“I begged you to take your ring off,” said the Countess, interrupting +him. + +“I did not hear you.” + +“If you can hear nothing this evening, at any rate you see everything, +Monsieur le Baron,” said Madame de Vaudremont, with an air of vexation. + +“That young man is displaying a very fine diamond,” the stranger +remarked to the Colonel. + +“Splendid,” he replied. “The man is the Baron Martial de la Roche-Hugon, +one of my most intimate friends.” + +“I have to thank you for telling me his name,” she went on; “he seems an +agreeable man.” + +“Yes, but he is rather fickle.” + +“He seems to be on the best terms with the Comtesse de Vaudremont?” said +the lady, with an inquiring look at the Colonel. + +“On the very best.” + +The unknown turned pale. + +“Hallo!” thought the soldier, “she is in love with that lucky devil +Martial.” + +“I fancied that Madame de Vaudremont had long been devoted to M. de +Soulanges,” said the lady, recovering a little from the suppressed grief +which had clouded the fairness of her face. + +“For a week past the Countess has been faithless,” replied the Colonel. +“But you must have seen poor Soulanges when he came in; he is till +trying to disbelieve in his disaster.” + +“Yes, I saw him,” said the lady. Then she added, “Thank you very much, +monsieur,” in a tone which signified a dismissal. + +At this moment the quadrille was coming to an end. Montcornet had only +time to withdraw, saying to himself by way of consolation, “She is +married.” + +“Well, valiant Cuirassier,” exclaimed the Baron, drawing the Colonel +aside into a window-bay to breathe the fresh air from the garden, “how +are you getting on?” + +“She is a married woman, my dear fellow.” + +“What does that matter?” + +“Oh, deuce take it! I am a decent sort of man,” replied the Colonel. “I +have no idea of paying my addresses to a woman I cannot marry. Besides, +Martial, she expressly told me that she did not intend to dance.” + +“Colonel, I will bet a hundred napoleons to your gray horse that she +will dance with me this evening.” + +“Done!” said the Colonel, putting his hand in the coxcomb’s. “Meanwhile +I am going to look for Soulanges; he perhaps knows the lady, as she +seems interested in him.” + +“You have lost, my good fellow,” cried Martial, laughing. “My eyes +have met hers, and I know what they mean. My dear friend, you owe me no +grudge for dancing with her after she has refused you?” + +“No, no. Those who laugh last, laugh longest. But I am an honest gambler +and a generous enemy, Martial, and I warn you, she is fond of diamonds.” + +With these words the friends parted; General Montcornet made his way +to the cardroom, where he saw the Comte de Soulanges sitting at a +_bouillotte_ table. Though there was no friendship between the two +soldiers, beyond the superficial comradeship arising from the perils +of war and the duties of the service, the Colonel of Cuirassiers was +painfully struck by seeing the Colonel of Artillery, whom he knew to +be a prudent man, playing at a game which might bring him to ruin. The +heaps of gold and notes piled on the fateful cards showed the frenzy of +play. A circle of silent men stood round the players at the table. Now +and then a few words were spoken--_pass, play, I stop, a thousand Louis, +taken_--but, looking at the five motionless men, it seemed as though +they talked only with their eyes. As the Colonel, alarmed by Soulanges’ +pallor, went up to him, the Count was winning. Field-Marshal the Duc +d’Isemberg, Keller, and a famous banker rose from the table completely +cleaned out of considerable sums. Soulanges looked gloomier than ever as +he swept up a quantity of gold and notes; he did not even count it; his +lips curled with bitter scorn, he seemed to defy fortune rather than be +grateful for her favors. + +“Courage,” said the Colonel. “Courage, Soulanges!” Then, believing he +would do him a service by dragging him from play, he added: “Come with +me. I have some good news for you, but on one condition.” + +“What is that?” asked Soulanges. + +“That you will answer a question I will ask you.” + +The Comte de Soulanges rose abruptly, placing his winnings with reckless +indifference in his handkerchief, which he had been twisting with +convulsive nervousness, and his expression was so savage that none of +the players took exception to his walking off with their money. Indeed, +every face seemed to dilate with relief when his morose and crabbed +countenance was no longer to be seen under the circle of light which a +shaded lamp casts on a gaming-table. + +“Those fiends of soldiers are always as thick as thieves at a fair!” + said a diplomate who had been looking on, as he took Soulanges’ place. +One single pallid and fatigued face turned to the newcomer, and said +with a glance that flashed and died out like the sparkle of a diamond: +“When we say military men, we do not mean civil, Monsieur le Ministre.” + +“My dear fellow,” said Montcornet to Soulanges, leading him into a +corner, “the Emperor spoke warmly in your praise this morning, and your +promotion to be field-marshal is a certainty.” + +“The Master does not love the Artillery.” + +“No, but he adores the nobility, and you are an aristocrat. The Master +said,” added Montcornet, “that the men who had married in Paris during +the campaign were not therefore to be considered in disgrace. Well +then?” + +The Comte de Soulanges looked as if he understood nothing of this +speech. + +“And now I hope,” the Colonel went on, “that you will tell me if +you know a charming little woman who is sitting under a huge +candelabrum----” + +At these words the Count’s face lighted up; he violently seized the +Colonel’s hand: “My dear General,” said he, in a perceptibly altered +voice, “if any man but you had asked me such a question, I would have +cracked his skull with this mass of gold. Leave me, I entreat you. +I feel more like blowing out my brains this evening, I assure you, +than----I hate everything I see. And, in fact, I am going. This gaiety, +this music, these stupid faces, all laughing, are killing me!” + +“My poor friend!” replied Montcornet gently, and giving the Count’s hand +a friendly pressure, “you are too vehement. What would you say if I told +you that Martial is thinking so little of Madame de Vaudremont that he +is quite smitten with that little lady?” + +“If he says a word to her,” cried Soulanges, stammering with rage, “I +will thrash him as flat as his own portfolio, even if the coxcomb were +in the Emperor’s lap!” + +And he sank quite overcome on an easy-chair to which Montcornet had led +him. The colonel slowly went away, for he perceived that Soulanges +was in a state of fury far too violent for the pleasantries or the +attentions of superficial friendship to soothe him. + +When Montcornet returned to the ballroom, Madame de Vaudremont was the +first person on whom his eyes fell, and he observed on her face, usually +so calm, some symptoms of ill-disguised agitation. A chair was vacant +near hers, and the Colonel seated himself. + +“I dare wager something has vexed you?” said he. + +“A mere trifle, General. I want to be gone, for I have promised to go to +a ball at the Grand Duchess of Berg’s, and I must look in first at the +Princesse de Wagram’s. Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon, who knows this, is +amusing himself by flirting with the dowagers.” + +“That is not the whole secret of your disturbance, and I will bet a +hundred louis that you will remain here the whole evening.” + +“Impertinent man!” + +“Then I have hit the truth?” + +“Well, tell me, what am I thinking of?” said the Countess, tapping the +Colonel’s fingers with her fan. “I might even reward you if you guess +rightly.” + +“I will not accept the challenge; I have too much the advantage of you.” + +“You are presumptuous.” + +“You are afraid of seeing Martial at the feet----” + +“Of whom?” cried the Countess, affecting surprise. + +“Of that candelabrum,” replied the Colonel, glancing at the fair +stranger, and then looking at the Countess with embarrassing scrutiny. + +“You have guessed it,” replied the coquette, hiding her face behind her +fan, which she began to play with. “Old Madame de Lansac, who is, you +know, as malicious as an old monkey,” she went on, after a pause, “has +just told me that Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon is running into danger by +flirting with that stranger, who sits here this evening like a skeleton +at a feast. I would rather see a death’s head than that face, so cruelly +beautiful, and as pale as a ghost. She is my evil genius.--Madame de +Lansac,” she added, after a flash and gesture of annoyance, “who only +goes to a ball to watch everything while pretending to sleep, has made +me miserably anxious. Martial shall pay dearly for playing me such a +trick. Urge him, meanwhile, since he is your friend, not to make me so +unhappy.” + +“I have just been with a man who promises to blow his brains out, and +nothing less, if he speaks to that little lady. And he is a man, madame, +to keep his word. But then I know Martial; such threats are to him +an encouragement. And, besides, we have wagered----” Here the Colonel +lowered his voice. + +“Can it be true?” said the Countess. + +“On my word of honor.” + +“Thank you, my dear Colonel,” replied Madame de Vaudremont, with a +glance full of invitation. + +“Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?” + +“Yes; but the next quadrille. During this one I want to find out what +will come of this little intrigue, and to ascertain who the little blue +lady may be; she looks intelligent.” + +The Colonel, understanding that Madame de Vaudremont wished to be alone, +retired, well content to have begun his attack so well. + + + +At most entertainments women are to be met who are there, like Madame de +Lansac, as old sailors gather on the seashore to watch younger mariners +struggling with the tempest. At this moment Madame de Lansac, who seemed +to be interested in the personages of this drama, could easily guess +the agitation which the Countess was going through. The lady might fan +herself gracefully, smile on the young men who bowed to her, and bring +into play all the arts by which a woman hides her emotion,--the Dowager, +one of the most clear-sighted and mischief-loving duchesses bequeathed +by the eighteenth century to the nineteenth, could read her heart and +mind through it all. + +The old lady seemed to detect the slightest movement that revealed the +impressions of the soul. The imperceptible frown that furrowed that +calm, pure forehead, the faintest quiver of the cheeks, the curve of the +eyebrows, the least curl of the lips, whose living coral could conceal +nothing from her,--all these were to the Duchess like the print of a +book. From the depths of her large arm-chair, completely filled by +the flow of her dress, the coquette of the past, while talking to a +diplomate who had sought her out to hear the anecdotes she told so +cleverly, was admiring herself in the younger coquette; she felt kindly +to her, seeing how bravely she disguised her annoyance and grief of +heart. Madame de Vaudremont, in fact, felt as much sorrow as she feigned +cheerfulness; she had believed that she had found in Martial a man of +talent on whose support she could count for adorning her life with all +the enchantment of power; and at this moment she perceived her mistake, +as injurious to her reputation as to her good opinion of herself. In +her, as in other women of that time, the suddenness of their passions +increased their vehemence. Souls which love much and love often, suffer +no less than those which burn themselves out in one affection. Her +liking for Martial was but of yesterday, it is true, but the least +experienced surgeon knows that the pain caused by the amputation of a +healthy limb is more acute than the removal of a diseased one. There was +a future before Madame de Vaudremont’s passion for Martial, while her +previous love had been hopeless, and poisoned by Soulanges’ remorse. + +The old Duchess, who was watching for an opportunity of speaking to the +Countess, hastened to dismiss her Ambassador; for in comparison with a +lover’s quarrel every interest pales, even with an old woman. To engage +battle, Madame de Lansac shot at the younger lady a sardonic glance +which made the Countess fear lest her fate was in the dowager’s hands. +There are looks between woman and woman which are like the torches +brought on at the climax of a tragedy. No one who had not known +that Duchess could appreciate the terror which the expression of her +countenance inspired in the Countess. + +Madame de Lansac was tall, and her features led people to say, “That +must have been a handsome woman!” She coated her cheeks so thickly with +rouge that the wrinkles were scarcely visible; but her eyes, far from +gaining a factitious brilliancy from this strong carmine, looked all +the more dim. She wore a vast quantity of diamonds, and dressed with +sufficient taste not to make herself ridiculous. Her sharp nose promised +epigram. A well-fitted set of teeth preserved a smile of such irony as +recalled that of Voltaire. At the same time, the exquisite politeness of +her manners so effectually softened the mischievous twist in her mind, +that it was impossible to accuse her of spitefulness. + +The old woman’s eyes lighted up, and a triumphant glance, seconded by a +smile, which said, “I promised you as much!” shot across the room, +and brought a blush of hope to the pale cheeks of the young creature +languishing under the great chandelier. The alliance between Madame +de Lansac and the stranger could not escape the practised eye of the +Comtesse de Vaudremont, who scented a mystery, and was determined to +penetrate it. + +At this instant the Baron de la Roche-Hugon, after questioning all the +dowagers without success as to the blue lady’s name, applied in +despair to the Comtesse de Gondreville, from whom he reached only this +unsatisfactory reply, “A lady whom the ‘ancient’ Duchesse de Lansac +introduced to me.” + +Turning by chance towards the armchair occupied by the old lady, the +lawyer intercepted the glance of intelligence she sent to the stranger; +and although he had for some time been on bad terms with her, he +determined to speak to her. The “ancient” Duchess, seeing the jaunty +Baron prowling round her chair, smiled with sardonic irony, and looked +at Madame de Vaudremont with an expression that made Montcornet laugh. + +“If the old witch affects to be friendly,” thought the Baron, “she is +certainly going to play me some spiteful trick.--Madame,” he said, “you +have, I am told, undertaken the charge of a very precious treasure.” + +“Do you take me for a dragon?” said the old lady. “But of whom are you +speaking?” she added, with a sweetness which revived Martial’s hopes. + +“Of that little lady, unknown to all, whom the jealousy of all these +coquettes has imprisoned in that corner. You, no doubt, know her +family?” + +“Yes,” said the Duchess. “But what concern have you with a provincial +heiress, married some time since, a woman of good birth, whom you none +of you know, you men; she goes nowhere.” + +“Why does not she dance, she is such a pretty creature?--May we conclude +a treaty of peace? If you will vouchsafe to tell me all I want to +know, I promise you that a petition for the restitution of the woods of +Navarreins by the Commissioners of Crown Lands shall be strongly urged +on the Emperor.” + +The younger branch of the house of Navarreins bears quarterly with the +arms of Navarreins those of Lansac, namely, azure, and argent party per +pale raguly, between six spear-heads in pale, and the old lady’s liaison +with Louis XV. had earned her husband the title of duke by royal patent. +Now, as the Navarreins had not yet resettled in France, it was sheer +trickery that the young lawyer thus proposed to the old lady by +suggesting to her that she should petition for an estate belonging to +the elder branch of the family. + +“Monsieur,” said the old woman with deceptive gravity, “bring the +Comtesse de Vaudremont across to me. I promise you that I will reveal +to her the mystery of the interesting unknown. You see, every man in +the room has reached as great a curiosity as your own. All eyes are +involuntarily turned towards the corner where my protegee has so +modestly placed herself; she is reaping all the homage the women wished +to deprive her of. Happy the man she chooses for her partner!” She +interrupted herself, fixing her eyes on Madame de Vaudremont with one of +those looks which plainly say, “We are talking of you.”--Then she added, +“I imagine you would rather learn the stranger’s name from the lips of +your handsome Countess than from mine.” + +There was such marked defiance in the Duchess’ attitude that Madame de +Vaudremont rose, came up to her, and took the chair Martial placed for +her; then without noticing him she said, “I can guess, madame, that you +are talking of me; but I admit my want of perspicacity; I do not know +whether it is for good or evil.” + +Madame de Lansac pressed the young woman’s pretty hand in her own dry +and wrinkled fingers, and answered in a low, compassionate tone, “Poor +child!” + +The women looked at each other. Madame de Vaudremont understood that +Martial was in the way, and dismissed him, saying with an imperious +expression, “Leave us.” + +The Baron, ill-pleased at seeing the Countess under the spell of the +dangerous sibyl who had drawn her to her side gave one of those looks +which a man can give--potent over a blinded heart, but simply ridiculous +in the eyes of a woman who is beginning to criticise the man who has +attracted her. + +“Do you think you can play the Emperor?” said Madame de Vaudremont, +turning three-quarters of her face to fix an ironical sidelong gaze on +the lawyer. + +Martial was too much a man of the world, and had too much wit and +acumen, to risk breaking with a woman who was in favor at Court, and +whom the Emperor wished to see married. He counted, too, on the jealousy +he intended to provoke in her as the surest means of discovering the +secret of her coolness, and withdrew all the more willingly, because at +this moment a new quadrille was putting everybody in motion. + +With an air of making room for the dancing, the Baron leaned back +against the marble slab of a console, folded his arms, and stood +absorbed in watching the two ladies talking. From time to time he +followed the glances which both frequently directed to the stranger. +Then, comparing the Countess with the new beauty, made so attractive +by a touch of mystery, the Baron fell a prey to the detestable +self-interest common to adventurous lady-killers; he hesitated between a +fortune within his grasp and the indulgence of his caprice. The blaze +of light gave such strong relief to his anxious and sullen face, against +the hangings of white silk moreen brushed by his black hair, that he +might have been compared to an evil genius. Even from a distance more +than one observer no doubt said to himself, “There is another poor +wretch who seems to be enjoying himself!” + +The Colonel, meanwhile, with one shoulder leaning lightly against the +side-post of the doorway between the ballroom and the cardroom, could +laugh undetected under his ample moustache; it amused him to look on at +the turmoil of the dance; he could see a hundred pretty heads turning +about in obedience to the figures; he could read in some faces, as +in those of the Countess and his friend Martial, the secrets of their +agitation; and then, looking round, he wondered what connection there +could be between the gloomy looks of the Comte de Soulanges, still +seated on the sofa, and the plaintive expression of the fair unknown, +on whose features the joys of hope and the anguish of involuntary dread +were alternately legible. Montcornet stood like the king of the feast. +In this moving picture he saw a complete presentment of the world, and +he laughed at it as he found himself the object of inviting smiles from +a hundred beautiful and elegant women. A Colonel of the Imperial Guard, +a position equal to that of a Brigadier-General, was undoubtedly one of +the best matches in the army. + +It was now nearly midnight. The conversation, the gambling, the dancing, +the flirtations, interests, petty rivalries, and scheming had +all reached the pitch of ardor which makes a young man exclaim +involuntarily, “A fine ball!” + +“My sweet little angel,” said Madame de Lansac to the Countess, “you are +now at an age when in my day I made many mistakes. Seeing you are just +now enduring a thousand deaths, it occurred to me that I might give you +some charitable advice. To go wrong at two-and-twenty means spoiling +your future; is it not tearing the gown you must wear? My dear, it is +not much later that we learn to go about in it without crumpling it. Go +on, sweetheart, making clever enemies, and friends who have no sense +of conduct, and you will see what a pleasant life you will some day be +leading!” + +“Oh, madame, it is very hard for a woman to be happy, do not you think?” + the Countess eagerly exclaimed. + +“My child, at your age you must learn to choose between pleasure and +happiness. You want to marry Martial, who is not fool enough to make a +good husband, nor passionate enough to remain a lover. He is in debt, +my dear; he is the man to run through your fortune; still, that would be +nothing if he could make you happy.--Do not you see how aged he is? The +man must have been ill; he is making the most of what is left him. In +three years he will be a wreck. Then he will be ambitious; perhaps he +may succeed. I do not think so.--What is he? A man of intrigue, who +may have the business faculty to perfection, and be able to gossip +agreeably; but he is too presumptuous to have any sterling merit; he +will not go far. Besides--only look at him. Is it not written on his +brow that, at this very moment, what he sees in you is not a young and +pretty woman, but the two million francs you possess? He does not love +you, my dear; he is reckoning you up as if you were an investment. If +you are bent on marrying, find an older man who has an assured position +and is half-way on his career. A widow’s marriage ought not to be a +trivial love affair. Is a mouse to be caught a second time in the same +trap? A new alliance ought now to be a good speculation on your part, +and in marrying again you ought at least to have a hope of being some +day addressed as Madame la Marechale!” + +As she spoke, both women naturally fixed their eyes on Colonel +Montcornet’s handsome face. + +“If you would rather play the delicate part of a flirt and not marry +again,” the Duchess went on, with blunt good-nature; “well! my +poor child, you, better than any woman, will know how to raise the +storm-clouds and disperse them again. But, I beseech you, never make it +your pleasure to disturb the peace of families, to destroy unions, and +ruin the happiness of happy wives. I, my dear, have played that perilous +game. Dear heaven! for a triumph of vanity some poor virtuous soul is +murdered--for there really are virtuous women, child,--and we may make +ourselves mortally hated. I learned, a little too late, that, as the +Duc d’Albe once said, one salmon is worth a thousand frogs! A genuine +affection certainly brings a thousand times more happiness than the +transient passions we may inspire.--Well, I came here on purpose to +preach to you; yes, you are the cause of my appearance in this house, +which stinks of the lower class. Have I not just seen actors here? +Formerly, my dear, we received them in our boudoir; but in the +drawing-room--never!--Why do you look at me with so much amazement? +Listen to me. If you want to play with men, do not try to wring the +hearts of any but those whose life is not yet settled, who have no +duties to fulfil; the others do not forgive us for the errors that +have made them happy. Profit by this maxim, founded on my long +experience.--That luckless Soulanges, for instance, whose head you have +turned, whom you have intoxicated for these fifteen months past, God +knows how! Do you know at what you have struck?--At his whole life. He +has been married these two years; he is worshiped by a charming wife, +whom he loves, but neglects; she lives in tears and embittered silence. +Soulanges has had hours of remorse more terrible than his pleasure has +been sweet. And you, you artful little thing, have deserted him.--Well, +come and see your work.” + +The old lady took Madame de Vaudremont’s hand, and they rose. + +“There,” said Madame de Lansac, and her eyes showed her the stranger, +sitting pale and tremulous under the glare of the candles, “that is my +grandniece, the Comtesse de Soulanges; to-day she yielded at last to my +persuasion, and consented to leave the sorrowful room, where the sight +of her child gives her but little consolation. You see her? You think +her charming? Then imagine, dear Beauty, what she must have been when +happiness and love shed their glory on that face now blighted.” + +The Countess looked away in silence, and seemed lost in sad reflections. + +The Duchess led her to the door into the card-room; then, after looking +round the room as if in search of some one--“And there is Soulanges!” + she said in deep tones. + +The Countess shuddered as she saw, in the least brilliantly lighted +corner, the pale, set face of Soulanges stretched in an easy-chair. The +indifference of his attitude and the rigidity of his brow betrayed his +suffering. The players passed him to and fro, without paying any more +attention to him than if he had been dead. The picture of the wife in +tears, and the dejected, morose husband, separated in the midst of +this festivity like the two halves of a tree blasted by lightning, had +perhaps a prophetic significance for the Countess. She dreaded lest she +here saw an image of the revenges the future might have in store for +her. Her heart was not yet so dried up that the feeling and generosity +were entirely excluded, and she pressed the Duchess’ hand, while +thanking her by one of those smiles which have a certain childlike +grace. + +“My dear child,” the old lady said in her ear, “remember henceforth that +we are just as capable of repelling a man’s attentions as of attracting +them.” + +“She is yours if you are not a simpleton.” These words were whispered +into Colonel Montcornet’s ear by Madame de Lansac, while the handsome +Countess was still absorbed in compassion at the sight of Soulanges, for +she still loved him truly enough to wish to restore him to happiness, +and was promising herself in her own mind that she would exert the +irresistible power her charms still had over him to make him return to +his wife. + +“Oh! I will talk to him!” said she to Madame de Lansac. + +“Do nothing of the kind, my dear!” cried the old lady, as she went +back to her armchair. “Choose a good husband, and shut your door to my +nephew. Believe me, my child, a wife cannot accept her husband’s heart +as the gift of another woman; she is a hundred times happier in the +belief that she has reconquered it. By bringing my niece here I +believe I have given her an excellent chance of regaining her husband’s +affection. All the assistance I need of you is to play the Colonel.” She +pointed to the Baron’s friend, and the Countess smiled. + +“Well, madame, do you at last know the name of the unknown?” asked +Martial, with an air of pique, to the Countess when he saw her alone. + +“Yes,” said Madame de Vaudremont, looking him in the face. + +Her features expressed as much roguery as fun. The smile which gave life +to her lips and cheeks, the liquid brightness of her eyes, were like +the will-o’-the-wisp which leads travelers astray. Martial, who believed +that she still loved him, assumed the coquetting graces in which a man +is so ready to lull himself in the presence of the woman he loves. He +said with a fatuous air: + +“And will you be annoyed with me if I seem to attach great importance to +your telling me that name?” + +“Will you be annoyed with me,” answered Madame de Vaudremont, “if a +remnant of affection prevents my telling you; and if I forbid you to +make the smallest advances to that young lady? It would be at the risk +of your life perhaps.” + +“To lose your good graces, madame, would be worse than to lose my life.” + +“Martial,” said the Countess severely, “she is Madame de Soulanges. Her +husband would blow your brains out--if, indeed, you have any----” + +“Ha! ha!” laughed the coxcomb. “What! the Colonel can leave the man +in peace who has robbed him of your love, and then would fight for his +wife! What a subversion of principles!--I beg of you to allow me to +dance with the little lady. You will then be able to judge how +little love that heart of ice could feel for you; for, if the Colonel +disapproves of my dancing with his wife after allowing me to----” + +“But she loves her husband.” + +“A still further obstacle that I shall have the pleasure of conquering.” + +“But she is married.” + +“A whimsical objection!” + +“Ah!” said the Countess, with a bitter smile, “you punish us alike for +our faults and our repentance!” + +“Do not be angry!” exclaimed Martial eagerly. “Oh, forgive me, I beseech +you. There, I will think no more of Madame de Soulanges.” + +“You deserve that I should send you to her.” + +“I am off then,” said the Baron, laughing, “and I shall return more +devoted to you than ever. You will see that the prettiest woman in the +world cannot capture the heart that is yours.” + +“That is to say, that you want to win Colonel Montcornet’s horse?” + +“Ah! Traitor!” said he, threatening his friend with his finger. The +Colonel smiled and joined them; the Baron gave him the seat near the +Countess, saying to her with a sardonic accent: + +“Here, madame, is a man who boasted that he could win your good graces +in one evening.” + +He went away, thinking himself clever to have piqued the Countess’ pride +and done Montcornet an ill turn; but, in spite of his habitual keenness, +he had not appreciated the irony underlying Madame de Vaudremont’s +speech, and did not perceive that she had come as far to meet his friend +as his friend towards her, though both were unconscious of it. + +At that moment when the lawyer went fluttering up to the candelabrum by +which Madame de Soulanges sat, pale, timid, and apparently alive only +in her eyes, her husband came to the door of the ballroom, his eyes +flashing with anger. The old Duchess, watchful of everything, flew +to her nephew, begged him to give her his arm and find her carriage, +affecting to be mortally bored, and hoping thus to prevent a vexatious +outbreak. Before going she fired a singular glance of intelligence at +her niece, indicating the enterprising knight who was about to address +her, and this signal seemed to say, “There he is, avenge yourself!” + +Madame de Vaudremont caught these looks of the aunt and niece; a sudden +light dawned on her mind; she was frightened lest she was the dupe of +this old woman, so cunning and so practised in intrigue. + +“That perfidious Duchess,” said she to herself, “has perhaps been +amusing herself by preaching morality to me while playing me some +spiteful trick of her own.” + +At this thought Madame de Vaudremont’s pride was perhaps more roused +than her curiosity to disentangle the thread of this intrigue. In the +absorption of mind to which she was a prey she was no longer mistress +of herself. The Colonel, interpreting to his own advantage the +embarrassment evident in the Countess’ manner and speech, became more +ardent and pressing. The old blase diplomates, amusing themselves by +watching the play of faces, had never found so many intrigues at once +to watch or guess at. The passions agitating the two couples were to be +seen with variations at every step in the crowded rooms, and reflected +with different shades in other countenances. The spectacle of so many +vivid passions, of all these lovers’ quarrels, these pleasing revenges, +these cruel favors, these flaming glances, of all this ardent life +diffused around them, only made them feel their impotence more keenly. + +At last the Baron had found a seat by Madame de Soulanges. His eyes +stole a long look at her neck, as fresh as dew and as fragrant as field +flowers. He admired close at hand the beauty which had amazed him from +afar. He could see a small, well-shod foot, and measure with his eye +a slender and graceful shape. At that time women wore their sash tied +close under the bosom, in imitation of Greek statues, a pitiless fashion +for those whose bust was faulty. As he cast furtive glances at the +Countess’ figure, Martial was enchanted with its perfection. + +“You have not danced once this evening, madame,” said he in soft and +flattering tones. “Not, I should suppose, for lack of a partner?” + +“I never go to parties; I am quite unknown,” replied Madame de Soulanges +coldly, not having understood the look by which her aunt had just +conveyed to her that she was to attract the Baron. + +Martial, to give himself countenance, twisted the diamond he wore on his +left hand; the rainbow fires of the gem seemed to flash a sudden light +on the young Countess’ mind; she blushed and looked at the Baron with an +undefinable expression. + +“Do you like dancing?” asked the Provencal, to reopen the conversation. + +“Yes, very much, monsieur.” + +At this strange reply their eyes met. The young man, surprised by the +earnest accent, which aroused a vague hope in his heart, had suddenly +questioned the lady’s eyes. + +“Then, madame, am I not overbold in offering myself to be your partner +for the next quadrille?” + +Artless confusion colored the Countess’ white cheeks. + +“But, monsieur, I have already refused one partner--a military man----” + +“Was it that tall cavalry colonel whom you see over there?” + +“Precisely so.” + +“Oh! he is a friend of mine; feel no alarm. Will you grant me the favor +I dare hope for?” + +“Yes, monsieur.” + +Her tone betrayed an emotion so new and so deep that the lawyer’s +world-worn soul was touched. He was overcome by shyness like a +schoolboy’s, lost his confidence, and his southern brain caught fire; +he tried to talk, but his phrases struck him as graceless in comparison +with Madame de Soulanges’ bright and subtle replies. It was lucky for +him that the quadrille was forming. Standing by his beautiful partner, +he felt more at ease. To many men dancing is a phase of being; they +think that they can more powerfully influence the heart of woman by +displaying the graces of their bodies than by their intellect. Martial +wished, no doubt, at this moment to put forth all his most effective +seductions, to judge by the pretentiousness of his movements and +gestures. + +He led his conquest to the quadrille in which the most brilliant +women in the room made it a point of chimerical importance to dance in +preference to any other. While the orchestra played the introductory +bars to the first figure, the Baron felt it an incredible gratification +to his pride to perceive, as he reviewed the ladies forming the lines of +that formidable square, that Madame de Soulanges’ dress might challenge +that even of Madame de Vaudremont, who, by a chance not perhaps +unsought, was standing with Montcornet _vis-a-vis_ to himself and the +lady in blue. All eyes were for a moment turned on Madame de Soulanges; +a flattering murmur showed that she was the subject of every man’s +conversation with his partner. Looks of admiration and envy centered +on her, with so much eagerness that the young creature, abashed by a +triumph she seemed to disclaim, modestly looked down, blushed, and was +all the more charming. When she raised her white eyelids it was to look +at her ravished partner as though she wished to transfer the glory of +this admiration to him, and to say that she cared more for his than for +all the rest. She threw her innocence into her vanity; or rather she +seemed to give herself up to the guileless admiration which is the +beginning of love, with the good faith found only in youthful hearts. As +she danced, the lookers-on might easily believe that she displayed +her grace for Martial alone; and though she was modest, and new to the +trickery of the ballroom, she knew as well as the most accomplished +coquette how to raise her eyes to his at the right moment and drop their +lids with assumed modesty. + +When the movement of a new figure, invented by a dancer named Trenis, +and named after him, brought Martial face to face with the Colonel--“I +have won your horse,” said he, laughing. + +“Yes, but you have lost eighty thousand francs a year!” retorted +Montcornet, glancing at Madame de Vaudremont. + +“What do I care?” replied Martial. “Madame de Soulanges is worth +millions!” + +At the end of the quadrille more than one whisper was poured into +more than one ear. The less pretty women made moral speeches to their +partners, commenting on the budding liaison between Martial and the +Comtesse de Soulanges. The handsomest wondered at her easy surrender. +The men could not understand such luck as the Baron’s, not regarding him +as particularly fascinating. A few indulgent women said it was not +fair to judge the Countess too hastily; young wives would be in a very +hapless plight if an expressive look or a few graceful dancing steps +were enough to compromise a woman. + +Martial alone knew the extent of his happiness. During the last figure, +when the ladies had to form the _moulinet_, his fingers clasped those of +the Countess, and he fancied that, through the thin perfumed kid of her +gloves, the young wife’s grasp responded to his amorous appeal. + +“Madame,” said he, as the quadrille ended, “do not go back to the odious +corner where you have been burying your face and your dress until now. +Is admiration the only benefit you can obtain from the jewels that +adorn your white neck and beautifully dressed hair? Come and take a turn +through the rooms to enjoy the scene and yourself.” + +Madame de Soulanges yielded to her seducer, who thought she would be +his all the more surely if he could only show her off. Side by side they +walked two or three times amid the groups who crowded the rooms. The +Comtesse de Soulanges, evidently uneasy, paused for an instant at each +door before entering, only doing so after stretching her neck to look at +all the men there. This alarm, which crowned the Baron’s satisfaction, +did not seem to be removed till he said to her, “Make yourself easy; +_he_ is not here.” + +They thus made their way to an immense picture gallery in a wing of the +mansion, where their eyes could feast in anticipation on the splendid +display of a collation prepared for three hundred persons. As supper was +about to begin, Martial led the Countess to an oval boudoir looking on +to the garden, where the rarest flowers and a few shrubs made a scented +bower under bright blue hangings. The murmurs of the festivity here +died away. The Countess, at first startled, refused firmly to follow the +young man; but, glancing in a mirror, she no doubt assured herself that +they could be seen, for she seated herself on an ottoman with a fairly +good grace. + +“This room is charming,” said she, admiring the sky-blue hangings looped +with pearls. + +“All here is love and delight!” said the Baron, with deep emotion. + +In the mysterious light which prevailed he looked at the Countess, +and detected on her gently agitated face an expression of uneasiness, +modesty, and eagerness which enchanted him. The young lady smiled, and +this smile seemed to put an end to the struggle of feeling surging in +her heart; in the most insinuating way she took her adorer’s left hand, +and drew from his finger the ring on which she had fixed her eyes. + +“What a fine diamond!” she exclaimed in the artless tone of a young girl +betraying the incitement of a first temptation. + +Martial, troubled by the Countess’ involuntary but intoxicating touch, +like a caress, as she drew off the ring, looked at her with eyes as +glittering as the gem. + +“Wear it,” he said, “in memory of this hour, and for the love of----” + +She was looking at him with such rapture that he did not end the +sentence; he kissed her hand. + +“You give it me?” she said, looking much astonished. + +“I wish I had the whole world to offer you!” + +“You are not joking?” she went on, in a voice husky with too great +satisfaction. + +“Will you accept only my diamond?” + +“You will never take it back?” she insisted. + +“Never.” + +She put the ring on her finger. Martial, confident of coming happiness, +was about to put his hand round her waist, but she suddenly rose, and +said in a clear voice, without any agitation: + +“I accept the diamond, monsieur, with the less scruple because it +belongs to me.” + +The Baron was speechless. + +“Monsieur de Soulanges took it lately from my dressing-table, and told +me he had lost it.” + +“You are mistaken, madame,” said Martial, nettled. “It was given me by +Madame de Vaudremont.” + +“Precisely so,” she said with a smile. “My husband borrowed this ring of +me, he gave it to her, she made it a present to you; my ring has made a +little journey, that is all. This ring will perhaps tell me all I do not +know, and teach me the secret of always pleasing.--Monsieur,” she went +on, “if it had not been my own, you may be sure I should not have risked +paying so dear for it; for a young woman, it is said, is in danger with +you. But, you see,” and she touched a spring within the ring, “here is +M. de Soulanges’ hair.” + +She fled into the crowded rooms so swiftly, that it seemed useless to +try to follow her; besides, Martial, utterly confounded, was in no mood +to carry the adventure further. The Countess’ laugh found an echo in the +boudoir, where the young coxcomb now perceived, between two shrubs, the +Colonel and Madame de Vaudremont, both laughing heartily. + +“Will you have my horse, to ride after your prize?” said the Colonel. + +The Baron took the banter poured upon him by Madame de Vaudremont and +Montcornet with a good grace, which secured their silence as to the +events of the evening, when his friend exchanged his charger for a rich +and pretty young wife. + + + +As the Comtesse de Soulanges drove across Paris from the Chausee d’Antin +to the Faubourg Saint-Germain, where she lived, her soul was prey to +many alarms. Before leaving the Hotel Gondreville she went through all +the rooms, but found neither her aunt nor her husband, who had gone away +without her. Frightful suspicions then tortured her ingenuous mind. A +silent witness of her husbands’ torments since the day when Madame de +Vaudremont had chained him to her car, she had confidently hoped that +repentance would ere long restore her husband to her. It was with +unspeakable repugnance that she had consented to the scheme plotted by +her aunt, Madame de Lansac, and at this moment she feared she had made a +mistake. + +The evening’s experience had saddened her innocent soul. Alarmed at +first by the Count’s look of suffering and dejection, she had become +more so on seeing her rival’s beauty, and the corruption of society +had gripped her heart. As she crossed the Pont Royal she threw away the +desecrated hair at the back of the diamond, given to her once as a token +of the purest affection. She wept as she remembered the bitter grief to +which she had so long been a victim, and shuddered more than once as she +reflected that the duty of a woman, who wishes for peace in her home, +compels her to bury sufferings so keen as hers at the bottom of her +heart, and without a complaint. + +“Alas!” thought she, “what can women do when they do not love? What is +the fount of their indulgence? I cannot believe that, as my aunt tells +me, reason is all-sufficient to maintain them in such devotion.” + +She was still sighing when her man-servant let down the handsome +carriage-step down which she flew into the hall of her house. She rushed +precipitately upstairs, and when she reached her room was startled by +seeing her husband sitting by the fire. + +“How long is it, my dear, since you have gone to balls without telling +me beforehand?” he asked in a broken voice. “You must know that a woman +is always out of place without her husband. You compromised yourself +strangely by remaining in the dark corner where you had ensconced +yourself.” + +“Oh, my dear, good Leon,” said she in a coaxing tone, “I could not +resist the happiness of seeing you without your seeing me. My aunt took +me to this ball, and I was very happy there!” + +This speech disarmed the Count’s looks of their assumed severity, for +he had been blaming himself while dreading his wife’s return, no doubt +fully informed at the ball of an infidelity he had hoped to hide from +her; and, as is the way of lovers conscious of their guilt, he tried, by +being the first to find fault, to escape her just anger. Happy in seeing +her husband smile, and in finding him at this hour in a room whither +of late he had come more rarely, the Countess looked at him so tenderly +that she blushed and cast down her eyes. Her clemency enraptured +Soulanges all the more, because this scene followed on the misery he had +endured at the ball. He seized his wife’s hand and kissed it gratefully. +Is not gratitude often a part of love? + +“Hortense, what is that on your finger that has hurt my lip so much?” + asked he, laughing. + +“It is my diamond which you said you had lost, and which I have found.” + + + +General Montcornet did not marry Madame de Vaudremont, in spite of the +mutual understanding in which they had lived for a few minutes, for she +was one of the victims of the terrible fire which sealed the fame of +the ball given by the Austrian ambassador on the occasion of Napoleon’s +marriage with the daughter of the Emperor Joseph II. + + +JULY, 1829. + + + + +ADDENDUM + +The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + + Bonaparte, Napoleon + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Seamy Side of History + A Woman of Thirty + + Gondreville, Malin, Comte de + The Gondreville Mystery + A Start in Life + The Member for Arcis + + Keller, Francois + Cesar Birotteau + Eugenie Grandet + The Government Clerks + The Member for Arcis + + Keller, Madame Francois + The Member for Arcis + The Thirteen + + La Roche-Hugon, Martial de + The Peasantry + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + + Montcornet, Marechal, Comte de + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + The Peasantry + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + + Murat, Joachim, Prince + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Country Doctor + + Soulanges, Comte Leon de + The Peasantry + + Soulanges, Comtesse Hortense de + The Thirteen + The Peasantry + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Domestic Peace, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1411 *** diff --git a/1411-h/1411-h.htm b/1411-h/1411-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9e2a9a2 --- /dev/null +++ b/1411-h/1411-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1850 @@ +<?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> + Domestic Peace, by Honore de Balzac + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1411 ***</div> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + DOMESTIC PEACE + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Honore De Balzac + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated By Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + Dedicated to my dear niece Valentine Surville. + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>DOMESTIC PEACE</b> </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0002"> 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> + DOMESTIC PEACE + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p> + The incident recorded in this sketch took place towards the end of the + month of November, 1809, the moment when Napoleon’s fugitive empire + attained the apogee of its splendor. The trumpet-blasts of Wagram were + still sounding an echo in the heart of the Austrian monarchy. Peace was + being signed between France and the Coalition. Kings and princes came to + perform their orbits, like stars, round Napoleon, who gave himself the + pleasure of dragging all Europe in his train—a magnificent + experiment in the power he afterwards displayed at Dresden. Never, as + contemporaries tell us, did Paris see entertainments more superb than + those which preceded and followed the sovereign’s marriage with an + Austrian archduchess. Never, in the most splendid days of the Monarchy, + had so many crowned heads thronged the shores of the Seine, never had the + French aristocracy been so rich or so splendid. The diamonds lavishly + scattered over the women’s dresses, and the gold and silver embroidery on + the uniforms contrasted so strongly with the penury of the Republic, that + the wealth of the globe seemed to be rolling through the drawing-rooms of + Paris. Intoxication seemed to have turned the brains of this Empire of a + day. All the military, not excepting their chief, reveled like parvenus in + the treasure conquered for them by a million men with worsted epaulettes, + whose demands were satisfied by a few yards of red ribbon. + </p> + <p> + At this time most women affected that lightness of conduct and facility of + morals which distinguished the reign of Louis XV. Whether it were in + imitation of the tone of the fallen monarchy, or because certain members + of the Imperial family had set the example—as certain malcontents of + the Faubourg Saint-Germain chose to say—it is certain that men and + women alike flung themselves into a life of pleasure with an intrepidity + which seemed to forbode the end of the world. But there was at that time + another cause for such license. The infatuation of women for the military + became a frenzy, and was too consonant to the Emperor’s views for him to + try to check it. The frequent calls to arms, which gave every treaty + concluded between Napoleon and the rest of Europe the character of an + armistice, left every passion open to a termination as sudden as the + decisions of the Commander-in-chief of all these busbys, pelisses, and + aiguillettes, which so fascinated the fair sex. Hearts were as nomadic as + the regiments. Between the first and fifth bulletins from the <i>Grand + Armee</i> a woman might be in succession mistress, wife, mother, and + widow. + </p> + <p> + Was it the prospect of early widowhood, the hope of a jointure, or that of + bearing a name promised to history, which made the soldiers so attractive? + Were women drawn to them by the certainty that the secret of their + passions would be buried on the field of battle? or may we find the reason + of this gentle fanaticism in the noble charm that courage has for a woman? + Perhaps all these reasons, which the future historian of the manners of + the Empire will no doubt amuse himself by weighing, counted for something + in their facile readiness to abandon themselves to love intrigues. Be that + as it may, it must here be confessed that at that time laurels hid many + errors, women showed an ardent preference for the brave adventurers, whom + they regarded as the true fount of honor, wealth, or pleasure; and in the + eyes of young girls, an epaulette—the hieroglyphic of a future—signified + happiness and liberty. + </p> + <p> + One feature, and a characteristic one, of this unique period in our + history was an unbridled mania for everything glittering. Never were + fireworks so much in vogue, never were diamonds so highly prized. The men, + as greedy as the women of these translucent pebbles, displayed them no + less lavishly. Possibly the necessity for carrying plunder in the most + portable form made gems the fashion in the army. A man was not ridiculous + then, as he would be now, if his shirt-frill or his fingers blazed with + large diamonds. Murat, an Oriental by nature, set the example of + preposterous luxury to modern soldiers. + </p> + <p> + The Comte de Gondreville, formerly known as Citizen Malin, whose elevation + had made him famous, having become a Lucullus of the Conservative Senate, + which “conserved” nothing, had postponed an entertainment in honor of the + peace only that he might the better pay his court to Napoleon by his + efforts to eclipse those flatterers who had been before-hand with him. The + ambassadors from all the Powers friendly with France, with an eye to + favors to come, the most important personages of the Empire, and even a + few princes, were at this hour assembled in the wealthy senator’s + drawing-rooms. Dancing flagged; every one was watching for the Emperor, + whose presence the Count had promised his guests. And Napoleon would have + kept his word but for the scene which had broken out that very evening + between him and Josephine—the scene which portended the impending + divorce of the august pair. The report of this incident, at the time kept + very secret, but recorded by history, did not reach the ears of the + courtiers, and had no effect on the gaiety of Comte de Gondreville’s party + beyond keeping Napoleon away. + </p> + <p> + The prettiest women in Paris, eager to be at the Count’s on the strength + of mere hearsay, at this moment were a besieging force of luxury, + coquettishness, elegance, and beauty. The financial world, proud of its + riches, challenged the splendor of the generals and high officials of the + Empire, so recently gorged with orders, titles, and honors. These grand + balls were always an opportunity seized upon by wealthy families for + introducing their heiresses to Napoleon’s Praetorian Guard, in the foolish + hope of exchanging their splendid fortunes for uncertain favors. The women + who believed themselves strong enough in their beauty alone came to test + their power. There, as elsewhere, amusement was but a blind. Calm and + smiling faces and placid brows covered sordid interests, expressions of + friendship were a lie, and more than one man was less distrustful of his + enemies than of his friends. + </p> + <p> + These remarks are necessary to explain the incidents of the little + imbroglio which is the subject of this study, and the picture, softened as + it is, of the tone then dominant in Paris drawing-rooms. + </p> + <p> + “Turn your eyes a little towards the pedestal supporting that candelabrum—do + you see a young lady with her hair drawn back <i>a la Chinoise</i>!—There, + in the corner to the left; she has bluebells in the knot of chestnut curls + which fall in clusters on her head. Do not you see her? She is so pale you + might fancy she was ill, delicate-looking, and very small; there—now + she is turning her head this way; her almond-shaped blue eyes, so + delightfully soft, look as if they were made expressly for tears. Look, + look! She is bending forward to see Madame de Vaudremont below the crowd + of heads in constant motion; the high head-dresses prevent her having a + clear view.” + </p> + <p> + “I see her now, my dear fellow. You had only to say that she had the + whitest skin of all the women here; I should have known whom you meant. I + had noticed her before; she has the loveliest complexion I ever admired. + From hence I defy you to see against her throat the pearls between the + sapphires of her necklace. But she is a prude or a coquette, for the + tucker of her bodice scarcely lets one suspect the beauty of her bust. + What shoulders! what lily-whiteness!” + </p> + <p> + “Who is she?” asked the first speaker. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! that I do not know.” + </p> + <p> + “Aristocrat!—Do you want to keep them all to yourself, Montcornet?” + </p> + <p> + “You of all men to banter me!” replied Montcornet, with a smile. “Do you + think you have a right to insult a poor general like me because, being a + happy rival of Soulanges, you cannot even turn on your heel without + alarming Madame de Vaudremont? Or is it because I came only a month ago + into the Promised Land? How insolent you can be, you men in office, who + sit glued to your chairs while we are dodging shot and shell! Come, + Monsieur le Maitre des Requetes, allow us to glean in the field of which + you can only have precarious possession from the moment when we evacuate + it. The deuce is in it! We have a right to live! My good friend, if you + knew the German women, you would, I believe, do me a good turn with the + Parisian you love best.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, General, since you have vouchsafed to turn your attention to that + lady, whom I never saw till now, have the charity to tell me if you have + seen her dance.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, my dear Martial, where have you dropped from? If you are ever sent + with an embassy, I have small hopes of your success. Do not you see a + triple rank of the most undaunted coquettes of Paris between her and the + swarm of dancing men that buzz under the chandelier? And was it not only + by the help of your eyeglass that you were able to discover her at all in + the corner by that pillar, where she seems buried in the gloom, in spite + of the candles blazing above her head? Between her and us there is such a + sparkle of diamonds and glances, so many floating plumes, such a flutter + of lace, of flowers and curls, that it would be a real miracle if any + dancer could detect her among those stars. Why, Martial, how is it that + you have not understood her to be the wife of some sous-prefet from Lippe + or Dyle, who has come to try to get her husband promoted?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, he will be!” exclaimed the Master of Appeals quickly. + </p> + <p> + “I doubt it,” replied the Colonel of Cuirassiers, laughing. “She seems as + raw in intrigue as you are in diplomacy. I dare bet, Martial, that you do + not know how she got into that place.” + </p> + <p> + The lawyer looked at the Colonel of Cuirassiers with an expression as much + of contempt as of curiosity. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” proceeded Montcornet, “she arrived, I have no doubt, punctually at + nine, the first of the company perhaps, and probably she greatly + embarrassed the Comtesse de Gondreville, who cannot put two ideas + together. Repulsed by the mistress of the house, routed from chair to + chair by each newcomer, and driven into the darkness of this little + corner, she allowed herself to be walled in, the victim of the jealousy of + the other ladies, who would gladly have buried that dangerous beauty. She + had, of course, no friend to encourage her to maintain the place she first + held in the front rank; then each of those treacherous fair ones would + have enjoined on the men of her circle on no account to take out our poor + friend, under pain of the severest punishment. That, my dear fellow, is + the way in which those sweet faces, in appearance so tender and so + artless, would have formed a coalition against the stranger, and that + without a word beyond the question, ‘Tell me, dear, do you know that + little woman in blue?’—Look here, Martial, if you care to run the + gauntlet of more flattering glances and inviting questions than you will + ever again meet in the whole of your life, just try to get through the + triple rampart which defends that Queen of Dyle, or Lippe, or Charente. + You will see whether the dullest woman of them all will not be equal to + inventing some wile that would hinder the most determined man from + bringing the plaintive stranger to the light. Does it not strike you that + she looks like an elegy?” + </p> + <p> + “Do you think so, Montcornet? Then she must be a married woman?” + </p> + <p> + “Why not a widow?” + </p> + <p> + “She would be less passive,” said the lawyer, laughing. + </p> + <p> + “She is perhaps the widow of a man who is gambling,” replied the handsome + Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “To be sure; since the peace there are so many widows of that class!” said + Martial. “But my dear Montcornet, we are a couple of simpletons. That face + is still too ingenuous, there is too much youth and freshness on the brow + and temples for her to be married. What splendid flesh-tints! Nothing has + sunk in the modeling of the nose. Lips, chin, everything in her face is as + fresh as a white rosebud, though the expression is veiled, as it were, by + the clouds of sadness. Who can it be that makes that young creature weep?” + </p> + <p> + “Women cry for so little,” said the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “I do not know,” replied Martial; “but she does not cry because she is + left there without a partner; her grief is not of to-day. It is evident + that she has beautified herself for this evening with intention. I would + wager that she is in love already.” + </p> + <p> + “Bah! She is perhaps the daughter of some German princeling; no one talks + to her,” said Montcornet. + </p> + <p> + “Dear! how unhappy a poor child may be!” Martial went on. “Can there be + anything more graceful and refined than our little stranger? Well, not one + of those furies who stand round her, and who believe that they can feel, + will say a word to her. If she would but speak, we should see if she has + fine teeth. + </p> + <p> + “Bless me, you boil over like milk at the least increase of temperature!” + cried the Colonel, a little nettled at so soon finding a rival in his + friend. + </p> + <p> + “What!” exclaimed the lawyer, without heeding the Colonel’s question. “Can + nobody here tell us the name of this exotic flower?” + </p> + <p> + “Some lady companion!” said Montcornet. + </p> + <p> + “What next? A companion! wearing sapphires fit for a queen, and a dress of + Malines lace? Tell that to the marines, General. You, too, would not shine + in diplomacy if, in the course of your conjectures, you jump in a breath + from a German princess to a lady companion.” + </p> + <p> + Montcornet stopped a man by taking his arm—a fat little man, whose + iron-gray hair and clever eyes were to be seen at the lintel of every + doorway, and who mingled unceremoniously with the various groups which + welcomed him respectfully. + </p> + <p> + “Gondreville, my friend,” said Montcornet, “who is that quite charming + little woman sitting out there under that huge candelabrum?” + </p> + <p> + “The candelabrum? Ravrio’s work; Isabey made the design.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I recognized your lavishness and taste; but the lady?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! I do not know. Some friend of my wife’s, no doubt.” + </p> + <p> + “Or your mistress, you old rascal.” + </p> + <p> + “No, on my honor. The Comtesse de Gondreville is the only person capable + of inviting people whom no one knows.” + </p> + <p> + In spite of this very acrimonious comment, the fat little man’s lips did + not lose the smile which the Colonel’s suggestion had brought to them. + Montcornet returned to the lawyer, who had rejoined a neighboring group, + intent on asking, but in vain, for information as to the fair unknown. He + grasped Martial’s arm, and said in his ear: + </p> + <p> + “My dear Martial, mind what you are about. Madame de Vaudremont has been + watching you for some minutes with ominous attentiveness; she is a woman + who can guess by the mere movement of your lips what you say to me; our + eyes have already told her too much; she has perceived and followed their + direction, and I suspect that at this moment she is thinking even more + than we are of the little blue lady.” + </p> + <p> + “That is too old a trick in warfare, my dear Montcornet! However, what do + I care? Like the Emperor, when I have made a conquest, I keep it.” + </p> + <p> + “Martial, your fatuity cries out for a lesson. What! you, a civilian, and + so lucky as to be the husband-designate of Madame de Vaudremont, a widow + of two-and-twenty, burdened with four thousand napoleons a year—a + woman who slips such a diamond as this on your finger,” he added, taking + the lawyer’s left hand, which the young man complacently allowed; “and, to + crown all, you affect the Lovelace, just as if you were a colonel and + obliged to keep up the reputation of the military in home quarters! Fie, + fie! Only think of all you may lose.” + </p> + <p> + “At any rate, I shall not lose my liberty,” replied Martial, with a forced + laugh. + </p> + <p> + He cast a passionate glance at Madame de Vaudremont, who responded only by + a smile of some uneasiness, for she had seen the Colonel examining the + lawyer’s ring. + </p> + <p> + “Listen to me, Martial. If you flutter round my young stranger, I shall + set to work to win Madame de Vaudremont.” + </p> + <p> + “You have my full permission, my dear Cuirassier, but you will not gain + this much,” and the young Maitre des Requetes put his polished thumb-nail + under an upper tooth with a little mocking click. + </p> + <p> + “Remember that I am unmarried,” said the Colonel; “that my sword is my + whole fortune; and that such a challenge is setting Tantalus down to a + banquet which he will devour.” + </p> + <p> + “Prrr.” + </p> + <p> + This defiant roll of consonants was the only reply to the Colonel’s + declaration, as Martial looked him from head to foot before turning away. + </p> + <p> + The fashion of the time required men to wear at a ball white kerseymere + breeches and silk stockings. This pretty costume showed to great advantage + the perfection of Montcornet’s fine shape. He was five-and-thirty, and + attracted attention by his stalwart height, insisted on for the + Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard whose handsome uniform enhanced the + dignity of his figure, still youthful in spite of the stoutness occasioned + by living on horseback. A black moustache emphasized the frank expression + of a thoroughly soldierly countenance, with a broad, high forehead, an + aquiline nose, and bright red lips. Montcornet’s manner, stamped with a + certain superiority due to the habit of command, might please a woman + sensible enough not to aim at making a slave of her husband. The Colonel + smiled as he looked at the lawyer, one of his favorite college friends, + whose small figure made it necessary for Montcornet to look down a little + as he answered his raillery with a friendly glance. + </p> + <p> + Baron Martial de la Roche-Hugon was a young Provencal patronized by + Napoleon; his fate might probably be some splendid embassy. He had won the + Emperor by his Italian suppleness and a genius for intrigue, a + drawing-room eloquence, and a knowledge of manners, which are so good a + substitute for the higher qualities of a sterling man. Through young and + eager, his face had already acquired the rigid brilliancy of tinned iron, + one of the indispensable characteristics of diplomatists, which allows + them to conceal their emotions and disguise their feelings, unless, + indeed, this impassibility indicates an absence of all emotion and the + death of every feeling. The heart of a diplomate may be regarded as an + insoluble problem, for the three most illustrious ambassadors of the time + have been distinguished by perdurable hatreds and most romantic + attachments. + </p> + <p> + Martial, however, was one of those men who are capable of reckoning on the + future in the midst of their intensest enjoyment; he had already learned + to judge the world, and hid his ambition under the fatuity of a + lady-killer, cloaking his talent under the commonplace of mediocrity as + soon as he observed the rapid advancement of those men who gave the master + little umbrage. + </p> + <p> + The two friends now had to part with a cordial grasp of hands. The + introductory tune, warning the ladies to form in squares for a fresh + quadrille, cleared the men away from the space they had filled while + talking in the middle of the large room. This hurried dialogue had taken + place during the usual interval between two dances, in front of the + fireplace of the great drawing-room of Gondreville’s mansion. The + questions and answers of this very ordinary ballroom gossip had been + almost whispered by each of the speakers into his neighbor’s ear. At the + same time, the chandeliers and the flambeaux on the chimney-shelf shed + such a flood of light on the two friends that their faces, strongly + illuminated, failed, in spite of their diplomatic discretion, to conceal + the faint expression of their feelings either from the keen-sighted + countess or the artless stranger. This espionage of people’s thoughts is + perhaps to idle persons one of the pleasures they find in society, while + numbers of disappointed numskulls are bored there without daring to own + it. + </p> + <p> + Fully to appreciate the interest of this conversation, it is necessary to + relate an incident which would presently serve as an invisible bond, + drawing together the actors in this little drama, who were at present + scattered through the rooms. + </p> + <p> + At about eleven o’clock, just as the dancers were returning to their + seats, the company had observed the entrance of the handsomest woman in + Paris, the queen of fashion, the only person wanting to the brilliant + assembly. She made it a rule never to appear till the moment when a party + had reached that pitch of excited movement which does not allow the women + to preserve much longer the freshness of their faces or of their dress. + This brief hour is, as it were, the springtime of a ball. An hour after, + when pleasure falls flat and fatigue is encroaching, everything is spoilt. + Madame de Vaudremont never committed the blunder of remaining at a party + to be seen with drooping flowers, hair out of curl, tumbled frills, and a + face like every other that sleep is courting—not always without + success. She took good care not to let her beauty be seen drowsy, as her + rivals did; she was so clever as to keep up her reputation for smartness + by always leaving a ballroom in brilliant order, as she had entered it. + Women whispered to each other with a feeling of envy that she planned and + wore as many different dresses as the parties she went to in one evening. + </p> + <p> + On the present occasion Madame de Vaudremont was not destined to be free + to leave when she would the ballroom she had entered in triumph. Pausing + for a moment on the threshold, she shot swift but observant glances on the + women present, hastily scrutinizing their dresses to assure herself that + her own eclipsed them all. + </p> + <p> + The illustrious beauty presented herself to the admiration of the crowd at + the same moment with one of the bravest colonels of the Guards’ Artillery + and the Emperor’s favorite, the Comte de Soulanges. The transient and + fortuitous association of these two had about it a certain air of mystery. + On hearing the names announced of Monsieur de Soulanges and the Comtesse + de Vaudremont, a few women sitting by the wall rose, and men, hurrying in + from the side-rooms, pressed forward to the principal doorway. One of the + jesters who are always to be found in any large assembly said, as the + Countess and her escort came in, that “women had quite as much curiosity + about seeing a man who was faithful to his passion as men had in studying + a woman who was difficult to enthrall.” + </p> + <p> + Though the Comte de Soulanges, a young man of about two-and-thirty, was + endowed with the nervous temperament which in a man gives rise to fine + qualities, his slender build and pale complexion were not at first sight + attractive; his black eyes betrayed great vivacity, but he was taciturn in + company, and there was nothing in his appearance to reveal the gift for + oratory which subsequently distinguished him, on the Right, in the + legislative assembly under the Restoration. + </p> + <p> + The Comtesse de Vaudremont, a tall woman, rather fat, with a skin of + dazzling whiteness, a small head that she carried well, and the immense + advantage of inspiring love by the graciousness of her manner, was one of + those beings who keep all the promise of their beauty. + </p> + <p> + The pair, who for a few minutes were the centre of general observation, + did not for long give curiosity an opportunity of exercising itself about + them. The Colonel and the Countess seemed perfectly to understand that + accident had placed them in an awkward position. Martial, as they came + forward, had hastened to join the group of men by the fireplace, that he + might watch Madame de Vaudremont with the jealous anxiety of the first + flame of passion, from behind the heads which formed a sort of rampart; a + secret voice seemed to warn him that the success on which he prided + himself might perhaps be precarious. But the coldly polite smile with + which the Countess thanked Monsieur de Soulanges, and her little bow of + dismissal as she sat down by Madame de Gondreville, relaxed the muscles of + his face which jealousy had made rigid. Seeing Soulanges, however, still + standing quite near the sofa on which Madame de Vaudremont was seated, not + apparently having understood the glance by which the lady had conveyed to + him that they were both playing a ridiculous part, the volcanic Provencal + again knit the black brows that overshadowed his blue eyes, smoothed his + chestnut curls to keep himself in countenance, and without betraying the + agitation which made his heart beat, watched the faces of the Countess and + of M. de Soulanges while still chatting with his neighbors. He then took + the hand of Colonel Montcornet, who had just renewed their old + acquaintance, but he listened to him without hearing him; his mind was + elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + Soulanges was gazing calmly at the women, sitting four ranks deep all + round the immense ballroom, admiring this dado of diamonds, rubies, masses + of gold and shining hair, of which the lustre almost outshone the blaze of + waxlights, the cutglass of the chandeliers, and the gilding. His rival’s + stolid indifference put the lawyer out of countenance. Quite incapable of + controlling his secret transports of impatience, Martial went towards + Madame de Vaudremont with a bow. On seeing the Provencal, Soulanges gave + him a covert glance, and impertinently turned away his head. Solemn + silence now reigned in the room, where curiosity was at the highest pitch. + All these eager faces wore the strangest mixed expressions; every one + apprehended one of those outbreaks which men of breeding carefully avoid. + Suddenly the Count’s pale face turned as red as the scarlet facings of his + coat, and he fixed his gaze on the floor that the cause of his agitation + might not be guessed. On catching sight of the unknown lady humbly seated + by the pedestal of the candelabrum, he moved away with a melancholy air, + passing in front of the lawyer, and took refuge in one of the cardrooms. + Martial and all the company thought that Soulanges had publicly + surrendered the post, out of fear of the ridicule which invariably + attaches to a discarded lover. The lawyer proudly raised his head and + looked at the strange lady; then, as he took his seat at his ease near + Madame de Vaudremont, he listened to her so inattentively that he did not + catch these words spoken behind her fan: + </p> + <p> + “Martial, you will oblige me this evening by not wearing that ring that + you snatched from me. I have my reasons, and will explain them to you in a + moment when we go away. You must give me your arm to go to the Princess de + Wagram’s.” + </p> + <p> + “Why did you come in with the Colonel?” asked the Baron. + </p> + <p> + “I met him in the hall,” she replied. “But leave me now; everybody is + looking at us.” + </p> + <p> + Martial returned to the Colonel of Cuirassiers. Then it was that the + little blue lady had become the object of the curiosity which agitated in + such various ways the Colonel, Soulanges, Martial, and Madame de + Vaudremont. + </p> + <p> + When the friends parted, after the challenge which closed their + conversation, the Baron flew to Madame de Vaudremont, and led her to a + place in the most brilliant quadrille. Favored by the sort of intoxication + which dancing always produces in a woman, and by the turmoil of a ball, + where men appear in all the trickery of dress, which adds no less to their + attractions than it does to those of women, Martial thought he might yield + with impunity to the charm that attracted his gaze to the fair stranger. + Though he succeeded in hiding his first glances towards the lady in blue + from the anxious activity of the Countess’ eyes, he was ere long caught in + the fact; and though he managed to excuse himself once for his absence of + mind, he could not justify the unseemly silence with which he presently + heard the most insinuating question which a woman can put to a man: + </p> + <p> + “Do you like me very much this evening?” + </p> + <p> + And the more dreamy he became, the more the Countess pressed and teased + him. + </p> + <p> + While Martial was dancing, the Colonel moved from group to group, seeking + information about the unknown lady. After exhausting the good-humor even + of the most indifferent, he had resolved to take advantage of a moment + when the Comtesse de Gondreville seemed to be at liberty, to ask her the + name of the mysterious lady, when he perceived a little space left clear + between the pedestal of the candelabrum and the two sofas, which ended in + that corner. The dance had left several of the chairs vacant, which formed + rows of fortifications held by mothers or women of middle age; and the + Colonel seized the opportunity to make his way through this palisade hung + with shawls and wraps. He began by making himself agreeable to the + dowagers, and so from one to another, and from compliment to compliment, + he at last reached the empty space next the stranger. At the risk of + catching on to the gryphons and chimaeras of the huge candelabrum, he + stood there, braving the glare and dropping of the wax candles, to + Martial’s extreme annoyance. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel, far too tactful to speak suddenly to the little blue lady on + his right, began by saying to a plain woman who was seated on the left: + </p> + <p> + “This is a splendid ball, madame! What luxury! What life! On my word, + every woman here is pretty! You are not dancing—because you do not + care for it, no doubt.” + </p> + <p> + This vapid conversation was solely intended to induce his right-hand + neighbor to speak; but she, silent and absent-minded, paid not the least + attention. The officer had in store a number of phrases which he intended + should lead up to: “And you, madame?”—a question from which he hoped + great things. But he was strangely surprised to see tears in the strange + lady’s eyes, which seemed wholly absorbed in gazing on Madame de + Vaudremont. + </p> + <p> + “You are married, no doubt, madame?” he asked her at length, in hesitating + tones. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, monsieur,” replied the lady. + </p> + <p> + “And your husband is here, of course?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, monsieur.” + </p> + <p> + “And why, madame, do you remain in this spot? Is it to attract attention?” + </p> + <p> + The mournful lady smiled sadly. + </p> + <p> + “Allow me the honor, madame, of being your partner in the next quadrille, + and I will take care not to bring you back here. I see a vacant settee + near the fire; come and take it. When so many people are ready to ascend + the throne, and Royalty is the mania of the day, I cannot imagine that you + will refuse the title of Queen of the Ball which your beauty may claim.” + </p> + <p> + “I do not intend to dance, monsieur.” + </p> + <p> + The curt tone of the lady’s replies was so discouraging that the Colonel + found himself compelled to raise the siege. Martial, who guessed what the + officer’s last request had been, and the refusal he had met with, began to + smile, and stroked his chin, making the diamond sparkle which he wore on + his finger. + </p> + <p> + “What are you laughing at?” said the Comtesse de Vaudremont. + </p> + <p> + “At the failure of the poor Colonel, who has just put his foot in it——” + </p> + <p> + “I begged you to take your ring off,” said the Countess, interrupting him. + </p> + <p> + “I did not hear you.” + </p> + <p> + “If you can hear nothing this evening, at any rate you see everything, + Monsieur le Baron,” said Madame de Vaudremont, with an air of vexation. + </p> + <p> + “That young man is displaying a very fine diamond,” the stranger remarked + to the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “Splendid,” he replied. “The man is the Baron Martial de la Roche-Hugon, + one of my most intimate friends.” + </p> + <p> + “I have to thank you for telling me his name,” she went on; “he seems an + agreeable man.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, but he is rather fickle.” + </p> + <p> + “He seems to be on the best terms with the Comtesse de Vaudremont?” said + the lady, with an inquiring look at the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “On the very best.” + </p> + <p> + The unknown turned pale. + </p> + <p> + “Hallo!” thought the soldier, “she is in love with that lucky devil + Martial.” + </p> + <p> + “I fancied that Madame de Vaudremont had long been devoted to M. de + Soulanges,” said the lady, recovering a little from the suppressed grief + which had clouded the fairness of her face. + </p> + <p> + “For a week past the Countess has been faithless,” replied the Colonel. + “But you must have seen poor Soulanges when he came in; he is till trying + to disbelieve in his disaster.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I saw him,” said the lady. Then she added, “Thank you very much, + monsieur,” in a tone which signified a dismissal. + </p> + <p> + At this moment the quadrille was coming to an end. Montcornet had only + time to withdraw, saying to himself by way of consolation, “She is + married.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, valiant Cuirassier,” exclaimed the Baron, drawing the Colonel aside + into a window-bay to breathe the fresh air from the garden, “how are you + getting on?” + </p> + <p> + “She is a married woman, my dear fellow.” + </p> + <p> + “What does that matter?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, deuce take it! I am a decent sort of man,” replied the Colonel. “I + have no idea of paying my addresses to a woman I cannot marry. Besides, + Martial, she expressly told me that she did not intend to dance.” + </p> + <p> + “Colonel, I will bet a hundred napoleons to your gray horse that she will + dance with me this evening.” + </p> + <p> + “Done!” said the Colonel, putting his hand in the coxcomb’s. “Meanwhile I + am going to look for Soulanges; he perhaps knows the lady, as she seems + interested in him.” + </p> + <p> + “You have lost, my good fellow,” cried Martial, laughing. “My eyes have + met hers, and I know what they mean. My dear friend, you owe me no grudge + for dancing with her after she has refused you?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no. Those who laugh last, laugh longest. But I am an honest gambler + and a generous enemy, Martial, and I warn you, she is fond of diamonds.” + </p> + <p> + With these words the friends parted; General Montcornet made his way to + the cardroom, where he saw the Comte de Soulanges sitting at a <i>bouillotte</i> + table. Though there was no friendship between the two soldiers, beyond the + superficial comradeship arising from the perils of war and the duties of + the service, the Colonel of Cuirassiers was painfully struck by seeing the + Colonel of Artillery, whom he knew to be a prudent man, playing at a game + which might bring him to ruin. The heaps of gold and notes piled on the + fateful cards showed the frenzy of play. A circle of silent men stood + round the players at the table. Now and then a few words were spoken—<i>pass, + play, I stop, a thousand Louis, taken</i>—but, looking at the five + motionless men, it seemed as though they talked only with their eyes. As + the Colonel, alarmed by Soulanges’ pallor, went up to him, the Count was + winning. Field-Marshal the Duc d’Isemberg, Keller, and a famous banker + rose from the table completely cleaned out of considerable sums. Soulanges + looked gloomier than ever as he swept up a quantity of gold and notes; he + did not even count it; his lips curled with bitter scorn, he seemed to + defy fortune rather than be grateful for her favors. + </p> + <p> + “Courage,” said the Colonel. “Courage, Soulanges!” Then, believing he + would do him a service by dragging him from play, he added: “Come with me. + I have some good news for you, but on one condition.” + </p> + <p> + “What is that?” asked Soulanges. + </p> + <p> + “That you will answer a question I will ask you.” + </p> + <p> + The Comte de Soulanges rose abruptly, placing his winnings with reckless + indifference in his handkerchief, which he had been twisting with + convulsive nervousness, and his expression was so savage that none of the + players took exception to his walking off with their money. Indeed, every + face seemed to dilate with relief when his morose and crabbed countenance + was no longer to be seen under the circle of light which a shaded lamp + casts on a gaming-table. + </p> + <p> + “Those fiends of soldiers are always as thick as thieves at a fair!” said + a diplomate who had been looking on, as he took Soulanges’ place. One + single pallid and fatigued face turned to the newcomer, and said with a + glance that flashed and died out like the sparkle of a diamond: “When we + say military men, we do not mean civil, Monsieur le Ministre.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear fellow,” said Montcornet to Soulanges, leading him into a corner, + “the Emperor spoke warmly in your praise this morning, and your promotion + to be field-marshal is a certainty.” + </p> + <p> + “The Master does not love the Artillery.” + </p> + <p> + “No, but he adores the nobility, and you are an aristocrat. The Master + said,” added Montcornet, “that the men who had married in Paris during the + campaign were not therefore to be considered in disgrace. Well then?” + </p> + <p> + The Comte de Soulanges looked as if he understood nothing of this speech. + </p> + <p> + “And now I hope,” the Colonel went on, “that you will tell me if you know + a charming little woman who is sitting under a huge candelabrum——” + </p> + <p> + At these words the Count’s face lighted up; he violently seized the + Colonel’s hand: “My dear General,” said he, in a perceptibly altered + voice, “if any man but you had asked me such a question, I would have + cracked his skull with this mass of gold. Leave me, I entreat you. I feel + more like blowing out my brains this evening, I assure you, than——I + hate everything I see. And, in fact, I am going. This gaiety, this music, + these stupid faces, all laughing, are killing me!” + </p> + <p> + “My poor friend!” replied Montcornet gently, and giving the Count’s hand a + friendly pressure, “you are too vehement. What would you say if I told you + that Martial is thinking so little of Madame de Vaudremont that he is + quite smitten with that little lady?” + </p> + <p> + “If he says a word to her,” cried Soulanges, stammering with rage, “I will + thrash him as flat as his own portfolio, even if the coxcomb were in the + Emperor’s lap!” + </p> + <p> + And he sank quite overcome on an easy-chair to which Montcornet had led + him. The colonel slowly went away, for he perceived that Soulanges was in + a state of fury far too violent for the pleasantries or the attentions of + superficial friendship to soothe him. + </p> + <p> + When Montcornet returned to the ballroom, Madame de Vaudremont was the + first person on whom his eyes fell, and he observed on her face, usually + so calm, some symptoms of ill-disguised agitation. A chair was vacant near + hers, and the Colonel seated himself. + </p> + <p> + “I dare wager something has vexed you?” said he. + </p> + <p> + “A mere trifle, General. I want to be gone, for I have promised to go to a + ball at the Grand Duchess of Berg’s, and I must look in first at the + Princesse de Wagram’s. Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon, who knows this, is + amusing himself by flirting with the dowagers.” + </p> + <p> + “That is not the whole secret of your disturbance, and I will bet a + hundred louis that you will remain here the whole evening.” + </p> + <p> + “Impertinent man!” + </p> + <p> + “Then I have hit the truth?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, tell me, what am I thinking of?” said the Countess, tapping the + Colonel’s fingers with her fan. “I might even reward you if you guess + rightly.” + </p> + <p> + “I will not accept the challenge; I have too much the advantage of you.” + </p> + <p> + “You are presumptuous.” + </p> + <p> + “You are afraid of seeing Martial at the feet——” + </p> + <p> + “Of whom?” cried the Countess, affecting surprise. + </p> + <p> + “Of that candelabrum,” replied the Colonel, glancing at the fair stranger, + and then looking at the Countess with embarrassing scrutiny. + </p> + <p> + “You have guessed it,” replied the coquette, hiding her face behind her + fan, which she began to play with. “Old Madame de Lansac, who is, you + know, as malicious as an old monkey,” she went on, after a pause, “has + just told me that Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon is running into danger by + flirting with that stranger, who sits here this evening like a skeleton at + a feast. I would rather see a death’s head than that face, so cruelly + beautiful, and as pale as a ghost. She is my evil genius.—Madame de + Lansac,” she added, after a flash and gesture of annoyance, “who only goes + to a ball to watch everything while pretending to sleep, has made me + miserably anxious. Martial shall pay dearly for playing me such a trick. + Urge him, meanwhile, since he is your friend, not to make me so unhappy.” + </p> + <p> + “I have just been with a man who promises to blow his brains out, and + nothing less, if he speaks to that little lady. And he is a man, madame, + to keep his word. But then I know Martial; such threats are to him an + encouragement. And, besides, we have wagered——” Here the + Colonel lowered his voice. + </p> + <p> + “Can it be true?” said the Countess. + </p> + <p> + “On my word of honor.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you, my dear Colonel,” replied Madame de Vaudremont, with a glance + full of invitation. + </p> + <p> + “Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; but the next quadrille. During this one I want to find out what will + come of this little intrigue, and to ascertain who the little blue lady + may be; she looks intelligent.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel, understanding that Madame de Vaudremont wished to be alone, + retired, well content to have begun his attack so well. + </p> + <p> + At most entertainments women are to be met who are there, like Madame de + Lansac, as old sailors gather on the seashore to watch younger mariners + struggling with the tempest. At this moment Madame de Lansac, who seemed + to be interested in the personages of this drama, could easily guess the + agitation which the Countess was going through. The lady might fan herself + gracefully, smile on the young men who bowed to her, and bring into play + all the arts by which a woman hides her emotion,—the Dowager, one of + the most clear-sighted and mischief-loving duchesses bequeathed by the + eighteenth century to the nineteenth, could read her heart and mind + through it all. + </p> + <p> + The old lady seemed to detect the slightest movement that revealed the + impressions of the soul. The imperceptible frown that furrowed that calm, + pure forehead, the faintest quiver of the cheeks, the curve of the + eyebrows, the least curl of the lips, whose living coral could conceal + nothing from her,—all these were to the Duchess like the print of a + book. From the depths of her large arm-chair, completely filled by the + flow of her dress, the coquette of the past, while talking to a diplomate + who had sought her out to hear the anecdotes she told so cleverly, was + admiring herself in the younger coquette; she felt kindly to her, seeing + how bravely she disguised her annoyance and grief of heart. Madame de + Vaudremont, in fact, felt as much sorrow as she feigned cheerfulness; she + had believed that she had found in Martial a man of talent on whose + support she could count for adorning her life with all the enchantment of + power; and at this moment she perceived her mistake, as injurious to her + reputation as to her good opinion of herself. In her, as in other women of + that time, the suddenness of their passions increased their vehemence. + Souls which love much and love often, suffer no less than those which burn + themselves out in one affection. Her liking for Martial was but of + yesterday, it is true, but the least experienced surgeon knows that the + pain caused by the amputation of a healthy limb is more acute than the + removal of a diseased one. There was a future before Madame de + Vaudremont’s passion for Martial, while her previous love had been + hopeless, and poisoned by Soulanges’ remorse. + </p> + <p> + The old Duchess, who was watching for an opportunity of speaking to the + Countess, hastened to dismiss her Ambassador; for in comparison with a + lover’s quarrel every interest pales, even with an old woman. To engage + battle, Madame de Lansac shot at the younger lady a sardonic glance which + made the Countess fear lest her fate was in the dowager’s hands. There are + looks between woman and woman which are like the torches brought on at the + climax of a tragedy. No one who had not known that Duchess could + appreciate the terror which the expression of her countenance inspired in + the Countess. + </p> + <p> + Madame de Lansac was tall, and her features led people to say, “That must + have been a handsome woman!” She coated her cheeks so thickly with rouge + that the wrinkles were scarcely visible; but her eyes, far from gaining a + factitious brilliancy from this strong carmine, looked all the more dim. + She wore a vast quantity of diamonds, and dressed with sufficient taste + not to make herself ridiculous. Her sharp nose promised epigram. A + well-fitted set of teeth preserved a smile of such irony as recalled that + of Voltaire. At the same time, the exquisite politeness of her manners so + effectually softened the mischievous twist in her mind, that it was + impossible to accuse her of spitefulness. + </p> + <p> + The old woman’s eyes lighted up, and a triumphant glance, seconded by a + smile, which said, “I promised you as much!” shot across the room, and + brought a blush of hope to the pale cheeks of the young creature + languishing under the great chandelier. The alliance between Madame de + Lansac and the stranger could not escape the practised eye of the Comtesse + de Vaudremont, who scented a mystery, and was determined to penetrate it. + </p> + <p> + At this instant the Baron de la Roche-Hugon, after questioning all the + dowagers without success as to the blue lady’s name, applied in despair to + the Comtesse de Gondreville, from whom he reached only this unsatisfactory + reply, “A lady whom the ‘ancient’ Duchesse de Lansac introduced to me.” + </p> + <p> + Turning by chance towards the armchair occupied by the old lady, the + lawyer intercepted the glance of intelligence she sent to the stranger; + and although he had for some time been on bad terms with her, he + determined to speak to her. The “ancient” Duchess, seeing the jaunty Baron + prowling round her chair, smiled with sardonic irony, and looked at Madame + de Vaudremont with an expression that made Montcornet laugh. + </p> + <p> + “If the old witch affects to be friendly,” thought the Baron, “she is + certainly going to play me some spiteful trick.—Madame,” he said, + “you have, I am told, undertaken the charge of a very precious treasure.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you take me for a dragon?” said the old lady. “But of whom are you + speaking?” she added, with a sweetness which revived Martial’s hopes. + </p> + <p> + “Of that little lady, unknown to all, whom the jealousy of all these + coquettes has imprisoned in that corner. You, no doubt, know her family?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said the Duchess. “But what concern have you with a provincial + heiress, married some time since, a woman of good birth, whom you none of + you know, you men; she goes nowhere.” + </p> + <p> + “Why does not she dance, she is such a pretty creature?—May we + conclude a treaty of peace? If you will vouchsafe to tell me all I want to + know, I promise you that a petition for the restitution of the woods of + Navarreins by the Commissioners of Crown Lands shall be strongly urged on + the Emperor.” + </p> + <p> + The younger branch of the house of Navarreins bears quarterly with the + arms of Navarreins those of Lansac, namely, azure, and argent party per + pale raguly, between six spear-heads in pale, and the old lady’s liaison + with Louis XV. had earned her husband the title of duke by royal patent. + Now, as the Navarreins had not yet resettled in France, it was sheer + trickery that the young lawyer thus proposed to the old lady by suggesting + to her that she should petition for an estate belonging to the elder + branch of the family. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” said the old woman with deceptive gravity, “bring the Comtesse + de Vaudremont across to me. I promise you that I will reveal to her the + mystery of the interesting unknown. You see, every man in the room has + reached as great a curiosity as your own. All eyes are involuntarily + turned towards the corner where my protegee has so modestly placed + herself; she is reaping all the homage the women wished to deprive her of. + Happy the man she chooses for her partner!” She interrupted herself, + fixing her eyes on Madame de Vaudremont with one of those looks which + plainly say, “We are talking of you.”—Then she added, “I imagine you + would rather learn the stranger’s name from the lips of your handsome + Countess than from mine.” + </p> + <p> + There was such marked defiance in the Duchess’ attitude that Madame de + Vaudremont rose, came up to her, and took the chair Martial placed for + her; then without noticing him she said, “I can guess, madame, that you + are talking of me; but I admit my want of perspicacity; I do not know + whether it is for good or evil.” + </p> + <p> + Madame de Lansac pressed the young woman’s pretty hand in her own dry and + wrinkled fingers, and answered in a low, compassionate tone, “Poor child!” + </p> + <p> + The women looked at each other. Madame de Vaudremont understood that + Martial was in the way, and dismissed him, saying with an imperious + expression, “Leave us.” + </p> + <p> + The Baron, ill-pleased at seeing the Countess under the spell of the + dangerous sibyl who had drawn her to her side gave one of those looks + which a man can give—potent over a blinded heart, but simply + ridiculous in the eyes of a woman who is beginning to criticise the man + who has attracted her. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think you can play the Emperor?” said Madame de Vaudremont, + turning three-quarters of her face to fix an ironical sidelong gaze on the + lawyer. + </p> + <p> + Martial was too much a man of the world, and had too much wit and acumen, + to risk breaking with a woman who was in favor at Court, and whom the + Emperor wished to see married. He counted, too, on the jealousy he + intended to provoke in her as the surest means of discovering the secret + of her coolness, and withdrew all the more willingly, because at this + moment a new quadrille was putting everybody in motion. + </p> + <p> + With an air of making room for the dancing, the Baron leaned back against + the marble slab of a console, folded his arms, and stood absorbed in + watching the two ladies talking. From time to time he followed the glances + which both frequently directed to the stranger. Then, comparing the + Countess with the new beauty, made so attractive by a touch of mystery, + the Baron fell a prey to the detestable self-interest common to + adventurous lady-killers; he hesitated between a fortune within his grasp + and the indulgence of his caprice. The blaze of light gave such strong + relief to his anxious and sullen face, against the hangings of white silk + moreen brushed by his black hair, that he might have been compared to an + evil genius. Even from a distance more than one observer no doubt said to + himself, “There is another poor wretch who seems to be enjoying himself!” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel, meanwhile, with one shoulder leaning lightly against the + side-post of the doorway between the ballroom and the cardroom, could + laugh undetected under his ample moustache; it amused him to look on at + the turmoil of the dance; he could see a hundred pretty heads turning + about in obedience to the figures; he could read in some faces, as in + those of the Countess and his friend Martial, the secrets of their + agitation; and then, looking round, he wondered what connection there + could be between the gloomy looks of the Comte de Soulanges, still seated + on the sofa, and the plaintive expression of the fair unknown, on whose + features the joys of hope and the anguish of involuntary dread were + alternately legible. Montcornet stood like the king of the feast. In this + moving picture he saw a complete presentment of the world, and he laughed + at it as he found himself the object of inviting smiles from a hundred + beautiful and elegant women. A Colonel of the Imperial Guard, a position + equal to that of a Brigadier-General, was undoubtedly one of the best + matches in the army. + </p> + <p> + It was now nearly midnight. The conversation, the gambling, the dancing, + the flirtations, interests, petty rivalries, and scheming had all reached + the pitch of ardor which makes a young man exclaim involuntarily, “A fine + ball!” + </p> + <p> + “My sweet little angel,” said Madame de Lansac to the Countess, “you are + now at an age when in my day I made many mistakes. Seeing you are just now + enduring a thousand deaths, it occurred to me that I might give you some + charitable advice. To go wrong at two-and-twenty means spoiling your + future; is it not tearing the gown you must wear? My dear, it is not much + later that we learn to go about in it without crumpling it. Go on, + sweetheart, making clever enemies, and friends who have no sense of + conduct, and you will see what a pleasant life you will some day be + leading!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, madame, it is very hard for a woman to be happy, do not you think?” + the Countess eagerly exclaimed. + </p> + <p> + “My child, at your age you must learn to choose between pleasure and + happiness. You want to marry Martial, who is not fool enough to make a + good husband, nor passionate enough to remain a lover. He is in debt, my + dear; he is the man to run through your fortune; still, that would be + nothing if he could make you happy.—Do not you see how aged he is? + The man must have been ill; he is making the most of what is left him. In + three years he will be a wreck. Then he will be ambitious; perhaps he may + succeed. I do not think so.—What is he? A man of intrigue, who may + have the business faculty to perfection, and be able to gossip agreeably; + but he is too presumptuous to have any sterling merit; he will not go far. + Besides—only look at him. Is it not written on his brow that, at + this very moment, what he sees in you is not a young and pretty woman, but + the two million francs you possess? He does not love you, my dear; he is + reckoning you up as if you were an investment. If you are bent on + marrying, find an older man who has an assured position and is half-way on + his career. A widow’s marriage ought not to be a trivial love affair. Is a + mouse to be caught a second time in the same trap? A new alliance ought + now to be a good speculation on your part, and in marrying again you ought + at least to have a hope of being some day addressed as Madame la + Marechale!” + </p> + <p> + As she spoke, both women naturally fixed their eyes on Colonel + Montcornet’s handsome face. + </p> + <p> + “If you would rather play the delicate part of a flirt and not marry + again,” the Duchess went on, with blunt good-nature; “well! my poor child, + you, better than any woman, will know how to raise the storm-clouds and + disperse them again. But, I beseech you, never make it your pleasure to + disturb the peace of families, to destroy unions, and ruin the happiness + of happy wives. I, my dear, have played that perilous game. Dear heaven! + for a triumph of vanity some poor virtuous soul is murdered—for + there really are virtuous women, child,—and we may make ourselves + mortally hated. I learned, a little too late, that, as the Duc d’Albe once + said, one salmon is worth a thousand frogs! A genuine affection certainly + brings a thousand times more happiness than the transient passions we may + inspire.—Well, I came here on purpose to preach to you; yes, you are + the cause of my appearance in this house, which stinks of the lower class. + Have I not just seen actors here? Formerly, my dear, we received them in + our boudoir; but in the drawing-room—never!—Why do you look at + me with so much amazement? Listen to me. If you want to play with men, do + not try to wring the hearts of any but those whose life is not yet + settled, who have no duties to fulfil; the others do not forgive us for + the errors that have made them happy. Profit by this maxim, founded on my + long experience.—That luckless Soulanges, for instance, whose head + you have turned, whom you have intoxicated for these fifteen months past, + God knows how! Do you know at what you have struck?—At his whole + life. He has been married these two years; he is worshiped by a charming + wife, whom he loves, but neglects; she lives in tears and embittered + silence. Soulanges has had hours of remorse more terrible than his + pleasure has been sweet. And you, you artful little thing, have deserted + him.—Well, come and see your work.” + </p> + <p> + The old lady took Madame de Vaudremont’s hand, and they rose. + </p> + <p> + “There,” said Madame de Lansac, and her eyes showed her the stranger, + sitting pale and tremulous under the glare of the candles, “that is my + grandniece, the Comtesse de Soulanges; to-day she yielded at last to my + persuasion, and consented to leave the sorrowful room, where the sight of + her child gives her but little consolation. You see her? You think her + charming? Then imagine, dear Beauty, what she must have been when + happiness and love shed their glory on that face now blighted.” + </p> + <p> + The Countess looked away in silence, and seemed lost in sad reflections. + </p> + <p> + The Duchess led her to the door into the card-room; then, after looking + round the room as if in search of some one—“And there is Soulanges!” + she said in deep tones. + </p> + <p> + The Countess shuddered as she saw, in the least brilliantly lighted + corner, the pale, set face of Soulanges stretched in an easy-chair. The + indifference of his attitude and the rigidity of his brow betrayed his + suffering. The players passed him to and fro, without paying any more + attention to him than if he had been dead. The picture of the wife in + tears, and the dejected, morose husband, separated in the midst of this + festivity like the two halves of a tree blasted by lightning, had perhaps + a prophetic significance for the Countess. She dreaded lest she here saw + an image of the revenges the future might have in store for her. Her heart + was not yet so dried up that the feeling and generosity were entirely + excluded, and she pressed the Duchess’ hand, while thanking her by one of + those smiles which have a certain childlike grace. + </p> + <p> + “My dear child,” the old lady said in her ear, “remember henceforth that + we are just as capable of repelling a man’s attentions as of attracting + them.” + </p> + <p> + “She is yours if you are not a simpleton.” These words were whispered into + Colonel Montcornet’s ear by Madame de Lansac, while the handsome Countess + was still absorbed in compassion at the sight of Soulanges, for she still + loved him truly enough to wish to restore him to happiness, and was + promising herself in her own mind that she would exert the irresistible + power her charms still had over him to make him return to his wife. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! I will talk to him!” said she to Madame de Lansac. + </p> + <p> + “Do nothing of the kind, my dear!” cried the old lady, as she went back to + her armchair. “Choose a good husband, and shut your door to my nephew. + Believe me, my child, a wife cannot accept her husband’s heart as the gift + of another woman; she is a hundred times happier in the belief that she + has reconquered it. By bringing my niece here I believe I have given her + an excellent chance of regaining her husband’s affection. All the + assistance I need of you is to play the Colonel.” She pointed to the + Baron’s friend, and the Countess smiled. + </p> + <p> + “Well, madame, do you at last know the name of the unknown?” asked + Martial, with an air of pique, to the Countess when he saw her alone. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Madame de Vaudremont, looking him in the face. + </p> + <p> + Her features expressed as much roguery as fun. The smile which gave life + to her lips and cheeks, the liquid brightness of her eyes, were like the + will-o’-the-wisp which leads travelers astray. Martial, who believed that + she still loved him, assumed the coquetting graces in which a man is so + ready to lull himself in the presence of the woman he loves. He said with + a fatuous air: + </p> + <p> + “And will you be annoyed with me if I seem to attach great importance to + your telling me that name?” + </p> + <p> + “Will you be annoyed with me,” answered Madame de Vaudremont, “if a + remnant of affection prevents my telling you; and if I forbid you to make + the smallest advances to that young lady? It would be at the risk of your + life perhaps.” + </p> + <p> + “To lose your good graces, madame, would be worse than to lose my life.” + </p> + <p> + “Martial,” said the Countess severely, “she is Madame de Soulanges. Her + husband would blow your brains out—if, indeed, you have any——” + </p> + <p> + “Ha! ha!” laughed the coxcomb. “What! the Colonel can leave the man in + peace who has robbed him of your love, and then would fight for his wife! + What a subversion of principles!—I beg of you to allow me to dance + with the little lady. You will then be able to judge how little love that + heart of ice could feel for you; for, if the Colonel disapproves of my + dancing with his wife after allowing me to——” + </p> + <p> + “But she loves her husband.” + </p> + <p> + “A still further obstacle that I shall have the pleasure of conquering.” + </p> + <p> + “But she is married.” + </p> + <p> + “A whimsical objection!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said the Countess, with a bitter smile, “you punish us alike for our + faults and our repentance!” + </p> + <p> + “Do not be angry!” exclaimed Martial eagerly. “Oh, forgive me, I beseech + you. There, I will think no more of Madame de Soulanges.” + </p> + <p> + “You deserve that I should send you to her.” + </p> + <p> + “I am off then,” said the Baron, laughing, “and I shall return more + devoted to you than ever. You will see that the prettiest woman in the + world cannot capture the heart that is yours.” + </p> + <p> + “That is to say, that you want to win Colonel Montcornet’s horse?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Traitor!” said he, threatening his friend with his finger. The + Colonel smiled and joined them; the Baron gave him the seat near the + Countess, saying to her with a sardonic accent: + </p> + <p> + “Here, madame, is a man who boasted that he could win your good graces in + one evening.” + </p> + <p> + He went away, thinking himself clever to have piqued the Countess’ pride + and done Montcornet an ill turn; but, in spite of his habitual keenness, + he had not appreciated the irony underlying Madame de Vaudremont’s speech, + and did not perceive that she had come as far to meet his friend as his + friend towards her, though both were unconscious of it. + </p> + <p> + At that moment when the lawyer went fluttering up to the candelabrum by + which Madame de Soulanges sat, pale, timid, and apparently alive only in + her eyes, her husband came to the door of the ballroom, his eyes flashing + with anger. The old Duchess, watchful of everything, flew to her nephew, + begged him to give her his arm and find her carriage, affecting to be + mortally bored, and hoping thus to prevent a vexatious outbreak. Before + going she fired a singular glance of intelligence at her niece, indicating + the enterprising knight who was about to address her, and this signal + seemed to say, “There he is, avenge yourself!” + </p> + <p> + Madame de Vaudremont caught these looks of the aunt and niece; a sudden + light dawned on her mind; she was frightened lest she was the dupe of this + old woman, so cunning and so practised in intrigue. + </p> + <p> + “That perfidious Duchess,” said she to herself, “has perhaps been amusing + herself by preaching morality to me while playing me some spiteful trick + of her own.” + </p> + <p> + At this thought Madame de Vaudremont’s pride was perhaps more roused than + her curiosity to disentangle the thread of this intrigue. In the + absorption of mind to which she was a prey she was no longer mistress of + herself. The Colonel, interpreting to his own advantage the embarrassment + evident in the Countess’ manner and speech, became more ardent and + pressing. The old blase diplomates, amusing themselves by watching the + play of faces, had never found so many intrigues at once to watch or guess + at. The passions agitating the two couples were to be seen with variations + at every step in the crowded rooms, and reflected with different shades in + other countenances. The spectacle of so many vivid passions, of all these + lovers’ quarrels, these pleasing revenges, these cruel favors, these + flaming glances, of all this ardent life diffused around them, only made + them feel their impotence more keenly. + </p> + <p> + At last the Baron had found a seat by Madame de Soulanges. His eyes stole + a long look at her neck, as fresh as dew and as fragrant as field flowers. + He admired close at hand the beauty which had amazed him from afar. He + could see a small, well-shod foot, and measure with his eye a slender and + graceful shape. At that time women wore their sash tied close under the + bosom, in imitation of Greek statues, a pitiless fashion for those whose + bust was faulty. As he cast furtive glances at the Countess’ figure, + Martial was enchanted with its perfection. + </p> + <p> + “You have not danced once this evening, madame,” said he in soft and + flattering tones. “Not, I should suppose, for lack of a partner?” + </p> + <p> + “I never go to parties; I am quite unknown,” replied Madame de Soulanges + coldly, not having understood the look by which her aunt had just conveyed + to her that she was to attract the Baron. + </p> + <p> + Martial, to give himself countenance, twisted the diamond he wore on his + left hand; the rainbow fires of the gem seemed to flash a sudden light on + the young Countess’ mind; she blushed and looked at the Baron with an + undefinable expression. + </p> + <p> + “Do you like dancing?” asked the Provencal, to reopen the conversation. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, very much, monsieur.” + </p> + <p> + At this strange reply their eyes met. The young man, surprised by the + earnest accent, which aroused a vague hope in his heart, had suddenly + questioned the lady’s eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Then, madame, am I not overbold in offering myself to be your partner for + the next quadrille?” + </p> + <p> + Artless confusion colored the Countess’ white cheeks. + </p> + <p> + “But, monsieur, I have already refused one partner—a military man——” + </p> + <p> + “Was it that tall cavalry colonel whom you see over there?” + </p> + <p> + “Precisely so.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! he is a friend of mine; feel no alarm. Will you grant me the favor I + dare hope for?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, monsieur.” + </p> + <p> + Her tone betrayed an emotion so new and so deep that the lawyer’s + world-worn soul was touched. He was overcome by shyness like a + schoolboy’s, lost his confidence, and his southern brain caught fire; he + tried to talk, but his phrases struck him as graceless in comparison with + Madame de Soulanges’ bright and subtle replies. It was lucky for him that + the quadrille was forming. Standing by his beautiful partner, he felt more + at ease. To many men dancing is a phase of being; they think that they can + more powerfully influence the heart of woman by displaying the graces of + their bodies than by their intellect. Martial wished, no doubt, at this + moment to put forth all his most effective seductions, to judge by the + pretentiousness of his movements and gestures. + </p> + <p> + He led his conquest to the quadrille in which the most brilliant women in + the room made it a point of chimerical importance to dance in preference + to any other. While the orchestra played the introductory bars to the + first figure, the Baron felt it an incredible gratification to his pride + to perceive, as he reviewed the ladies forming the lines of that + formidable square, that Madame de Soulanges’ dress might challenge that + even of Madame de Vaudremont, who, by a chance not perhaps unsought, was + standing with Montcornet <i>vis-a-vis</i> to himself and the lady in blue. + All eyes were for a moment turned on Madame de Soulanges; a flattering + murmur showed that she was the subject of every man’s conversation with + his partner. Looks of admiration and envy centered on her, with so much + eagerness that the young creature, abashed by a triumph she seemed to + disclaim, modestly looked down, blushed, and was all the more charming. + When she raised her white eyelids it was to look at her ravished partner + as though she wished to transfer the glory of this admiration to him, and + to say that she cared more for his than for all the rest. She threw her + innocence into her vanity; or rather she seemed to give herself up to the + guileless admiration which is the beginning of love, with the good faith + found only in youthful hearts. As she danced, the lookers-on might easily + believe that she displayed her grace for Martial alone; and though she was + modest, and new to the trickery of the ballroom, she knew as well as the + most accomplished coquette how to raise her eyes to his at the right + moment and drop their lids with assumed modesty. + </p> + <p> + When the movement of a new figure, invented by a dancer named Trenis, and + named after him, brought Martial face to face with the Colonel—“I + have won your horse,” said he, laughing. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, but you have lost eighty thousand francs a year!” retorted + Montcornet, glancing at Madame de Vaudremont. + </p> + <p> + “What do I care?” replied Martial. “Madame de Soulanges is worth + millions!” + </p> + <p> + At the end of the quadrille more than one whisper was poured into more + than one ear. The less pretty women made moral speeches to their partners, + commenting on the budding liaison between Martial and the Comtesse de + Soulanges. The handsomest wondered at her easy surrender. The men could + not understand such luck as the Baron’s, not regarding him as particularly + fascinating. A few indulgent women said it was not fair to judge the + Countess too hastily; young wives would be in a very hapless plight if an + expressive look or a few graceful dancing steps were enough to compromise + a woman. + </p> + <p> + Martial alone knew the extent of his happiness. During the last figure, + when the ladies had to form the <i>moulinet</i>, his fingers clasped those + of the Countess, and he fancied that, through the thin perfumed kid of her + gloves, the young wife’s grasp responded to his amorous appeal. + </p> + <p> + “Madame,” said he, as the quadrille ended, “do not go back to the odious + corner where you have been burying your face and your dress until now. Is + admiration the only benefit you can obtain from the jewels that adorn your + white neck and beautifully dressed hair? Come and take a turn through the + rooms to enjoy the scene and yourself.” + </p> + <p> + Madame de Soulanges yielded to her seducer, who thought she would be his + all the more surely if he could only show her off. Side by side they + walked two or three times amid the groups who crowded the rooms. The + Comtesse de Soulanges, evidently uneasy, paused for an instant at each + door before entering, only doing so after stretching her neck to look at + all the men there. This alarm, which crowned the Baron’s satisfaction, did + not seem to be removed till he said to her, “Make yourself easy; <i>he</i> + is not here.” + </p> + <p> + They thus made their way to an immense picture gallery in a wing of the + mansion, where their eyes could feast in anticipation on the splendid + display of a collation prepared for three hundred persons. As supper was + about to begin, Martial led the Countess to an oval boudoir looking on to + the garden, where the rarest flowers and a few shrubs made a scented bower + under bright blue hangings. The murmurs of the festivity here died away. + The Countess, at first startled, refused firmly to follow the young man; + but, glancing in a mirror, she no doubt assured herself that they could be + seen, for she seated herself on an ottoman with a fairly good grace. + </p> + <p> + “This room is charming,” said she, admiring the sky-blue hangings looped + with pearls. + </p> + <p> + “All here is love and delight!” said the Baron, with deep emotion. + </p> + <p> + In the mysterious light which prevailed he looked at the Countess, and + detected on her gently agitated face an expression of uneasiness, modesty, + and eagerness which enchanted him. The young lady smiled, and this smile + seemed to put an end to the struggle of feeling surging in her heart; in + the most insinuating way she took her adorer’s left hand, and drew from + his finger the ring on which she had fixed her eyes. + </p> + <p> + “What a fine diamond!” she exclaimed in the artless tone of a young girl + betraying the incitement of a first temptation. + </p> + <p> + Martial, troubled by the Countess’ involuntary but intoxicating touch, + like a caress, as she drew off the ring, looked at her with eyes as + glittering as the gem. + </p> + <p> + “Wear it,” he said, “in memory of this hour, and for the love of——” + </p> + <p> + She was looking at him with such rapture that he did not end the sentence; + he kissed her hand. + </p> + <p> + “You give it me?” she said, looking much astonished. + </p> + <p> + “I wish I had the whole world to offer you!” + </p> + <p> + “You are not joking?” she went on, in a voice husky with too great + satisfaction. + </p> + <p> + “Will you accept only my diamond?” + </p> + <p> + “You will never take it back?” she insisted. + </p> + <p> + “Never.” + </p> + <p> + She put the ring on her finger. Martial, confident of coming happiness, + was about to put his hand round her waist, but she suddenly rose, and said + in a clear voice, without any agitation: + </p> + <p> + “I accept the diamond, monsieur, with the less scruple because it belongs + to me.” + </p> + <p> + The Baron was speechless. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur de Soulanges took it lately from my dressing-table, and told me + he had lost it.” + </p> + <p> + “You are mistaken, madame,” said Martial, nettled. “It was given me by + Madame de Vaudremont.” + </p> + <p> + “Precisely so,” she said with a smile. “My husband borrowed this ring of + me, he gave it to her, she made it a present to you; my ring has made a + little journey, that is all. This ring will perhaps tell me all I do not + know, and teach me the secret of always pleasing.—Monsieur,” she + went on, “if it had not been my own, you may be sure I should not have + risked paying so dear for it; for a young woman, it is said, is in danger + with you. But, you see,” and she touched a spring within the ring, “here + is M. de Soulanges’ hair.” + </p> + <p> + She fled into the crowded rooms so swiftly, that it seemed useless to try + to follow her; besides, Martial, utterly confounded, was in no mood to + carry the adventure further. The Countess’ laugh found an echo in the + boudoir, where the young coxcomb now perceived, between two shrubs, the + Colonel and Madame de Vaudremont, both laughing heartily. + </p> + <p> + “Will you have my horse, to ride after your prize?” said the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + The Baron took the banter poured upon him by Madame de Vaudremont and + Montcornet with a good grace, which secured their silence as to the events + of the evening, when his friend exchanged his charger for a rich and + pretty young wife. + </p> + <p> + As the Comtesse de Soulanges drove across Paris from the Chausee d’Antin + to the Faubourg Saint-Germain, where she lived, her soul was prey to many + alarms. Before leaving the Hotel Gondreville she went through all the + rooms, but found neither her aunt nor her husband, who had gone away + without her. Frightful suspicions then tortured her ingenuous mind. A + silent witness of her husbands’ torments since the day when Madame de + Vaudremont had chained him to her car, she had confidently hoped that + repentance would ere long restore her husband to her. It was with + unspeakable repugnance that she had consented to the scheme plotted by her + aunt, Madame de Lansac, and at this moment she feared she had made a + mistake. + </p> + <p> + The evening’s experience had saddened her innocent soul. Alarmed at first + by the Count’s look of suffering and dejection, she had become more so on + seeing her rival’s beauty, and the corruption of society had gripped her + heart. As she crossed the Pont Royal she threw away the desecrated hair at + the back of the diamond, given to her once as a token of the purest + affection. She wept as she remembered the bitter grief to which she had so + long been a victim, and shuddered more than once as she reflected that the + duty of a woman, who wishes for peace in her home, compels her to bury + sufferings so keen as hers at the bottom of her heart, and without a + complaint. + </p> + <p> + “Alas!” thought she, “what can women do when they do not love? What is the + fount of their indulgence? I cannot believe that, as my aunt tells me, + reason is all-sufficient to maintain them in such devotion.” + </p> + <p> + She was still sighing when her man-servant let down the handsome + carriage-step down which she flew into the hall of her house. She rushed + precipitately upstairs, and when she reached her room was startled by + seeing her husband sitting by the fire. + </p> + <p> + “How long is it, my dear, since you have gone to balls without telling me + beforehand?” he asked in a broken voice. “You must know that a woman is + always out of place without her husband. You compromised yourself + strangely by remaining in the dark corner where you had ensconced + yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, my dear, good Leon,” said she in a coaxing tone, “I could not resist + the happiness of seeing you without your seeing me. My aunt took me to + this ball, and I was very happy there!” + </p> + <p> + This speech disarmed the Count’s looks of their assumed severity, for he + had been blaming himself while dreading his wife’s return, no doubt fully + informed at the ball of an infidelity he had hoped to hide from her; and, + as is the way of lovers conscious of their guilt, he tried, by being the + first to find fault, to escape her just anger. Happy in seeing her husband + smile, and in finding him at this hour in a room whither of late he had + come more rarely, the Countess looked at him so tenderly that she blushed + and cast down her eyes. Her clemency enraptured Soulanges all the more, + because this scene followed on the misery he had endured at the ball. He + seized his wife’s hand and kissed it gratefully. Is not gratitude often a + part of love? + </p> + <p> + “Hortense, what is that on your finger that has hurt my lip so much?” + asked he, laughing. + </p> + <p> + “It is my diamond which you said you had lost, and which I have found.” + </p> + <p> + General Montcornet did not marry Madame de Vaudremont, in spite of the + mutual understanding in which they had lived for a few minutes, for she + was one of the victims of the terrible fire which sealed the fame of the + ball given by the Austrian ambassador on the occasion of Napoleon’s + marriage with the daughter of the Emperor Joseph II. + </p> + <h3> + JULY, 1829. + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + ADDENDUM + </h2> + <h3> + The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Bonaparte, Napoleon + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Seamy Side of History + A Woman of Thirty + + Gondreville, Malin, Comte de + The Gondreville Mystery + A Start in Life + The Member for Arcis + + Keller, Francois + Cesar Birotteau + Eugenie Grandet + The Government Clerks + The Member for Arcis + + Keller, Madame Francois + The Member for Arcis + The Thirteen + + La Roche-Hugon, Martial de + The Peasantry + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + + Montcornet, Marechal, Comte de + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + The Peasantry + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + + Murat, Joachim, Prince + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Country Doctor + + Soulanges, Comte Leon de + The Peasantry + + Soulanges, Comtesse Hortense de + The Thirteen + The Peasantry +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1411 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bc8f2b6 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #1411 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1411) diff --git a/old/1411-0.txt b/old/1411-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7ec67e8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1411-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1938 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Domestic Peace, 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: Domestic Peace + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Translator: Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell + +Release Date: August, 1998 [Etext #1411] +Last Updated: November 22, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOMESTIC PEACE *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + + + + + +DOMESTIC PEACE + + +By Honore De Balzac + + + +Translated By Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell + + + + Dedicated to my dear niece Valentine Surville. + + + + + +DOMESTIC PEACE + + +The incident recorded in this sketch took place towards the end of the +month of November, 1809, the moment when Napoleon’s fugitive empire +attained the apogee of its splendor. The trumpet-blasts of Wagram were +still sounding an echo in the heart of the Austrian monarchy. Peace was +being signed between France and the Coalition. Kings and princes came to +perform their orbits, like stars, round Napoleon, who gave himself the +pleasure of dragging all Europe in his train--a magnificent +experiment in the power he afterwards displayed at Dresden. Never, as +contemporaries tell us, did Paris see entertainments more superb than +those which preceded and followed the sovereign’s marriage with an +Austrian archduchess. Never, in the most splendid days of the Monarchy, +had so many crowned heads thronged the shores of the Seine, never +had the French aristocracy been so rich or so splendid. The diamonds +lavishly scattered over the women’s dresses, and the gold and silver +embroidery on the uniforms contrasted so strongly with the penury of the +Republic, that the wealth of the globe seemed to be rolling through the +drawing-rooms of Paris. Intoxication seemed to have turned the brains +of this Empire of a day. All the military, not excepting their chief, +reveled like parvenus in the treasure conquered for them by a million +men with worsted epaulettes, whose demands were satisfied by a few yards +of red ribbon. + +At this time most women affected that lightness of conduct and facility +of morals which distinguished the reign of Louis XV. Whether it were in +imitation of the tone of the fallen monarchy, or because certain members +of the Imperial family had set the example--as certain malcontents of +the Faubourg Saint-Germain chose to say--it is certain that men and +women alike flung themselves into a life of pleasure with an intrepidity +which seemed to forbode the end of the world. But there was at that +time another cause for such license. The infatuation of women for the +military became a frenzy, and was too consonant to the Emperor’s views +for him to try to check it. The frequent calls to arms, which gave every +treaty concluded between Napoleon and the rest of Europe the character +of an armistice, left every passion open to a termination as sudden as +the decisions of the Commander-in-chief of all these busbys, pelisses, +and aiguillettes, which so fascinated the fair sex. Hearts were as +nomadic as the regiments. Between the first and fifth bulletins from the +_Grand Armee_ a woman might be in succession mistress, wife, mother, and +widow. + +Was it the prospect of early widowhood, the hope of a jointure, or +that of bearing a name promised to history, which made the soldiers so +attractive? Were women drawn to them by the certainty that the secret +of their passions would be buried on the field of battle? or may we find +the reason of this gentle fanaticism in the noble charm that courage has +for a woman? Perhaps all these reasons, which the future historian +of the manners of the Empire will no doubt amuse himself by weighing, +counted for something in their facile readiness to abandon themselves +to love intrigues. Be that as it may, it must here be confessed that at +that time laurels hid many errors, women showed an ardent preference for +the brave adventurers, whom they regarded as the true fount of honor, +wealth, or pleasure; and in the eyes of young girls, an epaulette--the +hieroglyphic of a future--signified happiness and liberty. + +One feature, and a characteristic one, of this unique period in our +history was an unbridled mania for everything glittering. Never were +fireworks so much in vogue, never were diamonds so highly prized. The +men, as greedy as the women of these translucent pebbles, displayed them +no less lavishly. Possibly the necessity for carrying plunder in the +most portable form made gems the fashion in the army. A man was not +ridiculous then, as he would be now, if his shirt-frill or his fingers +blazed with large diamonds. Murat, an Oriental by nature, set the +example of preposterous luxury to modern soldiers. + +The Comte de Gondreville, formerly known as Citizen Malin, whose +elevation had made him famous, having become a Lucullus of the +Conservative Senate, which “conserved” nothing, had postponed an +entertainment in honor of the peace only that he might the better pay +his court to Napoleon by his efforts to eclipse those flatterers who had +been before-hand with him. The ambassadors from all the Powers +friendly with France, with an eye to favors to come, the most important +personages of the Empire, and even a few princes, were at this hour +assembled in the wealthy senator’s drawing-rooms. Dancing flagged; every +one was watching for the Emperor, whose presence the Count had promised +his guests. And Napoleon would have kept his word but for the scene +which had broken out that very evening between him and Josephine--the +scene which portended the impending divorce of the august pair. The +report of this incident, at the time kept very secret, but recorded by +history, did not reach the ears of the courtiers, and had no effect on +the gaiety of Comte de Gondreville’s party beyond keeping Napoleon away. + +The prettiest women in Paris, eager to be at the Count’s on the strength +of mere hearsay, at this moment were a besieging force of luxury, +coquettishness, elegance, and beauty. The financial world, proud of its +riches, challenged the splendor of the generals and high officials of +the Empire, so recently gorged with orders, titles, and honors. These +grand balls were always an opportunity seized upon by wealthy families +for introducing their heiresses to Napoleon’s Praetorian Guard, in the +foolish hope of exchanging their splendid fortunes for uncertain favors. +The women who believed themselves strong enough in their beauty alone +came to test their power. There, as elsewhere, amusement was but a +blind. Calm and smiling faces and placid brows covered sordid interests, +expressions of friendship were a lie, and more than one man was less +distrustful of his enemies than of his friends. + +These remarks are necessary to explain the incidents of the little +imbroglio which is the subject of this study, and the picture, softened +as it is, of the tone then dominant in Paris drawing-rooms. + +“Turn your eyes a little towards the pedestal supporting that +candelabrum--do you see a young lady with her hair drawn back _a la +Chinoise_!--There, in the corner to the left; she has bluebells in the +knot of chestnut curls which fall in clusters on her head. Do not you +see her? She is so pale you might fancy she was ill, delicate-looking, +and very small; there--now she is turning her head this way; her +almond-shaped blue eyes, so delightfully soft, look as if they were made +expressly for tears. Look, look! She is bending forward to see Madame +de Vaudremont below the crowd of heads in constant motion; the high +head-dresses prevent her having a clear view.” + +“I see her now, my dear fellow. You had only to say that she had the +whitest skin of all the women here; I should have known whom you meant. +I had noticed her before; she has the loveliest complexion I ever +admired. From hence I defy you to see against her throat the pearls +between the sapphires of her necklace. But she is a prude or a coquette, +for the tucker of her bodice scarcely lets one suspect the beauty of her +bust. What shoulders! what lily-whiteness!” + +“Who is she?” asked the first speaker. + +“Ah! that I do not know.” + +“Aristocrat!--Do you want to keep them all to yourself, Montcornet?” + +“You of all men to banter me!” replied Montcornet, with a smile. “Do you +think you have a right to insult a poor general like me because, being +a happy rival of Soulanges, you cannot even turn on your heel without +alarming Madame de Vaudremont? Or is it because I came only a month ago +into the Promised Land? How insolent you can be, you men in office, +who sit glued to your chairs while we are dodging shot and shell! Come, +Monsieur le Maitre des Requetes, allow us to glean in the field of which +you can only have precarious possession from the moment when we evacuate +it. The deuce is in it! We have a right to live! My good friend, if you +knew the German women, you would, I believe, do me a good turn with the +Parisian you love best.” + +“Well, General, since you have vouchsafed to turn your attention to that +lady, whom I never saw till now, have the charity to tell me if you have +seen her dance.” + +“Why, my dear Martial, where have you dropped from? If you are ever sent +with an embassy, I have small hopes of your success. Do not you see a +triple rank of the most undaunted coquettes of Paris between her and the +swarm of dancing men that buzz under the chandelier? And was it not only +by the help of your eyeglass that you were able to discover her at all +in the corner by that pillar, where she seems buried in the gloom, in +spite of the candles blazing above her head? Between her and us there is +such a sparkle of diamonds and glances, so many floating plumes, such a +flutter of lace, of flowers and curls, that it would be a real miracle +if any dancer could detect her among those stars. Why, Martial, how is +it that you have not understood her to be the wife of some sous-prefet +from Lippe or Dyle, who has come to try to get her husband promoted?” + +“Oh, he will be!” exclaimed the Master of Appeals quickly. + +“I doubt it,” replied the Colonel of Cuirassiers, laughing. “She seems +as raw in intrigue as you are in diplomacy. I dare bet, Martial, that +you do not know how she got into that place.” + +The lawyer looked at the Colonel of Cuirassiers with an expression as +much of contempt as of curiosity. + +“Well,” proceeded Montcornet, “she arrived, I have no doubt, punctually +at nine, the first of the company perhaps, and probably she greatly +embarrassed the Comtesse de Gondreville, who cannot put two ideas +together. Repulsed by the mistress of the house, routed from chair to +chair by each newcomer, and driven into the darkness of this little +corner, she allowed herself to be walled in, the victim of the jealousy +of the other ladies, who would gladly have buried that dangerous beauty. +She had, of course, no friend to encourage her to maintain the place she +first held in the front rank; then each of those treacherous fair ones +would have enjoined on the men of her circle on no account to take out +our poor friend, under pain of the severest punishment. That, my dear +fellow, is the way in which those sweet faces, in appearance so tender +and so artless, would have formed a coalition against the stranger, and +that without a word beyond the question, ‘Tell me, dear, do you know +that little woman in blue?’--Look here, Martial, if you care to run the +gauntlet of more flattering glances and inviting questions than you will +ever again meet in the whole of your life, just try to get through the +triple rampart which defends that Queen of Dyle, or Lippe, or Charente. +You will see whether the dullest woman of them all will not be equal +to inventing some wile that would hinder the most determined man from +bringing the plaintive stranger to the light. Does it not strike you +that she looks like an elegy?” + +“Do you think so, Montcornet? Then she must be a married woman?” + +“Why not a widow?” + +“She would be less passive,” said the lawyer, laughing. + +“She is perhaps the widow of a man who is gambling,” replied the +handsome Colonel. + +“To be sure; since the peace there are so many widows of that class!” + said Martial. “But my dear Montcornet, we are a couple of simpletons. +That face is still too ingenuous, there is too much youth and +freshness on the brow and temples for her to be married. What splendid +flesh-tints! Nothing has sunk in the modeling of the nose. Lips, chin, +everything in her face is as fresh as a white rosebud, though the +expression is veiled, as it were, by the clouds of sadness. Who can it +be that makes that young creature weep?” + +“Women cry for so little,” said the Colonel. + +“I do not know,” replied Martial; “but she does not cry because she is +left there without a partner; her grief is not of to-day. It is evident +that she has beautified herself for this evening with intention. I would +wager that she is in love already.” + +“Bah! She is perhaps the daughter of some German princeling; no one +talks to her,” said Montcornet. + +“Dear! how unhappy a poor child may be!” Martial went on. “Can there be +anything more graceful and refined than our little stranger? Well, not +one of those furies who stand round her, and who believe that they can +feel, will say a word to her. If she would but speak, we should see if +she has fine teeth. + +“Bless me, you boil over like milk at the least increase of +temperature!” cried the Colonel, a little nettled at so soon finding a +rival in his friend. + +“What!” exclaimed the lawyer, without heeding the Colonel’s question. +“Can nobody here tell us the name of this exotic flower?” + +“Some lady companion!” said Montcornet. + +“What next? A companion! wearing sapphires fit for a queen, and a dress +of Malines lace? Tell that to the marines, General. You, too, would not +shine in diplomacy if, in the course of your conjectures, you jump in a +breath from a German princess to a lady companion.” + +Montcornet stopped a man by taking his arm--a fat little man, whose +iron-gray hair and clever eyes were to be seen at the lintel of every +doorway, and who mingled unceremoniously with the various groups which +welcomed him respectfully. + +“Gondreville, my friend,” said Montcornet, “who is that quite charming +little woman sitting out there under that huge candelabrum?” + +“The candelabrum? Ravrio’s work; Isabey made the design.” + +“Oh, I recognized your lavishness and taste; but the lady?” + +“Ah! I do not know. Some friend of my wife’s, no doubt.” + +“Or your mistress, you old rascal.” + +“No, on my honor. The Comtesse de Gondreville is the only person capable +of inviting people whom no one knows.” + +In spite of this very acrimonious comment, the fat little man’s lips did +not lose the smile which the Colonel’s suggestion had brought to them. +Montcornet returned to the lawyer, who had rejoined a neighboring group, +intent on asking, but in vain, for information as to the fair unknown. +He grasped Martial’s arm, and said in his ear: + +“My dear Martial, mind what you are about. Madame de Vaudremont has been +watching you for some minutes with ominous attentiveness; she is a woman +who can guess by the mere movement of your lips what you say to me; +our eyes have already told her too much; she has perceived and followed +their direction, and I suspect that at this moment she is thinking even +more than we are of the little blue lady.” + +“That is too old a trick in warfare, my dear Montcornet! However, what +do I care? Like the Emperor, when I have made a conquest, I keep it.” + +“Martial, your fatuity cries out for a lesson. What! you, a civilian, +and so lucky as to be the husband-designate of Madame de Vaudremont, a +widow of two-and-twenty, burdened with four thousand napoleons a year--a +woman who slips such a diamond as this on your finger,” he added, taking +the lawyer’s left hand, which the young man complacently allowed; “and, +to crown all, you affect the Lovelace, just as if you were a colonel and +obliged to keep up the reputation of the military in home quarters! Fie, +fie! Only think of all you may lose.” + +“At any rate, I shall not lose my liberty,” replied Martial, with a +forced laugh. + +He cast a passionate glance at Madame de Vaudremont, who responded only +by a smile of some uneasiness, for she had seen the Colonel examining +the lawyer’s ring. + +“Listen to me, Martial. If you flutter round my young stranger, I shall +set to work to win Madame de Vaudremont.” + +“You have my full permission, my dear Cuirassier, but you will not +gain this much,” and the young Maitre des Requetes put his polished +thumb-nail under an upper tooth with a little mocking click. + +“Remember that I am unmarried,” said the Colonel; “that my sword is my +whole fortune; and that such a challenge is setting Tantalus down to a +banquet which he will devour.” + +“Prrr.” + +This defiant roll of consonants was the only reply to the Colonel’s +declaration, as Martial looked him from head to foot before turning +away. + +The fashion of the time required men to wear at a ball white kerseymere +breeches and silk stockings. This pretty costume showed to great +advantage the perfection of Montcornet’s fine shape. He was +five-and-thirty, and attracted attention by his stalwart height, +insisted on for the Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard whose handsome +uniform enhanced the dignity of his figure, still youthful in spite +of the stoutness occasioned by living on horseback. A black moustache +emphasized the frank expression of a thoroughly soldierly countenance, +with a broad, high forehead, an aquiline nose, and bright red lips. +Montcornet’s manner, stamped with a certain superiority due to the habit +of command, might please a woman sensible enough not to aim at making a +slave of her husband. The Colonel smiled as he looked at the lawyer, one +of his favorite college friends, whose small figure made it necessary +for Montcornet to look down a little as he answered his raillery with a +friendly glance. + +Baron Martial de la Roche-Hugon was a young Provencal patronized by +Napoleon; his fate might probably be some splendid embassy. He had +won the Emperor by his Italian suppleness and a genius for intrigue, a +drawing-room eloquence, and a knowledge of manners, which are so good a +substitute for the higher qualities of a sterling man. Through young +and eager, his face had already acquired the rigid brilliancy of tinned +iron, one of the indispensable characteristics of diplomatists, which +allows them to conceal their emotions and disguise their feelings, +unless, indeed, this impassibility indicates an absence of all emotion +and the death of every feeling. The heart of a diplomate may be regarded +as an insoluble problem, for the three most illustrious ambassadors of +the time have been distinguished by perdurable hatreds and most romantic +attachments. + +Martial, however, was one of those men who are capable of reckoning on +the future in the midst of their intensest enjoyment; he had already +learned to judge the world, and hid his ambition under the fatuity of a +lady-killer, cloaking his talent under the commonplace of mediocrity +as soon as he observed the rapid advancement of those men who gave the +master little umbrage. + +The two friends now had to part with a cordial grasp of hands. The +introductory tune, warning the ladies to form in squares for a fresh +quadrille, cleared the men away from the space they had filled while +talking in the middle of the large room. This hurried dialogue had taken +place during the usual interval between two dances, in front of the +fireplace of the great drawing-room of Gondreville’s mansion. The +questions and answers of this very ordinary ballroom gossip had been +almost whispered by each of the speakers into his neighbor’s ear. At the +same time, the chandeliers and the flambeaux on the chimney-shelf shed +such a flood of light on the two friends that their faces, strongly +illuminated, failed, in spite of their diplomatic discretion, to conceal +the faint expression of their feelings either from the keen-sighted +countess or the artless stranger. This espionage of people’s thoughts is +perhaps to idle persons one of the pleasures they find in society, while +numbers of disappointed numskulls are bored there without daring to own +it. + + + +Fully to appreciate the interest of this conversation, it is necessary +to relate an incident which would presently serve as an invisible bond, +drawing together the actors in this little drama, who were at present +scattered through the rooms. + +At about eleven o’clock, just as the dancers were returning to their +seats, the company had observed the entrance of the handsomest woman in +Paris, the queen of fashion, the only person wanting to the brilliant +assembly. She made it a rule never to appear till the moment when a +party had reached that pitch of excited movement which does not allow +the women to preserve much longer the freshness of their faces or of +their dress. This brief hour is, as it were, the springtime of a ball. +An hour after, when pleasure falls flat and fatigue is encroaching, +everything is spoilt. Madame de Vaudremont never committed the blunder +of remaining at a party to be seen with drooping flowers, hair out +of curl, tumbled frills, and a face like every other that sleep is +courting--not always without success. She took good care not to let her +beauty be seen drowsy, as her rivals did; she was so clever as to +keep up her reputation for smartness by always leaving a ballroom in +brilliant order, as she had entered it. Women whispered to each other +with a feeling of envy that she planned and wore as many different +dresses as the parties she went to in one evening. + +On the present occasion Madame de Vaudremont was not destined to be free +to leave when she would the ballroom she had entered in triumph. Pausing +for a moment on the threshold, she shot swift but observant glances on +the women present, hastily scrutinizing their dresses to assure herself +that her own eclipsed them all. + +The illustrious beauty presented herself to the admiration of the crowd +at the same moment with one of the bravest colonels of the Guards’ +Artillery and the Emperor’s favorite, the Comte de Soulanges. The +transient and fortuitous association of these two had about it a certain +air of mystery. On hearing the names announced of Monsieur de Soulanges +and the Comtesse de Vaudremont, a few women sitting by the wall rose, +and men, hurrying in from the side-rooms, pressed forward to the +principal doorway. One of the jesters who are always to be found in any +large assembly said, as the Countess and her escort came in, that “women +had quite as much curiosity about seeing a man who was faithful to his +passion as men had in studying a woman who was difficult to enthrall.” + +Though the Comte de Soulanges, a young man of about two-and-thirty, was +endowed with the nervous temperament which in a man gives rise to fine +qualities, his slender build and pale complexion were not at first sight +attractive; his black eyes betrayed great vivacity, but he was taciturn +in company, and there was nothing in his appearance to reveal the gift +for oratory which subsequently distinguished him, on the Right, in the +legislative assembly under the Restoration. + +The Comtesse de Vaudremont, a tall woman, rather fat, with a skin of +dazzling whiteness, a small head that she carried well, and the immense +advantage of inspiring love by the graciousness of her manner, was one +of those beings who keep all the promise of their beauty. + +The pair, who for a few minutes were the centre of general observation, +did not for long give curiosity an opportunity of exercising itself +about them. The Colonel and the Countess seemed perfectly to understand +that accident had placed them in an awkward position. Martial, as they +came forward, had hastened to join the group of men by the fireplace, +that he might watch Madame de Vaudremont with the jealous anxiety of +the first flame of passion, from behind the heads which formed a sort of +rampart; a secret voice seemed to warn him that the success on which he +prided himself might perhaps be precarious. But the coldly polite smile +with which the Countess thanked Monsieur de Soulanges, and her little +bow of dismissal as she sat down by Madame de Gondreville, relaxed the +muscles of his face which jealousy had made rigid. Seeing Soulanges, +however, still standing quite near the sofa on which Madame de +Vaudremont was seated, not apparently having understood the glance +by which the lady had conveyed to him that they were both playing a +ridiculous part, the volcanic Provencal again knit the black brows that +overshadowed his blue eyes, smoothed his chestnut curls to keep himself +in countenance, and without betraying the agitation which made his heart +beat, watched the faces of the Countess and of M. de Soulanges while +still chatting with his neighbors. He then took the hand of Colonel +Montcornet, who had just renewed their old acquaintance, but he listened +to him without hearing him; his mind was elsewhere. + +Soulanges was gazing calmly at the women, sitting four ranks deep all +round the immense ballroom, admiring this dado of diamonds, rubies, +masses of gold and shining hair, of which the lustre almost outshone the +blaze of waxlights, the cutglass of the chandeliers, and the gilding. +His rival’s stolid indifference put the lawyer out of countenance. Quite +incapable of controlling his secret transports of impatience, Martial +went towards Madame de Vaudremont with a bow. On seeing the Provencal, +Soulanges gave him a covert glance, and impertinently turned away his +head. Solemn silence now reigned in the room, where curiosity was at +the highest pitch. All these eager faces wore the strangest mixed +expressions; every one apprehended one of those outbreaks which men of +breeding carefully avoid. Suddenly the Count’s pale face turned as red +as the scarlet facings of his coat, and he fixed his gaze on the floor +that the cause of his agitation might not be guessed. On catching sight +of the unknown lady humbly seated by the pedestal of the candelabrum, +he moved away with a melancholy air, passing in front of the lawyer, and +took refuge in one of the cardrooms. Martial and all the company thought +that Soulanges had publicly surrendered the post, out of fear of the +ridicule which invariably attaches to a discarded lover. The lawyer +proudly raised his head and looked at the strange lady; then, as he took +his seat at his ease near Madame de Vaudremont, he listened to her so +inattentively that he did not catch these words spoken behind her fan: + +“Martial, you will oblige me this evening by not wearing that ring that +you snatched from me. I have my reasons, and will explain them to you +in a moment when we go away. You must give me your arm to go to the +Princess de Wagram’s.” + +“Why did you come in with the Colonel?” asked the Baron. + +“I met him in the hall,” she replied. “But leave me now; everybody is +looking at us.” + +Martial returned to the Colonel of Cuirassiers. Then it was that the +little blue lady had become the object of the curiosity which agitated +in such various ways the Colonel, Soulanges, Martial, and Madame de +Vaudremont. + +When the friends parted, after the challenge which closed their +conversation, the Baron flew to Madame de Vaudremont, and led her to +a place in the most brilliant quadrille. Favored by the sort of +intoxication which dancing always produces in a woman, and by the +turmoil of a ball, where men appear in all the trickery of dress, +which adds no less to their attractions than it does to those of women, +Martial thought he might yield with impunity to the charm that attracted +his gaze to the fair stranger. Though he succeeded in hiding his first +glances towards the lady in blue from the anxious activity of the +Countess’ eyes, he was ere long caught in the fact; and though he +managed to excuse himself once for his absence of mind, he could not +justify the unseemly silence with which he presently heard the most +insinuating question which a woman can put to a man: + +“Do you like me very much this evening?” + +And the more dreamy he became, the more the Countess pressed and teased +him. + +While Martial was dancing, the Colonel moved from group to group, +seeking information about the unknown lady. After exhausting the +good-humor even of the most indifferent, he had resolved to take +advantage of a moment when the Comtesse de Gondreville seemed to be at +liberty, to ask her the name of the mysterious lady, when he perceived a +little space left clear between the pedestal of the candelabrum and the +two sofas, which ended in that corner. The dance had left several of the +chairs vacant, which formed rows of fortifications held by mothers or +women of middle age; and the Colonel seized the opportunity to make his +way through this palisade hung with shawls and wraps. He began by making +himself agreeable to the dowagers, and so from one to another, and from +compliment to compliment, he at last reached the empty space next the +stranger. At the risk of catching on to the gryphons and chimaeras of +the huge candelabrum, he stood there, braving the glare and dropping of +the wax candles, to Martial’s extreme annoyance. + +The Colonel, far too tactful to speak suddenly to the little blue lady +on his right, began by saying to a plain woman who was seated on the +left: + +“This is a splendid ball, madame! What luxury! What life! On my word, +every woman here is pretty! You are not dancing--because you do not care +for it, no doubt.” + +This vapid conversation was solely intended to induce his right-hand +neighbor to speak; but she, silent and absent-minded, paid not the +least attention. The officer had in store a number of phrases which he +intended should lead up to: “And you, madame?”--a question from which he +hoped great things. But he was strangely surprised to see tears in the +strange lady’s eyes, which seemed wholly absorbed in gazing on Madame de +Vaudremont. + +“You are married, no doubt, madame?” he asked her at length, in +hesitating tones. + +“Yes, monsieur,” replied the lady. + +“And your husband is here, of course?” + +“Yes, monsieur.” + +“And why, madame, do you remain in this spot? Is it to attract +attention?” + +The mournful lady smiled sadly. + +“Allow me the honor, madame, of being your partner in the next +quadrille, and I will take care not to bring you back here. I see a +vacant settee near the fire; come and take it. When so many people +are ready to ascend the throne, and Royalty is the mania of the day, I +cannot imagine that you will refuse the title of Queen of the Ball which +your beauty may claim.” + +“I do not intend to dance, monsieur.” + +The curt tone of the lady’s replies was so discouraging that the Colonel +found himself compelled to raise the siege. Martial, who guessed what +the officer’s last request had been, and the refusal he had met with, +began to smile, and stroked his chin, making the diamond sparkle which +he wore on his finger. + +“What are you laughing at?” said the Comtesse de Vaudremont. + +“At the failure of the poor Colonel, who has just put his foot in +it----” + +“I begged you to take your ring off,” said the Countess, interrupting +him. + +“I did not hear you.” + +“If you can hear nothing this evening, at any rate you see everything, +Monsieur le Baron,” said Madame de Vaudremont, with an air of vexation. + +“That young man is displaying a very fine diamond,” the stranger +remarked to the Colonel. + +“Splendid,” he replied. “The man is the Baron Martial de la Roche-Hugon, +one of my most intimate friends.” + +“I have to thank you for telling me his name,” she went on; “he seems an +agreeable man.” + +“Yes, but he is rather fickle.” + +“He seems to be on the best terms with the Comtesse de Vaudremont?” said +the lady, with an inquiring look at the Colonel. + +“On the very best.” + +The unknown turned pale. + +“Hallo!” thought the soldier, “she is in love with that lucky devil +Martial.” + +“I fancied that Madame de Vaudremont had long been devoted to M. de +Soulanges,” said the lady, recovering a little from the suppressed grief +which had clouded the fairness of her face. + +“For a week past the Countess has been faithless,” replied the Colonel. +“But you must have seen poor Soulanges when he came in; he is till +trying to disbelieve in his disaster.” + +“Yes, I saw him,” said the lady. Then she added, “Thank you very much, +monsieur,” in a tone which signified a dismissal. + +At this moment the quadrille was coming to an end. Montcornet had only +time to withdraw, saying to himself by way of consolation, “She is +married.” + +“Well, valiant Cuirassier,” exclaimed the Baron, drawing the Colonel +aside into a window-bay to breathe the fresh air from the garden, “how +are you getting on?” + +“She is a married woman, my dear fellow.” + +“What does that matter?” + +“Oh, deuce take it! I am a decent sort of man,” replied the Colonel. “I +have no idea of paying my addresses to a woman I cannot marry. Besides, +Martial, she expressly told me that she did not intend to dance.” + +“Colonel, I will bet a hundred napoleons to your gray horse that she +will dance with me this evening.” + +“Done!” said the Colonel, putting his hand in the coxcomb’s. “Meanwhile +I am going to look for Soulanges; he perhaps knows the lady, as she +seems interested in him.” + +“You have lost, my good fellow,” cried Martial, laughing. “My eyes +have met hers, and I know what they mean. My dear friend, you owe me no +grudge for dancing with her after she has refused you?” + +“No, no. Those who laugh last, laugh longest. But I am an honest gambler +and a generous enemy, Martial, and I warn you, she is fond of diamonds.” + +With these words the friends parted; General Montcornet made his way +to the cardroom, where he saw the Comte de Soulanges sitting at a +_bouillotte_ table. Though there was no friendship between the two +soldiers, beyond the superficial comradeship arising from the perils +of war and the duties of the service, the Colonel of Cuirassiers was +painfully struck by seeing the Colonel of Artillery, whom he knew to +be a prudent man, playing at a game which might bring him to ruin. The +heaps of gold and notes piled on the fateful cards showed the frenzy of +play. A circle of silent men stood round the players at the table. Now +and then a few words were spoken--_pass, play, I stop, a thousand Louis, +taken_--but, looking at the five motionless men, it seemed as though +they talked only with their eyes. As the Colonel, alarmed by Soulanges’ +pallor, went up to him, the Count was winning. Field-Marshal the Duc +d’Isemberg, Keller, and a famous banker rose from the table completely +cleaned out of considerable sums. Soulanges looked gloomier than ever as +he swept up a quantity of gold and notes; he did not even count it; his +lips curled with bitter scorn, he seemed to defy fortune rather than be +grateful for her favors. + +“Courage,” said the Colonel. “Courage, Soulanges!” Then, believing he +would do him a service by dragging him from play, he added: “Come with +me. I have some good news for you, but on one condition.” + +“What is that?” asked Soulanges. + +“That you will answer a question I will ask you.” + +The Comte de Soulanges rose abruptly, placing his winnings with reckless +indifference in his handkerchief, which he had been twisting with +convulsive nervousness, and his expression was so savage that none of +the players took exception to his walking off with their money. Indeed, +every face seemed to dilate with relief when his morose and crabbed +countenance was no longer to be seen under the circle of light which a +shaded lamp casts on a gaming-table. + +“Those fiends of soldiers are always as thick as thieves at a fair!” + said a diplomate who had been looking on, as he took Soulanges’ place. +One single pallid and fatigued face turned to the newcomer, and said +with a glance that flashed and died out like the sparkle of a diamond: +“When we say military men, we do not mean civil, Monsieur le Ministre.” + +“My dear fellow,” said Montcornet to Soulanges, leading him into a +corner, “the Emperor spoke warmly in your praise this morning, and your +promotion to be field-marshal is a certainty.” + +“The Master does not love the Artillery.” + +“No, but he adores the nobility, and you are an aristocrat. The Master +said,” added Montcornet, “that the men who had married in Paris during +the campaign were not therefore to be considered in disgrace. Well +then?” + +The Comte de Soulanges looked as if he understood nothing of this +speech. + +“And now I hope,” the Colonel went on, “that you will tell me if +you know a charming little woman who is sitting under a huge +candelabrum----” + +At these words the Count’s face lighted up; he violently seized the +Colonel’s hand: “My dear General,” said he, in a perceptibly altered +voice, “if any man but you had asked me such a question, I would have +cracked his skull with this mass of gold. Leave me, I entreat you. +I feel more like blowing out my brains this evening, I assure you, +than----I hate everything I see. And, in fact, I am going. This gaiety, +this music, these stupid faces, all laughing, are killing me!” + +“My poor friend!” replied Montcornet gently, and giving the Count’s hand +a friendly pressure, “you are too vehement. What would you say if I told +you that Martial is thinking so little of Madame de Vaudremont that he +is quite smitten with that little lady?” + +“If he says a word to her,” cried Soulanges, stammering with rage, “I +will thrash him as flat as his own portfolio, even if the coxcomb were +in the Emperor’s lap!” + +And he sank quite overcome on an easy-chair to which Montcornet had led +him. The colonel slowly went away, for he perceived that Soulanges +was in a state of fury far too violent for the pleasantries or the +attentions of superficial friendship to soothe him. + +When Montcornet returned to the ballroom, Madame de Vaudremont was the +first person on whom his eyes fell, and he observed on her face, usually +so calm, some symptoms of ill-disguised agitation. A chair was vacant +near hers, and the Colonel seated himself. + +“I dare wager something has vexed you?” said he. + +“A mere trifle, General. I want to be gone, for I have promised to go to +a ball at the Grand Duchess of Berg’s, and I must look in first at the +Princesse de Wagram’s. Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon, who knows this, is +amusing himself by flirting with the dowagers.” + +“That is not the whole secret of your disturbance, and I will bet a +hundred louis that you will remain here the whole evening.” + +“Impertinent man!” + +“Then I have hit the truth?” + +“Well, tell me, what am I thinking of?” said the Countess, tapping the +Colonel’s fingers with her fan. “I might even reward you if you guess +rightly.” + +“I will not accept the challenge; I have too much the advantage of you.” + +“You are presumptuous.” + +“You are afraid of seeing Martial at the feet----” + +“Of whom?” cried the Countess, affecting surprise. + +“Of that candelabrum,” replied the Colonel, glancing at the fair +stranger, and then looking at the Countess with embarrassing scrutiny. + +“You have guessed it,” replied the coquette, hiding her face behind her +fan, which she began to play with. “Old Madame de Lansac, who is, you +know, as malicious as an old monkey,” she went on, after a pause, “has +just told me that Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon is running into danger by +flirting with that stranger, who sits here this evening like a skeleton +at a feast. I would rather see a death’s head than that face, so cruelly +beautiful, and as pale as a ghost. She is my evil genius.--Madame de +Lansac,” she added, after a flash and gesture of annoyance, “who only +goes to a ball to watch everything while pretending to sleep, has made +me miserably anxious. Martial shall pay dearly for playing me such a +trick. Urge him, meanwhile, since he is your friend, not to make me so +unhappy.” + +“I have just been with a man who promises to blow his brains out, and +nothing less, if he speaks to that little lady. And he is a man, madame, +to keep his word. But then I know Martial; such threats are to him +an encouragement. And, besides, we have wagered----” Here the Colonel +lowered his voice. + +“Can it be true?” said the Countess. + +“On my word of honor.” + +“Thank you, my dear Colonel,” replied Madame de Vaudremont, with a +glance full of invitation. + +“Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?” + +“Yes; but the next quadrille. During this one I want to find out what +will come of this little intrigue, and to ascertain who the little blue +lady may be; she looks intelligent.” + +The Colonel, understanding that Madame de Vaudremont wished to be alone, +retired, well content to have begun his attack so well. + + + +At most entertainments women are to be met who are there, like Madame de +Lansac, as old sailors gather on the seashore to watch younger mariners +struggling with the tempest. At this moment Madame de Lansac, who seemed +to be interested in the personages of this drama, could easily guess +the agitation which the Countess was going through. The lady might fan +herself gracefully, smile on the young men who bowed to her, and bring +into play all the arts by which a woman hides her emotion,--the Dowager, +one of the most clear-sighted and mischief-loving duchesses bequeathed +by the eighteenth century to the nineteenth, could read her heart and +mind through it all. + +The old lady seemed to detect the slightest movement that revealed the +impressions of the soul. The imperceptible frown that furrowed that +calm, pure forehead, the faintest quiver of the cheeks, the curve of the +eyebrows, the least curl of the lips, whose living coral could conceal +nothing from her,--all these were to the Duchess like the print of a +book. From the depths of her large arm-chair, completely filled by +the flow of her dress, the coquette of the past, while talking to a +diplomate who had sought her out to hear the anecdotes she told so +cleverly, was admiring herself in the younger coquette; she felt kindly +to her, seeing how bravely she disguised her annoyance and grief of +heart. Madame de Vaudremont, in fact, felt as much sorrow as she feigned +cheerfulness; she had believed that she had found in Martial a man of +talent on whose support she could count for adorning her life with all +the enchantment of power; and at this moment she perceived her mistake, +as injurious to her reputation as to her good opinion of herself. In +her, as in other women of that time, the suddenness of their passions +increased their vehemence. Souls which love much and love often, suffer +no less than those which burn themselves out in one affection. Her +liking for Martial was but of yesterday, it is true, but the least +experienced surgeon knows that the pain caused by the amputation of a +healthy limb is more acute than the removal of a diseased one. There was +a future before Madame de Vaudremont’s passion for Martial, while her +previous love had been hopeless, and poisoned by Soulanges’ remorse. + +The old Duchess, who was watching for an opportunity of speaking to the +Countess, hastened to dismiss her Ambassador; for in comparison with a +lover’s quarrel every interest pales, even with an old woman. To engage +battle, Madame de Lansac shot at the younger lady a sardonic glance +which made the Countess fear lest her fate was in the dowager’s hands. +There are looks between woman and woman which are like the torches +brought on at the climax of a tragedy. No one who had not known +that Duchess could appreciate the terror which the expression of her +countenance inspired in the Countess. + +Madame de Lansac was tall, and her features led people to say, “That +must have been a handsome woman!” She coated her cheeks so thickly with +rouge that the wrinkles were scarcely visible; but her eyes, far from +gaining a factitious brilliancy from this strong carmine, looked all +the more dim. She wore a vast quantity of diamonds, and dressed with +sufficient taste not to make herself ridiculous. Her sharp nose promised +epigram. A well-fitted set of teeth preserved a smile of such irony as +recalled that of Voltaire. At the same time, the exquisite politeness of +her manners so effectually softened the mischievous twist in her mind, +that it was impossible to accuse her of spitefulness. + +The old woman’s eyes lighted up, and a triumphant glance, seconded by a +smile, which said, “I promised you as much!” shot across the room, +and brought a blush of hope to the pale cheeks of the young creature +languishing under the great chandelier. The alliance between Madame +de Lansac and the stranger could not escape the practised eye of the +Comtesse de Vaudremont, who scented a mystery, and was determined to +penetrate it. + +At this instant the Baron de la Roche-Hugon, after questioning all the +dowagers without success as to the blue lady’s name, applied in +despair to the Comtesse de Gondreville, from whom he reached only this +unsatisfactory reply, “A lady whom the ‘ancient’ Duchesse de Lansac +introduced to me.” + +Turning by chance towards the armchair occupied by the old lady, the +lawyer intercepted the glance of intelligence she sent to the stranger; +and although he had for some time been on bad terms with her, he +determined to speak to her. The “ancient” Duchess, seeing the jaunty +Baron prowling round her chair, smiled with sardonic irony, and looked +at Madame de Vaudremont with an expression that made Montcornet laugh. + +“If the old witch affects to be friendly,” thought the Baron, “she is +certainly going to play me some spiteful trick.--Madame,” he said, “you +have, I am told, undertaken the charge of a very precious treasure.” + +“Do you take me for a dragon?” said the old lady. “But of whom are you +speaking?” she added, with a sweetness which revived Martial’s hopes. + +“Of that little lady, unknown to all, whom the jealousy of all these +coquettes has imprisoned in that corner. You, no doubt, know her +family?” + +“Yes,” said the Duchess. “But what concern have you with a provincial +heiress, married some time since, a woman of good birth, whom you none +of you know, you men; she goes nowhere.” + +“Why does not she dance, she is such a pretty creature?--May we conclude +a treaty of peace? If you will vouchsafe to tell me all I want to +know, I promise you that a petition for the restitution of the woods of +Navarreins by the Commissioners of Crown Lands shall be strongly urged +on the Emperor.” + +The younger branch of the house of Navarreins bears quarterly with the +arms of Navarreins those of Lansac, namely, azure, and argent party per +pale raguly, between six spear-heads in pale, and the old lady’s liaison +with Louis XV. had earned her husband the title of duke by royal patent. +Now, as the Navarreins had not yet resettled in France, it was sheer +trickery that the young lawyer thus proposed to the old lady by +suggesting to her that she should petition for an estate belonging to +the elder branch of the family. + +“Monsieur,” said the old woman with deceptive gravity, “bring the +Comtesse de Vaudremont across to me. I promise you that I will reveal +to her the mystery of the interesting unknown. You see, every man in +the room has reached as great a curiosity as your own. All eyes are +involuntarily turned towards the corner where my protegee has so +modestly placed herself; she is reaping all the homage the women wished +to deprive her of. Happy the man she chooses for her partner!” She +interrupted herself, fixing her eyes on Madame de Vaudremont with one of +those looks which plainly say, “We are talking of you.”--Then she added, +“I imagine you would rather learn the stranger’s name from the lips of +your handsome Countess than from mine.” + +There was such marked defiance in the Duchess’ attitude that Madame de +Vaudremont rose, came up to her, and took the chair Martial placed for +her; then without noticing him she said, “I can guess, madame, that you +are talking of me; but I admit my want of perspicacity; I do not know +whether it is for good or evil.” + +Madame de Lansac pressed the young woman’s pretty hand in her own dry +and wrinkled fingers, and answered in a low, compassionate tone, “Poor +child!” + +The women looked at each other. Madame de Vaudremont understood that +Martial was in the way, and dismissed him, saying with an imperious +expression, “Leave us.” + +The Baron, ill-pleased at seeing the Countess under the spell of the +dangerous sibyl who had drawn her to her side gave one of those looks +which a man can give--potent over a blinded heart, but simply ridiculous +in the eyes of a woman who is beginning to criticise the man who has +attracted her. + +“Do you think you can play the Emperor?” said Madame de Vaudremont, +turning three-quarters of her face to fix an ironical sidelong gaze on +the lawyer. + +Martial was too much a man of the world, and had too much wit and +acumen, to risk breaking with a woman who was in favor at Court, and +whom the Emperor wished to see married. He counted, too, on the jealousy +he intended to provoke in her as the surest means of discovering the +secret of her coolness, and withdrew all the more willingly, because at +this moment a new quadrille was putting everybody in motion. + +With an air of making room for the dancing, the Baron leaned back +against the marble slab of a console, folded his arms, and stood +absorbed in watching the two ladies talking. From time to time he +followed the glances which both frequently directed to the stranger. +Then, comparing the Countess with the new beauty, made so attractive +by a touch of mystery, the Baron fell a prey to the detestable +self-interest common to adventurous lady-killers; he hesitated between a +fortune within his grasp and the indulgence of his caprice. The blaze +of light gave such strong relief to his anxious and sullen face, against +the hangings of white silk moreen brushed by his black hair, that he +might have been compared to an evil genius. Even from a distance more +than one observer no doubt said to himself, “There is another poor +wretch who seems to be enjoying himself!” + +The Colonel, meanwhile, with one shoulder leaning lightly against the +side-post of the doorway between the ballroom and the cardroom, could +laugh undetected under his ample moustache; it amused him to look on at +the turmoil of the dance; he could see a hundred pretty heads turning +about in obedience to the figures; he could read in some faces, as +in those of the Countess and his friend Martial, the secrets of their +agitation; and then, looking round, he wondered what connection there +could be between the gloomy looks of the Comte de Soulanges, still +seated on the sofa, and the plaintive expression of the fair unknown, +on whose features the joys of hope and the anguish of involuntary dread +were alternately legible. Montcornet stood like the king of the feast. +In this moving picture he saw a complete presentment of the world, and +he laughed at it as he found himself the object of inviting smiles from +a hundred beautiful and elegant women. A Colonel of the Imperial Guard, +a position equal to that of a Brigadier-General, was undoubtedly one of +the best matches in the army. + +It was now nearly midnight. The conversation, the gambling, the dancing, +the flirtations, interests, petty rivalries, and scheming had +all reached the pitch of ardor which makes a young man exclaim +involuntarily, “A fine ball!” + +“My sweet little angel,” said Madame de Lansac to the Countess, “you are +now at an age when in my day I made many mistakes. Seeing you are just +now enduring a thousand deaths, it occurred to me that I might give you +some charitable advice. To go wrong at two-and-twenty means spoiling +your future; is it not tearing the gown you must wear? My dear, it is +not much later that we learn to go about in it without crumpling it. Go +on, sweetheart, making clever enemies, and friends who have no sense +of conduct, and you will see what a pleasant life you will some day be +leading!” + +“Oh, madame, it is very hard for a woman to be happy, do not you think?” + the Countess eagerly exclaimed. + +“My child, at your age you must learn to choose between pleasure and +happiness. You want to marry Martial, who is not fool enough to make a +good husband, nor passionate enough to remain a lover. He is in debt, +my dear; he is the man to run through your fortune; still, that would be +nothing if he could make you happy.--Do not you see how aged he is? The +man must have been ill; he is making the most of what is left him. In +three years he will be a wreck. Then he will be ambitious; perhaps he +may succeed. I do not think so.--What is he? A man of intrigue, who +may have the business faculty to perfection, and be able to gossip +agreeably; but he is too presumptuous to have any sterling merit; he +will not go far. Besides--only look at him. Is it not written on his +brow that, at this very moment, what he sees in you is not a young and +pretty woman, but the two million francs you possess? He does not love +you, my dear; he is reckoning you up as if you were an investment. If +you are bent on marrying, find an older man who has an assured position +and is half-way on his career. A widow’s marriage ought not to be a +trivial love affair. Is a mouse to be caught a second time in the same +trap? A new alliance ought now to be a good speculation on your part, +and in marrying again you ought at least to have a hope of being some +day addressed as Madame la Marechale!” + +As she spoke, both women naturally fixed their eyes on Colonel +Montcornet’s handsome face. + +“If you would rather play the delicate part of a flirt and not marry +again,” the Duchess went on, with blunt good-nature; “well! my +poor child, you, better than any woman, will know how to raise the +storm-clouds and disperse them again. But, I beseech you, never make it +your pleasure to disturb the peace of families, to destroy unions, and +ruin the happiness of happy wives. I, my dear, have played that perilous +game. Dear heaven! for a triumph of vanity some poor virtuous soul is +murdered--for there really are virtuous women, child,--and we may make +ourselves mortally hated. I learned, a little too late, that, as the +Duc d’Albe once said, one salmon is worth a thousand frogs! A genuine +affection certainly brings a thousand times more happiness than the +transient passions we may inspire.--Well, I came here on purpose to +preach to you; yes, you are the cause of my appearance in this house, +which stinks of the lower class. Have I not just seen actors here? +Formerly, my dear, we received them in our boudoir; but in the +drawing-room--never!--Why do you look at me with so much amazement? +Listen to me. If you want to play with men, do not try to wring the +hearts of any but those whose life is not yet settled, who have no +duties to fulfil; the others do not forgive us for the errors that +have made them happy. Profit by this maxim, founded on my long +experience.--That luckless Soulanges, for instance, whose head you have +turned, whom you have intoxicated for these fifteen months past, God +knows how! Do you know at what you have struck?--At his whole life. He +has been married these two years; he is worshiped by a charming wife, +whom he loves, but neglects; she lives in tears and embittered silence. +Soulanges has had hours of remorse more terrible than his pleasure has +been sweet. And you, you artful little thing, have deserted him.--Well, +come and see your work.” + +The old lady took Madame de Vaudremont’s hand, and they rose. + +“There,” said Madame de Lansac, and her eyes showed her the stranger, +sitting pale and tremulous under the glare of the candles, “that is my +grandniece, the Comtesse de Soulanges; to-day she yielded at last to my +persuasion, and consented to leave the sorrowful room, where the sight +of her child gives her but little consolation. You see her? You think +her charming? Then imagine, dear Beauty, what she must have been when +happiness and love shed their glory on that face now blighted.” + +The Countess looked away in silence, and seemed lost in sad reflections. + +The Duchess led her to the door into the card-room; then, after looking +round the room as if in search of some one--“And there is Soulanges!” + she said in deep tones. + +The Countess shuddered as she saw, in the least brilliantly lighted +corner, the pale, set face of Soulanges stretched in an easy-chair. The +indifference of his attitude and the rigidity of his brow betrayed his +suffering. The players passed him to and fro, without paying any more +attention to him than if he had been dead. The picture of the wife in +tears, and the dejected, morose husband, separated in the midst of +this festivity like the two halves of a tree blasted by lightning, had +perhaps a prophetic significance for the Countess. She dreaded lest she +here saw an image of the revenges the future might have in store for +her. Her heart was not yet so dried up that the feeling and generosity +were entirely excluded, and she pressed the Duchess’ hand, while +thanking her by one of those smiles which have a certain childlike +grace. + +“My dear child,” the old lady said in her ear, “remember henceforth that +we are just as capable of repelling a man’s attentions as of attracting +them.” + +“She is yours if you are not a simpleton.” These words were whispered +into Colonel Montcornet’s ear by Madame de Lansac, while the handsome +Countess was still absorbed in compassion at the sight of Soulanges, for +she still loved him truly enough to wish to restore him to happiness, +and was promising herself in her own mind that she would exert the +irresistible power her charms still had over him to make him return to +his wife. + +“Oh! I will talk to him!” said she to Madame de Lansac. + +“Do nothing of the kind, my dear!” cried the old lady, as she went +back to her armchair. “Choose a good husband, and shut your door to my +nephew. Believe me, my child, a wife cannot accept her husband’s heart +as the gift of another woman; she is a hundred times happier in the +belief that she has reconquered it. By bringing my niece here I +believe I have given her an excellent chance of regaining her husband’s +affection. All the assistance I need of you is to play the Colonel.” She +pointed to the Baron’s friend, and the Countess smiled. + +“Well, madame, do you at last know the name of the unknown?” asked +Martial, with an air of pique, to the Countess when he saw her alone. + +“Yes,” said Madame de Vaudremont, looking him in the face. + +Her features expressed as much roguery as fun. The smile which gave life +to her lips and cheeks, the liquid brightness of her eyes, were like +the will-o’-the-wisp which leads travelers astray. Martial, who believed +that she still loved him, assumed the coquetting graces in which a man +is so ready to lull himself in the presence of the woman he loves. He +said with a fatuous air: + +“And will you be annoyed with me if I seem to attach great importance to +your telling me that name?” + +“Will you be annoyed with me,” answered Madame de Vaudremont, “if a +remnant of affection prevents my telling you; and if I forbid you to +make the smallest advances to that young lady? It would be at the risk +of your life perhaps.” + +“To lose your good graces, madame, would be worse than to lose my life.” + +“Martial,” said the Countess severely, “she is Madame de Soulanges. Her +husband would blow your brains out--if, indeed, you have any----” + +“Ha! ha!” laughed the coxcomb. “What! the Colonel can leave the man +in peace who has robbed him of your love, and then would fight for his +wife! What a subversion of principles!--I beg of you to allow me to +dance with the little lady. You will then be able to judge how +little love that heart of ice could feel for you; for, if the Colonel +disapproves of my dancing with his wife after allowing me to----” + +“But she loves her husband.” + +“A still further obstacle that I shall have the pleasure of conquering.” + +“But she is married.” + +“A whimsical objection!” + +“Ah!” said the Countess, with a bitter smile, “you punish us alike for +our faults and our repentance!” + +“Do not be angry!” exclaimed Martial eagerly. “Oh, forgive me, I beseech +you. There, I will think no more of Madame de Soulanges.” + +“You deserve that I should send you to her.” + +“I am off then,” said the Baron, laughing, “and I shall return more +devoted to you than ever. You will see that the prettiest woman in the +world cannot capture the heart that is yours.” + +“That is to say, that you want to win Colonel Montcornet’s horse?” + +“Ah! Traitor!” said he, threatening his friend with his finger. The +Colonel smiled and joined them; the Baron gave him the seat near the +Countess, saying to her with a sardonic accent: + +“Here, madame, is a man who boasted that he could win your good graces +in one evening.” + +He went away, thinking himself clever to have piqued the Countess’ pride +and done Montcornet an ill turn; but, in spite of his habitual keenness, +he had not appreciated the irony underlying Madame de Vaudremont’s +speech, and did not perceive that she had come as far to meet his friend +as his friend towards her, though both were unconscious of it. + +At that moment when the lawyer went fluttering up to the candelabrum by +which Madame de Soulanges sat, pale, timid, and apparently alive only +in her eyes, her husband came to the door of the ballroom, his eyes +flashing with anger. The old Duchess, watchful of everything, flew +to her nephew, begged him to give her his arm and find her carriage, +affecting to be mortally bored, and hoping thus to prevent a vexatious +outbreak. Before going she fired a singular glance of intelligence at +her niece, indicating the enterprising knight who was about to address +her, and this signal seemed to say, “There he is, avenge yourself!” + +Madame de Vaudremont caught these looks of the aunt and niece; a sudden +light dawned on her mind; she was frightened lest she was the dupe of +this old woman, so cunning and so practised in intrigue. + +“That perfidious Duchess,” said she to herself, “has perhaps been +amusing herself by preaching morality to me while playing me some +spiteful trick of her own.” + +At this thought Madame de Vaudremont’s pride was perhaps more roused +than her curiosity to disentangle the thread of this intrigue. In the +absorption of mind to which she was a prey she was no longer mistress +of herself. The Colonel, interpreting to his own advantage the +embarrassment evident in the Countess’ manner and speech, became more +ardent and pressing. The old blase diplomates, amusing themselves by +watching the play of faces, had never found so many intrigues at once +to watch or guess at. The passions agitating the two couples were to be +seen with variations at every step in the crowded rooms, and reflected +with different shades in other countenances. The spectacle of so many +vivid passions, of all these lovers’ quarrels, these pleasing revenges, +these cruel favors, these flaming glances, of all this ardent life +diffused around them, only made them feel their impotence more keenly. + +At last the Baron had found a seat by Madame de Soulanges. His eyes +stole a long look at her neck, as fresh as dew and as fragrant as field +flowers. He admired close at hand the beauty which had amazed him from +afar. He could see a small, well-shod foot, and measure with his eye +a slender and graceful shape. At that time women wore their sash tied +close under the bosom, in imitation of Greek statues, a pitiless fashion +for those whose bust was faulty. As he cast furtive glances at the +Countess’ figure, Martial was enchanted with its perfection. + +“You have not danced once this evening, madame,” said he in soft and +flattering tones. “Not, I should suppose, for lack of a partner?” + +“I never go to parties; I am quite unknown,” replied Madame de Soulanges +coldly, not having understood the look by which her aunt had just +conveyed to her that she was to attract the Baron. + +Martial, to give himself countenance, twisted the diamond he wore on his +left hand; the rainbow fires of the gem seemed to flash a sudden light +on the young Countess’ mind; she blushed and looked at the Baron with an +undefinable expression. + +“Do you like dancing?” asked the Provencal, to reopen the conversation. + +“Yes, very much, monsieur.” + +At this strange reply their eyes met. The young man, surprised by the +earnest accent, which aroused a vague hope in his heart, had suddenly +questioned the lady’s eyes. + +“Then, madame, am I not overbold in offering myself to be your partner +for the next quadrille?” + +Artless confusion colored the Countess’ white cheeks. + +“But, monsieur, I have already refused one partner--a military man----” + +“Was it that tall cavalry colonel whom you see over there?” + +“Precisely so.” + +“Oh! he is a friend of mine; feel no alarm. Will you grant me the favor +I dare hope for?” + +“Yes, monsieur.” + +Her tone betrayed an emotion so new and so deep that the lawyer’s +world-worn soul was touched. He was overcome by shyness like a +schoolboy’s, lost his confidence, and his southern brain caught fire; +he tried to talk, but his phrases struck him as graceless in comparison +with Madame de Soulanges’ bright and subtle replies. It was lucky for +him that the quadrille was forming. Standing by his beautiful partner, +he felt more at ease. To many men dancing is a phase of being; they +think that they can more powerfully influence the heart of woman by +displaying the graces of their bodies than by their intellect. Martial +wished, no doubt, at this moment to put forth all his most effective +seductions, to judge by the pretentiousness of his movements and +gestures. + +He led his conquest to the quadrille in which the most brilliant +women in the room made it a point of chimerical importance to dance in +preference to any other. While the orchestra played the introductory +bars to the first figure, the Baron felt it an incredible gratification +to his pride to perceive, as he reviewed the ladies forming the lines of +that formidable square, that Madame de Soulanges’ dress might challenge +that even of Madame de Vaudremont, who, by a chance not perhaps +unsought, was standing with Montcornet _vis-a-vis_ to himself and the +lady in blue. All eyes were for a moment turned on Madame de Soulanges; +a flattering murmur showed that she was the subject of every man’s +conversation with his partner. Looks of admiration and envy centered +on her, with so much eagerness that the young creature, abashed by a +triumph she seemed to disclaim, modestly looked down, blushed, and was +all the more charming. When she raised her white eyelids it was to look +at her ravished partner as though she wished to transfer the glory of +this admiration to him, and to say that she cared more for his than for +all the rest. She threw her innocence into her vanity; or rather she +seemed to give herself up to the guileless admiration which is the +beginning of love, with the good faith found only in youthful hearts. As +she danced, the lookers-on might easily believe that she displayed +her grace for Martial alone; and though she was modest, and new to the +trickery of the ballroom, she knew as well as the most accomplished +coquette how to raise her eyes to his at the right moment and drop their +lids with assumed modesty. + +When the movement of a new figure, invented by a dancer named Trenis, +and named after him, brought Martial face to face with the Colonel--“I +have won your horse,” said he, laughing. + +“Yes, but you have lost eighty thousand francs a year!” retorted +Montcornet, glancing at Madame de Vaudremont. + +“What do I care?” replied Martial. “Madame de Soulanges is worth +millions!” + +At the end of the quadrille more than one whisper was poured into +more than one ear. The less pretty women made moral speeches to their +partners, commenting on the budding liaison between Martial and the +Comtesse de Soulanges. The handsomest wondered at her easy surrender. +The men could not understand such luck as the Baron’s, not regarding him +as particularly fascinating. A few indulgent women said it was not +fair to judge the Countess too hastily; young wives would be in a very +hapless plight if an expressive look or a few graceful dancing steps +were enough to compromise a woman. + +Martial alone knew the extent of his happiness. During the last figure, +when the ladies had to form the _moulinet_, his fingers clasped those of +the Countess, and he fancied that, through the thin perfumed kid of her +gloves, the young wife’s grasp responded to his amorous appeal. + +“Madame,” said he, as the quadrille ended, “do not go back to the odious +corner where you have been burying your face and your dress until now. +Is admiration the only benefit you can obtain from the jewels that +adorn your white neck and beautifully dressed hair? Come and take a turn +through the rooms to enjoy the scene and yourself.” + +Madame de Soulanges yielded to her seducer, who thought she would be +his all the more surely if he could only show her off. Side by side they +walked two or three times amid the groups who crowded the rooms. The +Comtesse de Soulanges, evidently uneasy, paused for an instant at each +door before entering, only doing so after stretching her neck to look at +all the men there. This alarm, which crowned the Baron’s satisfaction, +did not seem to be removed till he said to her, “Make yourself easy; +_he_ is not here.” + +They thus made their way to an immense picture gallery in a wing of the +mansion, where their eyes could feast in anticipation on the splendid +display of a collation prepared for three hundred persons. As supper was +about to begin, Martial led the Countess to an oval boudoir looking on +to the garden, where the rarest flowers and a few shrubs made a scented +bower under bright blue hangings. The murmurs of the festivity here +died away. The Countess, at first startled, refused firmly to follow the +young man; but, glancing in a mirror, she no doubt assured herself that +they could be seen, for she seated herself on an ottoman with a fairly +good grace. + +“This room is charming,” said she, admiring the sky-blue hangings looped +with pearls. + +“All here is love and delight!” said the Baron, with deep emotion. + +In the mysterious light which prevailed he looked at the Countess, +and detected on her gently agitated face an expression of uneasiness, +modesty, and eagerness which enchanted him. The young lady smiled, and +this smile seemed to put an end to the struggle of feeling surging in +her heart; in the most insinuating way she took her adorer’s left hand, +and drew from his finger the ring on which she had fixed her eyes. + +“What a fine diamond!” she exclaimed in the artless tone of a young girl +betraying the incitement of a first temptation. + +Martial, troubled by the Countess’ involuntary but intoxicating touch, +like a caress, as she drew off the ring, looked at her with eyes as +glittering as the gem. + +“Wear it,” he said, “in memory of this hour, and for the love of----” + +She was looking at him with such rapture that he did not end the +sentence; he kissed her hand. + +“You give it me?” she said, looking much astonished. + +“I wish I had the whole world to offer you!” + +“You are not joking?” she went on, in a voice husky with too great +satisfaction. + +“Will you accept only my diamond?” + +“You will never take it back?” she insisted. + +“Never.” + +She put the ring on her finger. Martial, confident of coming happiness, +was about to put his hand round her waist, but she suddenly rose, and +said in a clear voice, without any agitation: + +“I accept the diamond, monsieur, with the less scruple because it +belongs to me.” + +The Baron was speechless. + +“Monsieur de Soulanges took it lately from my dressing-table, and told +me he had lost it.” + +“You are mistaken, madame,” said Martial, nettled. “It was given me by +Madame de Vaudremont.” + +“Precisely so,” she said with a smile. “My husband borrowed this ring of +me, he gave it to her, she made it a present to you; my ring has made a +little journey, that is all. This ring will perhaps tell me all I do not +know, and teach me the secret of always pleasing.--Monsieur,” she went +on, “if it had not been my own, you may be sure I should not have risked +paying so dear for it; for a young woman, it is said, is in danger with +you. But, you see,” and she touched a spring within the ring, “here is +M. de Soulanges’ hair.” + +She fled into the crowded rooms so swiftly, that it seemed useless to +try to follow her; besides, Martial, utterly confounded, was in no mood +to carry the adventure further. The Countess’ laugh found an echo in the +boudoir, where the young coxcomb now perceived, between two shrubs, the +Colonel and Madame de Vaudremont, both laughing heartily. + +“Will you have my horse, to ride after your prize?” said the Colonel. + +The Baron took the banter poured upon him by Madame de Vaudremont and +Montcornet with a good grace, which secured their silence as to the +events of the evening, when his friend exchanged his charger for a rich +and pretty young wife. + + + +As the Comtesse de Soulanges drove across Paris from the Chausee d’Antin +to the Faubourg Saint-Germain, where she lived, her soul was prey to +many alarms. Before leaving the Hotel Gondreville she went through all +the rooms, but found neither her aunt nor her husband, who had gone away +without her. Frightful suspicions then tortured her ingenuous mind. A +silent witness of her husbands’ torments since the day when Madame de +Vaudremont had chained him to her car, she had confidently hoped that +repentance would ere long restore her husband to her. It was with +unspeakable repugnance that she had consented to the scheme plotted by +her aunt, Madame de Lansac, and at this moment she feared she had made a +mistake. + +The evening’s experience had saddened her innocent soul. Alarmed at +first by the Count’s look of suffering and dejection, she had become +more so on seeing her rival’s beauty, and the corruption of society +had gripped her heart. As she crossed the Pont Royal she threw away the +desecrated hair at the back of the diamond, given to her once as a token +of the purest affection. She wept as she remembered the bitter grief to +which she had so long been a victim, and shuddered more than once as she +reflected that the duty of a woman, who wishes for peace in her home, +compels her to bury sufferings so keen as hers at the bottom of her +heart, and without a complaint. + +“Alas!” thought she, “what can women do when they do not love? What is +the fount of their indulgence? I cannot believe that, as my aunt tells +me, reason is all-sufficient to maintain them in such devotion.” + +She was still sighing when her man-servant let down the handsome +carriage-step down which she flew into the hall of her house. She rushed +precipitately upstairs, and when she reached her room was startled by +seeing her husband sitting by the fire. + +“How long is it, my dear, since you have gone to balls without telling +me beforehand?” he asked in a broken voice. “You must know that a woman +is always out of place without her husband. You compromised yourself +strangely by remaining in the dark corner where you had ensconced +yourself.” + +“Oh, my dear, good Leon,” said she in a coaxing tone, “I could not +resist the happiness of seeing you without your seeing me. My aunt took +me to this ball, and I was very happy there!” + +This speech disarmed the Count’s looks of their assumed severity, for +he had been blaming himself while dreading his wife’s return, no doubt +fully informed at the ball of an infidelity he had hoped to hide from +her; and, as is the way of lovers conscious of their guilt, he tried, by +being the first to find fault, to escape her just anger. Happy in seeing +her husband smile, and in finding him at this hour in a room whither +of late he had come more rarely, the Countess looked at him so tenderly +that she blushed and cast down her eyes. Her clemency enraptured +Soulanges all the more, because this scene followed on the misery he had +endured at the ball. He seized his wife’s hand and kissed it gratefully. +Is not gratitude often a part of love? + +“Hortense, what is that on your finger that has hurt my lip so much?” + asked he, laughing. + +“It is my diamond which you said you had lost, and which I have found.” + + + +General Montcornet did not marry Madame de Vaudremont, in spite of the +mutual understanding in which they had lived for a few minutes, for she +was one of the victims of the terrible fire which sealed the fame of +the ball given by the Austrian ambassador on the occasion of Napoleon’s +marriage with the daughter of the Emperor Joseph II. + + +JULY, 1829. + + + + +ADDENDUM + +The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + + Bonaparte, Napoleon + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Seamy Side of History + A Woman of Thirty + + Gondreville, Malin, Comte de + The Gondreville Mystery + A Start in Life + The Member for Arcis + + Keller, Francois + Cesar Birotteau + Eugenie Grandet + The Government Clerks + The Member for Arcis + + Keller, Madame Francois + The Member for Arcis + The Thirteen + + La Roche-Hugon, Martial de + The Peasantry + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + + Montcornet, Marechal, Comte de + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + The Peasantry + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + + Murat, Joachim, Prince + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Country Doctor + + Soulanges, Comte Leon de + The Peasantry + + Soulanges, Comtesse Hortense de + The Thirteen + The Peasantry + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Domestic Peace, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOMESTIC PEACE *** + +***** This file should be named 1411.txt or 1411.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/1/1411/ + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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: Domestic Peace + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Translator: Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell + +Release Date: February 24, 2010 [EBook #1411] +Last Updated: November 22, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOMESTIC PEACE *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + DOMESTIC PEACE + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Honore De Balzac + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated By Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + Dedicated to my dear niece Valentine Surville. + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>DOMESTIC PEACE</b> </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0002"> 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> + DOMESTIC PEACE + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p> + The incident recorded in this sketch took place towards the end of the + month of November, 1809, the moment when Napoleon’s fugitive empire + attained the apogee of its splendor. The trumpet-blasts of Wagram were + still sounding an echo in the heart of the Austrian monarchy. Peace was + being signed between France and the Coalition. Kings and princes came to + perform their orbits, like stars, round Napoleon, who gave himself the + pleasure of dragging all Europe in his train—a magnificent + experiment in the power he afterwards displayed at Dresden. Never, as + contemporaries tell us, did Paris see entertainments more superb than + those which preceded and followed the sovereign’s marriage with an + Austrian archduchess. Never, in the most splendid days of the Monarchy, + had so many crowned heads thronged the shores of the Seine, never had the + French aristocracy been so rich or so splendid. The diamonds lavishly + scattered over the women’s dresses, and the gold and silver embroidery on + the uniforms contrasted so strongly with the penury of the Republic, that + the wealth of the globe seemed to be rolling through the drawing-rooms of + Paris. Intoxication seemed to have turned the brains of this Empire of a + day. All the military, not excepting their chief, reveled like parvenus in + the treasure conquered for them by a million men with worsted epaulettes, + whose demands were satisfied by a few yards of red ribbon. + </p> + <p> + At this time most women affected that lightness of conduct and facility of + morals which distinguished the reign of Louis XV. Whether it were in + imitation of the tone of the fallen monarchy, or because certain members + of the Imperial family had set the example—as certain malcontents of + the Faubourg Saint-Germain chose to say—it is certain that men and + women alike flung themselves into a life of pleasure with an intrepidity + which seemed to forbode the end of the world. But there was at that time + another cause for such license. The infatuation of women for the military + became a frenzy, and was too consonant to the Emperor’s views for him to + try to check it. The frequent calls to arms, which gave every treaty + concluded between Napoleon and the rest of Europe the character of an + armistice, left every passion open to a termination as sudden as the + decisions of the Commander-in-chief of all these busbys, pelisses, and + aiguillettes, which so fascinated the fair sex. Hearts were as nomadic as + the regiments. Between the first and fifth bulletins from the <i>Grand + Armee</i> a woman might be in succession mistress, wife, mother, and + widow. + </p> + <p> + Was it the prospect of early widowhood, the hope of a jointure, or that of + bearing a name promised to history, which made the soldiers so attractive? + Were women drawn to them by the certainty that the secret of their + passions would be buried on the field of battle? or may we find the reason + of this gentle fanaticism in the noble charm that courage has for a woman? + Perhaps all these reasons, which the future historian of the manners of + the Empire will no doubt amuse himself by weighing, counted for something + in their facile readiness to abandon themselves to love intrigues. Be that + as it may, it must here be confessed that at that time laurels hid many + errors, women showed an ardent preference for the brave adventurers, whom + they regarded as the true fount of honor, wealth, or pleasure; and in the + eyes of young girls, an epaulette—the hieroglyphic of a future—signified + happiness and liberty. + </p> + <p> + One feature, and a characteristic one, of this unique period in our + history was an unbridled mania for everything glittering. Never were + fireworks so much in vogue, never were diamonds so highly prized. The men, + as greedy as the women of these translucent pebbles, displayed them no + less lavishly. Possibly the necessity for carrying plunder in the most + portable form made gems the fashion in the army. A man was not ridiculous + then, as he would be now, if his shirt-frill or his fingers blazed with + large diamonds. Murat, an Oriental by nature, set the example of + preposterous luxury to modern soldiers. + </p> + <p> + The Comte de Gondreville, formerly known as Citizen Malin, whose elevation + had made him famous, having become a Lucullus of the Conservative Senate, + which “conserved” nothing, had postponed an entertainment in honor of the + peace only that he might the better pay his court to Napoleon by his + efforts to eclipse those flatterers who had been before-hand with him. The + ambassadors from all the Powers friendly with France, with an eye to + favors to come, the most important personages of the Empire, and even a + few princes, were at this hour assembled in the wealthy senator’s + drawing-rooms. Dancing flagged; every one was watching for the Emperor, + whose presence the Count had promised his guests. And Napoleon would have + kept his word but for the scene which had broken out that very evening + between him and Josephine—the scene which portended the impending + divorce of the august pair. The report of this incident, at the time kept + very secret, but recorded by history, did not reach the ears of the + courtiers, and had no effect on the gaiety of Comte de Gondreville’s party + beyond keeping Napoleon away. + </p> + <p> + The prettiest women in Paris, eager to be at the Count’s on the strength + of mere hearsay, at this moment were a besieging force of luxury, + coquettishness, elegance, and beauty. The financial world, proud of its + riches, challenged the splendor of the generals and high officials of the + Empire, so recently gorged with orders, titles, and honors. These grand + balls were always an opportunity seized upon by wealthy families for + introducing their heiresses to Napoleon’s Praetorian Guard, in the foolish + hope of exchanging their splendid fortunes for uncertain favors. The women + who believed themselves strong enough in their beauty alone came to test + their power. There, as elsewhere, amusement was but a blind. Calm and + smiling faces and placid brows covered sordid interests, expressions of + friendship were a lie, and more than one man was less distrustful of his + enemies than of his friends. + </p> + <p> + These remarks are necessary to explain the incidents of the little + imbroglio which is the subject of this study, and the picture, softened as + it is, of the tone then dominant in Paris drawing-rooms. + </p> + <p> + “Turn your eyes a little towards the pedestal supporting that candelabrum—do + you see a young lady with her hair drawn back <i>a la Chinoise</i>!—There, + in the corner to the left; she has bluebells in the knot of chestnut curls + which fall in clusters on her head. Do not you see her? She is so pale you + might fancy she was ill, delicate-looking, and very small; there—now + she is turning her head this way; her almond-shaped blue eyes, so + delightfully soft, look as if they were made expressly for tears. Look, + look! She is bending forward to see Madame de Vaudremont below the crowd + of heads in constant motion; the high head-dresses prevent her having a + clear view.” + </p> + <p> + “I see her now, my dear fellow. You had only to say that she had the + whitest skin of all the women here; I should have known whom you meant. I + had noticed her before; she has the loveliest complexion I ever admired. + From hence I defy you to see against her throat the pearls between the + sapphires of her necklace. But she is a prude or a coquette, for the + tucker of her bodice scarcely lets one suspect the beauty of her bust. + What shoulders! what lily-whiteness!” + </p> + <p> + “Who is she?” asked the first speaker. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! that I do not know.” + </p> + <p> + “Aristocrat!—Do you want to keep them all to yourself, Montcornet?” + </p> + <p> + “You of all men to banter me!” replied Montcornet, with a smile. “Do you + think you have a right to insult a poor general like me because, being a + happy rival of Soulanges, you cannot even turn on your heel without + alarming Madame de Vaudremont? Or is it because I came only a month ago + into the Promised Land? How insolent you can be, you men in office, who + sit glued to your chairs while we are dodging shot and shell! Come, + Monsieur le Maitre des Requetes, allow us to glean in the field of which + you can only have precarious possession from the moment when we evacuate + it. The deuce is in it! We have a right to live! My good friend, if you + knew the German women, you would, I believe, do me a good turn with the + Parisian you love best.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, General, since you have vouchsafed to turn your attention to that + lady, whom I never saw till now, have the charity to tell me if you have + seen her dance.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, my dear Martial, where have you dropped from? If you are ever sent + with an embassy, I have small hopes of your success. Do not you see a + triple rank of the most undaunted coquettes of Paris between her and the + swarm of dancing men that buzz under the chandelier? And was it not only + by the help of your eyeglass that you were able to discover her at all in + the corner by that pillar, where she seems buried in the gloom, in spite + of the candles blazing above her head? Between her and us there is such a + sparkle of diamonds and glances, so many floating plumes, such a flutter + of lace, of flowers and curls, that it would be a real miracle if any + dancer could detect her among those stars. Why, Martial, how is it that + you have not understood her to be the wife of some sous-prefet from Lippe + or Dyle, who has come to try to get her husband promoted?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, he will be!” exclaimed the Master of Appeals quickly. + </p> + <p> + “I doubt it,” replied the Colonel of Cuirassiers, laughing. “She seems as + raw in intrigue as you are in diplomacy. I dare bet, Martial, that you do + not know how she got into that place.” + </p> + <p> + The lawyer looked at the Colonel of Cuirassiers with an expression as much + of contempt as of curiosity. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” proceeded Montcornet, “she arrived, I have no doubt, punctually at + nine, the first of the company perhaps, and probably she greatly + embarrassed the Comtesse de Gondreville, who cannot put two ideas + together. Repulsed by the mistress of the house, routed from chair to + chair by each newcomer, and driven into the darkness of this little + corner, she allowed herself to be walled in, the victim of the jealousy of + the other ladies, who would gladly have buried that dangerous beauty. She + had, of course, no friend to encourage her to maintain the place she first + held in the front rank; then each of those treacherous fair ones would + have enjoined on the men of her circle on no account to take out our poor + friend, under pain of the severest punishment. That, my dear fellow, is + the way in which those sweet faces, in appearance so tender and so + artless, would have formed a coalition against the stranger, and that + without a word beyond the question, ‘Tell me, dear, do you know that + little woman in blue?’—Look here, Martial, if you care to run the + gauntlet of more flattering glances and inviting questions than you will + ever again meet in the whole of your life, just try to get through the + triple rampart which defends that Queen of Dyle, or Lippe, or Charente. + You will see whether the dullest woman of them all will not be equal to + inventing some wile that would hinder the most determined man from + bringing the plaintive stranger to the light. Does it not strike you that + she looks like an elegy?” + </p> + <p> + “Do you think so, Montcornet? Then she must be a married woman?” + </p> + <p> + “Why not a widow?” + </p> + <p> + “She would be less passive,” said the lawyer, laughing. + </p> + <p> + “She is perhaps the widow of a man who is gambling,” replied the handsome + Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “To be sure; since the peace there are so many widows of that class!” said + Martial. “But my dear Montcornet, we are a couple of simpletons. That face + is still too ingenuous, there is too much youth and freshness on the brow + and temples for her to be married. What splendid flesh-tints! Nothing has + sunk in the modeling of the nose. Lips, chin, everything in her face is as + fresh as a white rosebud, though the expression is veiled, as it were, by + the clouds of sadness. Who can it be that makes that young creature weep?” + </p> + <p> + “Women cry for so little,” said the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “I do not know,” replied Martial; “but she does not cry because she is + left there without a partner; her grief is not of to-day. It is evident + that she has beautified herself for this evening with intention. I would + wager that she is in love already.” + </p> + <p> + “Bah! She is perhaps the daughter of some German princeling; no one talks + to her,” said Montcornet. + </p> + <p> + “Dear! how unhappy a poor child may be!” Martial went on. “Can there be + anything more graceful and refined than our little stranger? Well, not one + of those furies who stand round her, and who believe that they can feel, + will say a word to her. If she would but speak, we should see if she has + fine teeth. + </p> + <p> + “Bless me, you boil over like milk at the least increase of temperature!” + cried the Colonel, a little nettled at so soon finding a rival in his + friend. + </p> + <p> + “What!” exclaimed the lawyer, without heeding the Colonel’s question. “Can + nobody here tell us the name of this exotic flower?” + </p> + <p> + “Some lady companion!” said Montcornet. + </p> + <p> + “What next? A companion! wearing sapphires fit for a queen, and a dress of + Malines lace? Tell that to the marines, General. You, too, would not shine + in diplomacy if, in the course of your conjectures, you jump in a breath + from a German princess to a lady companion.” + </p> + <p> + Montcornet stopped a man by taking his arm—a fat little man, whose + iron-gray hair and clever eyes were to be seen at the lintel of every + doorway, and who mingled unceremoniously with the various groups which + welcomed him respectfully. + </p> + <p> + “Gondreville, my friend,” said Montcornet, “who is that quite charming + little woman sitting out there under that huge candelabrum?” + </p> + <p> + “The candelabrum? Ravrio’s work; Isabey made the design.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I recognized your lavishness and taste; but the lady?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! I do not know. Some friend of my wife’s, no doubt.” + </p> + <p> + “Or your mistress, you old rascal.” + </p> + <p> + “No, on my honor. The Comtesse de Gondreville is the only person capable + of inviting people whom no one knows.” + </p> + <p> + In spite of this very acrimonious comment, the fat little man’s lips did + not lose the smile which the Colonel’s suggestion had brought to them. + Montcornet returned to the lawyer, who had rejoined a neighboring group, + intent on asking, but in vain, for information as to the fair unknown. He + grasped Martial’s arm, and said in his ear: + </p> + <p> + “My dear Martial, mind what you are about. Madame de Vaudremont has been + watching you for some minutes with ominous attentiveness; she is a woman + who can guess by the mere movement of your lips what you say to me; our + eyes have already told her too much; she has perceived and followed their + direction, and I suspect that at this moment she is thinking even more + than we are of the little blue lady.” + </p> + <p> + “That is too old a trick in warfare, my dear Montcornet! However, what do + I care? Like the Emperor, when I have made a conquest, I keep it.” + </p> + <p> + “Martial, your fatuity cries out for a lesson. What! you, a civilian, and + so lucky as to be the husband-designate of Madame de Vaudremont, a widow + of two-and-twenty, burdened with four thousand napoleons a year—a + woman who slips such a diamond as this on your finger,” he added, taking + the lawyer’s left hand, which the young man complacently allowed; “and, to + crown all, you affect the Lovelace, just as if you were a colonel and + obliged to keep up the reputation of the military in home quarters! Fie, + fie! Only think of all you may lose.” + </p> + <p> + “At any rate, I shall not lose my liberty,” replied Martial, with a forced + laugh. + </p> + <p> + He cast a passionate glance at Madame de Vaudremont, who responded only by + a smile of some uneasiness, for she had seen the Colonel examining the + lawyer’s ring. + </p> + <p> + “Listen to me, Martial. If you flutter round my young stranger, I shall + set to work to win Madame de Vaudremont.” + </p> + <p> + “You have my full permission, my dear Cuirassier, but you will not gain + this much,” and the young Maitre des Requetes put his polished thumb-nail + under an upper tooth with a little mocking click. + </p> + <p> + “Remember that I am unmarried,” said the Colonel; “that my sword is my + whole fortune; and that such a challenge is setting Tantalus down to a + banquet which he will devour.” + </p> + <p> + “Prrr.” + </p> + <p> + This defiant roll of consonants was the only reply to the Colonel’s + declaration, as Martial looked him from head to foot before turning away. + </p> + <p> + The fashion of the time required men to wear at a ball white kerseymere + breeches and silk stockings. This pretty costume showed to great advantage + the perfection of Montcornet’s fine shape. He was five-and-thirty, and + attracted attention by his stalwart height, insisted on for the + Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard whose handsome uniform enhanced the + dignity of his figure, still youthful in spite of the stoutness occasioned + by living on horseback. A black moustache emphasized the frank expression + of a thoroughly soldierly countenance, with a broad, high forehead, an + aquiline nose, and bright red lips. Montcornet’s manner, stamped with a + certain superiority due to the habit of command, might please a woman + sensible enough not to aim at making a slave of her husband. The Colonel + smiled as he looked at the lawyer, one of his favorite college friends, + whose small figure made it necessary for Montcornet to look down a little + as he answered his raillery with a friendly glance. + </p> + <p> + Baron Martial de la Roche-Hugon was a young Provencal patronized by + Napoleon; his fate might probably be some splendid embassy. He had won the + Emperor by his Italian suppleness and a genius for intrigue, a + drawing-room eloquence, and a knowledge of manners, which are so good a + substitute for the higher qualities of a sterling man. Through young and + eager, his face had already acquired the rigid brilliancy of tinned iron, + one of the indispensable characteristics of diplomatists, which allows + them to conceal their emotions and disguise their feelings, unless, + indeed, this impassibility indicates an absence of all emotion and the + death of every feeling. The heart of a diplomate may be regarded as an + insoluble problem, for the three most illustrious ambassadors of the time + have been distinguished by perdurable hatreds and most romantic + attachments. + </p> + <p> + Martial, however, was one of those men who are capable of reckoning on the + future in the midst of their intensest enjoyment; he had already learned + to judge the world, and hid his ambition under the fatuity of a + lady-killer, cloaking his talent under the commonplace of mediocrity as + soon as he observed the rapid advancement of those men who gave the master + little umbrage. + </p> + <p> + The two friends now had to part with a cordial grasp of hands. The + introductory tune, warning the ladies to form in squares for a fresh + quadrille, cleared the men away from the space they had filled while + talking in the middle of the large room. This hurried dialogue had taken + place during the usual interval between two dances, in front of the + fireplace of the great drawing-room of Gondreville’s mansion. The + questions and answers of this very ordinary ballroom gossip had been + almost whispered by each of the speakers into his neighbor’s ear. At the + same time, the chandeliers and the flambeaux on the chimney-shelf shed + such a flood of light on the two friends that their faces, strongly + illuminated, failed, in spite of their diplomatic discretion, to conceal + the faint expression of their feelings either from the keen-sighted + countess or the artless stranger. This espionage of people’s thoughts is + perhaps to idle persons one of the pleasures they find in society, while + numbers of disappointed numskulls are bored there without daring to own + it. + </p> + <p> + Fully to appreciate the interest of this conversation, it is necessary to + relate an incident which would presently serve as an invisible bond, + drawing together the actors in this little drama, who were at present + scattered through the rooms. + </p> + <p> + At about eleven o’clock, just as the dancers were returning to their + seats, the company had observed the entrance of the handsomest woman in + Paris, the queen of fashion, the only person wanting to the brilliant + assembly. She made it a rule never to appear till the moment when a party + had reached that pitch of excited movement which does not allow the women + to preserve much longer the freshness of their faces or of their dress. + This brief hour is, as it were, the springtime of a ball. An hour after, + when pleasure falls flat and fatigue is encroaching, everything is spoilt. + Madame de Vaudremont never committed the blunder of remaining at a party + to be seen with drooping flowers, hair out of curl, tumbled frills, and a + face like every other that sleep is courting—not always without + success. She took good care not to let her beauty be seen drowsy, as her + rivals did; she was so clever as to keep up her reputation for smartness + by always leaving a ballroom in brilliant order, as she had entered it. + Women whispered to each other with a feeling of envy that she planned and + wore as many different dresses as the parties she went to in one evening. + </p> + <p> + On the present occasion Madame de Vaudremont was not destined to be free + to leave when she would the ballroom she had entered in triumph. Pausing + for a moment on the threshold, she shot swift but observant glances on the + women present, hastily scrutinizing their dresses to assure herself that + her own eclipsed them all. + </p> + <p> + The illustrious beauty presented herself to the admiration of the crowd at + the same moment with one of the bravest colonels of the Guards’ Artillery + and the Emperor’s favorite, the Comte de Soulanges. The transient and + fortuitous association of these two had about it a certain air of mystery. + On hearing the names announced of Monsieur de Soulanges and the Comtesse + de Vaudremont, a few women sitting by the wall rose, and men, hurrying in + from the side-rooms, pressed forward to the principal doorway. One of the + jesters who are always to be found in any large assembly said, as the + Countess and her escort came in, that “women had quite as much curiosity + about seeing a man who was faithful to his passion as men had in studying + a woman who was difficult to enthrall.” + </p> + <p> + Though the Comte de Soulanges, a young man of about two-and-thirty, was + endowed with the nervous temperament which in a man gives rise to fine + qualities, his slender build and pale complexion were not at first sight + attractive; his black eyes betrayed great vivacity, but he was taciturn in + company, and there was nothing in his appearance to reveal the gift for + oratory which subsequently distinguished him, on the Right, in the + legislative assembly under the Restoration. + </p> + <p> + The Comtesse de Vaudremont, a tall woman, rather fat, with a skin of + dazzling whiteness, a small head that she carried well, and the immense + advantage of inspiring love by the graciousness of her manner, was one of + those beings who keep all the promise of their beauty. + </p> + <p> + The pair, who for a few minutes were the centre of general observation, + did not for long give curiosity an opportunity of exercising itself about + them. The Colonel and the Countess seemed perfectly to understand that + accident had placed them in an awkward position. Martial, as they came + forward, had hastened to join the group of men by the fireplace, that he + might watch Madame de Vaudremont with the jealous anxiety of the first + flame of passion, from behind the heads which formed a sort of rampart; a + secret voice seemed to warn him that the success on which he prided + himself might perhaps be precarious. But the coldly polite smile with + which the Countess thanked Monsieur de Soulanges, and her little bow of + dismissal as she sat down by Madame de Gondreville, relaxed the muscles of + his face which jealousy had made rigid. Seeing Soulanges, however, still + standing quite near the sofa on which Madame de Vaudremont was seated, not + apparently having understood the glance by which the lady had conveyed to + him that they were both playing a ridiculous part, the volcanic Provencal + again knit the black brows that overshadowed his blue eyes, smoothed his + chestnut curls to keep himself in countenance, and without betraying the + agitation which made his heart beat, watched the faces of the Countess and + of M. de Soulanges while still chatting with his neighbors. He then took + the hand of Colonel Montcornet, who had just renewed their old + acquaintance, but he listened to him without hearing him; his mind was + elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + Soulanges was gazing calmly at the women, sitting four ranks deep all + round the immense ballroom, admiring this dado of diamonds, rubies, masses + of gold and shining hair, of which the lustre almost outshone the blaze of + waxlights, the cutglass of the chandeliers, and the gilding. His rival’s + stolid indifference put the lawyer out of countenance. Quite incapable of + controlling his secret transports of impatience, Martial went towards + Madame de Vaudremont with a bow. On seeing the Provencal, Soulanges gave + him a covert glance, and impertinently turned away his head. Solemn + silence now reigned in the room, where curiosity was at the highest pitch. + All these eager faces wore the strangest mixed expressions; every one + apprehended one of those outbreaks which men of breeding carefully avoid. + Suddenly the Count’s pale face turned as red as the scarlet facings of his + coat, and he fixed his gaze on the floor that the cause of his agitation + might not be guessed. On catching sight of the unknown lady humbly seated + by the pedestal of the candelabrum, he moved away with a melancholy air, + passing in front of the lawyer, and took refuge in one of the cardrooms. + Martial and all the company thought that Soulanges had publicly + surrendered the post, out of fear of the ridicule which invariably + attaches to a discarded lover. The lawyer proudly raised his head and + looked at the strange lady; then, as he took his seat at his ease near + Madame de Vaudremont, he listened to her so inattentively that he did not + catch these words spoken behind her fan: + </p> + <p> + “Martial, you will oblige me this evening by not wearing that ring that + you snatched from me. I have my reasons, and will explain them to you in a + moment when we go away. You must give me your arm to go to the Princess de + Wagram’s.” + </p> + <p> + “Why did you come in with the Colonel?” asked the Baron. + </p> + <p> + “I met him in the hall,” she replied. “But leave me now; everybody is + looking at us.” + </p> + <p> + Martial returned to the Colonel of Cuirassiers. Then it was that the + little blue lady had become the object of the curiosity which agitated in + such various ways the Colonel, Soulanges, Martial, and Madame de + Vaudremont. + </p> + <p> + When the friends parted, after the challenge which closed their + conversation, the Baron flew to Madame de Vaudremont, and led her to a + place in the most brilliant quadrille. Favored by the sort of intoxication + which dancing always produces in a woman, and by the turmoil of a ball, + where men appear in all the trickery of dress, which adds no less to their + attractions than it does to those of women, Martial thought he might yield + with impunity to the charm that attracted his gaze to the fair stranger. + Though he succeeded in hiding his first glances towards the lady in blue + from the anxious activity of the Countess’ eyes, he was ere long caught in + the fact; and though he managed to excuse himself once for his absence of + mind, he could not justify the unseemly silence with which he presently + heard the most insinuating question which a woman can put to a man: + </p> + <p> + “Do you like me very much this evening?” + </p> + <p> + And the more dreamy he became, the more the Countess pressed and teased + him. + </p> + <p> + While Martial was dancing, the Colonel moved from group to group, seeking + information about the unknown lady. After exhausting the good-humor even + of the most indifferent, he had resolved to take advantage of a moment + when the Comtesse de Gondreville seemed to be at liberty, to ask her the + name of the mysterious lady, when he perceived a little space left clear + between the pedestal of the candelabrum and the two sofas, which ended in + that corner. The dance had left several of the chairs vacant, which formed + rows of fortifications held by mothers or women of middle age; and the + Colonel seized the opportunity to make his way through this palisade hung + with shawls and wraps. He began by making himself agreeable to the + dowagers, and so from one to another, and from compliment to compliment, + he at last reached the empty space next the stranger. At the risk of + catching on to the gryphons and chimaeras of the huge candelabrum, he + stood there, braving the glare and dropping of the wax candles, to + Martial’s extreme annoyance. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel, far too tactful to speak suddenly to the little blue lady on + his right, began by saying to a plain woman who was seated on the left: + </p> + <p> + “This is a splendid ball, madame! What luxury! What life! On my word, + every woman here is pretty! You are not dancing—because you do not + care for it, no doubt.” + </p> + <p> + This vapid conversation was solely intended to induce his right-hand + neighbor to speak; but she, silent and absent-minded, paid not the least + attention. The officer had in store a number of phrases which he intended + should lead up to: “And you, madame?”—a question from which he hoped + great things. But he was strangely surprised to see tears in the strange + lady’s eyes, which seemed wholly absorbed in gazing on Madame de + Vaudremont. + </p> + <p> + “You are married, no doubt, madame?” he asked her at length, in hesitating + tones. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, monsieur,” replied the lady. + </p> + <p> + “And your husband is here, of course?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, monsieur.” + </p> + <p> + “And why, madame, do you remain in this spot? Is it to attract attention?” + </p> + <p> + The mournful lady smiled sadly. + </p> + <p> + “Allow me the honor, madame, of being your partner in the next quadrille, + and I will take care not to bring you back here. I see a vacant settee + near the fire; come and take it. When so many people are ready to ascend + the throne, and Royalty is the mania of the day, I cannot imagine that you + will refuse the title of Queen of the Ball which your beauty may claim.” + </p> + <p> + “I do not intend to dance, monsieur.” + </p> + <p> + The curt tone of the lady’s replies was so discouraging that the Colonel + found himself compelled to raise the siege. Martial, who guessed what the + officer’s last request had been, and the refusal he had met with, began to + smile, and stroked his chin, making the diamond sparkle which he wore on + his finger. + </p> + <p> + “What are you laughing at?” said the Comtesse de Vaudremont. + </p> + <p> + “At the failure of the poor Colonel, who has just put his foot in it——” + </p> + <p> + “I begged you to take your ring off,” said the Countess, interrupting him. + </p> + <p> + “I did not hear you.” + </p> + <p> + “If you can hear nothing this evening, at any rate you see everything, + Monsieur le Baron,” said Madame de Vaudremont, with an air of vexation. + </p> + <p> + “That young man is displaying a very fine diamond,” the stranger remarked + to the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “Splendid,” he replied. “The man is the Baron Martial de la Roche-Hugon, + one of my most intimate friends.” + </p> + <p> + “I have to thank you for telling me his name,” she went on; “he seems an + agreeable man.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, but he is rather fickle.” + </p> + <p> + “He seems to be on the best terms with the Comtesse de Vaudremont?” said + the lady, with an inquiring look at the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “On the very best.” + </p> + <p> + The unknown turned pale. + </p> + <p> + “Hallo!” thought the soldier, “she is in love with that lucky devil + Martial.” + </p> + <p> + “I fancied that Madame de Vaudremont had long been devoted to M. de + Soulanges,” said the lady, recovering a little from the suppressed grief + which had clouded the fairness of her face. + </p> + <p> + “For a week past the Countess has been faithless,” replied the Colonel. + “But you must have seen poor Soulanges when he came in; he is till trying + to disbelieve in his disaster.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I saw him,” said the lady. Then she added, “Thank you very much, + monsieur,” in a tone which signified a dismissal. + </p> + <p> + At this moment the quadrille was coming to an end. Montcornet had only + time to withdraw, saying to himself by way of consolation, “She is + married.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, valiant Cuirassier,” exclaimed the Baron, drawing the Colonel aside + into a window-bay to breathe the fresh air from the garden, “how are you + getting on?” + </p> + <p> + “She is a married woman, my dear fellow.” + </p> + <p> + “What does that matter?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, deuce take it! I am a decent sort of man,” replied the Colonel. “I + have no idea of paying my addresses to a woman I cannot marry. Besides, + Martial, she expressly told me that she did not intend to dance.” + </p> + <p> + “Colonel, I will bet a hundred napoleons to your gray horse that she will + dance with me this evening.” + </p> + <p> + “Done!” said the Colonel, putting his hand in the coxcomb’s. “Meanwhile I + am going to look for Soulanges; he perhaps knows the lady, as she seems + interested in him.” + </p> + <p> + “You have lost, my good fellow,” cried Martial, laughing. “My eyes have + met hers, and I know what they mean. My dear friend, you owe me no grudge + for dancing with her after she has refused you?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no. Those who laugh last, laugh longest. But I am an honest gambler + and a generous enemy, Martial, and I warn you, she is fond of diamonds.” + </p> + <p> + With these words the friends parted; General Montcornet made his way to + the cardroom, where he saw the Comte de Soulanges sitting at a <i>bouillotte</i> + table. Though there was no friendship between the two soldiers, beyond the + superficial comradeship arising from the perils of war and the duties of + the service, the Colonel of Cuirassiers was painfully struck by seeing the + Colonel of Artillery, whom he knew to be a prudent man, playing at a game + which might bring him to ruin. The heaps of gold and notes piled on the + fateful cards showed the frenzy of play. A circle of silent men stood + round the players at the table. Now and then a few words were spoken—<i>pass, + play, I stop, a thousand Louis, taken</i>—but, looking at the five + motionless men, it seemed as though they talked only with their eyes. As + the Colonel, alarmed by Soulanges’ pallor, went up to him, the Count was + winning. Field-Marshal the Duc d’Isemberg, Keller, and a famous banker + rose from the table completely cleaned out of considerable sums. Soulanges + looked gloomier than ever as he swept up a quantity of gold and notes; he + did not even count it; his lips curled with bitter scorn, he seemed to + defy fortune rather than be grateful for her favors. + </p> + <p> + “Courage,” said the Colonel. “Courage, Soulanges!” Then, believing he + would do him a service by dragging him from play, he added: “Come with me. + I have some good news for you, but on one condition.” + </p> + <p> + “What is that?” asked Soulanges. + </p> + <p> + “That you will answer a question I will ask you.” + </p> + <p> + The Comte de Soulanges rose abruptly, placing his winnings with reckless + indifference in his handkerchief, which he had been twisting with + convulsive nervousness, and his expression was so savage that none of the + players took exception to his walking off with their money. Indeed, every + face seemed to dilate with relief when his morose and crabbed countenance + was no longer to be seen under the circle of light which a shaded lamp + casts on a gaming-table. + </p> + <p> + “Those fiends of soldiers are always as thick as thieves at a fair!” said + a diplomate who had been looking on, as he took Soulanges’ place. One + single pallid and fatigued face turned to the newcomer, and said with a + glance that flashed and died out like the sparkle of a diamond: “When we + say military men, we do not mean civil, Monsieur le Ministre.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear fellow,” said Montcornet to Soulanges, leading him into a corner, + “the Emperor spoke warmly in your praise this morning, and your promotion + to be field-marshal is a certainty.” + </p> + <p> + “The Master does not love the Artillery.” + </p> + <p> + “No, but he adores the nobility, and you are an aristocrat. The Master + said,” added Montcornet, “that the men who had married in Paris during the + campaign were not therefore to be considered in disgrace. Well then?” + </p> + <p> + The Comte de Soulanges looked as if he understood nothing of this speech. + </p> + <p> + “And now I hope,” the Colonel went on, “that you will tell me if you know + a charming little woman who is sitting under a huge candelabrum——” + </p> + <p> + At these words the Count’s face lighted up; he violently seized the + Colonel’s hand: “My dear General,” said he, in a perceptibly altered + voice, “if any man but you had asked me such a question, I would have + cracked his skull with this mass of gold. Leave me, I entreat you. I feel + more like blowing out my brains this evening, I assure you, than——I + hate everything I see. And, in fact, I am going. This gaiety, this music, + these stupid faces, all laughing, are killing me!” + </p> + <p> + “My poor friend!” replied Montcornet gently, and giving the Count’s hand a + friendly pressure, “you are too vehement. What would you say if I told you + that Martial is thinking so little of Madame de Vaudremont that he is + quite smitten with that little lady?” + </p> + <p> + “If he says a word to her,” cried Soulanges, stammering with rage, “I will + thrash him as flat as his own portfolio, even if the coxcomb were in the + Emperor’s lap!” + </p> + <p> + And he sank quite overcome on an easy-chair to which Montcornet had led + him. The colonel slowly went away, for he perceived that Soulanges was in + a state of fury far too violent for the pleasantries or the attentions of + superficial friendship to soothe him. + </p> + <p> + When Montcornet returned to the ballroom, Madame de Vaudremont was the + first person on whom his eyes fell, and he observed on her face, usually + so calm, some symptoms of ill-disguised agitation. A chair was vacant near + hers, and the Colonel seated himself. + </p> + <p> + “I dare wager something has vexed you?” said he. + </p> + <p> + “A mere trifle, General. I want to be gone, for I have promised to go to a + ball at the Grand Duchess of Berg’s, and I must look in first at the + Princesse de Wagram’s. Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon, who knows this, is + amusing himself by flirting with the dowagers.” + </p> + <p> + “That is not the whole secret of your disturbance, and I will bet a + hundred louis that you will remain here the whole evening.” + </p> + <p> + “Impertinent man!” + </p> + <p> + “Then I have hit the truth?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, tell me, what am I thinking of?” said the Countess, tapping the + Colonel’s fingers with her fan. “I might even reward you if you guess + rightly.” + </p> + <p> + “I will not accept the challenge; I have too much the advantage of you.” + </p> + <p> + “You are presumptuous.” + </p> + <p> + “You are afraid of seeing Martial at the feet——” + </p> + <p> + “Of whom?” cried the Countess, affecting surprise. + </p> + <p> + “Of that candelabrum,” replied the Colonel, glancing at the fair stranger, + and then looking at the Countess with embarrassing scrutiny. + </p> + <p> + “You have guessed it,” replied the coquette, hiding her face behind her + fan, which she began to play with. “Old Madame de Lansac, who is, you + know, as malicious as an old monkey,” she went on, after a pause, “has + just told me that Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon is running into danger by + flirting with that stranger, who sits here this evening like a skeleton at + a feast. I would rather see a death’s head than that face, so cruelly + beautiful, and as pale as a ghost. She is my evil genius.—Madame de + Lansac,” she added, after a flash and gesture of annoyance, “who only goes + to a ball to watch everything while pretending to sleep, has made me + miserably anxious. Martial shall pay dearly for playing me such a trick. + Urge him, meanwhile, since he is your friend, not to make me so unhappy.” + </p> + <p> + “I have just been with a man who promises to blow his brains out, and + nothing less, if he speaks to that little lady. And he is a man, madame, + to keep his word. But then I know Martial; such threats are to him an + encouragement. And, besides, we have wagered——” Here the + Colonel lowered his voice. + </p> + <p> + “Can it be true?” said the Countess. + </p> + <p> + “On my word of honor.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you, my dear Colonel,” replied Madame de Vaudremont, with a glance + full of invitation. + </p> + <p> + “Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; but the next quadrille. During this one I want to find out what will + come of this little intrigue, and to ascertain who the little blue lady + may be; she looks intelligent.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel, understanding that Madame de Vaudremont wished to be alone, + retired, well content to have begun his attack so well. + </p> + <p> + At most entertainments women are to be met who are there, like Madame de + Lansac, as old sailors gather on the seashore to watch younger mariners + struggling with the tempest. At this moment Madame de Lansac, who seemed + to be interested in the personages of this drama, could easily guess the + agitation which the Countess was going through. The lady might fan herself + gracefully, smile on the young men who bowed to her, and bring into play + all the arts by which a woman hides her emotion,—the Dowager, one of + the most clear-sighted and mischief-loving duchesses bequeathed by the + eighteenth century to the nineteenth, could read her heart and mind + through it all. + </p> + <p> + The old lady seemed to detect the slightest movement that revealed the + impressions of the soul. The imperceptible frown that furrowed that calm, + pure forehead, the faintest quiver of the cheeks, the curve of the + eyebrows, the least curl of the lips, whose living coral could conceal + nothing from her,—all these were to the Duchess like the print of a + book. From the depths of her large arm-chair, completely filled by the + flow of her dress, the coquette of the past, while talking to a diplomate + who had sought her out to hear the anecdotes she told so cleverly, was + admiring herself in the younger coquette; she felt kindly to her, seeing + how bravely she disguised her annoyance and grief of heart. Madame de + Vaudremont, in fact, felt as much sorrow as she feigned cheerfulness; she + had believed that she had found in Martial a man of talent on whose + support she could count for adorning her life with all the enchantment of + power; and at this moment she perceived her mistake, as injurious to her + reputation as to her good opinion of herself. In her, as in other women of + that time, the suddenness of their passions increased their vehemence. + Souls which love much and love often, suffer no less than those which burn + themselves out in one affection. Her liking for Martial was but of + yesterday, it is true, but the least experienced surgeon knows that the + pain caused by the amputation of a healthy limb is more acute than the + removal of a diseased one. There was a future before Madame de + Vaudremont’s passion for Martial, while her previous love had been + hopeless, and poisoned by Soulanges’ remorse. + </p> + <p> + The old Duchess, who was watching for an opportunity of speaking to the + Countess, hastened to dismiss her Ambassador; for in comparison with a + lover’s quarrel every interest pales, even with an old woman. To engage + battle, Madame de Lansac shot at the younger lady a sardonic glance which + made the Countess fear lest her fate was in the dowager’s hands. There are + looks between woman and woman which are like the torches brought on at the + climax of a tragedy. No one who had not known that Duchess could + appreciate the terror which the expression of her countenance inspired in + the Countess. + </p> + <p> + Madame de Lansac was tall, and her features led people to say, “That must + have been a handsome woman!” She coated her cheeks so thickly with rouge + that the wrinkles were scarcely visible; but her eyes, far from gaining a + factitious brilliancy from this strong carmine, looked all the more dim. + She wore a vast quantity of diamonds, and dressed with sufficient taste + not to make herself ridiculous. Her sharp nose promised epigram. A + well-fitted set of teeth preserved a smile of such irony as recalled that + of Voltaire. At the same time, the exquisite politeness of her manners so + effectually softened the mischievous twist in her mind, that it was + impossible to accuse her of spitefulness. + </p> + <p> + The old woman’s eyes lighted up, and a triumphant glance, seconded by a + smile, which said, “I promised you as much!” shot across the room, and + brought a blush of hope to the pale cheeks of the young creature + languishing under the great chandelier. The alliance between Madame de + Lansac and the stranger could not escape the practised eye of the Comtesse + de Vaudremont, who scented a mystery, and was determined to penetrate it. + </p> + <p> + At this instant the Baron de la Roche-Hugon, after questioning all the + dowagers without success as to the blue lady’s name, applied in despair to + the Comtesse de Gondreville, from whom he reached only this unsatisfactory + reply, “A lady whom the ‘ancient’ Duchesse de Lansac introduced to me.” + </p> + <p> + Turning by chance towards the armchair occupied by the old lady, the + lawyer intercepted the glance of intelligence she sent to the stranger; + and although he had for some time been on bad terms with her, he + determined to speak to her. The “ancient” Duchess, seeing the jaunty Baron + prowling round her chair, smiled with sardonic irony, and looked at Madame + de Vaudremont with an expression that made Montcornet laugh. + </p> + <p> + “If the old witch affects to be friendly,” thought the Baron, “she is + certainly going to play me some spiteful trick.—Madame,” he said, + “you have, I am told, undertaken the charge of a very precious treasure.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you take me for a dragon?” said the old lady. “But of whom are you + speaking?” she added, with a sweetness which revived Martial’s hopes. + </p> + <p> + “Of that little lady, unknown to all, whom the jealousy of all these + coquettes has imprisoned in that corner. You, no doubt, know her family?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said the Duchess. “But what concern have you with a provincial + heiress, married some time since, a woman of good birth, whom you none of + you know, you men; she goes nowhere.” + </p> + <p> + “Why does not she dance, she is such a pretty creature?—May we + conclude a treaty of peace? If you will vouchsafe to tell me all I want to + know, I promise you that a petition for the restitution of the woods of + Navarreins by the Commissioners of Crown Lands shall be strongly urged on + the Emperor.” + </p> + <p> + The younger branch of the house of Navarreins bears quarterly with the + arms of Navarreins those of Lansac, namely, azure, and argent party per + pale raguly, between six spear-heads in pale, and the old lady’s liaison + with Louis XV. had earned her husband the title of duke by royal patent. + Now, as the Navarreins had not yet resettled in France, it was sheer + trickery that the young lawyer thus proposed to the old lady by suggesting + to her that she should petition for an estate belonging to the elder + branch of the family. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur,” said the old woman with deceptive gravity, “bring the Comtesse + de Vaudremont across to me. I promise you that I will reveal to her the + mystery of the interesting unknown. You see, every man in the room has + reached as great a curiosity as your own. All eyes are involuntarily + turned towards the corner where my protegee has so modestly placed + herself; she is reaping all the homage the women wished to deprive her of. + Happy the man she chooses for her partner!” She interrupted herself, + fixing her eyes on Madame de Vaudremont with one of those looks which + plainly say, “We are talking of you.”—Then she added, “I imagine you + would rather learn the stranger’s name from the lips of your handsome + Countess than from mine.” + </p> + <p> + There was such marked defiance in the Duchess’ attitude that Madame de + Vaudremont rose, came up to her, and took the chair Martial placed for + her; then without noticing him she said, “I can guess, madame, that you + are talking of me; but I admit my want of perspicacity; I do not know + whether it is for good or evil.” + </p> + <p> + Madame de Lansac pressed the young woman’s pretty hand in her own dry and + wrinkled fingers, and answered in a low, compassionate tone, “Poor child!” + </p> + <p> + The women looked at each other. Madame de Vaudremont understood that + Martial was in the way, and dismissed him, saying with an imperious + expression, “Leave us.” + </p> + <p> + The Baron, ill-pleased at seeing the Countess under the spell of the + dangerous sibyl who had drawn her to her side gave one of those looks + which a man can give—potent over a blinded heart, but simply + ridiculous in the eyes of a woman who is beginning to criticise the man + who has attracted her. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think you can play the Emperor?” said Madame de Vaudremont, + turning three-quarters of her face to fix an ironical sidelong gaze on the + lawyer. + </p> + <p> + Martial was too much a man of the world, and had too much wit and acumen, + to risk breaking with a woman who was in favor at Court, and whom the + Emperor wished to see married. He counted, too, on the jealousy he + intended to provoke in her as the surest means of discovering the secret + of her coolness, and withdrew all the more willingly, because at this + moment a new quadrille was putting everybody in motion. + </p> + <p> + With an air of making room for the dancing, the Baron leaned back against + the marble slab of a console, folded his arms, and stood absorbed in + watching the two ladies talking. From time to time he followed the glances + which both frequently directed to the stranger. Then, comparing the + Countess with the new beauty, made so attractive by a touch of mystery, + the Baron fell a prey to the detestable self-interest common to + adventurous lady-killers; he hesitated between a fortune within his grasp + and the indulgence of his caprice. The blaze of light gave such strong + relief to his anxious and sullen face, against the hangings of white silk + moreen brushed by his black hair, that he might have been compared to an + evil genius. Even from a distance more than one observer no doubt said to + himself, “There is another poor wretch who seems to be enjoying himself!” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel, meanwhile, with one shoulder leaning lightly against the + side-post of the doorway between the ballroom and the cardroom, could + laugh undetected under his ample moustache; it amused him to look on at + the turmoil of the dance; he could see a hundred pretty heads turning + about in obedience to the figures; he could read in some faces, as in + those of the Countess and his friend Martial, the secrets of their + agitation; and then, looking round, he wondered what connection there + could be between the gloomy looks of the Comte de Soulanges, still seated + on the sofa, and the plaintive expression of the fair unknown, on whose + features the joys of hope and the anguish of involuntary dread were + alternately legible. Montcornet stood like the king of the feast. In this + moving picture he saw a complete presentment of the world, and he laughed + at it as he found himself the object of inviting smiles from a hundred + beautiful and elegant women. A Colonel of the Imperial Guard, a position + equal to that of a Brigadier-General, was undoubtedly one of the best + matches in the army. + </p> + <p> + It was now nearly midnight. The conversation, the gambling, the dancing, + the flirtations, interests, petty rivalries, and scheming had all reached + the pitch of ardor which makes a young man exclaim involuntarily, “A fine + ball!” + </p> + <p> + “My sweet little angel,” said Madame de Lansac to the Countess, “you are + now at an age when in my day I made many mistakes. Seeing you are just now + enduring a thousand deaths, it occurred to me that I might give you some + charitable advice. To go wrong at two-and-twenty means spoiling your + future; is it not tearing the gown you must wear? My dear, it is not much + later that we learn to go about in it without crumpling it. Go on, + sweetheart, making clever enemies, and friends who have no sense of + conduct, and you will see what a pleasant life you will some day be + leading!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, madame, it is very hard for a woman to be happy, do not you think?” + the Countess eagerly exclaimed. + </p> + <p> + “My child, at your age you must learn to choose between pleasure and + happiness. You want to marry Martial, who is not fool enough to make a + good husband, nor passionate enough to remain a lover. He is in debt, my + dear; he is the man to run through your fortune; still, that would be + nothing if he could make you happy.—Do not you see how aged he is? + The man must have been ill; he is making the most of what is left him. In + three years he will be a wreck. Then he will be ambitious; perhaps he may + succeed. I do not think so.—What is he? A man of intrigue, who may + have the business faculty to perfection, and be able to gossip agreeably; + but he is too presumptuous to have any sterling merit; he will not go far. + Besides—only look at him. Is it not written on his brow that, at + this very moment, what he sees in you is not a young and pretty woman, but + the two million francs you possess? He does not love you, my dear; he is + reckoning you up as if you were an investment. If you are bent on + marrying, find an older man who has an assured position and is half-way on + his career. A widow’s marriage ought not to be a trivial love affair. Is a + mouse to be caught a second time in the same trap? A new alliance ought + now to be a good speculation on your part, and in marrying again you ought + at least to have a hope of being some day addressed as Madame la + Marechale!” + </p> + <p> + As she spoke, both women naturally fixed their eyes on Colonel + Montcornet’s handsome face. + </p> + <p> + “If you would rather play the delicate part of a flirt and not marry + again,” the Duchess went on, with blunt good-nature; “well! my poor child, + you, better than any woman, will know how to raise the storm-clouds and + disperse them again. But, I beseech you, never make it your pleasure to + disturb the peace of families, to destroy unions, and ruin the happiness + of happy wives. I, my dear, have played that perilous game. Dear heaven! + for a triumph of vanity some poor virtuous soul is murdered—for + there really are virtuous women, child,—and we may make ourselves + mortally hated. I learned, a little too late, that, as the Duc d’Albe once + said, one salmon is worth a thousand frogs! A genuine affection certainly + brings a thousand times more happiness than the transient passions we may + inspire.—Well, I came here on purpose to preach to you; yes, you are + the cause of my appearance in this house, which stinks of the lower class. + Have I not just seen actors here? Formerly, my dear, we received them in + our boudoir; but in the drawing-room—never!—Why do you look at + me with so much amazement? Listen to me. If you want to play with men, do + not try to wring the hearts of any but those whose life is not yet + settled, who have no duties to fulfil; the others do not forgive us for + the errors that have made them happy. Profit by this maxim, founded on my + long experience.—That luckless Soulanges, for instance, whose head + you have turned, whom you have intoxicated for these fifteen months past, + God knows how! Do you know at what you have struck?—At his whole + life. He has been married these two years; he is worshiped by a charming + wife, whom he loves, but neglects; she lives in tears and embittered + silence. Soulanges has had hours of remorse more terrible than his + pleasure has been sweet. And you, you artful little thing, have deserted + him.—Well, come and see your work.” + </p> + <p> + The old lady took Madame de Vaudremont’s hand, and they rose. + </p> + <p> + “There,” said Madame de Lansac, and her eyes showed her the stranger, + sitting pale and tremulous under the glare of the candles, “that is my + grandniece, the Comtesse de Soulanges; to-day she yielded at last to my + persuasion, and consented to leave the sorrowful room, where the sight of + her child gives her but little consolation. You see her? You think her + charming? Then imagine, dear Beauty, what she must have been when + happiness and love shed their glory on that face now blighted.” + </p> + <p> + The Countess looked away in silence, and seemed lost in sad reflections. + </p> + <p> + The Duchess led her to the door into the card-room; then, after looking + round the room as if in search of some one—“And there is Soulanges!” + she said in deep tones. + </p> + <p> + The Countess shuddered as she saw, in the least brilliantly lighted + corner, the pale, set face of Soulanges stretched in an easy-chair. The + indifference of his attitude and the rigidity of his brow betrayed his + suffering. The players passed him to and fro, without paying any more + attention to him than if he had been dead. The picture of the wife in + tears, and the dejected, morose husband, separated in the midst of this + festivity like the two halves of a tree blasted by lightning, had perhaps + a prophetic significance for the Countess. She dreaded lest she here saw + an image of the revenges the future might have in store for her. Her heart + was not yet so dried up that the feeling and generosity were entirely + excluded, and she pressed the Duchess’ hand, while thanking her by one of + those smiles which have a certain childlike grace. + </p> + <p> + “My dear child,” the old lady said in her ear, “remember henceforth that + we are just as capable of repelling a man’s attentions as of attracting + them.” + </p> + <p> + “She is yours if you are not a simpleton.” These words were whispered into + Colonel Montcornet’s ear by Madame de Lansac, while the handsome Countess + was still absorbed in compassion at the sight of Soulanges, for she still + loved him truly enough to wish to restore him to happiness, and was + promising herself in her own mind that she would exert the irresistible + power her charms still had over him to make him return to his wife. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! I will talk to him!” said she to Madame de Lansac. + </p> + <p> + “Do nothing of the kind, my dear!” cried the old lady, as she went back to + her armchair. “Choose a good husband, and shut your door to my nephew. + Believe me, my child, a wife cannot accept her husband’s heart as the gift + of another woman; she is a hundred times happier in the belief that she + has reconquered it. By bringing my niece here I believe I have given her + an excellent chance of regaining her husband’s affection. All the + assistance I need of you is to play the Colonel.” She pointed to the + Baron’s friend, and the Countess smiled. + </p> + <p> + “Well, madame, do you at last know the name of the unknown?” asked + Martial, with an air of pique, to the Countess when he saw her alone. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Madame de Vaudremont, looking him in the face. + </p> + <p> + Her features expressed as much roguery as fun. The smile which gave life + to her lips and cheeks, the liquid brightness of her eyes, were like the + will-o’-the-wisp which leads travelers astray. Martial, who believed that + she still loved him, assumed the coquetting graces in which a man is so + ready to lull himself in the presence of the woman he loves. He said with + a fatuous air: + </p> + <p> + “And will you be annoyed with me if I seem to attach great importance to + your telling me that name?” + </p> + <p> + “Will you be annoyed with me,” answered Madame de Vaudremont, “if a + remnant of affection prevents my telling you; and if I forbid you to make + the smallest advances to that young lady? It would be at the risk of your + life perhaps.” + </p> + <p> + “To lose your good graces, madame, would be worse than to lose my life.” + </p> + <p> + “Martial,” said the Countess severely, “she is Madame de Soulanges. Her + husband would blow your brains out—if, indeed, you have any——” + </p> + <p> + “Ha! ha!” laughed the coxcomb. “What! the Colonel can leave the man in + peace who has robbed him of your love, and then would fight for his wife! + What a subversion of principles!—I beg of you to allow me to dance + with the little lady. You will then be able to judge how little love that + heart of ice could feel for you; for, if the Colonel disapproves of my + dancing with his wife after allowing me to——” + </p> + <p> + “But she loves her husband.” + </p> + <p> + “A still further obstacle that I shall have the pleasure of conquering.” + </p> + <p> + “But she is married.” + </p> + <p> + “A whimsical objection!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said the Countess, with a bitter smile, “you punish us alike for our + faults and our repentance!” + </p> + <p> + “Do not be angry!” exclaimed Martial eagerly. “Oh, forgive me, I beseech + you. There, I will think no more of Madame de Soulanges.” + </p> + <p> + “You deserve that I should send you to her.” + </p> + <p> + “I am off then,” said the Baron, laughing, “and I shall return more + devoted to you than ever. You will see that the prettiest woman in the + world cannot capture the heart that is yours.” + </p> + <p> + “That is to say, that you want to win Colonel Montcornet’s horse?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Traitor!” said he, threatening his friend with his finger. The + Colonel smiled and joined them; the Baron gave him the seat near the + Countess, saying to her with a sardonic accent: + </p> + <p> + “Here, madame, is a man who boasted that he could win your good graces in + one evening.” + </p> + <p> + He went away, thinking himself clever to have piqued the Countess’ pride + and done Montcornet an ill turn; but, in spite of his habitual keenness, + he had not appreciated the irony underlying Madame de Vaudremont’s speech, + and did not perceive that she had come as far to meet his friend as his + friend towards her, though both were unconscious of it. + </p> + <p> + At that moment when the lawyer went fluttering up to the candelabrum by + which Madame de Soulanges sat, pale, timid, and apparently alive only in + her eyes, her husband came to the door of the ballroom, his eyes flashing + with anger. The old Duchess, watchful of everything, flew to her nephew, + begged him to give her his arm and find her carriage, affecting to be + mortally bored, and hoping thus to prevent a vexatious outbreak. Before + going she fired a singular glance of intelligence at her niece, indicating + the enterprising knight who was about to address her, and this signal + seemed to say, “There he is, avenge yourself!” + </p> + <p> + Madame de Vaudremont caught these looks of the aunt and niece; a sudden + light dawned on her mind; she was frightened lest she was the dupe of this + old woman, so cunning and so practised in intrigue. + </p> + <p> + “That perfidious Duchess,” said she to herself, “has perhaps been amusing + herself by preaching morality to me while playing me some spiteful trick + of her own.” + </p> + <p> + At this thought Madame de Vaudremont’s pride was perhaps more roused than + her curiosity to disentangle the thread of this intrigue. In the + absorption of mind to which she was a prey she was no longer mistress of + herself. The Colonel, interpreting to his own advantage the embarrassment + evident in the Countess’ manner and speech, became more ardent and + pressing. The old blase diplomates, amusing themselves by watching the + play of faces, had never found so many intrigues at once to watch or guess + at. The passions agitating the two couples were to be seen with variations + at every step in the crowded rooms, and reflected with different shades in + other countenances. The spectacle of so many vivid passions, of all these + lovers’ quarrels, these pleasing revenges, these cruel favors, these + flaming glances, of all this ardent life diffused around them, only made + them feel their impotence more keenly. + </p> + <p> + At last the Baron had found a seat by Madame de Soulanges. His eyes stole + a long look at her neck, as fresh as dew and as fragrant as field flowers. + He admired close at hand the beauty which had amazed him from afar. He + could see a small, well-shod foot, and measure with his eye a slender and + graceful shape. At that time women wore their sash tied close under the + bosom, in imitation of Greek statues, a pitiless fashion for those whose + bust was faulty. As he cast furtive glances at the Countess’ figure, + Martial was enchanted with its perfection. + </p> + <p> + “You have not danced once this evening, madame,” said he in soft and + flattering tones. “Not, I should suppose, for lack of a partner?” + </p> + <p> + “I never go to parties; I am quite unknown,” replied Madame de Soulanges + coldly, not having understood the look by which her aunt had just conveyed + to her that she was to attract the Baron. + </p> + <p> + Martial, to give himself countenance, twisted the diamond he wore on his + left hand; the rainbow fires of the gem seemed to flash a sudden light on + the young Countess’ mind; she blushed and looked at the Baron with an + undefinable expression. + </p> + <p> + “Do you like dancing?” asked the Provencal, to reopen the conversation. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, very much, monsieur.” + </p> + <p> + At this strange reply their eyes met. The young man, surprised by the + earnest accent, which aroused a vague hope in his heart, had suddenly + questioned the lady’s eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Then, madame, am I not overbold in offering myself to be your partner for + the next quadrille?” + </p> + <p> + Artless confusion colored the Countess’ white cheeks. + </p> + <p> + “But, monsieur, I have already refused one partner—a military man——” + </p> + <p> + “Was it that tall cavalry colonel whom you see over there?” + </p> + <p> + “Precisely so.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! he is a friend of mine; feel no alarm. Will you grant me the favor I + dare hope for?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, monsieur.” + </p> + <p> + Her tone betrayed an emotion so new and so deep that the lawyer’s + world-worn soul was touched. He was overcome by shyness like a + schoolboy’s, lost his confidence, and his southern brain caught fire; he + tried to talk, but his phrases struck him as graceless in comparison with + Madame de Soulanges’ bright and subtle replies. It was lucky for him that + the quadrille was forming. Standing by his beautiful partner, he felt more + at ease. To many men dancing is a phase of being; they think that they can + more powerfully influence the heart of woman by displaying the graces of + their bodies than by their intellect. Martial wished, no doubt, at this + moment to put forth all his most effective seductions, to judge by the + pretentiousness of his movements and gestures. + </p> + <p> + He led his conquest to the quadrille in which the most brilliant women in + the room made it a point of chimerical importance to dance in preference + to any other. While the orchestra played the introductory bars to the + first figure, the Baron felt it an incredible gratification to his pride + to perceive, as he reviewed the ladies forming the lines of that + formidable square, that Madame de Soulanges’ dress might challenge that + even of Madame de Vaudremont, who, by a chance not perhaps unsought, was + standing with Montcornet <i>vis-a-vis</i> to himself and the lady in blue. + All eyes were for a moment turned on Madame de Soulanges; a flattering + murmur showed that she was the subject of every man’s conversation with + his partner. Looks of admiration and envy centered on her, with so much + eagerness that the young creature, abashed by a triumph she seemed to + disclaim, modestly looked down, blushed, and was all the more charming. + When she raised her white eyelids it was to look at her ravished partner + as though she wished to transfer the glory of this admiration to him, and + to say that she cared more for his than for all the rest. She threw her + innocence into her vanity; or rather she seemed to give herself up to the + guileless admiration which is the beginning of love, with the good faith + found only in youthful hearts. As she danced, the lookers-on might easily + believe that she displayed her grace for Martial alone; and though she was + modest, and new to the trickery of the ballroom, she knew as well as the + most accomplished coquette how to raise her eyes to his at the right + moment and drop their lids with assumed modesty. + </p> + <p> + When the movement of a new figure, invented by a dancer named Trenis, and + named after him, brought Martial face to face with the Colonel—“I + have won your horse,” said he, laughing. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, but you have lost eighty thousand francs a year!” retorted + Montcornet, glancing at Madame de Vaudremont. + </p> + <p> + “What do I care?” replied Martial. “Madame de Soulanges is worth + millions!” + </p> + <p> + At the end of the quadrille more than one whisper was poured into more + than one ear. The less pretty women made moral speeches to their partners, + commenting on the budding liaison between Martial and the Comtesse de + Soulanges. The handsomest wondered at her easy surrender. The men could + not understand such luck as the Baron’s, not regarding him as particularly + fascinating. A few indulgent women said it was not fair to judge the + Countess too hastily; young wives would be in a very hapless plight if an + expressive look or a few graceful dancing steps were enough to compromise + a woman. + </p> + <p> + Martial alone knew the extent of his happiness. During the last figure, + when the ladies had to form the <i>moulinet</i>, his fingers clasped those + of the Countess, and he fancied that, through the thin perfumed kid of her + gloves, the young wife’s grasp responded to his amorous appeal. + </p> + <p> + “Madame,” said he, as the quadrille ended, “do not go back to the odious + corner where you have been burying your face and your dress until now. Is + admiration the only benefit you can obtain from the jewels that adorn your + white neck and beautifully dressed hair? Come and take a turn through the + rooms to enjoy the scene and yourself.” + </p> + <p> + Madame de Soulanges yielded to her seducer, who thought she would be his + all the more surely if he could only show her off. Side by side they + walked two or three times amid the groups who crowded the rooms. The + Comtesse de Soulanges, evidently uneasy, paused for an instant at each + door before entering, only doing so after stretching her neck to look at + all the men there. This alarm, which crowned the Baron’s satisfaction, did + not seem to be removed till he said to her, “Make yourself easy; <i>he</i> + is not here.” + </p> + <p> + They thus made their way to an immense picture gallery in a wing of the + mansion, where their eyes could feast in anticipation on the splendid + display of a collation prepared for three hundred persons. As supper was + about to begin, Martial led the Countess to an oval boudoir looking on to + the garden, where the rarest flowers and a few shrubs made a scented bower + under bright blue hangings. The murmurs of the festivity here died away. + The Countess, at first startled, refused firmly to follow the young man; + but, glancing in a mirror, she no doubt assured herself that they could be + seen, for she seated herself on an ottoman with a fairly good grace. + </p> + <p> + “This room is charming,” said she, admiring the sky-blue hangings looped + with pearls. + </p> + <p> + “All here is love and delight!” said the Baron, with deep emotion. + </p> + <p> + In the mysterious light which prevailed he looked at the Countess, and + detected on her gently agitated face an expression of uneasiness, modesty, + and eagerness which enchanted him. The young lady smiled, and this smile + seemed to put an end to the struggle of feeling surging in her heart; in + the most insinuating way she took her adorer’s left hand, and drew from + his finger the ring on which she had fixed her eyes. + </p> + <p> + “What a fine diamond!” she exclaimed in the artless tone of a young girl + betraying the incitement of a first temptation. + </p> + <p> + Martial, troubled by the Countess’ involuntary but intoxicating touch, + like a caress, as she drew off the ring, looked at her with eyes as + glittering as the gem. + </p> + <p> + “Wear it,” he said, “in memory of this hour, and for the love of——” + </p> + <p> + She was looking at him with such rapture that he did not end the sentence; + he kissed her hand. + </p> + <p> + “You give it me?” she said, looking much astonished. + </p> + <p> + “I wish I had the whole world to offer you!” + </p> + <p> + “You are not joking?” she went on, in a voice husky with too great + satisfaction. + </p> + <p> + “Will you accept only my diamond?” + </p> + <p> + “You will never take it back?” she insisted. + </p> + <p> + “Never.” + </p> + <p> + She put the ring on her finger. Martial, confident of coming happiness, + was about to put his hand round her waist, but she suddenly rose, and said + in a clear voice, without any agitation: + </p> + <p> + “I accept the diamond, monsieur, with the less scruple because it belongs + to me.” + </p> + <p> + The Baron was speechless. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur de Soulanges took it lately from my dressing-table, and told me + he had lost it.” + </p> + <p> + “You are mistaken, madame,” said Martial, nettled. “It was given me by + Madame de Vaudremont.” + </p> + <p> + “Precisely so,” she said with a smile. “My husband borrowed this ring of + me, he gave it to her, she made it a present to you; my ring has made a + little journey, that is all. This ring will perhaps tell me all I do not + know, and teach me the secret of always pleasing.—Monsieur,” she + went on, “if it had not been my own, you may be sure I should not have + risked paying so dear for it; for a young woman, it is said, is in danger + with you. But, you see,” and she touched a spring within the ring, “here + is M. de Soulanges’ hair.” + </p> + <p> + She fled into the crowded rooms so swiftly, that it seemed useless to try + to follow her; besides, Martial, utterly confounded, was in no mood to + carry the adventure further. The Countess’ laugh found an echo in the + boudoir, where the young coxcomb now perceived, between two shrubs, the + Colonel and Madame de Vaudremont, both laughing heartily. + </p> + <p> + “Will you have my horse, to ride after your prize?” said the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + The Baron took the banter poured upon him by Madame de Vaudremont and + Montcornet with a good grace, which secured their silence as to the events + of the evening, when his friend exchanged his charger for a rich and + pretty young wife. + </p> + <p> + As the Comtesse de Soulanges drove across Paris from the Chausee d’Antin + to the Faubourg Saint-Germain, where she lived, her soul was prey to many + alarms. Before leaving the Hotel Gondreville she went through all the + rooms, but found neither her aunt nor her husband, who had gone away + without her. Frightful suspicions then tortured her ingenuous mind. A + silent witness of her husbands’ torments since the day when Madame de + Vaudremont had chained him to her car, she had confidently hoped that + repentance would ere long restore her husband to her. It was with + unspeakable repugnance that she had consented to the scheme plotted by her + aunt, Madame de Lansac, and at this moment she feared she had made a + mistake. + </p> + <p> + The evening’s experience had saddened her innocent soul. Alarmed at first + by the Count’s look of suffering and dejection, she had become more so on + seeing her rival’s beauty, and the corruption of society had gripped her + heart. As she crossed the Pont Royal she threw away the desecrated hair at + the back of the diamond, given to her once as a token of the purest + affection. She wept as she remembered the bitter grief to which she had so + long been a victim, and shuddered more than once as she reflected that the + duty of a woman, who wishes for peace in her home, compels her to bury + sufferings so keen as hers at the bottom of her heart, and without a + complaint. + </p> + <p> + “Alas!” thought she, “what can women do when they do not love? What is the + fount of their indulgence? I cannot believe that, as my aunt tells me, + reason is all-sufficient to maintain them in such devotion.” + </p> + <p> + She was still sighing when her man-servant let down the handsome + carriage-step down which she flew into the hall of her house. She rushed + precipitately upstairs, and when she reached her room was startled by + seeing her husband sitting by the fire. + </p> + <p> + “How long is it, my dear, since you have gone to balls without telling me + beforehand?” he asked in a broken voice. “You must know that a woman is + always out of place without her husband. You compromised yourself + strangely by remaining in the dark corner where you had ensconced + yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, my dear, good Leon,” said she in a coaxing tone, “I could not resist + the happiness of seeing you without your seeing me. My aunt took me to + this ball, and I was very happy there!” + </p> + <p> + This speech disarmed the Count’s looks of their assumed severity, for he + had been blaming himself while dreading his wife’s return, no doubt fully + informed at the ball of an infidelity he had hoped to hide from her; and, + as is the way of lovers conscious of their guilt, he tried, by being the + first to find fault, to escape her just anger. Happy in seeing her husband + smile, and in finding him at this hour in a room whither of late he had + come more rarely, the Countess looked at him so tenderly that she blushed + and cast down her eyes. Her clemency enraptured Soulanges all the more, + because this scene followed on the misery he had endured at the ball. He + seized his wife’s hand and kissed it gratefully. Is not gratitude often a + part of love? + </p> + <p> + “Hortense, what is that on your finger that has hurt my lip so much?” + asked he, laughing. + </p> + <p> + “It is my diamond which you said you had lost, and which I have found.” + </p> + <p> + General Montcornet did not marry Madame de Vaudremont, in spite of the + mutual understanding in which they had lived for a few minutes, for she + was one of the victims of the terrible fire which sealed the fame of the + ball given by the Austrian ambassador on the occasion of Napoleon’s + marriage with the daughter of the Emperor Joseph II. + </p> + <h3> + JULY, 1829. + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + ADDENDUM + </h2> + <h3> + The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Bonaparte, Napoleon + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Seamy Side of History + A Woman of Thirty + + Gondreville, Malin, Comte de + The Gondreville Mystery + A Start in Life + The Member for Arcis + + Keller, Francois + Cesar Birotteau + Eugenie Grandet + The Government Clerks + The Member for Arcis + + Keller, Madame Francois + The Member for Arcis + The Thirteen + + La Roche-Hugon, Martial de + The Peasantry + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + + Montcornet, Marechal, Comte de + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life + The Peasantry + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + + Murat, Joachim, Prince + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Country Doctor + + Soulanges, Comte Leon de + The Peasantry + + Soulanges, Comtesse Hortense de + The Thirteen + The Peasantry +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Domestic Peace, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOMESTIC PEACE *** + +***** This file should be named 1411-h.htm or 1411-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/1/1411/ + +Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + </body> +</html> diff --git a/old/1411.zip b/old/1411.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6ffd1dd --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1411.zip diff --git a/old/old/1411.txt b/old/old/1411.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a27ecb9 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/1411.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1964 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Domestic Peace, by Honore de Balzac + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net + + +Title: Domestic Peace + +Author: Honore de Balzac + +Release Date: August 2, 2004 [EBook #1411] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOMESTIC PEACE *** + + + + +Produced by Dagny; and John Bickers + + + + + DOMESTIC PEACE + + BY + + HONORE DE BALZAC + + + + Translated By + Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell + + + + Dedicated to my dear niece Valentine Surville. + + + +The incident recorded in this sketch took place towards the end of the +month of November, 1809, the moment when Napoleon's fugitive empire +attained the apogee of its splendor. The trumpet-blasts of Wagram were +still sounding an echo in the heart of the Austrian monarchy. Peace +was being signed between France and the Coalition. Kings and princes +came to perform their orbits, like stars, round Napoleon, who gave +himself the pleasure of dragging all Europe in his train--a +magnificent experiment in the power he afterwards displayed at +Dresden. Never, as contemporaries tell us, did Paris see +entertainments more superb than those which preceded and followed the +sovereign's marriage with an Austrian archduchess. Never, in the most +splendid days of the Monarchy, had so many crowned heads thronged the +shores of the Seine, never had the French aristocracy been so rich or +so splendid. The diamonds lavishly scattered over the women's dresses, +and the gold and silver embroidery on the uniforms contrasted so +strongly with the penury of the Republic, that the wealth of the globe +seemed to be rolling through the drawing-rooms of Paris. Intoxication +seemed to have turned the brains of this Empire of a day. All the +military, not excepting their chief, reveled like parvenus in the +treasure conquered for them by a million men with worsted epaulettes, +whose demands were satisfied by a few yards of red ribbon. + +At this time most women affected that lightness of conduct and +facility of morals which distinguished the reign of Louis XV. Whether +it were in imitation of the tone of the fallen monarchy, or because +certain members of the Imperial family had set the example--as certain +malcontents of the Faubourg Saint-Germain chose to say--it is certain +that men and women alike flung themselves into a life of pleasure with +an intrepidity which seemed to forbode the end of the world. But there +was at that time another cause for such license. The infatuation of +women for the military became a frenzy, and was too consonant to the +Emperor's views for him to try to check it. The frequent calls to +arms, which gave every treaty concluded between Napoleon and the rest +of Europe the character of an armistice, left every passion open to a +termination as sudden as the decisions of the Commander-in-chief of +all these busbys, pelisses, and aiguillettes, which so fascinated the +fair sex. Hearts were as nomadic as the regiments. Between the first +and fifth bulletins from the /Grand Armee/ a woman might be in +succession mistress, wife, mother, and widow. + +Was it the prospect of early widowhood, the hope of a jointure, or +that of bearing a name promised to history, which made the soldiers so +attractive? Were women drawn to them by the certainty that the secret +of their passions would be buried on the field of battle? or may we +find the reason of this gentle fanaticism in the noble charm that +courage has for a woman? Perhaps all these reasons, which the future +historian of the manners of the Empire will no doubt amuse himself by +weighing, counted for something in their facile readiness to abandon +themselves to love intrigues. Be that as it may, it must here be +confessed that at that time laurels hid many errors, women showed an +ardent preference for the brave adventurers, whom they regarded as the +true fount of honor, wealth, or pleasure; and in the eyes of young +girls, an epaulette--the hieroglyphic of a future--signified happiness +and liberty. + +One feature, and a characteristic one, of this unique period in our +history was an unbridled mania for everything glittering. Never were +fireworks so much in vogue, never were diamonds so highly prized. The +men, as greedy as the women of these translucent pebbles, displayed +them no less lavishly. Possibly the necessity for carrying plunder in +the most portable form made gems the fashion in the army. A man was +not ridiculous then, as he would be now, if his shirt-frill or his +fingers blazed with large diamonds. Murat, an Oriental by nature, set +the example of preposterous luxury to modern soldiers. + +The Comte de Gondreville, formerly known as Citizen Malin, whose +elevation had made him famous, having become a Lucullus of the +Conservative Senate, which "conserved" nothing, had postponed an +entertainment in honor of the peace only that he might the better pay +his court to Napoleon by his efforts to eclipse those flatterers who +had been before-hand with him. The ambassadors from all the Powers +friendly with France, with an eye to favors to come, the most +important personages of the Empire, and even a few princes, were at +this hour assembled in the wealthy senator's drawing-rooms. Dancing +flagged; every one was watching for the Emperor, whose presence the +Count had promised his guests. And Napoleon would have kept his word +but for the scene which had broken out that very evening between him +and Josephine--the scene which portended the impending divorce of the +august pair. The report of this incident, at the time kept very +secret, but recorded by history, did not reach the ears of the +courtiers, and had no effect on the gaiety of Comte de Gondreville's +party beyond keeping Napoleon away. + +The prettiest women in Paris, eager to be at the Count's on the +strength of mere hearsay, at this moment were a besieging force of +luxury, coquettishness, elegance, and beauty. The financial world, +proud of its riches, challenged the splendor of the generals and high +officials of the Empire, so recently gorged with orders, titles, and +honors. These grand balls were always an opportunity seized upon by +wealthy families for introducing their heiresses to Napoleon's +Praetorian Guard, in the foolish hope of exchanging their splendid +fortunes for uncertain favors. The women who believed themselves +strong enough in their beauty alone came to test their power. There, +as elsewhere, amusement was but a blind. Calm and smiling faces and +placid brows covered sordid interests, expressions of friendship were +a lie, and more than one man was less distrustful of his enemies than +of his friends. + +These remarks are necessary to explain the incidents of the little +imbroglio which is the subject of this study, and the picture, +softened as it is, of the tone then dominant in Paris drawing-rooms. + +"Turn your eyes a little towards the pedestal supporting that +candelabrum--do you see a young lady with her hair drawn back /a la +Chinoise/!--There, in the corner to the left; she has bluebells in the +knot of chestnut curls which fall in clusters on her head. Do not you +see her? She is so pale you might fancy she was ill, delicate-looking, +and very small; there--now she is turning her head this way; her +almond-shaped blue eyes, so delightfully soft, look as if they were +made expressly for tears. Look, look! She is bending forward to see +Madame de Vaudremont below the crowd of heads in constant motion; the +high head-dresses prevent her having a clear view." + +"I see her now, my dear fellow. You had only to say that she had the +whitest skin of all the women here; I should have known whom you +meant. I had noticed her before; she has the loveliest complexion I +ever admired. From hence I defy you to see against her throat the +pearls between the sapphires of her necklace. But she is a prude or a +coquette, for the tucker of her bodice scarcely lets one suspect the +beauty of her bust. What shoulders! what lily-whiteness!" + +"Who is she?" asked the first speaker. + +"Ah! that I do not know." + +"Aristocrat!--Do you want to keep them all to yourself, Montcornet?" + +"You of all men to banter me!" replied Montcornet, with a smile. "Do +you think you have a right to insult a poor general like me because, +being a happy rival of Soulanges, you cannot even turn on your heel +without alarming Madame de Vaudremont? Or is it because I came only a +month ago into the Promised Land? How insolent you can be, you men in +office, who sit glued to your chairs while we are dodging shot and +shell! Come, Monsieur le Maitre des Requetes, allow us to glean in the +field of which you can only have precarious possession from the moment +when we evacuate it. The deuce is in it! We have a right to live! My +good friend, if you knew the German women, you would, I believe, do me +a good turn with the Parisian you love best." + +"Well, General, since you have vouchsafed to turn your attention to +that lady, whom I never saw till now, have the charity to tell me if +you have seen her dance." + +"Why, my dear Martial, where have you dropped from? If you are ever +sent with an embassy, I have small hopes of your success. Do not you +see a triple rank of the most undaunted coquettes of Paris between her +and the swarm of dancing men that buzz under the chandelier? And was +it not only by the help of your eyeglass that you were able to +discover her at all in the corner by that pillar, where she seems +buried in the gloom, in spite of the candles blazing above her head? +Between her and us there is such a sparkle of diamonds and glances, so +many floating plumes, such a flutter of lace, of flowers and curls, +that it would be a real miracle if any dancer could detect her among +those stars. Why, Martial, how is it that you have not understood her +to be the wife of some sous-prefet from Lippe or Dyle, who has come to +try to get her husband promoted?" + +"Oh, he will be!" exclaimed the Master of Appeals quickly. + +"I doubt it," replied the Colonel of Cuirassiers, laughing. "She seems +as raw in intrigue as you are in diplomacy. I dare bet, Martial, that +you do not know how she got into that place." + +The lawyer looked at the Colonel of Cuirassiers with an expression as +much of contempt as of curiosity. + +"Well," proceeded Montcornet, "she arrived, I have no doubt, +punctually at nine, the first of the company perhaps, and probably she +greatly embarrassed the Comtesse de Gondreville, who cannot put two +ideas together. Repulsed by the mistress of the house, routed from +chair to chair by each newcomer, and driven into the darkness of this +little corner, she allowed herself to be walled in, the victim of the +jealousy of the other ladies, who would gladly have buried that +dangerous beauty. She had, of course, no friend to encourage her to +maintain the place she first held in the front rank; then each of +those treacherous fair ones would have enjoined on the men of her +circle on no account to take out our poor friend, under pain of the +severest punishment. That, my dear fellow, is the way in which those +sweet faces, in appearance so tender and so artless, would have formed +a coalition against the stranger, and that without a word beyond the +question, 'Tell me, dear, do you know that little woman in blue?' +--Look here, Martial, if you care to run the gauntlet of more +flattering glances and inviting questions than you will ever again +meet in the whole of your life, just try to get through the triple +rampart which defends that Queen of Dyle, or Lippe, or Charente. You +will see whether the dullest woman of them all will not be equal to +inventing some wile that would hinder the most determined man from +bringing the plaintive stranger to the light. Does it not strike you +that she looks like an elegy?" + +"Do you think so, Montcornet? Then she must be a married woman?" + +"Why not a widow?" + +"She would be less passive," said the lawyer, laughing. + +"She is perhaps the widow of a man who is gambling," replied the +handsome Colonel. + +"To be sure; since the peace there are so many widows of that class!" +said Martial. "But my dear Montcornet, we are a couple of simpletons. +That face is still too ingenuous, there is too much youth and +freshness on the brow and temples for her to be married. What splendid +flesh-tints! Nothing has sunk in the modeling of the nose. Lips, chin, +everything in her face is as fresh as a white rosebud, though the +expression is veiled, as it were, by the clouds of sadness. Who can it +be that makes that young creature weep?" + +"Women cry for so little," said the Colonel. + +"I do not know," replied Martial; "but she does not cry because she is +left there without a partner; her grief is not of to-day. It is +evident that she has beautified herself for this evening with +intention. I would wager that she is in love already." + +"Bah! She is perhaps the daughter of some German princeling; no one +talks to her," said Montcornet. + +"Dear! how unhappy a poor child may be!" Martial went on. "Can there +be anything more graceful and refined than our little stranger? Well, +not one of those furies who stand round her, and who believe that they +can feel, will say a word to her. If she would but speak, we should +see if she has fine teeth. + +"Bless me, you boil over like milk at the least increase of +temperature!" cried the Colonel, a little nettled at so soon finding a +rival in his friend. + +"What!" exclaimed the lawyer, without heeding the Colonel's question. +"Can nobody here tell us the name of this exotic flower?" + +"Some lady companion!" said Montcornet. + +"What next? A companion! wearing sapphires fit for a queen, and a +dress of Malines lace? Tell that to the marines, General. You, too, +would not shine in diplomacy if, in the course of your conjectures, +you jump in a breath from a German princess to a lady companion." + +Montcornet stopped a man by taking his arm--a fat little man, whose +iron-gray hair and clever eyes were to be seen at the lintel of every +doorway, and who mingled unceremoniously with the various groups which +welcomed him respectfully. + +"Gondreville, my friend," said Montcornet, "who is that quite charming +little woman sitting out there under that huge candelabrum?" + +"The candelabrum? Ravrio's work; Isabey made the design." + +"Oh, I recognized your lavishness and taste; but the lady?" + +"Ah! I do not know. Some friend of my wife's, no doubt." + +"Or your mistress, you old rascal." + +"No, on my honor. The Comtesse de Gondreville is the only person +capable of inviting people whom no one knows." + +In spite of this very acrimonious comment, the fat little man's lips +did not lose the smile which the Colonel's suggestion had brought to +them. Montcornet returned to the lawyer, who had rejoined a +neighboring group, intent on asking, but in vain, for information as +to the fair unknown. He grasped Martial's arm, and said in his ear: + +"My dear Martial, mind what you are about. Madame de Vaudremont has +been watching you for some minutes with ominous attentiveness; she is +a woman who can guess by the mere movement of your lips what you say +to me; our eyes have already told her too much; she has perceived and +followed their direction, and I suspect that at this moment she is +thinking even more than we are of the little blue lady." + +"That is too old a trick in warfare, my dear Montcornet! However, what +do I care? Like the Emperor, when I have made a conquest, I keep it." + +"Martial, your fatuity cries out for a lesson. What! you, a civilian, +and so lucky as to be the husband-designate of Madame de Vaudremont, a +widow of two-and-twenty, burdened with four thousand napoleons a year +--a woman who slips such a diamond as this on your finger," he added, +taking the lawyer's left hand, which the young man complacently +allowed; "and, to crown all, you affect the Lovelace, just as if you +were a colonel and obliged to keep up the reputation of the military +in home quarters! Fie, fie! Only think of all you may lose." + +"At any rate, I shall not lose my liberty," replied Martial, with a +forced laugh. + +He cast a passionate glance at Madame de Vaudremont, who responded +only by a smile of some uneasiness, for she had seen the Colonel +examining the lawyer's ring. + +"Listen to me, Martial. If you flutter round my young stranger, I +shall set to work to win Madame de Vaudremont." + +"You have my full permission, my dear Cuirassier, but you will not +gain this much," and the young Maitre des Requetes put his polished +thumb-nail under an upper tooth with a little mocking click. + +"Remember that I am unmarried," said the Colonel; "that my sword is my +whole fortune; and that such a challenge is setting Tantalus down to a +banquet which he will devour." + +"Prrr." + +This defiant roll of consonants was the only reply to the Colonel's +declaration, as Martial looked him from head to foot before turning +away. + +The fashion of the time required men to wear at a ball white +kerseymere breeches and silk stockings. This pretty costume showed to +great advantage the perfection of Montcornet's fine shape. He was +five-and-thirty, and attracted attention by his stalwart height, +insisted on for the Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard whose handsome +uniform enhanced the dignity of his figure, still youthful in spite of +the stoutness occasioned by living on horseback. A black moustache +emphasized the frank expression of a thoroughly soldierly countenance, +with a broad, high forehead, an aquiline nose, and bright red lips. +Montcornet's manner, stamped with a certain superiority due to the +habit of command, might please a woman sensible enough not to aim at +making a slave of her husband. The Colonel smiled as he looked at the +lawyer, one of his favorite college friends, whose small figure made +it necessary for Montcornet to look down a little as he answered his +raillery with a friendly glance. + +Baron Martial de la Roche-Hugon was a young Provencal patronized by +Napoleon; his fate might probably be some splendid embassy. He had won +the Emperor by his Italian suppleness and a genius for intrigue, a +drawing-room eloquence, and a knowledge of manners, which are so good +a substitute for the higher qualities of a sterling man. Through young +and eager, his face had already acquired the rigid brilliancy of +tinned iron, one of the indispensable characteristics of diplomatists, +which allows them to conceal their emotions and disguise their +feelings, unless, indeed, this impassibility indicates an absence of +all emotion and the death of every feeling. The heart of a diplomate +may be regarded as an insoluble problem, for the three most +illustrious ambassadors of the time have been distinguished by +perdurable hatreds and most romantic attachments. + +Martial, however, was one of those men who are capable of reckoning on +the future in the midst of their intensest enjoyment; he had already +learned to judge the world, and hid his ambition under the fatuity of +a lady-killer, cloaking his talent under the commonplace of mediocrity +as soon as he observed the rapid advancement of those men who gave the +master little umbrage. + +The two friends now had to part with a cordial grasp of hands. The +introductory tune, warning the ladies to form in squares for a fresh +quadrille, cleared the men away from the space they had filled while +talking in the middle of the large room. This hurried dialogue had +taken place during the usual interval between two dances, in front of +the fireplace of the great drawing-room of Gondreville's mansion. The +questions and answers of this very ordinary ballroom gossip had been +almost whispered by each of the speakers into his neighbor's ear. At +the same time, the chandeliers and the flambeaux on the chimney-shelf +shed such a flood of light on the two friends that their faces, +strongly illuminated, failed, in spite of their diplomatic discretion, +to conceal the faint expression of their feelings either from the +keen-sighted countess or the artless stranger. This espionage of +people's thoughts is perhaps to idle persons one of the pleasures they +find in society, while numbers of disappointed numskulls are bored +there without daring to own it. + + + +Fully to appreciate the interest of this conversation, it is necessary +to relate an incident which would presently serve as an invisible +bond, drawing together the actors in this little drama, who were at +present scattered through the rooms. + +At about eleven o'clock, just as the dancers were returning to their +seats, the company had observed the entrance of the handsomest woman +in Paris, the queen of fashion, the only person wanting to the +brilliant assembly. She made it a rule never to appear till the moment +when a party had reached that pitch of excited movement which does not +allow the women to preserve much longer the freshness of their faces +or of their dress. This brief hour is, as it were, the springtime of a +ball. An hour after, when pleasure falls flat and fatigue is +encroaching, everything is spoilt. Madame de Vaudremont never +committed the blunder of remaining at a party to be seen with drooping +flowers, hair out of curl, tumbled frills, and a face like every other +that sleep is courting--not always without success. She took good care +not to let her beauty be seen drowsy, as her rivals did; she was so +clever as to keep up her reputation for smartness by always leaving a +ballroom in brilliant order, as she had entered it. Women whispered to +each other with a feeling of envy that she planned and wore as many +different dresses as the parties she went to in one evening. + +On the present occasion Madame de Vaudremont was not destined to be +free to leave when she would the ballroom she had entered in triumph. +Pausing for a moment on the threshold, she shot swift but observant +glances on the women present, hastily scrutinizing their dresses to +assure herself that her own eclipsed them all. + +The illustrious beauty presented herself to the admiration of the +crowd at the same moment with one of the bravest colonels of the +Guards' Artillery and the Emperor's favorite, the Comte de Soulanges. +The transient and fortuitous association of these two had about it a +certain air of mystery. On hearing the names announced of Monsieur de +Soulanges and the Comtesse de Vaudremont, a few women sitting by the +wall rose, and men, hurrying in from the side-rooms, pressed forward +to the principal doorway. One of the jesters who are always to be +found in any large assembly said, as the Countess and her escort came +in, that "women had quite as much curiosity about seeing a man who was +faithful to his passion as men had in studying a woman who was +difficult to enthrall." + +Though the Comte de Soulanges, a young man of about two-and-thirty, +was endowed with the nervous temperament which in a man gives rise to +fine qualities, his slender build and pale complexion were not at +first sight attractive; his black eyes betrayed great vivacity, but he +was taciturn in company, and there was nothing in his appearance to +reveal the gift for oratory which subsequently distinguished him, on +the Right, in the legislative assembly under the Restoration. + +The Comtesse de Vaudremont, a tall woman, rather fat, with a skin of +dazzling whiteness, a small head that she carried well, and the +immense advantage of inspiring love by the graciousness of her manner, +was one of those beings who keep all the promise of their beauty. + +The pair, who for a few minutes were the centre of general +observation, did not for long give curiosity an opportunity of +exercising itself about them. The Colonel and the Countess seemed +perfectly to understand that accident had placed them in an awkward +position. Martial, as they came forward, had hastened to join the +group of men by the fireplace, that he might watch Madame de +Vaudremont with the jealous anxiety of the first flame of passion, +from behind the heads which formed a sort of rampart; a secret voice +seemed to warn him that the success on which he prided himself might +perhaps be precarious. But the coldly polite smile with which the +Countess thanked Monsieur de Soulanges, and her little bow of +dismissal as she sat down by Madame de Gondreville, relaxed the +muscles of his face which jealousy had made rigid. Seeing Soulanges, +however, still standing quite near the sofa on which Madame de +Vaudremont was seated, not apparently having understood the glance by +which the lady had conveyed to him that they were both playing a +ridiculous part, the volcanic Provencal again knit the black brows +that overshadowed his blue eyes, smoothed his chestnut curls to keep +himself in countenance, and without betraying the agitation which made +his heart beat, watched the faces of the Countess and of M. de +Soulanges while still chatting with his neighbors. He then took the +hand of Colonel Montcornet, who had just renewed their old +acquaintance, but he listened to him without hearing him; his mind was +elsewhere. + +Soulanges was gazing calmly at the women, sitting four ranks deep all +round the immense ballroom, admiring this dado of diamonds, rubies, +masses of gold and shining hair, of which the lustre almost outshone +the blaze of waxlights, the cutglass of the chandeliers, and the +gilding. His rival's stolid indifference put the lawyer out of +countenance. Quite incapable of controlling his secret transports of +impatience, Martial went towards Madame de Vaudremont with a bow. On +seeing the Provencal, Soulanges gave him a covert glance, and +impertinently turned away his head. Solemn silence now reigned in the +room, where curiosity was at the highest pitch. All these eager faces +wore the strangest mixed expressions; every one apprehended one of +those outbreaks which men of breeding carefully avoid. Suddenly the +Count's pale face turned as red as the scarlet facings of his coat, +and he fixed his gaze on the floor that the cause of his agitation +might not be guessed. On catching sight of the unknown lady humbly +seated by the pedestal of the candelabrum, he moved away with a +melancholy air, passing in front of the lawyer, and took refuge in one +of the cardrooms. Martial and all the company thought that Soulanges +had publicly surrendered the post, out of fear of the ridicule which +invariably attaches to a discarded lover. The lawyer proudly raised +his head and looked at the strange lady; then, as he took his seat at +his ease near Madame de Vaudremont, he listened to her so +inattentively that he did not catch these words spoken behind her fan: + +"Martial, you will oblige me this evening by not wearing that ring +that you snatched from me. I have my reasons, and will explain them to +you in a moment when we go away. You must give me your arm to go to +the Princess de Wagram's." + +"Why did you come in with the Colonel?" asked the Baron. + +"I met him in the hall," she replied. "But leave me now; everybody is +looking at us." + +Martial returned to the Colonel of Cuirassiers. Then it was that the +little blue lady had become the object of the curiosity which agitated +in such various ways the Colonel, Soulanges, Martial, and Madame de +Vaudremont. + +When the friends parted, after the challenge which closed their +conversation, the Baron flew to Madame de Vaudremont, and led her to a +place in the most brilliant quadrille. Favored by the sort of +intoxication which dancing always produces in a woman, and by the +turmoil of a ball, where men appear in all the trickery of dress, +which adds no less to their attractions than it does to those of +women, Martial thought he might yield with impunity to the charm that +attracted his gaze to the fair stranger. Though he succeeded in hiding +his first glances towards the lady in blue from the anxious activity +of the Countess' eyes, he was ere long caught in the fact; and though +he managed to excuse himself once for his absence of mind, he could +not justify the unseemly silence with which he presently heard the +most insinuating question which a woman can put to a man: + +"Do you like me very much this evening?" + +And the more dreamy he became, the more the Countess pressed and +teased him. + +While Martial was dancing, the Colonel moved from group to group, +seeking information about the unknown lady. After exhausting the +good-humor even of the most indifferent, he had resolved to take +advantage of a moment when the Comtesse de Gondreville seemed to be at +liberty, to ask her the name of the mysterious lady, when he perceived +a little space left clear between the pedestal of the candelabrum and +the two sofas, which ended in that corner. The dance had left several +of the chairs vacant, which formed rows of fortifications held by +mothers or women of middle age; and the Colonel seized the opportunity +to make his way through this palisade hung with shawls and wraps. He +began by making himself agreeable to the dowagers, and so from one to +another, and from compliment to compliment, he at last reached the +empty space next the stranger. At the risk of catching on to the +gryphons and chimaeras of the huge candelabrum, he stood there, +braving the glare and dropping of the wax candles, to Martial's +extreme annoyance. + +The Colonel, far too tactful to speak suddenly to the little blue lady +on his right, began by saying to a plain woman who was seated on the +left: + +"This is a splendid ball, madame! What luxury! What life! On my word, +every woman here is pretty! You are not dancing--because you do not +care for it, no doubt." + +This vapid conversation was solely intended to induce his right-hand +neighbor to speak; but she, silent and absent-minded, paid not the +least attention. The officer had in store a number of phrases which he +intended should lead up to: "And you, madame?"--a question from which +he hoped great things. But he was strangely surprised to see tears in +the strange lady's eyes, which seemed wholly absorbed in gazing on +Madame de Vaudremont. + +"You are married, no doubt, madame?" he asked her at length, in +hesitating tones. + +"Yes, monsieur," replied the lady. + +"And your husband is here, of course?" + +"Yes, monsieur." + +"And why, madame, do you remain in this spot? Is it to attract +attention?" + +The mournful lady smiled sadly. + +"Allow me the honor, madame, of being your partner in the next +quadrille, and I will take care not to bring you back here. I see a +vacant settee near the fire; come and take it. When so many people are +ready to ascend the throne, and Royalty is the mania of the day, I +cannot imagine that you will refuse the title of Queen of the Ball +which your beauty may claim." + +"I do not intend to dance, monsieur." + +The curt tone of the lady's replies was so discouraging that the +Colonel found himself compelled to raise the siege. Martial, who +guessed what the officer's last request had been, and the refusal he +had met with, began to smile, and stroked his chin, making the diamond +sparkle which he wore on his finger. + +"What are you laughing at?" said the Comtesse de Vaudremont. + +"At the failure of the poor Colonel, who has just put his foot in +it----" + +"I begged you to take your ring off," said the Countess, interrupting +him. + +"I did not hear you." + +"If you can hear nothing this evening, at any rate you see everything, +Monsieur le Baron," said Madame de Vaudremont, with an air of +vexation. + +"That young man is displaying a very fine diamond," the stranger +remarked to the Colonel. + +"Splendid," he replied. "The man is the Baron Martial de la +Roche-Hugon, one of my most intimate friends." + +"I have to thank you for telling me his name," she went on; "he seems +an agreeable man." + +"Yes, but he is rather fickle." + +"He seems to be on the best terms with the Comtesse de Vaudremont?" +said the lady, with an inquiring look at the Colonel. + +"On the very best." + +The unknown turned pale. + +"Hallo!" thought the soldier, "she is in love with that lucky devil +Martial." + +"I fancied that Madame de Vaudremont had long been devoted to M. de +Soulanges," said the lady, recovering a little from the suppressed +grief which had clouded the fairness of her face. + +"For a week past the Countess has been faithless," replied the +Colonel. "But you must have seen poor Soulanges when he came in; he is +till trying to disbelieve in his disaster." + +"Yes, I saw him," said the lady. Then she added, "Thank you very much, +monsieur," in a tone which signified a dismissal. + +At this moment the quadrille was coming to an end. Montcornet had only +time to withdraw, saying to himself by way of consolation, "She is +married." + +"Well, valiant Cuirassier," exclaimed the Baron, drawing the Colonel +aside into a window-bay to breathe the fresh air from the garden, "how +are you getting on?" + +"She is a married woman, my dear fellow." + +"What does that matter?" + +"Oh, deuce take it! I am a decent sort of man," replied the Colonel. +"I have no idea of paying my addresses to a woman I cannot marry. +Besides, Martial, she expressly told me that she did not intend to +dance." + +"Colonel, I will bet a hundred napoleons to your gray horse that she +will dance with me this evening." + +"Done!" said the Colonel, putting his hand in the coxcomb's. +"Meanwhile I am going to look for Soulanges; he perhaps knows the +lady, as she seems interested in him." + +"You have lost, my good fellow," cried Martial, laughing. "My eyes +have met hers, and I know what they mean. My dear friend, you owe me +no grudge for dancing with her after she has refused you?" + +"No, no. Those who laugh last, laugh longest. But I am an honest +gambler and a generous enemy, Martial, and I warn you, she is fond of +diamonds." + +With these words the friends parted; General Montcornet made his way +to the cardroom, where he saw the Comte de Soulanges sitting at a +/bouillotte/ table. Though there was no friendship between the two +soldiers, beyond the superficial comradeship arising from the perils +of war and the duties of the service, the Colonel of Cuirassiers was +painfully struck by seeing the Colonel of Artillery, whom he knew to +be a prudent man, playing at a game which might bring him to ruin. The +heaps of gold and notes piled on the fateful cards showed the frenzy +of play. A circle of silent men stood round the players at the table. +Now and then a few words were spoken--/pass, play, I stop, a thousand +Louis, taken/--but, looking at the five motionless men, it seemed as +though they talked only with their eyes. As the Colonel, alarmed by +Soulanges' pallor, went up to him, the Count was winning. +Field-Marshal the Duc d'Isemberg, Keller, and a famous banker rose from +the table completely cleaned out of considerable sums. Soulanges looked +gloomier than ever as he swept up a quantity of gold and notes; he did +not even count it; his lips curled with bitter scorn, he seemed to +defy fortune rather than be grateful for her favors. + +"Courage," said the Colonel. "Courage, Soulanges!" Then, believing he +would do him a service by dragging him from play, he added: "Come with +me. I have some good news for you, but on one condition." + +"What is that?" asked Soulanges. + +"That you will answer a question I will ask you." + +The Comte de Soulanges rose abruptly, placing his winnings with +reckless indifference in his handkerchief, which he had been twisting +with convulsive nervousness, and his expression was so savage that +none of the players took exception to his walking off with their +money. Indeed, every face seemed to dilate with relief when his morose +and crabbed countenance was no longer to be seen under the circle of +light which a shaded lamp casts on a gaming-table. + +"Those fiends of soldiers are always as thick as thieves at a fair!" +said a diplomate who had been looking on, as he took Soulanges' place. +One single pallid and fatigued face turned to the newcomer, and said +with a glance that flashed and died out like the sparkle of a diamond: +"When we say military men, we do not mean civil, Monsieur le +Ministre." + +"My dear fellow," said Montcornet to Soulanges, leading him into a +corner, "the Emperor spoke warmly in your praise this morning, and +your promotion to be field-marshal is a certainty." + +"The Master does not love the Artillery." + +"No, but he adores the nobility, and you are an aristocrat. The Master +said," added Montcornet, "that the men who had married in Paris during +the campaign were not therefore to be considered in disgrace. Well +then?" + +The Comte de Soulanges looked as if he understood nothing of this +speech. + +"And now I hope," the Colonel went on, "that you will tell me if you +know a charming little woman who is sitting under a huge +candelabrum----" + +At these words the Count's face lighted up; he violently seized the +Colonel's hand: "My dear General," said he, in a perceptibly altered +voice, "if any man but you had asked me such a question, I would have +cracked his skull with this mass of gold. Leave me, I entreat you. I +feel more like blowing out my brains this evening, I assure you, than +----I hate everything I see. And, in fact, I am going. This gaiety, +this music, these stupid faces, all laughing, are killing me!" + +"My poor friend!" replied Montcornet gently, and giving the Count's +hand a friendly pressure, "you are too vehement. What would you say if +I told you that Martial is thinking so little of Madame de Vaudremont +that he is quite smitten with that little lady?" + +"If he says a word to her," cried Soulanges, stammering with rage, "I +will thrash him as flat as his own portfolio, even if the coxcomb were +in the Emperor's lap!" + +And he sank quite overcome on an easy-chair to which Montcornet had +led him. The colonel slowly went away, for he perceived that Soulanges +was in a state of fury far too violent for the pleasantries or the +attentions of superficial friendship to soothe him. + +When Montcornet returned to the ballroom, Madame de Vaudremont was the +first person on whom his eyes fell, and he observed on her face, +usually so calm, some symptoms of ill-disguised agitation. A chair was +vacant near hers, and the Colonel seated himself. + +"I dare wager something has vexed you?" said he. + +"A mere trifle, General. I want to be gone, for I have promised to go +to a ball at the Grand Duchess of Berg's, and I must look in first at +the Princesse de Wagram's. Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon, who knows this, +is amusing himself by flirting with the dowagers." + +"That is not the whole secret of your disturbance, and I will bet a +hundred louis that you will remain here the whole evening." + +"Impertinent man!" + +"Then I have hit the truth?" + +"Well, tell me, what am I thinking of?" said the Countess, tapping the +Colonel's fingers with her fan. "I might even reward you if you guess +rightly." + +"I will not accept the challenge; I have too much the advantage of +you." + +"You are presumptuous." + +"You are afraid of seeing Martial at the feet----" + +"Of whom?" cried the Countess, affecting surprise. + +"Of that candelabrum," replied the Colonel, glancing at the fair +stranger, and then looking at the Countess with embarrassing scrutiny. + +"You have guessed it," replied the coquette, hiding her face behind +her fan, which she began to play with. "Old Madame de Lansac, who is, +you know, as malicious as an old monkey," she went on, after a pause, +"has just told me that Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon is running into +danger by flirting with that stranger, who sits here this evening like +a skeleton at a feast. I would rather see a death's head than that +face, so cruelly beautiful, and as pale as a ghost. She is my evil +genius.--Madame de Lansac," she added, after a flash and gesture of +annoyance, "who only goes to a ball to watch everything while +pretending to sleep, has made me miserably anxious. Martial shall pay +dearly for playing me such a trick. Urge him, meanwhile, since he is +your friend, not to make me so unhappy." + +"I have just been with a man who promises to blow his brains out, and +nothing less, if he speaks to that little lady. And he is a man, +madame, to keep his word. But then I know Martial; such threats are to +him an encouragement. And, besides, we have wagered----" Here the +Colonel lowered his voice. + +"Can it be true?" said the Countess. + +"On my word of honor." + +"Thank you, my dear Colonel," replied Madame de Vaudremont, with a +glance full of invitation. + +"Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?" + +"Yes; but the next quadrille. During this one I want to find out what +will come of this little intrigue, and to ascertain who the little +blue lady may be; she looks intelligent." + +The Colonel, understanding that Madame de Vaudremont wished to be +alone, retired, well content to have begun his attack so well. + + + +At most entertainments women are to be met who are there, like Madame +de Lansac, as old sailors gather on the seashore to watch younger +mariners struggling with the tempest. At this moment Madame de Lansac, +who seemed to be interested in the personages of this drama, could +easily guess the agitation which the Countess was going through. The +lady might fan herself gracefully, smile on the young men who bowed to +her, and bring into play all the arts by which a woman hides her +emotion,--the Dowager, one of the most clear-sighted and +mischief-loving duchesses bequeathed by the eighteenth century to the +nineteenth, could read her heart and mind through it all. + +The old lady seemed to detect the slightest movement that revealed the +impressions of the soul. The imperceptible frown that furrowed that +calm, pure forehead, the faintest quiver of the cheeks, the curve of +the eyebrows, the least curl of the lips, whose living coral could +conceal nothing from her,--all these were to the Duchess like the +print of a book. From the depths of her large arm-chair, completely +filled by the flow of her dress, the coquette of the past, while +talking to a diplomate who had sought her out to hear the anecdotes +she told so cleverly, was admiring herself in the younger coquette; +she felt kindly to her, seeing how bravely she disguised her annoyance +and grief of heart. Madame de Vaudremont, in fact, felt as much sorrow +as she feigned cheerfulness; she had believed that she had found in +Martial a man of talent on whose support she could count for adorning +her life with all the enchantment of power; and at this moment she +perceived her mistake, as injurious to her reputation as to her good +opinion of herself. In her, as in other women of that time, the +suddenness of their passions increased their vehemence. Souls which +love much and love often, suffer no less than those which burn +themselves out in one affection. Her liking for Martial was but of +yesterday, it is true, but the least experienced surgeon knows that +the pain caused by the amputation of a healthy limb is more acute than +the removal of a diseased one. There was a future before Madame de +Vaudremont's passion for Martial, while her previous love had been +hopeless, and poisoned by Soulanges' remorse. + +The old Duchess, who was watching for an opportunity of speaking to +the Countess, hastened to dismiss her Ambassador; for in comparison +with a lover's quarrel every interest pales, even with an old woman. +To engage battle, Madame de Lansac shot at the younger lady a sardonic +glance which made the Countess fear lest her fate was in the dowager's +hands. There are looks between woman and woman which are like the +torches brought on at the climax of a tragedy. No one who had not +known that Duchess could appreciate the terror which the expression of +her countenance inspired in the Countess. + +Madame de Lansac was tall, and her features led people to say, "That +must have been a handsome woman!" She coated her cheeks so thickly +with rouge that the wrinkles were scarcely visible; but her eyes, far +from gaining a factitious brilliancy from this strong carmine, looked +all the more dim. She wore a vast quantity of diamonds, and dressed +with sufficient taste not to make herself ridiculous. Her sharp nose +promised epigram. A well-fitted set of teeth preserved a smile of such +irony as recalled that of Voltaire. At the same time, the exquisite +politeness of her manners so effectually softened the mischievous +twist in her mind, that it was impossible to accuse her of +spitefulness. + +The old woman's eyes lighted up, and a triumphant glance, seconded by +a smile, which said, "I promised you as much!" shot across the room, +and brought a blush of hope to the pale cheeks of the young creature +languishing under the great chandelier. The alliance between Madame de +Lansac and the stranger could not escape the practised eye of the +Comtesse de Vaudremont, who scented a mystery, and was determined to +penetrate it. + +At this instant the Baron de la Roche-Hugon, after questioning all the +dowagers without success as to the blue lady's name, applied in +despair to the Comtesse de Gondreville, from whom he reached only this +unsatisfactory reply, "A lady whom the 'ancient' Duchesse de Lansac +introduced to me." + +Turning by chance towards the armchair occupied by the old lady, the +lawyer intercepted the glance of intelligence she sent to the +stranger; and although he had for some time been on bad terms with +her, he determined to speak to her. The "ancient" Duchess, seeing the +jaunty Baron prowling round her chair, smiled with sardonic irony, and +looked at Madame de Vaudremont with an expression that made Montcornet +laugh. + +"If the old witch affects to be friendly," thought the Baron, "she is +certainly going to play me some spiteful trick.--Madame," he said, +"you have, I am told, undertaken the charge of a very precious +treasure." + +"Do you take me for a dragon?" said the old lady. "But of whom are you +speaking?" she added, with a sweetness which revived Martial's hopes. + +"Of that little lady, unknown to all, whom the jealousy of all these +coquettes has imprisoned in that corner. You, no doubt, know her +family?" + +"Yes," said the Duchess. "But what concern have you with a provincial +heiress, married some time since, a woman of good birth, whom you none +of you know, you men; she goes nowhere." + +"Why does not she dance, she is such a pretty creature?--May we +conclude a treaty of peace? If you will vouchsafe to tell me all I +want to know, I promise you that a petition for the restitution of the +woods of Navarreins by the Commissioners of Crown Lands shall be +strongly urged on the Emperor." + +The younger branch of the house of Navarreins bears quarterly with the +arms of Navarreins those of Lansac, namely, azure, and argent party +per pale raguly, between six spear-heads in pale, and the old lady's +liaison with Louis XV. had earned her husband the title of duke by +royal patent. Now, as the Navarreins had not yet resettled in France, +it was sheer trickery that the young lawyer thus proposed to the old +lady by suggesting to her that she should petition for an estate +belonging to the elder branch of the family. + +"Monsieur," said the old woman with deceptive gravity, "bring the +Comtesse de Vaudremont across to me. I promise you that I will reveal +to her the mystery of the interesting unknown. You see, every man in +the room has reached as great a curiosity as your own. All eyes are +involuntarily turned towards the corner where my protegee has so +modestly placed herself; she is reaping all the homage the women +wished to deprive her of. Happy the man she chooses for her partner!" +She interrupted herself, fixing her eyes on Madame de Vaudremont with +one of those looks which plainly say, "We are talking of you."--Then +she added, "I imagine you would rather learn the stranger's name from +the lips of your handsome Countess than from mine." + +There was such marked defiance in the Duchess' attitude that Madame de +Vaudremont rose, came up to her, and took the chair Martial placed for +her; then without noticing him she said, "I can guess, madame, that +you are talking of me; but I admit my want of perspicacity; I do not +know whether it is for good or evil." + +Madame de Lansac pressed the young woman's pretty hand in her own dry +and wrinkled fingers, and answered in a low, compassionate tone, "Poor +child!" + +The women looked at each other. Madame de Vaudremont understood that +Martial was in the way, and dismissed him, saying with an imperious +expression, "Leave us." + +The Baron, ill-pleased at seeing the Countess under the spell of the +dangerous sibyl who had drawn her to her side gave one of those looks +which a man can give--potent over a blinded heart, but simply +ridiculous in the eyes of a woman who is beginning to criticise the +man who has attracted her. + +"Do you think you can play the Emperor?" said Madame de Vaudremont, +turning three-quarters of her face to fix an ironical sidelong gaze on +the lawyer. + +Martial was too much a man of the world, and had too much wit and +acumen, to risk breaking with a woman who was in favor at Court, and +whom the Emperor wished to see married. He counted, too, on the +jealousy he intended to provoke in her as the surest means of +discovering the secret of her coolness, and withdrew all the more +willingly, because at this moment a new quadrille was putting +everybody in motion. + +With an air of making room for the dancing, the Baron leaned back +against the marble slab of a console, folded his arms, and stood +absorbed in watching the two ladies talking. From time to time he +followed the glances which both frequently directed to the stranger. +Then, comparing the Countess with the new beauty, made so attractive +by a touch of mystery, the Baron fell a prey to the detestable +self-interest common to adventurous lady-killers; he hesitated +between a fortune within his grasp and the indulgence of his caprice. +The blaze of light gave such strong relief to his anxious and sullen +face, against the hangings of white silk moreen brushed by his black +hair, that he might have been compared to an evil genius. Even from a +distance more than one observer no doubt said to himself, "There is +another poor wretch who seems to be enjoying himself!" + +The Colonel, meanwhile, with one shoulder leaning lightly against the +side-post of the doorway between the ballroom and the cardroom, could +laugh undetected under his ample moustache; it amused him to look on +at the turmoil of the dance; he could see a hundred pretty heads +turning about in obedience to the figures; he could read in some +faces, as in those of the Countess and his friend Martial, the secrets +of their agitation; and then, looking round, he wondered what +connection there could be between the gloomy looks of the Comte de +Soulanges, still seated on the sofa, and the plaintive expression of +the fair unknown, on whose features the joys of hope and the anguish +of involuntary dread were alternately legible. Montcornet stood like +the king of the feast. In this moving picture he saw a complete +presentment of the world, and he laughed at it as he found himself the +object of inviting smiles from a hundred beautiful and elegant women. +A Colonel of the Imperial Guard, a position equal to that of a +Brigadier-General, was undoubtedly one of the best matches in the +army. + +It was now nearly midnight. The conversation, the gambling, the +dancing, the flirtations, interests, petty rivalries, and scheming had +all reached the pitch of ardor which makes a young man exclaim +involuntarily, "A fine ball!" + +"My sweet little angel," said Madame de Lansac to the Countess, "you +are now at an age when in my day I made many mistakes. Seeing you are +just now enduring a thousand deaths, it occurred to me that I might +give you some charitable advice. To go wrong at two-and-twenty means +spoiling your future; is it not tearing the gown you must wear? My +dear, it is not much later that we learn to go about in it without +crumpling it. Go on, sweetheart, making clever enemies, and friends +who have no sense of conduct, and you will see what a pleasant life +you will some day be leading!" + +"Oh, madame, it is very hard for a woman to be happy, do not you +think?" the Countess eagerly exclaimed. + +"My child, at your age you must learn to choose between pleasure and +happiness. You want to marry Martial, who is not fool enough to make a +good husband, nor passionate enough to remain a lover. He is in debt, +my dear; he is the man to run through your fortune; still, that would +be nothing if he could make you happy.--Do not you see how aged he is? +The man must have been ill; he is making the most of what is left him. +In three years he will be a wreck. Then he will be ambitious; perhaps +he may succeed. I do not think so.--What is he? A man of intrigue, who +may have the business faculty to perfection, and be able to gossip +agreeably; but he is too presumptuous to have any sterling merit; he +will not go far. Besides--only look at him. Is it not written on his +brow that, at this very moment, what he sees in you is not a young and +pretty woman, but the two million francs you possess? He does not love +you, my dear; he is reckoning you up as if you were an investment. If +you are bent on marrying, find an older man who has an assured +position and is half-way on his career. A widow's marriage ought not +to be a trivial love affair. Is a mouse to be caught a second time in +the same trap? A new alliance ought now to be a good speculation on +your part, and in marrying again you ought at least to have a hope of +being some day addressed as Madame la Marechale!" + +As she spoke, both women naturally fixed their eyes on Colonel +Montcornet's handsome face. + +"If you would rather play the delicate part of a flirt and not marry +again," the Duchess went on, with blunt good-nature; "well! my poor +child, you, better than any woman, will know how to raise the +storm-clouds and disperse them again. But, I beseech you, never make +it your pleasure to disturb the peace of families, to destroy unions, +and ruin the happiness of happy wives. I, my dear, have played that +perilous game. Dear heaven! for a triumph of vanity some poor virtuous +soul is murdered--for there really are virtuous women, child,--and we +may make ourselves mortally hated. I learned, a little too late, that, +as the Duc d'Albe once said, one salmon is worth a thousand frogs! A +genuine affection certainly brings a thousand times more happiness +than the transient passions we may inspire.--Well, I came here on +purpose to preach to you; yes, you are the cause of my appearance in +this house, which stinks of the lower class. Have I not just seen +actors here? Formerly, my dear, we received them in our boudoir; but +in the drawing-room--never!--Why do you look at me with so much +amazement? Listen to me. If you want to play with men, do not try to +wring the hearts of any but those whose life is not yet settled, who +have no duties to fulfil; the others do not forgive us for the errors +that have made them happy. Profit by this maxim, founded on my long +experience.--That luckless Soulanges, for instance, whose head you +have turned, whom you have intoxicated for these fifteen months past, +God knows how! Do you know at what you have struck?--At his whole +life. He has been married these two years; he is worshiped by a +charming wife, whom he loves, but neglects; she lives in tears and +embittered silence. Soulanges has had hours of remorse more terrible +than his pleasure has been sweet. And you, you artful little thing, +have deserted him.--Well, come and see your work." + +The old lady took Madame de Vaudremont's hand, and they rose. + +"There," said Madame de Lansac, and her eyes showed her the stranger, +sitting pale and tremulous under the glare of the candles, "that is my +grandniece, the Comtesse de Soulanges; to-day she yielded at last to +my persuasion, and consented to leave the sorrowful room, where the +sight of her child gives her but little consolation. You see her? You +think her charming? Then imagine, dear Beauty, what she must have been +when happiness and love shed their glory on that face now blighted." + +The Countess looked away in silence, and seemed lost in sad +reflections. + +The Duchess led her to the door into the card-room; then, after +looking round the room as if in search of some one--"And there is +Soulanges!" she said in deep tones. + +The Countess shuddered as she saw, in the least brilliantly lighted +corner, the pale, set face of Soulanges stretched in an easy-chair. +The indifference of his attitude and the rigidity of his brow betrayed +his suffering. The players passed him to and fro, without paying any +more attention to him than if he had been dead. The picture of the +wife in tears, and the dejected, morose husband, separated in the +midst of this festivity like the two halves of a tree blasted by +lightning, had perhaps a prophetic significance for the Countess. She +dreaded lest she here saw an image of the revenges the future might +have in store for her. Her heart was not yet so dried up that the +feeling and generosity were entirely excluded, and she pressed the +Duchess' hand, while thanking her by one of those smiles which have a +certain childlike grace. + +"My dear child," the old lady said in her ear, "remember henceforth +that we are just as capable of repelling a man's attentions as of +attracting them." + +"She is yours if you are not a simpleton." These words were whispered +into Colonel Montcornet's ear by Madame de Lansac, while the handsome +Countess was still absorbed in compassion at the sight of Soulanges, +for she still loved him truly enough to wish to restore him to +happiness, and was promising herself in her own mind that she would +exert the irresistible power her charms still had over him to make him +return to his wife. + +"Oh! I will talk to him!" said she to Madame de Lansac. + +"Do nothing of the kind, my dear!" cried the old lady, as she went +back to her armchair. "Choose a good husband, and shut your door to my +nephew. Believe me, my child, a wife cannot accept her husband's heart +as the gift of another woman; she is a hundred times happier in the +belief that she has reconquered it. By bringing my niece here I +believe I have given her an excellent chance of regaining her +husband's affection. All the assistance I need of you is to play the +Colonel." She pointed to the Baron's friend, and the Countess smiled. + +"Well, madame, do you at last know the name of the unknown?" asked +Martial, with an air of pique, to the Countess when he saw her alone. + +"Yes," said Madame de Vaudremont, looking him in the face. + +Her features expressed as much roguery as fun. The smile which gave +life to her lips and cheeks, the liquid brightness of her eyes, were +like the will-o'-the-wisp which leads travelers astray. Martial, who +believed that she still loved him, assumed the coquetting graces in +which a man is so ready to lull himself in the presence of the woman +he loves. He said with a fatuous air: + +"And will you be annoyed with me if I seem to attach great importance +to your telling me that name?" + +"Will you be annoyed with me," answered Madame de Vaudremont, "if a +remnant of affection prevents my telling you; and if I forbid you to +make the smallest advances to that young lady? It would be at the risk +of your life perhaps." + +"To lose your good graces, madame, would be worse than to lose my +life." + +"Martial," said the Countess severely, "she is Madame de Soulanges. +Her husband would blow your brains out--if, indeed, you have any----" + +"Ha! ha!" laughed the coxcomb. "What! the Colonel can leave the man in +peace who has robbed him of your love, and then would fight for his +wife! What a subversion of principles!--I beg of you to allow me to +dance with the little lady. You will then be able to judge how little +love that heart of ice could feel for you; for, if the Colonel +disapproves of my dancing with his wife after allowing me to----" + +"But she loves her husband." + +"A still further obstacle that I shall have the pleasure of +conquering." + +"But she is married." + +"A whimsical objection!" + +"Ah!" said the Countess, with a bitter smile, "you punish us alike for +our faults and our repentance!" + +"Do not be angry!" exclaimed Martial eagerly. "Oh, forgive me, I +beseech you. There, I will think no more of Madame de Soulanges." + +"You deserve that I should send you to her." + +"I am off then," said the Baron, laughing, "and I shall return more +devoted to you than ever. You will see that the prettiest woman in the +world cannot capture the heart that is yours." + +"That is to say, that you want to win Colonel Montcornet's horse?" + +"Ah! Traitor!" said he, threatening his friend with his finger. The +Colonel smiled and joined them; the Baron gave him the seat near the +Countess, saying to her with a sardonic accent: + +"Here, madame, is a man who boasted that he could win your good graces +in one evening." + +He went away, thinking himself clever to have piqued the Countess' +pride and done Montcornet an ill turn; but, in spite of his habitual +keenness, he had not appreciated the irony underlying Madame de +Vaudremont's speech, and did not perceive that she had come as far to +meet his friend as his friend towards her, though both were +unconscious of it. + +At that moment when the lawyer went fluttering up to the candelabrum +by which Madame de Soulanges sat, pale, timid, and apparently alive +only in her eyes, her husband came to the door of the ballroom, his +eyes flashing with anger. The old Duchess, watchful of everything, +flew to her nephew, begged him to give her his arm and find her +carriage, affecting to be mortally bored, and hoping thus to prevent a +vexatious outbreak. Before going she fired a singular glance of +intelligence at her niece, indicating the enterprising knight who was +about to address her, and this signal seemed to say, "There he is, +avenge yourself!" + +Madame de Vaudremont caught these looks of the aunt and niece; a +sudden light dawned on her mind; she was frightened lest she was the +dupe of this old woman, so cunning and so practised in intrigue. + +"That perfidious Duchess," said she to herself, "has perhaps been +amusing herself by preaching morality to me while playing me some +spiteful trick of her own." + +At this thought Madame de Vaudremont's pride was perhaps more roused +than her curiosity to disentangle the thread of this intrigue. In the +absorption of mind to which she was a prey she was no longer mistress +of herself. The Colonel, interpreting to his own advantage the +embarrassment evident in the Countess' manner and speech, became more +ardent and pressing. The old blase diplomates, amusing themselves by +watching the play of faces, had never found so many intrigues at once +to watch or guess at. The passions agitating the two couples were to +be seen with variations at every step in the crowded rooms, and +reflected with different shades in other countenances. The spectacle +of so many vivid passions, of all these lovers' quarrels, these +pleasing revenges, these cruel favors, these flaming glances, of all +this ardent life diffused around them, only made them feel their +impotence more keenly. + +At last the Baron had found a seat by Madame de Soulanges. His eyes +stole a long look at her neck, as fresh as dew and as fragrant as +field flowers. He admired close at hand the beauty which had amazed +him from afar. He could see a small, well-shod foot, and measure with +his eye a slender and graceful shape. At that time women wore their +sash tied close under the bosom, in imitation of Greek statues, a +pitiless fashion for those whose bust was faulty. As he cast furtive +glances at the Countess' figure, Martial was enchanted with its +perfection. + +"You have not danced once this evening, madame," said he in soft and +flattering tones. "Not, I should suppose, for lack of a partner?" + +"I never go to parties; I am quite unknown," replied Madame de +Soulanges coldly, not having understood the look by which her aunt had +just conveyed to her that she was to attract the Baron. + +Martial, to give himself countenance, twisted the diamond he wore on +his left hand; the rainbow fires of the gem seemed to flash a sudden +light on the young Countess' mind; she blushed and looked at the Baron +with an undefinable expression. + +"Do you like dancing?" asked the Provencal, to reopen the +conversation. + +"Yes, very much, monsieur." + +At this strange reply their eyes met. The young man, surprised by the +earnest accent, which aroused a vague hope in his heart, had suddenly +questioned the lady's eyes. + +"Then, madame, am I not overbold in offering myself to be your partner +for the next quadrille?" + +Artless confusion colored the Countess' white cheeks. + +"But, monsieur, I have already refused one partner--a military +man----" + +"Was it that tall cavalry colonel whom you see over there?" + +"Precisely so." + +"Oh! he is a friend of mine; feel no alarm. Will you grant me the +favor I dare hope for?" + +"Yes, monsieur." + +Her tone betrayed an emotion so new and so deep that the lawyer's +world-worn soul was touched. He was overcome by shyness like a +schoolboy's, lost his confidence, and his southern brain caught fire; +he tried to talk, but his phrases struck him as graceless in +comparison with Madame de Soulanges' bright and subtle replies. It was +lucky for him that the quadrille was forming. Standing by his +beautiful partner, he felt more at ease. To many men dancing is a +phase of being; they think that they can more powerfully influence the +heart of woman by displaying the graces of their bodies than by their +intellect. Martial wished, no doubt, at this moment to put forth all +his most effective seductions, to judge by the pretentiousness of his +movements and gestures. + +He led his conquest to the quadrille in which the most brilliant women +in the room made it a point of chimerical importance to dance in +preference to any other. While the orchestra played the introductory +bars to the first figure, the Baron felt it an incredible +gratification to his pride to perceive, as he reviewed the ladies +forming the lines of that formidable square, that Madame de Soulanges' +dress might challenge that even of Madame de Vaudremont, who, by a +chance not perhaps unsought, was standing with Montcornet /vis-a-vis/ +to himself and the lady in blue. All eyes were for a moment turned on +Madame de Soulanges; a flattering murmur showed that she was the +subject of every man's conversation with his partner. Looks of +admiration and envy centered on her, with so much eagerness that the +young creature, abashed by a triumph she seemed to disclaim, modestly +looked down, blushed, and was all the more charming. When she raised +her white eyelids it was to look at her ravished partner as though she +wished to transfer the glory of this admiration to him, and to say +that she cared more for his than for all the rest. She threw her +innocence into her vanity; or rather she seemed to give herself up to +the guileless admiration which is the beginning of love, with the good +faith found only in youthful hearts. As she danced, the lookers-on +might easily believe that she displayed her grace for Martial alone; +and though she was modest, and new to the trickery of the ballroom, +she knew as well as the most accomplished coquette how to raise her +eyes to his at the right moment and drop their lids with assumed +modesty. + +When the movement of a new figure, invented by a dancer named Trenis, +and named after him, brought Martial face to face with the Colonel--"I +have won your horse," said he, laughing. + +"Yes, but you have lost eighty thousand francs a year!" retorted +Montcornet, glancing at Madame de Vaudremont. + +"What do I care?" replied Martial. "Madame de Soulanges is worth +millions!" + +At the end of the quadrille more than one whisper was poured into more +than one ear. The less pretty women made moral speeches to their +partners, commenting on the budding liaison between Martial and the +Comtesse de Soulanges. The handsomest wondered at her easy surrender. +The men could not understand such luck as the Baron's, not regarding +him as particularly fascinating. A few indulgent women said it was not +fair to judge the Countess too hastily; young wives would be in a very +hapless plight if an expressive look or a few graceful dancing steps +were enough to compromise a woman. + +Martial alone knew the extent of his happiness. During the last +figure, when the ladies had to form the /moulinet/, his fingers clasped +those of the Countess, and he fancied that, through the thin perfumed +kid of her gloves, the young wife's grasp responded to his amorous +appeal. + +"Madame," said he, as the quadrille ended, "do not go back to the +odious corner where you have been burying your face and your dress +until now. Is admiration the only benefit you can obtain from the +jewels that adorn your white neck and beautifully dressed hair? Come +and take a turn through the rooms to enjoy the scene and yourself." + +Madame de Soulanges yielded to her seducer, who thought she would be +his all the more surely if he could only show her off. Side by side +they walked two or three times amid the groups who crowded the rooms. +The Comtesse de Soulanges, evidently uneasy, paused for an instant at +each door before entering, only doing so after stretching her neck to +look at all the men there. This alarm, which crowned the Baron's +satisfaction, did not seem to be removed till he said to her, "Make +yourself easy; /he/ is not here." + +They thus made their way to an immense picture gallery in a wing of +the mansion, where their eyes could feast in anticipation on the +splendid display of a collation prepared for three hundred persons. As +supper was about to begin, Martial led the Countess to an oval boudoir +looking on to the garden, where the rarest flowers and a few shrubs +made a scented bower under bright blue hangings. The murmurs of the +festivity here died away. The Countess, at first startled, refused +firmly to follow the young man; but, glancing in a mirror, she no +doubt assured herself that they could be seen, for she seated herself +on an ottoman with a fairly good grace. + +"This room is charming," said she, admiring the sky-blue hangings +looped with pearls. + +"All here is love and delight!" said the Baron, with deep emotion. + +In the mysterious light which prevailed he looked at the Countess, and +detected on her gently agitated face an expression of uneasiness, +modesty, and eagerness which enchanted him. The young lady smiled, and +this smile seemed to put an end to the struggle of feeling surging in +her heart; in the most insinuating way she took her adorer's left +hand, and drew from his finger the ring on which she had fixed her +eyes. + +"What a fine diamond!" she exclaimed in the artless tone of a young +girl betraying the incitement of a first temptation. + +Martial, troubled by the Countess' involuntary but intoxicating touch, +like a caress, as she drew off the ring, looked at her with eyes as +glittering as the gem. + +"Wear it," he said, "in memory of this hour, and for the love of----" + +She was looking at him with such rapture that he did not end the +sentence; he kissed her hand. + +"You give it me?" she said, looking much astonished. + +"I wish I had the whole world to offer you!" + +"You are not joking?" she went on, in a voice husky with too great +satisfaction. + +"Will you accept only my diamond?" + +"You will never take it back?" she insisted. + +"Never." + +She put the ring on her finger. Martial, confident of coming +happiness, was about to put his hand round her waist, but she suddenly +rose, and said in a clear voice, without any agitation: + +"I accept the diamond, monsieur, with the less scruple because it +belongs to me." + +The Baron was speechless. + +"Monsieur de Soulanges took it lately from my dressing-table, and told +me he had lost it." + +"You are mistaken, madame," said Martial, nettled. "It was given me by +Madame de Vaudremont." + +"Precisely so," she said with a smile. "My husband borrowed this ring +of me, he gave it to her, she made it a present to you; my ring has +made a little journey, that is all. This ring will perhaps tell me all +I do not know, and teach me the secret of always pleasing.--Monsieur," +she went on, "if it had not been my own, you may be sure I should not +have risked paying so dear for it; for a young woman, it is said, is +in danger with you. But, you see," and she touched a spring within the +ring, "here is M. de Soulanges' hair." + +She fled into the crowded rooms so swiftly, that it seemed useless to +try to follow her; besides, Martial, utterly confounded, was in no +mood to carry the adventure further. The Countess' laugh found an echo +in the boudoir, where the young coxcomb now perceived, between two +shrubs, the Colonel and Madame de Vaudremont, both laughing heartily. + +"Will you have my horse, to ride after your prize?" said the Colonel. + +The Baron took the banter poured upon him by Madame de Vaudremont and +Montcornet with a good grace, which secured their silence as to the +events of the evening, when his friend exchanged his charger for a +rich and pretty young wife. + + + +As the Comtesse de Soulanges drove across Paris from the Chausee +d'Antin to the Faubourg Saint-Germain, where she lived, her soul was +prey to many alarms. Before leaving the Hotel Gondreville she went +through all the rooms, but found neither her aunt nor her husband, who +had gone away without her. Frightful suspicions then tortured her +ingenuous mind. A silent witness of her husbands' torments since the +day when Madame de Vaudremont had chained him to her car, she had +confidently hoped that repentance would ere long restore her husband +to her. It was with unspeakable repugnance that she had consented to +the scheme plotted by her aunt, Madame de Lansac, and at this moment +she feared she had made a mistake. + +The evening's experience had saddened her innocent soul. Alarmed at +first by the Count's look of suffering and dejection, she had become +more so on seeing her rival's beauty, and the corruption of society +had gripped her heart. As she crossed the Pont Royal she threw away +the desecrated hair at the back of the diamond, given to her once as a +token of the purest affection. She wept as she remembered the bitter +grief to which she had so long been a victim, and shuddered more than +once as she reflected that the duty of a woman, who wishes for peace +in her home, compels her to bury sufferings so keen as hers at the +bottom of her heart, and without a complaint. + +"Alas!" thought she, "what can women do when they do not love? What is +the fount of their indulgence? I cannot believe that, as my aunt tells +me, reason is all-sufficient to maintain them in such devotion." + +She was still sighing when her man-servant let down the handsome +carriage-step down which she flew into the hall of her house. She +rushed precipitately upstairs, and when she reached her room was +startled by seeing her husband sitting by the fire. + +"How long is it, my dear, since you have gone to balls without telling +me beforehand?" he asked in a broken voice. "You must know that a +woman is always out of place without her husband. You compromised +yourself strangely by remaining in the dark corner where you had +ensconced yourself." + +"Oh, my dear, good Leon," said she in a coaxing tone, "I could not +resist the happiness of seeing you without your seeing me. My aunt +took me to this ball, and I was very happy there!" + +This speech disarmed the Count's looks of their assumed severity, for +he had been blaming himself while dreading his wife's return, no doubt +fully informed at the ball of an infidelity he had hoped to hide from +her; and, as is the way of lovers conscious of their guilt, he tried, +by being the first to find fault, to escape her just anger. Happy in +seeing her husband smile, and in finding him at this hour in a room +whither of late he had come more rarely, the Countess looked at him so +tenderly that she blushed and cast down her eyes. Her clemency +enraptured Soulanges all the more, because this scene followed on the +misery he had endured at the ball. He seized his wife's hand and +kissed it gratefully. Is not gratitude often a part of love? + +"Hortense, what is that on your finger that has hurt my lip so much?" +asked he, laughing. + +"It is my diamond which you said you had lost, and which I have found." + + + +General Montcornet did not marry Madame de Vaudremont, in spite of the +mutual understanding in which they had lived for a few minutes, for +she was one of the victims of the terrible fire which sealed the fame +of the ball given by the Austrian ambassador on the occasion of +Napoleon's marriage with the daughter of the Emperor Joseph II. + + + +JULY, 1829. + + + + +ADDENDUM + +The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + +Bonaparte, Napoleon + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Seamy Side of History + A Woman of Thirty + +Gondreville, Malin, Comte de + The Gondreville Mystery + A Start in Life + The Member for Arcis + +Keller, Francois + Cesar Birotteau + Eugenie Grandet + The Government Clerks + The Member for Arcis + +Keller, Madame Francois + The Member for Arcis + The Thirteen + +La Roche-Hugon, Martial de + The Peasantry + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + +Montcornet, Marechal, Comte de + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + The Peasantry + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + +Murat, Joachim, Prince + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Country Doctor + +Soulanges, Comte Leon de + The Peasantry + +Soulanges, Comtesse Hortense de + The Thirteen + The Peasantry + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Domestic Peace, by Honore de Balzac + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOMESTIC PEACE *** + +***** This file should be named 1411.txt or 1411.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.net/1/4/1/1411/ + +Produced by Dagny; and John Bickers + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Etext prepared by Dagny, dagnyj@hotmail.com +and John Bickers, jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz + + + + + +DOMESTIC PEACE + +BY + +HONORE DE BALZAC + + + +Translated By +Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell + + + +Dedicated to my dear niece Valentine Surville. + + + +The incident recorded in this sketch took place towards the end of the +month of November, 1809, the moment when Napoleon's fugitive empire +attained the apogee of its splendor. The trumpet-blasts of Wagram were +still sounding an echo in the heart of the Austrian monarchy. Peace +was being signed between France and the Coalition. Kings and princes +came to perform their orbits, like stars, round Napoleon, who gave +himself the pleasure of dragging all Europe in his train--a +magnificent experiment in the power he afterwards displayed at +Dresden. Never, as contemporaries tell us, did Paris see +entertainments more superb than those which preceded and followed the +sovereign's marriage with an Austrian archduchess. Never, in the most +splendid days of the Monarchy, had so many crowned heads thronged the +shores of the Seine, never had the French aristocracy been so rich or +so splendid. The diamonds lavishly scattered over the women's dresses, +and the gold and silver embroidery on the uniforms contrasted so +strongly with the penury of the Republic, that the wealth of the globe +seemed to be rolling through the drawing-rooms of Paris. Intoxication +seemed to have turned the brains of this Empire of a day. All the +military, not excepting their chief, reveled like parvenus in the +treasure conquered for them by a million men with worsted epaulettes, +whose demands were satisfied by a few yards of red ribbon. + +At this time most women affected that lightness of conduct and +facility of morals which distinguished the reign of Louis XV. Whether +it were in imitation of the tone of the fallen monarchy, or because +certain members of the Imperial family had set the example--as certain +malcontents of the Faubourg Saint-Germain chose to say--it is certain +that men and women alike flung themselves into a life of pleasure with +an intrepidity which seemed to forbode the end of the world. But there +was at that time another cause for such license. The infatuation of +women for the military became a frenzy, and was too consonant to the +Emperor's views for him to try to check it. The frequent calls to +arms, which gave every treaty concluded between Napoleon and the rest +of Europe the character of an armistice, left every passion open to a +termination as sudden as the decisions of the Commander-in-chief of +all these busbys, pelisses, and aiguillettes, which so fascinated the +fair sex. Hearts were as nomadic as the regiments. Between the first +and fifth bulletins from the Grand armee a woman might be in +succession mistress, wife, mother, and widow. + +Was it the prospect of early widowhood, the hope of a jointure, or +that of bearing a name promised to history, which made the soldiers so +attractive? Were women drawn to them by the certainty that the secret +of their passions would be buried on the field of battle? or may we +find the reason of this gentle fanaticism in the noble charm that +courage has for a woman? Perhaps all these reasons, which the future +historian of the manners of the Empire will no doubt amuse himself by +weighing, counted for something in their facile readiness to abandon +themselves to love intrigues. Be that as it may, it must here be +confessed that at that time laurels hid many errors, women showed an +ardent preference for the brave adventurers, whom they regarded as the +true fount of honor, wealth, or pleasure; and in the eyes of young +girls, an epaulette--the hieroglyphic of a future--signified happiness +and liberty. + +One feature, and a characteristic one, of this unique period in our +history was an unbridled mania for everything glittering. Never were +fireworks so much in vogue, never were diamonds so highly prized. The +men, as greedy as the women of these translucent pebbles, displayed +them no less lavishly. Possibly the necessity for carrying plunder in +the most portable form made gems the fashion in the army. A man was +not ridiculous then, as he would be now, if his shirt-frill or his +fingers blazed with large diamonds. Murat, an Oriental by nature, set +the example of preposterous luxury to modern soldiers. + +The Comte de Gondreville, formerly known as Citizen Malin, whose +elevation had made him famous, having become a Lucullus of the +Conservative Senate, which "conserved" nothing, had postponed an +entertainment in honor of the peace only that he might the better pay +his court to Napoleon by his efforts to eclipse those flatterers who +had been before-hand with him. The ambassadors from all the Powers +friendly with France, with an eye to favors to come, the most +important personages of the Empire, and even a few princes, were at +this hour assembled in the wealthy senator's drawing-rooms. Dancing +flagged; every one was watching for the Emperor, whose presence the +Count had promised his guests. And Napoleon would have kept his word +but for the scene which had broken out that very evening between him +and Josephine--the scene which portended the impending divorce of the +august pair. The report of this incident, at the time kept very +secret, but recorded by history, did not reach the ears of the +courtiers, and had no effect on the gaiety of Comte de Gondreville's +party beyond keeping Napoleon away. + +The prettiest women in Paris, eager to be at the Count's on the +strength of mere hearsay, at this moment were a besieging force of +luxury, coquettishness, elegance, and beauty. The financial world, +proud of its riches, challenged the splendor of the generals and high +officials of the Empire, so recently gorged with orders, titles, and +honors. These grand balls were always an opportunity seized upon by +wealthy families for introducing their heiresses to Napoleon's +Praetorian Guard, in the foolish hope of exchanging their splendid +fortunes for uncertain favors. The women who believed themselves +strong enough in their beauty alone came to test their power. There, +as elsewhere, amusement was but a blind. Calm and smiling faces and +placid brows covered sordid interests, expressions of friendship were +a lie, and more than one man was less distrustful of his enemies than +of his friends. + +These remarks are necessary to explain the incidents of the little +imbroglio which is the subject of this study, and the picture, +softened as it is, of the tone then dominant in Paris drawing-rooms. + +"Turn your eyes a little towards the pedestal supporting that +candelabrum--do you see a young lady with her hair drawn back a la +Chinoise!--There, in the corner to the left; she has bluebells in the +knot of chestnut curls which fall in clusters on her head. Do not you +see her? She is so pale you might fancy she was ill, delicate-looking, +and very small; there--now she is turning her head this way; her +almond-shaped blue eyes, so delightfully soft, look as if they were +made expressly for tears. Look, look! She is bending forward to see +Madame de Vaudremont below the crowd of heads in constant motion; the +high head-dresses prevent her having a clear view." + +"I see her now, my dear fellow. You had only to say that she had the +whitest skin of all the women here; I should have known whom you +meant. I had noticed her before; she has the loveliest complexion I +ever admired. From hence I defy you to see against her throat the +pearls between the sapphires of her necklace. But she is a prude or a +coquette, for the tucker of her bodice scarcely lets one suspect the +beauty of her bust. What shoulders! what lily-whiteness!" + +"Who is she?" asked the first speaker. + +"Ah! that I do not know." + +"Aristocrat!--Do you want to keep them all to yourself, Montcornet?" + +"You of all men to banter me!" replied Montcornet, with a smile. "Do +you think you have a right to insult a poor general like me because, +being a happy rival of Soulanges, you cannot even turn on your heel +without alarming Madame de Vaudremont? Or is it because I came only a +month ago into the Promised Land? How insolent you can be, you men in +office, who sit glued to your chairs while we are dodging shot and +shell! Come, Monsieur le Maitre des Requetes, allow us to glean in the +field of which you can only have precarious possession from the moment +when we evacuate it. The deuce is in it! We have a right to live! My +good friend, if you knew the German women, you would, I believe, do me +a good turn with the Parisian you love best." + +"Well, General, since you have vouchsafed to turn your attention to +that lady, whom I never saw till now, have the charity to tell me if +you have seen her dance." + +"Why, my dear Martial, where have you dropped from? If you are ever +sent with an embassy, I have small hopes of your success. Do not you +see a triple rank of the most undaunted coquettes of Paris between her +and the swarm of dancing men that buzz under the chandelier? And was +it not only by the help of your eyeglass that you were able to +discover her at all in the corner by that pillar, where she seems +buried in the gloom, in spite of the candles blazing above her head? +Between her and us there is such a sparkle of diamonds and glances, so +many floating plumes, such a flutter of lace, of flowers and curls, +that it would be a real miracle if any dancer could detect her among +those stars. Why, Martial, how is it that you have not understood her +to be the wife of some sous-prefet from Lippe or Dyle, who has come to +try to get her husband promoted?" + +"Oh, he will be!" exclaimed the Master of Appeals quickly. + +"I doubt it," replied the Colonel of Cuirassiers, laughing. "She seems +as raw in intrigue as you are in diplomacy. I dare bet, Martial, that +you do not know how she got into that place." + +The lawyer looked at the Colonel of Cuirassiers with an expression as +much of contempt as of curiosity. + +"Well," proceeded Montcornet, "she arrived, I have no doubt, +punctually at nine, the first of the company perhaps, and probably she +greatly embarrassed the Comtesse de Gondreville, who cannot put two +ideas together. Repulsed by the mistress of the house, routed from +chair to chair by each newcomer, and driven into the darkness of this +little corner, she allowed herself to be walled in, the victim of the +jealousy of the other ladies, who would gladly have buried that +dangerous beauty. She had, of course, no friend to encourage her to +maintain the place she first held in the front rank; then each of +those treacherous fair ones would have enjoined on the men of her +circle on no account to take out our poor friend, under pain of the +severest punishment. That, my dear fellow, is the way in which those +sweet faces, in appearance so tender and so artless, would have formed +a coalition against the stranger, and that without a word beyond the +question, 'Tell me, dear, do you know that little woman in blue?'-- +Look here, Martial, if you care to run the gauntlet of more flattering +glances and inviting questions than you will ever again meet in the +whole of your life, just try to get through the triple rampart which +defends that Queen of Dyle, or Lippe, or Charente. You will see +whether the dullest woman of them all will not be equal to inventing +some wile that would hinder the most determined man from bringing the +plaintive stranger to the light. Does it not strike you that she looks +like an elegy?" + +"Do you think so, Montcornet? Then she must be a married woman?" + +"Why not a widow?" + +"She would be less passive," said the lawyer, laughing. + +"She is perhaps the widow of a man who is gambling," replied the +handsome Colonel. + +"To be sure; since the peace there are so many widows of that class!" +said Martial. "But my dear Montcornet, we are a couple of simpletons. +That face is still too ingenuous, there is too much youth and +freshness on the brow and temples for her to be married. What splendid +flesh-tints! Nothing has sunk in the modeling of the nose. Lips, chin, +everything in her face is as fresh as a white rosebud, though the +expression is veiled, as it were, by the clouds of sadness. Who can it +be that makes that young creature weep?" + +"Women cry for so little," said the Colonel. + +"I do not know," replied Martial; "but she does not cry because she is +left there without a partner; her grief is not of to-day. It is +evident that she has beautified herself for this evening with +intention. I would wager that she is in love already." + +"Bah! She is perhaps the daughter of some German princeling; no one +talks to her," said Montcornet. + +"Dear! how unhappy a poor child may be!" Martial went on. "Can there +be anything more graceful and refined than our little stranger? Well, +not one of those furies who stand round her, and who believe that they +can feel, will say a word to her. If she would but speak, we should +see if she has fine teeth. + +"Bless me, you boil over like milk at the least increase of +temperature!" cried the Colonel, a little nettled at so soon finding a +rival in his friend. + +"What!" exclaimed the lawyer, without heeding the Colonel's question. +"Can nobody here tell us the name of this exotic flower?" + +"Some lady companion!" said Montcornet. + +"What next? A companion! wearing sapphires fit for a queen, and a +dress of Malines lace? Tell that to the marines, General. You, too, +would not shine in diplomacy if, in the course of your conjectures, +you jump in a breath from a German princess to a lady companion." + +Montcornet stopped a man by taking his arm--a fat little man, whose +iron-gray hair and clever eyes were to be seen at the lintel of every +doorway, and who mingled unceremoniously with the various groups which +welcomed him respectfully. + +"Gondreville, my friend," said Montcornet, "who is that quite charming +little woman sitting out there under that huge candelabrum?" + +"The candelabrum? Ravrio's work; Isabey made the design." + +"Oh, I recognized your lavishness and taste; but the lady?" + +"Ah! I do not know. Some friend of my wife's, no doubt." + +"Or your mistress, you old rascal." + +"No, on my honor. The Comtesse de Gondreville is the only person +capable of inviting people whom no one knows." + +In spite of this very acrimonious comment, the fat little man's lips +did not lose the smile which the Colonel's suggestion had brought to +them. Montcornet returned to the lawyer, who had rejoined a +neighboring group, intent on asking, but in vain, for information as +to the fair unknown. He grasped Martial's arm, and said in his ear: + +"My dear Martial, mind what you are about. Madame de Vaudremont has +been watching you for some minutes with ominous attentiveness; she is +a woman who can guess by the mere movement of your lips what you say +to me; our eyes have already told her too much; she has perceived and +followed their direction, and I suspect that at this moment she is +thinking even more than we are of the little blue lady." + +"That is too old a trick in warfare, my dear Montcornet! However, what +do I care? Like the Emperor, when I have made a conquest, I keep it." + +"Martial, your fatuity cries out for a lesson. What! you, a civilian, +and so lucky as to be the husband-designate of Madame de Vaudremont, a +widow of two-and-twenty, burdened with four thousand napoleons a year +--a woman who slips such a diamond as this on your finger," he added, +taking the lawyer's left hand, which the young man complacently +allowed; "and, to crown all, you affect the Lovelace, just as if you +were a colonel and obliged to keep up the reputation of the military +in home quarters! Fie, fie! Only think of all you may lose." + +"At any rate, I shall not lose my liberty," replied Martial, with a +forced laugh. + +He cast a passionate glance at Madame de Vaudremont, who responded +only by a smile of some uneasiness, for she had seen the Colonel +examining the lawyer's ring. + +"Listen to me, Martial. If you flutter round my young stranger, I +shall set to work to win Madame de Vaudremont." + +"You have my full permission, my dear Cuirassier, but you will not +gain this much," and the young Maitre des Requetes put his polished +thumb-nail under an upper tooth with a little mocking click. + +"Remember that I am unmarried," said the Colonel; "that my sword is my +whole fortune; and that such a challenge is setting Tantalus down to a +banquet which he will devour." + +"Prrr." + +This defiant roll of consonants was the only reply to the Colonel's +declaration, as Martial looked him from head to foot before turning +away. + +The fashion of the time required men to wear at a ball white +kerseymere breeches and silk stockings. This pretty costume showed to +great advantage the perfection of Montcornet's fine shape. He was +five-and-thirty, and attracted attention by his stalwart height, +insisted on for the Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard whose handsome +uniform enhanced the dignity of his figure, still youthful in spite of +the stoutness occasioned by living on horseback. A black moustache +emphasized the frank expression of a thoroughly soldierly countenance, +with a broad, high forehead, an aquiline nose, and bright red lips. +Montcornet's manner, stamped with a certain superiority due to the +habit of command, might please a woman sensible enough not to aim at +making a slave of her husband. The Colonel smiled as he looked at the +lawyer, one of his favorite college friends, whose small figure made +it necessary for Montcornet to look down a little as he answered his +raillery with a friendly glance. + +Baron Martial de la Roche-Hugon was a young Provencal patronized by +Napoleon; his fate might probably be some splendid embassy. He had won +the Emperor by his Italian suppleness and a genius for intrigue, a +drawing-room eloquence, and a knowledge of manners, which are so good +a substitute for the higher qualities of a sterling man. Through young +and eager, his face had already acquired the rigid brilliancy of +tinned iron, one of the indispensable characteristics of diplomatists, +which allows them to conceal their emotions and disguise their +feelings, unless, indeed, this impassibility indicates an absence of +all emotion and the death of every feeling. The heart of a diplomate +may be regarded as an insoluble problem, for the three most +illustrious ambassadors of the time have been distinguished by +perdurable hatreds and most romantic attachments. + +Martial, however, was one of those men who are capable of reckoning on +the future in the midst of their intensest enjoyment; he had already +learned to judge the world, and hid his ambition under the fatuity of +a lady-killer, cloaking his talent under the commonplace of mediocrity +as soon as he observed the rapid advancement of those men who gave the +master little umbrage. + +The two friends now had to part with a cordial grasp of hands. The +introductory tune, warning the ladies to form in squares for a fresh +quadrille, cleared the men away from the space they had filled while +talking in the middle of the large room. This hurried dialogue had +taken place during the usual interval between two dances, in front of +the fireplace of the great drawing-room of Gondreville's mansion. The +questions and answers of this very ordinary ballroom gossip had been +almost whispered by each of the speakers into his neighbor's ear. At +the same time, the chandeliers and the flambeaux on the chimney-shelf +shed such a flood of light on the two friends that their faces, +strongly illuminated, failed, in spite of their diplomatic discretion, +to conceal the faint expression of their feelings either from the +keen-sighted countess or the artless stranger. This espionage of +people's thoughts is perhaps to idle persons one of the pleasures they +find in society, while numbers of disappointed numskulls are bored +there without daring to own it. + + + +Fully to appreciate the interest of this conversation, it is necessary +to relate an incident which would presently serve as an invisible +bond, drawing together the actors in this little drama, who were at +present scattered through the rooms. + +At about eleven o'clock, just as the dancers were returning to their +seats, the company had observed the entrance of the handsomest woman +in Paris, the queen of fashion, the only person wanting to the +brilliant assembly. She made it a rule never to appear till the moment +when a party had reached that pitch of excited movement which does not +allow the women to preserve much longer the freshness of their faces +or of their dress. This brief hour is, as it were, the springtime of a +ball. An hour after, when pleasure falls flat and fatigue is +encroaching, everything is spoilt. Madame de Vaudremont never +committed the blunder of remaining at a party to be seen with drooping +flowers, hair out of curl, tumbled frills, and a face like every other +that sleep is courting--not always without success. She took good care +not to let her beauty be seen drowsy, as her rivals did; she was so +clever as to keep up her reputation for smartness by always leaving a +ballroom in brilliant order, as she had entered it. Women whispered to +each other with a feeling of envy that she planned and wore as many +different dresses as the parties she went to in one evening. + +On the present occasion Madame de Vaudremont was not destined to be +free to leave when she would the ballroom she had entered in triumph. +Pausing for a moment on the threshold, she shot swift but observant +glances on the women present, hastily scrutinizing their dresses to +assure herself that her own eclipsed them all. + +The illustrious beauty presented herself to the admiration of the +crowd at the same moment with one of the bravest colonels of the +Guards' Artillery and the Emperor's favorite, the Comte de Soulanges. +The transient and fortuitous association of these two had about it a +certain air of mystery. On hearing the names announced of Monsieur de +Soulanges and the Comtesse de Vaudremont, a few women sitting by the +wall rose, and men, hurrying in from the side-rooms, pressed forward +to the principal doorway. One of the jesters who are always to be +found in any large assembly said, as the Countess and her escort came +in, that "women had quite as much curiosity about seeing a man who was +faithful to his passion as men had in studying a woman who was +difficult to enthrall." + +Though the Comte de Soulanges, a young man of about two-and-thirty, +was endowed with the nervous temperament which in a man gives rise to +fine qualities, his slender build and pale complexion were not at +first sight attractive; his black eyes betrayed great vivacity, but he +was taciturn in company, and there was nothing in his appearance to +reveal the gift for oratory which subsequently distinguished him, on +the Right, in the legislative assembly under the Restoration. + +The Comtesse de Vaudremont, a tall woman, rather fat, with a skin of +dazzling whiteness, a small head that she carried well, and the +immense advantage of inspiring love by the graciousness of her manner, +was one of those beings who keep all the promise of their beauty. + +The pair, who for a few minutes were the centre of general +observation, did not for long give curiosity an opportunity of +exercising itself about them. The Colonel and the Countess seemed +perfectly to understand that accident had placed them in an awkward +position. Martial, as they came forward, had hastened to join the +group of men by the fireplace, that he might watch Madame de +Vaudremont with the jealous anxiety of the first flame of passion, +from behind the heads which formed a sort of rampart; a secret voice +seemed to warn him that the success on which he prided himself might +perhaps be precarious. But the coldly polite smile with which the +Countess thanked Monsieur de Soulanges, and her little bow of +dismissal as she sat down by Madame de Gondreville, relaxed the +muscles of his face which jealousy had made rigid. Seeing Soulanges, +however, still standing quite near the sofa on which Madame de +Vaudremont was seated, not apparently having understood the glance by +which the lady had conveyed to him that they were both playing a +ridiculous part, the volcanic Provencal again knit the black brows +that overshadowed his blue eyes, smoothed his chestnut curls to keep +himself in countenance, and without betraying the agitation which made +his heart beat, watched the faces of the Countess and of M. de +Soulanges while still chatting with his neighbors. He then took the +hand of Colonel Montcornet, who had just renewed their old +acquaintance, but he listened to him without hearing him; his mind was +elsewhere. + +Soulanges was gazing calmly at the women, sitting four ranks deep all +round the immense ballroom, admiring this dado of diamonds, rubies, +masses of gold and shining hair, of which the lustre almost outshone +the blaze of waxlights, the cutglass of the chandeliers, and the +gilding. His rival's stolid indifference put the lawyer out of +countenance. Quite incapable of controlling his secret transports of +impatience, Martial went towards Madame de Vaudremont with a bow. On +seeing the Provencal, Soulanges gave him a covert glance, and +impertinently turned away his head. Solemn silence now reigned in the +room, where curiosity was at the highest pitch. All these eager faces +wore the strangest mixed expressions; every one apprehended one of +those outbreaks which men of breeding carefully avoid. Suddenly the +Count's pale face turned as red as the scarlet facings of his coat, +and he fixed his gaze on the floor that the cause of his agitation +might not be guessed. On catching sight of the unknown lady humbly +seated by the pedestal of the candelabrum, he moved away with a +melancholy air, passing in front of the lawyer, and took refuge in one +of the cardrooms. Martial and all the company thought that Soulanges +had publicly surrendered the post, out of fear of the ridicule which +invariably attaches to a discarded lover. The lawyer proudly raised +his head and looked at the strange lady; then, as he took his seat at +his ease near Madame de Vaudremont, he listened to her so +inattentively that he did not catch these words spoken behind her fan: + +"Martial, you will oblige me this evening by not wearing that ring +that you snatched from me. I have my reasons, and will explain them to +you in a moment when we go away. You must give me your arm to go to +the Princess de Wagram's." + +"Why did you come in with the Colonel?" asked the Baron. + +"I met him in the hall," she replied. "But leave me now; everybody is +looking at us." + +Martial returned to the Colonel of Cuirassiers. Then it was that the +little blue lady had become the object of the curiosity which agitated +in such various ways the Colonel, Soulanges, Martial, and Madame de +Vaudremont. + +When the friends parted, after the challenge which closed their +conversation, the Baron flew to Madame de Vaudremont, and led her to a +place in the most brilliant quadrille. Favored by the sort of +intoxication which dancing always produces in a woman, and by the +turmoil of a ball, where men appear in all the trickery of dress, +which adds no less to their attractions than it does to those of +women, Martial thought he might yield with impunity to the charm that +attracted his gaze to the fair stranger. Though he succeeded in hiding +his first glances towards the lady in blue from the anxious activity +of the Countess' eyes, he was ere long caught in the fact; and though +he managed to excuse himself once for his absence of mind, he could +not justify the unseemly silence with which he presently heard the +most insinuating question which a woman can put to a man: + +"Do you like me very much this evening?" + +And the more dreamy he became, the more the Countess pressed and +teased him. + +While Martial was dancing, the Colonel moved from group to group, +seeking information about the unknown lady. After exhausting the good- +humor even of the most indifferent, he had resolved to take advantage +of a moment when the Comtesse de Gondreville seemed to be at liberty, +to ask her the name of the mysterious lady, when he perceived a little +space left clear between the pedestal of the candelabrum and the two +sofas, which ended in that corner. The dance had left several of the +chairs vacant, which formed rows of fortifications held by mothers or +women of middle age; and the Colonel seized the opportunity to make +his way through this palisade hung with shawls and wraps. He began by +making himself agreeable to the dowagers, and so from one to another, +and from compliment to compliment, he at last reached the empty space +next the stranger. At the risk of catching on to the gryphons and +chimaeras of the huge candelabrum, he stood there, braving the glare +and dropping of the wax candles, to Martial's extreme annoyance. + +The Colonel, far too tactful to speak suddenly to the little blue lady +on his right, began by saying to a plain woman who was seated on the +left: + +"This is a splendid ball, madame! What luxury! What life! On my word, +every woman here is pretty! You are not dancing--because you do not +care for it, no doubt." + +This vapid conversation was solely intended to induce his right-hand +neighbor to speak; but she, silent and absent-minded, paid not the +least attention. The officer had in store a number of phrases which he +intended should lead up to: "And you, madame?"--a question from which +he hoped great things. But he was strangely surprised to see tears in +the strange lady's eyes, which seemed wholly absorbed in gazing on +Madame de Vaudremont. + +"You are married, no doubt, madame?" he asked her at length, in +hesitating tones. + +"Yes, monsieur," replied the lady. + +"And your husband is here, of course?" + +"Yes, monsieur." + +"And why, madame, do you remain in this spot? Is it to attract +attention?" + +The mournful lady smiled sadly. + +"Allow me the honor, madame, of being your partner in the next +quadrille, and I will take care not to bring you back here. I see a +vacant settee near the fire; come and take it. When so many people are +ready to ascend the throne, and Royalty is the mania of the day, I +cannot imagine that you will refuse the title of Queen of the Ball +which your beauty may claim." + +"I do not intend to dance, monsieur." + +The curt tone of the lady's replies was so discouraging that the +Colonel found himself compelled to raise the siege. Martial, who +guessed what the officer's last request had been, and the refusal he +had met with, began to smile, and stroked his chin, making the diamond +sparkle which he wore on his finger. + +"What are you laughing at?" said the Comtesse de Vaudremont. + +"At the failure of the poor Colonel, who has just put his foot in +it----" + +"I begged you to take your ring off," said the Countess, interrupting +him. + +"I did not hear you." + +"If you can hear nothing this evening, at any rate you see everything, +Monsieur le Baron," said Madame de Vaudremont, with an air of +vexation. + +"That young man is displaying a very fine diamond," the stranger +remarked to the Colonel. + +"Splendid," he replied. "The man is the Baron Martial de la Roche- +Hugon, one of my most intimate friends." + +"I have to thank you for telling me his name," she went on; "he seems +an agreeable man." + +"Yes, but he is rather fickle." + +"He seems to be on the best terms with the Comtesse de Vaudremont?" +said the lady, with an inquiring look at the Colonel. + +"On the very best." + +The unknown turned pale. + +"Hallo!" thought the soldier, "she is in love with that lucky devil +Martial." + +"I fancied that Madame de Vaudremont had long been devoted to M. de +Soulanges," said the lady, recovering a little from the suppressed +grief which had clouded the fairness of her face. + +"For a week past the Countess has been faithless," replied the +Colonel. "But you must have seen poor Soulanges when he came in; he is +till trying to disbelieve in his disaster." + +"Yes, I saw him," said the lady. Then she added, "Thank you very much, +monsieur," in a tone which signified a dismissal. + +At this moment the quadrille was coming to an end. Montcornet had only +time to withdraw, saying to himself by way of consolation, "She is +married." + +"Well, valiant Cuirassier," exclaimed the Baron, drawing the Colonel +aside into a window-bay to breathe the fresh air from the garden, "how +are you getting on?" + +"She is a married woman, my dear fellow." + +"What does that matter?" + +"Oh, deuce take it! I am a decent sort of man," replied the Colonel. +"I have no idea of paying my addresses to a woman I cannot marry. +Besides, Martial, she expressly told me that she did not intend to +dance." + +"Colonel, I will bet a hundred napoleons to your gray horse that she +will dance with me this evening." + +"Done!" said the Colonel, putting his hand in the coxcomb's. +"Meanwhile I am going to look for Soulanges; he perhaps knows the +lady, as she seems interested in him." + +"You have lost, my good fellow," cried Martial, laughing. "My eyes +have met hers, and I know what they mean. My dear friend, you owe me +no grudge for dancing with her after she has refused you?" + +"No, no. Those who laugh last, laugh longest. But I am an honest +gambler and a generous enemy, Martial, and I warn you, she is fond of +diamonds." + +With these words the friends parted; General Montcornet made his way +to the cardroom, where he saw the Comte de Soulanges sitting at a +bouillotte table. Though there was no friendship between the two +soldiers, beyond the superficial comradeship arising from the perils +of war and the duties of the service, the Colonel of Cuirassiers was +painfully struck by seeing the Colonel of Artillery, whom he knew to +be a prudent man, playing at a game which might bring him to ruin. The +heaps of gold and notes piled on the fateful cards showed the frenzy +of play. A circle of silent men stood round the players at the table. +Now and then a few words were spoken--PASS, PLAY, I STOP, A THOUSAND +LOUIS, TAKEN--but, looking at the five motionless men, it seemed as +though they talked only with their eyes. As the Colonel, alarmed by +Soulanges' pallor, went up to him, the Count was winning. Field- +Marshal the Duc d'Isemberg, Keller, and a famous banker rose from the +table completely cleaned out of considerable sums. Soulanges looked +gloomier than ever as he swept up a quantity of gold and notes; he did +not even count it; his lips curled with bitter scorn, he seemed to +defy fortune rather than be grateful for her favors. + +"Courage," said the Colonel. "Courage, Soulanges!" Then, believing he +would do him a service by dragging him from play, he added: "Come with +me. I have some good news for you, but on one condition." + +"What is that?" asked Soulanges. + +"That you will answer a question I will ask you." + +The Comte de Soulanges rose abruptly, placing his winnings with +reckless indifference in his handkerchief, which he had been twisting +with convulsive nervousness, and his expression was so savage that +none of the players took exception to his walking off with their +money. Indeed, every face seemed to dilate with relief when his morose +and crabbed countenance was no longer to be seen under the circle of +light which a shaded lamp casts on a gaming-table. + +"Those fiends of soldiers are always as thick as thieves at a fair!" +said a diplomate who had been looking on, as he took Soulanges' place. +One single pallid and fatigued face turned to the newcomer, and said +with a glance that flashed and died out like the sparkle of a diamond: +"When we say military men, we do not mean civil, Monsieur le +Ministre." + +"My dear fellow," said Montcornet to Soulanges, leading him into a +corner, "the Emperor spoke warmly in your praise this morning, and +your promotion to be field-marshal is a certainty." + +"The Master does not love the Artillery." + +"No, but he adores the nobility, and you are an aristocrat. The Master +said," added Montcornet, "that the men who had married in Paris during +the campaign were not therefore to be considered in disgrace. Well +then?" + +The Comte de Soulanges looked as if he understood nothing of this +speech. + +"And now I hope," the Colonel went on, "that you will tell me if you +know a charming little woman who is sitting under a huge +candelabrum----" + +At these words the Count's face lighted up; he violently seized the +Colonel's hand: "My dear General," said he, in a perceptibly altered +voice, "if any man but you had asked me such a question, I would have +cracked his skull with this mass of gold. Leave me, I entreat you. I +feel more like blowing out my brains this evening, I assure you, than +----I hate everything I see. And, in fact, I am going. This gaiety, +this music, these stupid faces, all laughing, are killing me!" + +"My poor friend!" replied Montcornet gently, and giving the Count's +hand a friendly pressure, "you are too vehement. What would you say if +I told you that Martial is thinking so little of Madame de Vaudremont +that he is quite smitten with that little lady?" + +"If he says a word to her," cried Soulanges, stammering with rage, "I +will thrash him as flat as his own portfolio, even if the coxcomb were +in the Emperor's lap!" + +And he sank quite overcome on an easy-chair to which Montcornet had +led him. The colonel slowly went away, for he perceived that Soulanges +was in a state of fury far too violent for the pleasantries or the +attentions of superficial friendship to soothe him. + +When Montcornet returned to the ballroom, Madame de Vaudremont was the +first person on whom his eyes fell, and he observed on her face, +usually so calm, some symptoms of ill-disguised agitation. A chair was +vacant near hers, and the Colonel seated himself. + +"I dare wager something has vexed you?" said he. + +"A mere trifle, General. I want to be gone, for I have promised to go +to a ball at the Grand Duchess of Berg's, and I must look in first at +the Princesse de Wagram's. Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon, who knows this, +is amusing himself by flirting with the dowagers." + +"That is not the whole secret of your disturbance, and I will bet a +hundred louis that you will remain here the whole evening." + +"Impertinent man!" + +"Then I have hit the truth?" + +"Well, tell me, what am I thinking of?" said the Countess, tapping the +Colonel's fingers with her fan. "I might even reward you if you guess +rightly." + +"I will not accept the challenge; I have too much the advantage of +you." + +"You are presumptuous." + +"You are afraid of seeing Martial at the feet----" + +"Of whom?" cried the Countess, affecting surprise. + +"Of that candelabrum," replied the Colonel, glancing at the fair +stranger, and then looking at the Countess with embarrassing scrutiny. + +"You have guessed it," replied the coquette, hiding her face behind +her fan, which she began to play with. "Old Madame de Lansac, who is, +you know, as malicious as an old monkey," she went on, after a pause, +"has just told me that Monsieur de la Roche-Hugon is running into +danger by flirting with that stranger, who sits here this evening like +a skeleton at a feast. I would rather see a death's head than that +face, so cruelly beautiful, and as pale as a ghost. She is my evil +genius.--Madame de Lansac," she added, after a flash and gesture of +annoyance, "who only goes to a ball to watch everything while +pretending to sleep, has made me miserably anxious. Martial shall pay +dearly for playing me such a trick. Urge him, meanwhile, since he is +your friend, not to make me so unhappy." + +"I have just been with a man who promises to blow his brains out, and +nothing less, if he speaks to that little lady. And he is a man, +madame, to keep his word. But then I know Martial; such threats are to +him an encouragement. And, besides, we have wagered----" Here the +Colonel lowered his voice. + +"Can it be true?" said the Countess. + +"On my word of honor." + +"Thank you, my dear Colonel," replied Madame de Vaudremont, with a +glance full of invitation. + +"Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?" + +"Yes; but the next quadrille. During this one I want to find out what +will come of this little intrigue, and to ascertain who the little +blue lady may be; she looks intelligent." + +The Colonel, understanding that Madame de Vaudremont wished to be +alone, retired, well content to have begun his attack so well. + + + +At most entertainments women are to be met who are there, like Madame +de Lansac, as old sailors gather on the seashore to watch younger +mariners struggling with the tempest. At this moment Madame de Lansac, +who seemed to be interested in the personages of this drama, could +easily guess the agitation which the Countess was going through. The +lady might fan herself gracefully, smile on the young men who bowed to +her, and bring into play all the arts by which a woman hides her +emotion,--the Dowager, one of the most clear-sighted and mischief- +loving duchesses bequeathed by the eighteenth century to the +nineteenth, could read her heart and mind through it all. + +The old lady seemed to detect the slightest movement that revealed the +impressions of the soul. The imperceptible frown that furrowed that +calm, pure forehead, the faintest quiver of the cheeks, the curve of +the eyebrows, the least curl of the lips, whose living coral could +conceal nothing from her,--all these were to the Duchess like the +print of a book. From the depths of her large arm-chair, completely +filled by the flow of her dress, the coquette of the past, while +talking to a diplomate who had sought her out to hear the anecdotes +she told so cleverly, was admiring herself in the younger coquette; +she felt kindly to her, seeing how bravely she disguised her annoyance +and grief of heart. Madame de Vaudremont, in fact, felt as much sorrow +as she feigned cheerfulness; she had believed that she had found in +Martial a man of talent on whose support she could count for adorning +her life with all the enchantment of power; and at this moment she +perceived her mistake, as injurious to her reputation as to her good +opinion of herself. In her, as in other women of that time, the +suddenness of their passions increased their vehemence. Souls which +love much and love often, suffer no less than those which burn +themselves out in one affection. Her liking for Martial was but of +yesterday, it is true, but the least experienced surgeon knows that +the pain caused by the amputation of a healthy limb is more acute than +the removal of a diseased one. There was a future before Madame de +Vaudremont's passion for Martial, while her previous love had been +hopeless, and poisoned by Soulanges' remorse. + +The old Duchess, who was watching for an opportunity of speaking to +the Countess, hastened to dismiss her Ambassador; for in comparison +with a lover's quarrel every interest pales, even with an old woman. +To engage battle, Madame de Lansac shot at the younger lady a sardonic +glance which made the Countess fear lest her fate was in the dowager's +hands. There are looks between woman and woman which are like the +torches brought on at the climax of a tragedy. No one who had not +known that Duchess could appreciate the terror which the expression of +her countenance inspired in the Countess. + +Madame de Lansac was tall, and her features led people to say, "That +must have been a handsome woman!" She coated her cheeks so thickly +with rouge that the wrinkles were scarcely visible; but her eyes, far +from gaining a factitious brilliancy from this strong carmine, looked +all the more dim. She wore a vast quantity of diamonds, and dressed +with sufficient taste not to make herself ridiculous. Her sharp nose +promised epigram. A well-fitted set of teeth preserved a smile of such +irony as recalled that of Voltaire. At the same time, the exquisite +politeness of her manners so effectually softened the mischievous +twist in her mind, that it was impossible to accuse her of +spitefulness. + +The old woman's eyes lighted up, and a triumphant glance, seconded by +a smile, which said, "I promised you as much!" shot across the room, +and brought a blush of hope to the pale cheeks of the young creature +languishing under the great chandelier. The alliance between Madame de +Lansac and the stranger could not escape the practised eye of the +Comtesse de Vaudremont, who scented a mystery, and was determined to +penetrate it. + +At this instant the Baron de la Roche-Hugon, after questioning all the +dowagers without success as to the blue lady's name, applied in +despair to the Comtesse de Gondreville, from whom he reached only this +unsatisfactory reply, "A lady whom the 'ancient' Duchesse de Lansac +introduced to me." + +Turning by chance towards the armchair occupied by the old lady, the +lawyer intercepted the glance of intelligence she sent to the +stranger; and although he had for some time been on bad terms with +her, he determined to speak to her. The "ancient" Duchess, seeing the +jaunty Baron prowling round her chair, smiled with sardonic irony, and +looked at Madame de Vaudremont with an expression that made Montcornet +laugh. + +"If the old witch affects to be friendly," thought the Baron, "she is +certainly going to play me some spiteful trick.--Madame," he said, +"you have, I am told, undertaken the charge of a very precious +treasure." + +"Do you take me for a dragon?" said the old lady. "But of whom are you +speaking?" she added, with a sweetness which revived Martial's hopes. + +"Of that little lady, unknown to all, whom the jealousy of all these +coquettes has imprisoned in that corner. You, no doubt, know her +family?" + +"Yes," said the Duchess. "But what concern have you with a provincial +heiress, married some time since, a woman of good birth, whom you none +of you know, you men; she goes nowhere." + +"Why does not she dance, she is such a pretty creature?--May we +conclude a treaty of peace? If you will vouchsafe to tell me all I +want to know, I promise you that a petition for the restitution of the +woods of Navarreins by the Commissioners of Crown Lands shall be +strongly urged on the Emperor." + +The younger branch of the house of Navarreins bears quarterly with the +arms of Navarreins those of Lansac, namely, azure, and argent party +per pale raguly, between six spear-heads in pale, and the old lady's +liaison with Louis XV. had earned her husband the title of duke by +royal patent. Now, as the Navarreins had not yet resettled in France, +it was sheer trickery that the young lawyer thus proposed to the old +lady by suggesting to her that she should petition for an estate +belonging to the elder branch of the family. + +"Monsieur," said the old woman with deceptive gravity, "bring the +Comtesse de Vaudremont across to me. I promise you that I will reveal +to her the mystery of the interesting unknown. You see, every man in +the room has reached as great a curiosity as your own. All eyes are +involuntarily turned towards the corner where my protegee has so +modestly placed herself; she is reaping all the homage the women +wished to deprive her of. Happy the man she chooses for her partner!" +She interrupted herself, fixing her eyes on Madame de Vaudremont with +one of those looks which plainly say, "We are talking of you."--Then +she added, "I imagine you would rather learn the stranger's name from +the lips of your handsome Countess than from mine." + +There was such marked defiance in the Duchess' attitude that Madame de +Vaudremont rose, came up to her, and took the chair Martial placed for +her; then without noticing him she said, "I can guess, madame, that +you are talking of me; but I admit my want of perspicacity; I do not +know whether it is for good or evil." + +Madame de Lansac pressed the young woman's pretty hand in her own dry +and wrinkled fingers, and answered in a low, compassionate tone, "Poor +child!" + +The women looked at each other. Madame de Vaudremont understood that +Martial was in the way, and dismissed him, saying with an imperious +expression, "Leave us." + +The Baron, ill-pleased at seeing the Countess under the spell of the +dangerous sibyl who had drawn her to her side gave one of those looks +which a man can give--potent over a blinded heart, but simply +ridiculous in the eyes of a woman who is beginning to criticise the +man who has attracted her. + +"Do you think you can play the Emperor?" said Madame de Vaudremont, +turning three-quarters of her face to fix an ironical sidelong gaze on +the lawyer. + +Martial was too much a man of the world, and had too much wit and +acumen, to risk breaking with a woman who was in favor at Court, and +whom the Emperor wished to see married. He counted, too, on the +jealousy he intended to provoke in her as the surest means of +discovering the secret of her coolness, and withdrew all the more +willingly, because at this moment a new quadrille was putting +everybody in motion. + +With an air of making room for the dancing, the Baron leaned back +against the marble slab of a console, folded his arms, and stood +absorbed in watching the two ladies talking. From time to time he +followed the glances which both frequently directed to the stranger. +Then, comparing the Countess with the new beauty, made so attractive +by a touch of mystery, the Baron fell a prey to the detestable self- +interest common to adventurous lady-killers; he hesitated between a +fortune within his grasp and the indulgence of his caprice. The blaze +of light gave such strong relief to his anxious and sullen face, +against the hangings of white silk moreen brushed by his black hair, +that he might have been compared to an evil genius. Even from a +distance more than one observer no doubt said to himself, "There is +another poor wretch who seems to be enjoying himself!" + +The Colonel, meanwhile, with one shoulder leaning lightly against the +side-post of the doorway between the ballroom and the cardroom, could +laugh undetected under his ample moustache; it amused him to look on +at the turmoil of the dance; he could see a hundred pretty heads +turning about in obedience to the figures; he could read in some +faces, as in those of the Countess and his friend Martial, the secrets +of their agitation; and then, looking round, he wondered what +connection there could be between the gloomy looks of the Comte de +Soulanges, still seated on the sofa, and the plaintive expression of +the fair unknown, on whose features the joys of hope and the anguish +of involuntary dread were alternately legible. Montcornet stood like +the king of the feast. In this moving picture he saw a complete +presentment of the world, and he laughed at it as he found himself the +object of inviting smiles from a hundred beautiful and elegant women. +A Colonel of the Imperial Guard, a position equal to that of a +Brigadier-General, was undoubtedly one of the best matches in the +army. + +It was now nearly midnight. The conversation, the gambling, the +dancing, the flirtations, interests, petty rivalries, and scheming had +all reached the pitch of ardor which makes a young man exclaim +involuntarily, "A fine ball!" + +"My sweet little angel," said Madame de Lansac to the Countess, "you +are now at an age when in my day I made many mistakes. Seeing you are +just now enduring a thousand deaths, it occurred to me that I might +give you some charitable advice. To go wrong at two-and-twenty means +spoiling your future; is it not tearing the gown you must wear? My +dear, it is not much later that we learn to go about in it without +crumpling it. Go on, sweetheart, making clever enemies, and friends +who have no sense of conduct, and you will see what a pleasant life +you will some day be leading!" + +"Oh, madame, it is very hard for a woman to be happy, do not you +think?" the Countess eagerly exclaimed. + +"My child, at your age you must learn to choose between pleasure and +happiness. You want to marry Martial, who is not fool enough to make a +good husband, nor passionate enough to remain a lover. He is in debt, +my dear; he is the man to run through your fortune; still, that would +be nothing if he could make you happy.--Do not you see how aged he is? +The man must have been ill; he is making the most of what is left him. +In three years he will be a wreck. Then he will be ambitious; perhaps +he may succeed. I do not think so.--What is he? A man of intrigue, who +may have the business faculty to perfection, and be able to gossip +agreeably; but he is too presumptuous to have any sterling merit; he +will not go far. Besides--only look at him. Is it not written on his +brow that, at this very moment, what he sees in you is not a young and +pretty woman, but the two million francs you possess? He does not love +you, my dear; he is reckoning you up as if you were an investment. If +you are bent on marrying, find an older man who has an assured +position and is half-way on his career. A widow's marriage ought not +to be a trivial love affair. Is a mouse to be caught a second time in +the same trap? A new alliance ought now to be a good speculation on +your part, and in marrying again you ought at least to have a hope of +being some day addressed as Madame la Marechale!" + +As she spoke, both women naturally fixed their eyes on Colonel +Montcornet's handsome face. + +"If you would rather play the delicate part of a flirt and not marry +again," the Duchess went on, with blunt good-nature; "well! my poor +child, you, better than any woman, will know how to raise the storm- +clouds and disperse them again. But, I beseech you, never make it your +pleasure to disturb the peace of families, to destroy unions, and ruin +the happiness of happy wives. I, my dear, have played that perilous +game. Dear heaven! for a triumph of vanity some poor virtuous soul is +murdered--for there really are virtuous women, child,--and we may make +ourselves mortally hated. I learned, a little too late, that, as the +Duc d'Albe once said, one salmon is worth a thousand frogs! A genuine +affection certainly brings a thousand times more happiness than the +transient passions we may inspire.--Well, I came here on purpose to +preach to you; yes, you are the cause of my appearance in this house, +which stinks of the lower class. Have I not just seen actors here? +Formerly, my dear, we received them in our boudoir; but in the +drawing-room--never!--Why do you look at me with so much amazement? +Listen to me. If you want to play with men, do not try to wring the +hearts of any but those whose life is not yet settled, who have no +duties to fulfil; the others do not forgive us for the errors that +have made them happy. Profit by this maxim, founded on my long +experience.--That luckless Soulanges, for instance, whose head you +have turned, whom you have intoxicated for these fifteen months past, +God knows how! Do you know at what you have struck?--At his whole +life. He has been married these two years; he is worshiped by a +charming wife, whom he loves, but neglects; she lives in tears and +embittered silence. Soulanges has had hours of remorse more terrible +than his pleasure has been sweet. And you, you artful little thing, +have deserted him.--Well, come and see your work." + +The old lady took Madame de Vaudremont's hand, and they rose. + +"There," said Madame de Lansac, and her eyes showed her the stranger, +sitting pale and tremulous under the glare of the candles, "that is my +grandniece, the Comtesse de Soulanges; to-day she yielded at last to +my persuasion, and consented to leave the sorrowful room, where the +sight of her child gives her but little consolation. You see her? You +think her charming? Then imagine, dear Beauty, what she must have been +when happiness and love shed their glory on that face now blighted." + +The Countess looked away in silence, and seemed lost in sad +reflections. + +The Duchess led her to the door into the card-room; then, after +looking round the room as if in search of some one--"And there is +Soulanges!" she said in deep tones. + +The Countess shuddered as she saw, in the least brilliantly lighted +corner, the pale, set face of Soulanges stretched in an easy-chair. +The indifference of his attitude and the rigidity of his brow betrayed +his suffering. The players passed him to and fro, without paying any +more attention to him than if he had been dead. The picture of the +wife in tears, and the dejected, morose husband, separated in the +midst of this festivity like the two halves of a tree blasted by +lightning, had perhaps a prophetic significance for the Countess. She +dreaded lest she here saw an image of the revenges the future might +have in store for her. Her heart was not yet so dried up that the +feeling and generosity were entirely excluded, and she pressed the +Duchess' hand, while thanking her by one of those smiles which have a +certain childlike grace. + +"My dear child," the old lady said in her ear, "remember henceforth +that we are just as capable of repelling a man's attentions as of +attracting them." + +"She is yours if you are not a simpleton." These words were whispered +into Colonel Montcornet's ear by Madame de Lansac, while the handsome +Countess was still absorbed in compassion at the sight of Soulanges, +for she still loved him truly enough to wish to restore him to +happiness, and was promising herself in her own mind that she would +exert the irresistible power her charms still had over him to make him +return to his wife. + +"Oh! I will talk to him!" said she to Madame de Lansac. + +"Do nothing of the kind, my dear!" cried the old lady, as she went +back to her armchair. "Choose a good husband, and shut your door to my +nephew. Believe me, my child, a wife cannot accept her husband's heart +as the gift of another woman; she is a hundred times happier in the +belief that she has reconquered it. By bringing my niece here I +believe I have given her an excellent chance of regaining her +husband's affection. All the assistance I need of you is to play the +Colonel." She pointed to the Baron's friend, and the Countess smiled. + +"Well, madame, do you at last know the name of the unknown?" asked +Martial, with an air of pique, to the Countess when he saw her alone. + +"Yes," said Madame de Vaudremont, looking him in the face. + +Her features expressed as much roguery as fun. The smile which gave +life to her lips and cheeks, the liquid brightness of her eyes, were +like the will-o'-the-wisp which leads travelers astray. Martial, who +believed that she still loved him, assumed the coquetting graces in +which a man is so ready to lull himself in the presence of the woman +he loves. He said with a fatuous air: + +"And will you be annoyed with me if I seem to attach great importance +to your telling me that name?" + +"Will you be annoyed with me," answered Madame de Vaudremont, "if a +remnant of affection prevents my telling you; and if I forbid you to +make the smallest advances to that young lady? It would be at the risk +of your life perhaps." + +"To lose your good graces, madame, would be worse than to lose my +life." + +"Martial," said the Countess severely, "she is Madame de Soulanges. +Her husband would blow your brains out--if, indeed, you have any----" + +"Ha! ha!" laughed the coxcomb. "What! the Colonel can leave the man in +peace who has robbed him of your love, and then would fight for his +wife! What a subversion of principles!--I beg of you to allow me to +dance with the little lady. You will then be able to judge how little +love that heart of ice could feel for you; for, if the Colonel +disapproves of my dancing with his wife after allowing me to----" + +"But she loves her husband." + +"A still further obstacle that I shall have the pleasure of +conquering." + +"But she is married." + +"A whimsical objection!" + +"Ah!" said the Countess, with a bitter smile, "you punish us alike for +our faults and our repentance!" + +"Do not be angry!" exclaimed Martial eagerly. "Oh, forgive me, I +beseech you. There, I will think no more of Madame de Soulanges." + +"You deserve that I should send you to her." + +"I am off then," said the Baron, laughing, "and I shall return more +devoted to you than ever. You will see that the prettiest woman in the +world cannot capture the heart that is yours." + +"That is to say, that you want to win Colonel Montcornet's horse?" + +"Ah! Traitor!" said he, threatening his friend with his finger. The +Colonel smiled and joined them; the Baron gave him the seat near the +Countess, saying to her with a sardonic accent: + +"Here, madame, is a man who boasted that he could win your good graces +in one evening." + +He went away, thinking himself clever to have piqued the Countess' +pride and done Montcornet an ill turn; but, in spite of his habitual +keenness, he had not appreciated the irony underlying Madame de +Vaudremont's speech, and did not perceive that she had come as far to +meet his friend as his friend towards her, though both were +unconscious of it. + +At that moment when the lawyer went fluttering up to the candelabrum +by which Madame de Soulanges sat, pale, timid, and apparently alive +only in her eyes, her husband came to the door of the ballroom, his +eyes flashing with anger. The old Duchess, watchful of everything, +flew to her nephew, begged him to give her his arm and find her +carriage, affecting to be mortally bored, and hoping thus to prevent a +vexatious outbreak. Before going she fired a singular glance of +intelligence at her niece, indicating the enterprising knight who was +about to address her, and this signal seemed to say, "There he is, +avenge yourself!" + +Madame de Vaudremont caught these looks of the aunt and niece; a +sudden light dawned on her mind; she was frightened lest she was the +dupe of this old woman, so cunning and so practised in intrigue. + +"That perfidious Duchess," said she to herself, "has perhaps been +amusing herself by preaching morality to me while playing me some +spiteful trick of her own." + +At this thought Madame de Vaudremont's pride was perhaps more roused +than her curiosity to disentangle the thread of this intrigue. In the +absorption of mind to which she was a prey she was no longer mistress +of herself. The Colonel, interpreting to his own advantage the +embarrassment evident in the Countess' manner and speech, became more +ardent and pressing. The old blase diplomates, amusing themselves by +watching the play of faces, had never found so many intrigues at once +to watch or guess at. The passions agitating the two couples were to +be seen with variations at every step in the crowded rooms, and +reflected with different shades in other countenances. The spectacle +of so many vivid passions, of all these lovers' quarrels, these +pleasing revenges, these cruel favors, these flaming glances, of all +this ardent life diffused around them, only made them feel their +impotence more keenly. + +At last the Baron had found a seat by Madame de Soulanges. His eyes +stole a long look at her neck, as fresh as dew and as fragrant as +field flowers. He admired close at hand the beauty which had amazed +him from afar. He could see a small, well-shod foot, and measure with +his eye a slender and graceful shape. At that time women wore their +sash tied close under the bosom, in imitation of Greek statues, a +pitiless fashion for those whose bust was faulty. As he cast furtive +glances at the Countess' figure, Martial was enchanted with its +perfection. + +"You have not danced once this evening, madame," said he in soft and +flattering tones. "Not, I should suppose, for lack of a partner?" + +"I never go to parties; I am quite unknown," replied Madame de +Soulanges coldly, not having understood the look by which her aunt had +just conveyed to her that she was to attract the Baron. + +Martial, to give himself countenance, twisted the diamond he wore on +his left hand; the rainbow fires of the gem seemed to flash a sudden +light on the young Countess' mind; she blushed and looked at the Baron +with an undefinable expression. + +"Do you like dancing?" asked the Provencal, to reopen the +conversation. + +"Yes, very much, monsieur." + +At this strange reply their eyes met. The young man, surprised by the +earnest accent, which aroused a vague hope in his heart, had suddenly +questioned the lady's eyes. + +"Then, madame, am I not overbold in offering myself to be your partner +for the next quadrille?' + +Artless confusion colored the Countess' white cheeks. + +"But, monsieur, I have already refused one partner--a military +man----" + +"Was it that tall cavalry colonel whom you see over there?" + +"Precisely so." + +"Oh! he is a friend of mine; feel no alarm. Will you grant me the +favor I dare hope for?" + +"Yes, monsieur." + +Her tone betrayed an emotion so new and so deep that the lawyer's +world-worn soul was touched. He was overcome by shyness like a +schoolboy's, lost his confidence, and his southern brain caught fire; +he tried to talk, but his phrases struck him as graceless in +comparison with Madame de Soulanges' bright and subtle replies. It was +lucky for him that the quadrille was forming. Standing by his +beautiful partner, he felt more at ease. To many men dancing is a +phase of being; they think that they can more powerfully influence the +heart of woman by displaying the graces of their bodies than by their +intellect. Martial wished, no doubt, at this moment to put forth all +his most effective seductions, to judge by the pretentiousness of his +movements and gestures. + +He led his conquest to the quadrille in which the most brilliant women +in the room made it a point of chimerical importance to dance in +preference to any other. While the orchestra played the introductory +bars to the first figure, the Baron felt it an incredible +gratification to his pride to perceive, as he reviewed the ladies +forming the lines of that formidable square, that Madame de Soulanges' +dress might challenge that even of Madame de Vaudremont, who, by a +chance not perhaps unsought, was standing with Montcornet vis-a-vis to +himself and the lady in blue. All eyes were for a moment turned on +Madame de Soulanges; a flattering murmur showed that she was the +subject of every man's conversation with his partner. Looks of +admiration and envy centered on her, with so much eagerness that the +young creature, abashed by a triumph she seemed to disclaim, modestly +looked down, blushed, and was all the more charming. When she raised +her white eyelids it was to look at her ravished partner as though she +wished to transfer the glory of this admiration to him, and to say +that she cared more for his than for all the rest. She threw her +innocence into her vanity; or rather she seemed to give herself up to +the guileless admiration which is the beginning of love, with the good +faith found only in youthful hearts. As she danced, the lookers-on +might easily believe that she displayed her grace for Martial alone; +and though she was modest, and new to the trickery of the ballroom, +she knew as well as the most accomplished coquette how to raise her +eyes to his at the right moment and drop their lids with assumed +modesty. + +When the movement of a new figure, invented by a dancer named Trenis, +and named after him, brought Martial face to face with the Colonel--"I +have won your horse," said he, laughing. + +"Yes, but you have lost eighty thousand francs a year!" retorted +Montcornet, glancing at Madame de Vaudremont. + +"What do I care?" replied Martial. "Madame de Soulanges is worth +millions!" + +At the end of the quadrille more than one whisper was poured into more +than one ear. The less pretty women made moral speeches to their +partners, commenting on the budding liaison between Martial and the +Comtesse de Soulanges. The handsomest wondered at her easy surrender. +The men could not understand such luck as the Baron's, not regarding +him as particularly fascinating. A few indulgent women said it was not +fair to judge the Countess too hastily; young wives would be in a very +hapless plight if an expressive look or a few graceful dancing steps +were enough to compromise a woman. + +Martial alone knew the extent of his happiness. During the last +figure, when the ladies had to form the moulinet, his fingers clasped +those of the Countess, and he fancied that, through the thin perfumed +kid of her gloves, the young wife's grasp responded to his amorous +appeal. + +"Madame," said he, as the quadrille ended, "do not go back to the +odious corner where you have been burying your face and your dress +until now. Is admiration the only benefit you can obtain from the +jewels that adorn your white neck and beautifully dressed hair? Come +and take a turn through the rooms to enjoy the scene and yourself." + +Madame de Soulanges yielded to her seducer, who thought she would be +his all the more surely if he could only show her off. Side by side +they walked two or three times amid the groups who crowded the rooms. +The Comtesse de Soulanges, evidently uneasy, paused for an instant at +each door before entering, only doing so after stretching her neck to +look at all the men there. This alarm, which crowned the Baron's +satisfaction, did not seem to be removed till he said to her, "Make +yourself easy; HE is not here." + +They thus made their way to an immense picture gallery in a wing of +the mansion, where their eyes could feast in anticipation on the +splendid display of a collation prepared for three hundred persons. As +supper was about to begin, Martial led the Countess to an oval boudoir +looking on to the garden, where the rarest flowers and a few shrubs +made a scented bower under bright blue hangings. The murmurs of the +festivity here died away. The Countess, at first startled, refused +firmly to follow the young man; but, glancing in a mirror, she no +doubt assured herself that they could be seen, for she seated herself +on an ottoman with a fairly good grace. + +"This room is charming," said she, admiring the sky-blue hangings +looped with pearls. + +"All here is love and delight!" said the Baron, with deep emotion. + +In the mysterious light which prevailed he looked at the Countess, and +detected on her gently agitated face an expression of uneasiness, +modesty, and eagerness which enchanted him. The young lady smiled, and +this smile seemed to put an end to the struggle of feeling surging in +her heart; in the most insinuating way she took her adorer's left +hand, and drew from his finger the ring on which she had fixed her +eyes. + +"What a fine diamond!" she exclaimed in the artless tone of a young +girl betraying the incitement of a first temptation. + +Martial, troubled by the Countess' involuntary but intoxicating touch, +like a caress, as she drew off the ring, looked at her with eyes as +glittering as the gem. + +"Wear it," he said, "in memory of this hour, and for the love of----" + +She was looking at him with such rapture that he did not end the +sentence; he kissed her hand. + +"You give it me?" she said, looking much astonished. + +"I wish I had the whole world to offer you!" + +"You are not joking?" she went on, in a voice husky with too great +satisfaction. + +"Will you accept only my diamond?" + +"You will never take it back?" she insisted. + +"Never." + +She put the ring on her finger. Martial, confident of coming +happiness, was about to put his hand round her waist, but she suddenly +rose, and said in a clear voice, without any agitation: + +"I accept the diamond, monsieur, with the less scruple because it +belongs to me." + +The Baron was speechless. + +"Monsieur de Soulanges took it lately from my dressing-table, and told +me he had lost it." + +"You are mistaken, madame," said Martial, nettled. "It was given me by +Madame de Vaudremont." + +"Precisely so," she said with a smile. "My husband borrowed this ring +of me, he gave it to her, she made it a present to you; my ring has +made a little journey, that is all. This ring will perhaps tell me all +I do not know, and teach me the secret of always pleasing.--Monsieur," +she went on, "if it had not been my own, you may be sure I should not +have risked paying so dear for it; for a young woman, it is said, is +in danger with you. But, you see," and she touched a spring within the +ring, "here is M. de Soulanges' hair." + +She fled into the crowded rooms so swiftly, that it seemed useless to +try to follow her; besides, Martial, utterly confounded, was in no +mood to carry the adventure further. The Countess' laugh found an echo +in the boudoir, where the young coxcomb now perceived, between two +shrubs, the Colonel and Madame de Vaudremont, both laughing heartily. + +"Will you have my horse, to ride after your prize?" said the Colonel. + +The Baron took the banter poured upon him by Madame de Vaudremont and +Montcornet with a good grace, which secured their silence as to the +events of the evening, when his friend exchanged his charger for a +rich and pretty young wife. + + + +As the Comtesse de Soulanges drove across Paris from the Chausee +d'Antin to the Faubourg Saint-Germain, where she lived, her soul was +prey to many alarms. Before leaving the Hotel Gondreville she went +through all the rooms, but found neither her aunt nor her husband, who +had gone away without her. Frightful suspicions then tortured her +ingenuous mind. A silent witness of her husbands' torments since the +day when Madame de Vaudremont had chained him to her car, she had +confidently hoped that repentance would ere long restore her husband +to her. It was with unspeakable repugnance that she had consented to +the scheme plotted by her aunt, Madame de Lansac, and at this moment +she feared she had made a mistake. + +The evening's experience had saddened her innocent soul. Alarmed at +first by the Count's look of suffering and dejection, she had become +more so on seeing her rival's beauty, and the corruption of society +had gripped her heart. As she crossed the Pont Royal she threw away +the desecrated hair at the back of the diamond, given to her once as a +token of the purest affection. She wept as she remembered the bitter +grief to which she had so long been a victim, and shuddered more than +once as she reflected that the duty of a woman, who wishes for peace +in her home, compels her to bury sufferings so keen as hers at the +bottom of her heart, and without a complaint. + +"Alas!" thought she, "what can women do when they do not love? What is +the fount of their indulgence? I cannot believe that, as my aunt tells +me, reason is all-sufficient to maintain them in such devotion." + +She was still sighing when her man-servant let down the handsome +carriage-step down which she flew into the hall of her house. She +rushed precipitately upstairs, and when she reached her room was +startled by seeing her husband sitting by the fire. + +"How long is it, my dear, since you have gone to balls without telling +me beforehand?" he asked in a broken voice. "You must know that a +woman is always out of place without her husband. You compromised +yourself strangely by remaining in the dark corner where you had +ensconced yourself." + +"Oh, my dear, good Leon," said she in a coaxing tone, "I could not +resist the happiness of seeing you without your seeing me. My aunt +took me to this ball, and I was very happy there!" + +This speech disarmed the Count's looks of their assumed severity, for +he had been blaming himself while dreading his wife's return, no doubt +fully informed at the ball of an infidelity he had hoped to hide from +her; and, as is the way of lovers conscious of their guilt, he tried, +by being the first to find fault, to escape her just anger. Happy in +seeing her husband smile, and in finding him at this hour in a room +whither of late he had come more rarely, the Countess looked at him so +tenderly that she blushed and cast down her eyes. Her clemency +enraptured Soulanges all the more, because this scene followed on the +misery he had endured at the ball. He seized his wife's hand and +kissed it gratefully. Is not gratitude often a part of love? + +"Hortense, what is that on your finger that has hurt my lip so much?" +asked he, laughing. + +"It is my diamond which you said you had lost, and which I have found. + + + +General Montcornet did not marry Madame de Vaudremont, in spite of the +mutual understanding in which they had lived for a few minutes, for +she was one of the victims of the terrible fire which sealed the fame +of the ball given by the Austrian ambassador on the occasion of +Napoleon's marriage with the daughter of the Emperor Joseph II. + + + +JULY, 1829. + + + + +ADDENDUM + +The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy. + +Bonaparte, Napoleon + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Seamy Side of History + A Woman of Thirty + +Gondreville, Malin, Comte de + The Gondreville Mystery + A Start in Life + The Member for Arcis + +Keller, Francois + Cesar Birotteau + Eugenie Grandet + The Government Clerks + The Member for Arcis + +Keller, Madame Francois + The Member for Arcis + The Thirteen + +La Roche-Hugon, Martial de + The Peasantry + A Daughter of Eve + The Member for Arcis + The Middle Classes + Cousin Betty + +Montcornet, Marechal, Comte de + Lost Illusions + A Distinguished Provincial at Paris + Scenes from a Courtesan's Life + The Peasantry + A Man of Business + Cousin Betty + +Murat, Joachim, Prince + The Vendetta + The Gondreville Mystery + Colonel Chabert + The Country Doctor + +Soulanges, Comte Leon de + The Peasantry + +Soulanges, Comtesse Hortense de + The Thirteen + The Peasantry + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac + diff --git a/old/old/dmspc10.zip b/old/old/dmspc10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..52abacc --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/dmspc10.zip |