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diff --git a/old/chtpp10.txt b/old/chtpp10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..22814ee --- /dev/null +++ b/old/chtpp10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1370 @@ +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Chateau of Prince Polignac, by Trollope +#20 in our series by Anthony Trollope + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the laws for your country before redistributing these files!!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. + +Please do not remove this. + +This should be the first thing seen when anyone opens the book. +Do not change or edit it without written permission. 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It is to the south-east of Auvergne, and is nearly +in the centre of the southern half of France. + +But few towns, merely as towns, can be better worth visiting. In +the first place, the volcanic formation of the ground on which it +stands is not only singular in the extreme, so as to be interesting +to the geologist, but it is so picturesque as to be equally +gratifying to the general tourist. Within a narrow valley there +stand several rocks, rising up from the ground with absolute +abruptness. Round two of these the town clusters, and a third +stands but a mile distant, forming the centre of a faubourg, or +suburb. These rocks appear to be, and I believe are, the harder +particles of volcanic matter, which have not been carried away +through successive ages by the joint agency of water and air. + +When the tide of lava ran down between the hills the surface left +was no doubt on a level with the heads of these rocks; but here and +there the deposit became harder than elsewhere, and these harder +points have remained, lifting up their steep heads in a line through +the valley. + +The highest of these is called the Rocher de Corneille. Round this +and up its steep sides the town stands. On its highest summit there +was an old castle; and there now is, or will be before these pages +are printed, a colossal figure in bronze of the Virgin Mary, made +from the cannon taken at Sebastopol. Half-way down the hill the +cathedral is built, a singularly gloomy edifice,--Romanesque, as it +is called, in its style, but extremely similar in its mode of +architecture to what we know of Byzantine structures. But there has +been no surface on the rock side large enough to form a resting- +place for the church, which has therefore been built out on huge +supporting piles, which form a porch below the west front; so that +the approach is by numerous steps laid along the side of the wall +below the church, forming a wondrous flight of stairs. Let all men +who may find themselves stopping at Le Puy visit the top of these +stairs at the time of the setting sun, and look down from thence +through the framework of the porch on the town beneath, and at the +hill-side beyond. + +Behind the church is the seminary of the priests, with its beautiful +walks stretching round the Rocher de Corneille, and overlooking the +town and valley below. + +Next to this rock, and within a quarter of a mile of it, is the +second peak, called the Rock of the Needle. It rises narrow, sharp, +and abrupt from the valley, allowing of no buildings on its sides. +But on its very point has been erected a church sacred to St. +Michael, that lover of rock summits, accessible by stairs cut from +the stone. This, perhaps--this rock, I mean--is the most wonderful +of the wonders which Nature has formed at La Puy. + +Above this, at a mile's distance, is the rock of Espailly, formed in +the same way, and almost equally precipitous. On its summit is a +castle, having its own legend, and professing to have been the +residence of Charles VII., when little of France belonged to its +kings but the provinces of Berry, Auvergne, and Le Velay. Some +three miles farther up there is another volcanic rock, larger, +indeed, but equally sudden in its spring,--equally remarkable as +rising abruptly from the valley,--on which stands the castle and old +family residence of the house of Polignac. It was lost by them at +the Revolution, but was repurchased by the minister of Charles X., +and is still the property of the head of the race. + +Le Puy itself is a small, moderate, pleasant French town, in which +the language of the people has not the pure Parisian aroma, nor is +the glory of the boulevards of the capital emulated in its streets. +These are crooked, narrow, steep, and intricate, forming here and +there excellent sketches for a lover of street picturesque beauty; +but hurtful to the feet with their small, round-topped paving +stones, and not always as clean as pedestrian ladies might desire. + +And now I would ask my readers to join me at the morning table +d'hote at the Hotel des Ambassadeurs. It will of course be +understood that this does not mean a breakfast in the ordinary +fashion of England, consisting of tea or coffee, bread and butter, +and perhaps a boiled egg. It comprises all the requisites for a +composite dinner, excepting soup; and as one gets farther south in +France, this meal is called dinner. It is, however, eaten without +any prejudice to another similar and somewhat longer meal at six or +seven o'clock, which, when the above name is taken up by the earlier +enterprise, is styled supper. + +The dejeuner, or dinner, at the Hotel des Ambassadeurs, on the +morning in question, though very elaborate, was not a very gay +affair. There were some fourteen persons present, of whom half were +residents in the town, men employed in some official capacity, who +found this to be the cheapest, the most luxurious, and to them the +most comfortable mode of living. They clustered together at the +head of the table, and as they were customary guests at the house, +they talked their little talk together--it was very little--and made +the most of the good things before them. Then there were two or +three commis-voyageurs, a chance traveller or two, and an English +lady with a young daughter. The English lady sat next to one of the +accustomed guests; but he, unlike the others, held converse with her +rather than with them. Our story at present has reference only to +that lady and to that gentleman. + +Place aux dames. We will speak first of the lady, whose name was +Mrs. Thompson. She was, shall I say, a young woman of about thirty- +six. In so saying, I am perhaps creating a prejudice against her in +the minds of some readers, as they will, not unnaturally, suppose +her, after such an announcement, to be in truth over forty. Any +such prejudice will be unjust. I would have it believed that +thirty-six was the outside, not the inside of her age. She was +good-looking, lady-like, and considering that she was an +Englishwoman, fairly well dressed. She was inclined to be rather +full in her person, but perhaps not more so than is becoming to +ladies at her time of life. She had rings on her fingers and a +brooch on her bosom which were of some value, and on the back of her +head she wore a jaunty small lace cap, which seemed to tell, in +conjunction with her other appointments, that her circumstances were +comfortable. + +The little girl who sat next to her was the youngest of her two +daughters, and might be about thirteen years of age. Her name was +Matilda, but infantine circumstances had invested her with the +nickname of Mimmy, by which her mother always called her. A nice, +pretty, playful little girl was Mimmy Thompson, wearing two long +tails of plaited hair hanging, behind her head, and inclined +occasionally to be rather loud in her sport. + +Mrs. Thompson had another and an elder daughter, now some fifteen +years old, who was at school in Le Puy; and it was with reference to +her tuition that Mrs. Thompson had taken up a temporary residence at +the Hotel des Ambassadeurs in that town. Lilian Thompson was +occasionally invited down to dine or breakfast at the inn, and was +visited daily at her school by her mother. + +"When I'm sure that she'll do, I shall leave her there, and go back +to England," Mrs. Thompson had said, not in the purest French, to +the neighbour who always sat next to her at the table d'hote, the +gentleman, namely, to whom we have above alluded. But still she had +remained at Le Puy a month, and did not go; a circumstance which was +considered singular, but by no means unpleasant, both by the +innkeeper and by the gentleman in question. + +The facts, as regarded Mrs. Thompson, were as follows:- She was the +widow of a gentleman who had served for many years in the civil +service of the East Indies, and who, on dying, had left her a +comfortable income of--it matters not how many pounds, but +constituting quite a sufficiency to enable her to live at her ease +and educate her daughters. + +Her children had been sent home to England before her husband's +death, and after that event she had followed them; but there, though +she was possessed of moderate wealth, she had no friends and few +acquaintances, and after a little while she had found life to be +rather dull. Her customs were not those of England, nor were her +propensities English; therefore she had gone abroad, and having +received some recommendation of this school at Le Puy, had made her +way thither. As it appeared to her that she really enjoyed more +consideration at Le Puy than had been accorded to her either at +Torquay or Leamington, there she remained from day to day. The +total payment required at the Hotel des Ambassadeurs was but six +francs daily for herself and three and a half for her little girl; +and where else could she live with a better junction of economy and +comfort? And then the gentleman who always sat next to her was so +exceedingly civil! + +The gentleman's name was M. Lacordaire. So much she knew, and had +learned to call him by his name very frequently. Mimmy, too, was +quite intimate with M. Lacordaire; but nothing more than his name +was known of him. But M. Lacordaire carried a general letter of +recommendation in his face, manner, gait, dress, and tone of voice. +In all these respects there was nothing left to be desired; and, in +addition to this, he was decorated, and wore the little red ribbon +of the Legion of Honour, ingeniously twisted into the shape of a +small flower. + +M. Lacordaire might be senior in age to Mrs. Thompson by about ten +years, nor had he about him any of the airs or graces of a would-be +young man. His hair, which he wore very short, was grizzled, as was +also the small pretence of a whisker which came down about as far as +the middle of his ear; but the tuft on his chin was still brown, +without a gray hair. His eyes were bright and tender, his voice was +low and soft, his hands were very white, his clothes were always new +and well fitting, and a better-brushed hat could not be seen out of +Paris, nor perhaps in it. + +Now, during the weeks which Mrs. Thompson had passed at La Puy, the +acquaintance which she had formed with M. Lacordaire had progressed +beyond the prolonged meals in the salle a manger. He had +occasionally sat beside her evening table as she took her English +cup of tea in her own room, her bed being duly screened off in its +distant niche by becoming curtains; and then he had occasionally +walked beside her, as he civilly escorted her to the lions of the +place; and he had once accompanied her, sitting on the back seat of +a French voiture, when she had gone forth to see something of the +surrounding country. + +On all such occasions she had been accompanied by one of her +daughters, and the world of Le Puy had had nothing material to say +against her. But still the world of Le Puy had whispered a little, +suggesting that M. Lacordaire knew very well what he was about. But +might not Mrs. Thompson also know as well what she was about? At +any rate, everything had gone on very pleasantly since the +acquaintance had been made. And now, so much having been explained, +we will go back to the elaborate breakfast at the Hotel des +Ambassadeurs. + +Mrs. Thompson, holding Mimmy by the hand, walked into the room some +few minutes after the last bell had been rung, and took the place +which was now hers by custom. The gentlemen who constantly +frequented the house all bowed to her, but M. Lacordaire rose from +his seat and offered her his hand. + +"And how is Mees Meemy this morning?" said he; for 'twas thus he +always pronounced her name. + +Miss Mimmy, answering for herself, declared that she was very well, +and suggested that M. Lacordaire should give her a fig from off a +dish that was placed immediately before him on the table. This M. +Lacordaire did, presenting it very elegantly between his two +fingers, and making a little bow to the little lady as he did so. + +"Fie, Mimmy!" said her mother; "why do you ask for the things before +the waiter brings them round?" + +"But, mamma," said Mimmy, speaking English, "M. Lacordaire always +gives me a fig every morning." + +"M. Lacordaire always spoils you, I think," answered Mrs. Thompson, +in French. And then they went thoroughly to work at their +breakfast. During the whole meal M. Lacordaire attended assiduously +to his neighbour; and did so without any evil result, except that +one Frenchman with a black moustache, at the head of the table, trod +on the toe of another Frenchman with another black moustache-- +winking as he made the sign--just as M. Lacordaire, having selected +a bunch of grapes, put it on Mrs. Thompson's plate with infinite +grace. But who among us all is free from such impertinences as +these? + +"But madame really must see the chateau of Prince Polignac before +she leaves Le Puy," said M. Lacordaire. + +"The chateau of who?" asked Mimmy, to whose young ears the French +words were already becoming familiar. + +"Prince Polignac, my dear. Well, I really don't know, M. +Lacordaire;--I have seen a great deal of the place already, and I +shall be going now very soon; probably in a day or two," said Mrs. +Thompson. + +"But madame must positively see the chateau," said M. Lacordaire, +very impressively; and then after a pause he added, "If madame will +have the complaisance to commission me to procure a carriage for +this afternoon, and will allow me the honour to be her guide, I +shall consider myself one of the most fortunate of men." + +"Oh, yes, mamma, do go," said Mimmy, clapping her hands. "And it is +Thursday, and Lilian can go with us." + +"Be quiet, Mimmy, do. Thank you, no, M. Lacordaire. I could not go +to-day; but I am extremely obliged by your politeness." + +M. Lacordaire still pressed the matter, and Mrs. Thompson still +declined till it was time to rise from the table. She then declared +that she did not think it possible that she should visit the chateau +before she left Le Puy; but that she would give him an answer at +dinner. + +The most tedious time in the day to Mrs. Thompson were the two hours +after breakfast. At one o'clock she daily went to the school, +taking Mimmy, who for an hour or two shared her sister's lessons. +This and her little excursions about the place, and her shopping, +managed to make away with her afternoon. Then in the evening, she +generally saw something of M. Lacordaire. But those two hours after +breakfast were hard of killing. + +On this occasion, when she gained her own room, she as usual placed +Mimmy on the sofa with a needle. Her custom then was to take up a +novel; but on this morning she sat herself down in her arm-chair, +and resting her head upon her hand and elbow, began to turn over +certain circumstances in her mind. + +"Mamma," said Mimmy, "why won't you go with M. Lacordaire to that +place belonging to the prince? Prince--Polly something, wasn't it?" + +"Mind your work, my dear," said Mrs. Thompson. + +"But I do so wish you'd go, mamma. What was the prince's name?" + +"Polignac." + +"Mamma, ain't princes very great people?" + +"Yes, my dear; sometimes." + +"Is Prince Polly-nac like our Prince Alfred?" + +"No, my dear; not at all. At least, I suppose not." + +"Is his mother a queen?" + +"No, my dear." + +"Then his father must be a king?" + +"No, my dear. It is quite a different thing here. Here in France +they have a great many princes." + +"Well, at any rate I should like to see a prince's chateau; so I do +hope you'll go." And then there was a pause. "Mamma, could it come +to pass, here in France, that M. Lacordaire should ever be a +prince?" + +"M. Lacordaire a prince! No; don't talk such nonsense, but mind +your work." + +"Isn't M. Lacordaire a very nice man? Ain't you very fond of him?" + +To this question Mrs. Thompson made no answer. + +"Mamma," continued Mimmy, after a moment's pause, "won't you tell me +whether you are fond of M. Lacordaire? I'm quite sure of this,-- +that he's very fond of you." + +"What makes you think that?" asked Mrs. Thompson, who could not +bring herself to refrain from the question. + +"Because he looks at you in that way, mamma, and squeezes your +hand." + +"Nonsense, child," said Mrs. Thompson; "hold your tongue. I don't +know what can have put such stuff into your head." + +"But he does, mamma," said Mimmy, who rarely allowed her mother to +put her down. + +Mrs. Thompson made no further answer, but again sat with her head +resting on her hand. She also, if the truth must be told, was +thinking of M. Lacordaire and his fondness for herself. He had +squeezed her hand and he had looked into her face. However much it +may have been nonsense on Mimmy's part to talk of such things, they +had not the less absolutely occurred. Was it really the fact that +M. Lacordaire was in love with her? + +And if so, what return should she, or could she make to such a +passion? He had looked at her yesterday, and squeezed her hand to- +day. Might it not be probable that he would advance a step further +to-morrow? If so, what answer would she be prepared to make to him? + +She did not think--so she said to herself--that she had any +particular objection to marrying again. Thompson had been dead now +for four years, and neither his friends, nor her friends, nor the +world could say she was wrong on that score. And as to marrying a +Frenchman, she could not say she felt within herself any absolute +repugnance to doing that. Of her own country, speaking of England +as such, she, in truth, knew but little--and perhaps cared less. +She had gone to India almost as a child, and England had not been +specially kind to her on her return. She had found it dull and +cold, stiff, and almost ill-natured. People there had not smiled on +her and been civil as M. Lacordaire had done. As far as England and +Englishmen were considered she saw no reason why she should not +marry M. Lacordaire. + +And then, as regarded the man; could she in her heart say that she +was prepared to love, honour, and obey M. Lacordaire? She certainly +knew no reason why she should not do so. She did not know much of +him, she said to herself at first; but she knew as much, she said +afterwards, as she had known personally of Mr. Thompson before their +marriage. She had known, to be sure, what was Mr. Thompson's +profession and what his income; or, if not, some one else had known +for her. As to both these points she was quite in the dark as +regarded M. Lacordaire. + +Personally, she certainly did like him, as she said to herself more +than once. There was a courtesy and softness about him which were +very gratifying to her; and then, his appearance was so much in his +favour. He was not very young, she acknowledged; but neither was +she young herself. It was quite evident that he was fond of her +children, and that he would be a kind and affectionate father to +them. Indeed, there was kindness in all that he did. + +Should she marry again,--and she put it to herself quite +hypothetically,--she would look for no romance in such a second +marriage. She would be content to sit down in a quiet home, to the +tame dull realities of life, satisfied with the companionship of a +man who would be kind and gentle to her, and whom she could respect +and esteem. Where could she find a companion with whom this could +be more safely anticipated than with M. Lacordaire? + +And so she argued the question within her own breast in a manner not +unfriendly to that gentleman. That there was as yet one great +hindrance she at once saw; but then that might be remedied by a +word. She did not know what was his income or his profession. The +chambermaid, whom she had interrogated, had told her that he was a +"marchand." To merchants, generally, she felt that she had no +objection. The Barings and the Rothschilds were merchants, as was +also that wonderful man at Bombay, Sir Hommajee Bommajee, who was +worth she did no know how many thousand lacs of rupees. + +That it would behove her, on her own account and that of her +daughters, to take care of her own little fortune in contracting any +such connection, that she felt strongly. She would never so commit +herself as to put security in that respect out of her power. But +then she did not think that M. Lacordaire would ever ask her to do +so; at any rate, she was determined on this, that there should never +be any doubt on that matter; and as she firmly resolved on this, she +again took up her book, and for a minute or two made an attempt to +read. + +"Mamma," said Mummy, "will M. Lacordaire go up to the school to see +Lilian when you go away from this?" + +"Indeed, I cannot say, my dear. If Lilian is a good girl, perhaps +he may do so now and then." + +"And will he write to you and tell you how she is?" + +"Lilian can write for herself; can she not?" + +"Oh yes; I suppose she can; but I hope M. Lacordaire will write too. +We shall come back here some day; shan't we, mamma?" + +"I cannot say, my dear." + +"I do so hope we shall see M. Lacordaire again. Do you know what I +was thinking, mamma?" + +"Little girls like you ought not to think," said Mrs. Thompson, +walking slowly out of the room to the top of the stairs and back +again; for she had felt the necessity of preventing Mimmy from +disclosing any more of her thoughts. "And now, my dear, get +yourself ready, and we will go up to the school." + +Mrs. Thompson always dressed herself with care, though not in +especially fine clothes, before she went down to dinner at the table +d'hote; but on this occasion she was more than usually particular. +She hardly explained to herself why she did this; but, nevertheless, +as she stood before the glass, she did in a certain manner feel that +the circumstances of her future life might perhaps depend on what +might be said and done that evening. She had not absolutely decided +whether or no she would go to the Prince's chateau; but if she did +go -. Well, if she did; what then? She had sense enough, as she +assured herself more than once, to regulate her own conduct with +propriety in any such emergency. + +During the dinner, M. Lacordaire conversed in his usual manner, but +said nothing whatever about the visit to Polignac. He was very kind +to Mimmy, and very courteous to her mother, but did not appear to be +at all more particular than usual. Indeed, it might be a question +whether he was not less so. As she had entered the room Mrs. +Thompson had said to herself that, perhaps, after all, it would be +better that there should be nothing more thought about it; but +before the four of five courses were over, she was beginning to feel +a little disappointed. + +And now the fruit was on the table, after the consumption of which +it was her practice to retire. It was certainly open to her to ask +M. Lacordaire to take tea with her that evening, as she had done on +former occasions; but she felt that she must not do this now, +considering the immediate circumstances of the case. If any further +steps were to be taken, they must be taken by him, and not by her;-- +or else by Mimmy, who, just as her mother was slowly consuming her +last grapes, ran round to the back of M. Lacordaire's chair, and +whispered something into his ear. It may be presumed that Mrs. +Thompson did not see the intention of the movement in time to arrest +it, for she did nothing till the whispering had been whispered; and +then she rebuked the child, bade her not to be troublesome, and with +more than usual austerity in her voice, desired her to get herself +ready to go up stairs to their chamber. + +As she spoke she herself rose from her chair, and made her final +little bow to the table, and her other final little bow and smile to +M. Lacordaire; but this was certain to all who saw it, that the +smile was not as gracious as usual. + +As she walked forth, M. Lacordaire rose from his chair--such being +his constant practice when she left the table; but on this occasion +he accompanied her to the door. + +"And has madame decided," he asked, "whether she will permit me to +accompany her to the chateau?" + +"Well, I really don't know," said Mrs. Thompson. + +"Mees Meemy," continued M. Lacordaire, "is very anxious to see the +rock, and I may perhaps hope that Mees Lilian would be pleased with +such a little excursion. As for myself--" and then M. Lacordaire +put his hand upon his heart in a manner that seemed to speak more +plainly than he had ever spoken. + +"Well, if the children would really like it, and--as you are so very +kind," said Mrs. Thompson; and so the matter was conceded. + +"To-morrow afternoon?" suggested M. Lacordaire. But Mrs. Thompson +fixed on Saturday, thereby showing that she herself was in no hurry +for the expedition. + +"Oh, I am so glad!" said Mimmy, when they had re-entered their own +room. "Mamma, do let me tell Lilian myself when I go up to the +school to-morrow!" + +But mamma was in no humour to say much to her child on this subject +at the present moment. She threw herself back on her sofa in +perfect silence, and began to reflect whether she would like to sign +her name in future as Fanny Lacordaire, instead of Fanny Thompson. +It certainly seemed as though things were verging towards such a +necessity. A marchand! But a marchand of what? She had an +instinctive feeling that the people in the hotel were talking about +her and M. Lacordaire, and was therefore more than ever averse to +asking any one a question. + +As she went up to the school the next afternoon, she walked through +more of the streets of Le Puy than was necessary, and in every +street she looked at the names which she saw over the doors of the +more respectable houses of business. But she looked in vain. It +might be that M. Lacordaire was a marchand of so specially high a +quality as to be under no necessity to put up his name at all. Sir +Hommajee Bommajee's name did not appear over any door in Bombay;--at +least, she thought not. + +And then came the Saturday morning. "We shall be ready at two," she +said, as she left the breakfast-table; "and perhaps you would not +mind calling for Lilian on the way." + +M. Lacordaire would be delighted to call anywhere for anybody on +behalf of Mrs. Thompson; and then, as he got to the door of the +salon, he offered her his hand. He did so with so much French +courtesy that she could not refuse it, and then she felt that his +purpose was more tender than ever it had been. And why not, if this +was the destiny which Fate had prepared for her? + +Mrs. Thompson would rather have got into the carriage at any other +spot in Le Puy than at that at which she was forced to do so--the +chief entrance, namely, of the Hotel des Ambassadeurs. And what +made it worse was this, that an appearance of a special fate was +given to the occasion. M. Lacordaire was dressed in more than his +Sunday best. He had on new yellow kid gloves. His coat, if not +new, was newer than any Mrs. Thompson had yet observed, and was +lined with silk up to the very collar. He had on patent leather +boots, which glittered, as Mrs. Thompson thought, much too +conspicuously. And as for his hat, it was quite evident that it was +fresh that morning from the maker's block. + +In this costume, with his hat in his hand, he stood under the great +gateway of the hotel, ready to hand Mrs. Thompson into the carriage. +This would have been nothing if the landlord and landlady had not +been there also, as well as the man-cook, and the four waiters, and +the fille de chambre. Two or three other pair of eyes Mrs. Thompson +also saw, as she glanced round, and then Mimmy walked across the +yard in her best clothes with a fete-day air about her for which her +mother would have liked to have whipped her. + +But what did it matter? If it was written in the book that she +should become Madame Lacordaire, of course the world would know that +there must have been some preparatory love-making. Let them have +their laugh; a good husband would not be dearly purchased at so +trifling an expense. And so they sallied forth with already half +the ceremony of a wedding. + +Mimmy seated herself opposite to her mother, and M. Lacordaire also +sat with his back to the horses, leaving the second place of honour +for Lilian. "Pray make yourself comfortable, M. Lacordaire, and +don't mind her," said Mrs. Thompson. But he was firm in his purpose +of civility, perhaps making up his mind that when he should in truth +stand in the place of papa to the young lady, then would be his time +for having the back seat in the carnage. + +Lilian, also in her best frock, came down the school-steps, and +three of the school teachers came with her. It would have added to +Mrs. Thompson's happiness at that moment if M. Lacordaire would have +kept his polished boots out of sight, and put his yellow gloves into +his pocket. + +And then they started. The road from Le Puy to Polignac is nearly +all up hill; and a very steep hill it is, so that there was plenty +of time for conversation. But the girls had it nearly all to +themselves. Mimmy thought that she had never found M. Lacordaire so +stupid; and Lilian told her sister on the first safe opportunity +that occurred, that it seemed very much as though they were all +going to church. + +"And do any of the Polignac people ever live at this place?" asked +Mrs. Thompson, by way of making conversation; in answer to which M. +Lacordaire informed madame that the place was at present only a +ruin; and then there was again silence till they found themselves +under the rock, and were informed by the driver that the rest of the +ascent must be made on foot. + +The rock now stood abrupt and precipitous above their heads. It was +larger in its circumference and with much larger space on its summit +than those other volcanic rocks in and close to the town; but then +at the same time it was higher from the ground, and quite as +inaccessible, except by the single path which led up to the chateau. + +M. Lacordaire, with conspicuous gallantry, first assisted Mrs. +Thompson from the carriage, and then handed down the two young +ladies. No lady could have been so difficult to please as to +complain of him, and yet Mrs. Thompson thought that he was not as +agreeable as usual. Those horrid boots and those horrid gloves gave +him such an air of holiday finery that neither could he be at his +ease wearing them, nor could she, in seeing them worn. + +They were soon taken in hand by the poor woman whose privilege it +was to show the ruins. For a little distance they walked up the +path in single file; not that it was too narrow to accommodate two, +but M. Lacordaire's courage had not yet been screwed to a point +which admitted of his offering his arm to the widow. For in France, +it must be remembered, that this means more than it does in some +other countries. + +Mrs. Thompson felt that all this was silly and useless. If they +were not to be dear friends this coming out feting together, those +boots and gloves and new hat were all very foolish; and if they +were, the sooner they understood each other the better. So Mrs. +Thompson, finding that the path was steep and the weather warm, +stood still for a while leaning against the wall, with a look of +considerable fatigue in her face. + +"Will madame permit me the honour of offering her my arm?" said M. +Lacordaire. "The road is so extraordinarily steep for madame to +climb." + +Mrs. Thompson did permit him the honour, and so they went on till +they reached the top. + +The view from the summit was both extensive and grand, but neither +Lilian nor Mimmy were much pleased with the place. The elder +sister, who had talked over the matter with her school companions, +expected a fine castle with turrets, battlements, and romance; and +the other expected a pretty smiling house, such as princes, in her +mind, ought to inhabit. + +Instead of this they found an old turret, with steps so broken that +M. Lacordaire did not care to ascend them, and the ruined walls of a +mansion, in which nothing was to be seen but the remains of an +enormous kitchen chimney. + +"It was the kitchen of the family," said the guide. + +"Oh," said Mrs. Thompson. + +"And this," said the woman, taking them into the next ruined +compartment, "was the kitchen of monsieur et madame." + +"What! two kitchens?" exclaimed Lilian, upon which M. Lacordaire +explained that the ancestors of the Prince de Polignac had been very +great people, and had therefore required culinary performances on a +great scale. + +And then the woman began to chatter something about an oracle of +Apollo. There was, she said, a hole in the rock, from which in past +times, perhaps more than a hundred years ago, the oracle used to +speak forth mysterious words. + +"There," she said, pointing to a part of the rock at some distance, +"was the hole. And if the ladies would follow her to a little +outhouse which was just beyond, she would show them the huge stone +mouth out of which the oracle used to speak." + +Lilian and Mimmy both declared at once for seeing the oracle, but +Mrs. Thompson expressed her determination to remain sitting where +she was upon the turf. So the guide started off with the young +ladies; and will it be thought surprising that M. Lacordaire should +have remained alone by the side of Mrs. Thompson? + +It must be now or never, Mrs. Thompson felt; and as regarded M. +Lacordaire, he probably entertained some idea of the same kind. +Mrs. Thompson's inclinations, though they had never been very strong +in the matter, were certainly in favour of the "now." M. +Lacordaire's inclinations were stronger. He had fully and firmly +made up his mind in favour of matrimony; but then he was not so +absolutely in favour of the "now." Mrs. Thompson's mind, if one +could have read it, would have shown a great objection to shilly- +shallying, as she was accustomed to call it. But M. Lacordaire, +were it not for the danger which might thence arise, would have seen +no objection to some slight further procrastination. His courage +was beginning, perhaps, to ooze out from his fingers' ends. + +"I declare that those girls have scampered away ever so far," said +Mrs. Thompson. + +"Would madame wish that I should call them back?" said M. +Lacordaire, innocently. + +"Oh, no, dear children! let them enjoy themselves; it will be a +pleasure to them to run about the rock, and I suppose they will be +safe with that woman?" + +"Oh, yes, quite safe," said M. Lacordaire; and then there was +another little pause. + +Mrs. Thompson was sitting on a broken fragment of a stone just +outside the entrance to the old family kitchen, and M. Lacordaire +was standing immediately before her. He had in his hand a little +cane with which he sometimes slapped his boots and sometimes poked +about among the rubbish. His hat was not quite straight on his +head, having a little jaunty twist to one side, with reference to +which, by-the-bye, Mrs. Thompson then resolved that she would make a +change, should ever the gentleman become her own property. He still +wore his gloves, and was very smart; but it was clear to see that he +was not at his ease. + +"I hope the heat does not incommode you," he said after a few +moments' silence. Mrs. Thompson declared that it did not, that she +liked a good deal of heat, and that, on the whole, she was very well +where she was. She was afraid, however, that she was detaining M. +Lacordaire, who might probably wish to be moving about upon the +rock. In answer to which M. Lacordaire declared that he never could +be so happy anywhere as in her close vicinity. + +"You are too good to me," said Mrs. Thompson, almost sighing. "I +don't know what my stay here would have been without your great +kindness." + +"It is madame that has been kind to me," said M. Lacordaire, +pressing the handle of his cane against his heart. + +There was then another pause, after which Mrs. Thompson said that +that was all his French politeness; that she knew that she had been +very troublesome to him, but that she would now soon be gone; and +that then, in her own country, she would never forget his great +goodness. + +"Ah, madame!" said M. Lacordaire; and, as he said it, much more was +expressed in his face than in his words. But, then, you can neither +accept nor reject a gentleman by what he says in his face. He +blushed, too, up to his grizzled hair, and, turning round, walked a +step or two away from the widow's seat, and back again. + +Mrs. Thompson the while sat quite still. The displaced fragment, +lying, as it did, near a corner of the building, made not an +uncomfortable chair. She had only to be careful that she did not +injure her hat or crush her clothes, and throw in a word here and +there to assist the gentleman, should occasion permit it. + +"Madame!" said M. Lacordaire, on his return from a second little +walk. + +"Monsieur!" replied Mrs. Thompson, perceiving that M. Lacordaire +paused in his speech. + +"Madame," he began again, and then, as he again paused, Mrs. +Thompson looked up to him very sweetly; "madame, what I am going to +say will, I am afraid, seem to evince by far too great audacity on +my part." + +Mrs. Thompson may, perhaps, have thought that, at the present +moment, audacity was not his fault. She replied, however, that she +was quite sure that monsieur would say nothing that was in any way +unbecoming either for him to speak or for her to hear. + +"Madame, may I have ground to hope that such may be your sentiments +after I have spoken! Madame"--and now he went down, absolutely on +his knees, on the hard stones; and Mrs. Thompson, looking about into +the distance, almost thought that she saw the top of the guide's +cap--"Madame, I have looked forward to this opportunity as one in +which I may declare for you the greatest passion that I have ever +yet felt. Madame, with all my heart and soul I love you. Madame, I +offer to you the homage of my heart, my hand, the happiness of my +life, and all that I possess in this world;" and then, taking her +hand gracefully between his gloves, he pressed his lips against the +tips of her fingers. + +If the thing was to be done, this way of doing it was, perhaps, as +good as any other. It was one, at any rate, which left no doubt +whatever as to the gentleman's intentions. Mrs. Thompson, could she +have had her own way, would not have allowed her lover of fifty to +go down upon his knees, and would have spared him much of the +romance of his declaration. So also would she have spared him his +yellow gloves and his polished boots. But these were a part of the +necessity of the situation, and therefore she wisely took them as +matters to be passed over with indifference. Seeing, however, that +M. Lacordaire still remained on his knees, it was necessary that she +should take some step toward raising him, especially as her two +children and the guide would infallibly be upon them before long. + +"M. Lacordaire," she said, "you surprise me greatly; but pray get +up." + +"But will madame vouchsafe to give me some small ground for hope?" + +"The girls will be here directly, M. Lacordaire; pray get up. I can +talk to you much better if you will stand up, or sit down on one of +these stones." + +M. Lacordaire did as he was bid; he got up, wiped the knees of his +pantaloons with his handkerchief, sat down beside her, and then +pressed the handle of his cane to his heart. + +"You really have so surprised me that I hardly know how to answer +you," said Mrs. Thompson. "Indeed, I cannot bring myself to imagine +that you are in earnest." + +"Ah, madame, do not be so cruel! How can I have lived with you so +long, sat beside you for so many days, without having received your +image into my heart? I am in earnest! Alas! I fear too much in +earnest!" And then he looked at her with all his eyes, and sighed +with all his strength. + +Mrs. Thompson's prudence told her that it would be well to settle +the matter, in one way or the other, as soon as possible. Long +periods of love-making were fit for younger people than herself and +her future possible husband. Her object would be to make him +comfortable if she could, and that he should do the same for her, if +that also were possible. As for lookings and sighings and pressings +of the hand, she had gone through all that some twenty years since +in India, when Thompson had been young, and she was still in her +teens. + +"But, M. Lacordaire, there are so many things to be considered. +There! I hear the children coming! Let us walk this way for a +minute." And they turned behind a wall which placed them out of +sight, and walked on a few paces till they reached a parapet, which +stood on the uttermost edge of the high rock. Leaning upon this +they continued their conversation. + +"There are so many things to be considered," said Mrs. Thompson +again. + +"Yes, of course," said M. Lacordaire. "But my one great +consideration is this;--that I love madame to distraction." + +"I am very much flattered; of course, any lady would so feel. But, +M. Lacordaire--" + +"Madame, I am all attention. But, if you would deign to make me +happy, say that one word, 'I love you!'" M. Lacordaire, as he +uttered these words, did not look, as the saying is, at his best. +But Mrs. Thompson forgave him. She knew that elderly gentlemen +under such circumstances do not look at their best. + +"But if I consented to--to--to such an arrangement, I could only do +so on seeing that it would be beneficial--or, at any rate, not +injurious--to my children; and that it would offer to ourselves a +fair promise of future happiness." + +"Ah, madame; it would be the dearest wish of my heart to be a second +father to those two young ladies; except, indeed--" and then M. +Lacordaire stopped the flow of his speech. + +"In such matters it is so much the best to be explicit at once," +said Mrs. Thompson. + +"Oh, yes; certainly! Nothing can be more wise than madame." + +"And the happiness of a household depends so much on money." + +"Madame!" + +"Let me say a word or two, Monsieur Lacordaire. I have enough for +myself and my children; and, should I every marry again, I should +not, I hope, be felt as a burden by my husband; but it would, of +course, be my duty to know what were his circumstances before I +accepted him. Of yourself, personally, I have seen nothing that I +do not like." + +"Oh, madame!" + +"But as yet I know nothing of your circumstances." + +M. Lacordaire, perhaps, did feel that Mrs. Thompson's prudence was +of a strong, masculine description; but he hardly liked her the less +on this account. To give him his due he was not desirous of +marrying her solely for her money's sake. He also wished for a +comfortable home, and proposed to give as much as he got; only he +had been anxious to wrap up the solid cake of this business in a +casing of sugar of romance. Mrs. Thompson would not have the sugar +but the cake might not be the worse on that account. + +"No, madame, not as yet; but they shall all be made open and at your +disposal," said M. Lacordaire; and Mrs. Thompson bowed approvingly. + +"I am in business," continued M. Lacordaire; "and my business gives +me eight thousand francs a year." + +"Four times eight are thirty-two," said Mrs. Thompson to herself; +putting the francs into pounds sterling, in the manner that she had +always found to be the readiest. Well, so far the statement was +satisfactory. An income of three hundred and twenty pounds a year +from business, joined to her own, might do very well. She did not +in the least suspect M. Lacordaire of being false, and so far the +matter sounded well. + + "And what is the business?" she asked, in a tone of voice intended +to be indifferent, but which nevertheless showed that she listened +anxiously for an answer to her question. + + They were both standing with their arms upon the wall, looking down +upon the town of Le Puy; but they had so stood that each could see +the other's countenance as they talked. Mrs. Thompson could now +perceive that M. Lacordaire became red in the face, as he paused +before answering her. She was near to him, and seeing his emotion +gently touched his arm with her hand. This she did to reassure him, +for she saw that he was ashamed of having to declare that he was a +tradesman. As for herself, she had made up her mind to bear with +this, if she found, as she felt sure she would find, that the trade +was one which would not degrade either him or her. Hitherto, +indeed,--in her early days,--she had looked down on trade; but of +what benefit had her grand ideas been to her when she had returned +to England? She had tried her hand at English genteel society, and +no one had seemed to care for her. Therefore, she touched his arm +lightly with her fingers that she might encourage him. + +He paused for a moment, as I have said, and became red; and then +feeling that he had shown some symptoms of shame--and feeling also, +probably, that it was unmanly in him to do so, he shook himself +slightly, raised his head up somewhat more proudly than was his +wont, looked her full in the face with more strength of character +than she had yet seen him assume; and then, declared his business. + +"Madame," he said, in a very audible, but not in a loud voice, +"madame--je suis tailleur." And having so spoken, he turned +slightly from her and looked down over the valley towards Le Puy. + +There was nothing more said upon the subject as they drove down from +the rock of Polignac back to the town. Immediately on receiving the +announcement, Mrs. Thompson found that she had no answer to make. +She withdrew her hand--and felt at once that she had received a +blow. It was not that she was angry with M. Lacordaire for being a +tailor; nor was she angry with him in that, being a tailor, he had +so addressed her. But she was surprised, disappointed, and +altogether put beyond her ease. She had, at any rate, not expected +this. She had dreamed of his being a banker; thought that, perhaps, +he might have been a wine merchant; but her idea had never gone +below a jeweller or watchmaker. When those words broke upon her +ear, "Madame, je suis tailleur," she had felt herself to be +speechless. + +But the words had not been a minute spoken when Lilian and Mimmy ran +up to their mother. "Oh, mamma," said Lilian, "we thought you were +lost; we have searched for you all over the chateau." + +"We have been sitting very quietly here, my dear, looking at the +view," said Mrs. Thompson. + +"But, mamma, I do wish you'd see the mouth of the oracle. It is so +large, and so round, and so ugly. I put my arm into it all the +way," said Mimmy. + +But at the present moment her mamma felt no interest in the mouth of +the oracle; and so they all walked down together to the carriage. +And, though the way was steep, Mrs. Thompson managed to pick her +steps without the assistance of an arm; nor did M. Lacordaire +presume to offer it. + +The drive back to town was very silent. Mrs. Thompson did make one +or two attempts at conversation, but they were not effectual. M. +Lacordaire could not speak at his ease till this matter was settled, +and he already had begun to perceive that his business was against +him. Why is it that the trade of a tailor should be less honourable +than that of a haberdasher, or even a grocer? + +They sat next each other at dinner, as usual; and here, as all eyes +were upon them, they both made a great struggle to behave in their +accustomed way. But even in this they failed. All the world of the +Hotel des Ambassadeurs knew that M. Lacordaire had gone forth to +make an offer to Mrs. Thompson, and all that world, therefore, was +full of speculation. But all the world could make nothing of it. +M. Lacordaire did look like a rejected man, but Mrs. Thompson did +not look like the woman who had rejected him. That the offer had +been made--in that everybody agreed, from the senior habitue of the +house who always sat at the head of the table, down to the junior +assistant garcon. But as to reading the riddle, there was no accord +among them. + +When the dessert was done, Mrs. Thompson, as usual, withdrew, and M. +Lacordaire, as usual, bowed as he stood behind his own chair. He +did not, however, attempt to follow her. + +But when she reached the door she called him. He was at her side in +a moment, and then she whispered in his ear - + +"And I, also--I will be of the same business." + +When M. Lacordaire regained the table the senior habitue, the junior +garcon, and all the intermediate ranks of men at the Hotel des +Ambassadeurs knew that they might congratulate him. + +Mrs. Thompson had made a great struggle; but, speaking for myself, I +am inclined to think that she arrived at last at a wise decision. + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Chateau of Prince Polignac, by Trollope + diff --git a/old/chtpp10.zip b/old/chtpp10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d32e462 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/chtpp10.zip |