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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bel Ami, by Henri Rene Guy de Maupassant
+
+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: Bel Ami
+
+Author: Henri Rene Guy de Maupassant
+
+Posting Date: May 13, 2009 [EBook #3733]
+Release Date: February, 2003
+First Posted: August 13, 2001
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEL AMI ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+BEL AMI
+
+OR
+
+THE HISTORY OF A SCOUNDREL
+
+
+A NOVEL
+
+BY
+
+GUY DE MAUPASSANT
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+     CHAPTER I.   POVERTY
+    CHAPTER II.   MADAME FORESTIER
+   CHAPTER III.   FIRST ATTEMPTS
+    CHAPTER IV.   DUROY LEARNS SOMETHING
+     CHAPTER V.   THE FIRST INTRIGUE
+    CHAPTER VI.   A STEP UPWARD
+   CHAPTER VII.   A DUEL WITH AN END
+  CHAPTER VIII.   DEATH AND A PROPOSAL
+    CHAPTER IX.   MARRIAGE
+     CHAPTER X.   JEALOUSY
+    CHAPTER XI.   MADAME WALTER TAKES A HAND
+   CHAPTER XII.   A MEETING AND THE RESULT
+  CHAPTER XIII.   MADAME MARELLE
+   CHAPTER XIV.   THE WILL
+    CHAPTER XV.   SUZANNE
+   CHAPTER XVI.   DIVORCE
+  CHAPTER XVII.   THE FINAL PLOT
+ CHAPTER XVIII.   ATTAINMENT
+
+
+
+
+BEL-AMI
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+POVERTY
+
+
+After changing his five-franc piece Georges Duroy left the restaurant.
+He twisted his mustache in military style and cast a rapid, sweeping
+glance upon the diners, among whom were three saleswomen, an untidy
+music-teacher of uncertain age, and two women with their husbands.
+
+When he reached the sidewalk, he paused to consider what route he
+should take. It was the twenty-eighth of June and he had only three
+francs in his pocket to last him the remainder of the month. That meant
+two dinners and no lunches, or two lunches and no dinners, according to
+choice. As he pondered upon this unpleasant state of affairs, he
+sauntered down Rue Notre Dame de Lorette, preserving his military air
+and carriage, and rudely jostled the people upon the streets in order
+to clear a path for himself. He appeared to be hostile to the
+passers-by, and even to the houses, the entire city.
+
+Tall, well-built, fair, with blue eyes, a curled mustache, hair
+naturally wavy and parted in the middle, he recalled the hero of the
+popular romances.
+
+It was one of those sultry, Parisian evenings when not a breath of air
+is stirring; the sewers exhaled poisonous gases and the restaurants the
+disagreeable odors of cooking and of kindred smells. Porters in their
+shirt-sleeves, astride their chairs, smoked their pipes at the carriage
+gates, and pedestrians strolled leisurely along, hats in hand.
+
+When Georges Duroy reached the boulevard he halted again, undecided as
+to which road to choose. Finally he turned toward the Madeleine and
+followed the tide of people.
+
+The large, well-patronized cafes tempted Duroy, but were he to drink
+only two glasses of beer in an evening, farewell to the meager supper
+the following night! Yet he said to himself: "I will take a glass at
+the Americain. By Jove, I am thirsty."
+
+He glanced at men seated at the tables, men who could afford to slake
+their thirst, and he scowled at them. "Rascals!" he muttered. If he
+could have caught one of them at a corner in the dark he would have
+choked him without a scruple! He recalled the two years spent in
+Africa, and the manner in which he had extorted money from the Arabs. A
+smile hovered about his lips at the recollection of an escapade which
+had cost three men their lives, a foray which had given his two
+comrades and himself seventy fowls, two sheep, money, and something to
+laugh about for six months. The culprits were never found; indeed, they
+were not sought for, the Arab being looked upon as the soldier's prey.
+
+But in Paris it was different; there one could not commit such deeds
+with impunity. He regretted that he had not remained where he was; but
+he had hoped to improve his condition--and for that reason he was in
+Paris!
+
+He passed the Vaudeville and stopped at the Cafe Americain, debating as
+to whether he should take that "glass." Before deciding, he glanced at
+a clock; it was a quarter past nine. He knew that when the beer was
+placed in front of him, he would drink it; and then what would he do at
+eleven o'clock? So he walked on, intending to go as far as the
+Madeleine and return.
+
+When he reached the Place de l'Opera, a tall, young man passed him,
+whose face he fancied was familiar. He followed him, repeating: "Where
+the deuce have I seen that fellow?"
+
+For a time he racked his brain in vain; then suddenly he saw the same
+man, but not so corpulent and more youthful, attired in the uniform of
+a Hussar. He exclaimed: "Wait, Forestier!" and hastening up to him,
+laid his hand upon the man's shoulder. The latter turned, looked at
+him, and said: "What do you want, sir?"
+
+Duroy began to laugh: "Don't you remember me?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Not remember Georges Duroy of the Sixth Hussars."
+
+Forestier extended both hands.
+
+"Ah, my dear fellow, how are you?"
+
+"Very well. And how are you?"
+
+"Oh, I am not very well. I cough six months out of the twelve as a
+result of bronchitis contracted at Bougival, about the time of my
+return to Paris four years ago."
+
+"But you look well."
+
+Forestier, taking his former comrade's arm, told him of his malady, of
+the consultations, the opinions and the advice of the doctors and of
+the difficulty of following their advice in his position. They ordered
+him to spend the winter in the south, but how could he? He was married
+and was a journalist in a responsible editorial position.
+
+"I manage the political department on 'La Vie Francaise'; I report the
+doings of the Senate for 'Le Salut,' and from time to time I write for
+'La Planete.' That is what I am doing."
+
+Duroy, in surprise, glanced at him. He was very much changed. Formerly
+Forestier had been thin, giddy, noisy, and always in good spirits. But
+three years of life in Paris had made another man of him; now he was
+stout and serious, and his hair was gray on his temples although he
+could not number more than twenty-seven years.
+
+Forestier asked: "Where are you going?"
+
+Duroy replied: "Nowhere in particular."
+
+"Very well, will you accompany me to the 'Vie Francaise' where I have
+some proofs to correct; and afterward take a drink with me?"
+
+"Yes, gladly."
+
+They walked along arm-in-arm with that familiarity which exists between
+schoolmates and brother-officers.
+
+"What are you doing in Paris?" asked Forestier, Duroy shrugged his
+shoulders.
+
+"Dying of hunger, simply. When my time was up, I came hither to make my
+fortune, or rather to live in Paris--and for six months I have been
+employed in a railroad office at fifteen hundred francs a year."
+
+Forestier murmured: "That is not very much."
+
+"But what can I do?" answered Duroy. "I am alone, I know no one, I have
+no recommendations. The spirit is not lacking, but the means are."
+
+His companion looked at him from head to foot like a practical man who
+is examining a subject; then he said, in a tone of conviction: "You
+see, my dear fellow, all depends on assurance, here. A shrewd,
+observing man can sometimes become a minister. You must obtrude
+yourself and yet not ask anything. But how is it you have not found
+anything better than a clerkship at the station?"
+
+Duroy replied: "I hunted everywhere and found nothing else. But I know
+where I can get three thousand francs at least--as riding-master at the
+Pellerin school."
+
+Forestier stopped him: "Don't do it, for you can earn ten thousand
+francs. You will ruin your prospects at once. In your office at least
+no one knows you; you can leave it if you wish to at any time. But when
+you are once a riding-master all will be over. You might as well be a
+butler in a house to which all Paris comes to dine. When you have given
+riding lessons to men of the world or to their sons, they will no
+longer consider you their equal."
+
+He paused, reflected several seconds and then asked:
+
+"Are you a bachelor?"
+
+"Yes, though I have been smitten several times."
+
+"That makes no difference. If Cicero and Tiberius were mentioned would
+you know who they were?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Good, no one knows any more except about a score of fools. It is not
+difficult to pass for being learned. The secret is not to betray your
+ignorance. Just maneuver, avoid the quicksands and obstacles, and the
+rest can be found in a dictionary."
+
+He spoke like one who understood human nature, and he smiled as the
+crowd passed them by. Suddenly he began to cough and stopped to allow
+the paroxysm to spend itself; then he said in a discouraged tone:
+
+"Isn't it tiresome not to be able to get rid of this bronchitis? And
+here is midsummer! This winter I shall go to Mentone. Health before
+everything."
+
+They reached the Boulevarde Poissoniere; behind a large glass door an
+open paper was affixed; three people were reading it. Above the door
+was printed the legend, "La Vie Francaise."
+
+Forestier pushed open the door and said: "Come in." Duroy entered; they
+ascended the stairs, passed through an antechamber in which two clerks
+greeted their comrade, and then entered a kind of waiting-room.
+
+"Sit down," said Forestier, "I shall be back in five minutes," and he
+disappeared.
+
+Duroy remained where he was; from time to time men passed him by,
+entering by one door and going out by another before he had time to
+glance at them.
+
+Now they were young men, very young, with a busy air, holding sheets of
+paper in their hands; now compositors, their shirts spotted with
+ink--carefully carrying what were evidently fresh proofs. Occasionally
+a gentleman entered, fashionably dressed, some reporter bringing news.
+
+Forestier reappeared arm-in-arm with a tall, thin man of thirty or
+forty, dressed in a black coat, with a white cravat, a dark complexion,
+and an insolent, self-satisfied air. Forestier said to him: "Adieu, my
+dear sir," and the other pressed his hand with: "Au revoir, my friend."
+Then he descended the stairs whistling, his cane under his arm.
+
+Duroy asked his name.
+
+"That is Jacques Rival, the celebrated writer and duelist. He came to
+correct his proofs. Garin, Montel and he are the best witty and
+realistic writers we have in Paris. He earns thirty thousand francs a
+year for two articles a week."
+
+As they went downstairs, they met a stout, little man with long hair,
+who was ascending the stairs whistling. Forestier bowed low.
+
+"Norbert de Varenne," said he, "the poet, the author of 'Les Soleils
+Morts,'--a very expensive man. Every poem he gives us costs three
+hundred francs and the longest has not two hundred lines. But let us go
+into the Napolitain, I am getting thirsty."
+
+When they were seated at a table, Forestier ordered two glasses of
+beer. He emptied his at a single draught, while Duroy sipped his beer
+slowly as if it were something rare and precious. Suddenly his
+companion asked, "Why don't you try journalism?"
+
+Duroy looked at him in surprise and said: "Because I have never written
+anything."
+
+"Bah, we all have to make a beginning. I could employ you myself by
+sending you to obtain information. At first you would only get two
+hundred and fifty francs a month but your cab fare would be paid. Shall
+I speak to the manager?"
+
+"If you will."
+
+"Well, then come and dine with me to-morrow; I will only ask five or
+six to meet you; the manager, M. Walter, his wife, with Jacques Rival,
+and Norbert de Varenne whom you have just seen, and also a friend of
+Mme. Forestier, Will you come?"
+
+Duroy hesitated, blushing and perplexed. Finally he, murmured: "I have
+no suitable clothes."
+
+Forestier was amazed. "You have no dress suit? Egad, that is
+indispensable. In Paris, it is better to have no bed than no clothes."
+Then, fumbling in his vest-pocket, he drew from it two louis, placed
+them before his companion, and said kindly: "You can repay me when it
+is convenient. Buy yourself what you need and pay an installment on it.
+And come and dine with us at half past seven, at 17 Rue Fontaine."
+
+In confusion Duroy picked up the money and stammered: "You are very
+kind--I am much obliged--be sure I shall not forget."
+
+Forestier interrupted him: "That's all right, take another glass of
+beer. Waiter, two more glasses!" When he had paid the score, the
+journalist asked: "Would you like a stroll for an hour?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+They turned toward the Madeleine. "What shall we do?" asked Forestier.
+"They say that in Paris an idler can always find amusement, but it is
+not true. A turn in the Bois is only enjoyable if you have a lady with
+you, and that is a rare occurrence. The cafe concerts may divert my
+tailor and his wife, but they do not interest me. So what can we do?
+Nothing! There ought to be a summer garden here, open at night, where a
+man could listen to good music while drinking beneath the trees. It
+would be a pleasant lounging place. You could walk in alleys bright
+with electric light and seat yourself where you pleased to hear the
+music. It would be charming. Where would you like to go?"
+
+Duroy did not know what to reply; finally he said: "I have never been
+to the Folies Bergeres. I should like to go there."
+
+His companion exclaimed: "The Folies Bergeres! Very well!"
+
+They turned and walked toward the Faubourg Montmartre. The brilliantly
+illuminated building loomed up before them. Forestier entered, Duroy
+stopped him. "We forgot to pass through the gate."
+
+The other replied in a consequential tone: "I never pay," and
+approached the box-office.
+
+"Have you a good box?"
+
+"Certainly, M. Forestier."
+
+He took the ticket handed him, pushed open the door, and they were
+within the hall. A cloud of tobacco smoke almost hid the stage and the
+opposite side of the theater. In the spacious foyer which led to the
+circular promenade, brilliantly dressed women mingled with black-coated
+men.
+
+Forestier forced his way rapidly through the throng and accosted an
+usher.
+
+"Box 17?"
+
+"This way, sir."
+
+The friends were shown into a tiny box, hung and carpeted in red, with
+four chairs upholstered in the same color. They seated themselves. To
+their right and left were similar boxes. On the stage three men were
+performing on trapezes. But Duroy paid no heed to them, his eyes
+finding more to interest them in the grand promenade. Forestier
+remarked upon the motley appearance of the throng, but Duroy did not
+listen to him. A woman, leaning her arms upon the edge of her loge, was
+staring at him. She was a tall, voluptuous brunette, her face whitened
+with enamel, her black eyes penciled, and her lips painted. With a
+movement of her head, she summoned a friend who was passing, a blonde
+with auburn hair, likewise inclined to embonpoint, and said to her in a
+whisper intended to be heard; "There is a nice fellow!"
+
+Forestier heard it, and said to Duroy with a smile: "You are lucky, my
+dear boy. My congratulations!"
+
+The ci-devant soldier blushed and mechanically fingered the two pieces
+of gold in his pocket.
+
+The curtain fell--the orchestra played a valse--and Duroy said:
+
+"Shall we walk around the gallery?"
+
+"If you like."
+
+Soon they were carried along in the current of promenaders. Duroy drank
+in with delight the air, vitiated as it was by tobacco and cheap
+perfume, but Forestier perspired, panted, and coughed.
+
+"Let us go into the garden," he said. Turning to the left, they entered
+a kind of covered garden in which two large fountains were playing.
+Under the yews, men and women sat at tables drinking.
+
+"Another glass of beer?" asked Forestier.
+
+"Gladly."
+
+They took their seats and watched the promenaders. Occasionally a woman
+would stop and ask with a coarse smile: "What have you to offer, sir?"
+
+Forestier's invariable answer was: "A glass of water from the
+fountain." And the woman would mutter, "Go along," and walk away.
+
+At last the brunette reappeared, arm-in-arm with the blonde. They made
+a handsome couple. The former smiled on perceiving Duroy, and taking a
+chair she calmly seated herself in front of him, and said in a clear
+voice: "Waiter, two glasses."
+
+In astonishment, Forestier exclaimed: "You are not at all bashful!"
+
+She replied: "Your friend has bewitched me; he is such a fine fellow. I
+believe he has turned my head."
+
+Duroy said nothing.
+
+The waiter brought the beer, which the women swallowed rapidly; then
+they rose, and the brunette, nodding her head and tapping Duroy's arm
+with her fan, said to him: "Thank you, my dear! However, you are not
+very talkative."
+
+As they disappeared, Forestier laughed and said: "Tell, me, old man,
+did you know that you had a charm for the weaker sex? You must be
+careful."
+
+Without replying, Duroy smiled. His friend asked: "Shall you remain any
+longer? I am going; I have had enough."
+
+Georges murmured: "Yes, I will stay a little longer: it is not late."
+
+Forestier arose: "Very well, then, good-bye until to-morrow. Do not
+forget: 17 Rue Fontaine at seven thirty."
+
+"I shall not forget. Thank you."
+
+The friends shook hands and the journalist left Duroy to his own
+devices.
+
+Forestier once out of sight, Duroy felt free, and again he joyously
+touched the gold pieces in his pocket; then rising, he mingled with the
+crowd.
+
+He soon discovered the blonde and the brunette. He went toward them,
+but when near them dared not address them.
+
+The brunette called out to him: "Have you found your tongue?"
+
+He stammered: "Zounds!" too bashful to say another word. A pause
+ensued, during which the brunette took his arm and together they left
+the hall.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+MADAME FORESTIER
+
+
+"Where does M. Forestier live?"
+
+"Third floor on the left," said the porter pleasantly, on learning
+Duroy's destination.
+
+Georges ascended the staircase. He was somewhat embarrassed and
+ill-at-ease. He had on a new suit but he was uncomfortable. He felt
+that it was defective; his boots were not glossy, he had bought his
+shirt that same evening at the Louvre for four francs fifty, his
+trousers were too wide and betrayed their cheapness in their fit, or
+rather, misfit, and his coat was too tight.
+
+Slowly he ascended the stairs, his heart beating, his mind anxious.
+Suddenly before him stood a well-dressed gentleman staring at him. The
+person resembled Duroy so close that the latter retreated, then
+stopped, and saw that it was his own image reflected in a pier-glass!
+Not having anything but a small mirror at home, he had not been able to
+see himself entirely, and had exaggerated the imperfections of his
+toilette. When he saw his reflection in the glass, he did not even
+recognize himself; he took himself for some one else, for a
+man-of-the-world, and was really satisfied with his general appearance.
+Smiling to himself, Duroy extended his hand and expressed his
+astonishment, pleasure, and approbation. A door opened on the
+staircase, He was afraid of being surprised and began to ascend more
+rapidly, fearing that he might have been seen posing there by some of
+his friend's invited guests.
+
+On reaching the second floor, he saw another mirror, and once more
+slackened his pace to look at himself. He likewise paused before the
+third glass, twirled his mustache, took off his hat to arrange his
+hair, and murmured half aloud, a habit of his: "Hall mirrors are most
+convenient."
+
+Then he rang the bell. The door opened almost immediately, and before
+him stood a servant in a black coat, with a grave, shaven face, so
+perfect in his appearance that Duroy again became confused as he
+compared the cut of their garments.
+
+The lackey asked:
+
+"Whom shall I announce, Monsieur?" He raised a portiere and pronounced
+the name.
+
+Duroy lost his self-possession upon being ushered into a world as yet
+strange to him. However, he advanced. A young, fair woman received him
+alone in a large, well-lighted room. He paused, disconcerted. Who was
+that smiling lady? He remembered that Forestier was married, and the
+thought that the handsome blonde was his friend's wife rendered him
+awkward and ill-at-ease. He stammered out:
+
+"Madame, I am--"
+
+She held out her hand. "I know, Monsieur--Charles told me of your
+meeting last night, and I am very glad that he asked you to dine with
+us to-day."
+
+Duroy blushed to the roots of his hair, not knowing how to reply; he
+felt that he was being inspected from his head to his feet. He half
+thought of excusing himself, of inventing an explanation of the
+carelessness of his toilette, but he did not know how to touch upon
+that delicate subject.
+
+He seated himself upon a chair she pointed out to him, and as he sank
+into its luxurious depths, it seemed to him that he was entering a new
+and charming life, that he would make his mark in the world, that he
+was saved. He glanced at Mme. Forestier. She wore a gown of pale blue
+cashmere which clung gracefully to her supple form and rounded
+outlines; her arms and throat rose in, lily-white purity from the mass
+of lace which ornamented the corsage and short sleeves. Her hair was
+dressed high and curled on the nape of her neck.
+
+Duroy grew more at his ease under her glance, which recalled to him, he
+knew not why, that of the girl he had met the preceding evening at the
+Folies-Bergeres. Mme. Forestier had gray eyes, a small nose, full lips,
+and a rather heavy chin, an irregular, attractive face, full of
+gentleness and yet of malice.
+
+After a short silence, she asked: "Have you been in Paris a long time?"
+
+Gradually regaining his self-possession, he replied: "a few months,
+Madame. I am in the railroad employ, but my friend Forestier has
+encouraged me to hope that, thanks to him, I can enter into journalism."
+
+She smiled kindly and murmured in a low voice: "I know."
+
+The bell rang again and the servant announced: "Mme. de Marelle." She
+was a dainty brunette, attired in a simple, dark robe; a red rose in
+her black tresses seemed to accentuate her special character, and a
+young girl, or rather a child, for such she was, followed her.
+
+Mme. Forestier said: "Good evening, Clotilde."
+
+"Good evening, Madeleine."
+
+They embraced each other, then the child offered her forehead with the
+assurance of an adult, saying:
+
+"Good evening, cousin."
+
+Mme. Forestier kissed her, and then made the introductions:
+
+"M. Georges Duroy, an old friend of Charles. Mme. de Marelle, my
+friend, a relative in fact." She added: "Here, you know, we do not
+stand on ceremony."
+
+Duroy bowed. The door opened again and a short man entered, upon his
+arm a tall, handsome woman, taller than he and much younger, with
+distinguished manners and a dignified carriage. It was M. Walter,
+deputy, financier, a moneyed man, and a man of business, manager of "La
+Vie Francaise," with his wife, nee Basile Ravalade, daughter of the
+banker of that name.
+
+Then came Jacques Rival, very elegant, followed by Norbert de Varenne.
+The latter advanced with the grace of the old school and taking Mme.
+Forestier's hand kissed it; his long hair falling upon his hostess's
+bare arm as he did so.
+
+Forestier now entered, apologizing for being late; he had been detained.
+
+The servant announced dinner, and they entered the dining-room. Duroy
+was placed between Mme. de Marelle and her daughter. He was again
+rendered uncomfortable for fear of committing some error in the
+conventional management of his fork, his spoon, or his glasses, of
+which he had four. Nothing was said during the soup; then Norbert de
+Varenne asked a general question: "Have you read the Gauthier case? How
+droll it was!"
+
+Then followed a discussion of the subject in which the ladies joined.
+Then a duel was mentioned and Jacques Rival led the conversation; that
+was his province. Duroy did not venture a remark, but occasionally
+glanced at his neighbor. A diamond upon a slight, golden thread
+depended from her ear; from time to time she uttered a remark which
+evoked a smile upon his lips. Duroy sought vainly for some compliment
+to pay her; he busied himself with her daughter, filled her glass,
+waited upon her, and the child, more dignified than her mother, thanked
+him gravely saying, "You are very kind, Monsieur," while she listened
+to the conversation with a reflective air. The dinner was excellent and
+everyone was delighted with it.
+
+The conversation returned to the colonization of Algeria. M. Walter
+uttered several jocose remarks; Forestier alluded to the article he had
+prepared for the morrow; Jacques Rival declared himself in favor of a
+military government with grants of land to all the officers after
+thirty years of colonial service.
+
+"In that way," said he, "you can establish a strong colony, familiar
+with and liking the country, knowing its language and able to cope with
+all those local yet grave questions which invariably confront
+newcomers."
+
+Norbert de Varenne interrupted: "Yes, they would know everything,
+except agriculture. They would speak Arabic, but they would not know
+how to transplant beet-root, and how to sow wheat. They would be strong
+in fencing, but weak in the art of farming. On the contrary, the new
+country should be opened to everyone. Intelligent men would make
+positions for themselves; the others would succumb. It is a natural
+law."
+
+A pause ensued. Everyone smiled. Georges Duroy, startled at the sound
+of his own voice, as if he had never heard it, said:
+
+"What is needed the most down there is good soil. Really fertile land
+costs as much as it does in France and is bought by wealthy Parisians.
+The real colonists, the poor, are generally cast out into the desert,
+where nothing grows for lack of water."
+
+All eyes turned upon him. He colored. M. Walter asked: "Do you know
+Algeria, sir?"
+
+He replied: "Yes, sir, I was there twenty-eight months." Leaving the
+subject of colonization, Norbert de Varenne questioned him as to some
+of the Algerian customs. Georges spoke with animation; excited by the
+wine and the desire to please, he related anecdotes of the regiment, of
+Arabian life, and of the war.
+
+Mme. Walter murmured to him in her soft tones: "You could write a
+series of charming articles."
+
+Forestier took advantage of the situation to say to M. Walter: "My dear
+sir, I spoke to you a short while since of M. Georges Duroy and asked
+you to permit me to include him on the staff of political reporters.
+Since Marambot has left us, I have had no one to take urgent and
+confidential reports, and the paper is suffering by it."
+
+M. Walter put on his spectacles in order to examine Duroy. Then he
+said: "I am convinced that M. Duroy is original, and if he will call
+upon me tomorrow at three o'clock, we will arrange matters." After a
+pause, turning to the young man, he said: "You may write us a short
+sketch on Algeria, M. Duroy. Simply relate your experiences; I am sure
+they will interest our readers. But you must do it quickly."
+
+Mme. Walter added with her customary, serious grace: "You will have a
+charming title: 'Souvenirs of a Soldier in Africa.' Will he not, M.
+Norbert?"
+
+The old poet, who had attained renown late in life, disliked and
+mistrusted newcomers. He replied dryly: "Yes, excellent, provided that
+it is written in the right key, for there lies the great difficulty."
+
+Mme. Forestier cast upon Duroy a protecting and smiling glance which
+seemed to say: "You shall succeed." The servant filled the glasses with
+wine, and Forestier proposed the toast: "To the long prosperity of 'La
+Vie Francaise.'" Duroy felt superhuman strength within him, infinite
+hope, and invincible resolution. He was at his ease now among these
+people; his eyes rested upon their faces with renewed assurance, and
+for the first time he ventured to address his neighbor:
+
+"You have the most beautiful earrings I have ever seen."
+
+She turned toward him with a smile: "It is a fancy of mine to wear
+diamonds like this, simply on a thread."
+
+He murmured in reply, trembling at his audacity: "It is charming--but
+the ear increases the beauty of the ornament."
+
+She thanked him with a glance. As he turned his head, he met Mme.
+Forestier's eyes, in which he fancied he saw a mingled expression of
+gaiety, malice, and encouragement. All the men were talking at the same
+time; their discussion was animated.
+
+When the party left the dining-room, Duroy offered his arm to the
+little girl. She thanked him gravely and stood upon tiptoe in order to
+lay her hand upon his arm. Upon entering the drawing-room, the young
+man carefully surveyed it. It was not a large room; but there were no
+bright colors, and one felt at ease; it was restful. The walls were
+draped with violet hangings covered with tiny embroidered flowers of
+yellow silk. The portieres were of a grayish blue and the chairs were
+of all shapes, of all sizes; scattered about the room were couches and
+large and small easy-chairs, all covered with Louis XVI. brocade, or
+Utrecht velvet, a cream colored ground with garnet flowers.
+
+"Do you take coffee, M. Duroy?" Mme. Forestier offered him a cup, with
+the smile that was always upon her lips.
+
+"Yes, Madame, thank you." He took the cup, and as he did so, the young
+woman whispered to him: "Pay Mme. Walter some attention." Then she
+vanished before he could reply.
+
+First he drank his coffee, which he feared he should let fall upon the
+carpet; then he sought a pretext for approaching the manager's wife and
+commencing a conversation. Suddenly he perceived that she held an empty
+cup in her hand, and as she was not near a table, she did not know
+where to put it. He rushed toward her:
+
+"Allow me, Madame."
+
+"Thank you, sir."
+
+He took away the cup and returned: "If you, but knew, Madame, what
+pleasant moments 'La Vie Francaise' afforded me, when I was in the
+desert! It is indeed the only paper one cares to read outside of
+France; it contains everything."
+
+She smiled with amiable indifference as she replied: "M. Walter had a
+great deal of trouble in producing the kind of journal which was
+required."
+
+They talked of Paris, the suburbs, the Seine, the delights of summer,
+of everything they could think of. Finally M. Norbert de Varenne
+advanced, a glass of liqueur in his hand, and Duroy discreetly
+withdrew. Mme. de Marelle, who was chatting with her hostess, called
+him: "So, sir," she said bluntly, "you are going to try journalism?"
+That question led to a renewal of the interrupted conversation with
+Mme. Walter. In her turn Mme. de Marelle related anecdotes, and
+becoming familiar, laid her hand upon Duroy's arm. He felt that he
+would like to devote himself to her, to protect her--and the slowness
+with which he replied to her questions indicated his preoccupation.
+Suddenly, without any cause, Mme. de Marelle called: "Laurine!" and the
+girl came to her. "Sit down here, my child, you will be cold near the
+window."
+
+Duroy was seized with an eager desire to embrace the child, as if part
+of that embrace would revert to the mother. He asked in a gallant, yet
+paternal tone: "Will you permit me to kiss you, Mademoiselle?" The
+child raised her eyes with an air of surprise. Mme. de Marelle said
+with a smile: "Reply."
+
+"I will allow you to-day, Monsieur, but not all the time."
+
+Seating himself, Duroy took Laurine upon his knee, and kissed her lips
+and her fine wavy hair. Her mother was surprised: "Well, that is
+strange! Ordinarily she only allows ladies to caress her. You are
+irresistible, Monsieur!"
+
+Duroy colored, but did not reply.
+
+When Mme. Forestier joined them, a cry of astonishment escaped her:
+"Well, Laurine has become sociable; what a miracle!"
+
+The young man rose to take his leave, fearing he might spoil his
+conquest by some awkward word. He bowed to the ladies, clasped and
+gently pressed their hands, and then shook hands with the men. He
+observed that Jacques Rival's was dry and warm and responded cordially
+to his pressure; Norbert de Varenne's was moist and cold and slipped
+through his fingers; Walter's was cold and soft, without life,
+expressionless; Forestier's fat and warm.
+
+His friend whispered to him: "To-morrow at three o'clock; do not
+forget."
+
+"Never fear!"
+
+When he reached the staircase, he felt like running down, his joy was
+so great; he went down two steps at a time, but suddenly on the second
+floor, in the large mirror, he saw a gentleman hurrying on, and he
+slackened his pace, as much ashamed as if he had been surprised in a
+crime.
+
+He surveyed himself some time with a complacent smile; then taking
+leave of his image, he bowed low, ceremoniously, as if saluting some
+grand personage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+FIRST ATTEMPTS
+
+
+When Georges Duroy reached the street, he hesitated as to what he
+should do. He felt inclined to stroll along, dreaming of the future and
+inhaling the soft night air; but the thought of the series of articles
+ordered by M. Walter occurred to him, and he decided to return home at
+once and begin work. He walked rapidly along until he came to Rue
+Boursault. The tenement in which he lived was occupied by twenty
+families--families of workingmen--and as he mounted the staircase he
+experienced a sensation of disgust and a desire to live as wealthy men
+do. Duroy's room was on the fifth floor. He entered it, opened his
+window, and looked out: the view was anything but prepossessing.
+
+He turned away, thinking: "This won't do. I must go to work." So he
+placed his light upon the table and began to write. He dipped his pen
+into the ink and wrote at the head of his paper in a bold hand:
+"Souvenirs of a Soldier in Africa." Then he cast about for the first
+phrase. He rested his head upon his hand and stared at the blank sheet
+before him. What should he say? Suddenly he thought: "I must begin with
+my departure," and he wrote: "In 1874, about the fifteenth of May, when
+exhausted France was recruiting after the catastrophe of the terrible
+years--" Here he stopped short, not knowing how to introduce his
+subject. After a few minutes' reflection, he decided to lay aside that
+page until the following day, and to write a description of Algiers. He
+began: "Algiers is a very clean city--" but he could not continue.
+After an effort he added: "It is inhabited partly by Arabs." Then he
+threw his pen upon the table and arose. He glanced around his miserable
+room; mentally he rebelled against his poverty and resolved to leave
+the next day.
+
+Suddenly the desire to work came on him, and he tried to begin the
+article again; he had vague ideas of what he wanted to say, but he
+could not express his thoughts in words. Convinced of his inability he
+arose once more, his blood coursing rapidly through his veins. He
+turned to the window just as the train was coming out of the tunnel,
+and his thoughts reverted to his parents. He saw their tiny home on the
+heights overlooking Rouen and the valley of the Seine. His father and
+mother kept an inn, La Belle-Vue, at which the citizens of the
+faubourgs took their lunches on Sundays. They had wished to make a
+"gentleman" of their son and had sent him to college. His studies
+completed, he had entered the army with the intention of becoming an
+officer, a colonel, or a general. But becoming disgusted with military
+life, he determined to try his fortune in Paris. When his time of
+service had expired, he went thither, with what results we have seen.
+He awoke from his reflections as the locomotive whistled shrilly,
+closed his window, and began to disrobe, muttering: "Bah, I shall be
+able to work better to-morrow morning. My brain is not clear to-night.
+I have drunk a little too much. I can't work well under such
+circumstances." He extinguished his light and fell asleep.
+
+He awoke early, and, rising, opened his window to inhale the fresh air.
+In a few moments he seated himself at his table, dipped his pen in the
+ink, rested his head upon his hand and thought--but in vain! However,
+he was not discouraged, but in thought reassured himself: "Bah, I am
+not accustomed to it! It is a profession that must be learned like all
+professions. Some one must help me the first time. I'll go to
+Forestier. He'll start my article for me in ten minutes."
+
+When he reached the street, Duroy decided that it was rather early to
+present himself at his friend's house, so he strolled along under the
+trees on one of the boulevards for a time. On arriving at Forestier's
+door, he found his friend going out.
+
+"You here--at this hour! Can I do anything for you?"
+
+Duroy stammered in confusion: "I--I--cannot write that article on
+Algeria that M. Walter wants. It is not very surprising, seeing that I
+have never written anything. It requires practice. I could write very
+rapidly, I am sure, if I could make a beginning. I have the ideas but I
+cannot express them." He paused and hesitated.
+
+Forestier smiled maliciously: "I understand that."
+
+Duroy continued: "Yes, anyone is liable to have that trouble at the
+beginning; and, well--I have come to ask you to help me. In ten minutes
+you can set me right. You can give me a lesson in style; without you I
+can do nothing."
+
+The other smiled gaily. He patted his companion's arm and said to him:
+"Go to my wife; she will help you better than I can. I have trained her
+for that work. I have not time this morning or I would do it willingly."
+
+But Duroy hesitated: "At this hour I cannot inquire for her."
+
+"Oh, yes, you can; she has risen. You will find her in my study."
+
+"I will go, but I shall tell her you sent me!"
+
+Forestier walked away, and Duroy slowly ascended the stairs, wondering
+what he should say and what kind of a reception he would receive.
+
+The servant who opened the door said: "Monsieur has gone out."
+
+Duroy replied: "Ask Mme. Forestier if she will see me, and tell her
+that M. Forestier, whom I met on the street, sent me."
+
+The lackey soon returned and ushered Duroy into Madame's presence. She
+was seated at a table and extended her hand to him.
+
+"So soon?" said she. It was not a reproach, but a simple question.
+
+He stammered: "I did not want to come up, Madame, but your husband,
+whom I met below, insisted--I dare scarcely tell you my errand--I
+worked late last night and early this morning, to write the article on
+Algeria which M. Walter wants--and I did not succeed--I destroyed all
+my attempts--I am not accustomed to the work--and I came to ask
+Forestier to assist me--his once."
+
+She interrupted with a laugh: "And he sent you to me?"
+
+"Yes, Madame. He said you could help me better than he--but--I dared
+not--I did not like to."
+
+She rose.
+
+"It will be delightful to work together that way. I am charmed with
+your idea. Wait, take my chair, for they know my handwriting on the
+paper--we will write a successful article."
+
+She took a cigarette from the mantelpiece and lighted it. "I cannot
+work without smoking," she said; "what are you going to say?"
+
+He looked at her in astonishment. "I do not know; I came here to find
+that out."
+
+She replied: "I will manage it all right. I will make the sauce but I
+must have the dish." She questioned him in detail and finally said:
+
+"Now, we will begin. First of all we will suppose that you are
+addressing a friend, which will allow us scope for remarks of all
+kinds. Begin this way: 'My dear Henry, you wish to know something about
+Algeria; you shall.'"
+
+Then followed a brilliantly worded description of Algeria and of the
+port of Algiers, an excursion to the province of Oran, a visit to
+Saida, and an adventure with a pretty Spanish maid employed in a
+factory.
+
+When the article was concluded, he could find no words of thanks; he
+was happy to be near her, grateful for and delighted with their growing
+intimacy. It seemed to him that everything about him was a part of her,
+even to the books upon the shelves. The chairs, the furniture, the
+air--all were permeated with that delightful fragrance peculiar to her.
+
+She asked bluntly: "What do you think of my friend Mme. de Marelle?"
+
+"I think her very fascinating," he said; and he would have liked to
+add: "But not as much so as you." He had not the courage to do so.
+
+She continued: "If you only knew how comical, original, and intelligent
+she is! She is a true Bohemian. It is for that reason that her husband
+no longer loves her. He only sees her defects and none of her good
+qualities."
+
+Duroy was surprised to hear that Mme. de Marelle was married.
+
+"What," he asked, "is she married? What does her husband do?"
+
+Mme. Forestier shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, he is superintendent of a
+railroad. He is in Paris a week out of each month. His wife calls it
+'Holy Week.' or 'The week of duty.' When you get better acquainted with
+her, you will see how witty she is! Come here and see her some day."
+
+As she spoke, the door opened noiselessly, and a gentleman entered
+unannounced. He halted on seeing a man. For a moment Mme. Forestier
+seemed confused; then she said in a natural voice, though her cheeks
+were tinged with a blush:
+
+"Come in, my dear sir; allow me to present to you an old comrade of
+Charles, M. Georges Duroy, a future journalist." Then in a different
+tone, she said: "Our best and dearest friend, Count de Vaudrec."
+
+The two men bowed, gazed into one another's eyes, and then Duroy took
+his leave. Neither tried to detain him.
+
+On reaching the street he felt sad and uncomfortable. Count de
+Vaudrec's face was constantly before him. It seemed to him that the man
+was displeased at finding him tete-a-tete with Mme. Forestier, though
+why he should be, he could not divine.
+
+To while away the time until three o'clock, he lunched at Duval's, and
+then lounged along the boulevard. When the clock chimed the hour of his
+appointment, he climbed the stairs leading to the office of "La Vie
+Francaise."
+
+Duroy asked: "Is M. Walter in?"
+
+"M. Walter is engaged," was the reply. "Will you please take a seat?"
+
+Duroy waited twenty minutes, then he turned to the clerk and said: "M.
+Walter had an appointment with me at three o'clock. At any rate, see if
+my friend M. Forestier is here."
+
+He was conducted along a corridor and ushered into a large room in
+which four men were writing at a table. Forestier was standing before
+the fireplace, smoking a cigarette. After listening to Duroy's story he
+said:
+
+"Come with me; I will take you to M. Walter, or else you might remain
+here until seven o'clock."
+
+They entered the manager's room. Norbert de Varenne was writing an
+article, seated in an easychair; Jacques Rival, stretched upon a divan,
+was smoking a cigar. The room had the peculiar odor familiar to all
+journalists. When they approached M. Walter, Forestier said: "Here is
+my friend Duroy."
+
+The manager looked keenly at the young man and asked:
+
+"Have you brought my article?"
+
+Duroy drew the sheets of manuscript from his pocket.
+
+"Here they are, Monsieur."
+
+The manager seemed delighted and said with a smile: "Very good. You are
+a man of your word. Need I look over it, Forestier?"
+
+But Forestier hastened to reply: "It is not necessary, M. Walter; I
+helped him in order to initiate him into the profession. It is very
+good." Then bending toward him, he whispered: "You know you promised to
+engage Duroy to replace Marambot. Will you allow me to retain him on
+the same terms?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+Taking his friend's arm, the journalist drew him away, while M. Walter
+returned to the game of ecarte he had been engaged in when they
+entered. Forestier and Duroy returned to the room in which Georges had
+found his friend. The latter said to his new reporter:
+
+"You must come here every day at three o'clock, and I will tell you
+what places to go to. First of all, I shall give you a letter of
+introduction to the chief of the police, who will in turn introduce you
+to one of his employees. You can arrange with him for all important
+news, official and semiofficial. For details you can apply to
+Saint-Potin, who is posted; you will see him to-morrow. Above all, you
+must learn to make your way everywhere in spite of closed doors. You
+will receive two hundred francs a months, two sous a line for original
+matter, and two sous a line for articles you are ordered to write on
+different subjects."
+
+"What shall I do to-day?" asked Duroy.
+
+"I have no work for you to-day; you can go if you wish to."
+
+"And our--our article?"
+
+"Oh, do not worry about it; I will correct the proofs. Do the rest
+to-morrow and come here at three o'clock as you did to-day."
+
+And after shaking hands, Duroy descended the staircase with a light
+heart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+DUROY LEARNS SOMETHING
+
+
+Georges Duroy did not sleep well, so anxious was he to see his article
+in print. He rose at daybreak, and was on the street long before the
+newsboys. When he secured a paper and saw his name at the end of a
+column in large letters, he became very much excited. He felt inclined
+to enact the part of a newsboy and cry out to the hurrying throng: "Buy
+this! it contains an article by me!" He strolled along to a cafe and
+seated himself in order to read the article through; that done he
+decided to go to the railroad office, draw his salary, and hand in his
+resignation.
+
+With great pomposity he informed the chief clerk that he was on the
+staff of "La Vie Francaise," and by that means was avenged for many
+petty insults which had been offered him. He then had some cards
+written with his new calling beneath his name, made several purchases,
+and repaired to the office of "La Vie Francaise." Forestier received
+him loftily as one would an inferior.
+
+"Ah, here you are! Very well; I have several things for you to do. Just
+wait ten minutes till I finish this work." He continued writing.
+
+At the other end of the table sat a short, pale man, very stout and
+bald. Forestier asked him, when his letter was completed, "Saint-Potin,
+at what time shall you interview those people?"
+
+"At four o'clock."
+
+"Take Duroy, who is here, with you and initiate him into the business."
+
+"Very well."
+
+Then turning to his friend, Forestier added: "Have you brought the
+other paper on Algeria? The article this morning was very successful."
+
+Duroy stammered: "No, I thought I should have time this afternoon. I
+had so much to do--I could not."
+
+The other shrugged his shoulders. "If you are not more careful, you
+will spoil your future. M. Walter counted on your copy. I will tell him
+it will be ready to-morrow. If you think you will be paid for doing
+nothing, you are mistaken." After a pause, he added: "You should strike
+while the iron is hot."
+
+Saint-Potin rose: "I am ready," said he.
+
+Forestier turned around in his chair and said, to Duroy: "Listen. The
+Chinese general Li-Theng-Fao, stopping at the Continental, and Rajah
+Taposahib Ramaderao Pali, stopping at Hotel Bishop, have been in Paris
+two days. You must interview them." Addressing Saint-Potin, he said:
+"Do not forget the principal points I indicated to you. Ask the general
+and the rajah their opinions on the dealings of England in the extreme
+East, their ideas of their system of colonization and government, their
+hopes relative to the intervention of Europe and of France in
+particular." To Duroy he said: "Observe what Saint-Potin says; he is an
+excellent reporter, and try to learn how to draw out a man in five
+minutes." Then he resumed his work.
+
+The two men walked down the boulevard together, while Saint-Potin gave
+Duroy a sketch of all the officials connected with the paper, sparing
+no one in his criticism. When he mentioned Forestier, he said: "As for
+him, he was fortunate in marrying his wife."
+
+Duroy asked: "What about his wife?"
+
+Saint-Potin rubbed his hands. "Oh, she is beloved by an old fellow
+named Vaudrec--he dotes upon her."
+
+Duroy felt as if he would like to box Saint-Potin's ears. To change the
+subject he said: "It seems to me that it is late, and we have two noble
+lords to call upon!"
+
+Saint-Potin laughed: "You are very innocent! Do you think that I am
+going to interview that Chinese and that Indian? As if I did not know
+better than they do what they should think to please the readers of 'La
+Vie Francaise'! I have interviewed five hundred Chinese, Prussians,
+Hindoos, Chilians, and Japanese. They all say the same thing. I need
+only copy my article on the last comer, word for word, changing the
+heading, names, titles, and ages: in that there must be no error, or I
+shall be hauled over the coals by the 'Figaro' or 'Gaulois.' But on
+that subject the porter of the hotels will post me in five minutes. We
+will smoke our cigars and stroll in that direction. Total--one hundred
+sous for cabfare. That is the way, my dear fellow."
+
+When they arrived at the Madeleine, Saint-Potin said to his companion:
+"If you have anything to do, I do not need you."
+
+Duroy shook hands with him and walked away. The thought of the article
+he had to write that evening haunted him. Mentally he collected the
+material as he wended his way to the cafe at which he dined. Then he
+returned home and seated himself at his table to work. Before his eyes
+was the sheet of blank paper, but all the material he had amassed had
+escaped him. After trying for an hour, and after filling five pages
+with sentences which had no connection one with the other, he said: "I
+am not yet familiar with the work. I must take another lesson."
+
+At ten o'clock the following morning he rang the bell, at his friend's
+house. The servant who opened the door, said: "Monsieur is busy."
+
+Duroy had not expected to find Forestier at home. However he said:
+"Tell him it is M. Duroy on important business."
+
+In the course of five minutes he was ushered into the room in which he
+had spent so happy a morning. In the place Mme. Forestier had occupied,
+her husband was seated writing, while Mme. Forestier stood by the
+mantelpiece and dictated to him, a cigarette between her lips.
+
+Duroy paused upon the threshold and murmured: "I beg your pardon, I am
+interrupting you."
+
+His friend growled angrily: "What do you want again? Make haste; we are
+busy."
+
+Georges stammered: "It is nothing."
+
+But Forestier persisted: "Come, we are losing time; you did not force
+your way into the house for the pleasure of bidding us good morning."
+
+Duroy, in confusion, replied: "No, it is this: I cannot complete my
+article, and you were--so--so kind the last time that I hoped--that I
+dared to come--"
+
+Forestier interrupted with: "So you think I will do your work and that
+you have only to take the money. Well, that is fine!" His wife smoked
+on without interfering.
+
+Duroy hesitated: "Excuse me. I believed--I--thought--" Then, in a clear
+voice, he said: "I beg a thousand pardons, Madame, and thank you very
+much for the charming article you wrote for me yesterday." Then he
+bowed, and said to Charles: "I will be at the office at three o'clock."
+
+He returned home saying to himself: "Very well, I will write it alone
+and they shall see." Scarcely had he entered than he began to write,
+anger spurring him on. In an hour he had finished an article, which was
+a chaos of absurd matter, and took it boldly to the office. Duroy
+handed Forestier his manuscript. "Here is the rest of Algeria."
+
+"Very well, I will hand it to the manager. That will do."
+
+When Duroy and Saint-Potin, who had some political information to look
+up, were in the hall, the latter asked: "Have you been to the cashier's
+room?"
+
+"No, why?"
+
+"Why? To get your pay? You should always get your salary a month in
+advance. One cannot tell what might happen. I will introduce you to the
+cashier."
+
+Duroy drew his two hundred francs together with twenty-eight francs for
+his article of the preceding day, which, in addition to what remained
+to him of his salary from the railroad office, left him three hundred
+and forty francs. He had never had so much, and he thought himself rich
+for an indefinite time. Saint-Potin took him to the offices of four or
+five rival papers, hoping that the news he had been commissioned to
+obtain had been already received by them and that he could obtain it by
+means of his diplomacy.
+
+When evening came, Duroy, who had nothing more to do, turned toward the
+Folies-Bergeres, and walking up to the office, he said: "My name is
+Georges Duroy. I am on the staff of 'La Vie Francaise.' I was here the
+other night with M. Forestier, who promised to get me a pass. I do not
+know if he remembered it."
+
+The register was consulted, but his name was not inscribed upon it.
+However, the cashier, a very affable man, said to him: "Come in, M.
+Duroy, and speak to the manager yourself; he will see that everything
+is all right."
+
+He entered and almost at once came upon Rachel, the woman he had seen
+there before. She approached him: "Good evening, my dear; are you well?"
+
+"Very well; how are you?"
+
+"I am not ill. I have dreamed of you twice since the other night."
+
+Duroy smiled. "What does that mean?"
+
+"That means that I like you"; she raised her eyes to the young man's
+face, took his arm and leaning upon it, said: "Let us drink a glass of
+wine and then take a walk. I should like to go to the opera like this,
+with you, to show you off."
+
+      *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At daybreak he again sallied forth to obtain a "Vie Francaise." He
+opened the paper feverishly; his article was not there. On entering the
+office several hours later, he said to M. Walter: "I was very much
+surprised this morning not to see my second article on Algeria."
+
+The manager raised his head and said sharply: "I gave it to your
+friend, Forestier, and asked him to read it; he was dissatisfied with
+it; it will have to be done over."
+
+Without a word, Duroy left the room, and entering his friend's office,
+brusquely asked: "Why did not my article appear this morning?"
+
+The journalist, who was smoking a cigar, said calmly: "The manager did
+not consider it good, and bade me return it to you to be revised. There
+it is." Duroy revised it several times, only to have it rejected. He
+said nothing more of his "souvenirs," but gave his whole attention to
+reporting. He became acquainted behind the scenes at the theaters, and
+in the halls and corridors of the chamber of deputies; he knew all the
+cabinet ministers, generals, police agents, princes, ambassadors, men
+of the world, Greeks, cabmen, waiters at cafes, and many others. In
+short he soon became a remarkable reporter, of great value to the
+paper, so M. Walter said. But as he only received ten centimes a line
+in addition to his fixed salary of two hundred francs and as his
+expenses were large, he never had a sou. When he saw certain of his
+associates with their pockets full of money, he wondered what secret
+means they employed in order to obtain it. He determined to penetrate
+that mystery, to enter into the association, to obtrude himself upon
+his comrades, and make them share with him. Often at evening, as he
+watched the trains pass his window, he dreamed of the conduct he might
+pursue.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE FIRST INTRIGUE
+
+
+Two months elapsed. It was September. The fortune which Duroy had hoped
+to make so rapidly seemed to him slow in coming. Above all he was
+dissatisfied with the mediocrity of his position; he was appreciated,
+but was treated according to his rank. Forestier himself no longer
+invited him to dinner, and treated him as an inferior. Often he had
+thought of making Mme. Forestier a visit, but the remembrance of their
+last meeting restrained him. Mme. de Marelle had invited him to call,
+saying: "I am always at home about three o'clock." So one afternoon,
+when he had nothing to do, he proceeded toward her house. She lived on
+Rue Verneuil, on the fourth floor. A maid answered his summons, and
+said: "Yes, Madame is at home, but I do not know whether she has
+risen." She conducted Duroy into the drawing-room, which was large,
+poorly furnished, and somewhat untidy. The shabby, threadbare chairs
+were ranged along the walls according to the servant's fancy, for there
+was not a trace visible of the care of a woman who loves her home.
+Duroy took a seat and waited some time. Then a door opened and Mme. de
+Marelle entered hastily, clad in a Japanese dressing-gown. She
+exclaimed:
+
+"How kind of you to come to see me. I was positive you had forgotten
+me." She held out her hand to him with a gesture of delight; and Duroy,
+quite at his ease in that shabby apartment, kissed it as he had seen
+Norbert de Varenne do.
+
+Examining him from head to foot, she cried: "How you have changed!
+Well; tell me the news."
+
+They began to chat at once as if they were old acquaintances, and in
+five minutes an intimacy, a mutual understanding, was established
+between those two beings alike in character and kind. Suddenly the
+young woman said in surprise: "It is astonishing how I feel with you.
+It seems to me as if I had known you ten years. We shall undoubtedly
+become good friends; would that please you?"
+
+He replied: "Certainly," with a smile more expressive than words. He
+thought her very bewitching in her pretty gown. When near Mme.
+Forestier, whose impassive, gracious smile attracted yet held at a
+distance, and seemed to say: "I like you, yet take care," he felt a
+desire to cast himself at her feet, or to kiss the hem of her garment.
+When near Mme. de Marelle, he felt a more passionate desire.
+
+A gentle rap came at the door through which Mme. de Marelle had
+entered, and she cried: "You may come in, my darling."
+
+The child entered, advanced to Duroy and offered him her hand. The
+astonished mother murmured: "That is a conquest." The young man, having
+kissed the child, seated her by his side, and with a serious air
+questioned her as to what she had done since they last met. She replied
+in a flute-like voice and with the manner of a woman. The clock struck
+three; the journalist rose.
+
+"Come often," said Mme. de Marelle; "it has been a pleasant causerie. I
+shall always be glad to welcome you. Why do I never meet you at the
+Forestiers?"
+
+"For no particular reason. I am very busy. I hope, however, that we
+shall meet there one of these days."
+
+In the course of a few days he paid another visit to the enchantress.
+The maid ushered him into the drawing-room and Laurine soon entered;
+she offered him not her hand but her forehead, and said: "Mamma wishes
+me to ask you to wait for her about fifteen minutes, for she is not
+dressed. I will keep you company."
+
+Duroy, who was amused at the child's ceremonious manner, replied:
+"Indeed, Mademoiselle, I shall be enchanted to spend a quarter of an
+hour with you." When the mother entered they were in the midst of an
+exciting game, and Mme. de Marelle paused in amazement, crying:
+"Laurine playing? You are a sorcerer, sir!" He placed the child, whom
+he had caught in his arms, upon the floor, kissed the lady's hand, and
+they seated themselves, the child between them. They tried to converse,
+but Laurine, usually so silent, monopolized the conversation, and her
+mother was compelled to send her to her room.
+
+When they were alone, Mme. de Marelle lowered her voice and said: "I
+have a great project. It is this: As I dine every week at the
+Foresters', I return it from time to time by inviting them to a
+restaurant. I do not like to have company at home; I am not so situated
+that I can have any. I know nothing about housekeeping or cooking. I
+prefer a life free from care; therefore I invite them to the cafe
+occasionally; but it is not lively when we are only three. I am telling
+you this in order to explain such an informal gathering. I should like
+you to be present at our Saturdays at the Cafe Riche at seven-thirty.
+Do you know the house?"
+
+Duroy accepted gladly. He left her in a transport of delight and
+impatiently awaited the day of the dinner. He was the first to arrive
+at the place appointed and was shown into a small private room, in
+which the table was laid for four; that table looked very inviting with
+its colored glasses, silver, and candelabra.
+
+Duroy seated himself upon a low bench. Forestier entered and shook
+hands with him with a cordiality he never evinced at the office.
+
+"The two ladies will come together," said he. "These dinners are truly
+delightful."
+
+Very soon the door opened and Mesdames Forestier and De Marelle
+appeared, heavily veiled, surrounded by the charming mystery necessary
+to a rendezvous in a place so public. As Duroy greeted the former, she
+took him to task for not having been to see her; then she added with a
+smile: "Ah, you prefer Mme. de Marelle; the time passes more pleasantly
+with her."
+
+When the waiter handed the wine-list to Forestier, Mme. de Marelle
+exclaimed: "Bring the gentle-men whatever they want; as for us, we want
+nothing but champagne."
+
+Forestier, who seemed not to have heard her, asked: "Do you object to
+my closing the window? My cough has troubled me for several days."
+
+"Not at all."
+
+His wife did not speak. The various courses were duly served and then
+the guests began to chat. They discussed a scandal which was being
+circulated about a society belle. Forestier was very much amused by it.
+Duroy said with a smile: "How many would abandon themselves to a
+caprice, a dream of love, if they did not fear that they would pay for
+a brief happiness with tears and an irremediable scandal?"
+
+Both women glanced at him approvingly. Forestier cried with a sceptical
+laugh: "The poor husbands!" Then they talked of love. Duroy said: "When
+I love a woman, everything else in the world is forgotten."
+
+Mme. Forestier murmured: "There is no happiness comparable to that
+first clasp of the hand, when one asks: 'Do you love me?' and the other
+replies: 'Yes, I love you.'" Mme. de Marelle cried gaily as she drank a
+glass of champagne: "I am less Platonic."
+
+Forestier, lying upon the couch, said in serious tone: "That frankness
+does you honor and proves you to be a practical woman. But might one
+ask, what is M. de Marelle's opinion?"
+
+She shrugged her shoulders disdainfully and said: "M. de Marelle has no
+opinion on that subject."
+
+The conversation grew slow. Mme. de Marelle seemed to offer provocation
+by her remarks, while Mme. Forestier's charming reserve, the modesty in
+her voice, in her smile, all seemed to extenuate the bold sallies which
+issued from her lips. The dessert came and then followed the coffee.
+The hostess and her guests lighted cigarettes, but Forestier suddenly
+began to cough. When the attack was over, he growled angrily: "These
+parties are not good for me; they are stupid. Let us go home."
+
+Mme. de Marelle summoned the waiter and asked for her bill. She tried
+to read it, but the figures danced before her eyes; she handed the
+paper to Duroy.
+
+"Here, pay it for me; I cannot see." At the same time, she put her
+purse in his hand.
+
+The total was one hundred and thirty francs. Duroy glanced at the bill
+and when it was settled, whispered: "How much shall I give the waiter?"
+
+"Whatever you like; I do not know."
+
+He laid five francs upon the plate and handed the purse to its owner,
+saying: "Shall I escort you home?"
+
+"Certainly; I am unable to find the house."
+
+They shook hands with the Forestiers and were soon rolling along in a
+cab side by side. Duroy could think of nothing to say; he felt impelled
+to clasp her in his arms. "If I should dare, what would she do?"
+thought he. The recollection of their conversation at dinner
+emboldened, but the fear of scandal restrained him. Mme. de Marelle
+reclined silently in her corner. He would have thought her asleep, had
+he not seen her eyes glisten whenever a ray of light penetrated the
+dark recesses of the carriage. Of what was she thinking? Suddenly she
+moved her foot, nervously, impatiently. That movement caused him to
+tremble, and turning quickly, he cast himself upon her, seeking her
+lips with his. She uttered a cry, attempted to repulse him and then
+yielded to his caresses as if she had not the strength to resist.
+
+The carriage stopped at her door, but she did not rise; she did not
+move, stunned by what had just taken place. Fearing that the cabman
+would mistrust something, Duroy alighted from the cab first and offered
+his hand to the young woman. Finally she got out, but in silence.
+Georges rang the bell, and when the door was opened, he asked timidly:
+"When shall I see you again?"
+
+She whispered so low that he could barely hear her: "Come and lunch
+with me to-morrow." With those words she disappeared.
+
+Duroy gave the cabman a five-franc piece, and turned away with a
+triumphant, joyful air. He had at last conquered a married woman! A
+woman of the world! A Parisian! How easy it had been!
+
+He was somewhat nervous the following day as he ascended Mme. de
+Marelle's staircase. How would she receive him? Suppose she forbade him
+to enter her house? If she had told--but no, she could not tell
+anything without telling the whole truth! He was master of the
+situation!
+
+The little maid-servant opened the door. She was as pleasant as usual.
+Duroy felt reassured and asked: "Is Madame well?"
+
+"Yes, sir; as well as she always is," was the reply, and he was ushered
+into the salon. He walked to the mantelpiece to see what kind of an
+appearance he presented: he was readjusting his cravat when he saw in
+the mirror the young woman standing on the threshold looking at him. He
+pretended not to have seen her, and for several moments they gazed at
+one another in the mirror. Then he turned. She had not moved; she
+seemed to be waiting. He rushed toward her crying: "How I love you!" He
+clasped her to his breast. He thought: "It is easier than I thought it
+would be. All is well." He looked at her with a smile, without uttering
+a word, trying to put into his glance a wealth of love. She too smiled
+and murmured: "We are alone. I sent Laurine to lunch with a friend."
+
+He sighed, and kissing her wrists said: "Thanks; I adore you." She took
+his arm as if he had been her husband, and led him to a couch, upon
+which they seated themselves side by side. Duroy stammered,
+incoherently: "You do not care for me."
+
+She laid her hand upon his lips. "Be silent!"
+
+"How I love you!" said he.
+
+She repeated: "Be silent!"
+
+They could hear the servant laying the table in the dining-room. He
+rose: "I cannot sit so near you. I shall lose my head."
+
+The door opened: "Madame is served!"
+
+He offered her his arm gravely. They lunched without knowing what they
+were eating. The servant came and went without seeming to notice
+anything. When the meal was finished, they returned to the drawing-room
+and resumed their seats on the couch side by side. Gradually he drew
+nearer her and tried to embrace her.
+
+"Be careful, some one might come in."
+
+He whispered: "When can I see you alone to tell you how I love you?"
+
+She leaned toward him and said softly: "I will pay you a visit one of
+these days."
+
+He colored. "My rooms--are--are--very modest."
+
+She smiled: "That makes no difference. I shall come to see you and not
+your rooms."
+
+He urged her to tell him when she would come. She fixed a day in the
+following week, while he besought her with glowing eyes to hasten the
+day. She was amused to see him implore so ardently and yielded a day at
+a time. He repeated: "To-morrow, say--to-morrow." Finally she
+consented. "Yes, to-morrow at five o'clock."
+
+He drew a deep breath; then they chatted together as calmly as if they
+had known one another for twenty years. A ring caused them to start;
+they separated. She murmured: "It is Laurine."
+
+The child entered, paused in surprise, then ran toward Duroy clapping
+her hands, delighted to see him, and crying: "Ah, 'Bel-Ami!'"
+
+Mme. de Marelle laughed. "Bel-Ami! Laurine has christened you. It is a
+pretty name. I shall call you Bel-Ami, too!"
+
+He took the child upon his knee. At twenty minutes of three he rose to
+go to the office; at the half-open door he whispered: "To-morrow, five
+o'clock." The young woman replied: "Yes," with a smile and disappeared.
+
+After he had finished his journalistic work, he tried to render his
+apartments more fit to receive his expected visitor. He was well
+satisfied with the results of his efforts and retired, lulled to rest
+by the whistling of the trains. Early the next morning he bought a cake
+and a bottle of Madeira. He spread the collation on his dressing-table
+which was covered with a napkin. Then he waited. She came at a quarter
+past five and exclaimed as she entered: "Why, it is nice here. But
+there were a great many people on the stairs."
+
+He took her in his arms and kissed her hair. An hour and a half later
+he escorted her to a cab-stand on the Rue de Rome. When she was seated
+in the cab, he whispered: "Tuesday, at the same hour."
+
+She repeated his words, and as it was night, she kissed him. Then as
+the cabman started up his horse, she cried: "Adieu, Bel-Ami!" and the
+old coupe rumbled off.
+
+For three weeks Duroy received Mme. de Marelle every two or three days,
+sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening.
+
+As he was awaiting her one afternoon, a noise on the staircase drew him
+to his door. A child screamed. A man's angry voice cried: "What is the
+brat howling about?"
+
+A woman's voice replied: "Nicolas has been tripped up on the
+landing-place by the journalist's sweetheart."
+
+Duroy retreated, for he heard the rustling of skirts. Soon there was a
+knock at his door, which he opened, and Mme. de Marelle rushed in,
+crying: "Did you hear?" Georges feigned ignorance of the matter.
+
+"No; what?"
+
+"How they insulted me?"
+
+"Who?"
+
+"Those miserable people below."
+
+"Why, no; what is it? Tell me."
+
+She sobbed and could not speak. He was forced to place her upon his bed
+and to lay a damp cloth upon her temples. When she grew calmer, anger
+succeeded her agitation. She wanted Duroy to go downstairs at once, to
+fight them, to kill them.
+
+He replied: "They are working-people. Just think, it would be necessary
+to go to court where you would be recognized; one must not compromise
+oneself with such people."
+
+She said: "What shall we do? I cannot come here again."
+
+He replied: "That is very simple. I will move."
+
+She murmured: "Yes, but that will take some time."
+
+Suddenly she said: "Listen to me, I have found a means; do not worry
+about it. I will send you a 'little blue' to-morrow morning." She
+called a telegram a "little blue."
+
+She smiled with delight at her plans, which she would not reveal. She
+was, however, very much affected as she descended the staircase and
+leaned with all her strength upon her lover's arm. They met no one.
+
+He was still in bed the following morning when the promised telegram
+was handed him. Duroy opened it and read:
+
+    "Come at five o'clock to Rue de Constantinople, No. 127. Ask
+     for the room rented by Mme. Duroy. CLO."
+
+At five o'clock precisely he entered a large furnished house and asked
+the janitor: "Has Mme. Duroy hired a room here?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Will you show me to it, if you please?"
+
+The man, accustomed no doubt to situations in which it was necessary to
+be prudent, looked him straight in the eyes; then selecting a key, he
+asked: "Are you M. Duroy?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+He opened a small suite, comprising two rooms on the ground floor.
+
+Duroy thought uneasily: "This will cost a fortune. I shall have to run
+into debt. She has done a very foolish thing."
+
+The door opened and Clotilde rushed in. She was enchanted. "Is it not
+fine? There are no stairs to climb; it is on the ground floor! One
+could come and go through the window without the porter seeing one."
+
+He embraced her nervously, not daring to ask the question that hovered
+upon his lips. She had placed a large package on the stand in the
+center of the room. Opening it she took out a tablet of soap, a bottle
+of Lubin's extract, a sponge, a box of hairpins, a button-hook, and
+curling-tongs. Then she amused herself by finding places in which to
+put them.
+
+She talked incessantly as she opened the drawers: "I must bring some
+linen in order to have a change. We shall each have a key, besides the
+one at the lodge, in case we should forget ours. I rented the
+apartments for three months--in your name, of course, for I could not
+give mine."
+
+Then he asked: "Will you tell me when to pay?"
+
+She replied simply: "It is paid, my dear."
+
+He made a pretense of being angry: "I cannot permit that."
+
+She laid her hand upon his shoulder and said in a supplicatory tone:
+"Georges, it will give me pleasure to have the nest mine. Say that you
+do not care, dear Georges," and he yielded. When she had left him, he
+murmured: "She is kind-hearted, anyway."
+
+Several days later he received a telegram which read:
+
+    "My husband is coming home this evening. We shall therefore not
+     meet for a week. What a bore, my dearest!"
+
+    "YOUR CLO."
+
+Duroy was startled; he had not realized the fact that Mme. de Marelle
+was married. He impatiently awaited her husband's departure. One
+morning he received the following telegram:
+
+     "Five o'clock.--CLO."
+
+When they met, she rushed into his arms, kissed him passionately, and
+asked: "After a while will you take me to dine?"
+
+"Certainly, my darling, wherever you wish to go."
+
+"I should like to go to some restaurant frequented by the
+working-classes."
+
+They repaired to a wine merchant's where meals were also served.
+Clotilde's entrance caused a sensation on account of the elegance of
+her dress. They partook of a ragout of mutton and left that place to
+enter a ball-room in which she pressed more closely to his side. In
+fifteen minutes her curiosity was satisfied and he conducted her home.
+Then followed a series of visits to all sorts of places of amusement.
+Duroy soon began to tire of those expeditions, for he had exhausted all
+his resources and all means of obtaining money. In addition to that he
+owed Forestier a hundred francs, Jacques Rival three hundred, and he
+was hampered with innumerable petty debts ranging from twenty francs to
+one hundred sous.
+
+On the fourteenth of December, he was left without a sou in his pocket.
+As he had often done before, he did not lunch, and spent the afternoon
+working at the office. At four o'clock he received a telegram from Mme.
+de Marelle, saying: "Shall we dine together and afterward have a
+frolic?"
+
+He replied at once: "Impossible to dine," then he added: "But I will
+expect you at our apartments at nine o'clock." Having sent a boy with
+the note in order to save the money for a telegram, he tried to think
+of some way by which he could obtain his evening meal. He waited until
+all of his associates had gone and when he was alone, he rang for the
+porter, put his hand in his pocket and said: "Foucart, I have left my
+purse at home and I have to dine at the Luxembourg. Lend me fifty sous
+to pay for my cab."
+
+The man handed him three francs and asked:
+
+"Is that enough?"
+
+"Yes, thank you." Taking the coins, Duroy rushed down the staircase and
+dined at a cookshop.
+
+At nine o'clock, Mme. de Marelle, whom he awaited in the tiny salon,
+arrived. She wished to take a walk and he objected. His opposition
+irritated her.
+
+"I shall go alone, then. Adieu!"
+
+Seeing that the situation was becoming grave, he seized her hands and
+kissed them, saying:
+
+"Pardon me, darling; I am nervous and out of sorts this evening. I have
+been annoyed by business matters."
+
+Somewhat appeased but still, vexed, she replied:
+
+"That does not concern me; I will not be the butt for your ill humor."
+
+He clasped her in his arms and murmured his apologies. Still she
+persisted in her desire to go out.
+
+"I beseech you, remain here by the fire with me. Say yes."
+
+"No," she replied, "I will not yield to your caprices."
+
+He insisted: "I have a reason, a serious reason--"
+
+"If you will not go with me, I shall go alone. Adieu!"
+
+She disengaged herself from his embrace and fled to the door. He
+followed her:
+
+"Listen Clo, my little Clo, listen to me--"
+
+She shook her head, evaded his caresses and tried to escape from his
+encircling arms.
+
+"I have a reason--"
+
+Looking him in the face, she said: "You lie! What is it?"
+
+He colored, and in order to avoid a rupture, confessed in accents of
+despair: "I have no money!"
+
+She would not believe him until he had turned all his pockets inside
+out, to prove his words. Then she fell upon his breast: "Oh, my poor
+darling! Had I known! How did it happen?"
+
+He invented a touching story to this effect: That his father was in
+straitened circumstances, that he had given him not only his savings,
+but had run himself into debt.
+
+"I shall have to starve for the next six months."
+
+"Shall I lend you some?" she whispered.
+
+He replied with dignity: "You are very kind, dearest; but do not
+mention that again; it wounds me."
+
+She murmured: "You will never know how much I love you." On taking
+leave of him, she asked: "Shall we meet again the day after to-morrow?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"At the same time?"
+
+"Yes, my darling."
+
+They parted.
+
+When Duroy opened his bedroom door and fumbled in his vest pocket for a
+match, he was amazed to find in it a piece of money--a twenty-franc
+piece! At first he wondered by what miracle it had got there; suddenly
+it occurred to him that Mme. de Marelle had given him alms! Angry and
+humiliated, he determined to return it when next they met. The next
+morning it was late when he awoke; he tried to overcome his hunger. He
+went out and as he passed the restaurants he could scarcely resist
+their temptations. At noon he said: "Bah, I shall lunch upon Clotilde's
+twenty francs; that will not hinder me from returning the money
+to-morrow."
+
+He ate his lunch, for which he paid two francs fifty, and on entering
+the office of "La Vie Francaise" he repaid the porter the three francs
+he had borrowed from him. He worked until seven o'clock, then he dined,
+and he continued to draw upon the twenty francs until only four francs
+twenty remained. He decided to say to Mme. de Marelle upon her arrival:
+
+"I found the twenty-franc piece you slipped into my pocket. I will not
+return the money to-day, but I will repay you when we next meet."
+
+When Madame came, he dared not broach the delicate subject. They spent
+the evening together and appointed their next meeting for Wednesday of
+the following week, for Mme. de Marelle had a number of engagements.
+Duroy continued to accept money from Clotilde and quieted his
+conscience by assuring himself: "I will give it back in a lump. It is
+nothing but borrowed money anyway." So he kept account of all that he
+received in order to pay it back some day.
+
+One evening, Mme. de Marelle said to him: "Would you believe that I
+have never been to the Folies-Bergeres; will you take me there?"
+
+He hesitated, fearing a meeting with Rachel. Then he thought: "Bah, I
+am not married after all. If she should see me, she would take in the
+situation and not accost me. Moreover, we would have a box."
+
+When they entered the hall, it was crowded; with difficulty they made
+their way to their seats. Mme. de Marelle did not look at the stage;
+she was interested in watching the women who were promenading, and she
+felt an irresistible desire to touch them, to see of what those beings
+were made. Suddenly she said:
+
+"There is a large brunette who stares at us all the time. I think every
+minute she will speak to us. Have you seen her?"
+
+He replied: "No, you are mistaken."
+
+He told an untruth, for he had noticed the woman, who was no other than
+Rachel, with anger in her eyes and violent words upon her lips.
+
+Duroy had passed her when he and Mme. de Marelle entered and she had
+said to him: "Good evening," in a low voice and with a wink which said
+"I understand." But he had not replied; for fear of being seen by his
+sweetheart he passed her coldly, disdainfully. The woman, her jealousy
+aroused, followed the couple and said in a louder key: "Good evening,
+Georges." He paid no heed to her. Then she was determined to be
+recognized and she remained near their box, awaiting a favorable
+moment. When she saw that she was observed by Mme. de Marelle, she
+touched Duroy's shoulder with the tip of her finger, and said:
+
+"Good evening. How are you?"
+
+But Georges did not turn his head.
+
+She continued: "Have you grown deaf since Thursday?"
+
+Still he did not reply. She laughed angrily and cried:
+
+"Are you dumb, too? Perhaps Madame has your tongue?"
+
+With a furious glance, Duroy then exclaimed:
+
+"How dare you accost me? Go along or I will have you arrested."
+
+With flaming eyes, she cried: "Ah, is that so! Because you are with
+another is no reason that you cannot recognize me. If you had made the
+least sign of recognition when you passed me, I would not have molested
+you. You did not even say good evening to me when you met me."
+
+During that tirade Mme. de Marelle in affright opened the door of the
+box and fled through the crowd seeking an exit. Duroy rushed after her.
+Rachel, seeing him disappear, cried: "Stop her! she has stolen my
+lover!"
+
+Two men seized the fugitive by the shoulder, but Duroy, who had caught
+up with her, bade them desist, and together he and Clotilde reached the
+street.
+
+They entered a cab. The cabman asked: "Where shall I drive to?" Duroy
+replied: "Where you will!"
+
+Clotilde sobbed hysterically. Duroy did not know what to say or do. At
+length he stammered:
+
+"Listen Clo--my dearest Clo, let me explain. It is not my fault. I knew
+that woman--long ago--"
+
+She raised her head and with the fury of a betrayed woman, she cried
+disconnectedly: "Ah, you miserable fellow--what a rascal you are! Is it
+possible? What disgrace, oh, my God! You gave her my money--did you
+not? I gave him the money--for that woman--oh, the wretch!"
+
+For several moments she seemed to be vainly seeking an epithet more
+forcible. Suddenly leaning forward she grasped the cabman's sleeve.
+"Stop!" she cried, and opening the door, she alighted. Georges was
+about to follow her but she commanded: "I forbid you to follow me," in
+a voice so loud that the passers-by crowded around her, and Duroy dared
+not stir for fear of a scandal.
+
+She drew out her purse, and taking two francs fifty from it, she handed
+it to the cabman, saying aloud: "Here is the money for your hour. Take
+that rascal to Rue Boursault at Batignolles!"
+
+The crowd applauded; one man said: "Bravo, little one!" and the cab
+moved on, followed by the jeers of the bystanders.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+A STEP UPWARD
+
+
+The next morning Georges Duroy arose, dressed himself, and determined
+to have money; he sought Forestier. His friend received him in his
+study.
+
+"What made you rise so early?" he asked.
+
+"A very serious matter. I have a debt of honor."
+
+"A gaming debt?"
+
+He hesitated, then repeated: "A gaming debt."
+
+"Is it large?"
+
+"Five hundred francs." He only needed two hundred and eighty.
+
+Forestier asked sceptically: "To whom do you owe that amount?"
+
+Duroy did not reply at once. "To--to--a--M. de Carleville."
+
+"Ah, where does he live?"
+
+"Rue--Rue--"
+
+Forestier laughed. "I know the gentleman! If you want twenty francs you
+can have them, but no more."
+
+Duroy took the gold-piece, called upon more friends, and by five
+o'clock had collected eighty francs. As he required two hundred more,
+he kept what he had begged and muttered: "I shall not worry about it. I
+will pay it when I can."
+
+For two weeks he lived economically, but at the end of that time, the
+good resolutions he had formed vanished, and one evening he returned to
+the Folies Bergeres in search of Rachel; but the woman was implacable
+and heaped coarse insults upon him, until he felt his cheeks tingle and
+he left the hall.
+
+Forestier, out of health and feeble, made Duroy's existence at the
+office insupportable. The latter did not reply to his rude remarks, but
+determined to be avenged. He called upon Mme. Forestier. He found her
+reclining upon a couch, reading. She held out her hand without rising
+and said: "Good morning, Bel-Ami!"
+
+"Why do you call me by that name?"
+
+She replied with a smile: "I saw Mme. de Marelle last week and I know
+what they have christened you at her house."
+
+He took a seat near his hostess and glanced at her curiously; she was a
+charming blonde, fair and plump, made for caresses, and he thought:
+"She is certainly nicer than the other one." He did not doubt that he
+would only have to extend his hand in order to gather the fruit. As he
+gazed upon her she chided him for his neglect of her.
+
+He replied: "I did not come because it was for the best--"
+
+"How? Why?"
+
+"Why? Can you not guess?"
+
+"No!"
+
+"Because I loved you; a little, only a little, and I did not wish to
+love you any more."
+
+She did not seem surprised, nor flattered; she smiled indifferently and
+replied calmly: "Oh, you can come just the same; no one loves me long."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because it is useless, and I tell them so at once. If you had
+confessed your fears to me sooner, I would have reassured you. My dear
+friend, a man in love is not only foolish but dangerous. I cease all
+intercourse with people who love me or pretend to; firstly, because
+they bore me, and secondly, because I look upon them with dread, as I
+would upon a mad dog. I know that your love is only a kind of appetite;
+while with me it would be a communion of souls. Now, look me in the
+face--" she no longer smiled. "I will never be your sweetheart; it is
+therefore useless for you to persist in your efforts. And now that I
+have explained, shall we be friends?"
+
+He knew that that sentence was irrevocable, and delighted to be able to
+form such an alliance as she proposed, he extended both hands, saying:
+
+"I am yours, Madame, to do with as you will"
+
+He kissed her hands and raising his head said: "If I had found a woman
+like you, how gladly would I have married her."
+
+She was touched by those words, and in a soft voice, placing her hand
+upon his arm, she said: "I am going to begin my offices at once. You
+are not diplomatic--" she hesitated. "May I speak freely?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Call upon Mme. Walter who has taken a fancy to you. But be guarded as
+to your compliments, for she is virtuous. You will make a better
+impression there by being careful in your remarks. I know that your
+position at the office is unsatisfactory, but do not worry; all their
+employees are treated alike."
+
+He said: "Thanks; you are an angel--a guardian angel."
+
+As he took his leave, he asked again: "Are we friends--is it settled?"
+
+"It is."
+
+Having observed the effect of his last compliment, he said: "If you
+ever become a widow, I have put in my application!" Then he left the
+room hastily in order not to allow her time to be angry.
+
+Duroy did not like to call on Mme. Walter, for he had never been
+invited, and he did not wish to commit a breach of etiquette. The
+manager had been kind to him, appreciated his services, employed him to
+do difficult work, why should he not profit by that show of favor to
+call at his house? One day, therefore, he repaired to the market and
+bought twenty-five pears. Having carefully arranged them in a basket to
+make them appear as if they came from a distance he took them to Mme.
+Walter's door with his card on which was inscribed:
+
+    "Georges Duroy begs Mme. Walter to accept the fruit which he
+     received this morning from Normandy."
+
+The following day he found in his letter-box at the office an envelope
+containing Mme, Walter's card on which was written:
+
+    "Mme. Walter thanks M. Georges Duroy very much, and is at home
+     on Saturdays."
+
+The next Saturday he called. M. Walter lived on Boulevard Malesherbes
+in a double house which he owned. The reception-rooms were on the first
+floor. In the antechamber were two footmen; one took Duroy's overcoat,
+the other his cane, put it aside, opened a door and announced the
+visitor's name. In the large mirror in the apartment Duroy could see
+the reflection of people seated in another room. He passed through two
+drawing-rooms and entered a small boudoir in which four ladies were
+gathered around a tea-table. Notwithstanding the assurance he had
+gained during his life in Paris, and especially since he had been
+thrown in contact with so many noted personages, Duroy felt abashed. He
+stammered:
+
+"Madame, I took the liberty."
+
+The mistress of the house extended her hand and said to him: "You are
+very kind, M. Duroy, to come to see me." She pointed to a chair. The
+ladies chatted on. Visitors came and went. Mme. Walter noticed that
+Duroy said nothing, that no one addressed him, that he seemed
+disconcerted, and she drew him into the conversation which dealt with
+the admission of a certain M. Linet to the Academy. When Duroy had
+taken his leave, one of the ladies said: "How odd he is! Who is he?"
+
+Mme. Walter replied: "One of our reporters; he only occupies a minor
+position, but I think he will advance rapidly."
+
+In the meantime, while he was being discussed, Duroy walked gaily down
+Boulevard Malesherbes.
+
+The following week he was appointed editor of the "Echoes," and invited
+to dine at Mme. Walter's. The "Echoes" were, M. Walter said, the very
+pith of the paper. Everything and everybody should be remembered, all
+countries, all professions, Paris and the provinces, the army, the
+arts, the clergy, the schools, the rulers, and the courtiers. The man
+at the head of that department should be wide awake, always on his
+guard, quick to judge of what was best to be said and best to be
+omitted, to divine what would please the public and to present it well.
+Duroy was just the man for the place.
+
+He was enjoying the fact of his promotion, when he received an engraved
+card which read:
+
+    "M. and Mme. Walter request the pleasure of M. Georges Duroy's
+     company at dinner on Thursday, January 20."
+
+He was so delighted that he kissed the invitation as if it had been a
+love-letter.
+
+Then he sought the cashier to settle the important question of his
+salary. At first twelve hundred francs were allowed Duroy, who intended
+to save a large share of the money. He was busy two days getting
+settled in his new position, in a large room, one end of which he
+occupied, and the other end of which was allotted to Boisrenard, who
+worked with him.
+
+The day of the dinner-party he left the office in good season, in order
+to have time to dress, and was walking along Rue de Londres when he saw
+before him a form which resembled Mme. de Marelle's. He felt his cheeks
+glow and his heart throb. He crossed the street in order to see the
+lady's face; he was mistaken, and breathed more freely. He had often
+wondered what he should do if he met Clotilde face to face. Should he
+bow to her or pretend not to see her? "I should not see her," thought
+he.
+
+When Duroy entered his rooms he thought: "I must change my apartments;
+these will not do any longer." He felt both nervous and gay, and said
+aloud to himself: "I must write to my father." Occasionally he wrote
+home, and his letters always delighted his old parents. As he tied his
+cravat at the mirror he repeated: "I must write home to-morrow. If my
+father could see me this evening in the house to which I am going, he
+would be surprised. Sacristi, I shall soon give a dinner which has
+never been equaled!"
+
+Then he recalled his old home, the faces of his father and mother. He
+saw them seated at their homely board, eating their soup. He remembered
+every wrinkle on their old faces, every movement of their hands and
+heads; he even knew what they said to each other every evening as they
+supped. He thought: "I will go to see them some day." His toilette
+completed, he extinguished his light and descended the stairs.
+
+On reaching his destination, he boldly entered the antechamber, lighted
+by bronze lamps, and gave his cane and his overcoat to the two lackeys
+who approached him. All the salons were lighted. Mme. Walter received
+in the second, the largest. She greeted Duroy with a charming smile,
+and he shook hands with two men who arrived after him, M. Firmin and M.
+Laroche-Mathieu; the latter had especial authority at the office on
+account of his influence in the chamber of deputies.
+
+Then the Forestiers arrived, Madeleine looking charming in pink.
+Charles had become very much emaciated and coughed incessantly.
+
+Norbert de Varenne and Jacques Rival came together. A door opened at
+the end of the room, and M. Walter entered with two tall young girls of
+sixteen and seventeen; one plain, the other pretty. Duroy knew that the
+manager was a paterfamilias, but he was astonished. He had thought of
+the manager's daughters as one thinks of a distant country one will
+never see. Then, too, he had fancied them children, and he saw women.
+They shook hands upon being introduced and seated themselves at a table
+set apart for them. One of the guests had not arrived, and that
+embarrassing silence which precedes dinners in general reigned supreme.
+
+Duroy happening to glance at the walls, M. Walter said: "You are
+looking at my pictures? I will show them all to you." And he took a
+lamp that they might distinguish all the details. There were landscapes
+by Guillemet; "A Visit to the Hospital," by Gervex; "A Widow," by
+Bouguereau; "An Execution," by Jean Paul Laurens, and many others.
+
+Duroy exclaimed: "Charming, charming, char--" but stopped short on
+hearing behind him the voice of Mme. de Marelle who had just entered.
+M. Walter continued to exhibit and explain his pictures; but Duroy saw
+nothing--heard without comprehending. Mme. de Marelle was there, behind
+him. What should he do? If he greeted her, might she not turn her back
+upon him or utter some insulting remark? If he did not approach her,
+what would people think? He was so ill at ease that at one time he
+thought he should feign indisposition and return home.
+
+The pictures had all been exhibited. M. Walter placed the lamp on the
+table and greeted the last arrival, while Duroy recommenced alone an
+examination of the canvas, as if he could not tear himself away. What
+should he do? He heard their voices and their conversation. Mme.
+Forestier called him; he hastened toward her. It was to introduce him
+to a friend who was on the point of giving a fete, and who wanted a
+description of it in "La Vie Francaise."
+
+He stammered: "Certainly, Madame, certainly."
+
+Madame de Marelle was very near him; he dared not turn to go away.
+Suddenly to his amazement, she exclaimed: "Good evening, Bel-Ami; do
+you not remember me?"
+
+He turned upon his heel hastily; she stood before him smiling, her eyes
+overflowing with roguishness and affection. She offered him her hand;
+he took it doubtfully, fearing some perfidy. She continued calmly:
+"What has become of you? One never sees you!"
+
+Not having regained his self-possession, he murmured: "I have had a
+great deal to do, Madame, a great deal to do. M. Walter has given me
+another position and the duties are very arduous."
+
+"I know, but that is no excuse for forgetting your friends."
+
+Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of a large woman,
+decollette, with red arms, red cheeks, and attired in gay colors. As
+she was received with effusion, Duroy asked Mme. Forestier: "Who is
+that person?"
+
+"Viscountess de Percemur, whose nom de plume is 'Patte Blanche.'"
+
+He was surprised and with difficulty restrained a burst of laughter.
+
+"Patte Blanche? I fancied her a young woman like you. Is that Patte
+Blanche? Ah, she is handsome, very handsome!"
+
+A servant appeared at the door and announced: "Madame is served."
+
+Duroy was placed between the manager's plain daughter, Mlle. Rose, and
+Mme. de Marelle. The proximity of the latter embarrassed him somewhat,
+although she appeared at ease and conversed with her usual spirit.
+Gradually, however, his assurance returned, and before the meal was
+over, he knew that their relations would be renewed. Wishing, too, to
+be polite to his employer's daughter, he addressed her from time to
+time. She responded as her mother would have done, without any
+hesitation as to what she should say. At M. Walter's right sat
+Viscountess de Percemur, and Duroy, looking at her with a smile, asked
+Mme. de Marelle in a low voice: "Do you know the one who signs herself
+'Domino Rose'?"
+
+"Yes, perfectly; Baroness de Livar."
+
+"Is she like the Countess?"
+
+"No. But she is just as comical. She is sixty years old, has false
+curls and teeth, wit of the time of the Restoration, and toilettes of
+the same period."
+
+When the guests returned to the drawing-room, Duroy asked Mme. de
+Marelle: "May I escort you home?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because M. Laroche-Mathieu, who is my neighbor, leaves me at my door
+every time that I dine here."
+
+"When shall I see you again?"
+
+"Lunch with me to-morrow."
+
+They parted without another word. Duroy did not remain late; as he
+descended the staircase, he met Norbert de Varenne, who was likewise
+going away. The old poet took his arm; fearing no rivalry on the
+newspaper, their work being essentially different, he was very friendly
+to the young man.
+
+"Shall we walk along together?"
+
+"I shall be pleased to," replied Duroy.
+
+The streets were almost deserted that night. At first the two men did
+not speak. Then Duroy, in order to make some remark, said: "That M.
+Laroche-Mathieu looks very intelligent."
+
+The old poet murmured: "Do you think so?"
+
+The younger man hesitated in surprise: "Why, yes! Is he not considered
+one of the most capable men in the Chamber?"
+
+"That may be. In a kingdom of blind men the blind are kings. All those
+people are divided between money and politics; they are pedants to whom
+it is impossible to speak of anything that is familiar to us. Ah, it is
+difficult to find a man who is liberal in his ideas! I have known
+several, they are dead. Still, what difference does a little more or a
+little less genius make, since all must come to an end?" He paused, and
+Duroy said with a smile:
+
+"You are gloomy to-night, sir!"
+
+The poet replied: "I always am, my child; you will be too in a few
+years. While one is climbing the ladder, one sees the top and feels
+hopeful; but when one has reached that summit, one sees the descent and
+the end which is death. It is slow work ascending, but one descends
+rapidly. At your age one is joyous; one hopes for many things which
+never come to pass. At mine, one expects nothing but death."
+
+Duroy laughed: "Egad, you make me shudder."
+
+Norbert de Varenne continued: "You do not understand me now, but later
+on you will remember what I have told you. We breathe, sleep, drink,
+eat, work, and then die! The end of life is death. What do you long
+for? Love? A few kisses and you will be powerless. Money? What for? To
+gratify your desires. Glory? What comes after it all? Death! Death
+alone is certain."
+
+He stopped, took Duroy by his coat collar and said slowly: "Ponder upon
+all that, young man; think it over for days, months, and years, and you
+will see life from a different standpoint. I am a lonely, old man. I
+have neither father, mother, brother, sister, wife, children, nor God.
+I have only poetry. Marry, my friend; you do not know what it is to
+live alone at my age. It is so lonesome. I seem to have no one upon
+earth. When one is old it is a comfort to have children."
+
+When they reached Rue de Bourgogne, the poet halted before a high
+house, rang the bell, pressed Duroy's hand and said: "Forget what I
+have said to you, young man, and live according to your age. Adieu!"
+With those words he disappeared in the dark corridor.
+
+Duroy felt somewhat depressed on leaving Varenne, but on his way a
+perfumed damsel passed by him and recalled to his mind his
+reconciliation with Mme. de Marelle. How delightful was the realization
+of one's hopes!
+
+The next morning he arrived at his lady-love's door somewhat early; she
+welcomed him as if there had been no rupture, and said as she kissed
+him:
+
+"You do not know how annoyed I am, my beloved; I anticipated a
+delightful honeymoon and now my husband has come home for six weeks.
+But I could not let so long a time go by without seeing you, especially
+after our little disagreement, and this is how I have arranged matters:
+Come to dinner Monday. I will introduce you to M. de Marelle, I have
+already spoken of you to him."
+
+Duroy hesitated in perplexity; he feared he might betray something by a
+word, a glance. He stammered:
+
+"No, I would rather not meet your husband."
+
+"Why not? How absurd! Such things happen every day. I did not think you
+so foolish."
+
+"Very well, I will come to dinner Monday."
+
+"To make it more pleasant, I will have the Forestiers, though I do not
+like to receive company at home."
+
+On Monday as he ascended Mme. de Marelle's staircase, he felt strangely
+troubled; not that he disliked to take her husband's hand, drink his
+wine, and eat his bread, but he dreaded something, he knew not what. He
+was ushered into the salon and he waited as usual. Then the door
+opened, and a tall man with a white beard, grave and precise, advanced
+toward him and said courteously:
+
+"My wife has often spoken of you, sir; I am charmed to make your
+acquaintance."
+
+Duroy tried to appear cordial and shook his host's proffered hand with
+exaggerated energy. M. de Marelle put a log upon the fire and asked:
+
+"Have you been engaged in journalism a long time?"
+
+Duroy replied: "Only a few months." His embarrassment wearing off, he
+began to consider the situation very amusing. He gazed at M. de
+Marelle, serious and dignified, and felt a desire to laugh aloud. At
+that moment Mme. de Marelle entered and approached Duroy, who in the
+presence of her husband dared not kiss her hand. Laurine entered next,
+and offered her brow to Georges. Her mother said to her:
+
+"You do not call M. Duroy Bel-Ami to-day."
+
+The child blushed as if it were a gross indiscretion to reveal her
+secret.
+
+When the Forestiers arrived, Duroy was startled at Charles's
+appearance. He had grown thinner and paler in a week and coughed
+incessantly; he said they would leave for Cannes on the following
+Thursday at the doctor's orders. They did not stay late; after they had
+left, Duroy said, with a shake of his head:
+
+"He will not live long."
+
+Mme. de Marelle replied calmly: "No, he is doomed! He was a lucky man
+to obtain such a wife."
+
+Duroy asked: "Does she help him very much?"
+
+"She does all the work; she is well posted on every subject, and she
+always gains her point, as she wants it, and when she wants it! Oh, she
+is as maneuvering as anyone! She is a treasure to a man who wishes to
+succeed."
+
+Georges replied: "She will marry very soon again, I have no doubt."
+
+"Yes! I should not even be surprised if she had some one in view--a
+deputy! but I do not know anything about it."
+
+M. de Marelle said impatiently: "You infer so many things that I do not
+like! We should never interfere in the affairs of others. Everyone
+should make that a rule."
+
+Duroy took his leave with a heavy heart. The next day he called on the
+Forestiers, and found them in the midst of packing. Charles lay upon a
+sofa and repeated: "I should have gone a month ago." Then he proceeded
+to give Duroy innumerable orders, although everything had been arranged
+with M. Walter. When Georges left him, he pressed his comrade's hand
+and said:
+
+"Well, old fellow, we shall soon meet again."
+
+Mme. Forestier accompanied him to the door and he reminded her of their
+compact. "We are friends and allies, are we not? If you should require
+my services in any way, do not hesitate to call upon me. Send me a
+dispatch or a letter and I will obey."
+
+She murmured: "Thank you, I shall not forget."
+
+As Duroy descended the staircase, he met M. de Vaudrec ascending. The
+Count seemed sad--perhaps at the approaching departure.
+
+The journalist bowed, the Count returned his salutation courteously but
+somewhat haughtily.
+
+On Thursday evening the Forestiers left town.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A DUEL WITH AN END
+
+
+Charles's absence gave Duroy a more important position on "La Vie
+Francaise." Only one matter arose to annoy him, otherwise his sky was
+cloudless.
+
+An insignificant paper, "La Plume," attacked him constantly, or rather
+attacked the editor of the "Echoes" of "La Vie Francaise."
+
+Jacques Rival said to him one day: "You are very forbearing."
+
+"What should I do? It is no direct attack."
+
+But, one afternoon when he entered the office, Boisrenard handed him a
+number of "La Plume."
+
+"See, here is another unpleasant remark for you."
+
+"Relative to what?"
+
+"To the arrest of one Dame Aubert."
+
+Georges took the paper and read a scathing personal denunciation.
+Duroy, it seems, had written an item claiming that Dame Aubert who, as
+the editor of "La Plume," claimed, had been put under arrest, was a
+myth. The latter retaliated by accusing Duroy of receiving bribes and
+of suppressing matter that should be published.
+
+As Saint-Potin entered, Duroy asked him: "Have you seen the paragraph
+in 'La Plume'?"
+
+"Yes, and I have just come from Dame Aubert's; she is no myth, but she
+has not been arrested; that report has no foundation."
+
+Duroy went at once to M. Walter's office. After hearing the case, the
+manager bade him go to the woman's house himself, find out the details,
+and reply, to the article.
+
+Duroy set out upon his errand and on his return to the office, wrote
+the following:
+
+    "An anonymous writer in 'La Plume' is trying to pick a quarrel
+     with me on the subject of an old woman who, he claims, was
+     arrested for disorderly conduct, which I deny. I have myself
+     seen Dame Aubert, who is sixty years old at least; she told me
+     the particulars of her dispute with a butcher as to the weight
+     of some cutlets, which dispute necessitated an explanation
+     before a magistrate. That is the whole truth in a nutshell. As
+     for the other insinuations I scorn them. One never should reply
+     to such things, moreover, when they are written under a mask.
+                                               GEORGES DUROY."
+
+M. Walter and Jacques Rival considered that sufficient, and it was
+decided that it should be published in that day's issue.
+
+Duroy returned home rather agitated and uneasy. What would this
+opponent reply? Who was he? Why that attack? He passed a restless
+night. When he re-read his article in the paper the next morning, he
+thought it more aggressive in print than it was in writing. He might,
+it seemed to him, have softened certain terms. He was excited all day
+and feverish during-the night. He rose early to obtain an issue of "La
+Plume" which should contain the reply to his note. He ran his eyes over
+the columns and at first saw nothing. He was beginning to breathe more
+freely when these words met his eye:
+
+    "M. Duroy of 'La Vie Francaise' gives us the lie! In doing so,
+     he lies. He owns, however, that a woman named Aubert exists,
+     and that she was taken before a magistrate by an agent. Two
+     words only remain to be added to the word 'agent,' which are
+    'of morals' and all is told. But the consciences of certain
+     journalists are on a par with their talents."
+
+    "I sign myself, Louis Langremont."
+
+Georges's heart throbbed violently, and he returned home in order to
+dress himself. He had been insulted and in such a manner that it was
+impossible to hesitate. Why had he been insulted? For nothing! On
+account of an old woman who had quarreled with her butcher.
+
+He dressed hastily and repaired to M. Walter's house, although it was
+scarcely eight o'clock. M. Walter was reading "La Plume."
+
+"Well," he said gravely, on perceiving Duroy, "you cannot let that
+pass." The young man did not reply.
+
+The manager continued: "Go at once in search of Rival, who will look
+after your interests."
+
+Duroy stammered several vague words and set out for Rival's house.
+Jacques was still in bed, but he rose when the bell rang, and having
+read the insulting paragraph, said: "Whom would you like to have
+besides me?"
+
+"I do not know."
+
+"Boisrenard?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Are you a good swordsman?"
+
+"No."
+
+"A good shot?"
+
+"I have used a pistol a good deal."
+
+"Good! Come and exercise while I attend to everything. Wait a moment."
+
+He entered his dressing-room and soon reappeared, washed, shaven, and
+presentable.
+
+"Come with me," said he. He lived on the ground floor, and he led Duroy
+into a cellar converted into a room for the practice of fencing and
+shooting. He produced a pair of pistols and began to give his orders as
+briefly as if they were on the dueling ground. He was well satisfied
+with Duroy's use of the weapons, and told him to remain there and
+practice until noon, when he would return to take him to lunch and tell
+him the result of his mission. Left to his own devices, Duroy aimed at
+the target several times and then sat down to reflect.
+
+Such affairs were abominable anyway! What would a respectable man gain
+by risking his life? And he recalled Norbert de Varenne's remarks, made
+to him a short while before. "He was right!" he declared aloud. It was
+gloomy in that cellar, as gloomy as in a tomb. What o'clock was it? The
+time dragged slowly on. Suddenly he heard footsteps, voices, and
+Jacques Rival reappeared accompanied by Boisrenard. The former cried on
+perceiving Duroy: "All is settled!"
+
+Duroy thought the matter had terminated with a letter of apology; his
+heart gave a bound and he stammered: "Ah--thank you!"
+
+Rival continued: "M. Langremont has accepted every condition.
+Twenty-five paces, fire when the pistol is leveled and the order
+given." Then he added: "Now let us lunch; it is past twelve o'clock."
+
+They repaired to a neighboring restaurant. Duroy was silent. He ate
+that they might not think he was frightened, and went in the afternoon
+with Boisrenard to the office, where he worked in an absent, mechanical
+manner. Before leaving, Jacques Rival shook hands with him and warned
+him that he and Boisrenard would call for him in a carriage the next
+morning at seven o'clock to repair to the wood at Vesinet, where the
+meeting was to take place.
+
+All had been settled without his saying a word, giving his opinion,
+accepting or refusing, with such rapidity that his brain whirled and he
+scarcely knew what was taking place. He returned home about nine
+o'clock in the evening after having dined with Boisrenard, who had not
+left him all day. When he was alone, he paced the floor; he was too
+confused to think. One thought alone filled his mind and that was: a
+duel to-morrow! He sat down and began to meditate. He had thrown upon
+his table his adversary's card brought him by Rival. He read it for the
+twentieth time that day:
+
+    "Louis LANGREMONT,
+     176 Rue Montmartre."
+
+Nothing more! Who was the man? How old was he? How tall? How did he
+look? How odious that a total stranger should without rhyme or reason,
+out of pure caprice, annoy him thus on account of an old, woman's
+quarrel with her butcher! He said aloud: "The brute!" and glared
+angrily at the card.
+
+He began to feel nervous; the sound of his voice made him start; he
+drank a glass of water and laid down. He turned from his right side to
+his left uneasily. He was thirsty; he rose, he felt restless.
+
+"Am I afraid?" he asked himself.
+
+Why did his heart palpitate so wildly at the slightest sound? He began
+to reason philosophically on the possibility of being afraid. No,
+certainly he was not, since he was ready to fight. Still he felt so
+deeply moved that he wondered if one could be afraid in spite of
+oneself. What would happen if that state of things should exist? If he
+should tremble or lose his presence of mind? He lighted his candle and
+looked in the glass; he scarcely recognized his own face, it was so
+changed.
+
+Suddenly he thought: "To-morrow at this time I may be dead." He turned
+to his couch and saw himself stretched lifeless upon it. He hastened to
+the window and opened it; but the night air was so chilly that he
+closed it, lighted a fire, and began to pace the floor once more,
+saying mechanically: "I must be more composed. I will write to my
+parents, in case of accident." He took a sheet of paper and after
+several attempts began:
+
+     "My dear father and mother:"
+
+     "At daybreak I am going to fight a duel, and as something
+     might happen--"
+
+He could write no more, he rose with a shudder. It seemed to him that
+notwithstanding his efforts, he would not have the strength necessary
+to face the meeting. He wondered if his adversary had ever fought
+before; if he were known? He had never heard his name. However, if he
+had not been a remarkable shot, he would not have accepted that
+dangerous weapon without hesitation. He ground his teeth to prevent his
+crying aloud. Suddenly he remembered that he had a bottle of brandy; he
+fetched it from the cupboard and soon emptied it. Now he felt his blood
+course more warmly through his veins. "I have found a means," said he.
+
+Day broke. He began to dress; when his heart failed him, he took more
+brandy. At length there was a knock at the door. His friends had come;
+they were wrapped in furs. After shaking hands, Rival said: "It is as
+cold as Siberia. Is all well?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Are you calm?"
+
+"Very calm."
+
+"Have you eaten and drunk something?"
+
+"I do not need anything."
+
+They descended the stairs. A gentleman was seated in the carriage.
+Rival said: "Dr. Le Brument." Duroy shook hands with him and stammered:
+"Thank you," as he entered the carriage. Jacques Rival and Boisrenard
+followed him, and the coachman drove off. He knew where to go.
+
+The conversation flagged, although the doctor related a number of
+anecdotes. Rival alone replied to him. Duroy tried to appear
+self-possessed, but he was haunted continually by the fear of showing
+his feelings or of losing his self-possession. Rival addressed him,
+saying: "I took the pistols to Gastine Renette. He loaded them. The box
+is sealed."
+
+Duroy replied mechanically: "Thank you."
+
+Then Rival proceeded to give him minute directions, that he might make
+no mistakes. Duroy repeated those directions as children learn their
+lessons in order to impress them upon his memory. As he muttered the
+phrases over and over, he almost prayed that some accident might happen
+to the carriage; if he could only break his leg!
+
+At the end of a glade he saw a carriage standing and four gentlemen
+stamping their feet in order to keep them warm, and he was obliged to
+gasp in order to get breath. Rival and Boisrenard alighted first, then
+the doctor and the combatant.
+
+Rival took the box of pistols, and with Boisrenard approached the two
+strangers, who were advancing toward them. Duroy saw them greet one
+another ceremoniously, then walk through the glade together as they
+counted the paces.
+
+Dr. Le Brument asked Duroy: "Do you feel well? Do you not want
+anything?"
+
+"Nothing, thank you." It seemed to him that he was asleep, that he was
+dreaming. Was he afraid? He did not know. Jacques Rival returned and
+said in a low voice: "All is ready. Fortune has favored us in the
+drawing of the pistols." That was a matter of indifference to Duroy.
+They helped him off with his overcoat, led him to the ground set apart
+for the duel, and gave him his pistol. Before him stood a man, short,
+stout, and bald, who wore glasses. That was his adversary. A voice
+broke the silence--a voice which came from afar: "Are you ready, sirs?"
+
+Georges cried: "Yes."
+
+The same voice commanded: "Fire!"
+
+Duroy heard nothing more, saw nothing more; he only knew that he raised
+his arm and pressed with all his strength upon the trigger. Soon he saw
+a little smoke before him; his opponent was still standing in the same
+position, and there was a small white cloud above his head. They had
+both fired. All was over! His second and the doctor felt him,
+unbuttoned his garments, and asked anxiously: "Are you wounded?" He
+replied: "No, I think not."
+
+Langremont was not wounded either, and Jacques Rival muttered
+discontentedly: "That is always the way with those cursed pistols, one
+either misses or kills one's opponent."
+
+Duroy was paralyzed with surprise and joy. All was over! He felt that
+he could fight the entire universe. All was over! What bliss! He felt
+brave enough to provoke anyone. The seconds consulted several moments,
+then the duelists and their friends entered the carriages and drove
+off. When the official report was drawn up, it was handed to Duroy who
+was to insert it in the "Echoes." He was surprised to find that two
+balls had been fired.
+
+He said to Rival: "We only fired once!"
+
+The latter smiled: "Yes--once--once each--that makes twice!"
+
+And Duroy, satisfied with that explanation, asked no more questions. M.
+Walter embraced him.
+
+"Bravo! you have defended the colors of 'La Vie Francaise'! Bravo!"
+
+The following day at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, Duroy received a
+telegram:
+
+"My God! I have been frightened. Come at once to Rue de Constantinople
+that I may embrace you, my love. How brave you are. I adore you. Clo."
+
+He repaired to the place appointed, and Mme. de Marelle rushed into his
+arms, covering him with kisses.
+
+"Oh, my darling, if you only knew how I felt when I read the morning
+papers! Tell me, tell me all about it."
+
+Duroy was obliged to give her a detailed account.
+
+"You must have had a terrible night before the duel!"
+
+"Why, no; I slept very well."
+
+"I should not have closed my eyes. Tell me what took place on the
+ground."
+
+Forthwith he proceeded to give her a graphic description of the duel.
+When he had concluded, she said to him: "I cannot live without you! I
+must see you, and with my husband in Paris it is not very convenient. I
+often have an hour early in the morning when I could come and embrace
+you, but I cannot enter that horrible house of yours! What can we do?"
+
+He asked abruptly: "How much do you pay here?"
+
+"One hundred francs a month."
+
+"Very well, I will take the apartments on my own account, and I will
+move at once. Mine are not suitable anyway for me now."
+
+She thought a moment and then replied: "No I do not want you to."
+
+He asked in surprise: "Why not?"
+
+"Because!"
+
+"That is no reason. These rooms suit me very well. I am here; I shall
+remain." He laughed. "Moreover, they were hired in my name!"
+
+But she persisted: "No, no, I do not wish you to."
+
+"Why not, then?"
+
+She whispered softly, tenderly: "Because you would bring others here,
+and I do not wish you to."
+
+Indignantly he cried: "Never, I promise you!"
+
+"You would do so in spite of your promise."
+
+"I swear I will not."
+
+"Truly?"
+
+"Truly--upon my word of honor. This is our nest--ours alone!"
+
+She embraced him in a transport of delight. "Then I agree, my dearest.
+But if you deceive me once--just once, that will end all between us
+forever."
+
+He protested, and it was agreed that he should settle in the rooms that
+same day. She said to him:
+
+"You must dine with us Sunday. My husband thinks you charming."
+
+He was flattered. "Indeed?"
+
+"Yes, you have made a conquest. Did you not tell me that your home was
+in the country?"
+
+"Yes; why?"
+
+"Then you know something about agriculture?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Very well; talk to him of gardening and crops; he enjoys those
+subjects."
+
+"All right. I shall not forget."
+
+She left him, after lavishing upon him innumerable caresses.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+DEATH AND A PROPOSAL
+
+
+Duroy moved his effects to the apartments in Rue de Constantinople. Two
+or three times a week, Mme. de-Marelle paid him visits. Duroy, to
+counterbalance them, dined at her house every Thursday, and delighted
+her husband by talking agriculture to him.
+
+It was almost the end of February. Duroy was free from care. One night,
+when he returned home, he found a letter under his door. He examined
+the postmark; it was from Cannes. Having opened it, he read:
+
+     "Cannes, Villa Jolie."
+
+     "Dear sir and friend: You told me, did you not, that I could
+     count upon you at any time? Very well. I have a favor to ask
+     of you; it is to come and help me--not to leave me alone during
+     Charles's last moments. He may not live through the week,
+     although he is not confined to his bed, but the doctor has
+     warned me. I have not the strength nor the courage to see that
+     agony day and night, and I think with terror of the approaching
+     end I can only ask such a thing of you, for my husband has no
+     relatives. You were his comrade; he helped you to your
+     position; come, I beg of you; I have no one else to ask."
+
+     "Your friend,"
+
+     "Madeleine Forestier."
+
+Georges murmured: "Certainly I will go. Poor Charles!"
+
+The manager, to whom he communicated the contents of that letter,
+grumblingly gave his consent. He repeated: "But return speedily, you
+are indispensable to us."
+
+Georges Duroy left for Cannes the next day by the seven o'clock
+express, after having warned Mme. de Marelle by telegram. He arrived
+the following day at four o'clock in the afternoon. A commissionnaire
+conducted him to Villa Jolie. The house was small and low, and of the
+Italian style of architecture.
+
+A servant opened the door and cried: "Oh, sir, Madame is awaiting you
+patiently."
+
+Duroy asked: "How is your master?"
+
+"Not very well, sir. He will not be here long."
+
+The floor of the drawing-room which the young man entered was covered
+with a Persian rug; the large windows looked upon the village and the
+sea.
+
+Duroy murmured: "How cozy it is here! Where the deuce do they get the
+money from?"
+
+The rustling of a gown caused him to turn. Mme. Forestier extended both
+her hands, saying:
+
+"How kind of you to come."
+
+She was a trifle paler and thinner, but still as bright as ever, and
+perhaps prettier for being more delicate. She whispered: "It is
+terrible--he knows he cannot be saved and he tyrannizes over me. I have
+told him of your arrival. But where is your trunk?"
+
+Duroy replied: "I left it at the station, not knowing which hotel you
+would advise me to stop at, in order to be near you."
+
+She hesitated, then said: "You must stop here, at the villa. Your
+chamber is ready. He might die any moment, and if it should come in the
+night, I would be alone. I will send for your luggage."
+
+He bowed. "As you will."
+
+"Now, let us go upstairs," said she; he followed her. She opened a door
+on the first floor, and Duroy saw a form near a window, seated in an
+easy-chair, and wrapped in coverlets. He divined that it was his
+friend, though he scarcely recognized him. Forestier raised his hand
+slowly and with difficulty, saying:
+
+"You are here; you have come to see me die. I am much obliged."
+
+Duroy forced a smile. "To see you die? That would not be a very
+pleasant sight, and I would not choose that occasion on which to visit
+Cannes. I came here to rest."
+
+"Sit down," said Forestier, and he bowed his head as if deep in
+hopeless meditation. Seeing that he did not speak, his wife approached
+the window and pointing to the horizon, said, "Look at that? Is it not
+beautiful?"
+
+In spite of himself Duroy felt the grandeur of the closing day and
+exclaimed: "Yes, indeed, it is magnificent."
+
+Forestier raised his head and said to his wife: "Give me more air."
+
+She replied: "You must be careful; it is late, the sun is setting; you
+will catch more cold and that would be a serious thing in your
+condition."
+
+He made a feeble gesture of anger with his right hand, and said: "I
+tell you I am suffocating! What difference does it make if I die a day
+sooner or later, since I must die?"
+
+She opened the window wide. The air was soft and balmy. Forestier
+inhaled it in feverish gasps. He grasped the arms of his chair and said
+in a low voice: "Shut the window. I would rather die in a cellar."
+
+His wife slowly closed the window, then leaned her brow against the
+pane and looked out. Duroy, ill at ease, wished to converse with the
+invalid to reassure him, but he could think of no words of comfort. He
+stammered: "Have you not been better since you are here?"
+
+His friend shrugged his shoulders impatiently: "You will see very
+soon." And he bowed his head again.
+
+Duroy continued: "At home it is still wintry. It snows, hails, rains,
+and is so dark that they have to light the lamps at three o'clock in
+the afternoon."
+
+Forestier asked: "Is there anything new at the office?"
+
+"Nothing. They have taken little Lacrin of the 'Voltaire' to fill your
+place, but he is incapable. It is time you came back."
+
+The invalid muttered: "I? I will soon be writing under six feet of
+sod." A long silence ensued.
+
+Mme. Forestier did not stir; she stood with her back to the room, her
+face toward the window. At length Forestier broke the silence in a
+gasping voice, heartrending to listen to: "How many more sunsets shall
+I see--eight--ten--fifteen--twenty--or perhaps thirty--no more. You
+have more time, you two--as for me--all is at an end. And everything
+will go on when I am gone as if I were here." He paused a few moments,
+then continued: "Everything that I see reminds me that I shall not see
+them long. It is horrible. I shall no longer see the smallest
+objects--the glasses--the dishes--the beds on which we rest--the
+carriages. It is fine to drive in the evening. How I loved all that."
+
+Again Norbert de Varenne's words occurred to Duroy. The room grew dark.
+Forestier asked irritably:
+
+"Are we to have no lamp to-night? That is what is called caring for an
+invalid!"
+
+The form outlined against the window disappeared and an electric bell
+was heard to ring. A servant soon entered and placed a lamp upon the
+mantel-piece. Mme. Forestier asked her husband: "Do you wish to retire,
+or will you go downstairs to dinner?"
+
+"I will go down to dinner."
+
+The meal seemed to Duroy interminable, for there was no conversation,
+only the ticking of a clock broke the silence. When they had finished,
+Duroy, pleading fatigue, retired to his room and tried in vain to
+invent some pretext for returning home as quickly as possible. He
+consoled himself by saying: "Perhaps it will not be for long."
+
+The next morning Georges rose early and strolled down to the beach.
+When he returned the servant said to him: "Monsieur has asked for you
+two or three times. Will you go upstairs?"
+
+He ascended the stairs. Forestier appeared to be in a chair; his wife,
+reclining upon a couch, was reading. The invalid raised his head. Duroy
+asked:
+
+"Well, how are you? You look better this morning."
+
+Forestier murmured: "Yes, I am better and stronger. Lunch as hastily as
+you can with Madeleine, because we are going to take a drive."
+
+When Mme. Forestier was alone with Duroy, she said to him: "You see,
+to-day he thinks he is better! He is making plans for to-morrow. We are
+now going to Gulf Juan to buy pottery for our rooms in Paris. He is
+determined to go, but he cannot stand the jolting on the road."
+
+The carriage arrived, Forestier descended the stairs, step by step,
+supported by his servant. When he saw the closed landau, he wanted it
+uncovered. His wife opposed him: "It is sheer madness! You will take
+cold."
+
+He persisted: "No, I am going to be better, I know it."
+
+They first drove along a shady road and then took the road by the sea.
+Forestier explained the different points of interest. Finally they
+arrived at a pavilion over which were these words: "Gulf Juan Art
+Pottery," and the carriage drew up at the door. Forestier wanted to buy
+a vase to put on his bookcase. As he could not leave the carriage, they
+brought the pieces to him one by one. It took him a long time to
+choose, consulting his wife and Duroy: "You know it is for my study.
+From my easy-chair I can see it constantly. I prefer the ancient
+form--the Greek."
+
+At length he made his choice. "I shall return to Paris in a few days,"
+said he.
+
+On their way home along the gulf a cool breeze suddenly sprang up, and
+the invalid began to cough. At first it was nothing, only a slight
+attack, but it grew worse and turned to a sort of hiccough--a rattle;
+Forestier choked, and every time he tried to breathe he coughed
+violently. Nothing quieted him. He had to be carried from the landau to
+his room. The heat of the bed did not stop the attack, which lasted
+until midnight. The first words the sick man uttered were to ask for a
+barber, for he insisted on being shaved every morning. He rose to be
+shaved, but was obliged to go to bed at once, and began to breathe so
+painfully that Mme. Forestier in affright woke Duroy and asked him to
+fetch the doctor. He returned almost immediately with Dr. Gavant who
+prescribed for the sick man. When the journalist asked him his opinion,
+he said: "It is the final stage. He will be dead to-morrow morning.
+Prepare that poor, young wife and send for a priest. I can do nothing
+more. However, I am entirely at your disposal" Duroy went to Mme.
+Forestier. "He is going to die. The doctor advises me to send for a
+priest. What will you do?"
+
+She hesitated a moment and then said slowly:
+
+"I will go and tell him that the cure wishes to see him. Will you be
+kind enough to procure one who will require nothing but the confession,
+and who will not make much fuss?"
+
+The young man brought with him a kind, old priest who accommodated
+himself to circumstances. When he had entered the death chamber, Mme.
+Forestier went out and seated herself with Duroy in an adjoining room.
+
+"That has upset him," said she. "When I mentioned the priest to him,
+his face assumed a scared expression. He knew that the end was near. I
+shall never forget his face."
+
+At that moment they heard the priest saying to him: "Why no, you are
+not so low as that. You are ill, but not in danger. The proof of that
+is that I came as a friend, a neighbor." They could not hear his reply.
+The priest continued: "No, I shall not administer the sacrament. We
+will speak of that when you are better. If you will only confess, I ask
+no more. I am a pastor; I take advantage of every occasion to gather in
+my sheep."
+
+A long silence followed. Then suddenly the priest said, in the tone of
+one officiating at the altar:
+
+"The mercy of God is infinite; repeat the 'Confiteor,' my son. Perhaps
+you have forgotten it; I will help you. Repeat with me: 'Confiteor Deo
+omnipotenti; Beata Mariae semper virgini.'" He paused from time to time
+to permit the dying man to catch up to him.
+
+Then he said: "Now, confess." The sick man murmured something. The
+priest repeated: "You have committed sins: of what kind, my son?"
+
+The young woman rose and said simply: "Let us go into the garden. We
+must not listen to his secrets."
+
+They seated themselves upon a bench before the door, beneath a
+blossoming rosebush. After several moments of silence Duroy asked:
+"Will it be some time before you return to Paris?"
+
+"No," she replied; "when all is over, I will go back."
+
+"In about ten days?"
+
+"Yes, at most."
+
+He continued; "Charles has no relatives then?"
+
+"None, save cousins. His father and mother died when he was very young."
+
+In the course of a few minutes, the servant came to tell them that the
+priest had finished, and together they ascended the stairs. Forestier
+seemed to have grown thinner since the preceding day. The priest was
+holding his hand.
+
+"Au revoir, my son. I will come again to-morrow morning"; and he left.
+When he was gone, the dying man, who was panting, tried to raise his
+two hands toward his wife and gasped:
+
+"Save me--save me, my darling. I do not want to die--oh, save me--go
+for the doctor. I will take anything. I do not want to die." He wept;
+the tears coursed down his pallid cheeks. Then his hands commenced to
+wander hither and thither continually, slowly, and regularly, as if
+gathering something on the coverlet. His wife, who was also weeping,
+sobbed:
+
+"No, it is nothing. It is only an attack; you will be better to-morrow;
+you tired yourself with that drive."
+
+Forestier drew his breath quickly and so faintly that one could
+scarcely hear him. He repeated:
+
+"I do not want to die! Oh, my God--my God--what has happened to me? I
+cannot see. Oh, my God!" His staring eyes saw something invisible to
+the others; his hands plucked continually at the counterpane. Suddenly
+he shuddered and gasped: "The cemetery--me--my God!" He did not speak
+again. He lay there motionless and ghastly. The hours dragged on; the
+clock of a neighboring convent chimed noon.
+
+Duroy left the room to obtain some food. He returned an hour later;
+Mme. Forestier would eat nothing. The invalid had not stirred. The
+young woman was seated in an easy-chair at the foot of the bed. Duroy
+likewise seated himself, and they watched in silence. A nurse, sent by
+the doctor, had arrived and was dozing by the window.
+
+Duroy himself was almost asleep when he felt a presentiment that
+something was about to happen. He opened his eyes just in time to see
+Forestier close his. He coughed slightly, and two streams of blood
+issued from the corners of his mouth and flowed upon his night robe;
+his hands ceased their perpetual motion; he had breathed his last. His
+wife, perceiving it, uttered a cry and fell upon her knees by the
+bedside. Georges, in surprise and affright, mechanically made the sign
+of the cross.
+
+The nurse, awakening, approached the bed and said: "It has come."
+Duroy, recovering his self-possession, murmured with a sigh of relief:
+"It was not as hard as I feared it would be."
+
+That night Mme. Forestier and Duroy watched in the chamber of death.
+They were alone beside him who was no more. They did not speak,
+Georges's eyes seemed attracted to that emaciated face which the
+flickering light made more hollow. That was his friend, Charles
+Forestier, who the day before had spoken to him. For several years he
+had lived, eaten, laughed, loved, and hoped as did everyone--and now
+all was ended for him forever.
+
+Life lasted a few months or years, and then fled! One was born, grew,
+was happy, and died. Adieu! man or woman, you will never return to
+earth! He thought of the insects which live several hours, of the
+feasts which live several days, of the men who live several years, of
+the worlds which last several centuries. What was the difference
+between one and the other? A few more dawns, that was all.
+
+Duroy turned away his eyes in order not to see the corpse. Mme.
+Forestier's head was bowed; her fair hair enhanced the beauty of her
+sorrowful face. The young man's heart grew hopeful. Why should he
+lament when he had so many years still before him? He glanced at the
+handsome widow. How had she ever consented to marry that man? Then he
+pondered upon all the hidden secrets of their lives. He remembered that
+he had been told of a Count de Vaudrec who had dowered and given her in
+marriage. What would she do now? Whom would she marry? Had she
+projects, plans? He would have liked to know. Why that anxiety as to
+what she would do?
+
+Georges questioned himself, and found that it was caused by a desire to
+win her for himself. Why should he not succeed? He was positive that
+she liked him; she would have confidence in him, for she knew that he
+was intelligent, resolute, tenacious. Had she not sent for him? Was not
+that a kind of avowal? He was impatient to question her, to find out
+her intentions. He would soon have to leave that villa, for he could
+not remain alone with the young widow; therefore he must find out her
+plans before returning to Paris, in order that she might not yield to
+another's entreaties. He broke the oppressive silence by saying:
+
+"You must be fatigued."
+
+"Yes, but above all I am grieved."
+
+Their voices sounded strange in that room. They glanced involuntarily
+at the corpse as if they expected to see it move. Duroy continued:
+
+"It is a heavy blow for you, and will make a complete change in your
+life."
+
+She sighed deeply, but did not reply. He added:
+
+"It is very sad for a young woman like you to be left alone." He
+paused; she still did not reply, and he stammered: "At any rate, you
+will remember the compact between us; you can command me as you will. I
+am yours."
+
+She held out her hand to him and said mournfully and gently: "Thanks,
+you are very kind. If I can do anything for you, I say too: 'Count on
+me.'"
+
+He took her proffered hand, gazed at it, and was seized with an ardent
+desire to kiss it. Slowly he raised it to his lips and then
+relinquished it. As her delicate fingers lay upon her knee the young
+widow said gravely:
+
+"Yes, I shall be all alone, but I shall force myself to be brave."
+
+He did not know how to tell her that he would be delighted to wed her.
+Certainly it was no time to speak to her on such a subject; however, he
+thought he might be able to express himself by means of some phrase
+which would have a hidden meaning and would infer what he wished to
+say. But that rigid corpse lay between them. The atmosphere became
+oppressive, almost suffocating. Duroy asked: "Can we not open the
+window a little? The air seems to be impure."
+
+"Certainly," she replied; "I have noticed it too."
+
+He opened the window, letting in the cool night air. He turned: "Come
+and look out, it is delightful."
+
+She glided softly to his side. He whispered: "Listen to me. Do not be
+angry that I broach the subject at such a time, but the day after
+to-morrow I shall leave here and when you return to Paris it might be
+too late. You know that I am only a poor devil, who has his position to
+make, but I have the will and some intelligence, and I am advancing. A
+man who has attained his ambition knows what to count on; a man who has
+his way to make does not know what may come--it may be better or worse.
+I told you one day that my most cherished dream was to have a wife like
+you."
+
+"I repeat it to you to-day. Do not reply, but let me continue. This is
+no proposal--the time and place would render it odious. I only wish to
+tell you that by a word you can make me happy, and that you can make of
+me as you will, either a friend or a husband--for my heart and my body
+are yours. I do not want you to answer me now. I do not wish to speak
+any more on the subject here. When we meet in Paris, you can tell me
+your decision."
+
+He uttered these words without glancing at her, and she seemed not to
+have heard them, for she stood by his side motionless, staring vaguely
+and fixedly at the landscape before her, bathed in moonlight.
+
+At length she murmured: "It is rather chilly," and turned toward the
+bed. Duroy followed her. They did not speak but continued their watch.
+Toward midnight Georges fell asleep. At daybreak the nurse entered and
+he started up. Both he and Mme. Forestier retired to their rooms to
+obtain some rest. At eleven o'clock they rose and lunched together;
+while through the open window was wafted the sweet, perfumed air of
+spring. After lunch, Mme. Forestier proposed that they take a turn in
+the garden; as they walked slowly along, she suddenly said, without
+turning her head toward him, in a low, grave voice:
+
+"Listen to me, my dear friend; I have already reflected upon what you
+proposed to me, and I cannot allow you to depart without a word of
+reply. I will, however, say neither yes nor no. We will wait, we will
+see; we will become better acquainted. You must think it well over too.
+Do not yield to an impulse. I mention this to you before even poor
+Charles is buried, because it is necessary, after what you have said to
+me, that you should know me as I am, in order not to cherish the hope
+you expressed to me any longer, if you are not a man who can understand
+and bear with me."
+
+"Now listen carefully: Marriage, to me, is not a chain but an
+association. I must be free, entirely unfettered, in all my actions--my
+coming and my going; I can tolerate neither control, jealousy, nor
+criticism as to my conduct. I pledge my word, however, never to
+compromise the name of the man I marry, nor to render him ridiculous in
+the eyes of the world. But that man must promise to look upon me as an
+equal, an ally, and not as an inferior, or as an obedient, submissive
+wife. My ideas, I know, are not like those of other people, but I shall
+never change them. Do not answer me, it would be useless. We shall meet
+again and talk it all over later. Now take a walk; I shall return to
+him. Good-bye until to-night."
+
+He kissed her hand and left her without having uttered a word. That
+night they met at dinner; directly after the meal they sought their
+rooms, worn out with fatigue.
+
+Charles Forestier was buried the next day in the cemetery at Cannes
+without any pomp, and Georges returned to Paris by the express which
+left at one-thirty. Mme. Forestier accompanied him to the station. They
+walked up and down the platform awaiting the hour of departure and
+conversing on indifferent subjects.
+
+The train arrived, the journalist took his seat; a porter cried:
+"Marseilles, Lyons, Paris! All aboard!" The locomotive whistled and the
+train moved slowly out of the station.
+
+The young man leaned out of the carriage, and looked at the youthful
+widow standing on the platform gazing after him. Just as she was
+disappearing from his sight, he threw her a kiss, which she returned
+with a more discreet wave of her hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+MARRIAGE
+
+
+Georges Duroy resumed his old habits. Installed in the cozy apartments
+on Rue de Constantinople, his relations with Mme. de Marelle became
+quite conjugal.
+
+Mme. Forestier had not returned; she lingered at Cannes. He, however,
+received a letter from her announcing her return about the middle of
+April, but containing not a word as to their parting. He waited. He was
+resolved to employ every means to marry her if she seemed to hesitate;
+he had faith in his good fortune, in that power of attraction which he
+felt within him--a power so irresistible that all women yielded to it.
+
+At length a short note admonished him that the decisive moment had
+arrived.
+
+     "I am in Paris. Come to see me."
+
+     "Madeleine Forestier."
+
+Nothing more. He received it at nine o'clock. At three o'clock of the
+same day he called at her house. She extended both hands to him with a
+sweet smile, and they gazed into each other's eyes for several seconds,
+then she murmured:
+
+"How kind of you to come!"
+
+He replied: "I should have come, whensoever you bade me."
+
+They sat down; she inquired about the Walters, his associates, and the
+newspaper.
+
+"I miss that very much," said she. "I had become a journalist in
+spirit. I like the profession." She paused. He fancied he saw in her
+smile, in her voice, in her words, a kind of invitation, and although
+he had resolved not to hasten matters, he stammered:
+
+"Well--why--why do you not resume--that profession--under--the name of
+Duroy?"
+
+She became suddenly serious, and placing her hand on his arm, she said:
+"Do not let us speak of that yet."
+
+Divining that she would accept him, he fell upon his knees, and
+passionately kissed her hands, saying:
+
+"Thank you--thank you--how I love you."
+
+She rose, she was very pale. Duroy kissed her brow. When she had
+disengaged herself from his embrace, she said gravely: "Listen, my
+friend, I have not yet fully decided; but my answer may be 'yes.' You
+must wait patiently, however, until I disclose the secret to you."
+
+He promised and left her, his heart overflowing with joy. He worked
+steadily, spent little, tried to save some money that he might not be
+without a sou at the time of his marriage, and became as miserly as he
+had once been prodigal. Summer glided by; then autumn, and no one
+suspected the tie existing between Duroy and Mme. Forestier, for they
+seldom met in public.
+
+One evening Madeleine said to him: "You have not yet told Mme. de
+Marelle our plans?"
+
+"No, my dear; as you wished them kept secret, I have not mentioned them
+to a soul."
+
+"Very well; there is plenty of time. I will tell the Walters."
+
+She turned away her head and continued: "If you wish, we can be married
+the beginning of May."
+
+"I obey you in all things joyfully."
+
+"The tenth of May, which falls on Saturday, would please me, for it is
+my birthday."
+
+"Very well, the tenth of May."
+
+"Your parents live near Rouen, do they not?"
+
+"Yes, near Rouen, at Canteleu."
+
+"I am very anxious to see them!"
+
+He hesitated, perplexed: "But--they are--" Then he added more firmly:
+"My dear, they are plain, country people, innkeepers, who strained
+every nerve to give me an education. I am not ashamed of them, but
+their--simplicity--their rusticity might annoy you."
+
+She smiled sweetly. "No, I will love them very much. We will visit
+them; I wish to. I, too, am the child of humble parents--but I lost
+mine--I have no one in the world"--she held out her hand to him--"but
+you."
+
+He was affected, conquered as he had never been by any woman.
+
+"I have been thinking of something," said she, "but it is difficult to
+explain."
+
+He asked: "What is it?"
+
+"It is this: I am like all women. I have my--my weaknesses. I should
+like to bear a noble name. Can you not on the occasion of our marriage
+change your name somewhat?" She blushed as if she had proposed
+something indelicate.
+
+He replied simply: "I have often thought of it, but it does not seem
+easy to me."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+He laughed. "Because I am afraid I should be ridiculed."
+
+She shrugged her shoulders. "Not at all--not at all. Everyone does it,
+and no one laughs. Separate your name in this way: Du Roy. It sounds
+very well."
+
+He replied: "No, that will not do; it is too common a proceeding. I
+have thought of assuming the name of my native place, first as a
+literary pseudonym and then as my surname in conjunction with Duroy,
+which might later on, as you proposed, be separated."
+
+She asked: "Is your native place Canteleu?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I do not like the termination. Could we not modify it?"
+
+She took a pen and wrote down the names in order to study them.
+Suddenly she cried: "Now I have it," and held toward him a sheet of
+paper on which was written: "Mme. Duroy de Cantel."
+
+Gravely he replied: "Yes, it is very nice."
+
+She was delighted, and repeated: "Duroy de Cantel. Mme. Duroy de
+Cantel. It is excellent, excellent!"
+
+Then she added with an air of conviction: "You will see how easily it
+will be accepted by everyone! After to-morrow, sign your articles 'D.
+de Cantel,' and your 'Echoes' simply 'Duroy.' That is done on the press
+every day and no one will be surprised to see you take a nom de plume.
+What is your father's name?"
+
+"Alexandre."
+
+She murmured "Alexandre!" two or three times in succession; then she
+wrote upon a blank sheet:
+
+"M. and Mme. Alexandre du Roy de Cantel announce the marriage of their
+son, M. Georges du Roy de Cantel with Mme. Forestier."
+
+She examined her writing, and, charmed with the effect, exclaimed:
+"With a little method one can succeed in anything."
+
+When Georges reached the street resolved to call himself, henceforth,
+"Du Roy," or even "Du Roy de Cantel," it seemed to him that he was of
+more importance. He swaggered more boldly, held his head more erect and
+walked as he thought gentlemen should. He felt a desire to inform the
+passers-by, "My name is Du Roy de Cantel."
+
+Scarcely had he entered his apartments when the thought of Mme. de
+Marelle rendered him uneasy, and he wrote to her immediately,
+appointing a meeting for the following day.
+
+"It will be hard," thought he. "There will be a quarrel surely."
+
+The next morning he received a telegram from Madame, informing him that
+she would be with him at one o'clock. He awaited her impatiently,
+determined to confess at once and afterward to argue with her, to tell
+her that he could not remain a bachelor indefinitely, and that, as M.
+de Marelle persisted in living, he had been compelled to choose some
+one else as a legal companion. When the bell rang, his heart gave a
+bound.
+
+Mme. de Marelle entered and cast herself into his arms, saying: "Good
+afternoon, Bel-Ami." Perceiving that his embrace was colder than usual,
+she glanced up at him and asked: "What ails you?"
+
+"Take a seat," said he. "We must talk seriously."
+
+She seated herself without removing her hat, and waited. He cast down
+his eyes; he was preparing to commence.
+
+Finally he said slowly: "My dear friend, you see that I am very much
+perplexed, very sad, and very much embarrassed by what I have to
+confess to you. I love you; I love you with all my heart, and the fear
+of giving you pain grieves me more than what I have to tell you."
+
+She turned pale, trembled, and asked: "What is it? Tell me quickly."
+
+He said sadly but resolutely: "I am going to be married."
+
+She sighed like one about to lose consciousness; then she gasped, but
+did not speak.
+
+He continued: "You cannot imagine how much I suffered before taking
+that resolution. But I have neither position nor money. I am alone in
+Paris, I must have near me some one who can counsel, comfort, and
+support me. What I need is an associate, an ally, and I have found
+one!" He paused, hoping that she would reply, expecting an outburst of
+furious rage, reproaches, and insults. She pressed her hand to her
+heart and breathed with difficulty. He took the hand resting on the arm
+of the chair, but she drew it away and murmured as if stupefied: "Oh,
+my God!"
+
+He fell upon his knees before her, without, however, venturing to touch
+her, more moved by her silence than he would have been by her anger.
+
+"Clo, my little Clo, you understand my position. Oh, if I could have
+married you, what happiness it would have afforded me! But you were
+married! What could I do? Just think of it! I must make my way in the
+world and I can never do so as long as I have no domestic ties. If you
+knew. There are days when I should like to kill your husband." He spoke
+in a low, seductive voice. He saw two tears gather in Mme. de Marelle's
+eyes and trickle slowly down her cheeks. He whispered: "Do not weep,
+Clo, do not weep, I beseech you. You break my heart."
+
+She made an effort to appear dignified and haughty, and asked, though
+somewhat unsteadily: "Who is it?"
+
+For a moment he hesitated before he replied: "Madeleine Forestier!"
+
+Mme. de Marelle started; her tears continued to flow. She rose. Duroy
+saw that she was going to leave him without a word of reproach or
+pardon, and he felt humbled, humiliated. He seized her gown and
+implored:
+
+"Do not leave me thus."
+
+She looked at him with that despairing, tearful glance so charming and
+so touching, which expresses all the misery pent-up in a woman's heart,
+and stammered: "I have nothing--to say; I can do nothing. You--you are
+right; you have made a good choice."
+
+And disengaging herself she left the room.
+
+With a sigh of relief at escaping so easily, he repaired to Mme.
+Forestier's, who asked him: "Have you told Mme. de Marelle?"
+
+He replied calmly: "Yes."
+
+"Did it affect her?"
+
+"Not at all. On the contrary, she thought it an excellent plan."
+
+The news was soon noised abroad. Some were surprised, others pretended
+to have foreseen it, and others again smiled, inferring that they were
+not at all astonished. The young man, who signed his articles, "D. de
+Cantel," his "Echoes," "Duroy," and his political sketches, "Du Roy,"
+spent the best part of his time with his betrothed, who had decided
+that the date fixed for the wedding should be kept secret, that the
+ceremony should be celebrated in the presence of witnesses only, that
+they should leave the same evening for Rouen, and that the day
+following they should visit the journalist's aged parents and spend
+several days with them. Duroy had tried to persuade Madeleine to
+abandon that project, but not succeeding in his efforts he was finally
+compelled to submit.
+
+The tenth of May arrived. Thinking a religious ceremony unnecessary, as
+they had issued no invitations, the couple were married at a
+magistrate's and took the six o'clock train for Normandy.
+
+As the train glided along, Duroy seated in front of his wife, took her
+hand, kissed it, and said: "When we return we will dine at Chatou
+sometimes."
+
+She murmured: "We shall have a great many things to do!" in a tone
+which seemed to say: "We must sacrifice pleasure to duty."
+
+He retained her hand wondering anxiously how he could manage to caress
+her. He pressed her hand slightly, but she did not respond to the
+pressure.
+
+He said: "It seems strange that you should be my wife."
+
+She appeared surprised: "Why?"
+
+"I do not know. It seems droll. I want to embrace you and I am
+surprised that I have the right."
+
+She calmly offered him her cheek which he kissed as he would have
+kissed his sister's. He continued:
+
+"The first time I saw you (you remember, at that dinner to which I was
+invited at Forestier's), I thought: 'Sacristi, if I could only find a
+wife like that!' And now I have one."
+
+She glanced at him with smiling eyes.
+
+He said to himself: "I am too cold. I am stupid. I should make more
+advances." And he asked: "How did you make Forestier's acquaintance?"
+
+She replied with provoking archness: "Are we going to Rouen to talk of
+him?"
+
+He colored. "I am a fool. You intimidate me."
+
+She was delighted. "I? Impossible."
+
+He seated himself beside her. She exclaimed: "Ah! a stag!" The train
+was passing through the forest of Saint-Germain and she had seen a
+frightened deer clear an alley at a bound. As she gazed out of the open
+window, Duroy bending over her, pressed a kiss upon her neck. For
+several moments she remained motionless, then raising her head, she
+said: "You tickle me, stop!"
+
+But he did not obey her.
+
+She repeated: "Stop, I say!"
+
+He seized her head with his right hand, turned it toward him and
+pressed his lips to hers. She struggled, pushed him away and repeated:
+"Stop!"
+
+He did not heed her. With an effort, she freed herself and rising,
+said: "Georges, have done. We are not children, we shall soon reach
+Rouen."
+
+"Very well," said he, gaily, "I will wait."
+
+Reseating herself near him she talked of what they would do on their
+return; they would keep the apartments in which she had lived with her
+first husband, and Duroy would receive Forestier's position on "La Vie
+Francaise." In the meantime, forgetting her injunctions and his
+promise, he slipped his arm around her waist, pressed her to him and
+murmured: "I love you dearly, my little Made."
+
+The gentleness of his tone moved the young woman, and leaning toward
+him she offered him her lips; as she did so, a whistle announced the
+proximity of the station. Pushing back some stray locks upon her
+temples, she exclaimed:
+
+"We are foolish."
+
+He kissed her hands feverishly and replied:
+
+"I adore you, my little Made."
+
+On reaching Rouen they repaired to a hotel where they spent the night.
+The following morning, when they had drunk the tea placed upon the
+table in their room, Duroy clasped his wife in his arms and said: "My
+little Made, I feel that I love you very, very much."
+
+She smiled trustfully and murmured as she returned his kisses: "I love
+you too--a little."
+
+The visit to his parents worried Georges, although he had prepared his
+wife. He began again: "You know they are peasants, real, not sham,
+comic-opera peasants."
+
+She smiled. "I know it, you have told me often enough."
+
+"We shall be very uncomfortable. There is only a straw bed in my room;
+they do not know what hair mattresses are at Canteleu."
+
+She seemed delighted. "So much the better. It would be charming to
+sleep badly--when--near you--and to be awakened by the crowing of the
+cocks."
+
+He walked toward the window and lighted a cigarette. The sight of the
+harbor, of the river filled with ships moved him and he exclaimed:
+"Egad, but that is fine!"
+
+Madeleine joined him and placing both of her hands on her husband's
+shoulder, cried: "Oh, how beautiful! I did not know that there were so
+many ships!"
+
+An hour later they departed in order to breakfast with the old couple,
+who had been informed several days before of their intended arrival.
+Both Duroy and his wife were charmed with the beauties of the landscape
+presented to their view, and the cabman halted in order to allow them
+to get a better idea of the panorama before them. As he whipped up his
+horse, Duroy saw an old couple not a hundred meters off, approaching,
+and he leaped from the carriage crying: "Here they are, I know them."
+
+The man was short, corpulent, florid, and vigorous, notwithstanding his
+age; the woman was tall, thin, and melancholy, with stooping
+shoulders--a woman who had worked from childhood, who had never laughed
+nor jested.
+
+Madeleine, too, alighted and watched the couple advance, with a
+contraction of her heart she had not anticipated. They did not
+recognize their son in that fine gentleman, and they would never have
+taken that handsome lady for their daughter-in-law. They walked along,
+passed the child they were expecting, without glancing at the "city
+folks."
+
+Georges cried with a laugh: "Good day, Father Duroy."
+
+Both the old man and his wife were struck dumb with astonishment; the
+latter recovered her self-possession first and asked: "Is it you, son?"
+
+The young man replied: "Yes, it is I, Mother Duroy," and approaching
+her, he kissed her upon both cheeks and said: "This is my wife."
+
+The two rustics stared at Madeleine as if she were a curiosity, with
+anxious fear, combined with a sort of satisfied approbation on the part
+of the father and of jealous enmity on that of the mother.
+
+M. Duroy, senior, who was naturally jocose, made so bold as to ask with
+a twinkle in his eye: "May I kiss you too?" His son uttered an
+exclamation and Madeleine offered her cheek to the old peasant; who
+afterward wiped his lips with the back of his hand. The old woman, in
+her turn, kissed her daughter-in-law with hostile reserve. Her ideal
+was a stout, rosy, country lass, as red as an apple and as round.
+
+The carriage preceded them with the luggage. The old man took his son's
+arm and asked him: "How are you getting on?"
+
+"Very well."
+
+"That is right. Tell me, has your wife any means?"
+
+Georges replied: "Forty thousand francs."
+
+His father whistled softly and muttered: "Whew!" Then he added: "She is
+a handsome woman." He admired his son's wife, and in his day had
+considered himself a connoisseur.
+
+Madeleine and the mother walked side by side in silence; the two men
+joined them. They soon reached the village, at the entrance to which
+stood M. Duroy's tavern. A pine board fastened over the door indicated
+that thirsty people might enter. The table was laid. A neighbor, who
+had come to assist, made a low courtesy on seeing so beautiful a lady
+appear; then recognizing Georges, she cried: "Oh Lord, is it you?"
+
+He replied merrily: "Yes, it is I, Mother Brulin," and he kissed her as
+he had kissed his father and mother. Then he turned to his wife:
+
+"Come into our room," said he, "you can lay aside your hat."
+
+They passed through a door to the right and entered a room paved with
+brick, with whitewashed walls and a bed with cotton hangings.
+
+A crucifix above a holy-water basin and two colored prints,
+representing Paul and Virginia beneath a blue palm-tree, and Napoleon
+I. on a yellow horse, were the only ornaments in that neat, but bare
+room.
+
+When they were alone, Georges embraced Madeleine.
+
+"Good morning, Made! I am glad to see the old people once more. When
+one is in Paris one does not think of this place, but when one returns,
+one enjoys it just the same."
+
+At that moment his father cried, knocking on the partition with his
+fist: "Come, the soup is ready."
+
+They re-entered the large public-room and took their seats at the
+table. The meal was a long one, served in a truly rustic fashion.
+Father Duroy, enlivened by the cider and several glasses of wine,
+related many anecdotes, while Georges, to whom they were all familiar,
+laughed at them.
+
+Mother Duroy did not speak, but sat at the board, grim and austere,
+glancing at her daughter-in-law with hatred in her heart.
+
+Madeleine did not speak nor did she eat; she was depressed. Wherefore?
+She had wished to come; she knew that she was coming to a simple home;
+she had formed no poetical ideas of those peasants, but she had perhaps
+expected to find them somewhat more polished, refined. She recalled her
+own mother, of whom she never spoke to anyone--a governess who had been
+betrayed and who had died of grief and shame when Madeleine was twelve
+years old. A stranger had had the little girl educated. Her father
+without doubt. Who was he? She did not know positively, but she had
+vague suspicions.
+
+The meal was not yet over when customers entered, shook hands with M.
+Duroy, exclaimed on seeing his son, and seating themselves at the
+wooden tables began to drink, smoke, and play dominoes. The smoke from
+the clay pipes and penny cigars filled the room.
+
+Madeleine choked and asked: "Can we go out? I cannot remain here any
+longer."
+
+Old Duroy grumbled at being disturbed. Madeleine rose and placed her
+chair at the door in order to wait until her father-in-law and his wife
+had finished their coffee and wine.
+
+Georges soon joined her.
+
+"Would you like to stroll down to the Seine?"
+
+Joyfully she cried: "Yes."
+
+They descended the hillside, hired a boat at Croisset, and spent the
+remainder of the afternoon beneath the willows in the soft, warm,
+spring air, and rocked gently by the rippling waves of the river. They
+returned at nightfall. The evening repast by candle-light was more
+painful to Madeleine than that of the morning. Neither Father Duroy nor
+his wife spoke. When the meal was over, Madeleine drew her husband
+outside in order not to have to remain in that room, the atmosphere of
+which was heavy with smoke and the fumes of liquor.
+
+When they were alone, he said: "You are already weary."
+
+She attempted to protest; he interrupted her:
+
+"I have seen it. If you wish we will leave tomorrow."
+
+She whispered: "I should like to go."
+
+They walked along and entered a narrow path among high trees, hedged in
+on either side by impenetrable brushwood.
+
+She asked: "Where are we?"
+
+He replied: "In the forest--one of the largest in France."
+
+Madeleine, on raising her head, could see the stars between the
+branches and hear the rustling of the leaves. She felt strangely
+nervous. Why, she could not tell. She seemed to be lost, surrounded by
+perils, abandoned, alone, beneath that vast vaulted sky.
+
+She murmured: "I am afraid; I should like to return."
+
+"Very well, we will."
+
+On their return they found the old people in bed. The next morning
+Madeleine rose early and was ready to leave at daybreak. When Georges
+told his parents that they were going to return home, they guessed
+whose wish it was.
+
+His father asked simply: "Shall I see you soon again?"
+
+"Yes--in the summer-time."
+
+"Very well."
+
+His mother grumbled: "I hope you will not regret what you have done."
+
+Georges gave them two hundred francs to appease them, and the cab
+arriving at ten o'clock, the couple kissed the old peasants and set out.
+
+As they were descending the side of the hill, Duroy laughed. "You see,"
+said he, "I warned you. I should, however, not have presented you to M.
+and Mme. du Roy de Cantel, senior."
+
+She laughed too and replied: "I am charmed now! They are nice people
+whom I am beginning to like very much. I shall send them confections
+from Paris." Then she murmured: "Du Roy de Cantel. We will say that we
+spent a week at your parents' estate," and drawing near him, she kissed
+him saying:
+
+"Good morning, Georges."
+
+He replied: "Good morning, Madeleine," as he slipped his arm around her
+waist.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+JEALOUSY
+
+
+The Du Roys had been in Paris two days and the journalist had resumed
+work; he had given up his own especial province to assume that of
+Forestier, and to devote himself entirely to politics. On this
+particular evening he turned his steps toward home with a light heart.
+As he passed a florist's on Rue Notre Dame de Lorette he bought a
+bouquet of half-open roses for Madeleine. Having forgotten his key, on
+arriving at his door, he rang and the servant answered his summons.
+
+Georges asked: "Is Madame at home?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+In the dining-room he paused in astonishment to see covers laid for
+three: the door of the salon being ajar, he saw Madeleine arranging in
+a vase on the mantelpiece a bunch of roses similar to his.
+
+He entered the room and asked: "Have you invited anyone to dinner?"
+
+She replied without turning her head and continuing the arrangement of
+her flowers: "Yes and no: it is my old friend, Count de Vaudrec, who is
+in the habit of dining here every Monday and who will come now as he
+always has."
+
+Georges murmured: "Very well."
+
+He stopped behind her, the bouquet in his hand, the desire strong
+within him to conceal it--to throw it away. However, he said:
+
+"Here, I have brought you some roses!"
+
+She turned to him with a smile and said: "Ah, how thoughtful of you!"
+and she kissed him with such evident affection that he felt consoled.
+
+She took the flowers, inhaled their perfume, and put them in an empty
+vase. Then she said as she noted the effect: "Now I am satisfied; my
+mantelpiece looks pretty," adding with an air of conviction:
+
+"Vaudrec is charming; you will become intimate with him at once,"
+
+A ring announced the Count. He entered as if he were at home. After
+gallantly kissing Mme. Du Roy's hand, he turned to her husband and
+cordially offered his hand, saying: "How are you, my dear Du Roy?"
+
+He had no longer that haughty air, but was very affable. One would have
+thought in the course of five minutes, that the two men had known one
+another for ten years. Madeleine, whose face was radiant, said: "I will
+leave you together. I have work to superintend in the kitchen." The
+dinner was excellent and the Count remained very late. When he was
+gone, Madeleine said to her husband: "Is he not nice? He improves, too,
+on acquaintance. He is a good, true, faithful friend. Ah, without him--"
+
+She did not complete her sentence and Georges replied: "Yes, he is very
+pleasant, I think we shall understand each other well."
+
+"You do not know," she said, "that we have work to do to-night before
+retiring. I did not have time to tell you before dinner, for Vaudrec
+came. Laroche-Mathieu brought me important news of Morocco. We must
+make a fine article of that. Let us set to work at once. Come, take the
+lamp."
+
+He carried the lamp and they entered the study. Madeleine leaned,
+against the mantelpiece, and having lighted a cigarette, told him the
+news and gave him her plan of the article. He listened attentively,
+making notes as she spoke, and when she had finished he raised
+objections, took up the question and, in his turn, developed another
+plan. His wife ceased smoking, for her interest was aroused in
+following Georges's line of thought. From time to time she murmured:
+"Yes, yes; very good--excellent--very forcible--" And when he had
+finished speaking, she said: "Now let us write."
+
+It was always difficult for him to make a beginning and she would lean
+over his shoulder and whisper the phrases in his ear, then he would add
+a few lines; when their article was completed, Georges re-read it. Both
+he and Madeleine pronounced it admirable and kissed one another with
+passionate admiration.
+
+The article appeared with the signature of "G. du Roy de Cantel," and
+made a great sensation. M. Walter congratulated the author, who soon
+became celebrated in political circles. His wife, too, surprised him by
+the ingenuousness of her mind, the cleverness of her wit, and the
+number of her acquaintances. At almost any time upon returning home he
+found in his salon a senator, a deputy, a magistrate, or a general, who
+treated Madeleine with grave familiarity.
+
+Deputy Laroche-Mathieu, who dined at Rue Fontaine every Tuesday, was
+one of the largest stockholders of M. Walter's paper and the latter's
+colleague and associate in many business transactions. Du Roy hoped,
+later on, that some of the benefits promised by him to Forestier might
+fall to his share. They would be given to Madeleine's new husband--that
+was all--nothing was changed; even his associates sometimes called him
+Forestier, and it made Du Roy furious at the dead. He grew to hate the
+very name; it was to him almost an insult. Even at home the obsession
+continued; the entire house reminded him of Charles.
+
+One evening Du Roy, who liked sweetmeats, asked:
+
+"Why do we never have sweets?"
+
+His wife replied pleasantly: "I never think of it, because Charles
+disliked them."
+
+He interrupted her with an impatient gesture: "Do you know I am getting
+tired of Charles? It is Charles here, Charles there, Charles liked
+this, Charles liked that. Since Charles is dead, let him rest in peace."
+
+Madeleine ascribed her husband's burst of ill humor to puerile
+jealousy, but she was flattered and did not reply. On retiring, haunted
+by the same thought, he asked:
+
+"Did Charles wear a cotton nightcap to keep the draft out of his ears?"
+
+She replied pleasantly: "No, a lace one!"
+
+Georges shrugged his shoulders and said scornfully: "What a bird!"
+
+From that time Georges never called Charles anything but "poor
+Charles," with an accent of infinite pity. One evening as Du Roy was
+smoking a cigarette at his window, toward the end of June, the heat
+awoke in him a desire for fresh air. He asked:
+
+"My little Made, would you like to go as far as the Bois?"
+
+"Yes, certainly."
+
+They took an open carriage and drove to the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne.
+It was a sultry evening; a host of cabs lined the drive, one behind
+another. When the carriage containing Georges and Madeleine reached the
+turning which led to the fortifications, they kissed one another and
+Madeleine stammered in confusion: "We are as childish as we were at
+Rouen."
+
+The road they followed was not so much frequented, a gentle breeze
+rustled the leaves of the trees, the sky was studded with brilliant
+stars and Georges murmured, as he pressed his wife to his breast: "Oh,
+my little Made."
+
+She said to him: "Do you remember how gloomy the forest at Canteleu
+was? It seemed to me that it was full of horrible beasts and that it
+was interminable, while here it is charming. One can feel the caressing
+breezes, and I know that Sevres is on the other side."
+
+He replied: "In our forests there are nothing but stags, foxes,
+roebucks, and boars, with here and there a forester's house." He paused
+for a moment and then asked: "Did you come here in the evening with
+Charles occasionally?"
+
+She replied: "Frequently."
+
+He felt a desire to return home at once. Forestier's image haunted him,
+however; he could think of nothing else. The carriage rolled on toward
+the Arc de Triomphe and joined the stream of carriages returning home.
+As Georges remained silent, his wife, who divined his thoughts, asked
+in her soft voice: "Of what are you thinking? For half an hour you have
+not uttered a word."
+
+He replied with a sneer: "I am thinking of all those fools who kiss one
+another, and I believe truly that there is something else to be done in
+life."
+
+She whispered: "Yes, but it is nice sometimes! It is nice when one has
+nothing better to do."
+
+Georges' thoughts were busy with the dead; he said to himself angrily:
+"I am foolish to worry, to torment myself as I have done." After
+remonstrating thus with himself, he felt more reconciled to the thought
+of Forestier, and felt like exclaiming: "Good evening, old fellow!"
+
+Madeleine, who was bored by his silence, asked: "Shall we go to
+Tortoni's for ices before returning home?"
+
+He glanced at her from his corner and thought: "She is pretty; so much
+the better. Tit for tat, my comrade. But if they begin again to annoy
+me with you, it will get somewhat hot at the North Pole!"
+
+Then he replied: "Certainly, my darling," and before she had time to
+think he kissed her. It seemed to Madeleine that her husband's lips
+were icy. However he smiled as usual and gave her his hand to assist
+her to alight at the cafe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+MADAME WALTER TAKES A HAND
+
+
+On entering the office the following day, Du Roy sought Boisrenard and
+told him to warn his associates not to continue the farce of calling
+him Forestier, or there would be war. When Du Roy returned an hour
+later, no one called him by that name. From the office he proceeded to
+his home, and hearing the sound of ladies' voices in the drawing-room,
+he asked the servant: "Who is here?"
+
+"Mme. Walter and Mme. de Marelle," was the reply.
+
+His heart pulsated violently as he opened the door. Clotilde was seated
+by the fireplace; it seemed to Georges that she turned pale on
+perceiving him.
+
+Having greeted Mme. Walter and her two daughters seated like sentinels
+beside her, he turned to his former mistress. She extended her hand; he
+took and pressed it as if to say: "I love you still!" She returned the
+pressure.
+
+He said: "Have you been well since we last met?"
+
+"Yes; have you, Bel-Ami?" And turning to Madeleine she added: "Will you
+permit me to call him Bel-Ami?"
+
+"Certainly, my dear; I will permit anything you wish."
+
+A shade of irony lurked beneath those words, uttered so pleasantly.
+
+Mme. Walter mentioned a fencing-match to be given at Jacques Rival's
+apartments, the proceeds to be devoted to charities, and in which many
+society ladies were going to assist. She said: "It will be very
+entertaining; but I am in despair, for we have no one to escort us, my
+husband having an engagement."
+
+Du Roy offered his services at once. She accepted, saying: "My
+daughters and I shall be very grateful."
+
+He glanced at the younger of the two girls and thought: "Little Suzanne
+is not at all bad, not at all."
+
+She resembled a doll, being very small and dainty, with a
+well-proportioned form, a pretty, delicate face, blue-gray eyes, a fair
+skin, and curly, flaxen hair. Her elder sister, Rose, was plain--one of
+those girls to whom no attention is ever paid. Her mother rose, and
+turning to Georges, said: "I shall count on you next Thursday at two
+o'clock."
+
+He replied: "Count upon me, Madame."
+
+When the door closed upon Mme. Walter, Mme. de Marelle, in her turn,
+rose.
+
+"Au revoir, Bel-Ami."
+
+This time she pressed his hand and he was moved by that silent avowal.
+"I will go to see her to-morrow," thought he.
+
+Left alone with his wife, she laughed, and looking into his eyes said:
+"Mme. Walter has taken a fancy to you!"
+
+He replied incredulously: "Nonsense!"
+
+"But I know it. She spoke of you to me with great enthusiasm. She said
+she would like to find two husbands like you for her daughters.
+Fortunately she is not susceptible herself."
+
+He did not understand her and repeated: "Susceptible herself?"
+
+She replied in a tone of conviction: "Oh, Mme. Walter is
+irreproachable. Her husband you know as well as I. But she is
+different. Still she has suffered a great deal in having married a Jew,
+though she has been true to him; she is a virtuous woman."
+
+Du Roy was surprised: "I thought her a Jewess."
+
+"She a Jewess! No, indeed! She is the prime mover in all the charitable
+movements at the Madeleine. She was even married by a priest. I am not
+sure but that M. Walter went through the form of baptism."
+
+Georges murmured: "And--she--likes--me--"
+
+"Yes. If you were not married I should advise you to ask for the hand
+of--Suzanne--would you not prefer her to Rose?"
+
+He replied as he twisted his mustache: "Eh! the mother is not so bad!"
+
+Madeleine replied: "I am not afraid of her. At her age one does not
+begin to make conquests--one should commence sooner."
+
+Georges thought: "If I might have had Suzanne, ah!" Then he shrugged
+his shoulders: "Bah, it is absurd; her father would not have consented."
+
+He determined to treat Mme. Walter very considerately in order to
+retain her regard. All that evening he was haunted by recollections of
+his love for Clotilde; he recalled their escapades, her kindness. He
+repeated to himself: "She is indeed nice. Yes, I shall call upon her
+to-morrow."
+
+When he had lunched the following morning he repaired to Rue Verneuil.
+The same maid opened the door, and with the familiarity of an old
+servant she asked: "Is Monsieur well?"
+
+He replied: "Yes, my child," and entered the drawing-room in which some
+one was practising scales. It was Laurine. He expected she would fall
+upon his neck. She, however, rose ceremoniously, bowed coldly, and left
+the room with dignity; her manner was so much like that of an outraged
+woman that he was amazed. Her mother entered. He kissed her hand.
+
+"How much I have thought of you," said he.
+
+"And I of you," she replied.
+
+They seated themselves and smiled as they gazed into one another's eyes.
+
+"My dear little Clo, I love you."
+
+"And I love you."
+
+"Still--still--you did not miss me."
+
+"Yes and no. I was grieved, but when I heard your reason, I said to
+myself: 'Bah, he will return to me some day.'"
+
+"I dared not come. I did not know how I should be received. I dared
+not, but I longed to come. Now, tell me what ails Laurine; she scarcely
+bade me good morning and left the room with an angry air."
+
+"I do not know, but one cannot mention you to her since your marriage;
+I really believe she is jealous."
+
+"Nonsense."
+
+"Yes, my dear, she no longer calls you Bel-Ami, but M. Forestier
+instead."
+
+Du Roy colored, then drawing nearer the young woman, he said: "Kiss me."
+
+She obeyed him.
+
+"Where can we meet again?" he asked.
+
+"At Rue de Constantinople."
+
+"Ah, are the apartments not rented?"
+
+"No, I kept them."
+
+"You did?"
+
+"Yes, I thought you would return."
+
+His heart bounded joyfully. She loved him then with a lasting love! He
+whispered: "I adore you." Then he asked: "Is your husband well?"
+
+"Yes, very well. He has just been home for a month; he went away the
+day before yesterday."
+
+Du Roy could not suppress a smile: "How opportunely that always
+happens!"
+
+She replied naively: "Yes, it happens opportunely, but he is not in the
+way when he is here; is he?"
+
+"That is true; he is a charming man!"
+
+"How do you like your new life?"
+
+"Tolerably; my wife is a comrade, an associate, nothing more; as for my
+heart--"
+
+"I understand; but she is good."
+
+"Yes, she does not trouble me."
+
+He drew near Clotilde and murmured: "When shall we meet again?"
+
+"To-morrow, if you will."
+
+"Yes, to-morrow at two o'clock."
+
+He rose to take his leave somewhat embarrassed.
+
+"You know I intend to take back the rooms on Rue de Constantinople
+myself. I wish to; it is not necessary for you to pay for them."
+
+She kissed his hands, saying: "You may do as you like. I am satisfied
+to have kept them until we met again." And Du Roy took his leave very
+well satisfied.
+
+When Thursday came, he asked Madeleine: "Are going to the fencing-match
+at Rival's?"
+
+"No, I do not care about it. I will go to the chamber of deputies."
+
+Georges called for Mme. Walter in an open carriage, for the weather was
+delightful. He was surprised to find her looking so handsome and so
+young. Never had she appeared so fresh. Her daughter, Suzanne, was
+dressed in pink; her sister looked like her governess. At Rival's door
+was a long line of carriages. Du Roy offered his arm to Mme. Walter and
+they entered.
+
+The entertainment was for the benefit of the orphans of the Sixth Ward
+under the patronage of all the wiles of the senators and deputies who
+were connected with "La Vie Francaise."
+
+Jacques Rival received the arrivals at the entrance to his apartments,
+then he pointed to a small staircase which led to the cellar in which
+were his shooting-gallery and fencing-room, saying: "Downstairs,
+ladies, downstairs. The match will take place in the subterranean
+apartments."
+
+Pressing Du Roy's hand, he said: "Good evening, Bel-Ami."
+
+Du Roy was surprised: "Who told you about that name?"
+
+Rival replied: "Mme. Walter, who thinks it very pretty."
+
+Mme. Walter blushed.
+
+"Yes, I confess that if I knew you better, I should do as little
+Laurine, and I should call you Bel-Ami, too. It suits you admirably."
+
+Du Roy laughed. "I beg you to do so, Madame."
+
+She cast down her eyes. "No, we are not well enough acquainted."
+
+He murmured: "Permit me to hope that we shall become so."
+
+"Well, we shall see," said she.
+
+They descended the stairs and entered a large room, which was lighted
+by Venetian lanterns and decorated with festoons of gauze. Nearly all
+the benches were filled with ladies, who were chatting as if they were
+at a theater. Mme. Walter and her daughters reached their seats in the
+front row.
+
+Du Roy, having obtained their places for them, whispered: "I shall be
+obliged to leave you; men cannot occupy the seats."
+
+Mme. Walter replied hesitatingly: "I should like to keep you, just the
+same. You could tell me the names of the participants. See, if you
+stand at the end of the seat, you will not annoy anyone." She raised
+her large, soft eyes to his and insisted: "Come, stay with
+us--Bel-Ami--we need you!"
+
+He replied: "I obey with pleasure, Madame!"
+
+Suddenly Jacques Rival's voice announced: "We will begin, ladies."
+
+Then followed the fencing-match. Du Roy retained his place beside the
+ladies and gave them all the necessary information. When the
+entertainment was over and all expenses were paid, two hundred and
+twenty francs remained for the orphans of the Sixth Ward.
+
+Du Roy, escorting the Walters, awaited his carriage. When seated face
+to face with Mme. Walter, he met her troubled but caressing glance.
+
+"Egad, I believe she is affected," thought he; and he smiled as he
+recognized the fact that he was really successful with the female sex,
+for Mme. de Marelle, since the renewal of their relations, seemed to
+love him madly.
+
+With a light heart he returned home. Madeleine was awaiting him in the
+drawing-room.
+
+"I have some news," said she. "The affair with Morocco is becoming
+complicated. France may send an expedition out there in several months.
+In any case the ministry will be overthrown and Laroche will profit by
+the occasion."
+
+Du Roy, in order to draw out his wife, pretended not to believe it.
+"France would not be silly enough to commence any folly with Tunis!"
+
+She shrugged her shoulders impatiently. "I tell you she will! You do
+not understand that it is a question of money--you are as simple as
+Forestier."
+
+Her object was to wound and irritate him, but he only smiled and
+replied: "What! as simple as that stupid fellow?"
+
+She ceased and murmured: "Oh, Georges!"
+
+He added: "Poor devil!" in a tone of profound pity.
+
+Madeleine turned her back upon him scornfully; after a moment of
+silence, she continued: "We shall have some company Tuesday. Mme.
+Laroche-Mathieu is coming here to dine with Viscountess de Percemur.
+Will you invite Rival and Norbert de Varenne? I shall go to Mmes.
+Walter and de Marelle to-morrow. Perhaps, too, we may have Mme.
+Rissolin."
+
+Du Roy replied: "Very well, I will see to Rival and Norbert."
+
+The following day he thought he would anticipate his wife's visit to
+Mme. Walter and attempt to find out if she really was in love with him.
+He arrived at Boulevard Malesherbes at two o'clock. He was ushered into
+the salon and waited. Finally Mme. Walter appeared and offered him her
+hand cordially. "What good wind blows you here?"
+
+"No good wind, but a desire to see you. Some power has impelled me
+hither, I do not know why; I have nothing to say except that I have
+come; here I am! Pardon the morning call and the candor of my
+explanation."
+
+He uttered those words with a smile upon his lips and a serious accent
+in his voice.
+
+In her astonishment, she stammered with a blush: "But indeed--I do not
+understand--you surprise me."
+
+He added: "It is a declaration made in jest in order not to startle
+you."
+
+They were seated near each other. She took the matter as a jest. "Is it
+a declaration--seriously?"
+
+"Yes, for a long time I have wished to make it, but I dared not; they
+say you are so austere, so rigid."
+
+She had recovered her self-possession and replied:
+
+"Why did you choose to-day?"
+
+"I do not know." Then he lowered his voice: "Or rather because I have
+thought only of you since yesterday."
+
+Suddenly turning pale, she gasped: "Come, enough of this childishness!
+Let us talk of something else."
+
+But he fell upon his knees before her. She tried to rise; he prevented
+her by twining his arms about her waist, and repeated in a passionate
+voice: "Yes, it is true that I have loved you madly for some time. Do
+not answer me. I am mad--I love you. Oh, if you knew how I love you!"
+
+She could utter no sound; in her agitation she repulsed him with both
+hands, for she could feel his breath upon her cheek. He rose suddenly
+and attempted to embrace her, but gaining her liberty for a moment, she
+escaped him and ran from chair to chair. He, considering such pursuit
+beneath his dignity, sank into a chair, buried his face in his hands,
+and feigned to sob convulsively. Then he rose, cried:
+
+"Adieu, adieu!" and fled.
+
+In the hall he took his cane calmly and left the house saying: "Cristi!
+I believe she loves me!"
+
+He went at once to the telegraph office to send a message to Clotilde,
+appointing a rendezvous for the next day.
+
+On entering the house at his usual time, he said to his wife: "Well, is
+everyone coming to dinner?"
+
+She replied: "Yes, all but Mme. Walter, who is uncertain as to whether
+she can come. She acted very strangely. Never mind, perhaps she can
+manage it anyway."
+
+He replied: "She will come."
+
+He was not, however, certain and was rendered uneasy until the day of
+the dinner. That morning Madeleine received a message from Mme. Walter
+to this effect: "I have succeeded in arranging matters and I shall be
+with you, but my husband cannot accompany me."
+
+Du Roy thought: "I did right not to return there. She has calmed down."
+Still he awaited her arrival anxiously.
+
+She appeared very composed, somewhat reserved, and haughty. He was very
+humble, very careful, and submissive. Mmes. Laroche-Mathieu and
+Rissolin were accompanied by their husbands. Mme. de Marelle looked
+bewitching in an odd combination of yellow and black.
+
+At Du Roy's right sat Mme. Walter, and he spoke to her only of serious
+matters with exaggerated respect. From time to time he glanced at
+Clotilde.
+
+"She is really very pretty and fresh looking," thought he. But Mme.
+Walter attracted him by the difficulty of the conquest. She took her
+leave early.
+
+"I will escort you," said he.
+
+She declined his offer. He insisted: "Why do you not want me? You wound
+me deeply. Do not let me feel that I am not forgiven. You see that I am
+calm."
+
+She replied: "You cannot leave your guests thus."
+
+He smiled: "Bah! I shall be absent twenty minutes. No one will even
+notice it; if you refuse me, you will break my heart."
+
+"Very well," she whispered, "I will accept."
+
+When they were seated in the carriage, he seized her hand, and kissing
+it passionately said: "I love you, I love you. Let me tell it to you. I
+will not touch you. I only wish to repeat that I love you."
+
+She stammered: "After what you promised me--it is too bad--too bad."
+
+He seemed to make a great effort, then he continued in a subdued voice:
+"See, how I can control myself--and yet--let me only tell you this--I
+love you--yes, let me go home with you and kneel before you five
+minutes to utter those three words and gaze upon your beloved face."
+
+She suffered him to take her hand and replied in broken accents: "No, I
+cannot--I do not wish to. Think of what my servants, my daughters,
+would say--no--no--it is impossible."
+
+He continued: "I cannot live without seeing you; whether it be at your
+house or elsewhere, I must see you for only a moment each day that I
+may touch your hand, breathe the air stirred by your gown, contemplate
+the outlines of your form, and see your beautiful eyes."
+
+She listened tremblingly to the musical language of love, and made
+answer: "No, it is impossible. Be silent!"
+
+He spoke very low; he whispered in her ear, comprehending that it was
+necessary to win that simple woman gradually, to persuade her to
+appoint a meeting where she willed at first, and later on where he
+willed.
+
+"Listen: I must see you! I will wait at your door like a beggar. If you
+do not come down, I will come to you, but I shall see you to-morrow."
+
+She repeated: "No, do not come. I shall not receive you. Think of my
+daughters!"
+
+"Then tell me where I can meet you--in the street--it matters not
+where--at any hour you wish--provided that I can see you. I will greet
+you; I will say, I love you; and then go away."
+
+She hesitated, almost distracted. As the coupe stopped at the door, she
+whispered hastily: "I will be at La Trinite to-morrow, at half past
+three."
+
+After alighting, she said to her coachman: "Take M. du Roy home."
+
+When he returned, his wife asked: "Where have you been?"
+
+He replied in a low voice: "I have been to send an important telegram."
+
+Mme. de Marelle approached him: "You must take me home, Bel-Ami; you
+know that I only dine so far from home on that condition." Turning to
+Madeleine, she asked: "You are not jealous?"
+
+Mme. du Roy replied slowly: "No, not at all."
+
+The guests departed. Clotilde, enveloped in laces, whispered to
+Madeleine at the door: "Your dinner was perfect. In a short while you
+will have the best political salon in Paris."
+
+When she was alone with Georges, she said: "Oh, my darling Bel-Ami, I
+love you more dearly every day."
+
+The cab rolled on, and Georges' thoughts were with Mme. Walter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+A MEETING AND THE RESULT
+
+
+The July sun shone upon the Place de la Trinite, which was almost
+deserted. Du Roy drew out his watch. It was only three o'clock: he was
+half an hour too early. He laughed as he thought of the place of
+meeting. He entered the sacred edifice of La Trinite; the coolness
+within was refreshing. Here and there an old woman kneeled at prayer,
+her face in her hands. Du Roy looked at his watch again. It was not yet
+a quarter past three. He took a seat, regretting that he could not
+smoke. At the end of the church near the choir; he could hear the
+measured tread of a corpulent man whom he had noticed when he entered.
+Suddenly the rustle of a gown made him start. It was she. He arose and
+advanced quickly. She did not offer him her hand and whispered: "I have
+only a few minutes. You must kneel near me that no one will notice us."
+
+She proceeded to a side aisle after saluting the Host on the High
+Altar, took a footstool, and kneeled down. Georges took one beside it
+and when they were in the attitude of prayer, he said: "Thank you,
+thank you. I adore you. I should like to tell you constantly how I
+began to love you, how I was conquered the first time I saw you. Will
+you permit me some day to unburden my heart, to explain all to you?"
+
+She replied between her fingers: "I am mad to let you speak to me
+thus--mad to have come hither--mad to do as I have done, to let you
+believe that this--this adventure can have any results. Forget it, and
+never speak to me of it again." She paused.
+
+He replied: "I expect nothing--I hope nothing--I love you--whatever you
+may do, I will repeat it so often, with so much force and ardor that
+you will finally understand me, and reply: 'I love you too.'"
+
+He felt her frame tremble as she involuntarily repeated: "I love you
+too."
+
+He was overcome by astonishment.
+
+"Oh, my God!" she continued incoherently, "Should I say that to you? I
+feel guilty, despicable--I--who have two daughters--but I
+cannot--cannot--I never thought--it was stronger than
+I--listen--listen--I have never loved--any other--but you--I swear
+it--I have loved you a year in secret--I have suffered and struggled--I
+can no longer; I love you." She wept and her bowed form was shaken by
+the violence of her emotion.
+
+Georges murmured: "Give me your hand that I may touch, may press it."
+
+She slowly took her hand from her face, he seized it saying: "I should
+like to drink your tears!"
+
+Placing the hand he held upon his heart he asked: "Do you feel it beat?"
+
+In a few moments the man Georges had noticed before passed by them.
+When Mme. Walter heard him near her, she snatched her fingers from
+Georges's clasp and covered her face with them. After the man had
+disappeared, Du Roy asked, hoping for another place of meeting than La
+Trinite: "Where shall I see you to-morrow?"
+
+She did not reply; she seemed transformed into a statue of prayer. He
+continued: "Shall I meet you to-morrow at Park Monceau?"
+
+She turned a livid face toward him and said unsteadily: "Leave
+me--leave me now--go--go away--for only five minutes--I suffer too much
+near you. I want to pray--go. Let me pray alone--five minutes--let me
+ask God--to pardon me--to save me--leave me--five minutes."
+
+She looked so pitiful that he rose without a word and asked with some
+hesitation: "Shall I return presently?"
+
+She nodded her head in the affirmative and he left her. She tried to
+pray; she closed her eyes in order not to see Georges. She could not
+pray; she could only think of him. She would rather have died than have
+fallen thus; she had never been weak. She murmured several words of
+supplication; she knew that all was over, that the struggle was in
+vain. She did not however wish to yield, but she felt her weakness.
+Some one approached with a rapid step; she turned her head. It was a
+priest. She rose, ran toward him, and clasping her hands, she cried:
+"Save me, save me!"
+
+He stopped in surprise.
+
+"What do you want, Madame?"
+
+"I want you to save me. Have pity on me. If you do not help me, I am
+lost!"
+
+He gazed at her, wondering if she were mad.
+
+"What can I do for you?" The priest was a young man somewhat inclined
+to corpulence.
+
+"Receive my confession," said she, "and counsel me, sustain me, tell me
+what to do."
+
+He replied: "I confess every Saturday from three to six."
+
+Seizing his arm she repeated: "No, now, at once--at once! It is
+necessary! He is here! In this church! He is waiting for me."
+
+The priest asked: "Who is waiting for you?"
+
+"A man--who will be my ruin if you do not save me. I can no longer
+escape him--I am too weak--too weak."
+
+She fell upon her knees sobbing: "Oh, father, have pity upon me. Save
+me, for God's sake, save me!" She seized his gown that he might not
+escape her, while he uneasily glanced around on all sides to see if
+anyone noticed the woman at his feet. Finally, seeing that he could not
+free himself from her, he said: "Rise; I have the key to the
+confessional with me."
+
+      *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Du Roy having walked around the choir, was sauntering down the nave,
+when he met the stout, bold man wandering about, and he wondered: "What
+can he be doing here?"
+
+The man slackened his pace and looked at Georges with the evident
+desire to speak to him. When he was near him, he bowed and said
+politely:
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir, for disturbing you; but can you tell me when
+this church was built?"
+
+Du Roy replied: "I do not know; I think it is twenty or twenty-five
+years. It is the first time I have been here. I have never seen it
+before." Feeling interested in the stranger, the journalist continued:
+"It seems to me that you are examining into it very carefully."
+
+The man replied: "I am not visiting the church; I have an appointment."
+He paused and in a few moments added: "It is very warm outside."
+
+Du Roy looked at him and suddenly thought that he resembled Forestier.
+"Are you from the provinces?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, I am from Rennes. And did you, sir, enter this church from
+curiosity?"
+
+"No, I am waiting for a lady." And with a smile upon his lips, he
+walked away.
+
+He did not find Mme. Walter in the place in which he had left her, and
+was surprised. She had gone. He was furious. Then he thought she might
+be looking for him, and he walked around the church. Not finding her,
+he returned and seated himself on the chair she had occupied, hoping
+that she would rejoin him there. Soon he heard the sound of a voice. He
+saw no one; whence came it? He rose to examine into it, and saw in a
+chapel near by, the doors of the confessionals. He drew nearer in order
+to see the woman whose voice he heard. He recognized Mme. Walter; she
+was confessing. At first he felt a desire to seize her by the arm and
+drag her away; then he seated himself near by and bided his time. He
+waited quite awhile. At length Mme. Walter rose, turned, saw him and
+came toward him. Her face was cold and severe.
+
+"Sir," said she, "I beseech you not to accompany me, not to follow me
+and not to come to my house alone. You will not be admitted. Adieu!"
+And she walked away in a dignified manner.
+
+He permitted her to go, because it was against his principles to force
+matters. As the priest in his turn issued from the confessional, he
+advanced toward him and said: "If you did not wear a gown, I would give
+you a sound thrashing." Then he turned upon his heel and left the
+church whistling. In the doorway he met the stout gentleman. When Du
+Roy passed him, they bowed.
+
+The journalist then repaired to the office of "La Vie Francaise." As he
+entered he saw by the clerks' busy air that something of importance was
+going on, and he hastened to the manager's room. The latter exclaimed
+joyfully as Du Roy entered: "What luck! here is Bel-Ami."
+
+He stopped in confusion and apologized: "I beg your pardon, I am very
+much bothered by circumstances. And then I hear my wife and daughter
+call you Bel-Ami from morning until night, and I have acquired the
+habit myself. Are you displeased?"
+
+Georges laughed. "Not at all."
+
+M. Walter continued: "Very well, then I will call you Bel-Ami as
+everyone else does. Great changes have taken place. The ministry has
+been overthrown. Marrot is to form a new cabinet. He has chosen General
+Boutin d'Acre as minister of war, and our friend Laroche-Mathieu as
+minister of foreign affairs. We shall be very busy. I must write a
+leading article, a simple declaration of principles; then I must have
+something interesting on the Morocco question--you must attend to that."
+
+Du Roy reflected a moment and then replied: "I have it. I will give you
+an article on the political situation of our African colony," and he
+proceeded to prepare M. Walter an outline of his work, which was
+nothing but a modification of his first article on "Souvenirs of a
+Soldier in Africa."
+
+The manager having read the article said: "It is perfect; you are a
+treasure. Many thanks."
+
+Du Roy returned home to dinner delighted with his day, notwithstanding
+his failure at La Trinite. His wife was awaiting him anxiously. She
+exclaimed on seeing him:
+
+"You know that Laroche is minister of foreign affairs."
+
+"Yes, I have just written an article on that subject."
+
+"How?"
+
+"Do you remember the first article we wrote on 'Souvenirs of a Soldier
+in Africa'? Well, I revised and corrected it for the occasion."
+
+She smiled. "Ah, yes, that will do very well."
+
+At that moment the servant entered with a dispatch containing these
+words without any signature:
+
+"I was beside myself. Pardon me and come to-morrow at four o'clock to
+Park Monceau."
+
+He understood the message, and with a joyful heart, slipped the
+telegram into his pocket. During dinner he repeated the words to
+himself; as he interpreted them, they meant, "I yield--I am yours where
+and when you will." He laughed.
+
+Madeleine asked: "What is it?"
+
+"Nothing much. I was thinking of a comical old priest I met a short
+while since."
+
+      *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Du Roy arrived at the appointed hour the following day. The benches
+were all occupied by people trying to escape from the heat and by
+nurses with their charges.
+
+He found Mme. Walter in a little antique ruin; she seemed unhappy and
+anxious. When he had greeted her, she said: "How many people there are
+in the garden!"
+
+He took advantage of the occasion: "Yes, that is true; shall we go
+somewhere else?"
+
+"Where?"
+
+"It matters not where; for a drive, for instance. You can lower the
+shade on your side and you will be well concealed."
+
+"Yes, I should like that better; I shall die of fear here."
+
+"Very well, meet me in five minutes at the gate which opens on the
+boulevard. I will fetch a cab."
+
+When they were seated in the cab, she asked: "Where did you tell the
+coachman to drive to?"
+
+Georges replied: "Do not worry; he knows."
+
+He had given the man his address on the Rue de Constantinople.
+
+Mme. Walter said to Du Roy: "You cannot imagine how I suffer on your
+account--how I am tormented, tortured. Yesterday I was harsh, but I
+wanted to escape you at any price. I was afraid to remain alone with
+you. Have you forgiven me?"
+
+He pressed her hand. "Yes, yes, why should I not forgive you, loving
+you as I do?"
+
+She looked at him with a beseeching air: "Listen: You must promise to
+respect me, otherwise I could never see you again."
+
+At first he did not reply; a smile lurked beneath his mustache; then he
+murmured: "I am your slave."
+
+She told him how she had discovered that she loved him, on learning
+that he was to marry Madeleine Forestier. Suddenly she ceased speaking.
+The carriage stopped. Du Roy opened the door.
+
+"Where are we?" she asked.
+
+He replied: "Alight and enter the house. We shall be undisturbed there."
+
+"Where are we?" she repeated.
+
+"At my rooms; they are my bachelor apartments which I have rented for a
+few days that we might have a corner in which to meet."
+
+She clung to the cab, startled at the thought of a tete-a-tete, and
+stammered: "No, no, I do not want to."
+
+He said firmly: "I swear to respect you. Come, you see that people are
+looking at us, that a crowd is gathering around us. Make haste!" And he
+repeated, "I swear to respect you."
+
+She was terror-stricken and rushed into the house. She was about to
+ascend the stairs. He seized her arm: "It is here, on the ground floor."
+
+When he had closed the door, he showered kisses upon her neck, her
+eyes, her lips; in spite of herself, she submitted to his caresses and
+even returned them, hiding her face and murmuring in broken accents: "I
+swear that I have never had a lover"; while he thought: "That is a
+matter of indifference to me."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+MADAME DE MARELLE
+
+
+Autumn had come. The Du Roys had spent the entire summer in Paris,
+leading a vigorous campaign in "La Vie Francaise," in favor of the new
+cabinet. Although it was only the early part of October, the chamber
+was about to resume its sessions, for affairs in Morocco were becoming
+menacing. The celebrated speech made by Count de Lambert Sarrazin had
+furnished Du Roy with material for ten articles on the Algerian colony.
+"La Vie Francaise" had gained considerable prestige by its connection
+with the power; it was the first to give political news, and every
+newspaper in Paris and the provinces sought information from it. It was
+quoted, feared, and began to be respected: it was no longer the organ
+of a group of political intriguers, but the avowed mouthpiece of the
+cabinet. Laroche-Mathieu was the soul of the journal and Du Roy his
+speaking-trumpet. M. Walter retired discreetly into the background.
+Madeleine's salon became an influential center in which several members
+of the cabinet met every week. The president of the council had even
+dined there twice; the minister of foreign affairs was quite at home at
+the Du Roys; he came at any hour, bringing dispatches or information,
+which he dictated either to the husband or wife as if they were his
+secretaries. After the minister had departed, when Du Roy was alone
+with Madeleine, he uttered threats and insinuations against the
+"parvenu," as he called him. His wife simply shrugged her shoulders
+scornfully, repeating: "Become a minister and you can do the same;
+until then, be silent."
+
+His reply was: "No one knows of what I am capable; perhaps they will
+find out some day."
+
+She answered philosophically: "He who lives will see."
+
+The morning of the reopening of the Chamber, Du Roy lunched with
+Laroche-Mathieu in order to receive instructions from him, before the
+session, for a political article the following day in "La Vie
+Francaise," which was to be a sort of official declaration of the plans
+of the cabinet. After listening to Laroche-Mathieu's eloquence for some
+time with jealousy in his heart, Du Roy sauntered slowly toward the
+office to commence his work, for he had nothing to do until four
+o'clock, at which hour he was to meet Mme. de Marelle at Rue de
+Constantinople. They met there regularly twice a week, Mondays and
+Wednesdays.
+
+On entering the office, he was handed a sealed dispatch; it was from
+Mme. Walter, and read thus:
+
+    "It is absolutely necessary that I should see you to-day. It is
+     important. Expect me at two o'clock at Rue de Constantinople. I
+     can render you a great service; your friend until death,"
+
+    "VIRGINIE."
+
+He exclaimed: "Heavens! what a bore!" and left the office at once, too
+much annoyed to work.
+
+For six weeks he had ineffectually tried to break with Mme. Walter. At
+three successive meetings she had been a prey to remorse, and had
+overwhelmed her lover with reproaches. Angered by those scenes and
+already weary of the dramatic woman, he had simply avoided her, hoping
+that the affair would end in that way.
+
+But she persecuted him with her affection, summoned him at all times by
+telegrams to meet her at street corners, in shops, or public gardens.
+She was very different from what he had fancied she would be, trying to
+attract him by actions ridiculous in one of her age. It disgusted him
+to hear her call him: "My rat--my dog--my treasure--my jewel--my
+blue-bird"--and to see her assume a kind of childish modesty when he
+approached. It seemed to him that being the mother of a family, a woman
+of the world, she should have been more sedate, and have yielded With
+tears if she chose, but with the tears of a Dido and not of a Juliette.
+He never heard her call him "Little one" or "Baby," without wishing to
+reply "Old woman," to take his hat with an oath and leave the room.
+
+At first they had often met at Rue de Constantinople, but Du Roy, who
+feared an encounter with Mme. de Marelle, invented a thousand and one
+pretexts in order to avoid that rendezvous. He was therefore obliged to
+either lunch or dine at her house daily, when she would clasp his hand
+under cover of the table or offer him her lips behind the doors. Above
+all, Georges enjoyed being thrown so much in contact with Suzanne; she
+made sport of everything and everybody with cutting appropriateness. At
+length, however, he began to feel an unconquerable repugnance to the
+love lavished upon him by the mother; he could no longer see her, hear
+her, nor think of her without anger. He ceased calling upon her,
+replying to her letters, and yielding to her appeals. She finally
+divined that he no longer loved her, and the discovery caused her
+unutterable anguish; but she watched him, followed him in a cab with
+drawn blinds to the office, to his house, in the hope of seeing him
+pass by. He would have liked to strangle her, but he controlled himself
+on account of his position on "La Vie Francaise" and he endeavored by
+means of coldness, and even at times harsh words, to make her
+comprehend that all was at an end between them.
+
+Then, too, she persisted in devising ruses for summoning him to Rue de
+Constantinople, and he was in constant fear that the two women would
+some day meet face to face at the door.
+
+On the other hand, his affection for Mme. de Marelle had increased
+during the summer. They were both Bohemians by nature; they took
+excursions together to Argenteuil, Bougival, Maisons, and Poissy, and
+when he was forced to return and dine at Mme. Walter's, he detested his
+mature mistress more thoroughly, as he recalled the youthful one he had
+just left. He was congratulating himself upon having freed himself
+almost entirely from the former's clutches, when he received the
+telegram above mentioned.
+
+He re-read it as he walked along. He thought: "What does that old owl
+want with me? I am certain she has nothing to tell me except that she
+adores me. However, I will see, perhaps there is some truth in it.
+Clotilde is coming at four, I must get rid of the other one at three or
+soon after, provided they do not meet. What jades women are!"
+
+As he uttered those words he was reminded of his wife, who was the only
+one who did not torment him; she lived by his side and seemed to love
+him very much at the proper time, for she never permitted anything to
+interfere with her ordinary occupations of life. He strolled toward the
+appointed place of meeting, mentally cursing Mme. Walter.
+
+"Ah, I will receive her in such a manner that she will not tell me
+anything. First of all, I will give her to understand that I shall
+never cross her threshold again."
+
+He entered to await her. She soon arrived and, seeing him, exclaimed:
+"Ah, you received my dispatch! How fortunate!"
+
+"Yes, I received it at the office just as I was setting out for the
+Chamber. What do you want?" he asked ungraciously.
+
+She had raised her veil in order to kiss him, and approached him
+timidly and humbly with the air of a beaten dog.
+
+"How unkind you are to me; how harshly you speak! What have I done to
+you? You do not know what I have suffered for you!"
+
+He muttered: "Are you going to begin that again?"
+
+She stood near him awaiting a smile, a word of encouragement, to cast
+herself into his arms, and whispered: "You need not have won me to
+treat me thus; you might have left me virtuous and happy. Do you
+remember what you said to me in the church and how you forced me to
+enter this house? And now this is the way you speak to me, receive me!
+My God, my God, how you maltreat me!"
+
+He stamped his foot and said violently: "Enough, be silent! I can never
+see you a moment without hearing that refrain. You were mature when you
+gave yourself to me. I am much obliged to you; I am infinitely
+grateful, but I need not be tied to your apron-strings until I die! You
+have a husband and I a wife. Neither of us is free; it was all a
+caprice, and now it is at an end!"
+
+She said: "How brutal you are, how coarse and villainous! No, I was no
+longer a young girl, but I had never loved, never wavered in my
+dignity."
+
+He interrupted her: "I know it, you have told me that twenty times; but
+you have had two children."
+
+She drew back as if she had been struck: "Oh, Georges!" And pressing
+her hands to her heart, she burst into tears.
+
+When she began to weep, he took his hat: "Ah, you are crying again!
+Good evening! Is it for this that you sent for me?"
+
+She took a step forward in order to bar the way, and drawing a
+handkerchief from her pocket she wiped her eyes. Her voice grew
+steadier: "No, I came to--to give you--political news--to give you the
+means of earning fifty thousand francs--or even more if you wish to."
+
+Suddenly softened he asked: "How?"
+
+"By chance last evening I heard a conversation between my husband and
+Laroche. Walter advised the minister not to let you into the secret for
+you would expose it."
+
+Du Roy placed his hat upon a chair and listened attentively.
+
+"They are going to take possession of Morocco!"
+
+"Why, I lunched with Laroche this morning, and he told me the cabinet's
+plans!"
+
+"No, my dear, they have deceived you, because they feared their secret
+would be made known."
+
+"Sit down," said Georges.
+
+He sank into an armchair, while she drew up a stool and took her seat
+at his feet. She continued:
+
+"As I think of you continually, I pay attention to what is talked of
+around me," and she proceeded to tell him what she had heard relative
+to the expedition to Tangiers which had been decided upon the day that
+Laroche assumed his office; she told him how they had little by little
+bought up, through agents who aroused no suspicions, the Moroccan loan,
+which had fallen to sixty-four or sixty-five francs; how when the
+expedition was entered upon the French government would guarantee the
+debt, and their friends would make fifty or sixty millions.
+
+He cried: "Are you sure of that?"
+
+She replied: "Yes, I am sure."
+
+He continued: "That is indeed fine! As for that rascal of a Laroche,
+let him beware! I will get his ministerial carcass between my fingers
+yet!"
+
+Then, after a moment's reflection, he muttered: "One might profit by
+that!"
+
+"You too can buy some stock," said she; "it is only seventy-two francs."
+
+He replied: "But I have no ready money."
+
+She raised her eyes to his--eyes full of supplication.
+
+"I have thought of that, my darling, and if you love me a little, you
+will let me lend it to you."
+
+He replied abruptly, almost harshly: "No, indeed."
+
+She whispered imploringly: "Listen, there is something you can do
+without borrowing money. I intended buying ten thousand francs' worth
+of the stock; instead, I will take twenty thousand and you can have
+half. There will be nothing to pay at once. If it succeeds, we will
+make seventy thousand francs; if not, you will owe me ten thousand
+which you can repay at your pleasure."
+
+He said again: "No, I do not like those combinations."
+
+She tried to persuade him by telling him that she advanced
+nothing--that the payments were made by Walter's bank. She pointed out
+to him that he had led the political campaign in "La Vie Francaise,"
+and that he would be very simple not to profit by the results he had
+helped to bring about. As he still hesitated, she added: "It is in
+reality Walter who will advance the money, and you have done enough for
+him to offset that sum."
+
+"Very well," said he, "I will do it. If we lose I will pay you back ten
+thousand francs."
+
+She was so delighted that she rose, took his head between her hands,
+and kissed him. At first he did not repulse her, but when she grew more
+lavish with her caresses, he said:
+
+"Come, that will do."
+
+She gazed at him sadly. "Oh, Georges, I can no longer even embrace you."
+
+"No, not to-day. I have a headache."
+
+She reseated herself with docility at his feet and asked:
+
+"Will you dine with us to-morrow? It would give me such pleasure,"
+
+He hesitated at first, but dared not refuse.
+
+"Yes, certainly."
+
+"Thank you, dearest." She rubbed her cheek against the young man's
+vest; as she did so, one of her long black hairs caught on a button;
+she twisted it tightly around, then she twisted another around another
+button and so on. When he rose, he would tear them out of her head, and
+would carry away with him unwittingly a lock of her hair. It would be
+an invisible bond between them. Involuntarily he would think, would
+dream of her; he would love her a little more the next day.
+
+Suddenly he said: "I must leave you, for I am expected at the Chamber
+for the close of the session. I cannot be absent to-day."
+
+She sighed: "Already!" Then adding resignedly: "Go, my darling, but you
+will come to dinner tomorrow"; she rose abruptly. For a moment she felt
+a sharp, stinging pain, as if needles had been stuck into her head, but
+she was glad to have suffered for him.
+
+"Adieu," said she.
+
+He took her in his arms and kissed her eyes coldly; then she offered
+him her lips which he brushed lightly as he said: "Come, come, let us
+hurry; it is after three o'clock."
+
+She passed out before him saying: "To-morrow at seven"; he repeated her
+words and they separated.
+
+Du Roy returned at four o'clock to await his mistress. She was somewhat
+late because her husband had come home for a week. She asked:
+
+"Can you come to dinner to-morrow? He will be delighted to see you."
+
+"No; I dine at the Walters. We have a great many political and
+financial matters to talk over."
+
+She took off her hat. He pointed to a bag on the mantelpiece: "I bought
+you some sweetmeats."
+
+She clapped her hands. "What a darling you are!" She took them, tasted
+one, and said: "They are delicious. I shall not leave one. Come, sit
+down in the armchair, I will sit at your feet and eat my bonbons."
+
+He smiled as he saw her take the seat a short while since occupied by
+Mme. Walter. She too, called him "darling, little one, dearest," and
+the words seemed to him sweet and caressing from her lips, while from
+Mme. Walter's they irritated and nauseated him.
+
+Suddenly he remembered the seventy thousand francs he was going to
+make, and bluntly interrupting Mme. de Marelle's chatter, he said:
+
+"Listen, my darling; I am going to intrust you with a message to your
+husband. Tell him from me to buy to-morrow ten thousand francs' worth
+of Moroccan stock which is at seventy-two, and I predict that before
+three months are passed he will have made eighty thousand francs. Tell
+him to maintain absolute silence. Tell him that the expedition to
+Tangiers, is decided upon, and that the French government will
+guarantee the Moroccan debt. It is a state secret I am confiding to
+you, remember!"
+
+She listened to him gravely and murmured:
+
+"Thank you. I will tell my husband this evening. You may rely upon him;
+he will not speak of it; he can be depended upon; there is no danger."
+
+She had eaten all of her bonbons and began to toy with the buttons on
+his vest. Suddenly she drew a long hair out of the buttonhole and began
+to laugh.
+
+"See! Here is one of Madeleine's hairs; you are a faithful husband!"
+Then growing serious, she examined the scarcely perceptible thread more
+closely and said: "It is not Madeleine's, it is dark."
+
+He smiled. "It probably belongs to the housemaid."
+
+But she glanced at the vest with the care of a police-inspector and
+found a second hair twisted around a second button; then she saw a
+third; and turning pale and trembling somewhat, she exclaimed: "Oh,
+some woman has left hairs around all your buttons."
+
+In surprise, he stammered: "Why you--you are mad."
+
+She continued to unwind the hairs and cast them upon the floor. With
+her woman's instinct she had divined their meaning and gasped in her
+anger, ready to cry:
+
+"She loves you and she wished you to carry away with you something of
+hers. Oh, you are a traitor." She uttered a shrill, nervous cry: "Oh,
+it is an old woman's hair--here is a white one--you have taken a fancy
+to an old woman now. Then you do not need me--keep the other one." She
+rose.
+
+He attempted to detain her and stammered: "No--Clo--you are absurd--I
+do not know whose it is--listen--stay--see--stay--"
+
+But she repeated: "Keep your old woman--keep her--have a chain made of
+her hair--of her gray hair--there is enough for that--"
+
+Hastily she donned her hat and veil, and when he attempted to touch her
+she struck him in the face, and made her escape while he was stunned by
+the blow. When he found that he was alone, he cursed Mme. Walter,
+bathed his face, and went out vowing vengeance. That time he would not
+pardon. No, indeed.
+
+He strolled to the boulevard and stopped at a jeweler's to look at a
+chronometer he had wanted for some time and which would cost eighteen
+hundred francs. He thought with joy: "If I make my seventy thousand
+francs, I can pay for it"--and he began to dream of all the things he
+would do when he got the money. First of all he would become a deputy;
+then he would buy the chronometer; then he would speculate on 'Change,
+and then, and then--he did not enter the office, preferring to confer
+with Madeleine before seeing Walter again and writing his article; he
+turned toward home. He reached Rue Drouot when he paused; he had
+forgotten to inquire for Count de Vaudrec, who lived on Chaussee
+d'Antin. He retraced his steps with a light heart, thinking of a
+thousand things--of the fortune he would make,--of that rascal of a
+Laroche, and of old Walter.
+
+He was not at all uneasy as to Clotilde's anger, knowing that she would
+soon forgive him.
+
+When he asked the janitor of the house in which Count de Vaudrec lived:
+"How is M. de Vaudrec? I have heard that he has been ailing of late,"
+the man replied; "The Count is very ill, sir; they think he will not
+live through the night; the gout has reached his heart."
+
+Du Roy was so startled he did not know what to do! Vaudrec dying! He
+stammered: "Thanks--I will call again"--unconscious of what he was
+saying. He jumped into a cab and drove home. His wife had returned. He
+entered her room out of breath: "Did you know? Vaudrec is dying!"
+
+She was reading a letter and turning to him asked: "What did you say?"
+
+"I said that Vaudrec is dying of an attack of gout."
+
+Then he added: "What shall you do?"
+
+She rose; her face was livid; she burst into tears and buried her face
+in her hands. She remained standing, shaken by sobs, torn by anguish.
+Suddenly she conquered her grief and wiping her eyes, said: "I am going
+to him--do not worry about me--I do not know what time I shall
+return--do not expect me."
+
+He replied: "Very well. Go."
+
+They shook hands and she left in such haste that she forgot her gloves.
+Georges, after dining alone, began to write his article. He wrote it
+according to the minister's instructions, hinting to the readers that
+the expedition to Morocco would not take place. He took it, when
+completed, to the office, conversed several moments with M. Walter, and
+set out again, smoking, with a light heart, he knew not why.
+
+His wife had not returned. He retired and fell asleep. Toward midnight
+Madeleine came home. Georges sat up in bed and asked: "Well?"
+
+He had never seen her so pale and agitated. She whispered: "He is dead!"
+
+"Ah--and--he told you nothing?"
+
+"Nothing. He was unconscious when I arrived."
+
+Questions which he dared not ask arose to Georges' lips.
+
+"Lie down and rest," said he.
+
+She disrobed hastily and slipped into bed.
+
+He continued: "Had he any relatives at his death-bed?"
+
+"Only a nephew."
+
+"Ah! Did he often see that nephew?"
+
+"They had not met for ten years."
+
+"Had he other relatives?"
+
+"No, I believe not."
+
+"Will that nephew be his heir?"
+
+"I do not know."
+
+"Was Vaudrec very rich?"
+
+"Yes, very."
+
+"Do you know what he was worth?"
+
+"No, not exactly--one or two millions perhaps."
+
+He said no more. She extinguished the light. He could not sleep. He
+looked upon Mme. Walter's promised seventy thousand francs as very
+insignificant. Suddenly he thought he heard Madeleine crying. In order
+to insure himself he asked: "Are you asleep?"
+
+"No." Her voice was tearful and unsteady.
+
+He continued: "I forgot to tell you that your minister has deceived us."
+
+"How?"
+
+He gave her a detailed account of the combination prepared by Laroche
+and Walter. When he concluded she asked: "How did you know that?"
+
+He replied: "Pardon me if I do not tell you! You have your means of
+obtaining information into which I do not inquire; I have mine which I
+desire to keep. I can vouch at any rate for the truth of my statements."
+
+She muttered: "It may be possible. I suspected that they were doing
+something without our knowledge."
+
+As she spoke Georges drew near her; she paid no heed to his proximity,
+however, and turning toward the wall, he closed his eyes and fell
+asleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE WILL
+
+
+The church was draped in black, and over the door a large escutcheon
+surmounted by a coronet announced to the passers-by that a nobleman was
+being buried. The ceremony was just over; those present went out
+slowly, passing by the coffin, and by Count de Vaudrec's nephew, who
+shook hands and returned salutations.
+
+When Georges du Roy and his wife left the church, they walked along
+side by side on their way home. They did not speak; they were both
+preoccupied. At length Georges said, as if talking to himself: "Truly
+it is very astonishing!"
+
+Madeleine asked: "What, my friend?"
+
+"That Vaudrec left us nothing."
+
+She blushed and said: "Why should he leave us anything? Had he any
+reason for doing so?" Then after several moments of silence, she
+continued: "Perhaps there is a will at a lawyer's; we should not know
+of it."
+
+He replied: "That is possible, for he was our best friend. He dined
+with us twice a week; he came at any time; he was at home with us. He
+loved you as a father; he had no family, no children, no brothers nor
+sisters, only a nephew. Yes, there should be a will. I would not care
+for much--a remembrance to prove that he thought of us--that he
+recognized the affection we felt for him. We should certainly have a
+mark of friendship."
+
+She said with a pensive and indifferent air: "It is possible that there
+is a will."
+
+When they entered the house, the footman handed Madeleine a letter. She
+opened it and offered it to her husband.
+
+    "OFFICE OF M. LAMANEUR,
+     Notary.
+     17 Rue des Vosges,"
+
+    "Madame: Kindly call at my office at a quarter past two o'clock
+     Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, on business which concerns
+     you."
+
+    "Yours respectfully,"
+
+    "LAMANEUR."
+
+Georges, in his turn, colored.
+
+"That is as it should be. It is strange, however, that he should write
+to you and not to me, for I am the head of the family legally."
+
+"Shall we go at once?" she asked.
+
+"Yes, I should like to."
+
+After luncheon they set out for M. Lamaneur's office.
+
+The notary was a short, round man--round all over. His head looked like
+a ball fastened to another ball, which was supported by legs so short
+that they too almost resembled balls.
+
+He bowed, as Du Roy and his wife were shown into his office, pointed to
+seats, and said, turning to Madeleine: "Madame, I sent for you in order
+to inform you of Count de Vaudrec's will, which will be of interest to
+you."
+
+Georges could not help muttering: "I suspected that."
+
+The notary continued: "I shall read you the document which is very
+brief."
+
+   "'I, the undersigned, Paul Emile Cyprien Gontran, Count de
+     Vaudrec, sound both in body and mind, here express my last
+     wishes. As death might take me away at any moment, I wish to
+     take the precaution of drawing up my will, to be deposited with
+     M. Lamaneur.'"
+
+   "'Having no direct heirs, I bequeath all my fortune, comprising
+     stocks and bonds for six hundred thousand francs and landed
+     property for five hundred thousand, to Mme. Claire Madeleine du
+     Roy unconditionally. I beg her to accept that gift from a dead
+     friend as a proof of devoted, profound, and respectful
+     affection.'"
+
+The notary said: "That is all. That document bears the date of August
+last, and took the place of one of the same nature made two years ago
+in the name of Mme. Claire Madeleine Forestier. I have the first will,
+which would prove, in case of contestation on the part of the family,
+that Count de Vaudrec had not changed his mind."
+
+Madeleine cast down her eyes; her cheeks were pale. Georges nervously
+twisted his mustache.
+
+The notary continued after a moment's pause: "It is of course
+understood that Madame cannot accept that legacy without your consent."
+
+Du Roy rose and said shortly: "I ask time for reflection."
+
+The notary smiled, bowed, and replied pleasantly: "I comprehend the
+scruples which cause you to hesitate. I may add that M. de Vaudrec's
+nephew, who was informed this morning of his uncle's last wishes,
+expresses himself as ready to respect them if he be given one hundred
+thousand francs. In my opinion the will cannot be broken, but a lawsuit
+would cause a sensation which you would probably like to avoid. The
+world often judges uncharitably. Can you let me have your reply before
+Saturday?"
+
+Georges bowed, and together with his wife left the office. When they
+arrived home, Du Roy closed the door and throwing his hat on the bed,
+asked: "What were the relations between you and Vaudrec?"
+
+Madeleine, who was taking off her veil, turned around with a shudder:
+"Between us?"
+
+"Yes, between you and him! One does not leave one's entire fortune to a
+woman unless--"
+
+She trembled, and could scarcely take out the pins which fastened the
+transparent tissue. Then she stammered in an agitated manner: "You are
+mad--you are--you are--you did not think--he would leave you anything!"
+
+Georges replied, emphazing each word: "Yes, he could have left me
+something; me, your husband, his friend; but not you, my wife and his
+friend. The distinction is material in the eyes of the world."
+
+Madeleine gazed at him fixedly: "It seems to me that the world would
+have considered a legacy from him to you very strange."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because,"--she hesitated, then continued: "Because you are my husband;
+because you were not well acquainted; because I have been his friend so
+long; because his first will, made during Forestier's lifetime, was
+already in my favor."
+
+Georges began to pace to and fro. He finally said: "You cannot accept
+that."
+
+She answered indifferently: "Very well; it is not necessary then to
+wait until Saturday; you can inform M. Lamaneur at once."
+
+He paused before her, and they gazed into one another's eyes as if by
+that mute and ardent interrogation they were trying to examine each
+other's consciences. In a low voice he murmured: "Come, confess your
+relations."
+
+She shrugged her shoulders. "You are absurd. Vaudrec was very fond of
+me, very, but there was nothing more, never."
+
+He stamped his foot. "You lie! It is not possible."
+
+She replied calmly: "It is so, nevertheless."
+
+He resumed his pacing to and fro; then pausing again, he said: "Explain
+to me, then, why he left all his fortune to you."
+
+She did so with a nonchalant air: "It is very simple. As you said just
+now, we were his only friends, or rather, I was his only friend, for he
+knew me when a child. My mother was a governess in his father's house.
+He came here continually, and as he had no legal heirs, he selected me.
+It is possible that he even loved me a little. But what woman has never
+been loved thus? He brought me flowers every Monday. You were never
+surprised at that, and he never brought you any. To-day he leaves me
+his fortune for the same reason, because he had no one else to leave it
+to. It would on the other hand have been extremely surprising if he had
+left it to you."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"What are you to him?"
+
+She spoke so naturally and so calmly that Georges hesitated before
+replying: "It makes no difference; we cannot accept that bequest under
+those conditions. Everyone would talk about it and laugh at me. My
+fellow-journalists are already too much disposed to be jealous of me
+and to attack me. I have to be especially careful of my honor and my
+reputation. I cannot permit my wife to accept a legacy of that kind
+from a man whom rumor has already assigned to her as her lover.
+Forestier might perhaps have tolerated that, but I shall not."
+
+She replied gently: "Very well, my dear, we will not take it; it will
+be a million less in our pockets, that is all."
+
+Georges paced the room and uttered his thoughts aloud, thus speaking to
+his wife without addressing her:
+
+"Yes, a million--so much the worse. He did not think when making his
+will what a breach of etiquette he was committing. He did not realize
+in what a false, ridiculous position he was placing me. He should have
+left half of it to me--that would have made matters right."
+
+He seated himself, crossed his legs and began to twist the ends of his
+mustache, as was his custom when annoyed, uneasy, or pondering over a
+weighty question.
+
+Madeleine took up a piece of embroidery upon which she worked
+occasionally, and said: "I have nothing to say. You must decide."
+
+It was some time before he replied; then he said hesitatingly: "The
+world would never understand how it was that Vaudrec constituted you
+his sole heiress and that I allowed it. To accept that legacy would be
+to avow guilty relations on your part and an infamous lack of
+self-respect on mine. Do you know how the acceptance of it might be
+interpreted? We should have to find some adroit means of palliating it.
+We should have to give people to suppose, for instance, that he divided
+his fortune between us, giving half to you and half to me."
+
+She said: "I do not see how that can be done, since there is a formal
+will."
+
+He replied: "Oh, that is very simple. We have no children; you can
+therefore deed me part of the inheritance. In that way we can silence
+malignant tongues."
+
+She answered somewhat impatiently: "I do not see how we can silence
+malignant tongues since the will is there, signed by Vaudrec."
+
+He said angrily: "Do you need to exhibit it, or affix it to the door?
+You are absurd! We will say that the fortune was left us jointly by
+Count de Vaudrec. That is all. You cannot, moreover, accept the legacy
+without my authority; I will only consent on the condition of a
+partition which will prevent me from becoming a laughing-stock for the
+world."
+
+She glanced sharply at him: "As you will. I am ready."
+
+He seemed to hesitate again, rose, paced the floor, and avoiding his
+wife's piercing gaze, he said: "No--decidedly no--perhaps it would be
+better to renounce it altogether--it would be more correct--more
+honorable. From the nature of the bequest even charitably-disposed
+people would suspect illicit relations."
+
+He paused before Madeleine. "If you like, my darling, I will return to
+M. Lamaneur's alone, to consult him and to explain the matter to him. I
+will tell him of my scruples and I will add that we have agreed to
+divide it in order to avoid any scandal. From the moment that I accept
+a portion of the inheritance it will be evident that there is nothing
+wrong. I can say: 'My wife accepts it because I, her husband,
+accept'--I, who am the best judge of what she can do without
+compromising herself."
+
+Madeleine simply murmured: "As you wish."
+
+He continued: "Yes, it will be as clear as day if that is done. We
+inherit a fortune from a friend who wished to make no distinction
+between us, thereby showing that his liking for you was purely
+Platonic. You may be sure that if he had given it a thought, that is
+what he would have done. He did not reflect--he did not foresee the
+consequences. As you said just now, he offered you flowers every week,
+he left you his wealth."
+
+She interrupted him with a shade of annoyance:
+
+"I understand. No more explanations are necessary. Go to the notary at
+once."
+
+He stammered in confusion: "You are right; I will go." He took his hat,
+and, as he was leaving the room, he asked: "Shall I try to compromise
+with the nephew for fifty thousand francs?"
+
+She replied haughtily: "No. Give him the hundred thousand francs he
+demands, and take them from my share if you wish."
+
+Abashed, he murmured: "No, we will share it. After deducting fifty
+thousand francs each we will still have a million net." Then he added:
+"Until later, my little Made."
+
+He proceeded to the notary's to explain the arrangement decided upon,
+which he claimed originated with his wife. The following day they
+signed a deed for five hundred thousand francs, which Madeleine du Roy
+gave up to her husband.
+
+On leaving the office, as it was pleasant, Georges proposed that they
+take a stroll along the boulevards. He was very tender, very careful of
+her, and laughed joyously while she remained pensive and grave.
+
+It was a cold, autumn day. The pedestrians seemed in haste and walked
+along rapidly.
+
+Du Roy led his wife to the shop into the windows of which he had so
+often gazed at the coveted chronometer.
+
+"Shall I buy you some trinket?" he asked.
+
+She replied indifferently: "As you like."
+
+They entered the shop: "What would you prefer, a necklace, a bracelet,
+or earrings?"
+
+The sight of the brilliant gems made her eyes sparkle in spite of
+herself, as she glanced at the cases filled with costly baubles.
+
+Suddenly she exclaimed: "There is a lovely bracelet."
+
+It was a chain, very unique in shape, every link of which was set with
+a different stone.
+
+Georges asked: "How much is that bracelet?"
+
+The jeweler replied: "Three thousand francs, sir."
+
+"If you will let me have it for two thousand five hundred, I will take
+it."
+
+The man hesitated, then replied: "No, sir, it is impossible."
+
+Du Roy said: "See here--throw in this chronometer at fifteen hundred
+francs; that makes four thousand, and I will pay cash. If you do not
+agree, I will go somewhere else."
+
+The jeweler finally yielded. "Very well, sir."
+
+The journalist, after leaving his address, said: "You can have my
+initials G. R. C. interlaced below a baron's crown, engraved on the
+chronometer."
+
+Madeleine, in surprise, smiled, and when they left the shop, she took
+his arm quite affectionately. She thought him very shrewd and clever.
+He was right; now that he had a fortune he must have a title.
+
+They passed the Vaudeville on their way arid, entering, secured a box.
+Then they repaired to Mme, de Marelle's at Georges' suggestion, to
+invite her to spend the evening with them. Georges rather dreaded the
+first meeting with Clotilde, but she did not seem to bear him any
+malice, or even to remember their disagreement. The dinner, which they
+took at a restaurant, was excellent, and the evening altogether
+enjoyable.
+
+Georges and Madeleine returned home late. The gas was extinguished, and
+in order to light the way the journalist from time to time struck a
+match. On reaching the landing on the first floor they saw their
+reflections in the mirror. Du Roy raised his hand with the lighted
+match in it, in order to distinguish their images more clearly, and
+said, with a triumphant smile:
+
+"The millionaires are passing by."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+SUZANNE
+
+
+Morocco had been conquered; France, the mistress of Tangiers, had
+guaranteed the debt of the annexed country. It was rumored that two
+ministers, Laroche-Mathieu being one of them, had made twenty millions.
+
+As for Walter, in a few days he had become one of the masters of the
+world--a financier more omnipotent than a king. He was no longer the
+Jew, Walter, the director of a bank, the proprietor of a yellow
+newspaper; he was M. Walter the wealthy Israelite, and he wished to
+prove it.
+
+Knowing the straitened circumstances of the Prince de Carlsbourg who
+owned one of the fairest mansions on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, he
+proposed to buy it. He offered three million francs for it. The prince,
+tempted by the sum, accepted his offer; the next day, Walter took
+possession of his new dwelling. Then another idea occurred to him--an
+idea of conquering all Paris--an idea a la Bonaparte.
+
+At that time everyone was raving over a painting by the Hungarian, Karl
+Marcovitch, exhibited by Jacques Lenoble and representing "Christ
+Walking on the Water." Art critics enthusiastically declared it to be
+the most magnificent painting of the age. Walter bought it, thereby
+causing entire Paris to talk of him, to envy him, to censure or approve
+his action. He issued an announcement in the papers that everyone was
+invited to come on a certain evening to see it.
+
+Du Roy was jealous of M. Walter's success. He had thought himself
+wealthy with the five hundred thousand francs extorted from his wife,
+and now he felt poor as he compared his paltry fortune with the shower
+of millions around him. His envious rage increased daily. He cherished
+ill will toward everyone--toward the Walters, even toward his wife, and
+above all toward the man who had deceived him, made use of him, and who
+dined twice a week at his house. Georges acted as his secretary, agent,
+mouthpiece, and when he wrote at his dictation, he felt a mad desire to
+strangle him. Laroche reigned supreme in the Du Roy household, having
+taken the place of Count de Vaudrec; he spoke to the servants as if he
+were their master. Georges submitted to it all, like a dog which wishes
+to bite and dares not. But he was often harsh and brutal to Madeleine,
+who merely shrugged her shoulders and treated him as one would a
+fretful child. She was surprised, too, at his constant ill humor, and
+said: "I do not understand you. You are always complaining. Your
+position is excellent."
+
+His only reply was to turn his back upon her. He declared that he would
+not attend M. Walter's fete--that he would not cross the miserable
+Jew's threshold. For two months Mme. Walter had written to him daily,
+beseeching him to come to see her, to appoint a meeting where he would,
+in order that she might give him the seventy thousand francs she had
+made for him. He did not reply and threw her letters into the fire. Not
+that he would have refused to accept his share of the profits, but he
+enjoyed treating her scornfully, trampling her under foot; she was too
+wealthy; he would be inflexible.
+
+The day of the exhibition of the picture, as Madeleine chided him for
+not going, he replied: "Leave me in peace. I shall remain at home."
+
+After they had dined, he said suddenly, "I suppose I shall have to go
+through with it. Get ready quickly."
+
+"I shall be ready in fifteen minutes," she said.
+
+As they entered the courtyard of the Hotel de Carlsbourg it was one
+blaze of light. A magnificent carpet was spread upon the steps leading
+to the entrance, and upon each one stood a man in livery, as rigid as
+marble.
+
+Du Roy's heart was torn with jealousy. He and his wife ascended the
+steps and gave their wraps to the footmen who approached them.
+
+At the entrance to the drawing-room, two children, one in pink, the
+other in blue, handed bouquets to the ladies.
+
+The rooms were already well filled. The majority of the ladies were in
+street costumes, a proof that they came thither as they would go to any
+exhibition. The few who intended to remain to the ball which was to
+follow wore evening dress.
+
+Mme. Walter, surrounded by friends, stood in the second salon and
+received the visitors. Many did not know her, and walked through the
+rooms as if in a museum--without paying any heed to the host and
+hostess.
+
+When Virginie perceived Du Roy, she grew livid and made a movement
+toward him; then she paused and waited for him to advance. He bowed
+ceremoniously, while Madeleine greeted her effusively. Georges left his
+wife near Mme. Walter and mingled with the guests. Five drawing-rooms
+opened one into the other; they were carpeted with rich, oriental rugs,
+and upon their walls hung paintings by the old masters. As he made his
+way through the throng, some one seized his arm, and a fresh, youthful
+voice whispered in his ear: "Ah, here you are at last, naughty Bel-Ami!
+Why do we never see you any more?"
+
+It was Suzanne Walter, with her azure eyes and wealth of golden hair.
+He was delighted to see her, and apologized as they shook hands.
+
+"I have been so busy for two months that I have been nowhere."
+
+She replied gravely: "That is too bad. You have grieved us deeply, for
+mamma and I adore you. As for myself, I cannot do without you. If you
+are not here, I am bored to death. You see I tell you so frankly, that
+you will not remain away like that any more. Give me your arm; I will
+show you 'Christ Walking on the Water' myself; it is at the very end,
+behind the conservatory. Papa put it back there so that everyone would
+be obliged to go through the rooms. It is astonishing how proud papa is
+of this house."
+
+As they walked through the rooms, all turned to look at that handsome
+man and that bewitching girl. A well-known painter said: "There is a
+fine couple." Georges thought: "If my position had been made, I would
+have married her. Why did I never think of it? How could I have taken
+the other one? What folly! One always acts too hastily--one never
+reflects sufficiently." And longing, bitter longing possessed him,
+corrupting all his pleasure, rendering life odious.
+
+Suzanne said: "You must come often, Bel-Ami; we can do anything we like
+now papa is rich."
+
+He replied: "Oh, you will soon marry--some prince, perhaps, and we
+shall never meet any more."
+
+She cried frankly: "Oh, oh, I shall not! I shall choose some one I love
+very dearly. I am rich enough for two."
+
+He smiled ironically and said: "I give you six months. By that time you
+will be Madame la Marquise, Madame la Duchesse, or Madame la Princesse,
+and you will look down upon me, Mademoiselle."
+
+She pretended to be angry, patted his arm with her fan, and vowed that
+she would marry according to the dictates of her heart.
+
+He replied: "We shall see; you are too wealthy."
+
+"You, too, have inherited some money."
+
+"Barely twenty thousand livres a year. It is a mere pittance nowadays."
+
+"But your wife has the same."
+
+"Yes, we have a million together; forty thousand a year. We cannot even
+keep a carriage on that."
+
+They had, in the meantime, reached the last drawing-room, and before
+them lay the conservatory with its rare shrubs and plants. To their
+left, under a dome of palms, was a marble basin, on the edges of which
+four large swans of delftware emitted the water from their beaks.
+
+The journalist stopped and said to himself: "This is luxury; this is
+the kind of house in which to live. Why can I not have one?"
+
+His companion did not speak. He looked at her and thought once more:
+"If I only had taken her!"
+
+Suddenly Suzanne seemed to awaken from her reverie. "Come," said she,
+dragging Georges through a group which barred their way, and turning
+him to the right. Before him, surrounded by verdure on all sides, was
+the picture. One had to look closely at it in order to understand it.
+It was a grand work--the work of a master--one of those triumphs of art
+which furnishes one for years with food for thought.
+
+Du Roy gazed at it for some time, and then turned away, to make room
+for others. Suzanne's tiny hand still rested upon his arm. She asked:
+
+"Would you like a glass of champagne? We will go to the buffet; we
+shall find papa there."
+
+Slowly they traversed the crowded rooms. Suddenly Georges heard a voice
+say: "That is Laroche and Mme. du Roy."
+
+He turned and saw his wife passing upon the minister's arm. They were
+talking in low tones and smiling into each other's eyes. He fancied he
+saw some people whisper, as they gazed at them, and he felt a desire to
+fall upon those two beings and smite them to the earth. His wife was
+making a laughing-stock of him. Who was she? A shrewd little parvenue,
+that was all. He could never make his way with a wife who compromised
+him. She would be a stumbling-block in his path. Ah, if he had
+foreseen, if he had known. He would have played for higher stakes. What
+a brilliant match he might have made with little Suzanne! How could he
+have been so blind?
+
+They reached the dining-room with its marble columns and walls hung
+with old Gobelins tapestry. Walter spied his editor, and hastened to
+shake hands. He was beside himself with joy. "Have you seen everything?
+Say, Suzanne, have you shown him everything? What a lot of people, eh?
+Have you seen Prince de Guerche? he just drank a glass of punch." Then
+he pounced upon Senator Rissolin and his wife.
+
+A gentleman greeted Suzanne--a tall, slender man with fair whiskers and
+a worldly air. Georges heard her call him Marquis de Cazolles, and he
+was suddenly inspired with jealousy. How long had she known him? Since
+she had become wealthy no doubt. He saw in him a possible suitor. Some
+one seized his arm. It was Norbert de Varenne. The old poet said: "This
+is what they call amusing themselves. After a while they will dance,
+then they will retire, and the young girls will be satisfied. Take some
+champagne; it is excellent."
+
+Georges scarcely heard his words. He was looking for Suzanne, who had
+gone off with the Marquis de Cazolles; he left Norbert de Varenne
+abruptly and went in pursuit of the young girl. The thirsty crowd
+stopped him; when he had made his way through it, he found himself face
+to face with M. and Mme. de Marelle. He had often met the wife, but he
+had not met the husband for some time; the latter grasped both of his
+hands and thanked him for the message he had sent him by Clotilde
+relative to the stocks.
+
+Du Roy replied: "In exchange for that service I shall take your wife,
+or rather offer her my arm. Husband and wife should always be
+separated."
+
+M. de Marelle bowed. "Very well. If I lose you we can meet here again
+in an hour."
+
+The two young people disappeared in the crowd, followed by the husband.
+Mme. de Marelle said: "There are two girls who will have twenty or
+thirty millions each, and Suzanne is pretty in the bargain."
+
+He made no reply; his own thought coming from the lips of another
+irritated him. He took Clotilde to see the painting. As they crossed
+the conservatory he saw his wife seated near Laroche-Mathieu, both of
+them almost hidden behind a group of plants. They seemed to say: "We
+are having a meeting in public, for we do not care for the world's
+opinion."
+
+Mme. de Marelle admired Karl Marcovitch's painting, and they turned to
+repair to the other rooms. They were separated from M. de Marelle. He
+asked: "Is Laurine still vexed with me?"
+
+"Yes. She refuses to see you and goes away when you are mentioned."
+
+He did not reply. The child's sudden enmity grieved and annoyed him.
+
+Suzanne met them at a door and cried: "Oh, here you are! Now, Bel-Ami,
+you are going to be left alone, for I shall take Clotilde to see my
+room." And the two women glided through the throng. At that moment a
+voice at his side murmured: "Georges!"
+
+It was Mme. Walter. She continued in a low voice: "How cruel you are!
+How needlessly you inflict suffering upon me. I bade Suzanne take that
+woman away that I might have a word with you. Listen: I must speak to
+you this evening--or--or--you do not know what I shall do. Go into the
+conservatory. You will find a door to the left through which you can
+reach the garden. Follow the walk directly in front of you. At the end
+of it you will see an arbor. Expect me in ten minutes. If you do not
+meet me, I swear I will cause a scandal here at once!"
+
+He replied haughtily: "Very well, I shall be at the place you named in
+ten minutes."
+
+But Jacques Rival detained him. When he reached the alley, he saw Mme.
+Walter in front of him; she cried: "Ah, here you are! Do you wish to
+kill me?"
+
+He replied calmly: "I beseech you, none of that, or I shall leave you
+at once."
+
+Throwing her arms around his neck, she exclaimed: "What have I done to
+you that you should treat me so?"
+
+He tried to push her away: "You twisted your hair around my coat
+buttons the last time we met, and it caused trouble between my wife and
+myself."
+
+She shook her head: "Ah, your wife would not care. It was one of your
+mistresses who made a scene."
+
+"I have none."
+
+"Indeed! Why do you never come to see me? Why do you refuse to dine
+with me even once a week? I have no other thoughts than of you. I
+suffer terribly. You cannot understand that your image, always present,
+closes my throat, stifles me, and leaves me scarcely strength enough to
+move my limbs in order to walk. So I remain all day in my chair
+thinking of you."
+
+He looked at her in astonishment. These were the words of a desperate
+woman, capable of anything. He, however, cherished a vague project and
+replied: "My dear, love is not eternal. One loves and one ceases to
+love. When it lasts it becomes a drawback. I want none of it! However,
+if you will be reasonable, and will receive and treat me as a friend, I
+will come to see you as formerly. Can you do that?"
+
+She murmured: "I can do anything in order to see you."
+
+"Then it is agreed that we are to be friends, nothing more."
+
+She gasped: "It is agreed"; offering him her lips she cried in her
+despair: "One more kiss--one last kiss!"
+
+He gently drew back. "No, we must adhere to our rules."
+
+She turned her head and wiped away two tears, then drawing from her
+bosom a package of notes tied with pink ribbon, she held it toward Du
+Roy: "Here is your share of the profits in that Moroccan affair. I was
+so glad to make it for you. Here, take it."
+
+He refused: "No, I cannot accept that money."
+
+She became excited: "Oh, you will not refuse it now! It is yours, yours
+alone. If you do not take it, I will throw it in the sewer. You will
+not refuse it, Georges!"
+
+He took the package and slipped it into his pocket "We must return to
+the house; you will take cold."
+
+"So much the better; if I could but die!"
+
+She seized his hand, kissed it passionately, and fled toward the house.
+He returned more leisurely, and entered the conservatory with head
+erect and smiling lips. His wife and Laroche were no longer there. The
+crowd had grown thinner. Suzanne, leaning on her sister's arm, advanced
+toward him. In a few moments, Rose, whom they teased about a certain
+Count, turned upon her heel and left them.
+
+Du Roy, finding himself alone with Suzanne, said in a caressing voice:
+"Listen, my dear little one; do you really consider me a friend?"
+
+"Why, yes, Bel-Ami."
+
+"You have faith in me?"
+
+"Perfect faith."
+
+"Do you remember what I said to you a while since?"
+
+"About what?"
+
+"About your marriage, or rather the man you would marry."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, will you promise me one thing?"
+
+"Yes; what is it?"
+
+"To consult me when you receive a proposal and to accept no one without
+asking my advice."
+
+"Yes, I will gladly."
+
+"And it is to be a secret between us--not a word to your father or
+mother."
+
+"Not a word."
+
+Rival approached them saying: "Mademoiselle, your father wants you in
+the ballroom."
+
+She said: "Come, Bel-Ami," but he refused, for he had decided to leave
+at once, wishing to be alone with his thoughts. He went in search of
+his wife, and found her drinking chocolate at the buffet with two
+strange men. She introduced her husband without naming them.
+
+In a short while, he asked: "Shall we go?"
+
+"Whenever you like."
+
+She took his arm and they passed through the almost deserted rooms.
+
+Madeleine asked: "Where is Mme. Walter; I should like to bid her
+good-bye."
+
+"It is unnecessary. She would try to keep us in the ballroom, and I
+have had enough."
+
+"You are right."
+
+On the way home they did not speak. But when they had entered their
+room, Madeleine, without even taking off her veil, said to him with a
+smile: "I have a surprise for you."
+
+He growled ill-naturedly: "What is it?"
+
+"Guess."
+
+"I cannot make the effort."
+
+"The day after to-morrow is the first of January."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"It is the season for New Year's gifts."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Here is yours, which Laroche handed me just now." She gave him a small
+black box which resembled a jewel-casket.
+
+He opened it indifferently and saw the cross of the Legion of Honor. He
+turned a trifle pale, then smiled, and said: "I should have preferred
+ten millions. That did not cost him much."
+
+She had expected a transport of delight and was irritated by his
+indifference.
+
+"You are incomprehensible. Nothing seems to satisfy you."
+
+He replied calmly: "That man is only paying his debts; he owes me a
+great deal more."
+
+She was astonished at his tone, and said: "It is very nice, however, at
+your age."
+
+He replied: "I should have much more."
+
+He took the casket, placed it on the mantelpiece, and looked for some
+minutes at the brilliant star within it, then he closed it with a shrug
+of his shoulders and began to prepare to retire.
+
+"L'Officiel" of January 1 announced that M. Prosper Georges du Roy had
+been decorated with the Legion of Honor for exceptional services. The
+name was written in two words, and that afforded Georges more pleasure
+than the decoration itself.
+
+An hour after having read that notice, he received a note from Mme.
+Walter, inviting him to come and bring his wife to dine with them that
+evening, to celebrate his distinction.
+
+At first he hesitated, then throwing the letter in the fire, he said to
+Madeleine: "We shall dine at the Walters' this evening."
+
+In her surprise she exclaimed: "Why, I thought you would never set your
+foot in their house again."
+
+His sole reply was: "I have changed my mind."
+
+When they arrived at Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, they found Mme.
+Walter alone in the dainty boudoir in which she received her intimate
+friends. She was dressed in black and her hair was powdered. At a
+distance she appeared like an old lady, in proximity, like a youthful
+one.
+
+"Are you in mourning?" asked, Madeleine.
+
+She replied sadly: "Yes and no. I have lost none of my relatives, but I
+have arrived at an age when one should wear somber colors. I wear it
+to-day to inaugurate it; hitherto I have worn it in my heart."
+
+The dinner was somewhat tedious. Suzanne alone talked incessantly. Rose
+seemed preoccupied. The journalist was overwhelmed with
+congratulations, after the meal, when all repaired to the
+drawing-rooms. Mme. Walter detained him as they were about to enter the
+salon, saying: "I will never speak of anything to you again, only come
+to see me, Georges. It is impossible for me to live without you. I see
+you, I feel you, in my heart all day and all night. It is as if I had
+drunk a poison which preyed upon me. I cannot bear it. I would rather
+be as an old woman to you. I powdered my hair for that reason to-night;
+but come here--come from time to time as a friend."
+
+He replied calmly: "Very well. It is unnecessary to speak of it again.
+You see I came to-day on receipt of your letter."
+
+Walter, who had preceded them, with his two daughters and Madeleine,
+awaited Du Roy near the picture of "Christ Walking on the Water."
+
+"Only think," said he, "I found my wife yesterday kneeling before that
+painting as if in a chapel. She was praying!"
+
+Mme. Walter replied in a firm voice, in a voice in which vibrated a
+secret exaltation: "That Christ will save my soul. He gives me fresh
+courage and strength every time that I look at Him." And pausing before
+the picture, she murmured: "How beautiful He is! How frightened those
+men are, and how they love Him! Look at His head, His eyes, how simple
+and supernatural He is at the same time!"
+
+Suzanne cried: "Why, He looks like you, Bel-Ami! I am sure He looks
+like you. The resemblance is striking."
+
+She made him stand beside the painting and everyone recognized the
+likeness. Du Roy was embarrassed. Walter thought it very singular;
+Madeleine, with a smile, remarked that Jesus looked more manly. Mme.
+Walter stood by motionless, staring fixedly at her lover's face, her
+cheeks as white as her hair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+DIVORCE
+
+
+During the remainder of the winter, the Du Roys often visited the
+Walters. Georges, too, frequently dined there alone, Madeleine pleading
+fatigue and preferring to remain at home. He had chosen Friday as his
+day, and Mme. Walter never invited anyone else on that evening; it
+belonged to Bel-Ami. Often in a dark corner or behind a tree in the
+conservatory, Mme. Walter embraced the young man and whispered in his
+ear: "I love you, I love you! I love you desperately!"
+
+But he always repulsed her coldly, saying: "If you persist in that, I
+will not come again."
+
+Toward the end of March people talked of the marriage of the two
+sisters: Rose was to marry, Dame Rumor said, Count de Latour-Ivelin and
+Suzanne, the Marquis de Cazolles. The subject of Suzanne's possible
+marriage had not been broached again between her and Georges until one
+morning, the latter having been brought home by M. Walter to lunch, he
+whispered to Suzanne: "Come, let us give the fish some bread."
+
+They proceeded to the conservatory in which was the marble basin
+containing the fish. As Georges and Suzanne leaned over its edge, they
+saw their reflections in the water and smiled at them. Suddenly, he
+said in a low voice: "It is not right of you to keep secrets from me,
+Suzanne."
+
+She asked:
+
+"What secrets, Bel-Ami?"
+
+"Do you remember what you promised me here the night of the fete?"
+
+"No."
+
+"To consult me every time you received a proposal."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Well, you have received one!"
+
+"From whom?"
+
+"You know very well."
+
+"No, I swear I do not."
+
+"Yes, you do. It is from that fop of a Marquis de Cazolles."
+
+"He is not a fop."
+
+"That may be, but he is stupid. He is no match for you who are so
+pretty, so fresh, so bright!"
+
+She asked with a smile: "What have you against him?"
+
+"I? Nothing!"
+
+"Yes, you have. He is not all that you say he is."
+
+"He is a fool, and an intriguer."
+
+She glanced at him: "What ails you?"
+
+He spoke as if tearing a secret from the depths of his heart: "I am--I
+am jealous of him."
+
+She was astonished.
+
+"You?"
+
+"Yes, I."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because I love you and you know it"
+
+Then she said severely: "You are mad, Bel-Ami!"
+
+He replied: "I know that I am! Should I confess it--I, a married man,
+to you, a young girl? I am worse than mad--I am culpable, wretched--I
+have no possible hope, and that thought almost destroys my reason. When
+I hear that you are going to be married, I feel murder in my heart. You
+must forgive me, Suzanne."
+
+He paused. The young girl murmured half sadly, half gaily: "It is a
+pity that you are married; but what can you do? It cannot be helped."
+
+He turned toward her abruptly and said: "If I were free would you marry
+me?"
+
+She replied: "Yes, Bel-Ami, I would marry you because I love you better
+than any of the others."
+
+He rose and stammering: "Thanks--thanks--do not, I implore you, say yes
+to anyone. Wait a while. Promise me."
+
+Somewhat confused, and without comprehending what he asked, she
+whispered: "I promise."
+
+Du Roy threw a large piece of bread into the water and fled, without
+saying adieu, as if he were beside himself. Suzanne, in surprise,
+returned to the salon.
+
+When Du Roy arrived home, he asked Madeleine, who was writing letters:
+"Shall you dine at the Walters' Friday? I am going."
+
+She hesitated: "No, I am not well. I prefer to remain here."
+
+"As you like. No one will force you." Then he took up his hat and went
+out.
+
+For some time he had watched and followed her, knowing all her actions.
+The time he had awaited had come at length.
+
+On Friday he dressed early, in order, as he said, to make several calls
+before going to M. Walter's. At about six o'clock, after having kissed
+his wife, he went in search of a cab. He said to the cabman: "You can
+stop at No. 17 Rue Fontaine, and remain there until I order you to go
+on. Then you can take me to the restaurant Du Coq-Faisan, Rue
+Lafayette."
+
+The cab rolled slowly on; Du Roy lowered the shades. When in front of
+his house, he kept watch of it. After waiting ten minutes, he saw
+Madeleine come out and go toward the boulevards. When she was out of
+earshot, he put his head out of the window and cried: "Go on!"
+
+The cab proceeded on its way and stopped at the Coq-Faisan. Georges
+entered the dining-room and ate slowly, looking at his watch from time
+to time. At seven-thirty he left and drove to Rue La Rochefoucauld. He
+mounted to the third story of a house in that street, and asked the
+maid who opened the door: "Is M. Guibert de Lorme at home?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+He was shown into the drawing-room, and after waiting some time, a tall
+man with a military bearing and gray hair entered. He was the police
+commissioner.
+
+Du Roy bowed, then said: "As I suspected, my wife is with her lover in
+furnished apartments they have rented on Rue des Martyrs."
+
+The magistrate bowed: "I am at your service, sir."
+
+"Very well, I have a cab below." And with three other officers they
+proceeded to the house in which Du Roy expected to surprise his wife.
+One officer remained at the door to watch the exit; on the second floor
+they halted; Du Roy rang the bell and they waited. In two or three
+minutes Georges rang again several times in succession. They heard a
+light step approach, and a woman's voice, evidently disguised, asked:
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+The police officer replied: "Open in the name of the law."
+
+The voice repeated: "Who are you?"
+
+"I am the police commissioner. Open, or I will force the door."
+
+The voice continued: "What do you want?"
+
+Du Roy interrupted: "It is I; it is useless to try to escape us."
+
+The footsteps receded and then returned. Georges said: "If you do not
+open, we will force the door."
+
+Receiving no reply he shook the door so violently that the old lock
+gave way, and the young man almost fell over Madeleine, who was
+standing in the antechamber in her petticoat, her hair loosened, her
+feet bare, and a candle in her hand.
+
+He exclaimed: "It is she. We have caught them," and he rushed into the
+room. The commissioner turned to Madeleine, who had followed them
+through the rooms, in one of which were the remnants of a supper, and
+looking into her eyes said:
+
+"You are Mme. Claire Madeleine du Roy, lawful wife of M. Prosper
+Georges du Roy, here present?"
+
+She replied: "Yes, sir."
+
+"What are you doing here?"
+
+She made no reply. The officer repeated his question; still she did not
+reply. He waited several moments and then said: "If you do not confess,
+Madame, I shall be forced to inquire into the matter."
+
+They could see a man's form concealed beneath the covers of the bed. Du
+Roy advanced softly and uncovered the livid face of M. Laroche-Mathieu.
+
+The officer again asked: "Who are you?"
+
+As the man did not reply, he continued: "I am the police commissioner
+and I call upon you to tell me your name. If you do not answer, I shall
+be forced to arrest you. In any case, rise. I will interrogate you when
+you are dressed."
+
+In the meantime Madeleine had regained her composure, and seeing that
+all was lost, she was determined to put a brave face upon the matter.
+Her eyes sparkled with the audacity of bravado, and taking a piece of
+paper she lighted the ten candles in the candelabra as if for a
+reception. That done, she leaned against the mantelpiece, took a
+cigarette out of a case, and began to smoke, seeming not to see her
+husband.
+
+In the meantime the man in the bed had dressed himself and advanced.
+The officer turned to him: "Now, sir, will you tell me who you are?"
+
+He made no reply.
+
+"I see I shall have to arrest you."
+
+Then the man cried: "Do not touch me. I am inviolable."
+
+Du Roy rushed toward him exclaiming: "I can have you arrested if I want
+to!" Then he added: "This man's name is Laroche-Mathieu, minister of
+foreign affairs."
+
+The officer retreated and stammered: "Sir, will you tell me who you
+are?"
+
+"For once that miserable fellow has not lied. I am indeed
+Laroche-Mathieu, minister," and pointing to Georges' breast, he added,
+"and that scoundrel wears upon his coat the cross of honor which I gave
+him."
+
+Du Roy turned pale. With a rapid gesture he tore the decoration from
+his buttonhole and throwing it in the fire exclaimed: "That is what a
+decoration is worth which is given by a scoundrel of your order."
+
+The commissioner stepped between them, as they stood face to face,
+saying: "Gentlemen, you forget yourselves and your dignity."
+
+Madeleine smoked on calmly, a smile hovering about her lips. The
+officer continued: "Sir, I have surprised you alone with Mme. du Roy
+under suspicious circumstances; what have you to say?"
+
+"Nothing; do your duty."
+
+The commissioner turned to Madeleine: "Do you confess, Madame, that
+this gentleman is your lover?"
+
+She replied boldly: "I do not deny it. That is sufficient."
+
+The magistrate made several notes; when he had finished writing, the
+minister, who stood ready, coat upon arm, hat in hand, asked: "Do you
+need me any longer, sir? Can I go?"
+
+Du Roy addressed him with an insolent smile: "Why should you go, we
+have finished; we will leave you alone together." Then, taking the
+officer's arm, he said: "Let us go, sir; we have nothing more to do in
+this place."
+
+An hour later Georges du Roy entered the office of "La Vie Francaise."
+M. Walter was there; he raised his head and asked: "What, are you here?
+Why are you not dining at my house? Where have you come from?"
+
+Georges replied with emphasis: "I have just found out something about
+the minister of foreign affairs."
+
+"What?"
+
+"I found him alone with my wife in hired apartments. The commissioner
+of police was my witness. The minister is ruined."
+
+"Are you not jesting?"
+
+"No, I am not. I shall even write an article on it."
+
+"What is your object?"
+
+"To overthrow that wretch, that public malefactor."
+
+Georges placed his hat upon a chair and added: "Woe to those whom I
+find in my path. I never pardon."
+
+The manager stammered: "But your wife?"
+
+"I shall apply for a divorce at once."
+
+"A divorce?"
+
+"Yes, I am master of the situation. I shall be free. I have a stated
+income. I shall offer myself as a candidate in October in my native
+district, where I am known. I could not win any respect were I to be
+hampered with a wife whose honor was sullied. She took me for a
+simpleton, but since I have known her game, I have watched her, and now
+I shall get on, for I shall be free."
+
+Georges rose.
+
+"I will write the item; it must be handled prudently."
+
+The old man hesitated, then said: "Do so: it serves those right who are
+caught in such scrapes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+THE FINAL PLOT
+
+
+Three months had elapsed. Georges du Roy's divorce had been obtained.
+His wife had resumed the name of Forestier.
+
+As the Walters were going to Trouville on the fifteenth of July, they
+decided to spend a day in the country before starting.
+
+The day chosen was Thursday, and they set out at nine o'clock in the
+morning in a large six-seated carriage drawn by four horses. They were
+going to lunch at Saint-Germain. Bel-Ami had requested that he might be
+the only young man in the party, for he could not bear the presence of
+the Marquis de Cazolles. At the last moment, however, it was decided
+that Count de Latour-Ivelin should go, for he and Rose had been
+betrothed a month. The day was delightful. Georges, who was very pale,
+gazed at Suzanne as they sat in the carriage and their eyes met.
+
+Mme. Walter was contented and happy. The luncheon was a long and merry
+one. Before leaving for Paris, Du Roy proposed a walk on the terrace.
+They stopped on the way to admire the view; as they passed on, Georges
+and Suzanne lingered behind. The former whispered softly: "Suzanne, I
+love you madly."
+
+She whispered in return: "I love you too, Bel-Ami."
+
+He continued: "If I cannot have you for my wife, I shall leave the
+country."
+
+She replied: "Ask papa. Perhaps he will consent."
+
+He answered impatiently: "No, I repeat that it is useless; the door of
+the house would be closed against me. I would lose my position on the
+journal, and we would not even meet. Those are the consequences a
+formal proposal would produce. They have promised you to the Marquis de
+Cazolles; they hope you will finally say 'yes' and they are waiting."
+
+"What can we do?"
+
+"Have you the courage to brave your father and mother for my sake?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Truly?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well! There is only one way. It must come from you and not from me.
+You are an indulged child; they let you say anything and are not
+surprised at any audacity on your part. Listen, then! This evening on
+returning home, go to your mother first, and tell her that you want to
+marry me. She will be very much agitated and very angry."
+
+Suzanne interrupted him: "Oh, mamma would be glad."
+
+He replied quickly: "No, no, you do not know her. She will be more
+vexed than your father. But you must insist, you must not yield; you
+must repeat that you will marry me and me alone. Will you do so?"
+
+"I will."
+
+"And on leaving your mother, repeat the same thing to your father very
+decidedly."
+
+"Well, and then--"
+
+"And then matters will reach a climax! If you are determined to be my
+wife, my dear, dear, little Suzanne, I will elope with you."
+
+She clapped her hands, as all the charming adventures in the romances
+she had read occurred to her, and cried:
+
+"Oh, what bliss! When will you elope with me?"
+
+He whispered very low: "To-night!"
+
+"Where shall we go?"
+
+"That is my secret. Think well of what you are doing. Remember that
+after that flight you must become my wife. It is the only means, but it
+is dangerous--very dangerous--for you."
+
+"I have decided. Where shall I meet you?"
+
+"Meet me about midnight in the Place de la Concorde."
+
+"I will be there."
+
+He clasped her hand. "Oh, how I love you! How brave and good you are!
+Then you do not want to marry Marquis de Cazolles?"
+
+"Oh, no!"
+
+Mme. Walter, turning her head, called out: "Come, little one; what are
+you and Bel-Ami doing?"
+
+They rejoined the others and returned by way of Chatou. When the
+carriage arrived at the door of the mansion, Mme. Walter pressed
+Georges to dine with them, but he refused, and returned home to look
+over his papers and destroy any compromising letters. Then he repaired
+in a cab with feverish haste to the place of meeting. He waited there
+some time, and thinking his ladylove had played him false, he was about
+to drive off, when a gentle voice whispered at the door of his cab:
+"Are you there, Bel-Ami?"
+
+"Is it you, Suzanne?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Ah, get in." She entered the cab and he bade the cabman drive on.
+
+He asked: "Well, how did it all pass off?"
+
+She murmured faintly:
+
+"Oh, it was terrible, with mamma especially."
+
+"Your mamma? What did she say? Tell me!"
+
+"Oh, it was frightful! I entered her room and made the little speech I
+had prepared. She turned pale and cried: 'Never!' I wept, I protested
+that I would marry only you; she was like a mad woman; she vowed I
+should be sent to a convent. I never saw her like that, never. Papa,
+hearing her agitated words, entered. He was not as angry as she was,
+but he said you were not a suitable match for me. As they had vexed me,
+I talked louder than they, and papa with a dramatic air bade me leave
+the room. That decided me to fly with you. And here I am; where shall
+we go?"
+
+He replied, encircling her waist with his arm: "It is too late to take
+the train; this cab will take us to Sevres where we can spend the
+night, and to-morrow we will leave for La Roche-Guyon. It is a pretty
+village on the banks of the Seine between Mantes and Bonnieres."
+
+The cab rolled on. Georges took the young girl's hand and kissed it
+respectfully. He did not know what to say to her, being unaccustomed to
+Platonic affection. Suddenly he perceived that she was weeping. He
+asked in affright:
+
+"What ails you, my dear little one?"
+
+She replied tearfully: "I was thinking that poor mamma could not sleep
+if she had found out that I was gone!"
+
+      *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Her mother indeed was not asleep.
+
+When Suzanne left the room, Mine. Walter turned to her husband and
+asked in despair: "What does that mean?"
+
+"It means that that intriguer has influenced her. It is he who has made
+her refuse Cazolles. You have flattered and cajoled him, too. It was
+Bel-Ami here, Bel-Ami there, from morning until night. Now you are paid
+for it!"
+
+"I?"
+
+"Yes, you. You are as much infatuated with him as Madeleine, Suzanne,
+and the rest of them. Do you think that I did not see that you could
+not exist for two days without him?"
+
+She rose tragically: "I will not allow you to speak to me thus. You
+forget that I was not brought up like you, in a shop."
+
+With an oath, he left the room, banging the door behind him.
+
+When he was gone, she thought over all that had taken place. Suzanne
+was in love with Bel-Ami, and Bel-Ami wanted to marry Suzanne! No, it
+was not true! She was mistaken; he would not be capable of such an
+action; he knew nothing of Suzanne's escapade. They would take Suzanne
+away for six months and that would end it.
+
+She rose, saying: "I cannot rest in this uncertainty. I shall lose my
+reason. I will arouse Suzanne and question her."
+
+She proceeded to her daughter's room. She entered; it was empty; the
+bed had not been slept in. A horrible suspicion possessed her and she
+flew to her husband. He was in bed, reading.
+
+She gasped: "Have you seen Suzanne?"
+
+"No--why?"
+
+"She is--gone! she is not in her room."
+
+With one bound he was out of bed; he rushed to his daughter's room; not
+finding her there, he sank into a chair. His wife had followed him.
+
+"Well?" she asked.
+
+He had not the strength to reply: he was no longer angry; he groaned:
+"He has her--we are lost."
+
+"Lost, how?"
+
+"Why, he must marry her now!"
+
+She cried wildly: "Marry her, never! Are you mad?"
+
+He replied sadly: "It will do no good to yell! He has disgraced her.
+The best thing to be done is to give her to him, and at once, too; then
+no one will know of this escapade."
+
+She repeated in great agitation: "Never; he shall never have Suzanne."
+
+Overcome, Walter murmured: "But he has her. And he will keep her as
+long as we do not yield; therefore, to avoid a scandal we must do so at
+once."
+
+But his wife replied: "No, no, I will never consent."
+
+Impatiently he returned: "It is a matter of necessity. Ah, the
+scoundrel--how he has deceived us! But he is shrewd at any rate. She
+might have done better as far as position, but not intelligence and
+future, is concerned. He is a promising young man. He will be a deputy
+or a minister some day."
+
+Mme. Walter, however, repeated wildly: "I will never let him marry
+Suzanne! Do you hear--never!"
+
+In his turn he became incensed, and like a practical man defended
+Bel-Ami. "Be silent! I tell you he must marry her! And who knows?
+Perhaps we shall not regret it! With men of his stamp one never knows
+what may come about. You saw how he downed Laroche-Mathieu in three
+articles, and that with a dignity which was very difficult to maintain
+in his position as husband. So, we shall see."
+
+Mme. Walter felt a desire to cry aloud and tear her hair. But she only
+repeated angrily: "He shall not have her!"
+
+Walter rose, took up his lamp, and said: "You are silly, like all
+women! You only act on impulse. You do not know how to accommodate
+yourself to circumstances. You are stupid! I tell you he shall marry
+her; it is essential." And he left the room.
+
+Mme. Walter remained alone with her suffering, her despair. If only a
+priest were at hand! She would cast herself at his feet and confess all
+her errors and her agony--he would prevent the marriage! Where could
+she find a priest? Where should she turn? Before her eyes floated, like
+a vision, the calm face of "Christ Walking on the Water," as she had
+seen it in the painting. He seemed to say to her: "Come unto Me. Kneel
+at My feet. I will comfort and instruct you as to what to do."
+
+She took the lamp and sought the conservatory; she opened the door
+leading into the room which held the enormous canvas, and fell upon her
+knees before it. At first she prayed fervently, but as she raised her
+eyes and saw the resemblance to Bel-Ami, she murmured: "Jesus--Jesus--"
+while her thoughts were with her daughter and her lover. She uttered a
+wild cry, as she pictured them together--alone--and fell into a swoon.
+When day broke they found Mme. Walter still lying unconscious before
+the painting. She was so ill, after that, that her life was almost
+despaired of.
+
+M. Walter explained his daughter's absence to the servants by saying to
+them that she had been sent to a convent for a short time. Then he
+replied to a long letter from Du Roy, giving his consent to his
+marriage with his daughter. Bel-Ami had posted that epistle when he
+left Paris, having prepared it the night of his departure. In it he
+said in respectful terms that he had loved the young girl a long time;
+that there had never been any understanding between them, but that as
+she came to him to say: "I will be your wife," he felt authorized in
+keeping her, in hiding her, in fact, until he had obtained a reply from
+her parents, whose wishes were to him of more value than those of his
+betrothed.
+
+Georges and Suzanne spent a week at La Roche-Guyon. Never had the young
+girl enjoyed herself so thoroughly. As she passed for his sister, they
+lived in a chaste and free intimacy, a kind of living companionship. He
+thought it wiser to treat her with respect, and when he said to her:
+"We will return to Paris to-morrow; your father has bestowed your hand
+upon me" she whispered naively: "Already? This is just as pleasant as
+being your wife."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+ATTAINMENT
+
+
+It was dark in the apartments in the Rue de Constantinople, when
+Georges du Roy and Clotilde de Marelle, having met at the door, entered
+them. Without giving him time to raise the shades, the latter said:
+
+"So you are going to marry Suzanne Walter?"
+
+He replied in the affirmative, adding gently: "Did you not know it?"
+
+She answered angrily: "So you are going to marry Suzanne Walter? For
+three months you have deceived me. Everyone knew of it but me. My
+husband told me. Since you left your wife you have been preparing for
+that stroke, and you made use of me in the interim. What a rascal you
+are!"
+
+He asked: "How do you make that out? I had a wife who deceived me; I
+surprised her, obtained a divorce, and am now going to marry another.
+What is more simple than that?"
+
+She murmured: "What a villain!"
+
+He said with dignity: "I beg of you to be more careful as to what you
+say."
+
+She rebelled at such words from him: "What! Would you like me to handle
+you with gloves? You have conducted yourself like a rascal ever since I
+have known you, and now you do not want me to speak of it. You deceive
+everyone; you gather pleasure and money everywhere, and you want me to
+treat you as an honest man."
+
+He rose; his lips twitched: "Be silent or I will make you leave these
+rooms."
+
+She cried: "Leave here--you will make me--you? You forget that it is I
+who have paid for these apartments from the very first, and you
+threaten to put me out of them. Be silent, good-for-nothing! Do you
+think I do not know how you stole a portion of Vaudrec's bequest from
+Madeleine? Do you think I do not know about Suzanne?"
+
+He seized her by her shoulders and shook her. "Do not speak of that; I
+forbid you."
+
+"I know you have ruined her!"
+
+He would have taken anything else, but that lie exasperated him. He
+repeated: "Be silent--take care"--and he shook her as he would have
+shaken the bough of a tree. Still she continued; "You were her ruin, I
+know it." He rushed upon her and struck her as if she had been a man.
+Suddenly she ceased speaking, and groaned beneath his blows. Finally he
+desisted, paced the room several times in order to regain his
+self-possession, entered the bedroom, filled the basin with cold water
+and bathed his head. Then he washed his hands and returned to see what
+Clotilde was doing. She had not moved. She lay upon the floor weeping
+softly. He asked harshly:
+
+"Will you soon have done crying?"
+
+She did not reply. He stood in the center of the room, somewhat
+embarrassed, somewhat ashamed, as he saw the form lying before him.
+Suddenly he seized his hat. "Good evening. You can leave the key with
+the janitor when you are ready. I will not await your pleasure."
+
+He left the room, closed the door, sought the porter, and said to him:
+"Madame is resting. She will go out soon. You can tell the proprietor
+that I have given notice for the first of October."
+
+His marriage was fixed for the twentieth; it was to take place at the
+Madeleine. There had been a great deal of gossip about the entire
+affair, and many different reports were circulated. Mme. Walter had
+aged greatly; her hair was gray and she sought solace in religion.
+
+In the early part of September "La Vie Francaise" announced that Baron
+du Roy de Cantel had become its chief editor, M. Walter reserving the
+title of manager. To that announcement were subjoined the names of the
+staff of art and theatrical critics, political reporters, and so forth.
+Journalists no longer sneered in speaking of "La Vie Francaise;" its
+success had been rapid and complete. The marriage of its chief editor
+was what was called a "Parisian event," Georges du Roy and the Walters
+having occasioned much comment for some time.
+
+The ceremony took place on a clear, autumn day. At ten o'clock the
+curious began to assemble; at eleven o'clock, detachments of officers
+came to disperse the crowd. Soon after, the first guests arrived; they
+were followed by others, women in rich costumes, men, grave and
+dignified. The church slowly began to fill. Norbert de Varenne espied
+Jacques Rival, and joined him.
+
+"Well," said he, "sharpers always succeed."
+
+His companion, who was not envious, replied: "So much the better for
+him. His fortune is made."
+
+Rival asked: "Do you know what has become of his wife?"
+
+The poet smiled. "Yes and no--she lives a very retired life, I have
+been told, in the Montmartre quarter. But--there is a but--for some
+time I have read political articles in 'La Plume,' which resemble those
+of Forestier and Du Roy. They are supposed to be written by a Jean Le
+Dol, a young, intelligent, handsome man--something like our friend
+Georges--who has become acquainted with Mme. Forestier. From that I
+have concluded that she likes beginners and that they like her. She is,
+moreover, rich; Vaudrec and Laroche-Mathieu were not attentive to her
+for nothing."
+
+Rival asked: "Tell me, is it true that Mme. Walter and Du Roy do not
+speak?"
+
+"Yes. She did not wish to give him her daughter's hand. But he
+threatened the old man with shocking revelations. Walter remembered
+Laroche-Mathieu's fate and yielded at once; but his wife, obstinate
+like all women, vowed that she would never address a word to her
+son-in-law. It is comical to see them together! She looks like the
+statue of vengeance, and he is very uncomfortable, although he tries to
+appear at his ease."
+
+Suddenly the beadle struck the floor three times with his staff. All
+the people turned to see what was coming, and the young bride appeared
+in the doorway leaning upon her father's arm. She looked like a
+beautiful doll, crowned with a wreath of orange blossoms. She advanced
+with bowed head. The ladies smiled and murmured as she passed them. The
+men whispered:
+
+"Exquisite, adorable!"
+
+M. Walter walked by her side with exaggerated dignity. Behind them came
+four maids of honor dressed in pink and forming a charming court for so
+dainty a queen.
+
+Mme. Walter followed on the arm of Count de Latour-Ivelin's aged
+father. She did not walk; she dragged herself along, ready to faint at
+every step. She had aged and grown thinner.
+
+Next came Georges du Roy with an old lady, a stranger. He held his head
+proudly erect and wore upon his coat, like a drop of blood, the red
+ribbon of the Legion of Honor.
+
+He was followed by the relatives: Rose, who had been married six weeks,
+with a senator; Count de Latour-Ivelin with Viscountess de Percemur.
+Following them was a motley procession of associates and friends of Du
+Roy, country cousins of Mme. Walter's, and guests invited by her
+husband.
+
+The tones of the organ filled the church; the large doors at the
+entrance were closed, and Georges kneeled beside his bride in the
+choir. The new bishop of Tangiers, cross in hand, miter on head,
+entered from the sacristy, to unite them in the name of the Almighty.
+He asked the usual questions, rings were exchanged, words pronounced
+which bound them forever, and then he delivered an address to the newly
+married couple.
+
+The sound of stifled sobs caused several to turn their heads. Mme.
+Walter was weeping, her face buried in her hands. She had been obliged
+to yield; but since the day on which she had told Du Roy: "You are the
+vilest man I know; never speak to me again, for I will not answer you,"
+she had suffered intolerable anguish. She hated Suzanne bitterly; her
+hatred was caused by unnatural jealousy. The bishop was marrying a
+daughter to her mother's lover, before her and two thousand persons,
+and she could say nothing; she could not stop him. She could not cry:
+"He is mine, that man is my lover. That union you are blessing is
+infamous."
+
+Several ladies, touched by her apparent grief, murmured: "How affected
+that poor mother is!"
+
+The bishop said: "You are among the favored ones of the earth. You,
+sir, who are raised above others by your talent--you who write,
+instruct, counsel, guide the people, have a grand mission to fulfill--a
+fine example to set."
+
+Du Roy listened to him proudly. A prelate of the Roman Church spoke
+thus to him. A number of illustrious people had come thither on his
+account. It seemed to him that an invisible power was impelling him on.
+He would become one of the masters of the country--he, the son of the
+poor peasants of Canteleu. He had given his parents five thousand
+francs of Count de Vaudrec's fortune and he intended sending them fifty
+thousand more; then they could buy a small estate and live happily.
+
+The bishop had finished his harangue, a priest ascended the altar, and
+the organ pealed forth. Suddenly the vibrating tones melted into
+delicate, melodious ones, like the songs of birds; then again they
+swelled into deep, full tones and human voices chanted over their bowed
+heads. Vauri and Landeck of the Opera were singing.
+
+Bel-Ami, kneeling beside Suzanne, bowed his head. At that moment he
+felt almost pious, for he was filled with gratitude for the blessings
+showered upon him. Without knowing just whom he was addressing, he
+offered up thanks for his success. When the ceremony was over, he rose,
+and, giving his arm to his wife, they passed into the sacristy. A
+stream of people entered. Georges fancied himself a king whom the
+people were coming to greet. He shook hands, uttered words which
+signified nothing, and replied to congratulations with the words: "You
+are very kind."
+
+Suddenly he saw Mme. de Marelle, and the recollection of all the kisses
+he had given her and which she had returned, of all their caresses, of
+the sound of her voice, possessed him with the mad desire to regain
+her. She was so pretty, with her bright eyes and roguish air! She
+advanced somewhat timidly and offered him her hand. He took, retained,
+and pressed it as if to say: "I shall love you always, I am yours."
+
+Their eyes met, smiling, bright, full of love. She murmured in her soft
+tones: "Until we meet again, sir!" and he gaily repeated her words.
+
+Others approached, and she passed on. Finally the throng dispersed.
+Georges placed Suzanne's hand upon his arm to pass through the church
+with her. It was filled with people, for all had resumed their seats in
+order to see them leave the sacred edifice together. He walked along
+slowly, with a firm step, his head erect. He saw no one. He only
+thought of himself.
+
+When they reached the threshold he saw a crowd gathered outside, come
+to gaze at him, Georges du Roy. The people of Paris envied him. Raising
+his eyes, he saw beyond the Place de la Concorde, the chamber of
+deputies, and it seemed to him that it was only a stone's throw from
+the portico of the Madeleine to that of the Palais Bourbon.
+
+Leisurely they descended the steps between two rows of spectators, but
+Georges did not see them; his thoughts had returned to the past, and
+before his eyes, dazzled by the bright sunlight, floated the image of
+Mme. de Marelle, rearranging the curly locks upon her temples before
+the mirror in their apartments.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bel Ami, by Henri Rene Guy de Maupassant
+
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