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diff --git a/42839-0.txt b/42839-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8282f55 --- /dev/null +++ b/42839-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11975 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42839 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 42839-h.htm or 42839-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42839/42839-h/42839-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42839/42839-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + https://archive.org/details/populartales00guiz + + +Transcriber's note: + + Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + + + + + +POPULAR TALES. + +Reed and Pardon, Printers, Paternoster-Row, London. + + +[Illustration: Scaramouche, p. 27.] + + +POPULAR TALES. + +by + +MADAME GUIZOT. + +Translated from the French by Mrs. L. Burke. + + + + + + + +London: +George Routledge & Co., +Farringdon Street. +1854. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The favourable reception accorded to our first introduction of Madame +Guizot's Tales to the English Public, leads us to hope that our +youthful readers will welcome with pleasure another volume from the pen +of that talented writer. + +This new series will be found in no respect inferior to the former; +one of its tales, certainly, has even a deeper interest than anything +contained in that volume, while the same sound morality, elevation +of sentiment and general refinement of thought, which so strongly +recommend the "Moral Tales" to the sympathies of the Parent and +Teacher, will be found equally to pervade the present series. + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS. + + + PAGE + + SCARAMOUCHE 1 + + CECILIA AND NANETTE 37 + + THREE CHAPTERS FROM THE LIFE OF NADIR 98 + + THE MOTHER AND DAUGHTER 116 + + THE DIFFICULT DUTY--MORAL DOUBTS 139 + + NEW YEAR'S NIGHT 169 + + THE CURÉ OF CHAVIGNAT 171 + + THE DOUBLE VOW 231 + + POOR JOSÉ 237 + + CAROLINE; OR, THE EFFECTS OF A MISFORTUNE 307 + + + + +SCARAMOUCHE. + + +It was a village fair, and Punch with his usual retinue--Judy, the +Beadle, and the Constable--had established himself on one side of the +green; while on the other were to be seen, Martin, the learned ass, and +Peerless Jacquot, the wonderful parrot. Matthieu la Bouteille (such +was the nickname bestowed upon the owner of the ass, a name justified +by the redness of his nose) held Martin by the bridle, while Peerless +Jacquot rested on his shoulder, attached by a chain to his belt. His +wife, surnamed _La Mauricaude_, had undertaken to assemble the company, +and to display Martin's talents. Thomas, the son of La Mauricaude, +a child of eleven years of age, covered with a few rags, which had +once been a pair of trowsers and a shirt, collected, in the remnant +of a hat, the voluntary contributions of the spectators; while in the +background, sad and silent, stood Gervais, a lad of between fourteen +and fifteen years of age, Matthew's son by a former marriage. + +"Come, ladies and gentlemen," exclaimed La Mauricaude, in her hoarse +voice, "come and see Martin; he will tell you, ladies and gentlemen, +what you know and what you don't know. Come, ladies and gentlemen, and +hear Peerless Jacquot; he will reply to what you say to him, and to +what you do not say to him." And this joke, constantly repeated by La +Mauricaude in precisely the same tone, always attracted an audience of +pretty nearly the same character. + +"Now then, Martin," continued La Mauricaude, as soon as the circle was +formed, "tell this honourable company what o'clock it is." Martin, +whether he did not understand, or did not choose to reply, still +remained motionless. La Mauricaude renewed the question: Martin shook +his ears. "Do you say, Martin, that you cannot see the clock at this +distance?" continued La Mauricaude. "Has any one a watch?" Immediately +an enormous watch was produced from the pocket of a farmer, and placed +under the eyes of Martin, who appeared to consider it attentively. +The whole assembly, like Martin himself, stretched forward with +increased attention. It was just noon by the watch; after a few +moments' reflection, Martin raised his head and uttered three vigorous +_hihons_, to which the crowd responded by a burst of laughter, which +did not in the least appear to disturb Martin. "Oh, oh! Martin," cried +La Mauricaude, "I see you are thinking of three o'clock, the time for +having your oats; but you must wait, so what say you to a game of +cards, in order to pass the time?" And a pack of cards, almost effaced +by dirt, was immediately extracted from a linen bag which hung at La +Mauricaude's right side, and spread out in the midst of the circle, +which drew in closer, in order to enjoy a nearer view of the spectacle +about to be afforded by the talents of Martin. "Now then, Martin; now +then, my boy," continued his instructress, "draw: draw first of all the +knave of hearts, and present it to this honourable company as a sign +of your attachment and respect;" and already the two or three wits of +the crowd had nodded their heads with an air of approbation at this +ingenious compliment, when Martin, after repeated orders, put forth his +right foot, and placed it upon the seven of spades. + +At this moment the voice of a parrot was heard in the midst of the +crowd, distinctly pronouncing the words, "That won't do, my good +fellow." It was Peerless Jacquot, who, wearied at not having been +called upon to join in the conversation, repeated one of his favourite +phrases. The appropriateness of his speech restored the good humour +of the company, who were beginning to be disgusted with Martin's +stupidity; and their attention would probably have been bestowed upon +Jacquot, had not Punch's trumpet been at that moment heard, announcing +that the actors were ready and the performances about to commence. At +this signal Martin's audience began to disperse; the ranks thinned, +and the remnant of the hat, which was seen advancing in the hands +of Thomas, effectually drove away those who still lingered from +curiosity or indifference. All took the same direction; and Matthew, +Thomas, La Mauricaude, Martin, and Jacquot followed, with more or +less of ill-humour, the crowd which had deserted them. Gervais alone, +separating from them, went into a neighbouring street to offer his +services, during the fair time, to a farrier engaged in shoeing the +horses of the visitors. + +A far different spectacle from any with which Martin could amuse +them, awaited the curious on the other side of the green. An enormous +mastiff had just been unharnessed from a little cart, upon which he +had brought the theatre and company of the Marionettes; and now, +lying down in front of the tent and at the feet of his master, he +seemed to take under his protection those things which had thus far +travelled under his conveyance. Medor's appearance was that of a +useful and well-treated servant; his looks towards his master those +of a confiding friend. Va-bon-train (this was the name of the owner +of the Marionettes) might easily be recognized for an old soldier. +The regularity of his movements added greatly to the effect of +their vivacity; everything happened in its proper turn, and at its +proper time. His utterance was precise without being abrupt, and +the tone of military firmness which he associated with the tricks +of his trade, gave to them a certain degree of dignity. Words taken +from the languages of the different countries through which he had +travelled were mingled, with wonderful gravity and readiness, in the +dialogue of the personages whom he put in action; and scenes in which +he had been personally concerned, either as actor or witness, fired +his imagination, and furnished incidents which enabled him to vary +his representations to an unlimited extent. He was assisted by his +son Michael, a fine lad about the age of Gervais, whom he very much +resembled, although the countenance of the one was as serious as that +of the other was cheerful and animated. + +There was nothing strange in this resemblance, for Matthew and +Va-bon-train were brothers, and Michael and Gervais therefore first +cousins. Va-bon-train, whose baptismal name was Vincent, owed his +nickname less to the regularity of his movements than to the vivacity +of his disposition and the promptitude of his determinations. Having +at the age of twenty-five lost his wife, to whom he was much attached, +and who had died in giving birth to Michael, he could not endure even +a temporary grief, and therefore determined, in order to divert his +mind, to enter the army, which he did in the quality of substitute, +leaving the price of his engagement for the support of his son, whom +he confided to the care of Matthew's wife, who had just given birth +to Gervais. She nursed both the children, and brought them up with +an equal tenderness and in good habits, for she was a worthy woman. +They went to the same school, where they learned to read and write, +and were instructed in their religion; they began working together +in Matthew's shop, at his trade of a blacksmith; and, in fine, they +were united by a friendship which was no less ardent on the part of +the lively Michael than on that of the graver Gervais. At the age of +thirteen, Gervais had the misfortune of losing his mother, and almost +at the same time the additional one of being separated from Michael. +Vincent Va-bon-train, who had obtained his discharge, had come for +his son, whose assistance he required in carrying out his enterprise +of the Marionettes, in which he had just engaged. Soon afterwards +Matthew's affairs began to fall into confusion. While his wife lived +she had kept a check on his love of drink, but no sooner was she dead +than he gave himself up to it without restraint. At the tavern he +became acquainted with La Mauricaude, a low, bad-principled woman, +who had followed all sorts of trades. He was foolish enough to marry +her, and they soon squandered the little that remained to him, already +much diminished by his disorderly conduct. Then she persuaded him to +give up the shop, and travel through the country with his ass and +his parrot, assuring him that he would thereby gain a great deal of +money. This wandering kind of life accorded better than regular labour +with Matthew's newly-acquired habits; and he was the more ready to +trust the assurances of his wife, as Va-bon-train had just reappeared +in the country in a prosperous condition, the result of the success +of his Marionettes. Matthew then formed the idea of entering into +partnership with his brother; but the latter was not at all anxious +for the connexion, as Matthew's conduct was not calculated to inspire +him with any confidence. His second marriage had displeased him, and +he disliked La Mauricaude, though he had seen her but casually; but +a soldier is not apt to be deterred by trifles, nor to allow his +antipathies to interfere with his actions; and besides, Matthew had +rendered him a service in bringing up his son Michael. For this he was +grateful, and glad, therefore, to have an opportunity of manifesting +his gratitude. The caravan consequently set out, Michael delighted at +being once more with his beloved Gervais, and Gervais sad at leaving +the respectable and regular course of life which suited him, viz. his +trade of blacksmith, in which, notwithstanding his father's negligence +in instructing him, he had already attained some proficiency. He was +in some degree consoled, however, by the prospect of travelling, and +travelling with Michael; and he was glad to leave a place where the +misconduct of his father had ended in destroying the good reputation +which until then his family had always enjoyed. + +Unfortunately, the faults which had destroyed Matthew's reputation +followed him wherever he went. Before the end of the first week, the +two parties had disagreed. The baseness of La Mauricaude, and the +wicked propensities of her son Thomas, who was always better pleased +with stealing a thing than with receiving it as a gift, were soon +discovered to Va-bon-train, in a manner which led him to determine to +break his agreement with them as readily as he had made it; and when +he said to his brother, "We must separate," just as when he said, "We +will go together," the matter was settled, and all opposition was out +of the question. Michael no more thought of opposing his father's +resolution than any one else, he only threw himself weeping into the +arms of Gervais, who pressed his hand sadly, but with resignation, +having at least the comfort of thinking that his uncle would no longer +be a witness of the disgraceful conduct of his family. La Mauricaude +was furious, and declared that she was not to be shaken off in that +easy style; and she determined to follow her brother-in-law, in spite +of himself, in order to profit by the crowd he always attracted, and +to endeavour at the same time to injure him, either by speaking ill of +him in every way she could, or by trying to interrupt his performances, +by the shrieks of the parrot, which she had taught to repeat insulting +phrases, and to imitate the voice of the Marionettes. For two months +she persisted in her resolution, notwithstanding the remonstrances +of Matthew, whose remonstrances, indeed, were usually of very little +avail. At first, Va-bon-train was annoyed with these things; but he +soon reconciled himself to them with his usual promptitude. One day, +however, he said to his brother, "Listen, Matthew: the roads are free; +but let me not hear that you have allowed any one to think that that +toad yonder has the insolence to call herself my sister." So saying, +he showed La Mauricaude the whip with which he was accustomed to give +Medor a slight touch now and then, in order to keep him attentive, and +the handle of which had more than once warned Michael of some failure +in discipline. From that time, Gervais no longer saluted his uncle, +for fear of offending him; and La Mauricaude, notwithstanding her +impudence, did not dare to run the risk of braving him openly. Besides, +she would have found it no easy task to entice away his audience. Who +could enter into competition with "the great, the wonderful, _il vero +Scaramuccia_, Gentlemen, just come direct from Naples,[1] to present +to you, _lustrissimi_, the homage of his colleagues, the _Lazzaroni_? +_Baccia vu_, your hand, _Monsu_ de Scaramouche." And Scaramouche bowed +his head, and raised his hand to his mouth, with a series of movements +capable of making you forget the threads by which they were directed. +"Look, gentlemen, look at Scaramouche, look at him full in the face; it +is indeed Scaramouche; he has not a _sou_, not a _pezzetta_, Gentlemen, +but how happy he is! See him with his mouth extended from ear to ear; +his foot raised, ready to run or jump: but one turn of the hand, one +single turn of the wheel of fortune, and behold the metamorphosis! How +anxious and grieved he looks! He is now the _Signor_ Scaramuccia, he +has become rich, he is counting his money in his hand; he counts, and +now he counts more still, and ever with increased vexation. Oh! what +has happened to him now? His countenance is changed. Oh! what a piteous +face! He weeps; he tears his cap. _Povero Scaramuccia!_ What! _presso +'l denaro!_ Your money has been stolen! Come, come, Scaramouche, _fa +cuore_, take courage. No!... _Ammazarti?_ You want to kill yourself! +Very well then, but first of all a little _Macaroni_. Yes, poor +fellow, he will enjoy his _Macaroni_. See, gentlemen, how piteously he +stretches out his hand, how he eats with tears in his eyes; but, _pian +piano, Scaramuccia_, gently, _vuoi mangiare tutto?_ Would you eat the +whole? Alas! yes; _tutto mangiare_, all, _per morire!_ in order that +he may die! What, die of indigestion! You are joking, Scaramouche; +Macaroni never killed a Lazzarone. Stop, see, he revives again; how he +draws up his leg as a mark of pleasure! How he turns his eyes every +time he opens his mouth to receive _una copiosa_ pinch _di Macaroni_! +_O che gusto! che boccone!_ How delightful! what a mouthful! Make your +minds easy, gentlemen, Scaramouche is alive again." A variety of scenes +succeeded, displaying Scaramouche under numerous aspects, each more +admirable than the former. The last was that in which the German on +duty stopped Scaramouche, with the exclamation _Wer da!_ Scaramouche +replied in Italian, vainly endeavouring to make himself understood, and +avoiding, by dint of suppleness, the terrible bayonet of the German. +Then Punch came up, arguing to as little purpose in French. At length, +the Devil carried away the German, and Punch and Scaramouche went +to enjoy a bottle together. The beauty of the invention drew forth +enthusiastic and universal applause; the politicians of the place +exchanged mysterious glances; and when Scaramouche presented to the +assembled crowd the little saucer which had been placed in his hands, +there was no one who did not hasten to offer his sou, his liard, +or his centime, for the pleasure of receiving a bow or a nod from +Scaramouche. + +The crowd slowly dispersed, conversing on the pleasure they had +enjoyed. "His Scaramouche breaks my back," said La Mauricaude, in a +tone of ill-temper. + +"I have often told you, wife," replied her husband, "that by persisting +in following them".... + +"I have often told you, husband, that you are a fool," was the reply +of La Mauricaude. To Matthew it appeared unanswerable; and Thomas, +at a look from his mother, went off to visit Medor, who received +him politely, and with an air of old acquaintanceship. Va-bon-train +perceived him, cracked his great whip, and Thomas immediately ran away +as fast as he could. + +Gervais was passing along the green, leading back to its owner a horse, +which he had helped to shoe. He did not approach, but Medor perceived +him at a distance, got up, wagged his tail, and gave a slight whine, +partly from the delight of seeing him, and partly from annoyance at not +being able to go with him. Gervais gave him a friendly nod. Michael +fondly kissed the great head of Medor, and a smile seemed to brighten +the countenance of Gervais, at this expression of Michael's affection. +It was only in such ways as this that any interchange of thought was +permitted to them. + +Though possessed of many good qualities, Va-bon-train had one +defect,--that of forming precipitate judgments, and of being unwilling +to correct them when formed. He came to a decision at once, in order +that a matter might the sooner be settled; and when he had decided, he +did not wish to be disturbed in his opinion, as it took up too much +time to change his mind. The violence done to his feelings in enduring +La Mauricaude for a whole week had so much increased his prejudice, +that it had extended to the whole family. La Mauricaude was a demon, +Matthew a fool, Thomas a rascal, and Gervais a simpleton. These four +judgments once pronounced, were not to be over-ruled. Va-bon-train +was very fond of his son, whose disposition quite accorded with his +own; but he kept him, in military style, under a strict and prompt +obedience, aware that the kind of life he made him follow, might, +without the greatest care, lead a young man into habits of irregularity +and idleness. Fortunately Michael was possessed of good dispositions, +had been well brought up, and preferred to all other company the +society of his father, who amused him with his numerous anecdotes. +Besides, he made it a matter of pride to assist his father as much +as possible, and was never so delighted as when his exertions had +contributed to the success of the day. Va-bon-train's industry was +not confined to his Marionettes; he took advantage of his constant +journeys to carry on a small traffic, purchasing in one canton such +goods as happened to be cheap there, and selling them in some other, +where they were of greater value. He taught Michael how to buy and +sell, and make advantageous speculations; and Michael would have been +perfectly happy in following this kind of busy, useful life, had it not +been for the grief he felt in being unable to share his pleasures with +Gervais. But when, after having slept at the best inn which the town or +village in which they happened to be, afforded, he saw Gervais in the +morning, pale, from having passed a cold or rainy night with no other +shelter than an old barn, his heart was pierced; and, notwithstanding +his father's commands, he found means to get away, and, with a flask +in his hand, hastened to offer a glass of wine to his friend, who +refused it with a shake of the head, but with a friendly look. Michael +sighed; yet this refusal only served to increase his affection for +Gervais; for he well knew that his offer was refused from honourable +feelings, not from pride or rancour. Nor was his mind relieved, except +when Gervais succeeded in finding work; for then he knew that he +would have a good day. When at work, the habitually sad expression of +Gervais' countenance, gave place to an air of animation quite pleasant +to behold; and even Va-bon-train himself had been unable to resist the +temptation of stopping to look at him; and, observing the dexterity +and courage with which he managed the horses, he remarked, "By my +faith, that fellow works well." Then Michael hastened to reply, "Oh! +Gervais is a capital workman;" and he was beginning to add, "and such a +good boy too," when Va-bon-train passed on and spoke of other things. +Michael then contented himself with remaining a little behind, watching +Gervais at work; and when they had exchanged looks, they separated +satisfied. + +Up to that time Gervais had been unsuccessful in his efforts to find +a master who would take him into regular employment. There was no one +to be answerable for him; and those with whom he travelled were not of +a character to give him a recommendation. However, he made the best +he could of his wandering life, by endeavouring to perfect himself in +his trade, losing no opportunity of gaining information, and examining +with care the treatment employed in the various maladies of animals, +and all the other operations of the veterinary art. He also managed +to live on his daily earnings, which he economized with the greatest +care, and thereby escaped the necessity of partaking of the ill-gotten +repasts of La Mauricaude and her son. Sometimes even he shared his +own food with his father, whose wretched life was spent in a state of +alternate intoxication and want, giving himself up to drink the moment +he had money, and the next day going without bread. As it suited La +Mauricaude to have some one who could take care of the ass and the +parrot, while she and her son attended to their own affairs, they were +induced to treat Matthew with some degree of consideration, at least +so far as to allow him a share in their profits, of which, however, +they were careful to conceal from him the source, for Matthew, even +in his degraded condition, preserved an instinct of honesty, which +sometimes caused him to say with a significant air, but only when he +was intoxicated, "As for me, I am an honest man;" for when sober, he +had not so much wit. La Mauricaude had several times endeavoured to get +from Gervais the money he earned, but her demands were always firmly +resisted, and Gervais afterwards took especial care not to leave his +money within reach of her or her son. She had likewise tried to breed +dissensions between him and his father; but Matthew respected his son, +and La Mauricaude found that it was not to her interest to excite +too much the attention of Gervais, for his surveillance would have +been very inconvenient to her. She therefore ended by leaving him in +tolerable peace, one reason of which may have been that she saw little +of him, as he usually left the party as soon as it was day, and did not +return until bed-time, when he rarely slept under a roof, unless it was +that of some deserted shed. + +The performances of the morning were over, and Va-bon-train stood +chatting at the door of the inn where he had dined with an old friend, +a blacksmith from Lyons. They were then about twenty-five leagues +distant from that town, on the road to Tournon, whither the blacksmith +was going on some private business. Blanchet, such was this person's +name, was clever at his trade, and well to do in the world. The +blacksmith of the village in which they were then staying was a former +apprentice and workman of his, and he had stopped to visit him as he +passed through, and was now on the point of resuming his journey. The +forge was at a short distance from the inn; and Gervais, who had just +left it, as it was getting dark, came up to the spot where Va-bon-train +and Blanchet were conversing. The street was narrow, and, moreover, +partially blocked up by a horse that was tied in front of the inn. +Va-bon-train chancing to turn his head in the direction by which +Gervais was approaching, perceived him coming, and drew back to allow +him to pass. Gervais blushed and hesitated; he had not been so close to +his uncle for two months. At length he passed on, and, without raising +his eyes, bowed to him as he would have done to a stranger, but with an +expression of the most profound respect. Michael's eyes were suffused +with tears, and for a moment those of Va-bon-train followed his nephew, +who, turning round and encountering his uncle's looks, hastily withdrew +his own and continued his way. + +"Do you know that lad?" demanded Blanchet. + +--"Why?" + +"Because yonder at the forge, a short time since, they were talking +about you." + +--"And what did he say?" continued Va-bon-train, with an expression of +rising displeasure. + +--"He? Nothing:--but one of the men was relating something, I don't +know what, about a woman with whom he had been drinking yesterday, +some two leagues hence, and who told him that you had abandoned your +brother in misfortune. This lad immediately tapped him on the shoulder, +saying, '_Comrade, that is no business of yours. It is always best +not to interfere in family quarrels._' The man was silenced; and I, +learning from what passed, that you were here, for I had not then been +out upon the green, I wished to add my word, so I said, that if you did +leave your brother in misfortune, it must be because he deserved it, +for I well knew the kindness of your heart; whereupon, the young fellow +gave me also my answer, though politely enough however, for he said, +'_Notwithstanding all that, Master Blanchet, it is much better not to +interfere in family affairs_;' and the lad was right as to that; but +from all this I thought he must know you, more especially when, a short +time since, while passing the inn-yard, I saw him enter it, and draw +some water for your dog to drink." + +Va-bon-train was visibly moved. Michael, whose heart beat violently, +looked at his father. + +"He was at work, then, at the blacksmith's?" demanded the latter with +some degree of emotion. + +"Yes; and hard at it too, I can tell you. It is vexatious that you do +not know him. He was anxious to be taken as a regular hand there; but +when asked who would be answerable for him, he replied, '_No one._' Had +it not been for this, I would have engaged him myself, for I am sure he +will turn out a capital workman." + +"You think so?" + +"Oh! you should see how he sets to work; he would learn more about his +business with me in six months, than with any one else in three years. +But one cannot take him without a recommendation. I heard him say to +one of his companions, that this was the third situation he had lost in +this manner, nor will he ever get one." + +"Oh dear!" exclaimed Michael, who could no longer restrain his feelings. + +"Well!" said Va-bon-train. "My friend Blanchet will take him on my +recommendation. Take him, friend; I know him, and will be answerable +for him." + +"Nonsense! what are you talking about?" + +"Nothing; only that I shall see you at Lyons, whither you are +returning:--but when?" + +"I shall be there on Monday week." + +"And so shall I; and I will come and dine with you: we will arrange +this matter over our glasses. But, at all events, you will take the lad +if I am answerable for him; do not make me break my word." + +"No, no; the thing is settled; good bye till Monday week;" and they +parted. + +"But Gervais must be told," said Michael, trembling with joy. + +"Go, then, and make haste back; tell him to be at Lyons by Monday +week, if possible; but, above all, he must take care that the old toad +knows nothing about it." This was his usual epithet for La Mauricaude. +Michael departed, and Va-bon-train went to a neighbouring tavern, into +which he had seen Matthew and his company enter. The price of a pair of +stockings worth fifty sous, which had been stolen from a shop at the +fair, and sold a quarter-of-an-hour afterwards for twenty, served to +defray the expenses of the party; and Matthew, owing to the cheapness +of the wine that season, was just on the verge of intoxication, when +Va-bon-train, coming up, said to him, "Matthew, there is but one word +between you and me: when I go one way, you must take care and go the +other; if you don't, your old toad and her young one will every morning +get for their breakfast a sound dressing from this whip." + +"As for me, Vincent, I am an honest man," stammered Matthew. La +Mauricaude was about to vociferate; and the host took part with his +customer. + +"Friend," said Va-bon-train, "when you settle your account with that +hussey, I will not interfere; but look well to the money she gives +you:" and he walked out. As soon as he was gone, La Mauricaude poured +forth a torrent of abuse. Those of her neighbours whose hearts began +to be warmed and their wits clouded by the wine they had taken, agreed +unanimously, that to come and insult in that manner respectable people, +who were quietly taking their glass, without interfering with any one, +was a thing not to be borne: and Matthew again repeated, "As for me, +I am an honest man." The rest, as they looked at La Mauricaude and +her son, made some reflections on Va-bon-train's speech, and the host +thought it high time to demand payment. This completed the ill-humour +of La Mauricaude. + +As for Michael, he had hastened to Gervais, and delivered his message. +A sudden flush of surprise and joy suffused the countenance of the +latter, on learning that his uncle would be answerable for him; and +when the voice of Va-bon-train was heard calling his son, the two +friends pressed each other's hands, and parted, each cherishing the +thought of the happiness which was about to dawn for both of them. + +All was quiet at the inn where Va-bon-train had taken up his abode for +the night, when, awaking from his first sleep, he thought he heard +Medor in the yard, groaning, and very uneasy. He went down stairs, and +was surprised to find him tied by a cord to a tree that was near the +cart, and so short that he could scarcely move. As he was accustomed to +allow Medor his liberty at night, feeling quite sure that he would make +use of it only to defend more effectually his master's property, he +concluded that some one had thought to render him a service, by tying +up the dog for fear of his escaping; for in the darkness he had not +perceived that the other end of the cord which attached Medor to the +tree, had been passed round his nose, so as to form a kind of muzzle. +Eager to liberate the poor animal, he cut the cord, which was fastened +round his neck by a slip knot, and which, but for the intervention of +his collar, must have strangled him. The cord once cut, the knot gave +way, and, by the aid of his fore paws, Medor was soon freed from his +ignoble fetters. No sooner had he regained his liberty, than he began +to scent with avidity all round the yard, moaning the whole time; then +he dashed against the stable door as if he would break it in. His +master, astonished, opened it for him, supposing, from what he knew of +his instinct, that some suspicious person might be concealed there; but +Medor was contented with running across the stable, still scenting, +to the opposite door, which led into the street, and which, by the +means of this stable, formed one of the entrances to the inn. His +master called him, he came back with reluctance, and, still moaning, +laid down at his feet, as if to solicit a favour; then he ran to the +vehicle, again returned, and rushed with greater violence against the +first door, which his master had in the mean time closed. Astonished +at these manoeuvres, Va-bon-train went to his cart; but everything +was in order, the trunk locked, and nothing apparently to justify the +dog's agitation. Then, presuming that Medor, notwithstanding his good +sense, was, like all dogs and all children, impatient to set out on +his journey, and had been seized with this fancy rather earlier than +usual, he gave him a cut with his whip, sent him back to the cart, and +returned to bed. + +The next morning, when he went down, he called Medor, but no Medor +answered. He sought for him everywhere, but without success; he then +recollected what had taken place during the night, and feared that some +one had stolen him. + +"Was he there," demanded one of the travellers, "when you went down in +the night to take something from your cart?" Va-bon-train declared that +he had taken nothing from his cart. + +"The heat was insufferable," continued the man, "and we had the +window open. One of the workmen from the forge, who slept in my room, +said: 'See, there is some one meddling with the box belonging to the +exhibitor of the Marionettes.' 'His dog does not growl,' said I, 'so it +must be the man himself. Never mind, friend; let us sleep.'" + +Va-bon-train hastened to his box, which was still locked; he opened it, +and found everything in disorder: Scaramouche had disappeared, as well +as a dozen of Madras handkerchiefs, the remains of a lot purchased at +the fair of Beaucaire, and the greater part of which had been sold on +his journey. Who could have done this? Va-bon-train remembered having +found a key upon the road, a few days after he had associated himself +with Matthew, and which fitted his trunk. He lost it again the next +day, but had not troubled himself about it. Now he guessed into whose +hands it had fallen, and felt assured that Medor would not have allowed +himself to be approached and led away by any one but an acquaintance. + +"That boy who was at work close by, at the blacksmith's," said the +landlord of the inn, "did he not come in here, and give the dog some +drink?" + +"He who came with the woman and the ass?" said the hostess. "He seemed +to be a respectable lad." + +"_You_ may think so," replied a neighbour; "but when I saw him enter +the stable yonder, after dark, I said to Cateau, What is that little +_vagabond_ going to do there?" + +"Gervais!" exclaimed Michael. + +"Yes," said the landlord, "he was called Gervais at the blacksmith's." +The flush of anger mounted to the face of Va-bon-train. The idea of +having been duped was added to the annoyance of his loss, and he swore +that he would never again be caught overcoming a prejudice. A less +hasty disposition would have examined whether the innkeeper and the +neighbour were not speaking of different persons, and whether suspicion +ought not more naturally to fall upon Thomas and La Mauricaude. But +the woman whose explanations would have thrown light upon the subject +had gone home, and among those who remained there was no one who had +seen them, or, at all events, who would acknowledge to have done so; +for where there is not some falsehood to complicate matters, it is rare +that truth does not break out, so great is its tendency to manifest +itself. + +La Mauricaude, who was never so persuasive as when she had been +drinking, had formed acquaintance with one of the ostlers of the +inn, who, on his side, was easily led by persuasion, when in the +same condition. She had obtained from him a gratuitous place in the +stable for Martin, and, though against his master's express orders, a +corner also for Thomas. Hence, furnished with some of the remains of +the travellers' supper, which he had obtained from his protector, it +was an easy matter for Thomas to enter the yard, and entrap the too +confiding Medor, who had no suspicion of treachery from the hand of an +acquaintance. At the moment when Medor, without abandoning his post, +raised his head to smell what was presented to him, Thomas passed the +muzzle on his nose, and the slip knot round his neck, and the poor +animal found himself tied up to a tree, without having been able to +make the least resistance; for, could he have made any, he would easily +have triumphed over his adversary. Thus master of the field, Thomas had +no difficulty in prosecuting his designs, by means of the key which, at +all risks, he had possessed himself of at the first opportunity that +offered. Martin, taken from the stable before daybreak, carried off the +stolen goods, and scarcely had the morning begun to dawn, when Matthew, +roused from the heavy sleep of intoxication, and, almost unconscious of +what he was doing, left the arch of the bridge, beneath which he had +slept, in the bed of a dried-up stream. + +Gervais had obtained, from the blacksmith by whom he had been employed, +the permission to pass the night in his woodhouse, upon a heap of +vine twigs. Awakening from a sleep which, for the first time for two +months, had revived hope in his bosom, he arose with a light heart, +full of eagerness to commence his journey towards his new destination. +The evening before, he had told his father that he was going to leave +him, for the purpose of seeking employment; and Matthew, whose paternal +affections were greatly strengthened after the second bottle, gave him +his benediction, with tears in his eyes, saying, "Go, my son, and gain +an honest living; and wherever you go, you may declare that I am an +honest man." As for La Mauricaude, she troubled herself very little +about him, neither did he wish her to do so. His serious and reserved +disposition had prevented anything like friendly feeling between them. + +He walked with a light heart towards Lyons, calculating that in order +to get there, he would require on his journey some little work and +a great deal of frugality; for even by sleeping in sheds, beneath +bridges, or under trees, it was impossible that his twenty-one sous, +the proceeds of his work the day before, and of his previous economy, +should be sufficient for the maintenance of a lad of fifteen, during +the ten days that must yet elapse, before the arrival of that happy +Monday, which was to bring him the protection of his uncle and of +Master Blanchet. But how should he be uneasy about the means of +reaching his destination? He was already there in imagination. He was +about to live with those who, every day and every hour, would recognize +his probity. He was going to have an opportunity of proving his right +to be esteemed, a necessity keenly felt by those who, like him, have +known humiliation without deserving it, and without allowing themselves +to be depressed by its influence. And then, how many delights were +in store for him! That pair of shoes which he carried so carefully +fastened to the end of his stick, whenever he had far to walk, he might +soon be able to wear continually, for he foresaw the time when he +should be in a condition to buy others. Nevertheless, he must endeavour +to make them last until he had purchased a second shirt, so as to avoid +the necessity of going without one occasionally, as was the case, when +of an evening, taking advantage of some secluded nook, he took off the +only one he had, washed it in the stream and dried it on the grass of +the bank. The idea of possessing a pair of stockings to dance in on +holidays presented itself to his imagination in the distant future, +around which crowded in perspective the inexhaustible joys of life. +Then came the thoughts of a more solid happiness, and all the ambitions +of an honourable man. He was able to set up for himself; to work on +his own account; to withdraw his father from the wretched life his +wicked companion forced him to lead, and secure to him a tranquil old +age, due to his son who loved him notwithstanding his irregularities. +Then, his thoughts rushing over intervening years, Gervais would +quicken his steps as if to reach the future, and his imagination +warmed, as the sun rose, and shed its brilliant beams over the horizon. + +Whilst abandoning himself to these reveries, he felt something cool +and moist pressing against his hand. It was the nose of Medor; who, +after licking his hand, looked at him and wagged his tail, but with an +expression which seemed to ask a question; and having smelt him from +head to foot, he went on, his nose in the air, and smelling constantly +with the same anxiety. Gervais called him back; Medor stopped, looked +at him with an uneasy expression, and continued his journey in the +same manner. It was quite evident that he was in search of something; +but being ignorant of what had taken place during the night, Gervais +was at a loss to conjecture what it could be. It struck him, that, +separated perhaps by some accident, Medor and his master might now be +in search of each other, and with this idea, he could not suppose that +Va-bon-train was still at the inn, whither Medor would undoubtedly +have returned; it seemed to him, therefore, the best plan, to allow +the animal to obey his instinct, contenting himself with following him +so as to prevent his going astray, and preserve him from the danger of +being taken or killed as a dog without an owner. He rejoiced in the +opportunity thus afforded him of rendering his uncle a service; and, +imagining that Medor had had nothing to eat, he gave him a part of the +bread he had bought for his day's provision, and which the poor thing +devoured with as much appetite as his agitation would permit. They +then continued their journey together, Medor being always in advance, +except when, from time to time, some new fancy seemed to seize him. +Then he would turn as if to retrace his steps, again stop and moan: +alternately swayed by the instinct and affection which drew him towards +his master, and that which hurried him on to the recovery of what had +been confided to his care. Gervais would then call him, and, decided by +the voice of his friend, Medor would return and continue his pursuit. + +They journeyed thus for about two hours, when all at once, at a part +where the road, somewhat hollow, wound in such a manner as to prevent +a distant view, Medor, rushing forward, dashed round the corner with +such rapidity that Gervais could not doubt that he had found his +master. Then redoubling his speed, he also advanced trembling between +hope and fear, and was most disagreeably surprised, when, at the turn +of the road, he perceived his father, La Mauricaude, the ass, and +Thomas, in the greatest embarrassment, contending with Medor, who, +without any provocation, and with all the consideration due to old +acquaintanceship, had seized upon Thomas in such a manner, that the boy +found it impossible to disengage himself from the animal's enormous +claws, which, fixed upon the lad's shoulders, served as a support to +Medor, who, by smelling about in all directions, at last discovered an +old cloth bag lined with leather, which was placed upon the back of +the ass, and the cords of which, unhappily for Thomas, had been wound +round his arm. Medor's teeth laboured both at the cords and at the +bag, which he endeavoured to open, almost upsetting Thomas at every +effort; the latter, in despair, and screaming with terror, clung with +all his strength to Martin's pack-saddle. "What is the matter with the +dog?" quietly asked Matthew, who had been a calm spectator of a scene, +which to him had the advantage of rousing him from his apathy. But +La Mauricaude, at once furious and frightened, gave the animal some +violent blows with a stick. Medor, however, did not seem conscious of +them. At length, seizing a large stone, she threw it at him; it struck +him on the hind leg, and he fell howling, dragging down Thomas in his +fall; the ass also was shaken, and even Matthew was astonished. Gervais +only arrived in time to address a word of reproach to La Mauricaude, +who was busied in raising her son: he then ran after Medor, who had +fled, howling, and limping on three legs. He succeeded in catching +him, and found that one of his hind legs was broken. Submissive like a +suffering animal to the friend who seeks to relieve him, Medor lay down +close to him, and allowed him to examine his leg. Fortunately, Gervais +was able to repair the mischief. Naturally kind hearted, it was to that +branch of his business which treats of the cure of animals, that he had +directed his attention with the greatest interest, and he had already +been successful in a case somewhat similar. Matthew, who, when left to +his own free will, was always inclined to sympathise with his son, and +who, moreover, was delighted at having an opportunity of returning for +a moment to his former occupations, willingly assisted his pupil, now +become more skilful than himself. The instruments of his art, treasures +which Gervais carefully preserved, together with some medicines +which he had renewed, or added to, as opportunity permitted, were +found sufficient for the emergency. By the united efforts of the two +operators, whom La Mauricaude also consented to aid, for reasons which +may perhaps be guessed, the leg was well set; and a piece of the last +handkerchief that Gervais possessed, and the enormous rents of which +he had often contemplated with a sigh, served as a bandage to confine +the dressing; and Medor, led by Gervais, was enabled to continue his +journey without much pain. + +Somewhat cast down by his accident, however, poor Medor was no longer +able to pursue his search with the same vigour; and besides, during +the operation, Thomas, instructed by his mother, had transferred +Scaramouche, together with the Madras handkerchiefs, into one of +Martin's panniers, where, covered over with straw, they were less +exposed to the keen scent of the animal. Nevertheless, some secret +charm always attracted him to the side on which they were, and Gervais +was astonished at the difficulty which he found in restraining him. +Wishing to divert him from this fancy, and determined to go direct +to Lyons, as the surest place of meeting with his uncle, Gervais +seized the first opportunity offered by their stopping at a tavern, +to separate himself from the troop, with which he had so unluckily +come up. But he was not a little annoyed at perceiving, after a few +moments, that he was followed in the distance by Thomas, who seemed +commissioned to act as a spy upon his movements, while the rest of the +caravan appeared soon afterwards. The fertile genius of La Mauricaude +had immediately suggested to her the advantage to be derived from the +possession of Medor, a magnificent dog in excellent condition, who +might be sold at a very high price. The difficulty was to divert the +vigilance of Gervais, whom at the same time it was necessary to keep +in view, until she had accomplished her design. The following days, +therefore, were passed in a perpetual struggle, Gervais endeavouring to +recover his liberty, and La Mauricaude seeking to prevent his escape +from their odious company. She was singularly seconded by Medor, whose +instinct she aroused by taking advantage of every opportunity that +offered to approach him unobserved, and permit him to get a distant +scent of Scaramouche, the companion of all his travels, the one of all +his master's mimic company with whom he had lived on the most familiar +terms, when Va-bon-train and his son, in their leisure moments, had +endeavoured to invent for him new attitudes, and to rehearse new +performances. Then all Medor's affection would revive, he would rush +with a plaintive cry upon the cords which restrained him; but before +this movement could warn Gervais of what was passing, La Mauricaude +had said to Thomas, "Hide Scaramouche," and Thomas, obedient to his +instructions, had concealed the precious talisman. Matthew, who was +sometimes a witness of these proceedings, demanded the meaning of them; +but they deceived him with a feigned tale, told him to be silent, and +he was so. But in his evening enjoyments at the tavern, purchased +during these days, by the successive sale of the Madras handkerchiefs, +he nightly repeated, with a degree of feeling amounting even to tears, +"As for me, I have nothing to do with all this; for, at all events, it +is certain that I am an honest man." + +To the many annoyances which, at this time, fell to the lot of poor +Gervais, was added the far greater one of being unsuccessful in his +attempts to obtain work. In vain had he gone to the right and to the +left, wherever he had been led to hope that it might be procured. +Everywhere his hopes were frustrated, and, at the same time, the +expense of keeping Medor had rapidly accelerated the consumption of +his little store, although the condition of the poor dog sufficiently +attested the frugality of his repasts. It grieved Gervais to the heart +to see his downcast look, and a certain expression of sadness, which +seemed to ask for what it was out of the power of his protector to +bestow; for he had given him all he could give, scarcely reserving +anything for his own support. + +In consequence of his many deviations from the high road in these +fruitless endeavours to obtain work, and to escape the inevitable +Mauricaude; they at last reached Saturday, the 21st of August, and were +still eleven leagues from Lyons. It was six o'clock in the evening, and +neither Gervais nor Medor had eaten anything since the previous night. +Exhausted by this fast, as well as by the low diet of the few preceding +days, they walked with difficulty: and yet they had still a league to +go before they could arrive at the village of Auberive, where Gervais +had determined to stop, and where, as a last resource, he intended to +sell his shoes, in order to have the means of reaching Lyons on the +following Monday, the term alike of his hopes and resources. For some +moments he had watched Medor with great anxiety, for he saw that he +was panting more than usual. The day had been excessively oppressive; +and the idea that the want of food, added to the heat and fatigue, +exposed the dog to the danger of madness, presented itself to his +imagination, and filled him with terror. While seated for a moment's +rest, a peasant boy, of about his own age, happened to pass by, eating, +with a good appetite, a piece of bread. This sight roused the desires +of the half-famished Gervais, and Medor raised his now animated eye, +and wanted to run to the boy, to ask him for a portion of his meal. +Unable to resist the temptation he felt, and, above all, the appeal of +the companion of his journey, Gervais asked the lad if he would buy his +shoes, promising that he would sell them cheap. + +"How much?" demanded the boy. + +"If you have some bread, I will take that, and ten sous besides." + +"I have only six sous," replied the rustic, roughly; "and, besides, I +don't want your shoes." + +"If you have any bread, comrade," continued Gervais, who could not +resist the hope with which he had just flattered himself, "give it to +me with the six sous, and the shoes shall be yours." + +"As for the bread, there is no difficulty about that," replied the +boy; and he took from his bag a piece, weighing about a pound, too +eager to conclude so good a bargain to perceive that he might have +made it still better. Three two-sous pieces terminated the affair, and +two-thirds of the pound of bread were at once set apart as the portion +of Medor, whom Gervais saw, with a melancholy pleasure, devour in a +moment, a piece to which he had nothing to add. Medor's repast, in +fact, was ended, before Gervais had got half through his; and, with a +longing eye, the poor dog watched the piece which the latter held in +his hand, gently whined, and scratched his knee with his great paw, in +order to obtain the little that remained. "You are very hungry, then, +my poor Medor," said Gervais: "well then, this also shall be yours." He +gave him the whole; and the sacrifice was sufficiently great, at that +moment, to make him think he had acquired a right to the affection of +his uncle. He then rose to continue his journey, hoping to be able to +reach Auberive; but, whether from want of food, or because the heat of +the day had exhausted him, after proceeding a few steps, he was obliged +to lean for support against a tree, and, at last, sank to the ground, +almost senseless. Induced either by curiosity or remorse, the young +peasant who had bought the shoes occasionally looked back towards him. +He saw him fall, and returned, but could give no assistance. He spoke +to him, but Gervais was scarcely able to answer. Medor watched his +friend with an uneasy look; and the peasant, who perhaps might have +been little sensible to other evils, was moved by the sight of a misery +which he could understand, and felt some comfort at the thought that, +at all events, Gervais had not been rendered worse by having sold his +shoes for a quarter of their value. + +Providence at that moment directed to the spot another traveller, who +came on at a vigorous pace, his coat neatly folded in a handkerchief, +and suspended from a stick which he carried on his shoulder. It was +Master Blanchet. He approached Gervais, but did not at first recognise +him. "Has that boy fainted from hunger?" said he to the young peasant. +"I think he has," replied the lad, "for he had but one bit of bread, +and he gave almost all of it to his dog." Meanwhile, Master Blanchet +drew from his bundle a small flask of brandy, with which he always +took care to be provided when on a journey, and made Gervais swallow +a few drops of it, while the addition of a piece of bread and a slice +of sausage completed his recovery. "A little patience," said Gervais +to Medor, who wanted to share this repast also. "Poor Medor," he +continued, caressing him, "all our troubles are over now," for he had +recognised Master Blanchet, but did not as yet dare to express his +joy except in this indirect manner. Struck by the name of Medor, and +by the voice of Gervais, which was beginning to assume its natural +tone, Blanchet recognized him, was greatly astonished, and put to him +many questions; while the peasant lad, who thought he saw Gervais +glance towards the shoes, which perhaps at that moment he regretted +having parted with so easily, blushed, and walked away, persuaded that +his further stay was no longer necessary to any one, and might be +disadvantageous to himself. + +Gervais' tale was simple enough; he had nothing but the truth to tell; +the only difficulty was to explain the nature of his connexion with +Va-bon-train. Seeing that the latter had not acknowledged him as his +nephew, he felt that in their respective positions it was not for him +to be the first to break the silence. Thus, when Blanchet asked him +how he had become known to his friend, Gervais replied, "He will tell +you that himself; it is not my business to speak of his affairs." +Blanchet questioned him on all sides, but without being able to elicit +any further information; nevertheless, his replies displayed so much +integrity, together with so much good sense and caution, that he began +to feel a great respect for him; a feeling which was much increased +after he had examined Medor's paw, which was then in progress of cure, +and which he found perfectly well set. He could not doubt, therefore, +of the talents of Gervais in the different branches of his art. He took +him with him to Auberive, where he intended to pass the night, so as to +reach Lyons without fatigue on the next day but one. Plenty of onion +soup, and a good omelette, procured for Gervais the best meal which +had touched his lips for many a day. Medor was also able to make up for +his previous fast; and, to complete the happiness of Gervais, he found, +at the inn where they stopped, the lad to whom he had sold his shoes. +Master Blanchet commented so loudly on the disgrace of such a bargain +in such circumstances, and his remarks were so fully approved of by +all who heard them, that, whether from fear, or shame, or conscience, +the lad consented to return the shoes at the price which he had given +for them, and even made it a point of honour to refuse the value of +the pound of bread, a sacrifice which procured for him from Blanchet a +good draught of wine and a slice of sausage. Thus everything fell into +order, and Gervais a second time thought himself at the summit of his +hopes; but another day, and another trial, were still to be encountered. + +The little room in which Master Blanchet and Gervais slept could not, +manage as they would, accommodate a third guest, of the size of Medor. +He was, therefore, lodged in the stable; and Gervais, confiding in his +new-born happiness, the first earnest of which he had just received, +resigned himself to sleep without any anxiety for the safety of his +protegé; the more so as, since the morning, he had seen nothing of +the odious Mauricaude, and therefore believed himself freed from +her at last. Nevertheless, on the following morning Medor had again +disappeared; whether in consequence of some new stratagem on the part +of La Mauricaude, or from the instinct which urged him to the pursuit +of Scaramouche, or the desire to return to his master, could never be +ascertained. But certain it is, however, that by this new imprudence +he fell into the snare which had long been laid for him; and the first +information which the inquiries of Gervais elicited made it certain, +that it was only by following the traces of La Mauricaude that he +could hope to recover those of Medor. A double affection made success +a necessity for him. He therefore requested the permission of Master +Blanchet, under whose authority he already considered himself, to go +in search of the fugitive; and Blanchet appointed, as their place of +meeting in the evening, the village of Saint Syphorien, or, as it is +sometimes called, Symphorien, situated about four leagues from Lyons, +where he intended to pass the night. + +Gervais spent a part of the day in a fruitless search in the +neighbourhood. At length some indications led him to the town of +Vienne; there he lost them; but, on describing the retinue of La +Mauricaude, he was informed, that in all probability she was gone +to Saint Syphorien, as it happened to be its fête day. He made all +possible haste to reach the place, and arrived there about seven +o'clock in the evening. The first object which struck him as he entered +the village was La Mauricaude, in conversation with a man to whom she +seemed on the point of delivering over Medor, who, sorrowfully resigned +to his new condition, appeared cast down by the vicissitudes of his +fate. At the sight of Gervais, however, his animation returned, and he +started as if to rush towards him. + +"That is my dog," exclaimed Gervais, who at the moment thought only of +his claims to Medor; and the dog, by the expression of his joy, seemed +anxious to confirm his words. + +"'Tis false, you thief," replied La Mauricaude, with her customary +amenity. "Medor!" she added; and, thus addressed, the dog turned his +head, as if to prove that he recognized his name, as well as the voice +by which it was pronounced. "You see very well that he knows me," she +continued, with a volley of abuse and oaths, which we need not repeat. + +"Nevertheless, the dog does not belong to you," said Gervais. + +"Nor to you either, liar," &c. &c. + +The dispute had been carried on in so vehement a tone, that it was +impossible for Gervais to expose the truth of the matter. A third +interest, that of the purchaser of the dog, already compromised by a +considerable sum paid in advance, was here introduced, as a further +complication of the affair, when an exclamation from a terrible voice +announced the approach of Va-bon-train, who, having reached Saint +Syphorien, and learning the cause of the quarrel, came forward to cut +short all disputes. He made his way through the crowd, and had already +his left hand on Medor, while his whip, raised in the other, menaced +Gervais, who, drawing back with indignation, though still with respect, +endeavoured to avoid the necessity of defending himself otherwise than +by words. Nevertheless, had it not been for Medor's transports of +joy, which somewhat embarrassed his master's movements, Va-bon-train +would have been already upon him, and Gervais must have submitted +to the cruel alternative of either failing in respect to his uncle, +or of enduring an ignominious treatment, the bare idea of which was +insupportable to him. + +"He is a thief," exclaimed the perfidious Mauricaude, taking advantage +of this opportunity to turn upon another the accusation which she +herself merited. "He said the dog was his!" and several voices +simultaneously repeated, "Yes, he did say so." + +"You have been seen all along the road," continued Va-bon-train, +"dragging him after you in spite of his resistance;" and a voice +repeated, "I saw him." It was in vain that Gervais endeavoured to make +himself heard,--the public opinion was against him. Assailed by a +crowd of painful emotions, and distressed above all by the treatment +he received from him whose gratitude he so much merited, he felt his +courage forsake him, and could no longer restrain his tears, tears +which only seemed to be an additional evidence against him. Several +persons interposed between him and his uncle, but he himself no +longer thought of safety; and whilst the efforts of Va-bon-train were +redoubled, in order to get near him, notwithstanding the endeavours of +the crowd to prevent it, Gervais was exhausting his, in demanding as a +suppliant the justice due to his innocence. Michael, whom his father +had pushed away from him, not knowing what to think of his friend, but +deeply distressed at the sight of the misfortunes which overwhelmed +him, and the danger which still threatened him, seemed to appeal to all +around to intercede for a reconciliation which every moment appeared +to render impossible. However, Heaven again came to the assistance +of Gervais, by directing Master Blanchet to the spot. Attracted by +the noise, he came out from the house of a friend with whom he had +supped; and Michael, perceiving him, ran to meet him. The name of +Medor, mingled in the almost unintelligible explanations given by the +agitated Michael, led Blanchet to suppose that his young friend Gervais +might have something to do in the matter; he therefore hastened his +steps, and arrived at the very moment when, by an increased exertion of +strength and anger, Va-bon-train, forcing his way through the crowd, +was about to rush upon Gervais. Blanchet seized him by the shoulders, +and pushed him backwards, saying, "Stop! stop! there's time enough for +anger, but not always for explanation." + +Less disposed than ever to profit by this good advice, Va-bon-train +was, in all probability, upon the point of turning his rage against him +who offered it, when a new incident arose to change once more the face +of the affair. Matthew approached the scene of action, and Martin and +Jacquot, under his guidance, were added to the spectators. Jacquot had +not been deaf to certain words, which for several days past had struck +his attentive ears. Encouraged probably by the noise, he began to +repeat, though in a timid and uncertain tone, and as if he were saying +a lesson, which he was not quite sure of knowing,--"Thomas, hide +Scaramouche!" + +--"Scaramouche!" repeated Michael, who had heard him; and now Jacquot, +more sure of what he was about, went on, and constantly raising his +voice in proportion as the noise around him increased, and excited him, +his words at length reached the ears of Va-bon-train, who turned round; +while Medor, taking advantage of his first moment of liberty, rushed +upon Martin, and this time rummaging, without obstacle, in the bottom +of the pannier, dragged out the unfortunate Scaramouche, who, all +crippled and disordered as he was, still retained sufficient life to +express by his attitudes the distress of his condition. Medor advanced +and placed him triumphantly in the hands of his master; who, in his +surprise and joy, knew not to which of his two friends to offer his +first caresses. But Medor had not finished his task; and returning to +the pannier, notwithstanding the efforts of La Mauricaude, who hastened +to the defence of her booty, he drew from it the last of the Madras +handkerchiefs, which she had preserved for her own use. + +"Infamous old toad!" exclaimed Va-bon-train, "'tis you, then, who have +robbed me." And immediately turning towards Gervais, whom the presence +of Blanchet had encouraged to approach, "Why were you with her?" he +demanded, in a tone which already indicated his desire of finding him +less in fault. + +--"I was not with her," said Gervais. "They were not together," +repeated several of the voices which had at first borne testimony +against him. + +"And why did you take away my dog?" again demanded Va-bon-train. + +--"In order to bring him back to you, and to prevent him from following +her." Then the accusations began to turn upon La Mauricaude. One +recognized her as having given him on the previous evening a bad +ten-sous piece; another had seen Thomas skulking about his house, and +an hour after, found that a fowl had been stolen. La Mauricaude began +to vociferate, and then to cry as she saw the storm increase, and +direct itself against her; meanwhile Gervais drew near his father, who, +already more than half intoxicated, and hardly able to understand what +he heard, contented himself, without taking any part in the matter, by +affirming, that, "as for him, he was an honest man." + +"Get out of my way, you fool!" said his brother, pushing him behind +him; then advancing towards La Mauricaude, who, still vociferating and +crying, was endeavouring to make her escape, amid the hootings which +pursued her, he contented himself with cracking his whip in her ears to +hasten her steps. The crowd by which she was accompanied, diminished +as she retreated, and by degrees the clamours of the little boys, who +alone persisted in following her, died away. These assailants she +dispersed by throwing stones at them, and they afterwards reported that +they had seen both her and her son Thomas join a band of gipsies, who +were on the point of departure. From that time she has never been heard +of. + +Quiet was once more restored at Saint Syphorien, and Va-bon-train +received from Blanchet the explanations necessary to establish the good +conduct of his nephew. "But where, in the name of Fortune, did you meet +with him?" continued Blanchet. "He would never tell me." + +"What, Gervais!" said Va-bon-train, "will you not acknowledge me for +your uncle?" Michael, transported with joy, once more threw his arms +round the neck of his friend, and Va-bon-train afterwards received the +acknowledgments of his nephew's grateful affection. "Now then, what is +to be done with Matthew," said Va-bon-train--"now that he has got rid +of his old toad?" "He cannot live alone," said Gervais, casting down +his eyes. + +"Well, then, let him come with me," continued Va-bon-train; "Martin +will, at all events, be learned enough to carry a part of my baggage, +which is becoming too heavy for Medor. I will teach Jacquot many +capital things, and we shall get on very well together." + +These words rendered Gervais completely happy, and the gratitude +inspired by his uncle's kindness towards himself, was far exceeded +by what he now experienced, on account of his father. They went for +Matthew to the tavern, where they found him still drinking, the longer +to defer the moment of payment. This difficulty was removed by his +brother, who thenceforth considered himself as charged with his care. +The arrangement was proposed to him, and he accepted it, just as he +would have done, had he been sober, only that he repeated a little +oftener, and with rather more emotion than usual, "You, Vincent, know +very well, that I at least am an honest man." + +They had a joyful supper that night, Medor remaining at the side of the +table, with his head upon his master's knee, which he left only to give +a slight caress to Michael, or a look and a wag of his tail to Gervais. +The following day, before their departure for Lyons, Gervais received +from the generosity of his uncle, the pair of stockings, the shirt, and +the two handkerchiefs, necessary to complete his outfit, and had the +satisfaction of arriving with him at the workshop of Master Blanchet, +not as a poor boy, received almost as an act of charity, but as a good +workman, countenanced and recommended by respectable relatives. + +He has justified their hopes and his own, having become Master +Blanchet's head workman; he is about to marry his only daughter, +and his father-in-law, rich enough to retire, has given up to him a +business, which Gervais will not allow to decline under his care. +Matthew, who only needs guidance, contents himself with being a little +merry after his first meal, and a little sleepy after the last. He +hopes to spend a peaceful old age with his son, while Va-bon-train, +who, without being old, is also anxious for repose, has purchased a +small property, married again, and given up his marionettes and the +faithful Medor to his son Michael. Matthew has generously added the +ass, and Jacquot, and has announced for Gervais' wedding-day, "_a +performance for the benefit of friendship, in which is to be seen +the wonderful dispute between peerless Jacquot and the incomparable +Scaramouche_." + + + + +CECILIA AND NANETTE; + +OR, THE ACCIDENT. + + +It was in the month of December; the church clock had just struck +five, and the morning was very dark, when one of the servants of the +inn came to inform Madame de Vesac, and her daughter Cecilia, that the +carriage was ready, and that they could continue their journey. They +had left Paris early on the previous day, for the purpose of visiting +the estate of Madame de Vesac, to which she had been called by urgent +business. The distance was a hundred and fifty leagues, and they had +travelled by post; they had been on the road till ten o'clock on the +previous evening, and were now about to resume their journey after +having taken a few hours' repose. Madame de Vesac called her daughter; +Cecilia, terribly sleepy, half opened her eyes, then let her head fall +back again upon her pillow. Her mother was obliged to call a second, +and even a third time, and she awoke up at last, exclaiming "Oh dear! +dear! how disagreeable it is to get up at five o'clock in the morning +at this time of year!" She would have said, had she dared, "Oh dear! +what a misfortune!" for every contradiction or suffering, however +slight, always assumed, with Cecilia, the character of a misfortune. At +every little accident that befel her, she fancied that no one had ever +suffered so much as she did, and really believed that cold, hunger, +thirst, and sleepiness, were with her quite different matters from what +they were with other people. When laughed at for the disproportionate +annoyance which the petty inconveniences of life occasioned her, she +would say "Oh! you do not feel as I feel!" and, indeed, believed so. + +Nevertheless, as Cecilia possessed a generous disposition, an elevated +mind, a lively imagination, and a due share of pride, she had a +passionate admiration for high and noble actions, and even a great +desire to imitate them, sometimes saying that she would give everything +in the world for an opportunity of becoming a heroine. "Provided," her +mother would add with a smile, "that your acts of heroism never exposed +you to the chance of being scratched by a thorn, or to the necessity of +walking a few steps in uneasy shoes." And then Cecilia, a little vexed, +would maintain that such things as these had nothing whatever to do +with heroism. + +Madame de Vesac had not been able to bring her maid with her, as she +was ill at the time they left home. This rendered their arrivals at +the inns, and especially their departures, more disagreeable, as they +were themselves obliged to pack and unpack their luggage, and attend to +a variety of troublesome details. Madame de Vesac spared her daughter +these inconveniences as far as possible. On the present occasion, she +had allowed her to sleep until the last moment, and when Cecilia awoke, +almost everything was ready for their journey. Still it was necessary +to arrange and pack up her night-things, and see that nothing was +forgotten; and the cold and the darkness had so chilled her courage, +that nothing but shame prevented her from shedding tears at every +effort she made, and every step she took. And yet she was thirteen +years old; but at no age do people cease to be children, if they allow +themselves to attach importance to every whim that may cross their +minds, or to every trifling inconvenience which they may have to +bear. Cecilia had much more trouble, and was much longer about what +she had to do than would have been necessary had she set courageously +to work. "Make haste," repeated her mother every moment, and Cecilia +made haste, but with the air of one who had no heart for what she was +about. To have given herself this, nothing was required but a slight +effort, a slight exertion of her reason: she need only have said, +"What I have to do at present is so far from being beyond my powers, +as I try to persuade myself, that if I felt the least wish to do it I +should find no difficulty in it." But Cecilia did not choose to desire +what would have been so beneficial to her, and, for the sake of saving +herself a single mental effort, sufficient to conquer her repugnance +and idleness, she allowed herself to relapse into them every moment, +and submitted to the continued exertions demanded by every action and +movement. + +At last, all was ready; Madame de Vesac and her daughter entered +their carriage and departed. Cecilia's griefs, however, being still +undiminished, the night was so dark, and so cold, and she had so little +courage to resist the feeling of sadness which it induced. She shivered +in her wadded dress, and beneath her two or three shawls; her fur shoes +did not prevent her from complaining of the _deadly coldness_ of her +feet, nor could she sufficiently cover her hands with her dress, though +already encased in fur gloves. At length, in spite of her distress, she +fell asleep, and slept quietly until it was broad daylight. When she +awoke, the sun had already dissipated the thick fog of the morning. +It shone brilliantly over the country covered with snow, and was even +felt through the windows of the carriage. Everything seemed to announce +a fine winter's day, and her heart began to revive. They stopped for +breakfast, and took it in a comfortable warm room, and this completely +restored her energy and cheerfulness. Her mother then began to jest +about the despair she had manifested a few hours before. "I see," she +said, "that for the acts of heroism to which you purpose to devote +yourself, you will be careful to select the months of July and August, +for cold is quite adverse to your virtue." + +"But mamma," said Cecilia, "how can you expect one to stir, when one's +fingers are benumbed with cold?" + +"Since, though complaining the whole time, you did nevertheless manage +to do so, I presume the thing was possible, but I perceive, at the +same time, that such an effort must have something in it surpassing +the highest courage, and were it not for the terrible fatality which +has subjected you to so severe a trial, I should have been extremely +careful not to have required anything of the kind from you." + +"However, it is quite certain, mamma, that one might choose some better +time for travelling than the month of December." + +"Not if it happened to be in that month that one had business to attend +to which required travelling. You will one day learn, my child, that +there are things more impossible than enduring the cold, or even than +moving one's fingers when they are benumbed. You remember what Cæsar +said: _It is necessary that I should go, and it is not necessary that I +should live_. + +"One might very well expose one's life, on occasions of importance, and +yet not be able to do impossibilities, however important they might be." + +"Such as putting in a pin or tying a shoe when one is cold?" + +"I do not mean that," replied Cecilia, a little out of humour, "and +besides you will allow, mamma, that our affairs are not of such +importance as those of Cæsar." + +"How do you know that? the importance of things is relative; I am +not called upon to overturn the world; such a thing would give me +no pleasure, but I have to settle a matter to which your father +attaches great importance, and to show myself worthy of the confidence +he reposed in me, when, on leaving for the army he placed all his +affairs in my hands; in fine, it is necessary for me that he should +be pleased with me, for on this depends the happiness of my life; and +on your part, it is necessary that you should prove yourself able to +support with courage unavoidable inconveniences. All these things are +important, and yet," added Madame de Vesac, smiling, "I do not think we +run any risk of dying on account of them." + +"Oh, no! mamma," said Cecilia, smiling too, "but I assure you that even +Cæsar would have found it very cold this morning." + +"I have not the least doubt of it; but Cæsar was such a great man! +Do you know, Cecilia, that if we were to examine with care, I feel +sure that among his great actions we should find many which must have +benumbed his feet and hands." + +"In that case," said Cecilia, somewhat drily, "he must have been very +fortunate if he could find matters to attend to which would prevent his +thinking of the cold, for it is certainly very disagreeable." + +"Undoubtedly," replied Madame de Vesac, carelessly; "but there are some +persons who can manage to think of every thing. I am persuaded, for +instance, that had you been in Clælia's place, when, flying from the +camp of Porsenna, she crossed the Tiber on horseback, you would have +found it excessively disagreeable, to have been obliged to wet your +feet." + +"Well, mamma," said Cecilia with animation, "you ought to be delighted +at that, since you are continually telling me that instead of wishing +to be a heroine, it is quite enough to attend to one's duties merely." + +"Certainly; but I who make no pretensions to heroism, find that mere +duty is sometimes quite sufficient to employ all our powers, and that +it is impossible that we can always do what simple duty requires, +unless we have learned to bear cold, fatigue, and even the misfortune +of having to get up at five o'clock in the morning in the month of +December." + +"It is nevertheless certain, mamma, that there are things which it is +quite impossible to do, such as walking when one is tired." + +"Or moving one's fingers when they are cold, for instance. Undoubtedly +there are things which are impossible to every one, but the difference +I find between Cæsar and you is, that in his case the impossibility +came much later, and that at the degree of fatigue at which you would +say _I cannot walk_, he would have said _I must walk_, and would have +found strength to proceed. You are not aware how much strength people +possess when they really wish to make use of it." + +"I assure you, mamma," replied Cecilia, with some slight degree of +temper, "that when I say I cannot do a thing I really cannot." + +"I am sure of that, but I should like to know whence arises the +impossibility. Pray think of this at the first opportunity. It is +necessary that I should know whether you are really weaker than other +people." + +Cecilia made no reply; she was perfectly persuaded that no one +understood her sufferings, and had never asked herself whether she were +not made like other people, and consequently able to endure what they +endured. The day passed well enough, and when night came she slept. + +She was sleeping soundly, when a violent jerk suddenly aroused her. +"Gracious! what is the matter?" she exclaimed. "We are upset," said +Madame de Vesac; and in fact at that moment, the carriage, which had +passed over a large stone, came to the ground with a violent shock, +and turned completely over on one side. Cecilia screamed, and fell +upon her mother. "Do not be frightened," said Madame de Vesac, who, +notwithstanding the inconvenience of her position, thought only of +her daughter. The carriage was stopped, and the postilion dismounted, +and came to their assistance. All this time Cecilia did not cease +screaming. "Where are you hurt?" asked her mother, trembling lest she +should be severely wounded. "Everywhere," replied Cecilia, unconscious +of what she said, the fright had so bewildered her. When the postilion +opened the door which happened to be uppermost, Cecilia knew not what +to do to extricate herself from her position. "Get up," said the +postilion. + +"Get up," repeated her mother, but Cecilia replied, "I cannot," without +knowing whether she could or not, for she had not even tried. At last +the postilion, who was active and strong, raising her up, lifted her +out of the carriage, and thus freed her mother from a weight which +almost overpowered her and made her feel ready to faint. Then Madame de +Vesac, in her turn, getting out with the assistance of the postilion, +hastened to her daughter, whom she was delighted to find standing up, +although motionless, and not knowing whether she had a limb of which +she could make use. In a little while, being somewhat reassured by her +mother's voice, Cecilia began to answer the repeated questions put to +her to ascertain where she was hurt. Both her knees were bruised, and +her elbow grazed: she had a slight swelling on the head, a bonnet box +had pressed her side, and her foot, which happened to be under the seat +of the carriage, was a little swelled. "I am so bruised all over that +I cannot move," she said, moving, however, the whole time in every +direction to feel where she was hurt. She asked her mother whether +she, too, were not hurt. "I think," replied Madame de Vesac, "I have +sprained my wrist, for it is very painful, and I cannot use my hand." + +"Just like my foot," replied Cecilia, and saying so, she began to walk. +Madame de Vesac smiled, but said nothing. She wrapped her hand in her +shawl, the ends of which she tied round her so as to support her wrist, +and then busied herself with what was to be done. Recovered from the +first shock of their fall, and congratulating themselves on having +escaped so well, they nevertheless found themselves placed in a very +unpleasant predicament. Comtois, the only servant who had accompanied +them, had gone on before, as a courier, to prepare the horses. The +postilion, unable by himself to raise the carriage, was obliged to +go for assistance to the post-house, from which they were still at +a considerable distance. Madame de Vesac and Cecilia, therefore, as +they could not follow him since he went on horseback, nor reach the +post-house alone, as they were ignorant of the way, were obliged to +remain on the road until his return. The night was extremely dark, +and the cold, without being very intense, was sharp and disagreeable. +A sleet was falling, which, as it reached the ground, was converted +into ice. The carriage, completely overturned, afforded no shelter, +and to the other inconveniences of their position, was added that of +being quite alone at ten o'clock at night upon the high road. Madame de +Vesac, however courageous, was not without uneasiness, but she knew it +was useless to give way to it; and when Cecilia, a little terrified, +asked her if they were to remain alone, "You see we must," she replied, +in a tranquil voice, which gave her daughter to understand, that though +she was aware of the inconvenience of the arrangement, she nevertheless +submitted to it with calmness, because it was necessary. Cecilia +herself saw this necessity so plainly that she made no reply; but when +after unharnessing the horses, and securing two of them to a tree, the +postilion mounted the third to go and seek assistance; when she saw him +depart, when the sound of his horse's feet growing fainter and fainter +at last ceased to fall upon her ear, then her heart shrank with terror, +a cold perspiration covered her limbs, and she drew close to her +mother. Madame de Vesac perceived her alarm, but made no remark, well +knowing that nothing so much increases terror as speaking of it. She +merely endeavoured to restore her confidence a little, by giving her, +on her own part, an example of courage and tranquillity. + +The wind became more violent, the sleet increased, and a heavy fall of +snow began to mingle with it: Madame De Vesac and her daughter went +over to the side where the carriage offered some defence against the +rain and snow which were beating into their faces; but this shelter did +not long suffice, the gusts of wind became so violent, that Cecilia +was twice on the point of losing her hat, notwithstanding the ribbons +by which it was confined. It was with difficulty that they kept their +shawls around them; the snow assailed them on all sides, melting upon +them, and penetrating their clothes; and they were benumbed by a damp +coldness, from which their inability to move left them no means of +escape. Cecilia did not think of complaining, for no one could have +assisted her; besides, she could not doubt that her mother suffered as +much as herself, and complaints are seldom made except to excite the +pity of those who seem better off than we are, and who, therefore, are +able to think of us rather than of themselves. Cecilia now discovered +how erroneous it is to suppose that any comfort is to be derived from +complaining: perhaps even she suffered less from her position, than +she would have done had she lamented it; but she did not make this +reflection, and it was natural that the necessity of the case should +render her more courageous. + +Madame de Vesac, however, fearing lest her daughter should become ill, +from the cold and damp which had penetrated her clothes, proposed to +her to seek shelter in a wood which extended on both sides of the road, +and the trees of which, though divested of their leaves, were at least +sufficiently close to break the violence of the wind and snow; but this +wood was the principal object of Cecilia's dread. Terrified at the +proposition, she could only utter the words, "Oh! mamma, to go into the +wood!" + +"Just as you like, my child," said Madame de Vesac, "but," she added, +smiling, "who do you think would come after us in such weather as this? +You may be quite sure there is nobody abroad but ourselves." + +Cecilia made no reply, her thoughts terrified her to such a degree that +she dared not utter them, and had she pronounced the word _robbers_, it +would have seemed to her that she was calling them; but at that moment +there came a gust so violent, that the carriage appeared shaken by it; +one of the blinds which happened to be down, was so violently agitated +that the cords snapped, and being no longer upheld it was lifted by the +wind, and struck Cecilia on the head. Seized with terror she sprang +from her place; the storm continued, she was unable to resist it, yet +dared not return to the carriage. Completely bewildered by the wind, +she neither knew where she was, nor what she did: and her mother taking +her by the arm led her into the wood, where she recovered a little +of her self-possession. Here the wind was much less violent, and as +always happens when we look at things closely, Cecilia having entered +the wood felt much less terrified, than while merely considering it +from the road. A copse where there happened to be a few trees, which +still retained their leaves, although it was the month of December, +had protected a few feet of ground from the snow, and afforded +the travellers a shelter from the wet. The double trunk of a tree +furnished them with a support, and they were at least in a situation +where they could await without excessive discomfort the assistance +which could not be far distant, when all at once Cecilia, whose eyes +were turned towards the copse, probably seeing the branches agitated +by the wind, fancied she perceived a figure moving and advancing +towards them. Completely bewildered by fright she seized her mother's +arm, and without saying a word dragged her on, as quickly as she was +able, through the bushes, plunging deeper into the wood to avoid the +terrible objects by which she believed herself pursued. Her mother, +astonished, after having followed her for a few steps endeavoured to +stop her. "Where are you going?" she said. "What is the matter?" But +Cecilia, whose terror was only increased by the sound of her mother's +voice, because she was afraid of its having been heard, continued +to drag her along with an extraordinary degree of strength, and her +mother, who would not leave her, was obliged to follow. At length, by +dint of talking she recalled her to herself; she stopped a moment and +said in a low tremulous voice, "Did you see him?"--"Who?" demanded +Madame de Vesac.--"Among the trees ... a man...." "I have seen no one, +you were mistaken, I assure you."--"Oh! I still hear him...." And she +was once more on the point of starting off, but her mother restrained +her. "My dear Cecilia," she said, greatly distressed at her condition; +"my dear child, be reasonable, take courage; there is no one there, I +assure you there is nothing to fear; confide in me who would not lead +you into danger, and whose judgment is calmer than yours." A little +restored by her mother's words, and the affectionate tone in which they +were uttered, Cecilia, ashamed of her fears, stopped, and restored her +mother's arm, which she still held, to its former position under her +shawl.--"Let us retrace our steps," said Madame de Vesac, "lest we +lose our way." Cecilia did not dare to say anything, but she shuddered +at the idea of again passing so near the copse. At this moment they +heard some one call them, and recognized the voice of Comtois. Cecilia +breathed more freely, and hastened to reply; but Comtois had entered +the wood at another part, and they stood still to discover whence the +voice proceeded. + +"It is in that direction, mamma," said Cecilia, who, delighted at the +thought of avoiding the copse, pointed to a road a little more to the +right than the one they were on the point of taking. Madame de Vesac +listened again, and the voice which still continued to call and answer, +seeming, in fact, to proceed from the right, she took the direction +indicated by Cecilia, and calling from time to time to Comtois, they +walked on towards the spot whence the sound was still heard to proceed, +but it seemed sometimes to approach, and sometimes to recede, for it +appeared that Comtois altered his course according to the place where +he thought they must be, and they themselves took first one direction +and then another, without being quite sure which was the right. This +state of uncertainty lasted for some minutes, but at length the voice +sensibly approached, and they heard steps through the trees. "Is that +you, Comtois?" It was he, and Cecilia in a transport of joy was ready +to throw her arms round his neck; she forgot the cold, the sleet, and +the wind; once freed from her former terror she now thought all her +troubles were at an end. Comtois informed them that he had procured +assistance, and that at that moment the men were engaged in raising +the carriage, to which he was going to conduct them. But the question +now was how to find the way, for, intent only on reaching each other, +neither Comtois nor Madame de Vesac had thought of observing their +route. They stopped to listen for some indication from the people at +the carriage, but the wind bore the sounds another way, or when they +did reach them, they were so faint and uncertain, that they concluded +they must have advanced further into the wood than they had supposed. +However, they directed their course towards the side on which they +concluded the high road lay, listening every moment to discover whether +the sounds increased in strength; sometimes Cecilia fancied she heard +voices, and even maintained that she could distinguish that of the +postilion: at other times hearing nothing she became uneasy, but the +joy of having found Comtois sustained her courage. At length she +exclaimed, "Mamma, I see an opening through the trees; that must be +the road." Madame de Vesac looked, and perceived, indeed, a spot where +the trees appeared to separate, but she did not think it was the high +road, and was astonished at not hearing any noise. Cecilia made her +hasten her steps, repeating, as she hurried her on, "There's the road, +there's the road!" Her mother cautioned her not to rejoice too soon; +but she did not listen to her, and was the first to reach a spot, open +indeed, but so surrounded by the wood on all sides, that it afforded no +means of egress, except by a path almost parallel to the one they had +just left. She stood petrified. + +"This is not the road," said Madame de Vesac. + +"Indeed," said Comtois, "I don't know where we are now." + +"What will become of us?" inquired Cecilia in a timid and anxious +voice, but without those exclamations so habitual to her, for in the +present moment of real fear and trouble her thoughts were more occupied +with the situation itself, than with the desire of vividly displaying +what she felt. + +"We must endeavour to get out of this place," replied Madame de Vesac. +"The road cannot be far off; but we must take a different direction +from the one we have come by." + +They once more stopped to listen and consult together; but they could +hear nothing whatever; and as to the path they were to take, there was +no choice except between the one by which they had come and another +which led in the same direction. Their consultation, therefore, could +not be of long duration. The second path seemed much better than the +one they had left, it was tolerably wide, and pretty well beaten; and +they hence concluded that it must necessarily lead to some frequented +place. They therefore determined to follow it, and recommenced their +journey with renewed courage; but Cecilia perceived that her mother +arranged in a different manner the end of the shawl, with which she +had contrived to support her arm, and that she occasionally carried +her other hand to it; and concluding from this that she must suffer +increased pain, she asked her about it. + +"We must not think of this now," said Madame de Vesac; so that Cecilia +was afraid to complain too much of her foot, which was beginning to +give her pain. She only said, "My foot is rather painful." She had +already endured sufficient real trouble during the night, to have +learned to be silent about inconveniences not worth complaining of. + +The snow fell with less violence, and the wind was somewhat abated, +so that in the wood the cold was quite bearable. Madame de Vesac +and her daughter, one on each side of Comtois, and supported by his +arm, walked without much difficulty in a path tolerably smooth, and +which the recently fallen snow prevented from being very slippery. +Reanimated by this momentary relief, they pursued this part of their +journey with tolerable cheerfulness, Madame de Vesac averring even that +her arm was less painful since the cold had diminished, and Cecilia +consoling herself with the hopes of soon being able to rest her foot +in the carriage. Comtois from time to time raised his voice and called +to the people at the carriage; but no one answered, and not a sound +reached their ears. Again the travellers began to feel uneasy at thus +continually advancing without any assurance that they were not going +further away from the spot they wished to reach. However, proceed they +must, for there was no reason to suppose that, in retracing their +steps, they would be able to find any better way. At last they came to +a point where the path was crossed by another precisely similar. They +were now in the utmost perplexity, for there was no inducement for +choosing one of the three paths rather than another, except perhaps +that as the one they had come by did not seem to have brought them any +nearer the road, it might be reasonable to choose between the other +two. But on which of them were they to fix? + +Comtois attempted to climb a rather tall tree which happened to be at +the entrance of one of the paths, hoping to be able to see from it the +road and the carriage; but, not to mention that his boots did not allow +him to climb with much agility, it happened that the first branch he +clung to was decayed and broke, and he fell, fortunately without being +much hurt; but Madame de Vesac, as well as Cecilia, whose own fall had +rendered her excessively timid, prevented him from making any further +attempt, by representing the frightful situation they would all be +in if any accident befell him. There was no alternative, therefore, +but to proceed, and let chance direct their course. They thought +they remembered that in diverging from the road they had several +times turned a little to the left; they consequently supposed that in +returning they must take the contrary direction. On this, therefore, +they fixed, not without much regret, however, at being unable to +ascertain whither the opposite path led; but it was not a time for +unavailing regrets, and they therefore made up their minds to trust +that they had selected the best. + +Nevertheless the spirits of the travellers began again to sink, +Cecilia's foot was considerably swelled, and fatigue had greatly added +to the pain of Madame de Vesac's arm, although her anxiety kept her +in a state of agitation which prevented her feeling it as much as she +would have done in calmer moments. Still this very anxiety was itself +a serious evil: there was no certainty of their finding their way; and +if chance did not guide them better than it had done thus far, she +calculated with terror the number of hours they must pass in the wood, +and the fatigues and sufferings they must endure whilst waiting for the +light. + +Cecilia, still more depressed, said nothing, and began to cease +thinking: fatigue and sadness absorbed all her faculties. + +The path they had taken terminated in a kind of cross-way, from which +branched off several narrower paths. They fixed upon what appeared the +widest and best; but it soon contracted to such a degree that Madame +de Vesac and her daughter were obliged to resign the arm of Comtois, +and allow him to walk in front and clear the way a little for them. The +density of the wood at this part had kept the ground moist, and this +moisture was now converted into ice, while the snow had been prevented +from falling sufficiently to cover the path. They walked one behind +the other, slipping at every step, and only able to keep themselves +from falling by laying hold of the trees. Every moment their feet +struck against the roots, or were caught in the trailing branches; +and Cecilia, constantly on the point of falling, soon became unable +to restrain her sobs. At last, at a very slippery part, she lost her +footing, and fell upon her knees. A bramble, which happened to be +across the path, caught in her clothes; and when she had succeeded in +extricating her dress from it, it became entangled in her shawl, then +got fastened to her gloves, and deprived her of the use of her hands. +She tried to rise, but no sooner had she put her foot upon the ground +than she slipped and again fell. Worn out as she already was, this +slight accident quite exhausted her courage. Madame de Vesac turned +round to give her her hand; but being near falling herself, she was +obliged to catch hold of a tree: she could only pity and endeavour to +encourage her daughter. + +"Mamma," said Cecilia, "I cannot go on; it is impossible." + +"My poor child," said Madame de Vesac, "are you quite sure it is +impossible? Think seriously of it; this is not a trial to be made for +pleasure merely, such as I proposed to you a short time since, but an +exertion of courage absolutely indispensable. Only consider, my dear +Cecilia," she added, in the most tender and caressing tone, "we have +nothing but our courage to extricate us from these difficulties; +but with courage I think we have still sufficient strength left to +enable us to go through a great deal. Would it not then be better to +call it forth than weakly to yield to our distress?" + +Thus saying, she assisted with her foot to extricate her from the +bramble, while supporting her with her knees. Cecilia made no reply, +but, raising herself up, continued her journey, and, feeling the truth +of her mother's words, she exerted all her strength to avoid future +complaints. Still she wept in silence; a weakness pardonable indeed, +but one, nevertheless, which added to her sufferings, as weakness ever +does. + +[Illustration: Cecilia and Nanette, p. 53.] + +They at last reached the end of this difficult route, and once more +found themselves at an opening in the wood, where several paths +terminated, but without being any better able to decide which they were +to take. Stopping for a moment to consider, they thought they heard at +no great distance a faint sound, which was not that of the wind. They +listened; "Good heavens!" exclaimed Cecilia, "I think I hear some one +crying;" and she shuddered as she spoke. + +They listened again, and fancied they could distinguish the voice of +a child. At length, after looking in every direction, favoured by the +light of the moon, which was beginning to disperse the clouds, they +perceived in a corner, a little within the opening, a figure standing +motionless, and leaning against a tree. Cecilia was frightened, and +clung tightly to the arm of Comtois. + +"Let us see what it is," said Madame de Vesac, the more anxiously, as +she still heard the sounds. + +On a nearer approach, they discovered that what they had seen was a +poor woman, leaning motionless against a tree, and who had by her side +a little girl about eight years old. The poor creature held something +in her arms, which, as they came closer, they found to be an infant of +about two months old, motionless like the mother. It seemed benumbed +with cold; and its mother, without making any movement, or uttering a +word, stood with her head bent over it, as if to warm it. One could +scarcely say whether they were dead or alive. The voice which had been +heard proceeded from the little girl, who, also motionless by her +mother's side, continued crying in a low tone. At this moment, the +moon rendered them distinctly visible. Madame de Vesac and Cecilia +approached quite close to the woman, but she did not change her +position. They looked at each other and trembled, for they feared that +both mother and infant were dead. At last, Madame de Vesac said to her, +"My good woman, what are you doing here?" She made no answer. + +The little girl, who, on perceiving them, began to cry and sob more +violently, pulled her by the skirt, exclaiming, "Mother! mother! some +ladies!" + +The poor woman raised her head, and pointed by her looks to her child, +whose face she again covered with her own; they had, however, time +enough to discern the face of the infant, which was pale and still as +death. Madame de Vesac wished to ascertain if it yet lived, but knew +not how to ask the question. At last she said in a low tone, at the +same time laying her hand gently upon him, "He is very cold." "I cannot +get him warm again," said the mother, in a still fainter tone, at the +same time pressing him more closely to her bosom, as if anxious to make +a new effort to impart her warmth to him. "Is he dead?" asked Comtois. +The only reply to these terrible words were cries of despair, as the +unfortunate creature pressed her infant more firmly to her heart. +Madame de Vesac found means of taking its hand: it was cold as ice; but +she felt its pulse, and perceiving it beat, she said with animation, +"No! most assuredly he is not dead; I feel his pulse beat." + +"Oh my God!" exclaimed the poor woman, with a stifled sigh, at the same +time raising towards Madame de Vesac eyes beaming with gratitude, and +already beginning to be suffused with tears. But she again immediately +turned them upon her child, whom she passionately kissed. + +"Let us take him," said Madame de Vesac; "we are better able to warm +him than you are." + +"Give him to me. I will put him under my great coat," said Comtois, +as he unfastened his thick, warm travelling coat. The poor woman +hesitated. "Give him to me," he continued. "I have children of my own. +I know how to manage them." + +"Let him take the child," said Madame de Vesac; and the unhappy mother +placed the infant in his arms, wrapping the coat round him. In order +to make room for him, Comtois removed a bottle from one of the inside +pockets. + +"Stop!" said he; "this won't hurt him." It was a bottle of brandy; he +opened it, and poured a few drops into the mouth of the child, who +swallowed it. + +"He swallows!" exclaimed the mother, in a transport of joy; and the +child began to breathe more freely, and to move its little arms. + +"I thought so!" said Comtois; "this would bring the dead to life. It +would do you no harm either, to take a little, my good woman." + +The poor creature replied that she did not want anything; but Madame +de Vesac persuaded her to take a little to warm her. Then the little +girl, who since the arrival of Madame de Vesac had ceased crying, +watching all that passed around her, again began to sob, in a low tone, +but sufficiently loud to make herself heard. Cecilia was the first to +observe her, and began to caress her, in order to quiet her, but the +child still continued crying, with her eyes directed to the bottle. +Cecilia asked if a little might not also be given to her, and Comtois +declared that it would do her no harm. "Yes," said Madame de Vesac, +"if she only takes a few drops; but if you give her the bottle, she +will drink too much." Meanwhile the child still cried and watched the +bottle, and her manner was so quiet and gentle, that the heart of +Cecilia was vividly touched. At last, by an effort of which she could +not have believed herself capable, Cecilia took off her glove, and told +the child that she should drink out of her hand; but when the little +girl had done so, she hid her hand again, observing that it was very +cold; but when the child rejected the brandy, saying it burned her +mouth, Cecilia observed to her that it was not worth while to have made +her take off her glove. She was on the point of putting it on again, +when the mother said that a bit of bread would have been much better +for her, as she had eaten nothing since noon. At this the child began +to cry more bitterly. + +"Oh, dear!" said Cecilia, "if I had but the bun I bought this morning, +and did not eat." + +"Where is it?" asked her mother. + +"In the carriage." + +"I thought I told you to put it in your bag." + +"Yes, but my bag...." She interrupted herself, and uttered a cry of +joy. She had not observed that her bag had remained attached to her +arm. She felt the strings, undid them, opened it, and found the bun. It +was a little crushed, indeed, by her fall, but the pieces were good. +She gave one of them to the mother, who, without saying a word, and +thinking herself unobserved, put it into her pocket. Cecilia again +felt in the bag, and taking off her other glove, asked whether, if she +crumbled a little of the soft part in her hand, they could not make the +infant take some of it. + +"What he wants," said Madame de Vesac, "is his mother's milk; but +even supposing she has any for him, he is not at present sufficiently +strong to take it; we must endeavour to reach some inhabited place as +speedily as possible, where we may be able to give him the attention he +requires." + +Then the poor woman, who, after a moment of intense joy, felt all her +fears and grief revive, said weeping, "If he only lives until we reach +Chambouri, I have my mother there, and she is very skilful in the care +of children." + +"Where is Chambouri?" inquired Madame de Vesac. + +"It is a short league from here," replied the poor woman. + +"It is the post town," added Comtois. "Do you know the way to it?" + +"Do I know the way to it?" said the woman. "I was born there." + +"Why did you not go there instead of remaining against that tree?" + +"I fell three times upon the ice; the third time my poor baby gave a +scream, and then was silent. At first I thought I had killed him; and +then I thought if I fell again, I should be sure to kill him; besides, +a moment after, finding he did not move, I believed him dead, and had +no heart for anything." + +"But now will you conduct us to Chambouri?" + +"Certainly, provided we can get there in time," and the poor woman +again began to weep. + +"Yes, yes, we shall arrive in time;" said Madame de Vesac; "Comtois +will carry the infant in one arm, and give the other to Cecilia. You +and I," she added, addressing the mother, "will try to keep each other +up." + +They proceeded in accordance with this arrangement, Cecilia giving her +hand to the little girl, and the poor mother walking by the side of +her baby, every moment putting her hand upon its head, which was not +covered by Comtois' coat, and redoubling her tears each time she felt +it cold. Madame de Vesac, perceiving this, stopped to untie a small +shawl, which she wore underneath her large one, and gave it to cover +the head of the infant. + +"It is indeed very cold," said Cecilia, who was beginning to think of +her own troubles, and who found that by giving her hand to the little +girl, she herself became very cold, from being unable to cover it with +her shawl. + +"How long have you been exposed to this cold?" inquired Madame de Vesac +of the poor woman. + +"We have not entered a house since noon," she replied. "I hoped to have +reached Chambouri early this evening, but the bad weather and the bad +roads have delayed us; and had it not been for you, my good lady, we +must have passed the night in the wood." + +"But would you have been able to endure the cold?" demanded Madame de +Vesac. + +"I don't know whether my poor little one would have survived it," +she replied, with increased emotion, and then began to enumerate his +perfections, as if she had already lost him. "He knew me," she said, +weeping; "even this very morning he looked at me and smiled; the +beautiful sunshine delighted him, and he raised his little arms, as if +he wanted to jump; and then, after the sun had gone down, when, for the +last time, I attempted to nurse him, he looked up at me, and tried to +smile." At these words her tears again flowed with redoubled force. + +"He will look at you; he will smile again," said Madame de Vesac. + +"Oh!" continued the unhappy mother, "he has suffered so much; he looked +at me, as if for help;" and in calling to mind the sad looks of her +child, she could not restrain her sobs. Then Cecilia again, forgetful +of her own troubles, withdrew her hand from Comtois' arm, and passing +it under that part of his coat which enveloped the child, said to the +mother, "Oh! he is very warm: feel him, he moves his little arms; I am +sure he is comfortable." "Yes, he does move his arms, I can tell you," +said Comtois; "see, he has pulled off the handkerchief which he had on +his head;" and Cecilia let go the hand of the little girl to re-arrange +the handkerchief. The poor mother knew not how to express her joy +and gratitude; but the little girl, who had remained a short distance +behind them, because Cecilia no longer held her hand, began to cry. +"Come along," then, said her mother; but the poor little thing replied, +"I cannot." + +Cecilia went to her, and again took her hand, saying, "You must try to +come along, my dear." + +"How long have you been on foot?" inquired Madame de Vesac. + +"Since noon," replied the poor woman. "I had no more money to pay +for lodgings; we had eaten all the provisions I had brought for the +journey, and I wanted to reach Chambouri." + +"And has the child been walking all that time?" + +"Yes, the whole time." + +"Cecilia is right, my dear," said Madame de Vesac, addressing the +little girl. "You must try to walk." + +"If Comtois were not carrying the baby," said Cecilia, "I would beg him +to take her up." + +"Oh! I have another arm," said Comtois; "but then I could not support +you, Miss Cecilia." + +"Never mind me," said Cecilia. "I am much better able to walk without +support, than this poor little thing is to continue the journey on +foot." + +Comtois then stooped down, and, seating the child upon his arm, raised +her from the ground, saying, "You must take hold of my collar with both +your hands;" to which the child replied, "I cannot." + +"Why not?" demanded Cecilia. But on taking her hands to show her how +she must hold the collar, she perceived that they were so cold that +the child could not use them. "Oh dear!" she exclaimed, "she freezes +me even through my gloves." Then, remembering that she had two pairs +on, the outside ones lined with fur, she took them off, and after well +rubbing the child's hands, put them on her; but, finding her still +unable to hold the collar, she made her put her arms round Comtois' +neck. The child, however, still continued to cry. "What is the +matter," asked Cecilia; but she received no answer. "It is her poor +feet," said her mother. "Her chilblains are broken, and yet she has +walked barefoot the whole day; but now that she is no longer walking, +she feels the cold more." Cecilia recollected the socks which she +wore over her shoes; she took them off, and put them upon the feet of +the little girl, who ceased crying. Then, taking the arm of the poor +woman, Madame de Vesac having the other, she walked on courageously, +complaining neither of the cold nor of the ice, though she found much +more difficulty in maintaining her balance now that she was without her +socks. + +"My dear Cecilia," said Madame de Vesac, "how much strength we have +found since the moment we thought it impossible to go any further!" + +"Oh mamma!" exclaimed Cecilia, satisfied with herself, "an occasion +like this gives one a great deal of strength." + +"No, my child: such occasions merely show us all that we actually +possess; and since we do possess it, why not make use of it on all +occasions?" + +"But they are not all of such importance." + +"It is always important to succeed in what we undertake, and to do so +as speedily and as completely as possible; we ought therefore to make +every effort in our power to ensure success. When we are wanting in +resolution, and think we have not sufficient strength on a trifling +occasion, there is but one thing to be done, and that is to call up all +we should be sure to discover in a case of great emergency." + +As she concluded these words they reached the boundary of the wood, and +found themselves at the entrance of the village of Chambouri. + +"Here it is," exclaimed Cecilia, in a transport of joy. + +"Yes!" said the poor woman; "but my mother lives close to the +post-house, which is at the other end of the village." + +"Oh dear!" cried Cecilia, in a mournful tone. + +"Should we not be tempted," inquired Madame de Vesac, "to think it +impossible to go any further?" + +Cecilia, who was beginning to think so, recollected herself, examined +her powers, and inwardly shuddered at the idea of all that she still +felt able to endure. Trembling at the thought of being exposed to new +trials, she was only re-assured when, after a quarter of an hour's +further walking, she had entered the post-house, and was seated by the +kitchen fire. + +They had persuaded the poor woman to accompany them, to warm herself, +and attend to her children, whilst waiting till her mother should be +ready to receive them. The infant had fallen asleep in Comtois' arms, +and when taken from them, the noise, the people, and the lights awoke +him, and he began to cry. + +"He cries!" exclaimed the mother, in a transport of joy; and falling +on her knees with clasped hands, in front of Madame de Vesac, to whom +Comtois had given the child, she repeated, "He cries!" while gazing at +him intently, and kissing him. He ceased crying, and, pleased with the +warmth of the fire, looked at his mother and smiled. "That is just how +he looked at me this morning," she exclaimed, and burst into a flood of +tears. They made him take a little milk whilst waiting until his mother +was sufficiently rested to nurse him herself, and the pleasure which +he manifested in taking it was a fresh subject of joy for the poor +woman. Meanwhile Cecilia had taken possession of the little girl; she +placed her upon her knees, and warmed her feet and hands, without even +complaining that by so doing she was prevented from warming her own. At +length the mother of the poor woman, hearing of her daughter's arrival, +came for them and took them home, gratefully thanking Madame de Vesac, +who would not suffer them to depart until they had a comfortable +supper. She ordered her own supper in a private room, and sent for +a skilful surgeon, who happened fortunately to be at Chambouri, and +who set her arm. In the meantime Comtois had gone in search of the +carriage, which he found set to rights, and waiting for them. As he +returned with it, a traveller entered the inn, who proved to be Madame +de Vesac's man of business. He had come from her estate to meet her, +making inquiries for her at every stage on the way, in order to prevent +her going farther, as the affair for which she had been summoned was +arranged. Cecilia therefore retired to rest, with the satisfaction +of knowing that she should not have to continue her journey on the +following morning, as Madame de Vesac announced that since she had +time she should remain a couple of days at the inn, in order to attend +to her arm. The next day they sent for the poor woman, who was full +of joy at being able to exhibit her infant, now beginning to regain +both strength and colour; nor was she ever weary of looking at him and +kissing him. She stated that she had been married at a village some +distance from Chambouri, to a mechanic, who had turned out a worthless +fellow, and, after wasting all their means, had enlisted a short time +before the birth of her infant; and that as soon as she was able to +travel, she had set out in order to return to her mother, who had a +little property, and with whom she intended to live. Madame de Vesac +told her that she should consider herself as godmother to the child, +whose life she had been instrumental in saving, and that she took him +under her protection. But as he must still remain with his mother, who +indeed would not have consented to part with him, she contented herself +with giving her some money to assist in their maintenance, and she also +permitted Cecilia to beg that the little girl, whose name was Nanette, +might be committed to her care. + +This proposition was gratefully accepted, and after a few days given +to repose, Madame de Vesac set out on her return to Paris, with Cecilia +and Nanette. From that moment Cecilia looked upon the child as her own, +and so greatly was she delighted with her new possession, that she +could speak of nothing else. Already had she disposed of all her old +dresses in favour of Nanette. Already had she measured her in every +direction, to ascertain whether in a dress stained with ink, and which +she was delighted to part with, there would he sufficient to make +a dress for Nanette, without employing the piece that was stained. +Already had she thought, that by taking from her old black apron the +part she had burned at the stove, there would be enough remaining to +make an apron for Nanette. Already had she made her take off her cap +of quilted cotton, to measure with a string the size of her head, in +order to calculate how much cambric and muslin would be wanted to make +her some neat little caps, while waiting until the return of the warm +weather should enable her to go bare-headed, a habit which Cecilia +intended she should acquire, it being so much more healthy for a +little girl. Several times already had she said to her, "Nanette, hold +yourself up;" but the child, who did not know what was meant by holding +herself up, having never heard such an expression, only bent her head a +little lower, as she always did when embarrassed. Then Cecilia raised +it for her, with a quiet gentleness of manner, mentally repeating, as +she did so, that patience is the first duty of one who wishes to bring +up a child. Madame de Vesac smiled at her gravity; but counselled her, +however, to relax it a little, if she wished to gain the confidence of +her pupil. + +Cecilia had formed the most extensive projects for the education of her +protegée. "First of all," she said, "I will teach her to work well; +this is absolutely necessary for a girl. I mean her to learn history +and geography; perhaps even, if she has talent for them, I may teach +her the piano and drawing. I am not sufficiently advanced myself to +carry her very far, but I shall be improving every day, and then, when +I am married and rich, I will give her masters, for I intend her to be +very accomplished:" and Cecilia became more and more excited as she +advanced with her projects and her hopes. Her mother listened to her, +and smiled. Cecilia, perceiving this, was a little annoyed, and asked +whether she were not right in wishing to give Nanette a good education. + +"Certainly," replied Madame de Vesac; "that is why I advise you to +commence by teaching her to read." + +"That is a matter of course; but perhaps she can read already. Nanette, +can you read?" + +The child looked at her, then bent her head without answering. Cecilia +raised her chin with her finger, again repeating, "Can you read?" +But Nanette's only answer was to bend a little lower than before, as +soon as Cecilia had withdrawn her finger. Cecilia, with a look at +her mother, which seemed to say, "What patience one must have with +children!" drew from her bag a book, which she had brought to read on +her journey, and opening it at the title-page, she placed it before +Nanette, and pointing to an A, said, "What is that?" Nanette raised her +eyes, glanced askance at the A, and then cast them down again, without +saying a word. Cecilia repeated, "What is that?" But Nanette continued +silent. "It is an A," said Cecilia, lowering her voice, like one +becoming impatient, and anxious to restrain herself. The child looked +at her earnestly, as if she would have said, "What does it matter to me +if it is an A?" "It is an A," repeated Cecilia; but Nanette only looked +at her without answering. Cecilia was beginning to lose patience, but +she called to mind the self-control her new duties required from her, +and, taking Nanette upon her knees, she began to caress her, saying as +she did so, "Why will you not say A?" Nanette did not stir. "Say A," +continued Cecilia, "and I will give you this plum." Nanette looked +first at the plum and then at Cecilia, and smiled. Cecilia smiled +too, and repeated, "Say A." Nanette, still smiling, and with her head +bent down, glanced slyly at the plum, and said A in a very low tone. +Cecilia kissed her with delight. When the plum was eaten, she pointed +to another A, but without being able to elicit any opinion on the +matter from Nanette. "Say A," she repeated, in an affectionate manner, +and Nanette looked round to see if there was another plum coming. +However, whether in gratitude for the one she had already eaten, or +from the hope of obtaining another, or from politeness to Cecilia, she +once more consented to say A. This was a new joy for Cecilia, who, +persuaded that Nanette was now quite perfect in the A, and enchanted +at this first triumph in her education, returned with delight to the +former A, expecting her to recognize it immediately; but this time it +was impossible to obtain a syllable from her. Nanette had never seen a +book--did not know what it was, nor what could be its use. She could +not understand this fancy of making her say A. She had said it without +regarding the form of the letter, and without thinking it was the name +of the thing shown to her; and had all the A's in the world been placed +before her, she would not have been any the wiser. After many useless +efforts, Cecilia, completely discouraged, looked at her mother, with an +expression of annoyance, saying, "What shall we do if she will not even +learn to read?" + +Madame de Vesac represented to her that she was beginning to despair +very quickly, that it was quite natural that Nanette, astonished at the +novelty of her situation, stunned by the carriage, and timid at finding +herself among strangers, should have a difficulty in understanding what +was shown her, and that it would be better to wait for a quieter time +before commencing her instructions. + +Cecilia was a little consoled by these words, and glad, moreover, to +have a sufficient reason for deferring lessons of which, for the +moment, she was heartily tired. However, considering, in the meantime, +that she must endeavour to correct Nanette of whatever faults she might +have, she determined that on the following morning, when they would he +obliged to start at five o'clock, she would not allow her to complain +of being so early awakened, or of the cold; but she had no occasion to +enforce her lessons. Nanette, accustomed to suffering, never murmured +nor complained of anything; and Cecilia was at a loss to know what to +do with a child so gentle and docile as not to need scolding, and so +little intelligent that it was difficult to tell what method to adopt +for her instruction. However, the desire she felt of setting Nanette an +example, and the good opinion she began to entertain of her own sense, +now that she found herself intrusted with the education of another, +prevented her from even thinking of complaining of the cold, or of +the annoyance of being disturbed at five o'clock in the morning. She +busied herself in arranging her things, in order to show Nanette how +to manage; and Nanette, who would rather have packed and unpacked a +dozen parcels than have said A once, endeavoured to obey her, and did +not acquit herself badly. Cecilia testified her satisfaction, and they +resumed their journey, mutually pleased, and, in order to maintain +this good understanding, nothing more was said about the A until their +arrival in Paris. + +We may easily imagine how often, after her return home, Cecilia related +the history of Nanette and the forest, and mentioned her intention of +bringing up this little girl. The interest inspired by her narrative, +and the importance she seemed to herself to acquire, whenever +Nanette was asked for, revived those projects of education which the +ill-success of her first attempts had somewhat cooled. Besides, she +had felt so much pleasure in commencing Nanette's wardrobe, in trying +on a dress which she had made for her in two days, and thought it +so delightful to have some one to command and send about her little +commissions in the house, that she became daily more attached to +this species of property. She wished to have Nanette sleep in her +room, that she might be completely under her protection, but this +Madame de Vesac would not permit, as she felt it would give rise to a +thousand inconveniences, which Cecilia, in her eagerness for present +gratification, could not foresee. It was therefore arranged that she +should sleep with Madame de Vesac's maid, and go down to Cecilia's room +every morning to receive the lessons of her young instructress. Cecilia +at first declared that this was not enough, and that if more time was +not allowed, it would be impossible for her to teach Nanette all she +wished her to learn. Her mother, however, advised her to be content +with this as a beginning, promising that, if in a little while, she +still wished it, the time should be increased. The day Cecilia tried +on Nanette's dress and bonnet, which seemed to delight the child very +much, and while still exhibiting the apron she had cut out, she took +advantage of the opportunity to tell her that if she wished to gain all +these pretty things she must learn to read. Nanette did not very well +know what was meant by learning to read, but she had seen Cecilia look +into books, and remembered that it was in a book she was made to say A. +This recollection was by no means agreeable, but as she was becoming +accustomed to obey Cecilia, she consented for once to repeat after her, +first A, then B, then C; and at last, all the letters of the alphabet. +Cecilia made her repeat them two or three times, showing them to her in +the different styles; and greatly pleased at having so easily obtained +Nanette's submission, which she had so much difficulty in doing at the +commencement, she flattered herself that the most important point was +gained, and that her education would now rapidly advance. The same day +she put her fingers on the piano, and Nanette was at first delighted +with the sounds she produced by striking the keys, but she did not find +it quite so amusing to go through the gamut, and repeat after Cecilia a +dozen times, _ut_, _re_, _mi_, _fa_, _sol_, _la_, _si_, _ut_. However, +she obeyed, and all went on to the satisfaction of the teacher. Cecilia +next gave her a thimble, some needles, and a pair of scissors, which +she had bought for her, together with a piece of linen, which she was +to learn to hem. Nanette was farther advanced in this department than +in the others. She had seen her mother work, and had tried to imitate +her. Cecilia was very well pleased with the manner in which she held +her needle, and fixed her hem; and praised her accordingly; and, thus +encouraged, the hem was finished pretty quickly and tolerably well. +At length, after two hours spent in this manner, hours which appeared +to the mistress somewhat tedious, Nanette was dismissed, and Cecilia, +while congratulating herself on the success of her efforts, found, +nevertheless, that the task of education was not the easiest of work. + +The next day she resumed her lessons with renewed courage, hoping to +advance still farther than on the preceding one, but she found that +everything had to be begun again. Nanette was as much puzzled to say +A as she had been the first time. She did not recognize one of the +letters, which she had repeated mechanically after Cecilia, who, as +she now made her say them again one after the other, had the utmost +difficulty in getting her to give two or three times by herself the +name of the letter which had been taught her the moment before. At the +piano, when Cecilia wanted her to begin the scale of _ut_, she put her +finger upon _sol_, and when asked the name of the note she had struck, +it was impossible for her to find any name for it: she did not even +understand that the notes had names. Thus, all the success obtained +that day was, that after half-an-hour's study, Nanette named at random +a _fa_ for a _la_, or a _si_ for a _re_. Cecilia became very angry, +and Nanette, who could not bear to be scolded, made so much haste to +finish her hem, in order to escape from her, that when Cecilia examined +it, she found six stitches one over the other, and another half-an-inch +long. + +The following days were not much more fortunate; for, on each occasion, +Nanette had forgotten pretty nearly the whole of what little she had +seemed to know on the previous day. As up to that time, she had never +been taught anything, she was not accustomed to apply her mind, or fix +her attention on things of which she did not understand the use, for +it could not be said that she was deficient in sense, or abilities, +for her age. She was by no means awkward, and did all she was capable +of doing carefully enough; for instance, if she carried a light, she +did not, like most children of her age, hold it in such a manner as to +let the grease fall upon the ground; she even took care to snuff it +for fear of sparks, before removing it from one place to another, and +she managed to snuff it without putting it out; if she had to carry +anything rather heavy from one room to another, she first opened the +door and removed whatever might be in her way; or if, while holding a +jug of water, she happened to catch her dress in any object, she did +not, like most children, give a sudden jerk, and spill the water, but +quietly put down her jug, and removed the obstacle. It was evident that +she was accustomed to act, and seek the means of acting in the most +useful manner. Moreover, she rendered a thousand little services to +Mademoiselle Gerard, Madame de Vesac's lady's maid, who was extremely +fond of her, and who, from having her continually with her, contrived, +without tormenting her, to teach her many things which Nanette +willingly learnt. + +As to the lessons with Cecilia, they went on worse and worse every day: +the pupil knew not how to learn, nor the mistress how to teach; Cecilia +often lost patience, and Nanette, who saw her only to be scolded and +wearied, feeling but little desire to please her, became at last +careless; besides, after having studied for a few minutes a lesson in +which she took no interest, her ideas became so completely confused by +the irksomeness of her task, that she did not know what she was doing; +so that, after having said her letters, and spelt very well with the +lady's maid, who endeavoured to teach her, in order that she might not +be scolded, when she came to Cecilia everything went wrong, and it was +but an additional annoyance to the latter to find that it was only with +Mademoiselle Gerard that Nanette read well. + +Thanks, however, to Mademoiselle Gerard, Nanette did make some progress +in reading and needlework; but as for music, at the end of six weeks +she was no farther advanced than on the first day, and Cecilia, who +entertained the idea of giving her an education which would enable +her to shine in the world, became disgusted with efforts which could +have no higher result than that of fitting her to become a shopkeeper +or a lady's maid. The lessons, therefore, were but a succession of +irritabilities, which prevented Cecilia from seeking the best means +of making herself understood, and which ended by worrying Nanette. +These two hours, so uselessly employed, became equally disagreeable to +mistress and pupil, and both were delighted when any accident occurred +to shorten them; and shortened they often were; for Cecilia, being on +one occasion busy, hurried over all the lessons in half-an-hour, and +this, having once occurred, occurred often. Sometimes, too, she made +Nanette repeat her lesson without listening to her, or put her before +the piano and told her to play, while she went about her own affairs, +so that during this time, Nanette amused herself at her leisure, in +playing whatever happened to suit her fancy. Sometimes, in fine, when +Cecilia was busy with her drawing or anything that amused her, she +would tell Nanette to take her books or her work, and then think no +more about her. Nanette, meanwhile, would either be looking out at the +window or catching flies; and when at last, after half-an-hour had +elapsed, Cecilia observed her, she would scold her for her idleness, +and send her away, saying that she had now no time to attend to her +lessons. + +All this took place in Cecilia's room, which was close to her mother's. +For some time Madame de Vesac said nothing; she had never expected +that Cecilia would carry out her projects of education with any +perseverance, and she relied much more upon Mademoiselle Gerard, who +was a respectable and sensible person, and whom she knew to be quite +capable of bringing up Nanette in a manner suited to her station. +Still she did not wish her daughter to get into the habit of doing +carelessly what she undertook, nor to fancy that the duties of the day +were performed when they were only gone through in appearance. Cecilia +herself felt that things were not as they ought to be; so that, after +having several times complained to her mother of the trouble which +Nanette gave, she ceased to speak of the matter. At length one day, +Madame de Vesac, after listening for half-an-hour to Nanette, who was +strumming on the piano according to her own fancy, without receiving +any attention from Cecilia, she asked the latter, if it was by giving +lessons in that style that she hoped to make Nanette a great musician. +Cecilia blushed, for she felt she was wrong; but she assured her +mother, that Nanette had not the slightest taste for music. Madame de +Vesac observed, that, from the way in which she had been taught, it was +impossible to know whether this was the case or not. + +"Mamma," said Cecilia, "I assure you she has no talent whatever; and it +is this which has discouraged me." + +"But I do not think she displays less inclination to learn to read and +work than other children of her age; and yet I do not see that you are +at all more zealous in these branches of her education." + +"Oh, I attended especially to her music. Mademoiselle Gerard can teach +her the rest, as well as I can." + +"So then, you have taken Nanette in order to have her brought up by +Mademoiselle Gerard?" + +"No, mamma; but I thought Nanette would be able to learn what I wanted +to teach her." + +"And because she does not learn what you want to teach her, you do not +think it worth while to teach her what she can learn: to do for her, at +least, all that is in your power." + +"But still, mamma, it is, I think, a lucky thing for Nanette that we +have taken her, and I certainly shall always take care of her; but you +must allow that there is no very great pleasure in teaching a little +girl to read and sew, when it is evident that she can learn nothing +more than that." + +"To agree with you, I must first know precisely what kind of pleasure +you expected when you took charge of Nanette?" + +"The pleasure of being useful to her, by giving her a good education." + +"And supposing her incapable of profiting by what you call a good +education, you would not care to be useful to her by giving her at +least such an education as she is capable of receiving." + +"At all events, this would not give me so much pleasure." + +"And to continue a good action which you have commenced, it is +necessary that you should find it productive of much pleasure to +yourself?" + +"No, mamma; but...." + +--"But, my child, there are many persons like you in that respect; they +commence a good work with delight, and afterwards abandon it because +their success is not as complete as they had expected." + +"You must see, mamma," said Cecilia, a little piqued, "that it was not +for my own advantage that I wished to give lessons to Nanette." + +"I believe, indeed, it was for hers, and that you had fully reflected +on the advantage she would derive from them." + +"Indeed, mamma, it is a very fine thing for a little peasant girl, who +would have remained ignorant, vulgar, and illiterate all her life, to +be well educated and accomplished, and to be able to become amiable and +agreeable, and fitted to move in elevated society." + +"Especially," said Madame de Vesac, smiling, "when she is destined to +move in elevated society." + +"Who knows, mamma? a good marriage," resumed Cecilia, with vivacity; +for her imagination was always ready to rush into romantic ideas, +because it is such ideas that require the least reflection. + +"Have you seen many of these marriages?" asked her mother. + +"Though I may never have seen any, still..." + +"Still you suppose, probably, that they are not unfrequent." + +"I do not say that, but..." + +"But I say," continued her mother, seriously, "that we are not +permitted to amuse ourselves with such child's play, when the welfare +of one of whom we have taken charge is at stake; and if you had +bestowed upon Nanette an education which would make her disdain the +humble career to which she is no doubt destined, you would have +rendered her a very mischievous service." + +"So then, mamma, you did not think I ought to give lessons to Nanette?" + +"Not at all; but I was quite easy about the matter." + +"Besides," said Cecilia, blushing, "here I am always interrupted, and +then two hours for all the lessons are nothing; but we shall be going +into the country in a month, where, if you will allow it, she will be +more frequently with me, and I shall easily find the means of giving +her a proper education." + +"Very well," said Madame de Vesac, smiling; for she did not place much +more reliance on her daughter's perseverance in the country than in +Paris. Cecilia did not observe this smile; quite absorbed in her plans +for the future education of Nanette, she began by interrupting it for +the present, as if the good that was to be done at some distant day +exempted her from performing that which was in her power at the actual +moment. She therefore told Nanette, that she would give her no more +lessons until they went into the country; and Nanette, to whom a month +seemed a lifetime, imagined herself for ever freed, both from Cecilia +and her lessons. Cecilia, whose month was taken up with two or three +balls, with purchases, packing, and receiving visits from the friends +who called to bid her good-bye, completely lost the habit of thinking +of Nanette; and this habit she found so unpleasant to resume, that they +had been a whole week in the country when her mother said to her:-- + +"And Nanette?" + +"We are going to recommence our lessons," she replied, somewhat ashamed +at not having done so earlier. "But you know," she added, "that on +arriving in the country there are a thousand things to be done; +besides, I do not think Nanette is very anxious." + +"Nor you either, I suspect." + +"It certainly does not amuse me much." + +"But it will not amuse you more to-morrow than to-day; so that I do not +see you have any more reason to begin to-morrow than you have had for +the last week." + +"But still you know, mamma, there is no need of being in a hurry when +there is plenty of time." + +"My child, we have never sufficient time before us to do all that ought +to be done, for we can never be sure of time. A thousand accidents may +deprive us of it; therefore we ought always to be anxious to do what +has to be done, just as if we had only the time absolutely necessary +for it. In this uncertainty as to the future, it was as necessary to +have devoted to Nanette's education the week you have lost, as to give +to it that which is to come." + +Cecilia made no answer, but resumed her drawing. Madame de Vesac took +up the book she had been reading. After the lapse of half-an-hour, +Cecilia interrupted her occupation, saying, with a heavy sigh, "I am +afraid I shall not succeed." + +"In what?" inquired her mother. + +"In what we were speaking of a short time since," said Cecilia, wishing +to be understood without being forced to explain; "in Nanette's +education." + +"And why should you not succeed, if you desire it?" replied Madame de +Vesac, still reading. + +"I cannot manage to make her study properly." + +"I do not see why you may not do what another can do;" and the +conversation was again dropped, much to Cecilia's annoyance, for she +had an idea which she was anxious though afraid to express. At length, +after a quarter of an hour's silence, she again continued. "There is +one very simple plan," she said. + +"What for?" asked Madame de Vesac, without laying down her book. + +"To educate Nanette," said Cecilia, impatiently. + +"That plan would be, I think, to give her lessons." + +"Mamma, I assure you it is very difficult, extremely difficult. If +you would permit me to send her to the village school she would learn +to read, and they could give her the elementary lessons in writing, +which you know I cannot do; and when we return to Paris she will be +sufficiently advanced for me to continue with her." + +"Cecilia," said Madame de Vesac, "if you alone were concerned, I should +not consent to this, for you must acquire the habit of persevering in +what you undertake, and learn to bear the consequences of your own +determinations. But Nanette would suffer from it; because, as you are +neither sufficiently reasonable nor sufficiently patient to adopt the +proper means of ensuring success, you would scold her for learning +badly what you taught her badly, and thus she would be ill brought up +and unhappy. You may therefore send her to school." + +Cecilia, delighted at having obtained this permission, hastened to +Mademoiselle Gerard, to beg her to inform the schoolmaster, and +arrange with him the terms of Nanette's tuition. Mademoiselle Gerard, +annoyed at being deprived of Nanette during so many hours in the +morning, and foreseeing that this arrangement would displease her +little pupil, declared that it was unnecessary, and wished to point +out inconveniences in the plan. But Cecilia became angry at the first +word (as always happens when we are not sure of being in the right), +and said that it was Madame de Vesac's wish. The matter was therefore +settled, and Nanette sent to school. For some time, Cecilia took an +interest in her progress, and paid for her instruction cheerfully +enough; and on her birthday, when Nanette recited some complimentary +verses, composed by the schoolmaster, and in which she was styled +her _illustrious benefactress_, Cecilia gave her a new dress, which +Mademoiselle Gerard promised to make. But in course of time Cecilia +had other fancies; and when the first of the month came round, she +was annoyed at having to pay for Nanette's schooling. Mademoiselle +Gerard had several times to remind her that Nanette required shoes; +that she had worn and outgrown those she had; and that the small +quantity of linen, and the caps and petticoats which had been made +for her at first, were insufficient. Madame de Vesac had more than +once contributed to her wardrobe; and Cecilia was one day a little +ashamed at seeing the child in an apron made out of an old dress of +Mademoiselle Gerard's. But in time she got reconciled to this, and +began to see in Nanette only the _protégée_ of the lady's maid. She +never thought of her but when they happened to meet; and they became +almost strangers to each other. + +When they were about to return to Paris, Mademoiselle Gerard, whose +health had been much impaired for some time past, was not in a +condition to undertake the journey: so that Madame de Vesac resolved +to leave her in the country until she got well. Mademoiselle Gerard +had become so much accustomed to Nanette, that she could not bear the +thought of parting with her; she therefore asked permission to retain +her. Cecilia, as may be imagined, seconded the request; and Madame de +Vesac, being then without a maid, and seeing that Nanette would only +be an additional inconvenience, thought it as well to leave her with +Mademoiselle Gerard, to whom she would be useful. + +Thus was Cecilia, for the moment, relieved from all care of Nanette, +and fully determined to think of her as little as possible, for the +recollection was troublesome, as she could not but feel that she had +not done for her all that she might have done. However, every month +brought Mademoiselle Gerard's bill for Nanette's schooling, and other +necessary expenses incurred on her account. Then came demands for +shoes, linen, &c.; and although Mademoiselle Gerard was in this respect +extremely economical, and not unfrequently assisted Nanette from her +own wardrobe, still Cecilia found these expenses encroach sadly upon +her allowance. Madame de Vesac, unknown to her, willingly undertook +a part of them; but she would not undertake the whole, not thinking +it right that her daughter should feel herself at liberty to transfer +to her a duty which she had voluntarily imposed upon herself; and she +insisted that Cecilia should not neglect the demands of Mademoiselle +Gerard. But it happened that Madame de Vesac's husband was wounded +while with the army, and though the wound was not dangerous, it was +still of sufficient importance to prevent his being removed. His wife +was therefore obliged to set off immediately to attend to him; and not +wishing to take her daughter with her, she left her in the care of +one of her aunts, who had two girls of her own, with whom Cecilia was +delighted to have an opportunity of spending some time. + +She had been with them about three days, when she received a letter +from Mademoiselle Gerard. This letter could not have come at a more +unwelcome moment, Cecilia having just taken a fancy to purchase a +bonnet like one bought by her cousin, and imagining that Mademoiselle +Gerard applied to her for money, "Oh!" she said, ill-temperedly, the +moment she recognized the post-mark and handwriting, "I was quite sure +this would not fail me; Mademoiselle Gerard always takes care to write +whenever I want to buy anything for my own pleasure," and she threw +the letter, unopened, upon the mantel-piece, and resumed her drawing, +saying, "I shall read it quite soon enough." + +"You had better spare yourself the trouble altogether," said the +youngest of her cousins, who was very thoughtless, and, saying this, +she took the letter, and threw it into the fire. Cecilia uttered a +cry, and hastily rose to regain it, but before she had time to move +her table, reach the fire-place, and seize the tongs, in spite of +her cousin, who, laughing with all her might, endeavoured to prevent +her, the letter was half destroyed. When, after having got it out, +she wished to take hold of it, the flame burned her fingers, so that +she let it fall, and, while vainly endeavouring to extinguish it with +the tongs, her cousin, still laughing, took a large glass of water, +and threw it over it. The letter ceased to burn, but the little that +remained of it, was so blackened and impregnated with the water, that +it was quite illegible, and Cecilia was, therefore, obliged to give up +all thoughts of reading it. She scolded her cousin, telling her that +she should now be obliged to write to Mademoiselle Gerard to know the +contents of her letter, but, meanwhile, she bought the bonnet, and +as, after having done so, she found herself without money, she was in +no great hurry to know what Mademoiselle Gerard had written about; +she, therefore, deferred writing from day to day, until a week or ten +days had passed; then a fortnight elapsed, and the letter was still +forgotten--finally, it remained unwritten at the end of three weeks. +She little knew what was going on at the Château during this time. + +Since their departure, the health of Mademoiselle Gerard had been +constantly growing worse, she consequently became more fretful with +every one except Nanette, of whom she was very fond, and who served her +with zeal and intelligence. The only person who remained in the Château +with her was the porter, an old servant named Dubois, a cross-grained, +crabbed old man, though well enough disposed in the main. Mademoiselle +Gerard, like the other servants, had frequently disputes with him, but +as she was a sensible woman, these disputes were soon settled; now, +however, that her temper became soured by illness, their disagreements +increased in frequency and violence. It was part of Dubois' duty to +supply her with everything she wanted, and when marketing for himself +to buy what she required also. She was often discontented with his +purchases, and, besides, if she asked for anything in the least out +of the ordinary course, he told her it was too dear, and that Madame +de Vesac would not permit such extravagance. Then Mademoiselle Gerard +would cry, and bewail her misfortune in being left to the care of +a man who would be the death of her. She had several times written +to Madame de Vesac on the subject, who, well knowing her wishes to +be unreasonable, endeavoured to calm her, and persuade her to wait +patiently until her return; at the same time, she ordered Dubois not +to vex her, as she was an invalid. Whenever the latter received these +commands he became more ill-tempered than usual, because, he said, +Mademoiselle Gerard had got him scolded by his mistress. At length +their disagreements reached such a point, that Dubois would no longer +enter the apartments of Mademoiselle Gerard, who, on her part, declared +that, during the whole course of her life, she would never again speak +to Dubois; so that she sent Nanette to get from him what she wanted. +Poor little Nanette was often very much perplexed, as Mademoiselle +Gerard, always dissatisfied with what Dubois sent her, never failed to +break out into complaints whenever Nanette carried her the meat he had +bought at the market, or the fruit and vegetables he had gathered in +the garden. She declared he had chosen the very worst for her, and that +he wanted to kill her; and such was her weakness on these occasions, +that she would sometimes begin to cry. Nanette, who was very fond of +her, was grieved at seeing her so much distressed, and would stand +looking at her in perfect silence; then Mademoiselle Gerard would kiss +her, and say, "If I were to die, who would take care of you?" for, in +her weakness, she imagined there was no one in the world who would take +an interest in Nanette but herself. The child returned her caresses, +comforting her in her way, and assuring her that she would not die. She +could not understand her friend's distress, but she would have done +much to see her happy. But when Mademoiselle Gerard wanted to send her +to Dubois to complain of what he had given her, she told her she dared +not go, because on two or three occasions he had been so enraged with +her that she was terribly frightened of him. Then she would repeat +for the twentieth time what he had said the day she took back to him +the decayed pears, and how, when she went to tell him that the slices +of beet-root were bad, he flew into a furious passion, saying that +servants were more difficult to please than their masters, then gave +such a kick to his cupboard door, for the purpose of shutting it, and +flung a carrot which he held in his hand with such violence across the +room, that she ran away terrified, for fear of being beaten. She also +repeated all that he had said about Mademoiselle Gerard herself, that +he should never have a moment's peace so long as she was in the house, +and that he would willingly give five pounds out of his own pocket, +if she were only so far out of his way that he might never hear her +name mentioned again. Then Mademoiselle Gerard became alarmed at his +hatred, and could not endure the thought of remaining alone with him +in the Château, saying that unless her mistress returned very soon she +should be lost. If on these occasions Dubois happened to pass near +her apartment, she ran to bolt and barricade the door, as if he were +going to murder her. It was in moments of fever that these ideas took +possession of her mind, and more especially in the evening, because +the room occupied by Dubois was close to her own. The mere idea of +having to pass the night so near him threw her into a frightful state +of agitation. Nanette, without knowing why, shared in her alarm, and as +soon as it began to get dusk she would run and bolt the doors. During +the day they were more calm, and Nanette even amused herself by playing +tricks upon Dubois. + +He kept his fruit and other provisions in a room on the ground floor, +one window of which looked upon the court-yard of the Château, and +another into the poultry-yard. When the weather was fine, he used +each morning to open the window that commanded the court-yard, go his +rounds of the kitchen-garden and poultry-yard, and then return and +close the window. Nanette had several times watched for the moment of +his departure, and, taking advantage of his absence, had climbed to +the window, entered the room, carried back the apples he had sent to +Mademoiselle Gerard, and with which she was dissatisfied, and taken +finer ones in their stead. She was careful whilst in the room to watch +for Dubois through the window that looked into the poultry-yard, and +the moment she caught a glimpse of him she made her escape. The first +time this occurred, Mademoiselle Gerard gently reprimanded her for +having gone through the window; but since her illness she had become +too weak to be reasonable in anything, so that a few days later, being +greatly annoyed at again receiving some apples which she declared were +bad, she said to Nanette, "Could you not manage to get others for me?" +Nanette desired nothing better, for she had been much amused with her +first stratagem; she, therefore, again watched for Dubois' departure, +clambered through the window, and accomplished her task with perfect +success, and then diverted Mademoiselle Gerard, to whom her tricks had +become a source of amusement, by mimicking the limping gait and surly +expression of Dubois, as she had seen him returning in the distance. +Nanette, who never took anything for herself, and even for her friend +only made exchanges, did not feel the slightest scruple in respect +to the propriety of her conduct; while to Mademoiselle Gerard, whose +mind had become too far enfeebled to be capable of much reflection, it +never occurred that she was encouraging the child in a bad habit, and +exposing her to suspicion. + +One day, when she had sent to Dubois for some dried grapes, she +pretended, as usual, that he had chosen the worst for her, and, as +children always see what they fancy they see, Nanette assured her that +she had really observed him select the worst, and offered her good +friend (as she always named Mademoiselle Gerard) to go and bring some +better ones, from the cupboard in which she knew he always kept them +locked up. Her friend consented, and Nanette having seen Dubois open +the window and depart, started on her expedition. She got into the +room, found the key of the cupboard, and began to make her selection. +She was so busy that it did not occur to her that the door of the +press concealed from her the window which looked upon the poultry-yard, +and consequently, that she could not peep out as usual to see if +Dubois were coming. Two or three times, indeed, she did interrupt +her occupation, to go and look out, but not at the right moment, so +that Dubois passed unperceived, and just when she considered herself +perfectly safe, she heard a voice of thunder exclaiming, "Oh! you +little thief; I have caught you, then!" and saw before the window the +terrible Dubois, barring her passage. For the moment, she thought +herself dead; but, fortunately, Dubois was too fat and too heavy to +be able to get through the window: he could only overwhelm her with +reproaches. Pale and trembling, her heart sinking with fright, she +stood silent and motionless. But, at length, watching the moment when +he went round to the door, she leaped through the window, and ran +round the yard, pursued by Dubois, who, with vehement exclamations, +endeavoured to reach her with his stick. Mademoiselle Gerard, hearing +the noise, opened her window, and seeing the danger of her favourite, +she lost all self-control, and screamed out, "Help! Help! Murder!" +Dubois, furious, raised his eyes, and not knowing much better than +herself what he was about, threatened her with his stick, and then +recommenced his pursuit of Nanette, who by this time had gained the +staircase. He mounted after her, and arrived at the moment when she +and Mademoiselle Gerard were trying to shut the door; he pushed it +open, and forced an entrance, almost upsetting Mademoiselle Gerard, who +threw herself before Nanette, as if to prevent his touching her. Still +more enraged by this movement, which seemed to imply that he intended +to hurt the child, and worse in words than in deeds, he stopped, +suffocated at once by anger and by his chase: then, recovering breath, +he poured forth a volley of invectives, both against Nanette, whom +he called a jade, and against Mademoiselle Gerard, whom he accused +of encouraging her in stealing, and becoming a spy about the house. +Mademoiselle Gerard, trembling at once with fear and indignation, told +him that Nanette did not steal, that she only endeavoured to obtain +something better than he had sent to _poison her_; that she was very +unfortunate in being abandoned to a _monster_ like him, but that her +mistress would soon be back, and do her justice for all this. + +"O yes!" said Dubois, "count upon Madame's return, but before she comes +back you will have time to set out for the other world!" + +After this piece of brutality, which satisfied his passion, he left +them. Mademoiselle Gerard fell down almost insensible; and the surgeon +who attended her found her, on his arrival, in a high state of fever. +He had, besides, just been informed of M. de Vesac's wound, and of +the departure of his wife, and communicated this intelligence to +Mademoiselle Gerard, who now perceived the import of Dubois' words; +and the idea of having to remain perhaps for six months longer at the +mercy of such a man, filled her mind with a terror and agitation which +it was impossible to subdue. As her imagination was now disordered +by fever, she said that Dubois would kill Nanette; and when the +latter declared that she could never dare ask him for anything again, +Mademoiselle Gerard expected nothing less than to be starved to death. +She determined therefore to go to her brother, who was married and +established as a shopkeeper in a neighbouring town. It was in vain +that the surgeon endeavoured to oppose this caprice, by representing +to her that she was too ill to be removed without danger. Her fever +and agitation increased so much by contradiction, that he found it +necessary to yield to her desire. He therefore sent to the farm for a +horse and cart, settled her with as little inconvenience as possible, +and thus accompanied by Nanette, and taking with her all her effects, +she started for the town, where she arrived almost in a dying state. + +She remained several days in this condition; then became a little +better, but was still so feeble that she began to give up all hope of +recovery. Wishing to dispose of the little property she possessed, she +sent for a notary. Her whole wealth consisted in a sum of a thousand +crowns, the fruit of her savings, and which, from her suspicious +character, she had been afraid of placing out at interest, for fear of +being cheated, and therefore always kept in her own possession. She +left two thousand four hundred francs to her brother, and six hundred +to Nanette, with part of her effects. Then, on learning from the +surgeon his belief that Cecilia had remained in Paris, she wrote to +inform her of the condition she was in, begging her to make it known +to Madame de Vesac, and to ask what, in the event of her death, was to +be done with Nanette. This was the letter which Cecilia's cousin threw +into the fire. Mademoiselle Gerard receiving no reply, supposed that +Cecilia had left Paris; and feeling herself growing daily worse, she +got the clergyman who visited her to write a long letter to Madame de +Vesac. In this letter she recommended Nanette to her care, and without +complaining of Dubois, whom the clergyman had prevailed upon her to +forgive, she explained to her mistress that Nanette was not a thief, as +Dubois had accused her of being. + +Soon after this letter had been despatched she died; and thus was poor +Nanette left utterly friendless. Mademoiselle Gerard's brother and +his wife were selfish people; they had been annoyed at the affection +she manifested for Nanette, because they were afraid she would leave +her whatever she possessed. They supposed she must have amassed a +considerable sum of money, and were confirmed in this opinion, when +the day after her death they discovered in her apartment the thousand +crowns. Knowing that she had made a will, the husband hastened to +the notary, eager to learn its contents; and when it was opened in +his presence he was very much astonished, and extremely dissatisfied, +at finding that instead of being left a considerable legacy, as he +expected, he should be obliged to give Nanette six hundred francs out +of the thousand crowns, of which he had already taken possession. He +returned home and communicated his information to his wife, who, being +still more selfish than himself, was more enraged. She overwhelmed with +abuse poor little Nanette, who, quite unconscious of what it all meant, +remained terrified and motionless on the spot. Whilst giving vent to +her passion the woman continued to arrange and sweep out her shop, and +being near Nanette, she struck her with the broom, as if to make her +get out of the way. The child ran crying to another corner of the shop. +The broom which kept on its course seemed to pursue her; she jumped +over it, and went to another part of the room, still it was after +her. The activity of the shopkeeper seemed to increase with Nanette's +terrors, and every movement she made was accompanied by threatening +and abusive language. At length, not knowing where to fly for safety, +the poor child ran to the threshold of the door; the woman pushed her +out with her broom, saying, "Yes! yes! be off, you may be quite sure I +shall not take the trouble to run after you;" and she closed the door +upon her. Nanette remained for some time crying outside. At length, +hearing some one about to open the door, and thinking it was her +persecutor coming out to beat her, she ran off as fast as she could. + +The street in which she happened to be led to the entrance of the town; +when she had advanced some distance into the country she sat down upon +a stone, and, still crying, began to eat a piece of bread, the remains +of her breakfast, which she happened to have in her hand at the moment +of her expulsion from the shop. A little boy came up to her, and asked +what was the matter. Nanette at first made no reply; he repeated his +question, and she told him that she did not know where to go. + +"Come with me to Dame Lapie's," said the little fellow. + +"Who is Dame Lapie?" demanded Nanette. + +"Why Dame Lapie; she lives in the village yonder, but just now she is +begging on the high road. Come along," and he wanted to take Nanette +by the hand, but she drew back. The little boy was dirty and ragged, +and Nanette had been accustomed to neatness. Moreover the sorrow she +had endured the previous day, the death of her protector, the abuse +of the shopkeeper's wife, and her own precipitate flight, had quite +bewildered her, as is nearly always the case with children when +anything extraordinary is passing around them. At those times, not +knowing what to do, they remain in one spot, without coming to any +decision. Nanette sat there on her stone without knowing what was to +become of her, because at that moment her mind was not sufficiently +clear to enable her to decide on leaving it. After several fruitless +attempts to induce her to accompany him, the little boy left her, and +Nanette remained still seated on the stone. Some time after, however, +on looking towards the town, she saw a woman approaching, whom she +mistook for the shopkeeper; she became afraid, got up, and again went +on, still following the high road. + +She walked for a full hour, without knowing whither she went, when at +a turn in the road she perceived an old woman sitting at the foot of +a tree, and surrounded by five or six little children, of from two to +four years of age. The little boy who had spoken to her, and who might +be about seven or eight, was standing talking to the old woman. The +moment he perceived Nanette he pointed her out, saying, "See, there +she is, that is her." Nanette crossed over to the other side of the +road, for she was afraid of every one, but the old woman rose and went +to her. Nanette would have run away, but the woman took her by the +hand, spoke gently to her, and told her not to be frightened, for she +would do her no harm. Nanette looked at her, felt reassured by her kind +expression of countenance, and told her that she had run away from the +town because they wanted to beat her. + +"It is your mother who wanted to beat you," said Dame Lapie; "well +never mind, we will settle that; come, we will go and ask her to +forgive you, and then she will not beat you;" saying this, she made +a movement as if wishing to lead her back to the town. Nanette, +terrified, began to scream and struggle, saying that it was not her +mother, and that she would not return to the town. "Well, then, we +will not go, you shall come with us," but Nanette still struggled +to withdraw her hand; Dame Lapie let it go, and as Nanette went on, +contented herself with following and talking to her. "Who will give +you anything to eat to-day?" she demanded. Nanette, crying, replied, +"I don't know." "Where will you sleep to-night?" asked Dame Lapie. "I +don't know," said Nanette, still crying. "Come with me," continued Dame +Lapie, "I promise you we will not return to the town." "Come with us," +said the little boy, who had also followed her, and Nanette at last +suffered herself to be persuaded. Dame Lapie led her back to the foot +of the tree, gave her a piece of black bread and an apple, and while +eating it, for she was beginning to feel hungry, she recovered her +calmness a little. + +Dame Lapie was an old woman to whom the people of the village intrusted +their children, whilst they went to work in the fields. She had always +five or six, whom she went for in the morning, and took home again +at night. The little boy who had spoken to Nanette, and whose name +was Jeannot, was one of those she had taken care of in this way. His +parents dying whilst he was very young, Dame Lapie would not abandon +him, but not being able to support him herself, she sent him to beg. +She herself also went, and sat by the road-side, with the little +children around her, and asked alms of the passers by; and the parents +of the children were either ignorant of this, or did not trouble +themselves about it, especially as Dame Lapie always shared with the +little ones whatever she obtained. + +Jeannot seeing Dame Lapie receiving children every day, imagined that +all who had no homes ought to go to her; and therefore he had sought +to lead Nanette to her; and the dame, meeting with a little girl +neatly clad, wandering about alone, without knowing where she went, +was persuaded, notwithstanding Nanette's assertions that she had run +away from her mother, to whom she should be rendering a service by +restoring her. She intended, therefore, as soon as she had learned from +Nanette who were her parents, to go and see them, promising to restore +their daughter, on condition that they would not beat her, for Dame +Lapie could not bear the idea of having children ill treated, or even +annoyed. Meanwhile, when she returned at night to the village, she made +Nanette accompany her, and gave her two of the children to lead; this +amused Nanette, but she was not quite so much diverted, when at night +the dame had nothing to give her for supper but the same kind of black +bread which she had had for dinner, and this too without the apple. +Neither did she feel much inclined to sleep with Dame Lapie, whose +bed was very disagreeable; still it was necessary, and she slept very +soundly after all. Jeannot, as usual, slept upon some straw in a corner +of the hut. + +During the night, Dame Lapie was seized with so violent an attack of +rheumatism that she could not move a limb; and, as she was unable to go +to the town, she told Nanette that she must return home to her mother. +Nanette again began to cry, saying that her mother did not live in the +town, that her good friend was dead, and that there remained no one but +of her good friend's sister, and she wanted to beat her; she did not +allude to the Château, for she was still more afraid of Dubois than +of the shopkeeper. Dame Lapie asked where her mother was, but Nanette +scarcely remembered the name of her native village; everything she +said on the subject was so confused, and she cried so much, that the +old woman could make nothing out, and resolved to let the matter rest +for the present. On several occasions, during the following days, she +renewed her questions, but always with the same result; and, too ill to +insist much on the matter, she determined, as soon as she was better, +to go to the town and make inquiries herself. + +Nanette, meanwhile, rendered her a thousand little services; she was +gentle and attentive, and delighted in giving pleasure. The constant +attention required by Mademoiselle Gerard had rendered her alive to the +wants of sick people. She also took care of the little children, who +were always brought to Dame Lapie's, and, accompanied by Jeannot, went +out with them upon the road. Jeannot did all he could to cheer her; but +she was sad. She remembered the good dinners she had with Mademoiselle +Gerard, and the black bread became distasteful to her; nevertheless, +there was nothing else for her, and not always enough even of that. On +one occasion, she was obliged to go to bed supperless, and passed a +part of the night in crying; but so as not to be heard by Dame Lapie, +because, whenever the dame saw her crying from hunger, she scolded her, +and asked her why she did not go and beg like Jeannot. + +The winter had passed; the spring was very wet; and when it rained, +the water penetrated into Dame Lapie's hut, which was somewhat below +the level of the street. This rendered it very unhealthy. It was also +unhealthy for Nanette to sleep with this old woman, who was an invalid. +Nanette was naturally of a delicate constitution, and the misery in +which her infancy had been passed left her in a state of but very +moderate health at the time she was taken by Madame de Vesac. Under +the care of Mademoiselle Gerard, she recovered her strength, but not +sufficiently to enable her to bear the present relapse into misery. +If Jeannot was able to endure the same inconveniences, it was because +he was of a strong, lively, and active temperament, which prevented +him from yielding to depression; whereas Nanette, mild, quiet, and +even a little inclined to indolence, gave way to discouragement and +sadness--a thing which always increases our troubles. Jeannot besides +was a favourite with the neighbours; every one caressed him, and gave +him something; but they had been greatly displeased by the arrival +of Nanette, and thought it very wrong of Dame Lapie to take charge +of a child of whom she knew nothing, and who, they said, was only +an additional beggar in the village; so that not unfrequently, when +Nanette went into the streets, she heard the women and children crying +out against her. Under the combined influence of grief, unwholesome +food, and want of cleanliness, Nanette soon fell ill. She was seized +with a fever, and in the course of a few days became dreadfully +changed. Dame Lapie, who was now able to leave her bed, and attend to +the children, told her that, as she could not beg, she must at least go +with Jeannot, who would beg for her; and that she would get the more +when it was seen that she was so ill. Jeannot, who was much more quick +and shrewd than Nanette, led her by the hand, and she suffered him to +do so, for she had no longer the strength to resist anything. When +they reached a spot where they could be seen by those who passed along +the road, she seated herself on a stone, or at the foot of a tree, and +Jeannot solicited alms for his little sister who was ill; and, indeed, +she looked so ill and so unhappy, that she excited commiseration, and +obtained for Jeannot additional contributions. + +Meantime, Cecilia carried into execution her determination of writing +to Mademoiselle Gerard; but as she, of course, addressed her letter +to the Château, it was received by Dubois, who for some days had no +opportunity of forwarding it to the town, and in the interval learned +that Mademoiselle Gerard was dead. He was then grieved at having +treated her with so much brutality the day before her departure; but +as for Nanette, when told that she had run away from the shopkeeper's, +and had not since been heard of, he took no further trouble in the +matter, quite satisfied in his own mind that she was a thief, and that +they were very fortunate to be rid of her. Of all these matters he sent +an account to Madame de Vesac; but her husband having recovered and +returned to active service, she had just left for Paris, and neither +received this letter nor the one sent to her by Mademoiselle Gerard a +few days prior to her death, and which, having passed through Paris, +had been delayed a considerable time on the way. Madame de Vesac stayed +only a few days at the capital, and then set out with her daughter +for her country-seat, ignorant of all that had lately happened there. +She had made inquiries of Cecilia respecting Mademoiselle Gerard; +and Cecilia being unable to give her any information, was obliged to +confess her negligence. Her mother severely reprimanded her, though +little imagining the misfortunes this negligence had produced. + +They were four days on their journey, and while changing horses at +the last post but one, Cecilia descended from the carriage, and +leaving the yard of the inn, went to breathe the fresh air on the high +road. Immediately a little boy came towards her, asking charity for +his little sister who was ill, at the same time pointing her out to +Cecilia, who, in fact, beheld a little girl seated on the ground, with +a dying look, and her head leaning against a stone; at that moment +she was sleeping; her clothes were in rags, and so dirty, that their +colour could scarcely be distinguished. Cecilia, while looking at +her, was seized with pity, and struck by her resemblance to Nanette; +but it never occurred to her that it could be Nanette. Just then she +was called, and giving the little boy a penny, telling him it was +for his sister, she returned to the carriage, her mind filled with +the thought of the poor little girl she had just seen; yet she did +not dare to speak of her to her mother, fearing that by recalling +the memory of Nanette she might revive those reproaches which her +conscience told her she deserved. What, then, was her consternation, +when, on arriving at the Château, she was informed of the death of +Mademoiselle Gerard, and the disappearance of Nanette. While Dubois +was relating these particulars, Madame de Vesac fixed her eyes upon +her daughter, who at one moment looked at her with an expression of +great anxiety, and at the next cast down her eyes ashamed. As soon as +Dubois had left the room, Cecilia, pale and trembling, with clasped +hands, and a look of despair, said to her mother, "Oh! mamma, if it +was that little girl I saw close to the post-house, who looked as if +she were dying." Her mother asked her what grounds she had for such an +idea. Cecilia informed her, and, while doing so, wept bitterly; for +the more she thought of the subject, the less doubt did she entertain +of its being poor little Nanette. "I am sure I recognised her," she +continued; "and now I remember that she wore the blue dress I gave her. +It was all torn, and I could scarcely tell the colour; but it was the +same, I am sure. Poor little Nanette!" And with this, she redoubled her +tears. She entreated that some one might be sent immediately to the +inn, to make inquiries; but it was then too late in the day, and she +dreaded lest the delay of a few hours should render Nanette so much +worse as to be past recovery. Her agitation increased every moment. +Madame de Vesac gave orders that the following morning, as soon as +it was light, some one should go to the post-house, to ascertain if +the people knew anything of the little girl who was begging at the +door on the previous day. Cecilia passed a sleepless night, and rose +the next morning before daybreak; and she was awaiting the return of +the messenger even before he had started. He did return at last, but +without any information. Nanette had never before been at the inn, and +the people had not noticed her, and were at a loss to understand the +object of all these inquiries. Cecilia was in hopes she would return +there during the day, and a messenger was again sent to inquire; but +Nanette did not make her appearance, for the post-house was situated +at a considerable distance from the village in which Dame Lapie lived; +and, in her feeble and suffering condition, the walk had so much +exhausted her that she found it impossible to return. "Oh, mamma," +exclaimed Cecilia, "perhaps she is dead." At that moment she felt all +the anguish of the most dreadful remorse; her agitation almost threw +her into a fever. Inquiries were made in the town; and the shopkeeper's +wife stated that Nanette had run away, and no one knew what had become +of her. The neighbours were also applied to; and they, disliking the +sister-in-law of Mademoiselle Gerard, and having heard of the will, +said, that to avoid paying the six hundred francs to Nanette, she was +quite capable of forcing her, by her ill treatment, to run away, and +that perhaps even she had turned her out of doors. To this were added +conjectures and rumours, some declaring that a little girl had been +met one night in the fields, almost perished with cold; others saying +that one had been found on the high road, nearly starved to death; +but when questioned further on the point, no one could tell who had +seen this little girl, nor what had become of her; for these were only +false reports, such as are always circulated in cases of disaster. +Cecilia, however, believed them, and they threw her into despair. At +this time, Mademoiselle Gerard's letter reached them; it contained a +complete justification of Nanette, whom Dubois persisted in regarding +as a thief; it also proved that, if Cecilia had written immediately on +the receipt of her first letter, Nanette would not have been lost. This +redoubled Cecilia's distress. To complete it, there arrived another +letter, bearing the post-mark of the village in which Nanette's mother +lived. It was written by the clergyman, at the poor woman's request. In +this letter, she said that they had several times heard--but not until +it was too late,--that Madame de Vesac had passed by. This had very +much grieved her, as she would have been glad to have seen her daughter +for a moment; but she was told that Nanette was not with them, and +feeling extremely uneasy, she entreated Mademoiselle Cecilia--to whom +the letter was addressed--to send her some intelligence of her child. +The clergyman concluded by saying: "God will bless you, my dear young +lady, because you do not abandon the poor." This letter pierced Cecilia +to the heart. She grew thin with grief and anxiety; every time the +door opened, she fancied there was some news of Nanette. Her eyes were +constantly directed towards the avenue, as if she expected to see her +coming; and at night she woke up with a start at the slightest noise, +as if it announced her return. At last her mother resolved that they +would themselves make inquiries in all the neighbouring villages, and +speak to all the clergymen, although still fearing that they were too +late. They therefore set out one afternoon, and as they approached a +village, but a short distance from the town, Cecilia, who was anxiously +looking in every direction, uttered a cry, exclaiming, "Mamma, mamma, +that's her! there she is! I see her! I see the same little boy!" and +she caught hold of the coachman's coat, to make him stop the quicker, +and darting out of the carriage, rushed towards Nanette, who was lying +on the ground, with her head leaning against a tree, seeming scarcely +able to breathe. Cecilia threw herself on the ground by her side, +spoke to her, raised her up, and kissed her. Nanette recognised her, +and began to weep; Cecilia wept also, and taking her upon her knees, +she caressed her, called her her dear Nanette, her poor little Nanette. +The child looked at her with astonishment, while a faint flush animated +her cheeks. Madame de Vesac soon reached the spot. Cecilia wanted to +have Nanette put instantly into the carriage, and taken home; but +Madame de Vesac questioned Jeannot, who stood staring in the utmost +astonishment, utterly unable to comprehend the meaning of what he +saw. While Cecilia was arranging Nanette in the carriage, Madame de +Vesac, conducted by Jeannot, went to Dame Lapie's cottage. The old +woman was sitting at her door, still unable to walk, and related all +she knew about the child. Madame de Vesac gave her some money, and +returned to Cecilia, who was dying with impatience to see Nanette home, +and in a comfortable bed. She got there at last. Cecilia nursed her +with the greatest care, and for a whole week never left her bedside, +frequently rising in the night to ascertain how she was. At last the +surgeon pronounced her out of danger; but it was long before she was +restored to health, and still longer before she recovered from the +sort of stupidity into which she had been thrown by such a series of +misfortunes and suffering. When quite well, Cecilia was desirous of +resuming her education with more regularity than formerly; but this +education had now become still more difficult than at first, and +Cecilia could no longer assume her former authority; for, whenever she +was going to scold Nanette, she remembered how much she had suffered +through her negligence, and dared not say a word. She felt that to have +the right of doing to others all the good we wish, and of ordering +what may be useful to them, we must never have done them any injury. +She therefore sent Nanette to school, and economized her allowance, +in order to be able afterwards to apprentice her to a business. The +brother of Mademoiselle Gerard was made to refund the six hundred +francs; but Cecilia desired that the sum might be kept for a marriage +portion for Nanette, when she was grown up. Madame de Vesac gave +Jeannot a suit of clothes; and Dame Lapie had permission to send every +week to the château for vegetables. Madame de Vesac spent not only this +summer, but the winter also, and the following summer, in the country; +so that Nanette had time to learn to read, and make some progress in +writing. This was a source of great joy to Cecilia, who, for some +time, feared that her mind was totally stupified. In conversing on the +subject with her mother, after she had been relieved of all anxiety in +regard to it, Madame de Vesac said to her: "We never know what injury +we may do when we confer favours heedlessly and solely for our own +pleasure, and without being willing to give ourselves any trouble. This +is not the way to do good. Those whom you neglect, after having led +them to expect assistance, find, when you have abandoned them, that +they had calculated upon you, and are now without resource; so that you +have done them more harm than if you had never aided them." + + + + +THREE CHAPTERS IN THE LIFE OF NADIR. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE ROSE. + + +In the month of Flowers, in Farsistan, the Land of Roses, three +youths inhaled the perfumed air of the morning, as they sported in +the flower-covered fields, and amid the leaves, sparkling with dew. +Pleasure directed their steps towards the depths of a dark grove, into +which the heat of the first beams of day had not yet penetrated. A +celestial fragrance mingled with the first exhalations of the verdure. +One single sunbeam had pierced the thick foliage, as if to point out, +with its golden finger, a Rose, the loveliest of roses. The dew-drops +bathed it as they passed, or crept, for its refreshment, into its +bosom, coloured with transparent tints of light and shade; and the +zephyr of the grove seemed to have no other care than to balance it +on its delicate stem. Proudly, but timidly, did it raise its head, +expanding like the countenance of a young girl, whose lips scarce dare +to smile, while already happiness is beaming in her eyes. + +"Oh! lovely flower," said Zuléiman, "I will carry thee to Schiraz; +this day shalt thou adorn the feast; the poets of Persia shall sing of +thy perfume and thy beauty;" and already was his hand stretched forth +to pluck the Rose. + +"Stop!" cried Massour, "why thus cut short the bright hours of its +life? Think, Zuléiman, think how, after shining for a few brief moments +in the crown of a guest, or in the garland destined to adorn the vases +of the feast, consumed by the burning breath of men, and sinking +beneath the vapour of their cups, it will droop that head now so full +of vigour, and let fall, one after the other, its fading petals, until +at night, trodden under foot, it will scarcely leave upon the ground a +faint trace of its existence." + +"What matters it," continued the impetuous Zuléiman, "whether it perish +amid the splendours of a court, or upon its slender stem? A single day +is the term of its existence, and that day will at least have been a +glorious one. Poor flower! I will not suffer thee thus to lavish in +forgetfulness thy fragrant odour and soft beauty in this secluded spot, +where thou art scarce known, even to the nightingale and the zephyr." + +"And is it not enough," said Massour, "that it should possess an +existence thus fragrant and beautiful, that it should enjoy the +thick shade, and inhale the delicious freshness of this grove; here +peacefully to bloom away its life, here gently to shed its leaves when, +pale but not withered, they fall one by one, as vanish, without pain, +blessings that have been enjoyed, as glide away the last days of a +happy life, softly coloured by remembrance?" + +"Wretched happiness," said Zuléiman; "noble flower, thou wilt not +accept it! I see thee swell and unfold thy leaves, proud with the +thought of shining in the world." And a second time he was about to +pluck the flower. + +"Stop!" cried Nadir, in his turn seizing the arm of Zuléiman; then +for a moment he was silent, his eyes fixed upon the rose; a painful +anxiety tormented his heart: he shuddered at the thought of abandoning +to such sudden destruction that flower, so brilliant and so happy, +while at the same time he sighed to see it waste, useless and unknown, +the treasures of its precious existence. "Stop! Zuléiman!" he +continued, "let us not thus rashly precipitate things into the abyss of +our wills before examining what may be the destiny marked out for them +by the Father of beings." + +At this moment, a sage was seen approaching. The world had no secrets +from him. He understood the language of the birds, and could divine the +thoughts of the flowers. He knew what is still more difficult: how to +select the narrow path of duty in the intricate ways of life, and to +trace out its precise direction; the only rule capable of sustaining +the mind of man, and of guiding his will amidst the uncertainties of +desire. The three youths addressed him at once: "Father," said they, +"enlighten our doubts, unfold to us the destiny of this Rose." + +As the sage was about to reply, warlike sounds were heard. Zuléiman +sprang forward, seized his arms, and hurried to range himself beneath +the standard of the Sophi. Massour, with a smile, inhaled the perfume +of the flower which he fancied he had preserved, and returned to the +palace of his father, to enjoy the delights of life. + +"My son," said the sage to Nadir, "this is the hour in which thy +grandsire has need of thy assistance, that he may warm himself in the +rays of the morning sun. Let not an old man lose one of those reviving +beams." And Nadir hastened to obey the words of the Sage. + +In the evening, his mind still perplexed with the same doubt, Nadir +returned to the grove. The sage was there; and there, also, was the +Rose. Its perfume was beginning to languish; its full-blown leaves +seemed to have exhausted the plenitude of existence, and to be +expending their last powers. "One night, at most, will terminate its +life," said Nadir: "perhaps the morning zephyr is already commissioned +to waft away its remains. Tell me, O father! if, in thus wasting on its +stem, it has fulfilled the destiny appointed for it by the Most High, +and to which it was called by its own nature." + +"This morning, my son," resumed the sage, "it might have cast a look of +sadness on the obscure retreat to which Providence had condemned it. +It might have inquired of the Most High, wherefore that rich fragrance +enclosed within its breast; wherefore the ravishing colours with which +it is adorned? but at noon there came a traveller, overpowered by +fatigue; his eyes, distressed by the dazzling brilliancy of the day, +demanded comfort; his sense of smell sought deliverance from the dust +of the road; all his senses required refreshment, all his body called +for repose. Attracted by the fragrance of the Rose, he penetrated +into its retreat; it delighted his eye, and revived his senses; it +remained suspended over his head while he slept, lavishing on him its +rich perfume till the evening; and he departed, refreshed, happy, and +blessing the Rose whose dying fragrance now rises in thankfulness +towards the Most High, for the destiny he had assigned it." Nadir also +raised his thoughts to heaven, and blessed the Lord of nature for the +destiny of the Rose. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE TRIBE. + + +The next day Nadir returned to seek the sage, and thus addressed +him:--"Father, man is not like the flower, fixed upon a stem, he can of +himself advance towards his destiny; ought he then, like the Rose, to +wait until the traveller demands his perfume? Tell me, oh! father, what +is the destiny which God has assigned to man; what is the happiness to +which it is the will of Heaven that he should aspire?" + +"My son," replied the sage, "the virtue as well as the happiness of +the plant consists in patience. There, in the retreat in which God +has placed it, let it await his will, and if it die without having +been made use of, if its salutary properties return with it into the +earth, still let it not murmur; for God has seen it, and the Most High +rejoices in his own works. + +"The animal is destined for action, but in the interest, and under the +direction of man. Obedience is his duty, it is the merit which will be +accounted to him, the blessing of which he may avail himself. The horse +whose submissive ardour obeys with joy the signal of his master, feels +neither the whip nor the spur. + +"Man, my son, has received the power of voluntary action. Let him not +suffer either his deed or his will to perish uselessly, but let him +earnestly seek out the portion of labour assigned to him by God in +the work of the Universe. Let him submit to it with docility, under +the guidance of the Most High, who deigns to make him the instrument +of His decrees; and let him accept with resignation the measure of +success, which it may be the will of Heaven to bestow." + +"Oh! my father," demanded Nadir, "how, amidst this array of human +activities, amidst this immense variety of labours which the world +spreads out before me, how may I always distinguish the portion of the +work to which it is the will of Heaven that I should devote my powers?" + +"Always look around and see in what direction thou canst do the most +good, without doing any evil. + +"Ask of the creatures of God such assistance as they can render thee, +without acting in contradiction to the destiny imposed upon them by +their Father, and thine. + +"Gather the fruit of the vine, but break not its stem to form thy +staff. For the stem of the vine, left to its natural destiny, will +still for many years offer a grape to the parched lips of the pilgrim. +When thou no longer needest the axe, take not its handle to feed the +flame of thy hearth, for though no longer useful to thee, the handle of +the axe is not the less destined to fulfil a long service. + +"Go, my son, be active as the fire that never sleeps, docile as the +courser to the impulse of the hand which guides him, resigned as the +solitary plant." + +Such were the counsels of the sage; and Nadir departed to begin life. + +Nadir was beautiful as the moon, when from the blue vault of heaven she +silently looks down upon the earth; agile and proud as the stag, at +the head of a troop of fawns and young deer; compassionate as a mother +to the cries of her child. His words reverberated in the depths of the +heart like the cymbal, whose every sound responds to the step of the +warrior, burning with impatience to reach his enemy; and when his voice +burst forth in song, or when his hand swept the lyre, it seemed as if +one were transported to the borders of fountains where the sound melts +away in rapture, to the harmonious voices of earth and air. + +One day he had to make his choice between two paths. "The first," it +was said, "will conduct you to the abodes of a happy people, rich in +the joys of life, and skilful in using them: your talents and beauty +will there secure to you pleasure, glory, and fortune. By following the +other, you will find a tribe of savage men, wild as their native woods, +hard as the rocks they scale." The young blood of Nadir rushed towards +the spot where difficulty and labour awaited him. He recollected the +words of the sage, and found them grateful to his heart. "There," he +said, "is a good that I can accomplish, these happy people have no need +of me." And he bent his steps towards the savage tribe. + +For three days a terrible lion had spread desolation and terror +throughout their neighbourhood: all night its roaring was heard around +their dwellings: in the day he pounced silently upon his prey. The +timid maiden, gathering wild roots, dreaded to see him spring from +behind each bush; the mother dared not leave her child within the hut; +and the warrior, who went forth with spear in hand, looked anxiously +around, fearing to seek the game which he had wounded in the cavern +or the pit, lest he should meet the terrible animal ready to dispute +it with him. Nadir arrived; the temper of his scimitar, the vigour of +his arm, the courage of his soul triumphed over the lion. The people +worshipped him as a god: the heads of the tribe came to him and said, +"Thou art stronger than we are: command us; and with us thou shalt be +the master of this people." + +Nadir reflected: "I can impose wise laws upon this people: but, if they +submit to them by force, they will act in opposition to the destiny +which God has appointed for man, which is, to act in accordance with +his own will." Therefore, before disclosing to them his thoughts, Nadir +listened to theirs; and their thoughts, on the lips of Nadir, became a +music enchanting to their ears. He did not force them to exchange the +spear for the plough, nor the toil of the wandering huntsman for that +of the industrious labourer; but he headed their chase, and at their +feasts purchased at the price of fatigue and danger: he expatiated, in +glowing language, on the luxury of fruits improved by culture, of cakes +made from wheaten flour, of the presents conferred by the goat, who +gives to man her milk, when he ceases to demand her blood. Clad like +them, in the skins of the wild beasts he had slain, he taught the young +men to place them on their shoulders with more elegance; and the women +were eager to fashion them with grace, in order to give pleasure to the +young men. Labour introduced among this people abundance, sociability, +and innocent gaiety; and they sang: "Nadir is a gift more precious than +a son to his mother; for he renders us happy without having ever caused +us pain." + +Nevertheless, there were some among them who rebelled against the +power which the people had delegated to Nadir. First in this number +was a young man named Sibal: he was seized. The chiefs who recognized +the superiority of Nadir, and the old men, to whom he had taught the +science of counsel, exclaimed, "Let Sibal die, that his death may be a +warning to others!" + +But Nadir replied: "Has he not received from God a destiny more suited +to his nature than that of dying for the benefit of others, like the +grain which they grind for food?" He ordered Sibal to be brought into +his presence, and said, "Why dost thou seek to reject my laws? Is thy +heart not strong enough to bear them?" + +"Thy laws, like the honey of the bee," said Sibal, "may be sweet to +him who has made them; but I cannot feed upon the honey from another's +hive." + +"Let him who is also capable of making honey," replied Nadir, "assist +those who are occupied in filling the hive. Aid me in giving laws to +this people, and govern them with me, if thou art competent; if thou +art more competent, govern them in my stead." + +Sibal fell prostrate before him. The words of Nadir had sunk deep into +his heart, even as the shower which awakens the germs still sleeping +in the bosom of the earth, and he said: "Oh, Nadir! I am worthy of +something better than the death to which they would have condemned me;" +and as the father begets the sons who increase his power, so Nadir +taught wisdom to Sibal, and the wisdom of Sibal increased the strength +of Nadir; and the life of Sibal was before the eyes of this people an +example, which would have been lost by his death: for the voice of each +morning raises a hymn to the glory of the sun, but the earth forgets in +a few hours the cloud which passes away in storm. + +The wonders accomplished by Nadir were related at the Court of the +Sophi, on whom this tribe depended; and the Court wished to draw him +to itself, as it does everything precious. He went, therefore, to the +Court of the Sophi. There he beheld Zuléiman, who had distinguished +himself in arms. He had surpassed every warrior in valour, every chief +in discipline. The Sophi had just delegated to him the government of a +province which he had conquered. "Govern it in peace," he said, "since +thou hast gained it by war." But Zuléiman was only fit for subjugating +men; a thing which may be done so long as war lasts. The huntsman +traces out, according to his pleasure, the enclosure within which he +wishes to shut up and pursue the beasts of the forest; but the shepherd +leads his flocks to the pastures which they themselves prefer. + +Zuléiman did not crush his people by his avarice; he did not subject +them to unworthy favourites, neither did he force them to respect a +degrading idleness; on the contrary, he required them to adorn their +towns with religious edifices; he obliged them to construct, upon +the path of the traveller, fountains, shaded by palm-trees; and to +send their children to schools, in which they might be well educated. +But since, in the means he took to obtain their obedience, he did not +consult their character, but his own, they did not adapt their wills +to his laws; but as the branch, of which the child forms his bow, when +subjected to a curve contrary to its nature, wounds the hand which +forces it, or, breaking loose, darts from his grasp; so they, being +constrained by force to bend to his laws, obeyed his rule with hatred, +or evaded it by stratagem. + +"These men," said Zuléiman, "are perverse. I sow amongst them the good +seed of virtue, and they return to me the tares of vice." + +"Brave Zuléiman," replied Nadir, "men become perverse through hatred of +a rule opposed to their inclinations. Think not to conduct them to good +by laws at variance with the powers which God has bestowed upon them +for its attainment. The will of a tyrant is like a thunderbolt hurled +against a rock: the rock turns it off, and it strikes a temple." + +One day a slave was labouring with his axe on the gnarled trunk of an +oak which he wished to fell. It had already wearied his arm, and he +demanded time for repose, but in vain; Zuléiman would not grant it. +Then the slave, summoning his remaining strength, raised his axe--but +only to let it fall in vengeance on the head of Zuléiman. Nadir hurried +to the spot, and found him expiring. Zuléiman said to him: "If I sought +to precipitate events, it was only that the short period of life might +still leave me time for the accomplishment of great deeds." + +"Oh! Zuléiman," replied Nadir, "nothing can be truly great, but that +which accords with the destiny traced out for man by the finger of Him +who alone is great." But Nadir mourned for Zuléiman: for he had been +powerful in action, and only failed by depending too much on obedience. + +Nadir also visited the Palace of Massour. He beheld him, like a fruit, +nourished by the prodigality of a too fertile soil, by the abundance +of the fountains, and the moist freshness of the shade; the purifying +breath of heaven, the generous ardour of the sun, have never penetrated +its retreat. Swelled with useless juice, insipid and discoloured, it +hangs, bearing down by its weight the branch which supports it. Such +appeared Massour. Life was to him dull and weary; for he knew not how +to restore its vigour. In vain he sought for novelty in his luxuries: +the cup of pleasure was filled to the very brim; to pour in more was +but to make it overflow, without increasing its contents. + +Massour, too, was threatened by misfortune; and he beheld it as we +behold a phantom, which chills us with terror, though we know it is but +a phantom. His riches no longer gave him joy; yet to preserve these +riches, he abandoned, though with tears, to the hatred of a powerful +enemy, the friend who had implored his aid. + +Then Nadir departed from the Palace of Massour, saying, "God has given +activity to man, as he has given the current to the waters, to preserve +them from corruption." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE DESERT. + + +Nadir, in his turn, was visited by misfortune. Calumny pursued him: +injustice extended high enough to reach him. He was banished from the +wife of his bosom, from the son whose eyes were just opened to the +light, and his life was dried up like the summer, when, although full +of fire and vigour, it has lost its colours. + +The people, whom he had taught to be industrious and happy, were given +up to avaricious men, who converted their labour into an oppressive +burden; and the memories which once refreshed the soul of Nadir now +became to him a bitter and empoisoned spring. + +He beheld iniquity spreading over his land, and was forced to behold it +in silence. Iniquity dreaded even his silence, and Nadir was compelled +to fly into barren deserts, where the devouring eyes of iniquity come +not to seek their prey. He here met the sage, who said to him: "I +wished to end my days in peace. These rocks, which have been piled +immoveable one upon the other since the birth of the world, will not +renounce their nature to rush down of their own accord and crush me. +The rain may benumb my limbs with cold, without my accusing it of any +want of obedience to the law which was given to it; therefore, I bear +no hatred to these threatening rocks, nor to the rain which chills me; +but the sight of iniquity wearies my soul into hatred of it: for there +were twins produced at one birth--iniquity, which is the foe of order; +and the hatred of iniquity, which is the re-establishment of order." + +Shortly after he had uttered these words, the sage expired; and Nadir, +beholding him close his eyes, exclaimed, "Now, indeed, I am alone." + +The eyes of the sage once more opened, and he said: "My son, the plant +knows that it is seen by God, but man bears God within himself; let +him then never say I am alone;" and with these words the sage expired. +Nadir left the cavern, and reflected on the meaning of his words. +Seated upon a rock, he beheld a serpent gliding towards him from +between the stones, now and then raising its head, and looking round as +if seeking for some object on which to vent its fury. Nadir seized a +piece of the rock, and crushed the head of the serpent, while the body +writhed and struggled long after the head had remained crushed between +the stones. At last it lay motionless, stretched along the rock. Nadir +surveyed it: he also surveyed the lifeless remains of the sage extended +in the cavern. "Both," said he, "are about to give back to the earth +the dust which they took from it; but what advantage was there in +taking the serpent from the dust?" And he questioned the work of the +Most High. + +[Illustration: Three Chapters on the Life of Nadir, p. 110.] + +The sun had just sunk behind the rocks which bounded the horizon. A +cold wind arose, driven by dark clouds; it whistled through the rocks +and penetrated even to the heart of Nadir, already filled with grief +for the death of the sage. He remained motionless, abandoning himself, +without defence, to the cold wind and to his grief. But a thought of +the past arose to his mind: he remembered what he had been, and said, +"Nadir shall not perish overpowered by affliction and the winds of +night!" He arose, gathered the leaves and brambles scattered here and +there in the clefts of the rock, where also grew the wild roots which +served him for food. He obtained fire from a flint; a brilliant flame +suddenly burst forth from the midst of a thick smoke; the light played +upon the rocks, and seemed to people the desert. The features of +the sage reposing in the cavern, were lighted up with a tint resembling +that of life. Nadir gazed upon him, and tears flowed from his eyes, to +the memory of friendship; but strength had once more returned to his +soul. The flame grew dim, sank, and at last died away. A grey coating +of ashes covered the still burning embers; but soon, of that great heap +of brambles, there remained nothing but a faint trace, scarcely visible +upon the spot on which they were consumed. "Behold," said Nadir, "they, +too, have returned to the dust; but I, whom they have warmed, what +right have I to ask why they were taken from it?" + +The wind had died away, bearing with it the dark clouds. The moon +slowly unveiled her disk in the blue vault of heaven, where trembled +myriads of glittering stars. Each one of these heavenly orbs seemed to +shed a ray upon the heart of Nadir. "Glorious works of the Most High!" +he exclaimed, gazing on them, "what mortal will dare to lift his voice +to ask what purpose ye serve in the Universe?" + +And his eye sought that faint white trace, scarcely visible in the +azure heavens, formed by masses of stars, innumerable as the sands +of the sea-shore, lying in the depths of space, where the eye of man +cannot distinguish them, where they do not even serve to gladden his +sight; and still beyond these almost invisible stars, float perhaps, +in spaces stretching out to infinitude, others of whose existence even +sight gives us no intimation. Nadir dwelt upon these things, then +withdrew his gaze, and turning his thoughts inward, upon himself, he +said, "Even as these stars are lost to me in space, so the good which I +have done will be lost in time. Already perhaps, it no longer exists; +perhaps already it may have been productive of evil: for if those men +are rendered wicked whom I had rendered good, what I have taught them +will only have given them increased power of doing evil. And yet I do +not ask of my conscience "To what purpose have I done good:" for if, +when I have paid my creditor, he should throw the gold he has received +of me into the sea, I should not say, "To what purpose have I paid my +debts?" Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, every creature bears to thee +in tribute, his existence, which is the fulfilment of thy will; and of +this tribute, of which thou formest thy treasures, oh! Great Lord of +Life! who will dare to ask of thee the use?" By the clear moonlight +Nadir beheld the body of the serpent, stretched along the rock, and +said, "Thou hast lived for evil, but even evil pays its tribute to +the will of Heaven. Man knows not its use, as the insect destroyed by +the icy wind of this night knows not that that wind would dispel the +clouds. Oh! serpent, thou hast paid thy tribute: for God had willed thy +existence, and thou hast accomplished by it the intentions of the Most +High." + +Nadir also glanced upon the slight stratum of ashes which the flame had +left upon the rock, and said, "While the flame devoured these brambles, +it warmed my limbs and my heart. When God drew man from the treasures +of his power, he said to him, 'Thou hast the choice of being either the +flame which devours the trunk of the oak, or the heat which emanates +from it, and rejoices the heart of man.' The wicked replied, 'I will +be the devouring flame;' and he thinks only of devouring; but God has +forced him to produce the heat. It is the will of God which has created +good. It is the will of the wicked which creates evil, out of which God +extracts good." + +With such thoughts Nadir calmly slept, and awoke the next morning as +if to a new existence: for he had reposed upon the will of God the +uncertainties of his spirit, and he contemplated, with a steady eye, +the desert and its extent, its solitude and its aridity. He closed +up the cavern where rested the remains of the sage: he returned the +serpent to the earth; and the breath of the morning had scattered +in the air the ashes of his hearth; but their lessons remained in +his heart, and he said, "All nature deposits germs in the heart of +man, and man nourishes them and elevates them to the thought of God." +Nevertheless, this thought of God sometimes troubled him. Filled with +it, his soul longed to rush towards him; and he prostrated himself, +saying, "My God, I know thee but as the friend whose eyes languish for +the sight of his friend." + +Nadir was again uplifted by the returning wave of fortune. Iniquity +had passed over his country like a storm, and his people revived in +the freshness of repose after trouble. He again beheld the wife whom +he cherished, and the child already able to clap his hands and utter +cries of joy when he heard pronounced the name of Nadir. He was again +invested with great power to do good; and the more he experienced the +mercies of God, the more he felt the necessity of his presence; and he +sought him in all things. + +One day he beheld his son, filled with anger, rush upon an animal which +was on the point of biting his nurse, and he said, "God has spoken to +this child, for whence could he have learned love and courage?" + +He surprised the wicked, endeavouring to delude himself with pretences, +in order to colour an injustice, which he could commit without danger; +and he said, "God is there before the wicked; for the wicked dare not +go straight to the commission of evil;" and he added, "Great God, whom +I see everywhere, let me feel thy presence still nearer to my heart." + +One day Nadir, deceived by false appearances, condemned to be scourged +a good man, who had been unjustly accused before him, and he pronounced +sentence with his eyes closed, as one who in a dream, unmindful of what +is around him, acts and reasons in accordance with the ideas which +during his sleep exist in his imagination. Whilst submitting to his +punishment, this good man said to his friends, whose indignation burst +forth in bitter invectives, "Let not the commission of one injustice +lead us to commit another in accusing the virtuous Nadir." + +One of the friends of Nadir hastened to him with these words. Struck +with astonishment, he instantly ordered the punishment to be suspended, +and the supposed culprit to be brought into his presence. Then his eyes +were opened, and he beheld before him an innocent man, whom he had +condemned; and the truth burst forth, as a burning light, inflicting +poignant grief upon his heart. In his agony, he wept, and, prostrate, +implored the forgiveness of the good man, who said to him, "Oh! Nadir, +thou hast not injured me, for thou hast not rendered me unjust towards +thee; neither hast thou injured thyself, for it was thy error, and not +thyself, that was unjust towards me." + +Nadir's grief was increased by these words, when he saw what virtue +he had condemned; but, at the same time, the sight of so much virtue +filled his mind with an ineffable pleasure, and his grief passed away +with his tears. In the fulness of his joy, he said to the virtuous man, +"Thou art my brother;" and prostrating himself again, he raised his +thoughts to heaven, saying, "Oh! God, thou livest in us. The perfection +in which thou delightest exists in thyself. It is thy own happiness +which thou communicatest to man, when his soul is lifted up in +ecstasy at the sight of virtue. Father of all Good, Nadir, repentant, +recognizes thee in the delight he experiences in contemplating the +virtue which condemns him." Then he arose, saying, "God lives in us, +and man feels him in himself, and rejoices in his presence;" and the +rapture of the blessed beamed in his countenance. + +The books, in which were recorded the remaining acts of Nadir's life, +have not been preserved; but the sages, who in their old age still +remembered to have listened to his words, relate, that from that moment +peace never departed from his heart, nor serenity from his brow; and +that, at the moment when full of years, he felt his soul ready to take +its flight into the arms of God, even as a child who, in the midst of +its games beholding its father approach, extends his arms to him from +afar, and running to meet him, already relates to him his joys and +pleasures; so did Nadir, with hands and eyes raised to heaven, exclaim, +in holy ecstasy, "Thanks be to thee, O merciful Father! who hast +granted to Nadir every blessing that man can attain upon this earth:" +and his hands dropped, and he sank into repose, for his earthly portion +had fulfilled its destiny. + + + + +THE MOTHER AND DAUGHTER. + + +Marietta was full of grief, because her mother insisted on her writing +a second copy, her first having been badly done; and she had already +spent nearly half-an-hour, in crying and pouting, a period long enough +to have finished her task in, had she been so disposed. In fact, +Marietta, though nine years old, and possessed of many good qualities, +was often very unreasonable, and the slightest whim or irritability was +sufficient to make her forget her best resolutions. + +"My dear child," said Madame Leroi, who had been quietly working at the +other end of the room, "as there is no help for it, I would advise you +to make up your mind to do what I require." + +"No help for it!" exclaimed Marietta, pettishly; "and where is the +great necessity for my writing this copy?" + +"It must be done, because I wish it." + +"And why do you wish it, mamma?" + +"Because it is necessary." + +"It is necessary because you wish it. Can you not do just what you +please about it?" + +"No, certainly!" + +Then Marietta broke out into a new fit of passion, and throwing +herself back in her chair, she repeated, as she struck her clenched +hands upon the table, "You cannot do as you please, you cannot do as +you please! when I am obliged to obey you in everything. And then the +other day, you said to Madame Thibourg, in speaking of me: I belong +to that child. To say that you belong to me when you are constantly +contradicting me!" + +"It is precisely because I do belong to you," said Madame Leroi, +smiling, "that I am obliged to contradict you." + +"Then, mamma," said Marietta, turning to her mother, with her +arms folded, and speaking in a tone which her anger had rendered +impertinent, "will you have the kindness to explain that to me?" + +"I shall explain nothing to you at present," replied her mother, in +a severe tone; then ordering her to be silent, she compelled her to +resume her work, which, as may be imagined, did not tend to calm +Marietta's irritation; she rebelled in silence, wrote badly, incurred +fresh punishments, and spent the day in alternate faults and despair. +But the next morning she awoke in such good humour, dressed so quickly, +said her prayers with so much fervour, and had so soon put all her +things in order, and completed her early tasks, doing even more +than was required, in order to repair her past misconduct, that at +breakfast-time she at last perceived a smile lighten the countenance of +her mother, who had not laid aside her severity since the previous day. +"At last, mamma," she cried, "you are once more pleased with me." + +"And tell me why I am pleased. Is it on your account, or on my own?" + +"I know it is because I have done my duty; nevertheless, mamma, it +is still true that my duty is your pleasure, and that you are always +mistress, and can do whatever you like with me." + +"What! even drown you as they did the kittens born in the attic last +night." + +"Oh! mamma, I do not mean that; but you can make me do whatever you +wish." + +"So, then, if I should wish you to steal our neighbour's sugar, when +she leaves her door open, or her syrup, or her cups, I should have a +right to order you to do so?" + +"What an idea, mamma! as if you could wish me to do such things!" + +"That is to say, then, that there are things which I have no right to +wish for, nor, consequently, to order you to do. This certainly is a +fine sort of authority. But can I help wishing? If I had not wished to +teach you to read and write; if, when you were an infant, I had not +wished to attend to your wants, or to get up at night when you cried, +should I have had a right to do as I pleased?" + +"But, mamma, you know very well that it would have done me harm if you +had not." + +"Oh! then I must not wish anything that can do you harm, I must only +wish what will be for your good, and this you call following my own +will?" + +"But still, mamma, it is your will that I always obey; since it is you +who command me." + +"And when do I command you to do anything?" + +"When you think it is right." + +"And have I, then, the power of believing just as I please that a thing +is right or wrong?" + +"Certainly, mamma, nobody hinders you." + +Madame Leroi made no reply, but a moment after she said to her +daughter, "Marietta, I am thinking next week of beginning to teach you +to draw with your elbow." + +"What, mamma!" exclaimed Marietta, with a burst of laughter, "To draw +with my elbow! And how shall I hold my pencil?" + +"With the point of your elbow; nothing is easier." + +"Why, mamma, what are you talking about?" continued Marietta, laughing +still more vehemently. + +"Something, my dear, which I beg you to believe for my sake." + +"But, mamma, how am I to believe that?" + +"Did you not tell me just now that we can believe what we please?" + +"But, mamma, that is quite a different matter." + +"For you, perhaps, my child, but as for me I can assure you that when +your copy is badly written, it is impossible for me to believe it well +done, let me examine it as I will. And when you do not choose to do +what you ought, it instantly comes into my head that I must force you +to do it by punishment. How am I to manage? I cannot believe otherwise, +and I am just as much compelled to obey my judgment, as you are to obey +my will. It is no more in my power to bring you up badly than it is in +yours to disobey me." + +Marietta was accustomed to regard duty as an inevitability, though, +for all that, she often failed in it; neither did she think that any +reasonable person could escape from it, any more than they could escape +from superior force. "At all events, mamma," she said, "you must allow +that it is not correct to say that you belong to me." + +At this moment, Madame Thibourg entered. "Come, make haste," she said +to her friend, "I have a ticket for Malmaison; my little girls are +waiting for me in the coach, and I have brought a basket of provisions +for dinner, so make haste." + +"But I have promised to send home this piece of tapestry this week," +replied Madame Leroi, looking anxiously first at her frame and then at +her daughter, who, after having hailed the proposal of Madame Thibourg +with a cry of delight, now stood motionless with anxiety, on beholding +her mother's hesitation. + +"I would with pleasure take charge of Marietta," said Madame Thibourg, +"but my nurse is ill, and as there is water there, I shall have quite +enough to do to take care of my own little girls. You must work a +little more the following days." + +"But if I am ill, as I was last week?... I am afraid it is not right." + +"Oh! you won't be ill, and it is quite right. There are some splendid +pictures there, which you really ought to let Marietta see. Come!" + +"Well then, I suppose I must, since it is right," said Madame Leroi, +smiling, as she looked at her daughter, whose countenance had changed +colour half-a-dozen, times in the course of a minute. + +We may easily imagine what were the raptures of Marietta, how rapidly +her toilet was performed, and how perfect were the enjoyments of +the day. It is needless to expatiate on the delights of a dinner +spread upon the fresh grass, without cloth and without plates; on the +deliciousness of a salad gathered by one's own hands; or upon the +surpassing pleasure of running after every draught to rinse one's glass +in the clear fountain at the entrance of the garden. Marietta, always +affectionate when she was happy, kissed her mother fifty times in the +course of the day, and at night, notwithstanding her fatigue, the +pleasure of talking of these delights kept her so wakeful, that Madame +Leroi was almost obliged to scold her to make her go to bed. "You +forget," she said, "that for having afforded you this gratification, +I shall be obliged to get up at four o'clock for several successive +mornings." + +"But you know, mamma," said Marietta, "that it was for my good; it was +absolutely necessary that I should see the pictures at Malmaison." + +"And why, my child," inquired Madame Leroi, smiling, "must I prefer +your advantage to my own? Am I made for your use? Tell me, do you think +I belong to you?" + +"Oh! mamma," said Marietta, embracing her, "do belong to me, I shall +be so delighted, since it is to do what will give me pleasure." And +Marietta went to sleep upon this idea, which added a new charm to her +dreams. + +No mother, indeed, could have more completely belonged to her child +than Madame Leroi. She was the widow of a clerk, who had left her +unprovided for while Marietta was still an infant. It had never +occurred to her that she had any other object in life than to educate +her daughter, to render her an estimable member of society, and to +enable her to earn for herself a respectable livelihood. The education +of her child was her first object, and to it she sacrificed all the +advantages she might have derived from the exercise of her talents. +Madame Leroi was a skilful musician; in her youth, she had been +destined to teach singing and the harp, but, when eighteen years +old, her chest became so much weakened in consequence of an attack +of measles, that she was obliged to abandon this pursuit. She then +turned her attention to painting, which was natural enough, as her +father was an artist, and had given her lessons in her childhood. But +not long afterwards, she lost her father, and having such limited +means, she considered herself fortunate in marrying M. Leroi, a man +already advanced in years, and of an eccentric character, who would, +on no account, have consented that his wife should pass her time away +from home in giving lessons. As his income was sufficient for their +maintenance, she confined her occupations to the care of her household, +and to the cultivation of her mind, the better to prepare herself for +the education of any children she might be blessed with. After losing +two, she gave birth to Marietta, and from that time all her affections +were concentrated on this child. At the death of her husband, she found +herself once more without resources, or very nearly so, for M. Leroi +having had no idea of marrying until late in life, had sunk all his +savings in the purchase of an annuity, and since his marriage had not +been able to add anything of consequence to them. She now, therefore, +had to consider whether she should not resume the pursuit for which she +had been previously destined, but to do so it would be necessary to +abandon Marietta to the care of strangers, to give up all thoughts of +making her profit by the knowledge, the ideas, and the sentiments which +she had in a manner acquired expressly for her sake, and to suffer +the excellent tendencies which her maternal eye already detected, to +become perverted, or at least weakened. She considered that the point +of most consequence to her daughter's welfare, in the difficult path of +life, which she was probably destined to tread, was to be fortified, +at an early age, by the principles of a virtuous and solid education. +She therefore limited the exercise of her talents to the instruction of +Marietta, whose taste for music seemed to promise great success in that +art. "I shall have lived for her! I shall have made her happy!" she +would sometimes repeat to herself. + +But meanwhile, it was necessary to live. She therefore endeavoured +to discover some sedentary occupation, which would enable her to +provide for their simple wants. She applied herself to tapestry, and +her knowledge of painting rendered her very successful in tracing +and shading every variety of design, whether of flowers, figures, or +landscape. Chance favoured her in this respect; she had soon as much +work as she could attend to, and was well paid for it, for her work was +very superior to that of ordinary hands, and, while affording her the +means of subsistence, it had the additional advantage of enabling her +to attend almost without interruption to the education of her daughter. +Marietta would sometimes say to her, "Mamma, when will you leave off +working so much?" + +"When you are able to work for me," she replied. And if Marietta +happened to be in good humour, this answer made her run to her harp. + +Marietta's tendencies varied within very wide limits. Though possessed +of an elevated character, and great tenderness of heart, she sometimes +yielded to fits of passion, and obstinacy, which rendered her a +totally different being from what she ordinarily was, and made her +wish to annoy her mother, as much as at other times she was anxious to +please her; so that one was alternately charmed by her natural love of +excellence, or indignant at her perversity. Nevertheless, by a mixture +of kindness and firmness, her mother had succeeded in subduing, to +a great degree, all that was harsh in her disposition, and the day +preceding the excursion to Malmaison was the last time Madame Leroi had +seriously to complain of her. + +Still, the morning following this treat, on getting up she began to +feel the effects of the previous day's fatigue. She dressed listlessly, +threw herself into every chair which happened to be in her way, and +when the portress, who came up every day to do their household work, +knocked at the door, she rose so languidly to let her in, that one +might almost have said she was glued to her chair. Then, as if unable +any longer to support herself, she sank into a large arm-chair near the +door, and said to her mother: + +"Indeed, mamma, if you really belonged to me, as you say you do, I +should certainly make you do all my work to-day." + +"Oh! my child," replied her mother, in a half-serious, half-playful +tone; "I expect something much more fatiguing, which is to make you do +it yourself." + +"Really, mamma, that will fatigue you very much!" + +"You cannot think how tired I am, yet for all that I shall be obliged +to say to you, 'Marietta, go and open the door, or go and close the +window, or pick up my ball.'" + +"Well, mamma, and is it you that will be fatigued by these things?" + +"But think, Marietta, how cross you will be! Think how often I shall be +obliged to scold you, in order to make you do your duty; for you know +I must make you do it in order to fulfil my own: for although we have +been to Malmaison, we must nevertheless do our duty. What a day I shall +have! for you are not the girl to spare me in these things." + +"And what makes you think that?" inquired Marietta, somewhat piqued. + +"Oh! it would be all very well," replied Madame Leroi, "if you were +older, and had more sense; I should then say to you, 'My child, so long +as I was necessary to you, I devoted myself to you; now it is your +turn to devote yourself to me, and endeavour to be useful to me; do, +therefore, what I ask you, in order to spare me the trouble;' and you +would do it, for you would be reasonable." + +Marietta immediately got up, put away her things so quickly, and +commenced her lessons with such a firm determination to overcome +her lassitude, that she soon quite forgot it. She carried out her +resolution bravely during the whole morning, and at all points. She +never once hesitated to get up the moment her mother required her to do +so, and even anticipated her commands and wishes as often as she could. +Noticing that Madame Leroi was looking for her footstool she was the +first to perceive it, and hastened to place it under her mother's feet. +On another occasion, when the ball of worsted had rolled to the farther +end of the room, Marietta was there as soon as it, and brought it back +to her mother, who said to her, smiling, "Indeed, Marietta, I shall be +tempted to believe, that to day it is _you_ who belong to _me_;" and +Marietta, full of joy, threw her arms round her mother's neck. However, +the moment after, having stumbled through a passage on the harp, she +became cross with her mother because she made her repeat it. + +"Marietta," said Madame Leroi, "do not force me to remember that it is +_I_ who belong to _you_, and that if you persist I shall be obliged, in +spite of myself, to scold you." + +Marietta immediately resumed her task, and this morning, which had +commenced so unfavourably, terminated without a cloud, and in the +happiest manner possible. + +At their dinner, which was always very simple, they had two mutton +cutlets. "Mamma," said Marietta, "will you give me the one with a bone?" + +"Certainly not, my child," replied her mother, "for you know that I +like it best; and," she added, smiling, "I have your interest too much +at heart to permit you to contract the bad habit of thus preferring +yourself to others." + +"And yet, mamma, you pretend to belong to me." + +"Oh! my child, I know my duty too well to allow you to abuse my +devotion:" and she helped herself to the cutlet. + +"Well," said Marietta, "you profit by it, at all events." + +"Certainly," replied Madame Leroi, in the same strain; "there is +nothing like doing one's duty." Marietta shook her head; but she was +too well satisfied with herself this day to feel any temptation to be +out of humour, and when, soon afterwards, while eating their half-pound +of cherries, Madame Leroi only took two or three, saying, that she did +not care for them, Marietta easily understood that it was only because +she wished to leave more for her. + +In the afternoon, a friend came to pay them a visit; he was old and +uninteresting, and remained the entire evening, much to the annoyance +of Marietta, who was so completely rested from the fatigues of the +previous day, by her morning's labour, that she was very anxious for a +walk: she, therefore, ventured some hints upon the subject, but they +were instantly checked by the severe looks of her mother, while the +deafness of M. Lebrun prevented him from noticing them. Poor Marietta +therefore endeavoured to be patient, and settled herself down as well +as she could. "Mamma," she said, as soon as their visitor was gone, +"has M. Lebrun amused you very much?" + +"No, my child, but he is a man to whom I owe respect; he has come a +great distance, and on no account would I have shortened his visit." + +"Well, then, mamma," replied Marietta, with a confident air, though +with a heavy sigh, "I am, at all events, glad to find that there are +some things which you can do contrary to my interests; for most +assuredly it was not to do me a service, that you deprived me of my +walk, a thing beneficial to my health." + +"Ah, my child! you little think how much it was to your interest that I +did not take you for a walk to-day." + +"Come, mamma, let me see how you will prove that." + +"You will not die in consequence; at least I trust not; consider, then, +how injurious it would have been to your education had I granted a +request which you ought not to have made, for you must allow that you +ought not to have asked, or even wished me to be in any manner wanting +in respect towards M. Lebrun." + +"Very well, mamma, I see that you find duties on all sides, which +oblige you to contradict me." + +"And make yourself quite easy, my dear child," said her mother, patting +her cheek caressingly, "I will not fail in a single one." + +Marietta pouted a little, though with a smile; the good conduct of the +morning guaranteed that of the evening. + +The following day she accompanied her mother, to purchase some dresses +which they required. They were first shown two remnants exactly +similar, which were very cheap, and contained sufficient to make +Marietta a dress, with a jacket for the winter, leaving besides a good +deal for mending. Marietta was greatly tempted by another piece, very +much prettier, but as it did not seem that Madame Leroi's dress could +be got out of the two remnants, it was necessary that she should be +contented to take them for her share. While she was vainly exerting +her eloquence, to induce the draper to let her have a dress cut from +the pretty piece at the same price as the remnants, Madame Leroi, by +dint of measuring and calculating had come to the conclusion, that by +joining the sleeves, and by making a plain dress instead of a pelisse +as she had at first intended, the remnants would answer for her, and +she could thus leave the other for her daughter. Marietta at first +opposed this arrangement, but at length allowed her scruples to be +overcome, and full of joy carried off her pretty dress under her arm, +opening the paper every moment on her way back to have a peep at it. +When, on reaching home, she spread it out upon her bed to admire +it, and allow the portress to do so too, she cast her eyes upon her +mother's remnants, and sighed; then seating herself upon Madame Leroi's +knees, and throwing her arms around her neck,--"Mamma," she said, in +a somewhat saddened tone, "was it also for the sake of duty that you +allowed me to have the pretty dress?" + +"No, my darling," replied her mother, tenderly embracing her, "it was +for my pleasure." And Marietta, her heart beating with delight, yielded +without restraint to the happiness she felt in the acquisition of her +new dress, for she saw that the more it was admired, the greater was +her mother's satisfaction at having made this sacrifice for her. + +In proportion as Marietta increased in sense, she perceived more +clearly that, if it be the joy of a mother to sacrifice herself for +her children, it is her duty to teach them not to abuse her kindness; +and being at length persuaded that her mother contradicted her only +when she was obliged to do so, she exerted herself to spare her +this necessity, and succeeded so well, that their mutual confidence +increased daily, and they were almost like two friends. + +However, when about fourteen years of age, Marietta having grown very +fast, fell into a kind of languor, which made her sad and fretful. +Although she had acquired sufficient self-control to overcome some +portion of her irritability, there still remained quite enough to +exercise the affectionate indulgence of Madame Leroi, who, fearing to +excite to a dangerous degree the irritable disposition of her daughter, +displayed the utmost patience in bringing her back to reason; and +Marietta, when her better feelings returned, was almost ready to adore +her mother for her condescension. + +One day, Madame Thibourg happened to be present at one of these +outbursts of temper. She began by reasoning with Marietta; then +becoming provoked by her asperity, and unreasonableness, and the tone +which she assumed towards her mother, who was endeavouring to quiet +her, she ended by telling her a few severe truths, which threw Marietta +into such a state of excitement, that she rushed out of the room with +cries and tears, and almost in convulsions. Her mother, who went to +seek her after the departure of Madame Thibourg, found her still +trembling, but calm, and deeply ashamed of what had taken place; though +she endeavoured to excuse herself by urging that Madame Thibourg had +taken a pleasure in pushing her to extremities. + +"She took pleasure, my child," replied her mother, "in proving to +you, that she was right and that you were wrong. You wished to do the +same with regard to her; and even supposing that you both considered +yourselves right, was it not your place to yield?" + +"Oh, mamma! that is not how you act towards me," said Marietta, melting +into tears at the conviction of her error, for at that moment she +remembered all her mother's kindness. + +"My child," said Madame Leroi, "it is because I belong to you that I +ought to sacrifice every personal feeling, rather than cause you a +single emotion capable of injuring your character, or your health; but +tell me, Marietta, do you think there is any one else in the world who +belongs to you, except your mother?" + +Deeply moved, and still excited by the scene which had just occurred, +Marietta threw herself, sobbing, into her mother's arms. "Oh, +mamma!" she exclaimed; "it is you who treat me with indulgence and +consideration, you to whom I ought always to yield more than to any one +else." + +"Yes, my child, you ought to do so, and you will do so. What I +sacrifice to you now, you will return to me one day with interest. +Be calm, my dear child, be calm; your mother has patience enough +to wait for you." Marietta vowed in her heart to devote herself to +the happiness of her mother, and consoled by her gentle words, she +gradually returned to her ordinary state of feeling. From that day, +also, she laboured with increased diligence to overcome her faults, +and, with her mother's assistance, succeeded in obtaining an almost +complete self-control. But she became daily more thin and melancholy, +and at last the physician declared, that unless she had country air he +could not answer for her life. + +This was a terrible sentence for Madame Leroi, whose slender funds were +already well nigh exhausted in the purchase of the necessary remedies +for her daughter. Madame Thibourg, to whom she related her grief and +embarrassment, proposed that they should hire in common a small country +house at Saint Mandé, which she knew was to be let for six hundred +francs. "We shall easily," she said, "save the hundred crowns it will +cost us each, by the advantage of living in common." Madame Leroi, +however, knew very well that her expenses would be quite as heavy, to +say the least, in living with Madame Thibourg, who was better off, and +less economical, than herself; but, too happy to discover any practical +means of overcoming her difficulty, she trusted to make up for any +additional expense that might be necessary, by working harder, and now +only thought of procuring the hundred crowns, which it was necessary to +pay in advance, for the hire of the house. For this purpose she sold +her coverlet of eider-down, together with four beautiful engravings +which ornamented her room, and she made up the remainder of the sum, as +well as what was necessary for the expenses of the journey, with the +money destined for the purchase of a stove to be placed in the little +room where they usually took their meals, for as she would not admit +into her sitting-room anything likely to soil her work, and was very +sensitive to the cold, she was obliged in the winter to take her meals +in the kitchen, where the fumes of the charcoal frequently gave her +headaches, and pains in the chest. + +These arrangements, which could not be concealed from Marietta, +gave her great annoyance. She had become excessively sensitive on +all points, and notwithstanding her ardent desire to go into the +country, the sale of the coverlet of eider-down, which she knew to be +so necessary to her mother's comfort, threw her into such a fit of +despair, that Madame Leroi was obliged to remonstrate with her, even +with some degree of severity, in order to bring her to herself. "Do +you forget, Marietta," she said, "that it is your duty to endeavour +to regain your health and strength, in order that you may one day be +useful to me." + +This idea had a beneficial effect, by diverting her thoughts towards +other objects. She busied herself in preparations for their departure, +with an alacrity and zeal which revived a ray of joy and hope in her +mother's breast; and, indeed, scarcely were they beyond the barriers of +the city, than she seemed to regain new life; and at the end of a week, +after their arrival in the country, she was hardly to be recognized for +the same person, to such an extent had that thin and pallid form, which +before seemed ready to sink into the grave, regained the freshness +and vigour of health. Madame Leroi, her eyes filled with tears of +happiness, was never weary of looking at her; and the eyes of Marietta +constantly sought those of her mother, as if to confirm the hope that +gave her this happiness. With health returned the cheerfulness and +buoyancy natural to her years, accompanied by an energy of purpose +which enabled her to accomplish whatever she undertook. As her judgment +was remarkably developed, she employed the new powers, which she felt +rising within her, in the attainment of those acquirements of which +she stood in need, and of those qualities in which she was deficient. +The devoted tenderness of her mother had made upon her, especially of +late, an impression so profound, that she was tormented with the desire +of being able, in her turn, to consecrate to her all her faculties. +With this thought ever before her, she applied herself with a kind +of passion to regain, in her studies, the time she had lost through +her illness; and the pleasure of satisfying her mother was, besides, +the daily recompense of her efforts. Nevertheless, when the smiles +and words of Madame Leroi expressed this satisfaction, "It is all +very well, mamma," she would say, with a kind of impatience; "you are +pleased, but it is for my sake, and because you think the progress I +make is advantageous to me. When shall I be able to do something solely +for you?" + +"Patience!" replied her mother; smiling, "I promise you the time will +come." + +"May it come speedily, then!" continued Marietta, with an eager +sigh; and she applied herself to her labours with redoubled energy. +She also endeavoured, with great care, to regain the good opinion +of Madame Thibourg, which she had forfeited by the late display of +temper, of which that lady had been a witness; for young people know +not the injury they do themselves when they give way to their faults +in the presence of strangers, who can only judge of them by what they +casually see, and who, in consequence, often receive an impression very +unfavourable to them, and very difficult to be removed. At first Madame +Thibourg was prejudiced against her, and attributed to her faults +which she did not possess. Marietta was amazed at this, but her mother +explained to her the cause of the injustice. + +"Well, if she is unjust," said Marietta, with the natural pride of her +age, "so much the worse for her." + +"No, my child! so much the worse for you, since it is your fault +that has made her so. Had you not been the cause of this injustice, +by appearing before her in an unfavourable light, you need not have +troubled yourself about it, provided you bore it with gentleness; but +since you have caused it, you ought to endeavour to remove it." + +After a few outbursts of impetuosity, which her naturally hasty +disposition led her to indulge in, but which her good sense always +overcame in the end, she perceived the truth of her mother's words, +and strove so earnestly to watch her temper, that in a short time +she gained such a complete mastery over her feelings, that she could +barely be reproached with an occasional momentary irritability, which +a look or a word from her mother was always sufficient to repress. +Sometimes, even, Madame Leroi only cast down her eyes, when Marietta, +warned by this movement, instantly recollected herself, and with +charming grace and frankness hastened to repair the incipient fault; so +that in the opinion of Madame Thibourg, as well as in that of all who +knew her, Marietta, after a residence of some eight or nine months at +Saint-Mandé, was in every respect so completely changed for the better, +that she was scarcely to be recognised for the same person. At this +time she was nearly sixteen years of age. + +They returned to Paris at the commencement of the winter, Madame +Thibourg not wishing to pass it in the country, and the bad weather +rendering more inconvenient the journeys which Madame Leroi was obliged +to make to town to obtain or return work, especially as they had often +to be made on foot. These journeys, too fatiguing for her at all times, +had already injured her health; the winter, which was very severe, laid +her up completely. Marietta, persuaded that the loss of the coverlet +of eider-down contributed to her mother's sufferings, was sometimes +seized with a sort of feverish impatience, at seeing so long delayed +the time when she should be able to add to her comforts, and her only +consolation was to apply to her studies with redoubled energy. The +spring was cold and late; their provision of wood had come to an end. +Madame Leroi, who had been prevented by the state of her health from +working as much as she wished during the winter, and was not willing to +get into debt, pretended to be able to do without a fire; but Marietta, +who saw her suffering, wept with vexation and anxiety when, on opening +her window each morning, she found the weather as cold as on the +previous day. She would have been very glad if her mother would have +allowed her to assist her; but although she worked very fairly, Madame +Leroi, who did not wish her to waste her time in becoming a proficient +in this kind of work, was afraid to trust her, and always sent her +back to her studies, saying, "Never mind, Marietta, you will have time +enough to work for me by-and-by." + +One day, when Madame Leroi had been obliged to lie down on account of a +violent head-ache, an order came for a piece of tapestry, intended to +replace a similar piece of her execution, which the fall of a lamp had +covered with oil. The chair corresponding to the one spoiled was also +brought, in order that the latter might be covered exactly like it. +Marietta received the order, and promised that it should be executed +by the next week, as it was much wanted; and, trembling with a thought +which had just occurred to her, she carefully put away all the things +in a place where her mother could not find them. + +Madame Leroi, being asleep at the moment, had heard nothing of all +this. Marietta flew to the box where her mother kept her silks, and +with a transport of joy discovered, as she had expected, all that +was necessary for her undertaking. An old frame, which she had often +noticed, was removed from the attic, with the assistance of the +portress, who was taken into her confidence, and who lent her for her +work an empty room of which she had the key, and before Madame Leroi +awoke, the frame was set up, the chair placed in front of it, and +her needle threaded. The following morning as soon as it was light, +Marietta, awakened by her impatience, slipped away without any noise +and commenced her work. The two hours during which she usually walked +out with Madame Thibourg and her daughters, were consecrated to the +same labour, Marietta, however, merely informing them of her desire to +surprise her mother by an unexpected talent, and carefully avoiding +all allusion to the privations she was so anxious to save her, and of +which Madame Thibourg was to remain ignorant. For the first few days, +the harp suffered somewhat from Marietta's preoccupation, for while +repeating her difficult passages, she thought only of the assortment of +her silks, but at last she triumphed over her difficulties. As it was +only necessary to copy, and as Marietta, like all persevering persons, +possessed that love of excellence which is not to be repelled by any +difficulty, her first attempt was completely successful, and on the +seventh day, the portress, Madame Thibourg and her daughters, assembled +in consultation, decided that the copy could not be distinguished from +the original. The portress was immediately commissioned to take home +the work, and to receive its price, which was destined for the purchase +of half-a-load of wood. + +The following morning, while Madame Leroi was still in bed, Marietta, +who that day felt inexpressible joy that the weather was even colder +than usual, noiselessly arranged the wood in the fire-place, whilst +the portress, almost as pleased as herself, brought a large pan of +burning charcoal. Madame Leroi, awakened by the crackling of the flame, +inquired what it was, and scolded Marietta for having, as she imagined, +bought a faggot. "A faggot indeed!" exclaimed the portress, proudly. +"Come into your kitchen, Madame Leroi, and see whether there are any +faggots of that kind;" and Marietta, opening her mother's curtains, +displayed to her a fire such as she had not seen for two months before; +then, without answering her questions, she threw a dress over her +mother's shoulders, and made her accompany her into the kitchen, where +the kind portress had already arranged the half-load of wood. She +then led her back to the fire-side, and, in a voice broken by joyful +emotions, related to her what she had done. + +"Dear child!" said her mother, placing her hand on her shoulder. She +could say no more. Marietta took her hand, and, with an earnest and +animated voice, said, "Dear mamma, now, at last, it is I who belong to +you." + +"Yes, my child," said Madame Leroi, with deep emotion, "I take +possession. Your time has come, Marietta; it is now your turn to devote +yourself to your mother." And Marietta, kneeling before her, kissed her +hands in a delirium of joy impossible to be described. + +From that day, she assisted her mother without encroaching on her other +studies; her strength and activity were equal to everything, for their +source lay in an inexhaustible affection. At the age of eighteen, she +was in a condition to give lessons; indeed, for some time previously, +she had exercised herself successfully in teaching Madame Thibourg's +youngest daughter. Her first regular pupils were in a ladies' school, +but by degrees her connexions extended, and she taught in private +families of respectability. At the beginning, the portress accompanied +her to her pupils, and also went for her; but in time, her great +prudence, her modesty, and the reserved and somewhat distant deportment +which the consciousness of her position induced, satisfied Madame Leroi +that she might go alone without any inconvenience, an arrangement which +permitted her to take more pupils. She was soon able to earn sufficient +to cover their household expenses, and when on her return home she +found her mother a little fatigued, she would take the work out of her +hands, saying, "Since it is now my turn to work for you, you must obey +my wishes." The health of Madame Leroi grew daily worse. "It is all the +same to me," she would sometimes say. "Marietta has to keep well for +me;" and at such moments Marietta, with indescribable joy, felt rising +within her the consciousness of her youth and vigour. + +An advantageous offer of marriage was made to her, but it was a +marriage which would have separated her from her mother, deprived her +of the pleasure of working for her, and deprived Madame Leroi of the +interest and happiness which she experienced in the society of her +daughter. Fortunately, the subject was first broached to Marietta +herself, who begged that nothing might be said about it to her mother, +as she felt persuaded that Madame Leroi would not consent to the +rejection of such an offer. Having given her refusal, she then informed +her mother of what she had done, and, seeing her deeply grieved, and +indeed, almost angry, she knelt before her, and said with affectionate +earnestness, "My dear mother, there is but one privilege in the world +which I have to beg of you, and that is, that you will let me continue +to belong to you." + +"Go! Marietta," replied her mother, with a sigh; "be happy in your own +way;" nevertheless, the remembrance of this sacrifice long continued to +pain her. + +Some time afterwards, mention was made, in Marietta's presence, of an +officer whose wounds had compelled him to retire from the service, +though still under thirty years of age. His left arm had been shot +off, his right leg broken, and although it had been set, it left him +lame, and caused him a great deal of pain. Such an accumulation of +evils had destroyed the natural attractions of his person. Resigned, +but melancholy at seeing his career so early closed, he devoted himself +to solitude, and even refused to marry, considering as he said, that +he was but a poor present to offer to a woman. Marietta, whose cast of +thought rendered her susceptible to every generous sentiment, replied +with vivacity, "That for all that, to entrust to a woman's keeping +the entire happiness of her husband, was to make her a very noble +present." These words were repeated to M. de Luxeuil, the officer in +question, and the remarks added, relative to the character of Marietta, +made him curious to learn more about her. On hearing that she had +consecrated her life to the happiness of her mother, it occurred to +him that to aid her in this task would be a means of obtaining her +gratitude and affection. The person who had spoken of her, and who had +not done so without design, penetrated his thoughts, and took care to +encourage them, and in fact, managed so well, that from first feeling +a pleasure in hearing of Marietta, he began to wish that Marietta +should also hear of him, and at last ended by believing that it might +not be impossible for him to render her happy. In short, the proposal +was made, and accepted with mingled feelings of joy and gratitude, +and immediately after his marriage, M. de Luxeuil conducted his wife +and mother-in-law to his country residence, situated about thirty +leagues from Paris. On arriving, he immediately led Madame Leroi to +the apartment destined for her use, and Marietta's first movement, on +entering it, was to give a look of grateful affection to her husband, +for all the care he had taken to render it convenient and pleasant. +The remainder of the house was visited with feelings of gratitude, +which every moment became more intense. In the drawing-room, in the +dining-room, the place reserved for Madame Leroi's easy chair was +always the one most likely to be agreeable to her. The greatest care +had been taken that in all the details of their daily life, every thing +should be conformable to her health, her tastes, and her habits. "My +friends!" she said, with emotion, to her son-in-law and daughter, "I +see that you have already talked a great deal about me." + +Marietta was truly happy, and for M. de Luxeuil commenced a felicity +such as he had never hoped for, nor even thought of. It has but +increased with time. Formed by their mutual virtues for a union which +every day renders more intimate, and constantly more grateful for the +happiness they mutually bestow, they have arrived at that point of +felicity which leaves no pain, beyond the fear of its being disturbed. +As for Madame Leroi, she is scarcely able to bear the twofold affection +of which she is the object. "Let me alone!" she sometimes says, +playfully, "How can you expect me to bear two happinesses at once?" + + + + +THE DIFFICULT DUTY. + +MORAL DOUBTS. + + +Monsieur de Flaumont one day said to his children:--"I am going to +relate to you a circumstance which has come to my knowledge, in order +that you may give me your opinion on it." + +Henry, Clementine, and Gustavus hastened to take their seats near him, +when he related what follows:-- + +"A workman named Paul, the father of several children, who were +dependent on his industry, was walking by the side of a very rapid +river, then greatly swollen by recent rains. The water formed a +whirlpool under one of the arches of a neighbouring bridge, and drew +into it, with a great deal of noise, the remains of a boat laden +with planks, which it had already dashed to pieces. Paul gazed upon +the torrent and thought, 'If I were to fall into it, I should have +some difficulty in getting out again.' Yet Paul was an excellent +swimmer, and had even saved the lives of several persons who had been +near drowning in that very river; but at that moment the danger was +so great, that in spite of his natural courage, he felt there was +sufficient cause for fear. Then his thoughts reverted to his children, +who were entirely dependent upon him for support: to his eldest boy, a +lad of some twelve years of age, who promised to be a good workman, +but who, if deprived of his father, would have no one to instruct or +protect him. He thought of his daughter, whom he hoped soon to be able +to apprentice out, and of his little one just weaned, whom his sister +took care of, for the children had lost their mother. It was delightful +to him to reflect how neat and clean they were kept; how well fed +they were, and what good health they enjoyed; and he said, 'All this +would be greatly changed were I taken home dead!' and, so saying, he +involuntarily withdrew from the river's edge, as if there were really +some danger of his being dragged into the water. As he walked on, he +observed upon the bridge a man bearing on his shoulders a bundle of old +iron rails. He was looking into the water, and watching a plank on the +point of passing under the bridge. He bent over to see if it cleared +the arch well, but, leaning too far, his head turned giddy, the load +on his shoulders threw him off his balance, and he was precipitated +into the water, uttering a fearful cry. Paul also uttered a cry of +distress, for he felt himself chained to the shore by the remembrance +of his children, while his kind feelings made him anxious to aid the +unfortunate being whom he beheld on the brink of destruction. He +looked around him with inexpressible anguish, and perceiving a long +pole, he seized hold of it, and endeavoured, by advancing into the +water, without losing his footing, to push a plank to the unfortunate +man, who was trying to swim towards him. But all in vain; the torrent +was furious, and after a few efforts, the poor wretch sank, rose +again to the surface, and then disappeared altogether. Paul remained +motionless at the side of the river, with his eyes fixed on the spot +where the miserable man had been engulfed. He continued there until +it became quite dark, then returned home, a prey to the most intense +melancholy, but still saying to himself, 'I do not think I have done +wrong.' For several days he refused food; sleep fled from his eyes, +and he scarcely spoke to any one. His neighbours, seeing him in this +condition, inquired the cause, and he told them. The greater part +considered that he had done right, some few were of a contrary opinion, +but he himself always said, 'Still, I do not think I have acted +wrong.'--What is your opinion, my children?" + +CLEMENTINE.--Certainly, he did quite right, to preserve his life for +the sake of his children. + +HENRY.--Oh! yes! that is a most convenient excuse for not doing one's +duty. + +GUSTAVUS.--But he owed nothing to this man who was so clumsy as to fall +into the water: he did not even know him. + +HENRY.--Papa has always told us that we ought to do all the good we can +to our fellow-creatures; and Paul might at least have tried to save the +poor man: he was not sure of perishing with him. + +CLEMENTINE.--Oh! but it was very likely. + +HENRY.--There would be great merit, certainly, in doing courageous +deeds, if we were quite sure there was no danger in them! + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--But, consider my boy, that by exposing himself to the +danger, which was very great, and in which he would in all probability +have perished, he also exposed his children to the risk of dying of +hunger, or of becoming rogues, for the want of an honest means of +obtaining a living. Do you not think this a consideration of sufficient +importance to counterbalance the desire he felt to save the drowning +man? + +HENRY.--Perhaps so, papa,--but it is nevertheless certain, that we hold +a man who courageously exposes his life to save a fellow-being in far +higher estimation than we do one who so carefully calculates all the +reasons that can be found for not doing so. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--That is quite natural: the courage of the man who +performs a brave deed is self-evident; whereas, we cannot be so sure +of the motives of him who refuses to perform one. But, supposing it +to be clearly proved that Paul really wished to throw himself into the +water to save this man, and was only withheld by the interests of his +children, do you not think he merited esteem rather than reproach? + +HENRY.--One thing, at least, is certain: I should not have liked to be +in his position. + +CLEMENTINE.--It would certainly be a most difficult matter to know what +to do. + +GUSTAVUS.--Well, and while you were reflecting, the poor man would be +still in the water; and so it would come to the same thing. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Hesitation is undoubtedly the very thing that should +be most avoided in such a case, for it prevents all action; and for +this reason it is that we ought to accustom ourselves to reflect upon +the relative importance of our duties, in order to know which of them +ought to take precedence. + +HENRY.--But when there happen to be two of equal importance? + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--That can never be the case; for we are never called +upon to do impossibilities. Do you think, for example, that Paul could +at one and the same moment, throw himself into the water, and _not_ +throw himself into it? + +GUSTAVUS, _laughing_.--That would, indeed, be an impossibility. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Do you think, then, that he could be obliged to +perform an action, and at the same time to do what would render that +action impossible? + +HENRY.--Certainly not. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--It is, then, quite evident, that if it was his duty +to perform one of these actions, he ought to have put aside everything +calculated to interfere with it; even what would be a duty under other +circumstances. + +CLEMENTINE.--And you think, papa, do you not, that the duty of +providing for one's children ought to take precedence of every other? + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--No, not of every other, certainly. The first of all +duties is to be an honest man, to do no wrong to any one, never to +betray the interest committed to one's charge. + +CLEMENTINE.--But the interests of one's children are surely committed +to one's charge. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--But we are first of all responsible for the interests +of our own probity, for no one can be charged with these but ourselves. +The first thing prescribed to us is, not to be unjust to others; but we +are not necessarily unjust to them when we do not render them all the +assistance they require; and though the drowning man stood in need of +Paul's assistance, it was not an injustice in him to withhold it, for +the sake of his children. + +HENRY.--Because his children had need of it also. But, papa, according +to this argument, neither would it have been an injustice not to do for +his children all the good they stood in need of; for he was not more +necessary to them than he was to the drowning man, who had no one but +him to look to for assistance. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Certainly not; but do you think it possible to do good +to every one? + +GUSTAVUS.--To do that, we should have to pass our days in running about +the streets, in order to assist all the poor. + +CLEMENTINE.--Or even wander over the earth to discover those who might +require our aid, and spend our whole fortunes in doing so. + +HENRY.--This, certainly, is a point which has often puzzled me. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--It is because you have not considered that each +man, forming but a very small portion of the world, can be specially +trusted with only a very small portion of the good to be done in it. +Were it otherwise, it would be impossible to do any good at all; +for if every one wanted to do everything, there would be nothing but +confusion. Each one must therefore endeavour to discover for himself +what is the portion of good he is naturally expected to do. Thus, even +if it were not a duty of justice to make the existence and well-being +of our children our first care, still it would be a duty of reason, +since it would be absurd to neglect the good we might accomplish in +our own homes, for the sake of going elsewhere to do good. This duty, +therefore, we must first of all fulfil, and afterwards consider what +means are left for the accomplishment of any others which may present +themselves; such as kindness and devotion towards those who have no +other claim upon us, than that of standing in need of our aid. + +HENRY.--Notwithstanding all that, papa, I shall always find it +difficult to understand, that because a man has children who require +his protection, he must therefore give up the idea of assisting others +if, by so doing, he exposes himself to danger. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--You are right not to understand it, for it is not +true. We can, and we certainly ought, even in that case, to expose +ourselves to a moderate danger for the sake of a great good. Thus, for +example, if the river had been tranquil, or even had there been only a +considerable probability of escape, Paul would have done wrong not to +throw himself into the water. + +CLEMENTINE.--But, papa, since he might still have perished, he would +still have exposed himself to the danger of failing in his duty towards +his children. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Undoubtedly; but would he not also incur great risk +of losing an opportunity of saving a fellow-being, when, to all +appearance, he might have done so without injuring his children? + +CLEMENTINE.--Yes; and now the case becomes again embarrassing. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--It is under such circumstances that duties may be +compared and weighed one against the other. But if you were assured, +that by exposing your children to some slight inconvenience,--such, for +example, as being worse fed or clothed for a time,--you would thereby +save the life of another, do you not think that you ought to do so? + +CLEMENTINE.--Certainly. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Impossible as it is for us to discover what will +be the result of things subjected to chance, we ought I think to +lean to that side which seems to offer the greatest probability of +producing the greatest good, and to regard a slight danger as a slight +inconvenience, to which we subject our children in order to secure to +another a very great advantage. Are you satisfied, Henry? + +HENRY.--Well, papa, I shall try to become very expert, so that the +danger may always be slight. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--That is quite right; but now let me conclude my story. + +CLEMENTINE.--What! is it not finished? + +GUSTAVUS.--Oh, go on, then, papa. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Paul, as I have already told you, had the utmost +difficulty in overcoming his distress. He sometimes said to himself, +"The river was not so very much swollen; I took fright too easily; +we might both have escaped;" and he had not the courage to return to +the side of that river,--he preferred making wide circuits in order +to avoid going near it. He often heard of persons being drowned while +bathing in this river, a thing by no means unusual; for those who did +not know it well, imprudently ventured too near the whirlpool under the +arch, and were ingulfed. At these times, Paul's conscience smote him, +and he felt almost degraded. But what was most singular was, that his +last adventure had given him a dread of the water--he who had hitherto +been so courageous; but he constantly thought, "It would be a terrible +thing, if, now that I have done so much for my children, I were to be +taken away from them;" and thus he avoided every danger with extreme +care. He scarcely seemed to be the same man, so timid and cautious had +he become. His neighbours said among themselves, "How extraordinary! +Paul has become a coward!" and they imagined that it was from fear +that he had not plunged into the water. In other respects, he was more +industrious than ever, and lost no opportunity of putting his children +in a condition to earn their own living, as if he was afraid of dying +before the completion of his task. He succeeded in bringing them up +remarkably well. His eldest son became a clever workman, and was about +to marry and establish himself in another town; his daughter became the +wife of a shopkeeper with a good trade; and the schoolmaster of the +town, who became attached to the youngest boy, because he was diligent +in his studies, requested his father to allow him, when fifteen years +of age, to aid him in the duties of his school, and promised, if he +conducted himself well, to give it up to him in the course of a few +years. + +The day on which Paul had established his son with the schoolmaster, +and on which he could consequently say that his children no longer +stood in need of his assistance, that they would no longer be exposed +to misery if he were taken from them, he felt his mind relieved from a +heavy burden, and in the joy which he experienced, he seemed to have +recovered all the courage which for twelve years had deserted him; for +twelve years had now elapsed since the occurrence of the accident which +had rendered him so unhappy. He left his work at an earlier hour than +usual, and went for a solitary ramble. For the first time these twelve +years he directed his steps towards the river, recalling to mind the +different persons whom he had saved from it, before the fatal day which +had deprived him of his daring. It was an autumn evening; the weather +was dull and cold; the river, swollen by the rains, was agitated by a +violent wind, and appeared in much the same condition as when he had +last beheld it. He approached, and considered it attentively. "The +river is much swollen," he said; "nevertheless, if I were to throw +myself into it to-day, I am sure I should escape;" and he said this +because, having no longer the dread of failing in his duty to his +children, he did not think of the danger, but only of the means of +overcoming it. On raising his eyes mechanically towards the bridge, +to the spot whence he had seen the poor man whom he had been unable +to aid, fall, he saw, as it was not yet dark, some one approach the +parapet, who appeared to him a very young man. This young man stood +gazing at the water for some time, and all the while Paul kept his eye +fixed upon him. At last, seeing him climb the parapet, and observing +him totter, he cried out, "You will fall," but at the same moment the +young man took a spring and dashed into the water. Paul, as if he had a +presentiment of what would happen, had already his hand upon his coat; +he tore it off, dashed it from him, and was in the river almost as soon +as the young man, and, swimming towards the spot where he had seen him +fall, he endeavoured to catch him before he reached the whirlpool, +where he knew they must both perish. He reached him while he was still +struggling under the water: he plunged; but by a movement natural to +those who are drowning, even when they drown themselves intentionally, +the young man seized hold of him, grasping his legs so tightly, that +he prevented his swimming. They must both have perished, had not Paul +happily succeeded in disengaging one of his legs, with which he gave +the other such a violent kick, that he was forced to relax his hold. +Paul then seized him by the hair, and remounted to the surface of the +water. The young man was insensible, but Paul dragged him on while +swimming with one hand. At that moment the wind was terrible, and with +it was mingled a violent rain, which intercepted his sight. The wind +and the current of the river hurried them towards the whirlpool. He +redoubled his efforts: he felt animated by an extraordinary vigour. At +last, he succeeded in escaping the danger, reached the bank, landed, +and they were saved. + +[Illustration: The Difficult Duty, p. 148.] + +The young man was like one dead, but Paul, who had saved many persons +from a watery grave, knew what were the means to be adopted in order +to restore him to life. He carried him to the foot of a large tree, +the dense foliage of which sheltered them from the rain, and rendered +him every assistance which the circumstances permitted. He succeeded +in restoring him in some degree, and the moment he heard him breathe, +he placed him on his shoulders, and bore him with all possible speed +to his own house, where, by dint of care, the young man completely +recovered his senses. He was about seventeen years of age, and seemed +wasted away by want and illness. As soon as he was able to speak, Paul +asked him what had induced him to throw himself into the river. The +young man, who was named André, replied that it was want and despair. +He stated, that twelve years before, his father, who was a travelling +blacksmith, had been drowned by accident, as it was supposed, in that +same river, his body having been discovered there some days after. +Paul shuddered while he listened to this recital, but said nothing. +André went on to state that up to the age of ten, he had lived with his +mother, who provided for him as well as she could by her labour, but +that, having lost her, he endeavoured to gain a living for himself by +working whenever he could find employment. Sometimes at the harvest, +sometimes at the barns, sometimes in assisting the masons; that he had +endured great hardships, and often wanted food; that, at last, he had +fallen ill, and on leaving the hospital, while still convalescent, +having neither home, nor money, nor employment, he had been obliged to +sleep in the fields, and to pass two whole days without food, so that +he felt completely exhausted; that finally, towards the close of +the second day, happening to be upon the bridge, from which it was said +that his father had fallen, and, feeling unable to proceed farther, +and impelled by despair, he had thrown himself into the water. While +listening to this recital, Paul mentally exclaimed, "Since I have saved +this man, I might have saved the other also;" but then he thought, +"We might both have perished, and then my children would have been as +destitute as André." He was greatly rejoiced at having been able to +save André, and determined, after this new trial of his strength, never +again to fear the water nor the swelling of the river, especially now +that he was no longer necessary to his children. + +However, he could not carry his good resolutions into effect, for the +following day he was seized with a violent fever, accompanied by severe +pains in all his limbs. On coming out of the river, intent only on +restoring André, he had not been able to dry himself, and, indeed, he +had not even thought of doing so; thus the damp clothes he had kept +so long about him had brought on an attack of rheumatic gout. For the +next two days he grew worse and worse, and his life was despaired of. +He had moments of delirium, during which he was tormented by anxiety +for his children, but when his senses returned he remembered that they +were well provided for, and appeared truly happy. Notwithstanding his +sufferings, André, who gradually regained his strength, tended him +with the greatest assiduity, and wept beside his bed when he beheld +him getting worse. Paul did not die; but he continued subject to +pains, which sometimes entirely deprived him of the use of his limbs. +"Ah!" he would sometimes exclaim, when a sharp pain shot through an +arm or a leg; "if I had become like this before I had provided for my +children!" André, whom he had kept with him, and who was intelligent +and well-disposed, learned his trade sufficiently to assist him when he +was able to work, and to work under his direction when he was ill. The +shop continued to prosper, and his business was even increased by the +interest taken both in himself and André, and when speaking of André's +father, he would say, "Poor fellow! may God receive his soul; but I am +sure he has forgiven me, for he has seen that I could not have acted +otherwise." + +M. de Flaumont ceased, and the children waited for a moment in silence, +to see if the story was ended. + +"Oh!" said Henry, at length, with a heavy sigh, "I am glad the story +has ended thus." + +CLEMENTINE.--Yes! but think of poor Paul remaining a martyr to +rheumatism! + +GUSTAVUS.--Most assuredly his good action was not too well rewarded. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--He received such a reward as ought to be expected +for a good action--the consciousness of having done well. This is its +natural recompense, and this recompense is quite independent of the +consequences which may otherwise result from it. + +CLEMENTINE.--Nevertheless, it is painful to see an honest man suffering +from having performed a good action. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--But it would have been far more painful if he had done +wrong. Would you have preferred his leaving André to perish? + +CLEMENTINE.--Oh! certainly not. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--It was even possible that Paul might have died. Even +in that case, could one have regretted his exposing his life to save +André? + +HENRY (_with animation_).--No, certainly not: that could not be +regretted. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--That proves to you that the reward, as I have said, +is quite independent of the consequences. Thus, for instance, if a +workman had executed a piece of work for a person who refused to pay +him: you would regret that he had done the work, because the payment is +the natural recompense of his toil; whereas, you would never think of +regretting that a man had performed a generous action, even though it +turned out badly for him, because you would feel that he was rewarded +by the action itself. + +After all, my children, added M. de Flaumont, do not think that virtue +is always so difficult. Our true duties are usually placed within our +reach, so that they may be performed without much effort; still, as +cases may arise in which effort is necessary, we ought to be prepared +with means of supporting those efforts. We ought to accustom ourselves +to consider duty as being quite as indispensable when it is difficult +as when it is easy; and we ought, also, to have our minds so prepared, +that we shall not magnify difficulties to such a degree as to render +them insurmountable. Thus, we should not exaggerate the importance +of any one duty, as we shall thereby be led to neglect others; but, +after having fully persuaded ourselves that it is impossible there +can exist at one and the same time two contradictory duties, let us, +in cases of difficulty, lean to that which seems the most important, +and, while regretting our inability to do all that we could wish, let +us not regard as a duty that which another duty has prevented us from +performing. + + + + +MORAL DOUBTS. + + +FIRST DIALOGUE. + + _M. de Flaumont_; _Henry_, _Gustavus_, _and Clementine_, + _his Children_. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Children, would you like me to relate to you two +stories, which I have just been reading in a foreign newspaper? + +THE CHILDREN.--Oh! yes, papa! are they very long? + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--No! but you may perhaps be puzzled to give me your +opinion on them. + +THE CHILDREN.--How do you mean, papa? + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--You will see, here is the first:-- + +An English stage-coach, filled with passengers, was proceeding towards +a large town. The conversation of the travellers turned upon the +highwaymen by whom the road was infested, and who frequently stopped +and searched travellers. They debated amongst themselves as to the +best means of preserving their money; each boasted of having taken his +measures, and being quite safe. + +An imprudent young woman, wishing, doubtless, to display her superior +cleverness, and forgetting that frankness, in such circumstances, is +very ill-placed, said, "As for me, I carry all my wealth about me in a +bank note for two hundred pounds, but I have so well concealed it, that +the robbers will certainly never be able to find it, for it is in my +shoe, under my stocking." + +A few minutes after they were attacked by highwaymen, who demanded +their purses, but, discontented with the little they found in them, +they declared, in menacing tones, that they would search and ill-treat +them unless they immediately gave them a hundred pounds; and they +seemed prepared to put their threats into execution. + +"You will easily find twice that sum," said an old man seated at the +back of the coach, who during the whole journey had remained entirely +silent, or had spoken only in monosyllables, "if you make that lady +take off her shoes and stockings." + +The robbers followed this advice, took the banknote, and departed. + +What think you of the old man? + +CLEMENTINE.--Oh, papa! what villany! + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--All the travellers were of your opinion. They loaded +him with reproach and insult, and even threatened to throw him out of +the coach. The young woman's grief exceeded description. The old man +appeared insensible to these insults and menaces, and once only excused +himself by saying, "Every one must think of himself first." + +In the evening, when the coach reached its destination, the old man +contrived to make his escape before his fellow-passengers had an +opportunity of visiting their displeasure upon him. The young woman +passed a frightful night. What was her surprise on the following +morning, when a sum of four hundred pounds was placed in her hands, +together with a magnificent comb, and the following letter:-- + +"Madam,--The man whom, yesterday, you detested with reason, returns +to you the sum you have lost, with interest which makes it double, +together with a comb nearly equal in value. I am exceedingly distressed +at the grief I was compelled to cause you. A few words will explain +my conduct. I have just returned from India, where I have passed ten +weary years. I have gained by my industry thirty thousand pounds, and +the whole of this sum I had yesterday about me in bank-notes. Had I +been searched with the rigour with which we were threatened, I must +have lost everything. What was I to do? I could not run the risk of +having to return to India with empty hands. Your frankness furnished me +with the means of escaping the difficulty. Therefore I entreat you to +think nothing of this trifling present, and to believe me henceforth +devotedly, Yours." + +GUSTAVUS.--Well, papa, the young woman had no longer any reason to +complain, and the old man did not do wrong, since he returned much more +than she lost. + +CLEMENTINE.--Yes; but in her place I would much rather have been +without the comb, and not have had to take off my shoes and stockings +in the presence of highwaymen. + +GUSTAVUS.--Oh! that did not do her much harm. + +HENRY.--But, papa, if the robbers, notwithstanding their promise, had +searched every one, and had taken his thirty thousand pounds away from +the old man, it would have been out of his power to restore the two +hundred pounds to the young woman, and yet it would have been through +his means that she would have lost them. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Henry is right: the injury inflicted by the old man +was certain, while he had no certainty of being able to repair it. + +HENRY.--Assuredly the word of a robber is not to be depended on. + +GUSTAVUS.--But still it was certain that had he not acted as he did, +they would have taken his thirty thousand pounds. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--That is true; but do you think, my dear Gustavus, +that, in order to escape some great calamity ourselves, we have a right +to inflict an equally serious injury on another? for the loss of the +two hundred pounds was as great a calamity to the young woman as that +of the thirty thousand would have been to the old man, since it was the +whole of her wealth. + +GUSTAVUS.--Yes, papa; but he knew very well he would return them. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--He wished to do so, no doubt; but Henry has shown +you how he might have failed in the accomplishment of his wishes. +Other accidents might also have prevented him. He might have lost his +pocket-book by the way: he might have died suddenly, &c. + +CLEMENTINE.--Oh yes, indeed; and then the young woman would neither +have had her own two hundred pounds, nor the two hundred pounds +additional, nor her beautiful comb. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--He thus surrendered his honesty, and the fate of his +fellow-traveller, to the chance of a future, always uncertain, and +all this to spare himself a misfortune, very great, no doubt, but the +certainty of which gave him no right to injure another. Here lies +the difference between prudence and virtue. Prudence commences by +studying how to escape a difficulty, and thinks it has done enough +when it has promised itself to repair the injury inflicted on another. +Virtue does not content itself with the hope of repairing this wrong at +some future day: it does not commit it; and thus, though it is often +more unfortunate, it is always more tranquil. So that virtue alone +has no occasion to dread the future. It is in doing evil, even with +the idea of its resulting in good, or with the firm determination of +repairing it, that men often plunge into difficulties and errors, from +which they are afterwards unable to extricate themselves. No one can +flatter himself, however prudent he may be, that he has foreseen all +chances, and so managed matters that nothing can turn out wrong; while, +by laying it down as a law to ourselves to be virtuous before all +things, we are certain of never having to reproach ourselves with any +intentional wrong. + +GUSTAVUS.--But, papa, what ought to be done in such a case? + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--I cannot pretend to say; all I know is, that we ought +not to do what our old man did. You will one day perceive how many +misfortunes happen in the world from the false idea, so frequently +entertained by men, that they are able to direct events according +to their own wishes: they regulate their conduct with this hope, +and afterwards events multiply, become involved, and turn out in so +unforeseen a manner, that they behold their projects often, and their +virtue always, wrecked beyond the possibility of recovery. Whereas, +on the contrary, we ought first of all to make sure of our virtue, +and then take all the advantage we can of circumstances. Besides, who +knows all the resources that may be discovered, by a man resolutely +determined to do nothing which his conscience disapproves? It is very +convenient, no doubt, to take the first resource which presents itself +to the mind; but can we be sure that it is the only one to be found, +and that, by giving ourselves a little additional trouble, we might not +discover another equally efficacious and more honest. Let us, after +remaining firm in virtue, be ingenious and energetic, and we shall +almost always be able to extricate ourselves from our difficulties. If +all who are ruined were to turn robbers, they would doubtless adopt +the most easy and expeditious mode of repairing their fortunes, still +this is a mode which honest people do not take; and, being compelled to +seek other resources, they rarely fail to discover them. I do not, at +this moment, very well see what plan our old man might have hit upon to +save his thirty thousand pounds; but, perhaps, if he had not so hastily +adopted the idea of denouncing the young woman, some other and better +expedient might have suggested itself. + +GUSTAVUS.--I agree with you, papa; but you promised us another story. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Here it is. You will see, that if we ought not to do a +wrong because we can never be sure of being able to repair it, neither +must we do wrong with a good intention. + +An English nobleman was journeying to one of his estates, when he was +attacked in a wood by six highwaymen; two of them seized the coachman, +two others the footmen, and the remaining two, placing themselves at +the doors of the carriage, presented each a pistol to his breast. + +"Your pocket-book, my lord," said one of the robbers, who had a most +repulsive expression of countenance. + +The nobleman took a rather weighty purse from his pocket, and handed +it to him. The man examined its contents, but did not seem satisfied. +"Your pocket-book, if you please, my lord," and he cocked his pistol. + +The nobleman quietly gave up his pocket-book. The highwayman opened +it; and during this time the nobleman examined his countenance. Never +had he beheld eyes so small and piercing, a nose so long, cheeks so +hollow, a mouth so wide, nor a chin so prominent. + +The robber took some papers from the pocket-book, and then returned +it. "A pleasant journey, my lord;" and he set off rapidly with his +companions. + +On reaching home the nobleman examined his pocket-book, to see what +had been taken from it, and found that bank notes to the amount of two +thousand five hundred pounds had been extracted, and that five hundred +pounds had been left. He congratulated himself on this, and said to his +friends, that he would willingly give a hundred pounds could they but +have seen the fellow. Never had highwayman a countenance so suited to +his calling. + +The nobleman soon forgot his loss, and thought no more of the +occurrence; when, some years afterwards, he received the following +letter:-- + +"MY LORD,--I am a poor Jew. The prince in whose dominions I lived +robbed us of everything. I went to England, accompanied by five other +Jews, that I might at least save my life. I fell ill at sea; and the +vessel in which we sailed was wrecked near the coast. + +"A man wholly unknown to me was upon the shore: he leaped into the +water, and saved me at the peril of his life. This was not all; he +led me to his house, called in a physician, and took care of me until +I was cured; and asked nothing in return. This man was a woollen +manufacturer, who had twelve children. Some time afterwards, I found +him very sad. The disturbances in America had just broken out, and the +American merchants with whom he traded were base enough to profit by +this circumstance, and refused to pay him. 'In a month,' he said to me, +'I shall be completely ruined; for I have bills coming due which I am +wholly unable to meet.' + +"His grief threw me into despair: I formed a desperate resolution. 'I +owe my life to him,' I said, 'and I will sacrifice it for him.' With +the five Jews who had followed me to England, I placed myself upon +the highway. You know what happened. I sent to the man of whom I have +spoken the money I took from you, and saved him for that time. But his +creditors never paid him; and about a week ago he died, without having +discharged all his debts. + +"The same day I gained four thousand pounds in the lottery. I return +to you all I took from you, with interest. Forward the remaining +thousand pounds to the unfortunate family of the manufacturer (he gave +their address at the end of the letter), and make inquiries of them +respecting a poor Jew, whom they so generously saved and entertained. + +"P.S.--I solemnly declare that, when we attacked you, not one of our +pistols was charged, and that we had no intention of drawing a cutlass +from its scabbard. + +"Spare yourself all search. When this letter reaches you I shall again +be upon the ocean. May God preserve you." + +The nobleman made inquiries, and found that the Jew's account was +strictly true. From that time forward he took the family of the +manufacturer under his protection. He frequently said, "I would give +a hundred pounds to any one who would inform me of the death of my +terrible Jew; and a thousand pounds to any one who should bring him to +me alive." + +HENRY.--But why did he wish for his death, papa? + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Because this Jew was a very dangerous person. A man +capable of doing such things, even from generous motives, is always +to be dreaded. The safety and happiness of society depend upon the +submission and respect due to the laws, which maintain order, and +preserve the persons and property of all. The laws cannot take into +account the motives which induce a man to injure another in person or +property. In such cases they can only judge and punish the act itself. +If this nobleman had been a judge, and the Jew had been brought before +his tribunal, he could not, even when all the facts of the case were +before him, have avoided condemning him to the penalty prescribed by +the law, though he might afterwards have endeavoured to obtain his +pardon from the sovereign. + +GUSTAVUS.--The Jew, however, had not loaded his pistols: he did not +intend to commit murder. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Consequently, he would have been sentenced to a +punishment less severe than that inflicted upon murderers; but still he +committed robbery. + +CLEMENTINE.--Yes; but it was to save the life of his benefactor: he +exposed his own from gratitude; this was assuredly a great sacrifice. +He would not have robbed from any other motive. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--Therefore this Jew was doubtless susceptible of very +generous sentiments and of noble devotion; this ought to count for much +in the opinion we form of him: it would probably have obtained for him +his pardon, or at least a great mitigation of his punishment; but, +in a moral point of view, and for the interests of society, justice +and firmness of principle are still more necessary than generosity of +sentiment. It would be impossible to allow every man the privilege +of making use of whatever means he pleased to gratify his feelings +and display his generosity. Even virtue itself is subject to laws, +whose wisdom is recognised and whose advantages are unquestionable. +These prescribe the route in which it must exercise itself, and the +bounds which it must not overleap. Thus, in the conduct of our Jew, +everything which preceded and followed his act, and some of the +circumstances of the act itself, were praiseworthy; his sole object +was to preserve his benefactor: he took only what was required for +that purpose: he kept nothing for himself, he scrupulously repaid the +sum with interest, he did not even reserve any portion of the prize +gained in the lottery, since, after having returned to the nobleman the +two thousand five hundred pounds and interest, he gave the remainder +to the manufacturer's children. All this was very well, and very +disinterested, but it does not prevent the action itself from being +blameable. And this is what often happens, when we allow ourselves +to be governed by our feelings, however good they may be, instead of +regulating our conduct by steady principles, which, though they may +sometimes restrain the feelings, always insure virtue. + +HENRY.--Still, papa, the nobleman promised more to him who should bring +him the Jew alive, than to him who should inform him of his death. + +M. DE FLAUMONT.--That was because he knew that a man capable of such +generous sentiments and remarkable devotion was one who, to be rendered +altogether virtuous, only required firmer principles, and a less +embarrassing position. He doubtless wished to make him feel, that if it +be noble to sacrifice one's life for gratitude, that sacrifice ought +never to be made at the expense of honesty; perhaps, too, he wished +to take him into his service, to place him in easy circumstances, to +remove him, in fact, out of the way of those temptations in which +generosity of feeling so easily deceives us in regard to the true +nature of our duties. Generosity may carry us farther than mere duty; +but it should always go in a right line, and never lead us to neglect +duty. + + +SECOND DIALOGUE. + + _Caroline--Madame de Boissy, working_. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--Caroline, did you really require that sash, which +you induced your uncle to give you, by asking him to lend you the money +to buy it? + +CAROLINE.--I am very glad to have it, mamma, since it has cost me +nothing. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--You knew, then, that your uncle would make you a +present of it? + +CAROLINE.--Mamma, I only asked him to lend me the money. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--I know that; but did you expect you would have to +repay him? + +CAROLINE.--Certainly! if he wished it. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--But did you think he would wish it? + +CAROLINE (_embarrassed_).--I do not know, mamma. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--Tell me candidly,--when you asked your uncle to lend +you the money to purchase this sash, which you did not want, and which, +in all probability, you would not have bought had you been alone,--did +you not know that it was a means of obtaining it as a gift? + +CAROLINE.--Dear me, mamma! you make me examine my conscience as if I +were going to confession. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--And it is thus you should always examine it, my +child. + +CAROLINE.--Yes, mamma, when one has done anything wrong. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--Or to ascertain whether one has done wrong. + +CAROLINE (_much confused_).--But what wrong can I have done? My uncle +could act as he pleased, and it was certainly quite true that I had no +money in my purse. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--There was one thing, however, which was not quite +true, but which you, nevertheless, wished to make him believe, and that +was, that you really intended to buy this sash yourself. + +CAROLINE (_still confused_).--But, mamma, my intentions do not concern +any one but myself. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--You seem to fear the contrary, since you conceal +them. You would not have been willing that your uncle should have +discovered them; therefore, while you were really actuated by one +motive, you led him to suppose that you were influenced by another. +You would not have asked him to give you this ribbon, because you know +that we ought not to accept a gift, unless we feel that the giver has +as much pleasure in presenting it as we have in receiving it, and, in +that case, it will occur to him as readily as to ourselves. You have, +therefore, allowed your uncle to believe that you had the delicacy not +to desire a present, which it had not occurred to him to make you, +while, at the same time, you endeavoured to make him think of it by +underhand means. You have sought to obtain, at one and the same time, +both the esteem which delicacy merits, and the gift which it would be +necessary to sacrifice in order to deserve this esteem. It is evident +that both cannot belong to you, and that you have committed a theft in +the transaction. + +CAROLINE (_shocked_).--Oh! mamma, we only commit theft when we injure +some one, and I have not injured any one. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--You have extorted from your uncle a present, which +he probably would not have made to any one whom he believed capable of +subterfuge. You have cheated his intentions of giving you an unexpected +pleasure. + +CAROLINE.--He cannot know that; therefore his pleasure will be all the +same. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--Caroline, would you think you were not stealing, +if you took money from the coffers of a rich man who made no use of +it, and did not know how much he had? If you did not do him an injury +of which he was conscious, you injured those to whom his money would +one day go, and who might not be either so rich or so indifferent as +himself. In like manner, if you did not do your uncle any positive +wrong, by usurping an esteem which was not your due, you at least were +unjust to those whom he might place on a level with you in his esteem, +or whom he might set beneath you; for either you must share with them +an esteem which you did not merit, and which is always more flattering +when obtained alone, or you must diminish the consolation they would +otherwise have in finding an additional example to excuse them. Be well +assured that we can never deceive without injuring some one, and that +there can be no unfair advantage which is not gained at the expense of +our neighbours. + +CAROLINE.--But really, mamma, this advantage is so very trifling. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--The case is trifling, but the principle is the same, +and you would no more wish to steal needles than diamonds. Besides, my +child, we must attach some value to, and derive some advantage from, a +thing which we take the trouble to steal; and who can, with propriety, +desire an advantage which he has not merited? Listen, Caroline: you are +now growing a great girl, and it is time you should understand all that +is due to yourself and others, in regard to uprightness and honesty in +the most trifling things, and how mean it is to wish to deceive others, +or to think it necessary to do so. + +CAROLINE.--Mamma, I have never wished to deceive any one, I assure you. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--I grant you that we do not say to ourselves, _I wish +to deceive_; we should be horrified; but, without telling absolute +falsehoods, people often pass their lives in endeavouring to make +others believe things which are untrue. If we are cold, or hot, or +tired, we complain of our sufferings; we exaggerate them in order to +attract attention, and gain pity, or at least to make people think of +us. We laugh louder than we feel inclined to do, to make it appear +that we are very gay; we look in the glass, and exclaim, "How, I am +sunburnt!" in order that we may be told that it is imperceptible, and +be complimented on our complexion. We complain of a dress that fits +badly, and say, "What a fright I look to-day," in the hope of finding +some sycophant who will assure us that we look well in everything. Or, +finally, we give expression to some worthy sentiment in order to be +praised for it. + +CAROLINE.--But, mamma, if the sentiment be sincere? + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--My dear child, there is always insincerity in the +means employed to obtain praise for it; for good feelings are not +intended to gain us admiration, but to make us do what is right. We +should not esteem the benevolence of a man, who did good merely for +the sake of obtaining commendation; nor the fraternal sentiments of +him whose sole object in displaying them was to be praised for his +attachment to his brothers and sisters. Thus, those who make a display +of feeling for the sake of being praised, must take care to conceal +their intentions; consequently, if they obtain the praise, it is quite +clear that they have stolen it. + +CAROLINE.--But one must then watch every movement of the mind, for +these things may escape us without our in the least intending it. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--To prevent them from doing so, it is only necessary +to think, once for all, of two or three things. First, that we display +very little respect or consideration for ourselves when we stoop to +deceive others, in order that they may condescend to pay attention to +us. Secondly, that we place ourselves in a very humiliating position +when we thus beg for a flattery, a compliment, or a mark of attention, +which is usually granted from mere politeness, or for the sake of +pleasing us, just as we give a penny to a beggar in the street. +Finally, that these kinds of stratagems, when they are discovered--and +they are discovered oftener than people imagine--may overwhelm us +with ridicule, or even with shame, and that the most trifling untruth +exposes us to a risk far greater than the pleasure which it procures. +Tell me if your sash would ever afford you a pleasure as great as the +annoyance you would feel, if your uncle were to discover the subterfuge +you employed in order to induce him to make you a present of it. + +CAROLINE.--Oh! mamma, you have made me absolutely hate it. I will never +even look at it again. + +MADAME DE BOISSY.--There you are wrong, my child; you must look at it, +and think of it, in order that it may remind you of the necessity of +always acting honourably. + + +THIRD DIALOGUE. + + _Monsieur de Bonnel--Augustus, his Son_. + +M. DE BONNEL.--Augustus, I hope you have returned to George, as I told +you, that little cart you took from him? + +AUGUSTUS (_ill-temperedly_).--I was obliged to do it, since you desired +me, but I did not take it from him; I paid him what it cost. If he was +so obstinate as to refuse the money, that was not my fault. + +M. DE BONNEL.--He did not want your money, and he wished to keep his +cart; you had no right to force the bargain upon him. + +AUGUSTUS.--I have a right to make him do as I please. + +M. DE BONNEL.--And how came you by this right? + +AUGUSTUS.--His father Antony is your servant. + +M. DE BONNEL.--And is that any reason that George should have no will +of his own? + +AUGUSTUS.--No; but it is a reason why he should give up to me; and the +best proof that he very well knows this, is that he always does give up +to me. To-day, though he would not sell me his cart, he did not think +of preventing me from taking it; and had it not been for you he would +certainly not have got it back again. + +M. DE BONNEL.--Very well; but, what is singular in the matter is that +for the future he will think differently, and that henceforward he will +be obliged to resist you. + +AUGUSTUS.--I should like to see him do that. + +M. DE BONNEL.--Well, you shall be gratified. Antony had forbidden his +son to use force against you for fear of hurting you. I have just told +him that if he did not order George to defend himself against you when +you torment him, as he would defend himself against one of his own +companions, George should not come here again. You will now see whether +it is his duty to humour you, and whether it is from respect that he +has hitherto yielded to you. + +AUGUSTUS.--It would be a fine thing for George to treat me like one of +his comrades. + +M. DE BONNEL.--Very well; you need not make free with him. + +AUGUSTUS.--Making him obey me is not making free with him. + +M. DE BONNEL..--When you have no right to exact obedience, you can +only obtain it from his politeness by requests such as we use towards +an equal, or exact it by force, which he will repel with his fist, and +that is the greatest familiarity I know of. + +AUGUSTUS.--But George is to be my servant one day: he has told me so a +hundred times: he will have to be submissive and respectful then. + +M. DE BONNEL.--He will only be submissive in those things in which +he has agreed to obey you: he will only be respectful so long as you +fulfil your obligations to him. A servant agrees to obey in everything +that concerns the service of his master, and that does not injure +himself. Thus, if a master commanded him to go and fight for him, or to +give him up the money which he had saved, the servant would no longer +be obliged to obey. + +AUGUSTUS.--But people do not require such things from servants. + +M. DE BONNEL.--It is quite as unjust and absurd to expect them to +labour for you beyond their strength, or to compel them to give up what +belongs to them at a price which does not suit them. If you force them +to do anything against their inclinations, they then lay aside their +respect, and resist you as well as they can, for they have only agreed +to obey your orders in certain things; nor have they consented to incur +any other risk, in case of disobedience, than that of being reprimanded +or sent away. If you go further than this, you break a covenant of +which insults formed no part any more than blows; both equally exempt a +servant from all duty. + +AUGUSTUS.--Nevertheless, there are servants who remain in their places, +although their masters overwork or ill-treat them. I have heard my +cousin Armand say all sorts of insulting things to Jack, his groom, and +even threaten to horsewhip him, because he harnessed his horse badly. +Jack went on with his work without saying a word, because he knew that +he must bear it. + +M. DE BONNEL.--And what would have happened to Jack if he had answered +his master impertinently, as he deserved to be answered? + +AUGUSTUS.--Why, Armand would have turned him out of doors without a +character, so that he would have been unable to get another situation. + +M. DE BONNEL.--At this rate, masters have the means of treating their +servants as ill as they please; and if all masters were to do so, all +servants would be obliged to submit to it, I suppose? + +AUGUSTUS.--Certainly they would. + +M. DE BONNEL.--But if all servants were to take it into their heads to +resist their masters, then the latter would either have to put up with +this or do without servants. + +AUGUSTUS.--But that would never happen. + +M. DE BONNEL.--That would happen, if service became so intolerable +that servants had no interest in humouring their masters. But as +masters and servants stand mutually in need of each other, they have +felt it to be to their advantage that the former should be kind and +the latter obedient and respectful. It is, therefore, because there +are many good masters whom it is to their interest to serve, that they +serve respectfully even those who are bad. Consequently, he who abuses +this respect is a coward, who shelters himself behind others to take +advantage of their good actions, and commit wrong with impunity. + + + + +NEW YEAR'S NIGHT. + + +On the New Year's night of 1797, a man, over whose head had passed +sixty winters, was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes +towards the azure vault of heaven, where floated countless stars, as +float the white blossoms of the water-lily on the bosom of a tranquil +lake; then he looked down upon the earth, where there was no one so +destitute of happiness and peace as himself, for his tomb was not +far distant. He had already descended sixty of the steps that led to +it, and bore with him from the bright days of his youth nothing save +errors and remorse. His health was destroyed; his mind a blank, and +weighed down with sorrow; his heart torn with repentance, and his +old age full of grief. The days of his youth rose up before him, and +brought back to his memory that solemn moment when his father placed +him at the entrance of those two paths, of which the one leads to a +peaceful and happy country, re-echoing with sweet song, and cheered +by an ever-cloudless sun, whilst the other leads to the abodes of +darkness--to a chasm without issue, peopled by serpents, and filled +with poison. + +Alas! the serpents had coiled around his heart; the poison had polluted +his lips, and he now awoke to the reality of his condition. + +He again raised his eyes to heaven, and exclaimed, with inexpressible +anguish, "Return, oh, Youth! Return, oh, Father! place me once more +at the entrance of life, that I may make a different choice." But his +youth had passed away, and his father slept with the dead. He beheld +a marsh-fire arise, dance over the morass, and disappear; and he said, +"Such were my days of folly!" He beheld a falling star shoot along the +sky, tremble, and then vanish; and he exclaimed, "Such am I;" and the +sharp arrows of repentance sank deeper into his heart. + +Then his thoughts turned upon all those men who had attained to his +years, who had been young when he was young, and who now, in different +parts of the world, were spending, in peace and tranquillity, this +first night of the year, as good fathers of families and friends of +truth and virtue. The pealing of the bell which celebrated the new +step of time, vibrated on the air from the turret of the neighbouring +church, sounding to his ear like a pious song. This sound re-awakened +the memory of his parents,--the wishes they had breathed for him on +that solemn day,--the lessons they had inculcated:--wishes which their +unhappy son had never fulfilled,--lessons from which he had never +profited. Overwhelmed with grief and shame, he could no longer gaze +into that heaven where his father dwelt: he turned his grief-worn eyes +towards the earth; tears flowed from them, and fell upon the snow +which covered the ground; and finding nothing to console him in any +direction, he again cried, "Return, oh, Youth! Return!" + +And his youth did return; for all this was but a troubled dream, which +had disturbed the slumbers of this first night of the year. He was +still young,--his faults alone were real. He thanked God that his +youth was not passed, that he had still the power to leave the path of +vice--to regain that of virtue; to return into that happy land covered +with abundant harvests. + +Return with him, my young readers, if, like him, you have strayed; +this terrible dream will henceforward be your judge. If, one day, +overwhelmed with grief, you should be found to exclaim, "Return, oh, +happy Youth!" the prayer will be vain, for youth will not return. + + + + +THE CURÉ OF CHAVIGNAT. + + +The Curé of Chavignat was an excellent man. He was very fond of +children, and was, consequently, a great favourite with them. He +chatted with them as if it were for his own amusement, and whilst +thus engaged he gave them useful advice, with which they, in their +turn, were highly delighted; because his instructions were usually +accompanied by stories, which accustomed them to reflect on their own +characters, on the best means of correcting their faults, and on the +pleasure arising from the possession of good qualities. Whenever the +Curé of Chavignat met with a story of this kind, he wrote it down, that +he might afterwards give it or relate it to those children to whom it +might prove useful. He went frequently to the château of Chavignat, +where the children received him with demonstrations of the greatest +delight, whilst the parents were continually thanking him for his +kindness to their children. + +One day he perceived that Juliana, the eldest of the children, who +was scalloping a piece of muslin, was quite out of temper because her +mother had reproved her. + +"When I see," said he, "a little lady who is out of humour with her +mamma, I begin to think what would be the state of matters if mammas, +on their side, were to be out of humour with their little girls." + +"It would be strange, indeed," said Juliana, "if papas and mammas +were out of humour, when they are masters, and can do exactly as they +please! That would he very just, truly!" + +"People do not then get out of humour without just cause, Miss +Juliana?" asked the Curé. "I was not aware of that." + +"Witness Madame Gonthier, our housekeeper," cried Amadeus, "who, this +morning, when her coffee overturned into the fire, scolded the girl who +has charge of the poultry-yard, because the hens' eggs were so small." + +"Just, Monsieur le Curé," said little Paul, raising his finger to his +face, "as if it was the poultry girl that made the hens' eggs." + +"Yes, my little friend; or, as if your mamma were to give Miss Juliana +a slap on the face because the apricots do not ripen this year." + +The children began to laugh, with the exception of Juliana, who, +shrugging her shoulders, said in a disdainful tone, "Fortunately, +people do not have relations so ill-bred as Madame Gonthier." + +"Indeed, young lady," replied the Curé, "there are, I assure you, many +persons in that unfortunate predicament. Besides," he added, "it is +possible that a young lady very well brought up, like Miss Juliana, who +just now gave her little brother a kick because her mamma had found +fault with her--it is quite possible, I repeat, that when she grows up +to be a woman, she may pull her little daughter by the ears because her +footman failed to execute a commission properly." + +"Oh, she did not hurt me," cried Paul, "I drew back." + +"True," said the Curé, "but when it is the mamma who gives the blow +it is not always so easy to draw back. I was once acquainted with a +youth whose aunt was extremely ill-tempered, and who when she was +dissatisfied with one person would vent her anger on another; and I can +assure you, the young gentleman found this anything but agreeable." + +"Oh, a story! a story! Monsieur le Curé," exclaimed both the little +boys at once; "pray relate it to us." + +"I will," said the Curé, giving a side glance at Juliana, "some day +when nobody is out of humour here, for a certain person might take it +to herself, and I do not wish to be uncivil to any one." + +"Oh! pray relate your story, by all means, Monsieur le Curé," said +Juliana, very sharply; "people can take it as they please." + +"Young lady," replied the Curé, "when I relate a story, I wish it to be +taken as I please." Juliana was silent, for she clearly perceived that +she had spoken impertinently. + +The next day, as soon as the Curé arrived, the little boys failed not +to remind him of the promised story: he did not wait to be pressed, for +he had brought the manuscript with him. + +He seated himself at the table where Juliana was at work; she neither +advanced nor drew back her chair. Amadeus placed his as close to the +Curé as possible, and little Paul established himself between his +knees, with upturned eyes and open mouth: the Curé then related what +follows:-- + + +THE QUARRELS. + +One day Louis entered his mother's room quite beside himself; his eyes +sparkled with anger, and his whole countenance expressed the strongest +resentment. + +"I saw her! there is no gainsaying it, I saw her with my own eyes," +cried Marianne, the cook, who rushed in after him, and who was almost +as much excited as himself. "Madame Ballier attempted to give him a box +on the ear," she continued; "fortunately he drew back in good time, but +trust me, if he did not feel the wind of it----" + +"Had it not been my grand aunt," said Louis, pacing the room with +hasty strides and folded arms; "had it not been my aunt----" + +"Oh, he would have strangled her for certain," rejoined Marianne; "I +saw that clearly, and in my opinion she would only have had what she +deserved, the horrid thing." + +"Marianne!" said Madame Delong, in a severe tone, and Marianne left +the room shrugging her shoulders. Then addressing her son, "Are you +quite sure, Louis," she said, "that you are not in some degree to +blame?" Louis continued to pace the apartment without making any reply. +Madame Delong repeated the question, but Louis had not yet sufficiently +recovered himself to understand exactly what his mother was saying. At +this moment Madame Ballier made her appearance; she looked confused, +and speaking hurriedly, like a person who is afraid of being prevented +by some disagreeable speech, she said, "Louis, will you go with me to +the play this evening?" + +Louis started and appeared surprised; but after a moment's hesitation, +he replied, in a gloomy manner, turning away his head, "No, thank you, +aunt." + +"There are two actors arrived from Paris," added Madame Ballier, still +more embarrassed. + +"I am aware of it: I saw the notice posted up as I came from the +college, and they are going to perform _The Templars_." + +"Well, will you not come?" + +"No, aunt," replied Louis again, rather sharply. Excited at once by +resentment and the regret of losing the play, he was about to add some +angry expression, but he restrained himself, and replied in the calmest +tone that he could command, "I have to work for the examination of the +inspectors who are coming this day week." + +"Very well, I can go by myself," said Madame Ballier, still more +annoyed. She went to the window as if to look at something, and then +left the room without saying another word. + +"If any one else had asked me," said Louis, in a tone of vexation, as +soon as she was gone, "nothing would have delighted me more. Ever since +I read the announcement I have been thinking how much I should like +to see _The Templars_; but," he added, in an altered voice, "I will +not give her the pleasure of thinking she can afford me the slightest +gratification." + +His anger increased from the sacrifice which it had induced him to +make. His mother, wishing to calm him a little, said caressingly, as +she took his arm, "But you will give _me_ the gratification, will you +not, of taking a walk with me? I have a headache, and want the air;" +and, seeing that he did not take any notice, she added, with a smile, +"I shall not resign myself to going out without you, so readily as my +aunt does." + +Louis never refused his mother anything, and, although only fourteen +years of age, he was so right-minded, and possessed so noble and +generous a disposition, that Madame Delong treated him with entire +confidence, and never, in any thing she required of him, appealed +to any other motive than his own good sense and affection. Louis +immediately took his hat, went to fetch his mother's parasol, and, +without saying a word, offered her his arm to go out. Madame Delong saw +the effort he was making to control himself, and said, "Thank you, my +dear." These words began to restore peace to the soul of Louis. He was +devotedly fond of his mother, and felt proud of being able to make her +life more agreeable and happy. Almost always absent from her husband, +and continually anxious and trembling for the dangers to which his +military life exposed him, Madame Delong required the exertion of much +fortitude to preserve her equanimity; and Louis, witnessing her trials, +had early learned to avoid whatever might render her resignation more +difficult. Very different in character from those children who imagine +they obtain a species of triumph over their superiors when they have +excited their displeasure, Louis took a pride in being able to ward off +troubles and annoyances from his mother. It was not in a few instances, +but in all cases that he was in the habit of doing this. If he gave +her his arm in the street or the fields, he would avoid a rough path +where she might hurt herself, lead her away from the herd of cows she +did not like to venture amongst, or remove the horse she had to pass. +Quick, and even thoughtless in his own case, he became prudent where +his mother was concerned. Madame Delong would observe, with a smile, +"Louis is my protector;" and Louis would smile also, and at the same +time slightly blush, but not from annoyance; at such moments he felt +himself a man, and in a position to be useful to others. + +This kind of relation between Louis and his mother had not in the +least diminished the respect due to her maternal authority and the +superiority of her understanding. To this authority Louis submitted the +more cheerfully, because the possibility of her at any time abusing +it never entered his mind. He could not for a moment believe that +his mother could ever be unjust or unreasonable; scarcely could he +even believe that she could ever be mistaken; and if at any time he +hesitated to perform his duty, the moment she said, "My dear, it must +be done," Louis thought he heard the voice of his own conscience. + +Nevertheless, since Madame Ballier had become an inmate of the house, +Louis had more frequently experienced the difficulty of submission; +and, upon certain points, all his affection for his mother was +scarcely sufficient to supply what was wanting in his yet immature +reason. Madame Ballier, who was formerly a mercer at Paris, had never +received the advantage of a good education; she was sister to Monsieur +Delong's mother, and when, at twelve years of age, he was left an +orphan, she had given him a home. At fifteen he entered the army, +obtained promotion by his bravery and good conduct, and neglecting +no opportunity of improving himself and acquiring knowledge, he rose +to the rank of colonel, and to the reputation of a distinguished +man. Madame Delong, though without fortune, had been extremely well +educated, and the congeniality of their minds and characters had +established between them the most tender and perfect union. + +When, two or three years before the time of our story, Madame Ballier, +then a widow, had retired from business, in rather indifferent +circumstances, Madame Delong proposed to her husband to offer her a +home with them. Monsieur Delong at first hesitated, from the fear +of giving his wife an associate by no means agreeable; but he soon +yielded to the noble motives by which she was influenced in making +this proposal, and to his conviction, that the mingled gentleness and +firmness of her character would greatly diminish the inconveniences +which might otherwise result from such an arrangement. Madame Ballier +accordingly joined the family of her niece in the small town where +the latter resided, in the absence of her husband, and where with a +very moderate income she endeavoured, by strict economy, to meet the +expenses occasioned by the war, and provide for the education of her +son. A good-hearted woman in the main, but often weary of her position, +and, notwithstanding the deference with which she was treated by +Madame Delong, dissatisfied at not being the mistress, Madame Ballier +was frequently out of humour, and found means of showing her temper +on a thousand occasions; for persons who have no taste for serious +occupation are apt to become very fanciful about trifles. The two +greatest sufferers were Louis and his black wolf-dog Barogo: as for +Marianne, a quarrel was not positively disagreeable to her, and it was +a pleasure which Madame Ballier seldom hesitated to afford her. Madame +Delong would by no means have permitted Marianne to fail in respect +to her aunt, but neither did she like that Madame Ballier should +uselessly torment Marianne, an old and faithful servant, who had been +in the family ever since her mistress was born, and who was determined +to end her days in it; both, therefore, were equally interested in +keeping their quarrels secret, and thus being sure of each other, they +observed no mutual consideration; and a coffee-pot placed on the fire +precisely where it would most inconvenience Marianne, or removed at +the very time Madame Ballier wished to have it heated; a commission +given inopportunely, and received with a bad grace, and, above all, the +delinquencies of Robinet, Madame Ballier's cat, who was afraid of mice +and devoured every thing in the larder, kept up a fund of animosity, +and underhand quarrels, which interestingly occupied one half of their +lives. + +But between Louis and his aunt, the game was by no means so equal. + +As Madame Ballier had no authority whatever over him, she made a +point of contradicting him in everything. His shoes were too tight, +or his trowsers too wide; he wore his hair too short, or his sleeves +too long: and as the next day neither hair, nor sleeves, nor shoes, +nor trowsers, differed in any degree from what they were the night +before, the remarks were repeated with as much acrimony as if Madame +Ballier were herself obliged to wear the things in question. Madame +Delong, perfectly mute during these disputes, in which she never took +any part, was not equally reserved with her son, whom she scrupulously +compelled, much against his inclination, to restrain his conduct within +the bounds of proper respect; but all her authority, and her severe +looks, were scarcely sufficient to effect this, when the injustice fell +upon Barogo, whom Madame Ballier regularly turned out of the room, two +or three times a day saying that he gave her fleas. Louis would then +immediately follow, in order to be with his dear Barogo, and usually +found him engaged in avenging upon Robinet the insults received from +her mistress. Warned by the noise he made in pursuing her favourite, +Madame Ballier would fly to the rescue; snatch up, in her alarm and +anger, a broom, a pair of tongs, or whatever came to hand, as a weapon +against the aggressor, and while the latter made his escape growling, +Madame Ballier, drawn away by a deeper interest, ran to seek and +console her cat. Then Barogo, satisfied with having proved his right of +resistance, by displaying his white teeth through his black moustaches, +would return and take quiet possession of the sitting-room, where he +soon became the object of a fresh contest. + +"Why should we be obliged to submit to my aunt's caprices and +ill-humour?" Louis would sometimes exclaim in a fit of uncontrollable +indignation. "Why should we be obliged to live with our relations +at all?" asked Madame Delong one day in reply. "Why should we be +obliged to keep up any ties of kindred? Why should not brothers and +sisters, fathers and children, go each their own way, without troubling +themselves about each other? If I were to become peevish, morose, and +difficult to please, tell me, Louis, would you be obliged to retain any +regard for me?" + +"Oh! my dear mother!" cried Louis, wounded at such a supposition. + +"My child," replied his mother, "when we once believe that we may +quarrel with our duties, because they are difficult, there is none of +them that may not be brought into question, for there is none of them, +the fulfilment of which may not at some period or other occasion us +some inconvenience. Do you not think a nephew owes to his aunt, and an +_aged_ aunt, respect and complaisance?" + +"Undoubtedly, but--" + +"But you would prefer that your aunt should be careful to render this +duty more agreeable to you:--this I can conceive; yet a duty is not the +less a duty because it is painful." + +"I should think my aunt has duties also," said Louis, with a little +asperity. + +"My son," returned his mother, very seriously, "when you have found +out a suitable manner of representing them to her, you will be quite +justified in thinking of them." + +"What is to be done, then?" Louis would sometimes exclaim, quite out +of patience at seeing no means of avoiding what he knew not how to +endure. One day, when the heat was extreme, and he was continually +wiping his face during a discussion of this kind, his mother said to +him, "Six or seven years ago, my dear, you would not have been able to +bear such heat as this without repeating every moment, _Oh, how hot it +is!_ but now you scarcely pay any attention to it, because you know +that it is unbecoming in a man not to show himself superior to petty +inconveniences." + +Louis was quite old enough to understand his mother's arguments, but +he had not yet acquired sufficient resolution to submit to them. When +his aunt was out of humour with him, he became angry in his turn; if +she wished to subject him to some caprice of hers, he was the more +obstinately bent on a contrary whim; and to make him feel it a matter +of great importance that his hat should remain on the table, it was +only necessary that Madame Ballier should take it into her head to +throw it upon a chair. + +When out of his mother's presence, and no longer restrained by her +looks, which habitually followed him, and which he dared not avoid, +Louis was always more disposed to forget himself, and did not often +escape the danger, particularly as he was then more openly attacked +by Madame Ballier, who was no longer held in check by the fear of +disobliging her niece. The last quarrel had been occasioned by one of +those trifles which so often occasioned them, and Louis, exasperated to +the utmost by his aunt's ill-humour, and perhaps not very well disposed +himself that day had taken the liberty to indulge in remarks so little +measured, that the anger of Madame Ballier had gone beyond all bounds. +She was sorry for it afterwards; not that she considered it anything +extraordinary for an aunt to box the ears of a nephew who had spoken +impertinently to her; but such things were not in accordance with the +tone of the family, and although she herself constantly found fault +with her niece, she would not have liked her niece to find fault with +her. + +She thought to repair all by the offer of taking Louis to the theatre, +and could not understand his retaining so much resentment as to refuse. +Consequently, she was much out of humour the whole of dinner-time, and +when upon leaving the table a fresh proposal was again met by a refusal +on the part of Louis, she went off shrugging her shoulders with a sigh +of indignation. + +She had only just left the room, when in came M. Lebeau, a friend of +Madame Delong's. + +"Come, come, my boy!" he said to Louis, "to the theatre:--quick! there +is not a moment to lose, or we shall not find places. Charles and +Eugenia are on the way with their mother; we will overtake them." + +Louis and his mother looked at each other without making any reply. +"Well! are you coming?" said M. Lebeau, impatiently. "I do not think +that Louis can go to the play this evening," said Madame Delong, at +length, looking earnestly at her son. + +"And why not?" + +"He has work to finish." + +"I worked hard enough when I was young, and learned my profession as a +notary as well as any one else, but I did not give up my amusement, for +all that. Why, my lad, at your age, when I wanted to go to the play, I +spent the night in work, and there was an end of it." + +"That would not be very difficult," said Louis, looking at his mother, +whilst his face was scarlet with anger and anxiety. Madame Delong +suppressed a sigh, called forth by the sight of her son's vexation, +and said to him; "You know very well, my dear, that that is not the +difficulty:" then, turning to M. Lebeau, she added, in a firmer tone, +"It is impossible; Louis has refused to go with his aunt." + +"His aunt! his aunt! What then? He has changed his mind; surely he has +a right to be more amused with my children than with his aunt. Come, +come, I will undertake to make her listen to reason, though we do not +generally understand one another particularly well." + +Louis seemed in suspense. "M. Lebeau," said Madame Delong, very +seriously; "since it must be confessed, Louis has had a slight quarrel +with his aunt, and it was for that reason that he declined going +with her to the theatre. I do not blame him for it, it was the most +respectful manner of letting his aunt know that she had wounded his +feelings; but I leave him to judge," she added, looking at Louis, +"whether it be becoming in him to go and brave her as it were, and as +if he said to her, 'I did not choose to accept your favours, I can +dispense with them.'" + +"Such punctilios are only fit for a girl," cried M. Lebeau. "My dear +friend, I tell you plainly, you will make a milksop of that son of +yours." + +"I am not aware," said Madame Delong, still looking at her son, "that +Louis feels himself any the weaker, or the less worthy of esteem, when +he submits to his duty, than when he fails in it in order to follow his +pleasures." + +Louis shook his head; he knew very well that his mother was right; +but he found it impossible to make any answer. At this moment Charles +rushed into the room: quite out of patience at not seeing his friend +Louis arrive, he had run to look for him. "Come, make haste!" he cried; +"you will make us lose the first scene, and perhaps even our places." + +Louis, with eyes cast down, pressed his hand, and not daring to trust +his voice, said, in a tone scarcely audible,--"I am not going to the +theatre." + +"Not going! and why not?" asked Charles, much astonished. + +"On account of my aunt." + +Charles, in consternation, looked alternately at his father and at +Madame Delong; the latter hastened to observe: "It is a voluntary +sacrifice which my son makes to his sense of propriety, and one which I +hope we shall be able to make up to him another time." + +"Another time!" cried M. Lebeau, striking the floor with his cane; +"another time! why, they are going away to-morrow; I tell you they set +off to-morrow." + +Louis started. Madame Delong, looking at him, sorrowfully, but firmly, +said, "Is that any reason, my son?" Louis hurried out of the room; he +was choking. Charles left the house in grief, and M. Lebeau, as he took +his departure, repeated, "I always said so; the most sensible woman in +the world knows nothing about bringing up boys." + +Madame Delong immediately went to her son's room and found him leaning +against the corner of the mantel-piece; his fortitude was completely +overcome; the poor boy was in tears, and his mother felt much disposed +to join him. As if suddenly struck with resentment upon her entrance, +he exclaimed, "You wished to punish me because I dared to be angry +with my aunt when she tried to box my ears;" and these last words were +uttered in a still more passionate manner. + +"To punish you!" said Madame Delong, putting her arm round her son's +neck, "to punish you! Oh, my dear child, it is a very long time since I +have even thought it possible that I could have occasion to punish you!" + +The tears of Louis were now flowing abundantly. Madame Delong leant her +head on his shoulder, saying, with much emotion, "My dearest child, +overcome this weakness, I entreat you. What will become of me who have +the responsibility of making you acquainted with your duties, if you +have not resolution enough to fulfil them? How cruel will be my task, +Louis! I have laboured all your life to inspire you with fortitude, in +order that your courage might sustain my own." + +"This disappointment cannot grieve you as much as it does me," said +Louis, still a little angry, though already in some degree softened by +his mother's words. + +"My dear boy," replied Madame Delong, "if you were now at the theatre, +I should be watching the clock, and although alone, should fear to see +the hours pass, for I should say, 'he is now enjoying himself,' and +that would render my whole evening delightful." Louis kissed her hand. +"But," she continued, "if after having refused your aunt, you had been +weak enough to accompany M. Lebeau, and I weak enough to consent to +your doing so, we should both of us have had our pleasure destroyed; +the sight of your aunt at the play would have disturbed you the whole +time; on your return we should not have dared to converse together on +what would have been a subject of self-reproach to both, and you would +have gone to bed without having anything to relate to me." + +Louis was insensibly calmed by the conversation and affection of his +mother; nevertheless, he had some difficulty in applying steadily to +anything during this evening, and he dreamed all night that he had gone +to the theatre, and was wandering round and round the house without +being able to find the entrance, whilst all the time the play was going +on, and he could hear the applause. + +Madame Ballier, on her part, had returned home much dissatisfied with +the manner in which she had passed her evening. She had the misfortune +to be seated in a box close to the one occupied by M. Lebeau and his +family: there was already a good deal of bitterness between them, for +M. Lebeau, though a good-natured and upright man, was little disposed +to think that people should inconvenience themselves for the sake +of others; he had never approved of Madame Delong's plan of having +Madame Ballier with her, and consequently had taken an aversion to +the latter almost before he had made her acquaintance. Never would +he consent to show her the slightest attention calculated to attract +her to his house, and as this prevented Madame Delong from visiting +there as frequently as she had previously done, M. Lebeau was the more +dissatisfied; and the grievances of Louis, who was a great favourite +of his, and even those of Barogo, with whom he cultivated a certain +degree of intimacy, did not tend to soften matters. When, upon entering +the theatre, he saw Madame Ballier in the next box to that which his +family had taken, he felt so annoyed that he would have changed his +place had it been possible. His excitement, and the explanations given +to his party in no very low tone, soon informed Madame Ballier of what +had taken place, and the name of "poor Louis," which, at every pause +in their pleasure, was repeated by the children in a tone of regret, +and with a side glance towards her, rendered her evening extremely +disagreeable. On returning home she complained of a headache, and +retired to her own room without seeing any one. The next day she made +no allusion whatever to the play; and if Louis was wrong in somewhat +enjoying this little revenge, he was at all events justified in +congratulating himself on having escaped a similar embarrassment. Two +days afterwards, at the house of M. Lebeau, the latter again attacked +Madame Delong on the subject of the play; Louis defended his mother +with so much eagerness, that M. Lebeau, provoked at finding in him +an opponent, exclaimed, "Young man! this is the way you spoil your +mother." Everybody laughed, and M. Lebeau amongst the rest, while +Madame Delong gave her son a smile of affectionate pride, which seemed +to say, "Persevere, my dear Louis, let us continue to aid each other +in fulfilling our duty." + +The Curé here paused. "Is that all?" exclaimed the two little boys. + +"That is not a story," said Juliana, drawing up her head with an air of +pretension. "It has neither beginning nor end." + +"As to the end," replied the Curé, "I have not told you that my story +was ended: I wished merely to show you how very disagreeable it is for +young persons when their relations happen to be bad-tempered, and at +the same time to point out to you that when such is the case it is the +duty of the young to make every sacrifice rather than displease their +relations." + +"It was not very difficult for Louis to do what his mother wished," +said Juliana, in a tone which betrayed a little vexation; "she always +spoke to him so gently." + +"Well! that is good!" cried Amadeus. "The other day when you were in a +passion, and nurse very gently begged you to listen to reason, did you +not tell her to march off with her reason?" + +"Mr. Amadeus," replied Juliana, colouring violently, "mind your own +affairs if you please, or I shall tell, in my turn, what naughty words +you made use of in the grove, when papa called you to write your +exercise." + +"I see," said the Curé, "that you would neither of you have been as +reasonable as Louis, though he was nothing to boast of." + +"Yes," observed Amadeus, "for he obeyed the wishes of his mother only +when she was present." + +"I don't behave like him, Monsieur le Curé," said Paul, touching the +clergyman's arm to make him listen to him; "when mamma goes away and +says, 'Paul, don't go near the water,' I don't go near it at all." + +"I should like to know," said Juliana, "what would have happened if +Louis had remained for some time _tête-à-tête_ with his aunt?" + +"That is precisely the sequel of my story," replied the Curé. The +children having expressed their wish to hear this sequel, the Curé +promised it, and a few days afterwards he thus resumed the adventures +of Louis. + + +ABSENCE. + +Madame Delong received intelligence from Germany which caused her the +greatest affliction. Her husband had been dangerously wounded, and she +immediately set off to attend on him, deeply grieved at the necessity +of leaving her son to his own discretion, as it were, with a person who +was incapable of maintaining any authority over him. + +Being also perfectly well aware that whilst Madame Ballier had to +command, and Marianne to obey, there would be little peace in the +household, we may easily imagine what were her parting admonitions, +and what the promises and good resolutions made to conform to them. +But, scarcely was she out of sight, when Madame Ballier, eager to +take possession of her authority, positively exacted of Marianne that +the soup tureen, which from time immemorial had been placed on the +sideboard, should for the future be put away in the closet, and that, +contrary to the practice hitherto observed, the glasses should be +rinsed before the decanters. From this moment all hope of agreement was +at an end; and when Louis returned home to dinner, he found Marianne +in a state of the greatest excitement. "Master Louis," she said, "this +will never do; that woman will drive me out of my senses. I tell you, +Master Louis, we can never go on in this way." + +"Louis," said Madame Ballier, very composedly, to her nephew, when he +came to take his place at the dining-table, "I beg you for the future +to be more punctual to the time." + +Louis looked at his watch, then at the time-piece, and was much +surprised to find that they did not agree; he had set them together in +the morning, and now perceived that, without any intimation to him, +Madame Ballier had advanced the time-piece after his departure. He +showed his watch, and said coolly, but not without some intention of +annoying, "This is the time by Monsieur Lebeau's clock, which is the +best in the town, and which everybody follows since the town clock has +been out of order." + +Madame Ballier replied, pettishly, that Monsieur Lebeau's clock went +like his head, and that the house clock was the one to which he must +conform. + +"To render that possible," said Louis, "it ought not to be altered +every moment without necessity." + +Silence ensued till about the middle of dinner, when Madame Ballier +said to her nephew, "I hope, Louis, that you do not intend to take +advantage of your mother's absence to run about and idle away your +time, instead of attending to your studies." + +"Run about! Where, aunt?" inquired Louis, greatly astonished, for he +was noted for his exactitude in the performance of his duties. + +"Why, to Monsieur Lebeau's, for example." + +"My mother has given me permission to go there," replied Louis, in a +careless tone. + +"Morning and evening?" demanded Madame Ballier, sharply. + +"As often as I please," replied Louis, drily. + +"As often as you please!" cried Madame Ballier. "Very fine, truly; if +you have permission to do whatever you please, sir, it was not worth my +while to take charge of you." + +"You take charge of me, aunt!" exclaimed Louis, in his turn, with an +indignation which completely exasperated Madame Ballier. + +"And who, then, is to take charge of you, pray, sir?" + +Louis was silent: he had raised a difficult question; for he could not +possibly suppose that at his age he could avoid being responsible for +his conduct to some one or other; nor could he tell Madame Ballier +that it was not to her that he owed this responsibility, as this +would neither have been respectful nor true; for, in fact, if he had +been guilty of any impropriety, if he had neglected his studies, and +spent his time away from home in the absence of his mother, it was +undoubtedly the duty of his aunt to repress such misconduct by every +means in her power. Louis' mistake consisted in not remembering, that +it is not only a duty to yield, in matters of importance, to those who +have a right to exact obedience; but that we ought likewise to yield to +them in trifles also; because it is but reasonable that we should avoid +giving them annoyance. + +They again relapsed into silence; but on rising from table Madame +Ballier said to her nephew, at the same time carefully emphasizing +every word, "Notwithstanding all your permissions, you will be so good +as to remember, Master Louis, that I am amenable for you in the absence +of your mother, and that I shall not allow you to commit any follies; +do you understand that?" She took care to close the door as she +pronounced these last words, so as to avoid having to hear any reply +to them. Louis had no thought of answering her; all his ideas were in +confusion. Not having the slightest inclination to commit any follies, +as Madame Ballier expressed it, he was surprised to find himself so +extremely offended at her prohibition of them. + +"Do but look at that woman, now," said Marianne, folding her arms, and +fixing her eyes on the door by which Madame Ballier had made her exit. + +"If this is the way she begins," resumed Louis, slowly setting down +the glass which in his surprise he had held suspended near his lips. +It seemed as if a thunderbolt had fallen at their feet, so little were +they prepared for their proper course of action, which was simply to +allow things and words of no importance to pass quietly by. + +Louis went to M. Lebeau's to console himself for his vexations, by +relating them to Charles and Eugenia. "Let her grumble as much as she +pleases; you take your own way," said Charles. + +Eugenia scolded Charles and then Louis. "Ask mamma," she said, "whether +that is the proper manner of behaving to your aunt." + +"In what respect, then, do you find I behave so much amiss?" returned +Charles, hastily. "You would do just the same in my place." + +"I! by no means; when I want to do anything I ask permission; there is +surely no great trouble in that." + +"But what permission have I to ask of her?" + +"That you know best,--permission to look out at the window, if she +requires it; it would be no great hardship after all." + +"That, certainly, would be very pretty for a boy!" said Charles. + +"It would seem, then, that it is more becoming in a boy to be +unreasonable, than it is in a girl?" + +"Pshaw! Eugenia," said Louis, ill-humouredly, as he took Charles by +the arm to lead him away from his sister; "you know nothing about the +matter; and besides, what you say is only an affectation." + +"I am sure," replied Eugenia, offended in her turn, "that you give +yourself airs; it costs you but little to make rude speeches." + +They quarrelled, then became reconciled. Louis found in Eugenia's +advice much that resembled the counsels of his mother; and he was only +the more distressed by dimly perceiving that he was in the wrong, +without exactly knowing how to set himself right. The fact was, that +Louis was disposed to comply with the wishes of his aunt, provided +she required nothing that was troublesome to him; and willing to +treat her with complaisance, provided she never interfered with his +inclinations; which certainly was setting himself no very difficult +task. + +A few days after this occurrence, Louis received a letter from his +mother, written at the end of her first day's journey. + +"Bear in mind, above all things, my dear son," she said in this letter, +"never to swerve from the respect you owe your aunt. You may sometimes +think she demands a greater degree of submission than she has a right +to exact; yet you must submit to this, in order to please her; for it +is your duty to make her satisfied with you. + +"Should you sometimes think she opposes you unreasonably, or from +ill-humour, the best way of showing yourself a man is by not allowing +yourself to be irritated by this conduct; for it is little children +only that people are anxious not to oppose unreasonably, for fear of +spoiling their tempers; but when they become men, they must in their +turn conform to the tempers of others. + +"In a short time, my dear son, you will have to conduct yourself +properly, not only towards those who behave well to you, but towards +all with whom you have any intercourse. So long as you are unable to +fulfil your duty, unless you have to deal with just and reasonable +persons, so long will you be unfit to dispense with the guidance of +your father and mother; for you will meet with no one else in the world +who, for the sake of sparing you the commission of a fault, will be +careful to treat you on all occasions with kindness and justice." + +The day that Louis received this letter he was more assiduous in his +attentions to his aunt; he took care not to leave the door open when +she was in the draught, and he prevented Barogo from eating up the +food prepared for Robinet--an occurrence which the evening before had +occasioned great offence. Left to himself, Louis was naturally disposed +to be obliging; but he wanted that self-control which can alone secure +us against the caprices of others. He was consequently never so much at +the mercy of his aunt's whims as when he allowed her to put him in a +passion, in spite of his good resolutions. Now, as her caprices became +every day more frequent, in proportion to the effect they produced on +him, and as in proportion to their frequency his resolution became +every day weaker, his desire of maintaining peace soon gave way to a +complete abandonment of himself to all those emotions which naturally +excite discord. The counsels of his mother now produced only a feeling +of irritation, for he had persuaded himself that what she required of +him was impossible. His home became insupportable, and he was always +anxious to escape from it; nor could his mind rest with pleasure on +anything but the idea of the enjoyment which he promised himself in +going to spend the three holidays of Whitsuntide with Madame Lebeau in +the country. + +This excursion had been arranged before the departure of Madame Delong. +Louis had often mentioned it, and considered it as a settled affair, +but Madame Ballier took it into her head, as the best possible means of +annoying him, to oblige him to ask specially for her permission. + +It had been arranged that on the Saturday preceding Whitsunday Louis +was to dine with M. Lebeau, in order to be ready to set out with the +family for the country immediately afterwards. + +On the day in question, the moment before he returned home to dress +for dinner, and make up his little package of what was to be taken +with him, Madame Ballier left the house, carrying with her the keys +of the wardrobe. Louis, greatly annoyed at not finding the keys when +he came in, asked Marianne for them, and then inquired for his aunt. +Marianne had not seen her go out, and knew not where to find her. They +separated in search of her. Louis ran out, boiling with impatience; +and, perceiving her seated on one of the benches in the promenade, he +could scarcely restrain himself sufficiently to avoid demanding his +keys before he came up to her, or ask for them, when he did arrive, in +terms of proper politeness. Madame Ballier quietly inquired what he +wanted them for? + +"I want to dress, aunt--I am in a great hurry--pray give them to me +immediately;"--and he held out a hand tremulous with impatience. + +"To dress! you never dress but on Sundays," replied Madame Ballier with +the utmost coolness. + +"But, aunt! you know I am going into the country." + +"I know nothing about it: you have not told me." + +"I have spoken of it a hundred times in your presence." + +"I am not accustomed," said Madame Ballier, "to take to myself what is +not directly addressed to me." + +"Well, then, aunt, I tell you now; I repeat it," replied Louis, with +redoubled vehemence. + +"I have an idea, sir," said Madame Ballier, very gravely, and rising at +the same time, "that you will ask me for them in a different manner." + +Louis half bent his knee, and in a tone which in his anger he +endeavoured to render derisive, said, "Will my aunt have the kindness, +the magnanimity, the clemency to give me my keys?" + +Madame Ballier made a movement as if to go away. Louis threw himself +before her: the clock was striking four, the hour appointed for the +rendezvous at M. Lebeau's. "Aunt," he exclaimed, and without perceiving +that the tone of his voice had become almost menacing: "Aunt, I entreat +you ... where are my keys?" + +"In a place," replied Madame Ballier, who on her part was beginning to +lose her self-control; "in a place where you will not get them until it +suits me." + +"You will not give them to me, then?" + +Madame Ballier walked on without condescending to reply. Louis darted +off like an arrow, taking with him, in his way home, the locksmith +usually employed in the house, who, knowing him, made no difficulty +about opening the drawers; he then dressed himself, made up a small +parcel, and, meeting Marianne, who had just come in, told her to carry +to M. Lebeau, in the course of the day, the rest of his things, that +they might not be locked up again. + +Surprised at such an order, and disturbed at seeing all the drawers +open, Marianne would fain have questioned him as to what had occurred, +but he was already at a distance, and she stood at the door gazing +after him in complete bewilderment. + +Louis was eager to arrive; eager to shake off the agitation which +tormented him. Since the departure of his mother he had never felt +satisfied with himself, at the present moment he was less so than ever, +and knew not what the future was likely to bring forth, for he had +not the courage to scrutinize the state of his mind. He concealed his +uneasiness as well as he could, not liking to mention to M. Lebeau his +disagreement with his aunt, and the idea of being for three whole days +quite free from his vexations made him speedily forget them. As soon +as dinner was over, it was announced that the asses were at the door. +Louis was appointed to lead Eugenia's, and Charles that intended for +his mother, excepting when M. Lebeau was to take the place of one or +the other, so as to let them, by turns, mount his horse. The weather +was delightful, and the young people, already animated by the prospect +of pleasure, were running down the steps, laughing and jumping, when +Marianne appeared at the door, much excited, and carrying in her arms +a large parcel, which she held out to Louis: "Here, Master Louis," she +said, "here are your clothes; when your aunt saw that I was going to +take them, she threw them in my face, saying that when they were once +out of the house they had better remain so, and you too. Then, said I, +'And I too;' for now that you are gone, Master Louis, she may manage as +she can. I will not set foot in the house till my mistress returns. +Here is the account of every thing left under my care--it may easily be +seen that all is right; besides, she has taken all the keys, and I will +no longer be answerable for anything." + +"But, Marianne," said Louis, who was excessively disturbed, "I am not +going away--I am to be absent only two days." + +"Oh! indeed! but she declared that you should remain where you +are--that she was going to write to your mother--that she would no +longer be answerable for you--and I don't know what besides." + +"You will stay with us," said Charles, with great glee. + +"What nonsense!" said Madame Lebeau, impatiently, "his aunt will never +drive him away from the house." + +"Oh! as for that, she said that if he came back, she should go away," +replied Marianne, "not that she will do any such thing--but it is all +the same to me. I remained there only for your sake, Master Louis, +and now I have done with her. Didn't she say it was I that forced the +lock, and that she would take me before the Justice of the Peace! Let +her do so! I am not afraid of her; I am better known in the town than +she is. The Justice of the Peace, indeed! I am at my sister's, in the +next street, let her come for me there:--Good-by, Master Louis."--Then +turning back--"Oh! stay! here is a letter from your mamma, which, with +all this bother, I forgot to give you;" and she went away, repeating to +herself, "The Justice of the Peace! Much I care for her and her Justice +of the Peace!" Thus she went on, becoming more and more irritated every +time this idea recurred to her mind. + +Louis was thunderstruck; he turned his mother's letter mechanically in +his hand--it seemed already to pain him, as if it contained a reproach. + +"What is all this?" demanded M. Lebeau, who came up in the midst of +Marianne's harangue; and Louis scarcely knew how to give him an +explanation, so trifling was the subject in dispute. + +"Come with us all the same," said Charles, in an under-tone, "you can +settle all that on your return." + +"Write her a very submissive letter from the country," said Eugenia. +Louis heard not a word that was said, he had just opened his mother's +letter. + +"Good Heavens!" he exclaimed, in a tone of grief, whilst he hid his +face in his hands. + +"What has happened?--your father!" cried Madame Lebeau, alarmed. + +"On the contrary," said Louis, blushing at the exclamation which had +just escaped him, "my father is better;" and he added, in a subdued +tone, "An hour ago this letter would have rendered me extremely happy." + +Madame Delong had written to inform her son that her husband was out of +danger, and in a fit state to bear the journey; she was to set out with +him in a few days on his return home, where it would be necessary for +him to remain, to complete his recovery, and to pass the time of his +convalescence, which was expected to be long. + +"I shall soon, therefore, my dear son," added Madame Delong, "present +you to your father, who has not seen you these four years. He is +continually speaking of you, and I scarcely dare to reply: I fear to +trust my own affection; I fear to speak of you more favourably than +the event may justify. Nevertheless, dear Louis, I trust he will be +pleased with us. One thing alone disturbs me," she continued, "I am +not satisfied with the tone of your last letter when speaking of your +aunt. My dear child, I must warn you that your father, who is much +weakened by long-continued exertion and severe suffering, is unable to +bear the slightest agitation; it is necessary for him that the whole +house should be as tranquil as the apartment of an invalid. Be on the +watch, therefore, that on his arrival every thing may wear the aspect +of harmony, and nothing arise to disturb him. Examine carefully, my +dear son, whether you have prepared for us the reception I require, and +whether you feel yourself thoroughly disposed to fulfil your duty." + +Louis was overwhelmed. "Well!" said M. Lebeau, who was waiting, and who +was not fond of waiting, "Are you coming or not?" + +"What will my mother say?" said Louis, who hardly heard the words +addressed to him. + +"What will she say? Why, you are not in fault, are you?" + +"I really don't know anything at all about it." + +"Oh; if you don't know, that is another matter. Come, my boy, you +should always know what you mean or what you don't mean; whether you +are right or whether you are wrong, and then act accordingly." + +Louis now presented his mother's letter, not, however, that M. Lebeau +might decide for him, for his resolution was already taken. + +"Yes," said M. Lebeau, after having read the letter, "you will do well +to arrange matters if you can;" and Louis, without speaking another +word, took the parcel which Marianne had brought, fastened to it +the one which he had made up to take into the country, and passing +his stick through them, put it on his shoulder, pressed the hand of +Charles, nodded to Eugenia, with a sigh, and walked to the door. + +"Is he going away?" asked Charles and Eugenia, in consternation. + +"You will come back to us," said M. Lebeau, who liked to make the best +of every thing. Louis again nodded, and departed. He soon heard the +noise of the donkeys as they were mounting, and of M. Lebeau's horse +pawing the ground, impatient to set out; he turned his head, and saw +them all preparing for their departure, but in silence; and he watched +them to the very end of the street, without hearing a single burst of +laughter. + +He walked on, without very well knowing what was to be done; he +thought, however, that he must in the first place seek Marianne, and +prevent her from sleeping out of the house; and, afterwards, go and +inform his aunt that it was he who had caused the locks to be forced, +and thus prevent her from going to the Justice of the Peace. He found +Marianne extremely excited, relating what had passed to her sister, who +was vainly endeavouring to pacify her. + +"Stop!" she said, when she saw Louis enter; "there is Master Louis +himself, who will tell you that it is quite impossible to live with +that woman." + +"But what are you doing here, Master Louis? and your parcel?--you +should not have made me carry it to Monsieur Lebeau's; I would have +brought it straight here myself. My sister will lock it safe up in her +chest, I promise you, Master Louis; you may be quite easy about it." + +"But Marianne," repeated Louis several times impatiently, in vain +attempting to interrupt her; "but Marianne, it is not that; I come to +tell you that you must return home." + +"Return home! and for what, pray, Master Louis? It was all very well, +whilst you were there; but as for your aunt, she can do well enough +without me, and I can do without her. Go, then, Master Louis, and take +your pleasure in the country; you need not be afraid, we shall not bite +one another in your absence." + +"But, Marianne," replied Louis, more and more out of patience, yet +still hesitating to engage himself, "I tell you it is not certain--it +is indeed very possible that I may not go into the country at all." + +"How!--not go into the country! Oh! that is quite another affair! It +was well worth while to open the drawers in such a hurry! Well, if +that is the case, I will go and make your bed to-morrow, Master Louis; +you may be very sure I shall not leave your room in disorder; you may +depend upon that beforehand; your bed shall be ready." + +"And dinner also, Marianne?" + +"Dinner for your aunt? oh! she can dine well enough without me, the +dear creature! If she had nobody to cook her dinner but me, I warrant +you it would not make her ill;" and Marianne's passion beginning to +revive, she talked to herself and to every one around, without their +being able to stop her tongue. + +"But listen to me, do, pray, Marianne," cried Louis, almost losing +temper himself; "I tell you that my father and mother are coming." + +"What! the colonel!--my mistress!" exclaimed Marianne. "Gracious me! +when?--where are they?" and she seemed ready to run and meet them. + +"Oh, not yet, Marianne," said Louis; "but they are on the road; here is +the letter which gives me the intelligence, and you must see that if +they find all the house out of sorts in this manner----" + +"Ah yes! you are quite right, Master Louis, that is very true. The +poor colonel!--and my mistress! How happy she must be!--how is he, +now? What! they are really coming!" and the exclamations of Marianne, +mingled and succeeded each other with as much rapidity in her delight +as in her anger. The whole course of her ideas was completely changed, +and perhaps on a closer consideration of the arrival of her master +and mistress, she might feel some uneasiness as to the consequences +of her late conduct, which in the heat of the moment she had not very +attentively examined. There was no difficulty in inducing her to +return. "Must we not be preparing the house for their arrival?" she +said. "Come, Master Louis; duty before all things;--duty before all +things!" + +They departed, Marianne carrying the parcels, which she insisted on +taking under her charge. "We are going back," she said, "like traders +who have been unlucky at the fair; we are as heavily laden as when we +set out." + +They found the door of the house locked; for, as Marianne was no longer +there to attend to it, Madame Ballier had carried away the key with +her when she went out. This incident, which Louis might have expected, +vexed him exceedingly; he had not yet entirely given up all hopes of +going to join his friends in the country, after having reinstalled +Marianne at home; but this now became, at least, doubtful, and every +moment of delay increased the chance of its being impossible. However, +nothing was to be done but to wait; so Louis seated himself on the +bench at the door, and did wait, but with a degree of bitterness which +every minute of impatience rendered worse. Madame Ballier did not +return till ten o'clock at night. Louis sprang up hastily, and his aunt +uttered a cry of alarm, for she had not seen either him or Marianne +in the dark corner in which they had seated themselves. However, the +servant of one of Madame Ballier's friends, who had accompanied her +home with a lantern, and to whom she had given the key, began to unlock +the door: Louis did not feel sure of being admitted without a contest; +fortunately, however, Barogo, who poked his nose in at the door the +moment it was a little opened, immediately got scent of Robinet, and +pushing it back still farther with his head, bounded into the house, +barking with all his might, as he pursued the cat. Madame Ballier +rushed in after him, Louis followed his aunt, and Marianne followed +him; the door was closed, and every thing fell naturally into its place. + +[Illustration: Madame Ballier's Return, p. 200.] + +Nevertheless, it was necessary for Louis to come to some explanation +with his aunt. He prepared himself for it, and endeavoured to summon +all the moderation of which he was capable, when he met her at the door +of his room, carrying Robinet in her arms. She asked him sharply why he +had not brought the locksmith to open the street door as well as +that of the wardrobe? + +"Since you knew that it was I who had the drawers opened," cried Louis, +his anger already excited, as his principal motive for returning had +been to explain this matter, "why, aunt, did you threaten to take +Marianne before the Justice of the Peace? I came back purposely to +prevent you from making such a scandal." + +"You are much needed, truly, young gentleman, to prevent scandals," +replied Madame Ballier, more and more irritated; "if you came here only +to tell me that, you had better return into the country." + +"That is what I purpose doing to-morrow morning," said Louis. + +"But not, I beg," replied Madame Ballier, "until I have written a +letter to Monsieur Lebeau, which you will be so good as to deliver to +him, requesting him to take charge of you, as I will have nothing more +to do with you." + +"I will carry no such letter!" exclaimed Louis, who again began to +think of the arrival of his father and mother. + +"If you do not carry it, I shall send it." + +"That will be of no use, for I shall not stay with Monsieur Lebeau." + +"If you go there to-morrow you will stay there." + +"And what is to compel me to do so?" + +"I will compel you; for I will leave this house, and send word to your +mother for what reason I do so." + +Louis returned to his room, slamming the door violently. "No," he said, +pacing the room, and stamping till the floor shook; "it is useless +trying: if one wishes to behave properly, she will not let one." + +"It is useless trying, that's certain," said Marianne, as she put the +room in order. + + * * * * * + +The Curé having laid down his manuscript, "Well, tell us," demanded the +children, "did he not go into the country?" + +"What would you have done in his place?" inquired the Curé. + +Amadeus shook his head, as he replied, "I really do not know; it was +certainly a very puzzling situation." + +"Not at all," replied Juliana, in a very decided tone; "I should the +next day have said to my aunt, 'If you still choose to hinder me from +going into the country, I shall remain here, and tell every one that it +is because I am more reasonable than you are.'" + +The Curé smiled. "That would have been very agreeable to her, indeed!" +said Amadeus. + +"Neither should I have wished it to be agreeable to her," replied +Juliana. + +"For my part," said Paul, "I would have written immediately to mamma, +in Germany, to ask her permission to go next day to Monsieur Lebeau's." + +Every one laughed at Paul's expedient, and the Curé continued his +narrative. + + +THE RECONCILIATION. + +Louis was left alone in his apartment, in a state of terrible +agitation, and he passed nearly an hour in thinking only of his +annoyance, and giving way to passion, without coming to any decision. + +The last words of Marianne rang disagreeably in his ears. "It +is useless to try," he repeated; "Is it, then, impossible to be +reasonable?" and the idea displeased him; for he would rather have +believed that it was impossible. He began to reperuse his mother's +letter; but in his present disposition he several times stopped +impatiently, for he felt as if his mother were there, giving him advice +which he was unwilling to follow. Once he even threw the letter on the +table in a passion; but suddenly recollected, that one day when he +was vexed at some advice which his mother gave him, she said, "My dear +Louis, are you displeased with my advice because it is bad, or because +it is good?" and he acknowledged that people quarrel only with good +advice, because it is that alone which one is obliged to follow. + +But although acknowledging to himself that his mother's advice was +good, Louis was not the less inclined to dispute: was he not only to +renounce so great a pleasure, and one, too, on which he had so long +counted, but also give way to his aunt, and especially in a thing so +unreasonable! Then another recollection presented itself. One day +during his childhood, when he had given a kick to Barogo, for not +learning his exercise, saying, "What a stupid brute you are!" his +mother replied, "If he be a brute, why do you expect him to do things +which require reason?" This reflection now struck him, and he said, +"Since my aunt is so unreasonable, it is foolish in me to expect her to +require of me nothing but what is reasonable;" and he added, "If I do +not yield to her in what is unreasonable, I shall never have to yield +at all, for as to other things, I should do them of my own accord." + +His agitation began to subside in consequence of the pleasure which +he experienced in feeling himself a reasonable person, and this kind +of pleasure always inspires the wish to become still more so. He +remembered also that his mother had often said to him: "Sensible people +have a great task imposed on them, for they have to be reasonable, not +only for themselves, but for those also who are unreasonable;" and +he began to consider it as something very honourable to feel one's +self intrusted with a duty of this kind. Then he felt a pleasure in +reading over again, not only the last letter which he had received +from his mother, but all she had written to him since her departure. +He was struck with the following sentence: "Your misfortune, my dear +son, consists in your having completely forgotten, in your intercourse +with your aunt, how we ought to conduct ourselves towards those whose +approbation we desire. Now, it appears to me, that approbation is +always desirable, and that there may be some pleasure in gaining it +where it costs an effort." In his present disposition, this idea +particularly struck Louis. "It would be amusing, after all," he said, +"to force my aunt to praise me." His imagination was so excited by this +project, that he could scarcely go to sleep. + +The next morning he awoke in the best disposition possible. The +weather was delightful; he heard in the streets sounds indicative of a +festival-day, and this made him feel rather heavy-hearted; but he had +other things to think of, and did not permit these recollections to +distress him. He entered his aunt's room with an air of serenity which +she had not expected. He knew that she had already inquired of Marianne +whether he was going into the country, and had been answered in the +negative. Her demeanour, accordingly, was rather stiff than angry. When +he had informed her of the news which he had received: "It is for this +reason, then, I suppose, young gentleman," she observed, "that you have +put water into your wine." + +The colour mounted into Louis' cheeks, but he had so well prepared +himself, that he did not lose his temper; besides, he could not but +acknowledge to himself that his aunt had spoken the truth. "At all +events, aunt," he said, "I should certainly be much grieved, if my +father and mother, on their return, should find you dissatisfied with +me." + +Madame Ballier was astonished; she had not calculated on such an +answer, and contented herself with muttering in a low voice, that she +might not appear at a loss, "I shall soon, then, be released from my +charge:" she then hastened to make inquiries respecting the health of +her nephew, and the time of his return; then, presently recurring to +the subject on which it was easy to see she wished to enter without +very well knowing how to begin, she said, in a tone which merely +simulated displeasure, "Then you will have no one to hinder you from +going into the country." + +"But you know, aunt," said Louis, gently, "that my mother had granted +me permission to go." + +"And for that reason," said Madame Ballier, again growing angry, "you +considered that you might dispense with the permission of every one +else." + +"You may see very well, aunt," replied Louis, in the same mild tone, +"that that is not the case, for it was because you did not wish it that +I have not gone; and yet I wanted very much to go," he added, with a +sigh, which was not feigned. + +"How he is playing the hypocrite at present!" said Madame Ballier, +turning away her head. + +"No, aunt, I am not playing the hypocrite," replied Louis, rather +hastily. "You know very well, that I calculated upon going into the +country, and I expected to enjoy myself extremely, I can assure you." + +"Louis," replied Madame Ballier, gravely, "I do not wish to deprive you +of your enjoyment, when you can ask for it in a proper manner." She +evidently expected a reply. + +Louis hesitated a moment, and then said, "Well, then, aunt; will you +... permit me to go?" The words cost him an effort, but when they +had passed his lips, he hastened to add, in order to conceal his +repugnance, "I shall be very much obliged to you." + +"You may go," said Madame Ballier, somewhat embarrassed herself with +the victory she had gained; and by way of preserving her dignity, +she added, "To say the truth, it is more than you deserve after your +conduct yesterday." + +"Come, aunt, let us talk no more of that," said Louis, in a tone of +mingled playfulness and submission; and Madame Ballier, who could +scarcely believe her senses, shrugged up her shoulders, as she said, +"Go, then, and be quick." Louis did not wait to be told a second time. +In running to dress, he met Marianne, and, wild with joy, he seized her +by the shoulders, and spinning her round, cried out, "Marianne, I am +going into the country." + +But Marianne was in no laughing mood. Robinet had just overturned a +jug of water, and she had all her kitchen to clean up. She declared +she would wring the cat's neck the very first time she could catch +him; and as she uttered these words, a single door only, and that +scarcely closed, separated her from Madame Ballier. Louis trembled; he +put his hand before her mouth, coaxed her, spoke of the necessity of +maintaining a good understanding in the house, and even read to her +a passage from his mother's letter; and Marianne, quite enchanted, +began to moralize on the duties of servants towards their masters, +which led her on, from one good sentiment to another, till she came to +protestations of attachment to Madame Ballier, and even to Robinet. +Louis had hardly reached his room upstairs, when he heard his aunt +calling to him, "Come, make haste, Louis, you will be killed with the +heat;" and, on going down, he found her brushing his hat: touched with +this mark of kindness, he kissed her hand, whilst Marianne hastened +to take the brush from her. Never had anything of the kind been seen +before in the family. + +Louis set off, his heart as light as his heels; he felt not the sun, he +felt nothing but his delight. Quite astonished at his own happiness, +he asked himself if it was legitimate, and after the most strict +self-examination, could find nothing to reproach himself with,--nothing +that had not been prompted by the best intentions; he could not but +wonder how all had been settled with two words, when he had long +been wasting so many in throwing every thing into confusion. He felt +grateful to his aunt for giving way so promptly, and he was pleased +with himself for experiencing this sentiment, for a feeling in harmony +with our duties is something akin to virtue. On his arrival, he saw, +in the distance, Charles standing at the door, and called out so loud, +"Here I am," that Eugenia heard him and ran to the door. M. Lebeau +came also, and Louis plainly perceived that he had been the subject of +conversation since the preceding evening. + +"Did your aunt make a great fuss?" inquired M. Lebeau. + +"No, no," replied Louis, in a tone which sufficiently marked his +present disposition: in his new plan of conduct towards his aunt, he +would have considered as treachery on his part a word spoken against +her in her absence. + +The three days passed delightfully, and yet Louis was not grieved +to see them come to a close. The new task which he had set himself +occupied his mind, and filled it with that interest always accorded +to a project the success of which depends on our own exertions. He +represented to himself the happiness of his mother when, on her +arrival, she would witness the good understanding which had replaced +the appearances of animosity which made her uneasy; he took pleasure +in thinking that she would feel obliged to him for this; and happy in +the idea of being able to procure her this satisfaction, the efforts by +which it was to be obtained began to assume a pleasant aspect in his +mind. On his way homewards, he was surprised to find himself thinking, +with satisfaction, of meeting his aunt, and of seeing her reconciled +to him, and he was consequently a little agitated when he arrived. +It was very near eleven o'clock at night, and Madame Ballier, whose +imagination had not been excited like that of her nephew, received +him ill enough on account of his coming home so late. Louis, though +disconcerted by this reception, was so full of his good sentiments that +he had no difficulty in keeping his temper, and he replied gently +that he was very sorry to have kept his aunt waiting. Madame Ballier, +who had not expected such an answer, had not a word to say in reply. +On the succeeding days, the case was the same: when Madame Ballier +scolded, Louis apologized, so that she ceased to scold, or did so only +from habit. One day, at dinner, she was seen to give a bone to Barogo, +and even advised Louis to make him wear a muzzle, in order to prevent +him from eating the poisoned balls which were thrown into the streets +during the extreme hot weather. Barogo, however, could not endure a +muzzle, and Louis did not like to inconvenience his favourite, so he +replied that Barogo did not go out till late, and after the balls had +been eaten by other dogs. Upon this, Madame Ballier, day after day +returned to the subject of the muzzle, and Louis persisted, with some +warmth, in defending Barogo's opinion. Hence, it happened that Madame +Ballier, having once mentioned the subject, was perpetually recurring +to it indirectly, and with some degree of asperity. Louis had at first +said to himself, "The dog is mine, and it is no concern of my aunt's," +but he afterwards considered, "If it did concern her, it would be my +duty to do it, since she required it, and, since she has no right to +interfere, I ought to do it to please her." It gave him some pain +to follow this determination, particularly when it was necessary to +overcome the resistance of Barogo, who had not made the same progress +as himself in the art of obliging. "Barogo," he said, as he fastened +on the muzzle, "we must please my aunt;" and, instead of waiting, +as perverse people often do, until his aunt again complained of his +injuring his dog, in order to obtain a triumph over her, he showed her +the muzzle, saying, "Aunt, I have put a muzzle on Barogo," and, as he +was now daily improving, he added, "and he does not mind it nearly +so much as I feared he would." Madame Ballier contented herself with +replying, somewhat ungraciously, "I knew very well it would be so," +and never failed to remind him every day to put the muzzle on his dog. +But every day, also, at dinner, Barogo received a bit of meat from +Madame Ballier, and as Barogo was sensible of this kindness, and did +not know that it was she who was the cause of his being muzzled, he +began at table to wag his tail, and fix his bright eyes upon her, which +was quite a new thing on his part, and Louis was filled with amazement +to see him. Good sense and gentleness seemed to spring up on all sides +since he had thought of introducing them into the house. + +Nevertheless, he one day found Marianne in a fury. Madame Ballier had +just told her that she had seen some ripe cherries, and ordered her to +go and purchase some. Marianne had maintained that they were not ripe, +and protested between her teeth that she would not go, flying into a +violent passion, as if she had been thrust out by the shoulders. Louis, +at first, endeavoured to persuade her that it was not very difficult to +try at least to get some cherries; but this only increased Marianne's +anger. Then he said that he was sure Marianne would do difficult things +for his sake, and that he particularly wished for some cherries. +"Nonsense!" said Marianne, "that is only to prevent your aunt from +making an outcry." + +"Yes, Marianne," he replied, smiling, "for fear that my father, who +is on his journey, should hear the noise." Then, gently patting her +on the shoulder, he added, "My good Marianne, you would not wish to +give my father a headache?" Marianne shook her head, told him he was a +wheedler, and went to fetch the cherries. + +Since Louis had given up the idea of employing any but gentle means +in the attainment of his wishes, he discovered a vast number of such +means, which would never otherwise have occurred to him. This evening +he found an opportunity of telling Marianne that the cherries were +excellent, and from this point went on to speak of the pleasure it +would give his mother to find there were so much fewer quarrels in +the house; and Marianne was so pleased at having contributed to this +pacification, that the same evening she placed, of her own accord, the +lamp upon the table, instead of on the mantel-piece, a thing she had +never before consented to do, without having been first scolded about +it by Madame Ballier. + +Time passed, and M. Delong was approaching home, although slowly, +being obliged to travel by short stages, and to rest frequently. They +had now but one week more to wait, and the day before his arrival was +the fête-day of the village in which M. Lebeau's country house was +situated. This fête was a celebrated one in the neighbourhood; there +was a grand fair, dancing in a pretty meadow, games, and boating on the +river. Louis was to pass the day with the Lebeau family, and promised +himself great pleasure, enhanced by the assurance of still greater +happiness, a few days afterwards, on the arrival of his father and +mother. He had spoken of this party to his aunt, and she had consented +to his going, with an expression of vexation which had not escaped +Louis, but the cause of which he had not courage enough to investigate. +He soon perceived, however, that his aunt was herself embarrassed about +going to this fête. Those persons with whom she was most intimate in +the town were absent; others had made up their parties, which she could +not join, or which did not suit her, and during three days she had a +fund of ill-humour, and Louis a feeling of discomfort, for which he +dared not venture to account. At length he confessed to himself, that +if he was ill at ease, it was because he was not performing his duty; +and from this moment the only question was, how to summon resolution +for its performance: a difficult duty is more than half accomplished +when we have once acknowledged its necessity. Yet, to renounce his +engagement with the Lebeau family, and give up his whole day to his +aunt, was a sacrifice which, three weeks before, would never have +entered his mind. But now that the arrival of his mother drew so +near, he was more than ever engrossed with the desire of proving to +her that he had conducted himself well in her absence; and it would +have been vexatious to spoil all his labour by leaving with his aunt +a sufficiently legitimate cause of complaint. Still he hesitated, +grieved at the idea of relinquishing the delightful prospect in view, +but a letter from his mother put an end to his uncertainty. A sensible +amelioration had permitted M. Delong to hasten his journey, and he +was to arrive the day after the fête. Madame Delong at the same time +mentioned to her son her anxiety respecting his conduct to his aunt, +of which the last letters received from her gave but an indifferent +idea. Louis triumphantly smiled to himself at his mother's fears, +and at the happiness he was preparing for her; and, full of these +delightful thoughts, he so vividly transported himself in imagination +to the day of her arrival, that it was easy for him to leap over that +of the fête. He ran to his aunt, who was already informed by letter +of his father's more speedy arrival, and hastened to propose to take +her to the fête with him. When she objected, by saying that he would +have much more amusement with the family of M. Lebeau, he was on the +point of answering "Very well, aunt;" happily, however, he checked +himself in time, and simply replied that he should have great pleasure +in escorting her; and this was quite true; for at this moment all was +pleasure to him. He then went to M. Lebeau, to excuse himself from his +engagement. M. Lebeau was annoyed, and inquired, "How is it that your +aunt can find no one to take charge of her?" + +"All her acquaintances are in the country," replied Louis; "there is +perhaps no one left in town with whom she is so well acquainted as with +yourself." + +"And I am not going to take her, I assure you," said M. Lebeau. + +"That I am quite aware of," said Louis, somewhat offended in his turn; +for he probably thought that a little good-nature on the part of M. +Lebeau would have settled everything satisfactorily. + +"What a pity!" said Eugenia, in a low tone, glancing timidly at her +father: "there is abundance of room in the boat." + +"There is no room for any one but ourselves," said M. Lebeau, hastily, +for he had overheard or guessed what she said: "and suppose it should +upset--do you imagine I want to have to run after Madame Ballier?" + +"There is no question about the matter," said Louis, still more +displeased; "I am going with my aunt." + +"It is the best thing you can do." For the first time M. Lebeau was +offended with Louis, because Louis had placed him in the wrong, and, +for the first time also, Louis found that M. Lebeau was to blame for +his disobliging conduct towards his aunt. + +The next day, he would have set out in a somewhat sad mood, had he +not chanced to notice his mother's room, which had been left open for +the purpose of airing it, as well as his father's, which Marianne had +just been putting in order. This recalled his resolution to make every +thing pleasant to his aunt, who, on her side, was all good humour. +Even Barogo, who, in the transports of his joy, leaped several times +upon her, was allowed to do so without being angrily repulsed. Louis, +compelled at the fête to give his arm to his aunt, who could neither +walk fast nor go far, could not help looking at the various groups of +pedestrians so full of vivacity and mirth. People were hastening to +the river-side, and crowding into boats, in order to go and dine on +an island at a short distance, whence they were to return afterwards +to dance in the meadow. Madame Ballier wished to engage a boat, but +there was not one to be had, nor even a place in one. Louis saw, with a +sigh, that he should be obliged to sacrifice his whole day completely, +and Madame Ballier was herself rather disconcerted, not knowing very +well how to pass the time. At some distance they perceived M. Lebeau, +ready to embark with all his family. Louis observed them without +stirring from his place, till M. Lebeau beckoned to him, when he begged +permission from his aunt to go and speak to him. + +"Have you a boat?" asked M. Lebeau. Louis replied in the negative. +"Confound it!" said M. Lebeau, with a look of annoyance which Louis +very well understood; for his boat would have accommodated half-a-dozen +more persons. + +"Could not your aunt," said M. Lebeau, "join some other party? I see +some of her acquaintance yonder. Then you could join us." Louis could +not forbear looking in the direction pointed out, but immediately +recollecting himself, he replied, "Indeed, Monsieur Lebeau, I could +not think of proposing such a plan to her; you must see yourself that +it would not be right," and he was turning away, but Eugenia held him +gently by his coat. + +"Confound it!" repeated M. Lebeau. He stopped, and then suddenly +resumed, "Well, then, if it cannot be otherwise arranged, bring your +aunt with you; we will try and find a place for her." + +Louis hesitated, not knowing whether he ought to accept the invitation. +"Go, Charles, and propose it to her," said Madame Lebeau, who had long +wished to see an end to the bickerings between her husband and Madame +Ballier; and Eugenia, without waiting for a command, set off with +Charles to invite Madame Ballier to come into their boat, adding, like +a person of discretion as she was, that her mother would herself have +come, had she not to take care of her little sister. Madame Ballier +made a few difficulties, just sufficient to support her dignity; but +Louis came up, took her arm, and cutting short all objections, had no +sooner said, "Come, let us make haste, pray," than they were already +on the way, Madame Ballier walking as fast as she could, and Charles +with Eugenia running and skipping before them with cries of triumph. +The bustle of arrival, and of entering the boat, saved Madame Ballier +the embarrassment of showing either too much eagerness or too much +resentment; and M. Lebeau, in saying to her, "Come, Madame Ballier, +place yourself there, quite at your ease," was not more abrupt in +his manner than he would have been to one whose society was the most +agreeable to him. Madame Lebeau was all kindness and attention, and +Eugenia hastened to place under her feet the board which was laid +across the bottom of the boat, to preserve the ladies from the wet. +Louis, meanwhile, pressed the hand of M. Lebeau, with an expression +which moved him. "Come," said the latter, "you are a good boy; I am +very glad to have given you pleasure;" and off they went. + +The day passed delightfully. They dined on the island. M. Lebeau +exerted himself to amuse Madame Ballier. Madame Ballier was soon in +high spirits, and her gaiety quite accorded with that of M. Lebeau. +On rising from table they were the best friends in the world; and M. +Lebeau said to Louis, "After all, your aunt is at heart a good sort of +woman." "No doubt of it," replied Louis, in a tone which showed that he +would not have the good qualities of his aunt called in question. On +bringing her amongst his friends, he had taken care that his friends +should be agreeable to her. His attentions naturally attracted those +of others, and the kind Eugenia seemed to have no thought but that of +seconding him. As to Madame Ballier, she was good-nature itself; she +remained as late as they wished at the dancing, and scarcely complained +of fatigue on their way home, particularly as Louis took care to say +something laughable, whenever they came to any bad parts in the road. +To crown all, on entering the house, they found a letter announcing the +exact hour at which they might expect their friends the next day; and +Madame Ballier declared that she would herself carry the intelligence +to M. Lebeau, to whom she owed this civility, as he had been so +extremely obliging to her. + +The morning came at last; then noon; then four o'clock; then they heard +the sound of the carriage; then it stopped. How often had they repeated +to themselves that they must restrain their joy to avoid overpowering +the invalid; yet, at the moment the doors were opened, and that they +rushed down stairs, the excitement was so great, that Barogo began to +bark, Robinet took to flight, and Marianne knew not where she was; +but all was hushed at the sight of M. Delong, who, still feeble, and +deprived of the use of his limbs, required support on all sides, and +of Madame Delong, pale and worn out by the sufferings of her husband. +The invalid was carried upstairs so gently that even the steps of +those who bore him were inaudible. They seated him in an easy-chair, +and quietly placed themselves around him. Louis, standing before his +father, sometimes raised his eyes to him, and then cast them down as he +encountered those of his father examining him attentively. His heart +beat, for this first interview with a father who had left him a mere +child and now found him almost a man, was to him a great and imposing +moment. Madame Delong, with a mixture of anxiety and confidence, looked +alternately at her son and at her husband. At length, Madame Ballier, +who willingly translated into words these mute scenes, said to the +colonel,--"I can assure you, nephew, that you have a very amiable son;" +and then addressing herself to Madame Delong; "You cannot imagine, +niece, how much he has improved during your absence." + +Louis eagerly kissed his mother's hand, whose pale features were now +lit up with a flush of joy. This moment convinced her that they had not +ceased to understand each other. + +"Louis," said M. Delong, as he held out his hand to him, "your mother +has told me much good of you; I know she thinks still more, and I am +always disposed to think as she does." Louis, in stooping his head over +his father's hand, half bent one knee in this first act of gratitude +towards a parent whose approbation he so ardently desired. His eyes +then met those of his mother. The necessity of restraining their +feelings rendered them only the more intense. This was a moment which +could never be forgotten. + +M. Lebeau came in, and declared that as soon as the colonel could bear +another removal, he must come and establish himself at his house in the +country, and in the sequel of his speech he included in his invitation +Madame Ballier, who graciously bowed her acquiescence. Madame Delong +looked with astonishment at her son, who smiled, and Madame Ballier +having quitted the apartment; "This wizard, Louis," he said to Madame +Delong, "has absolutely forced me to be on good terms with his aunt;" +then turning to M. Delong, he added--"Colonel, this son of yours will +be a remarkable man; remember, I tell you so." + +How happy was Madame Delong, and with what heartfelt pleasure did +the eyes of Louis meet the delighted looks of his mother, which were +constantly fixed upon him! Nor was their felicity momentary. Louis +found no difficulty in acknowledging to her his faults, because he had +repaired them. He confessed how greatly he had felt relieved since, +instead of seeking out failings in his aunt, he had been engaged in +considering her good qualities, and the respect he owed her of which +he had been too forgetful; for children and young people are not +sufficiently aware of the harm they do, when, even without talking +to others, their thoughts are occupied in examining the defects of +those to whom they owe respect, instead of going backward, like the +children of Noah, to cover them with their mantle. Louis had learnt +by experience, that when we look at things as they really are, it +is almost always possible to find something good in persons of whom +at first we were disposed to think only evil. He gradually attached +himself to his aunt through his desire of pleasing her; and Madame +Ballier, on her side, acquired so strong an affection for him, that she +would not suffer any one to blame him or oppose him in her presence; +and when he found her in dispute with Marianne or Barogo, he had only +to interpose, and all was at an end. This new mode of proceeding has +brought back peace into the domestic circle of Madame Delong, and Louis +continually experiences the advantage of having acquired the power of +self-control, which is the surest means of obtaining influence over +others; for he who advances thoughtfully, observing carefully where he +steps, instead of following his humour and heedlessly rushing into any +mire that may obstruct his path, is sure to become at last the leader +of his party. + +When the Curé had concluded his story, he raised his head, took off his +spectacles, and looking round at the children, said, "Well, now, which +would you rather be,--Madame Ballier or Louis?" + +"Oh! there is no great difficulty in deciding that question," replied +Amadeus. + +"You know, Monsieur le Curé," said Paul, "that everybody would like +better to be an amiable person than one who is not so." + +"I think," remarked Juliana, with her disdainful tone, "it was hardly +worth while to ask such a question." + +"Indeed," said the Curé; "for my part, I thought that there were +persons to be met with occasionally, who would rather not be amiable." + +Juliana shrugged her shoulders, and Amadeus burst into a loud laugh. + +"Ah! that is Juliana," cried Paul, jumping about, and clapping his +hands. + +"By no means," replied the Curé; "for I perceive that Miss Juliana is +displeased when any one appears to think her less amiable than usual, +and this proves that she wishes to be amiable." + +Juliana blushed: she was not sure whether the Curé was speaking in +jest or in earnest, for it was perfectly true that many times when +her ill-humour was over, she felt sorry for having given way to it, +especially in the presence of persons who appeared shocked by it. +"Oh, yes!" said Amadeus, "when she has done any thing foolish she is +so vexed that it makes her immediately do something else just as bad. +Don't you remember this morning, Juliana, throwing your work into +Zemira's porringer, because mamma had rung for you twice whilst you +were busy undoing a knot in your thread?" + +"Yes, and only think! Monsieur le Curé," cried Paul; "she was so +angry--so very angry, at having wetted her work with the water in +the porringer, that when I picked it up to bring it back to her, she +snatched it out of my hands, and scratched my finger so with her +needle." + +And Paul, excited by the recollection of his misfortune, pointed to the +scratch on his finger, whilst Juliana could hardly restrain her tears, +so much was she ashamed and grieved that her fault should be made known +to the Curé. + +"You know very well I did not do it on purpose," she said, in a broken +voice; "but Amadeus is always finding fault with me;" and her tears +began to flow in earnest. + +"Come, calm yourself, my good girl," said the Curé, in an affectionate +tone; "these little folks do not know how vexatious it is to a sensible +young lady to feel that she has not been quite so reasonable as she +ought to have been: but I will teach you how to silence them." + +Juliana shook her head with a sigh. + +"You shall hear my story," added the Curé, "which shall be for you +alone, and we will afterwards discuss the matter." + +The next day the Curé brought the following tale, which he read to +Juliana in private, because he perceived, that as she was growing +up, the best way of gaining her confidence was to avoid wounding her +self-love, more especially in the presence of her brothers, who, in +this case, especially, would not have failed to draw comparisons +extremely disagreeable to her. + + +THE PRINCESS. + +"This is really insupportable," said Adela, walking, in a hurried +manner, from the window overlooking the court, to the terrace which led +into the garden. + +"What is the matter?" said her mother, who entered at the moment and +overheard her. + +"Why, you see, mamma," replied Adela, a little confused, "it is past +ten o'clock,--(it was five minutes over the hour,)--and papa is not +returned from hunting. We shall never get our breakfast." + +"Do you think so? that would be very unfortunate, certainly." + +"But papa said he would be back by ten o'clock." + +"Certainly, five minutes longer are too much to be endured." + +"Mamma! I am hungry." + +"Well, my dear, you are not obliged to wait for our breakfast; the +bread is upon the table, you can take as much as you please; it is +surely better to breakfast upon dry bread than bear any longer what is +_insupportable_." + +Adela made no reply; for she must have confessed that although she was +hungry enough to complain, she was not hungry enough to breakfast on +dry bread, which would have been a proof that she was complaining about +a mere trifle. This was Adela's chief defect. The least disappointment +appeared to her, to use her habitual expression, insupportable. For the +slightest indisposition or hurt, she would lament, disturb everybody, +and require to be pitied,--not that she so much feared pain, but that +whatever incommoded or put her the least out of her way, seemed to +her the most grievous and extraordinary thing possible. She must be +attended to at the very moment appointed, even things that did not +depend on any one must fall out precisely as she desired, or all was +wrong. Her nurse used to laugh at her, and say that it was very wrong +of the rain to come on the day she wished to go out; for it seemed, +in fact, as if every thing must happen so as to suit her convenience +and fancy; nor did she seem able to bear the consequences even of what +she had most desired, as soon as they occasioned her the slightest +inconvenience. Thus, for example, she would take a long walk, and as +soon as she began to feel fatigued, she would complain as if others +were in fault. She would repeat fifty times over, "This tiresome +château will never come," for she seemed almost to believe that the +château ought to come to her. She considered herself much aggrieved +when her mother would not permit her to hang on her arm, or lean on her +sister's shoulder; for her only concern was for herself. Thus she could +not conceive why they should do without the carriage when the horses +were engaged in helping to bring home the hay; or why her nurse was +not ready to dress her, when she had been sent out on a message to the +village. Her little sister Amelia would sometimes say, "Adela is always +sure of having some one to love her, for she loves herself so well." + +This remark Amelia had probably heard from some of the servants, for +those even who were attached to Adela, in consequence of the kindness +of her parents, were so provoked by her ill-humour and exacting +disposition, that they lost no opportunity of laughing at her expense. +Her mother endeavoured to make her feel the absurdity of her conduct, +and when she heard her complain of some trifling inconvenience, as for +example, of being obliged to fetch her bonnet, which Amelia had taken +up stairs to their room, by mistake, she said to her: + +"Adela, does it hurt your feet to walk up stairs to your room?" + +"No, mamma; but----" + +"Or perhaps you are afraid of meeting by the way a wolf that will eat +you up?" + +Adela would have shrugged her shoulders if she had dared. + +"Surely, my dear, it must cause you some great pain, otherwise you +would not be so displeased about the matter." + +"But, mamma! it puts me out of the way." + +"And does it hurt you to be put out of the way?" + +"I don't like it." + +"Why not, if it does you no harm?" + +Adela could find nothing more to say, excepting that "Amelia might +have spared herself the trouble of taking it up stairs." Then Madame +de Vaucourt would no longer listen to her; she merely took care that +no one should suffer from her ill-humour, or pay any attention to +it. However, it often happened that the servants, in order to get +rid of her, did immediately what she required, and little Amelia +who loved above all things to laugh and be merry, and who hated to +hear complaints, was extremely afraid of doing any thing that might +displease her sister. + +Monsieur and Madame de Vaucourt saw very little society in the country. +It happened, however, that a Polish Princess, with whom they had been +formerly acquainted, having arrived in Paris, sent them word that she +would come and spend a week with them. At this news the children were +in the greatest commotion. Adela, like most little girls, imagined that +a princess must be a very extraordinary personage, and Amelia could +not picture her otherwise than in dresses embroidered with gold. Adela +had no doubt that her mother would order a new bonnet for her on the +occasion, and inquired how she was to dress during the princess' visit. +She was astonished when her mother, laughing at her, told her she was +to dress just as usual. "What, mamma! even in my common cambric frock +for the morning?" Her mother assured her that she saw nothing in her +dress that required change. This time Adela was indeed out of humour; +she was seriously grieved even, but she dared not show her feelings, +because she saw that she should be laughed at. However, during the +whole week which preceded the arrival of the princess, she was more +than ever inclined to indulge in her habitual complaints, crying out, +whenever any one came near her, that they would soil her dress, and +screaming aloud if a drop of rain touched her bonnet. Little Amelia +said it was because she was afraid it would not be nice enough for the +arrival of the princess, and also remarked that her sister, who could +never be persuaded to put on a pair of shoes in the least worn down at +heel, pretending that she could not walk in them, during this whole +week wore none but old shoes, in order to keep the new ones for the +arrival of the princess. + +At last the princess came. The little girls, who were upon the terrace, +were greatly astonished to find her dressed much in the same style as +their mamma, but then she had a coat of arms on her carriage, and the +liveries of her servants were richly laced; this greatly impressed +Adela, who had besides been so long prepared to consider her as a +person of great importance, that she could not give up the idea she +had formed. When therefore little Stanislas, the son of the princess, +trod on her foot, in coming up the steps, Adela, for the first time in +her life, bore the accident without a murmur. Nay, more, for when her +sister happened accidentally to strike her elbow in passing quickly +into the drawing-room after the princess, in order to obtain a better +view of her, Adela opened her lips to complain, but immediately checked +herself, on finding that the princess looked round at the moment. + +Scarcely had they entered the room when the princess' little dog +put its paws into Adela's work-basket, threw down her thimble, her +scissors, and needle-case, and scampered about the room, carrying her +work in his mouth, and shaking it about his ears. Amelia screamed. +On ordinary occasions such a misfortune would have been a subject of +distress and lamentation for an hour, but Adela did not give way to +anger. She picked up all her things, ran after the dog, but not too +hastily, for fear of appearing out of temper, and although when she at +last caught him, she was quite crimson with impatience, she did not say +a single word to Stanislas, who was laughing heartily at the trouble +she had to get back her work. Stanislas asked to go into the garden, +and upon Madame de Vaucourt's desiring her daughters to accompany him, +Adela did not begin by replying that he could go very well by himself. +When in the garden, Stanislas, who was a spoiled child, threw sand into +her shoes, without her uttering a complaint, and on her return to the +drawing-room the first thing he did was to seat himself in the chair +which she had appropriated to herself, and which was a continual source +of disputes between her and her sister, whom she would never allow to +sit in it, except by Madame de Vaucourt's express command. Amelia, +who began to be on familiar terms with Stanislas, pulled him by the +arm, saying, "Come away, that is my sister's chair," and Adela, quite +ashamed, touched her sister's arm, and whispered to her to mind her own +business. + +"But he is upon your chair," said Amelia. + +"What is that to you?" + +"Oh! very well, then I shall sit there after him;" and as soon as +Stanislas quitted the chair, she took possession of it, while Adela, +in the presence of the princess, did not even think of preventing her. +Amelia soon left the chair, to run and take from Stanislas her sister's +draught-board, which he was preparing to open. "I want to play with the +draughts," cried the little fellow, while Amelia exclaimed in return, +"But my sister will not let any one touch them." Adela, quite alarmed +at the idea the princess might form of her, hastened to take the +draught-board from the hands of Amelia and gave it to Stanislas. + +"Very well, then, I shall play with them too," said Amelia. Stanislas +began to roll the draughts about on the floor. Amelia at first tried +to check him, and then began rolling them still faster herself. When +he was tired of playing with them, she wished to persuade him to put +them away in order, but he dragged her to the garden, and called out +from the door, that they must leave the draughts where they were, as +he meant to come back and play with them again. The next day two of +them were missing. Amelia came to tell the news, looking terribly +frightened, and as no one seemed to listen with much attention, she +said, "But they belong to my sister's draught-board?" + +"What does that signify?" said Adela quickly. + +"Ah! if I had lost them!" said Amelia: but a sign from her sister +imposed silence on her. + +"Adela seems very gentle and sensible," observed the princess. Adela +cast down her eyes, not daring to look at her mother or sister. + +All this lasted several days. At table, Madame de Vaucourt's old +servant, who was not very alert, and had more to do than usual, could +not wait on Adela as attentively as on other occasions, and was +surprised not to hear her say sharply, "Chambéri, do you not mean +to give me a plate?" He remarked to her, "Gracious! Miss Adela, how +gentle and well-behaved you have become lately!" "That is because +she is afraid of the princess," said the mischievous little Amelia, +laughing. Adela, who began to lose patience, was sometimes on the point +of forgetting herself, but Amelia would then take flight and run into +the drawing-room, laughing, as she knew that Adela would not venture +to scold her there, while Stanislas, of whom she had made an intimate +friend, joined in her laughter without understanding its cause. Adela, +though burning with impatience, endeavoured to smile lest some +indiscretion on Amelia's part might betray to others the cause of her +ill-humour. Her temper, however, would have obtained the mastery at +last; and she was beginning sometimes to treat Stanislas and the little +dog rather harshly, when, fortunately, the princess took her departure. +For the first few days afterwards the effect of the habit which Adela +had acquired of restraining her temper was still visible; but as Amelia +had also got the habit of fearing her less, and laughing at her, it +was not long before the old disputes were renewed. They first began +about the chair, which Amelia took without ceremony, even removing her +sister's work, which had been left there, as if to keep the place in +her absence. + +Adela became angry. "I thought that fancy was over?" said Madame de +Vaucourt. + +"Oh, mamma," replied Amelia, "that was only on account of the princess." + +Madame de Vaucourt observed that Adela must have felt there was +something very absurd in such childishness, since she was ashamed to +show it before the princess; and she hoped, therefore, that they should +hear no more of it. The argument was unanswerable, and besides Madame +de Vaucourt's tone forbade reply. Adela therefore contented herself +with leaving the room, slamming the door with all her might. Her mother +called her back. + +"My dear," she said, "when the princess was here you used to shut the +doors gently, and as that proves to me that you can do so without great +inconvenience, I beg you will do it in future." + +Thus obliged to close the door quietly, Adela went into the garden to +exhale her ill-temper, since she saw that it was now determined to +allow no excuse for it. During their evening walk, it happened that the +path they had to take was very dirty. Adela said it was insupportable. + +"Surely," replied her mother, "you do not mean to let that disturb you? +The other day when we were walking with the princess, the mud was ten +times as bad, yet you never made the least complaint." + +"I found it very disagreeable though." + +"Why then did you not complain?" + +"It was not necessary." + +"And is it necessary to-day?" + +"Must one never say a word then about what is unpleasant?" replied +Adela in a very impatient tone. + +"I would ask you that question, my dear; you best know the reasons +which induced you to refrain from murmuring whilst the princess was +present." + +After some reflection, Adela could find nothing better to say than that +her mother had enjoined her to behave well before strangers. Madame +de Vaucourt observed that she had enjoined her to behave well at all +times. "But," she added, "since you think you ought to refrain from +complaints in order to maintain a proper appearance before strangers, +why did you, when you cut yourself the other day, whilst the princess +was present, say that you were hurt, and hold your finger in water, and +then keep it wrapped up in a handkerchief for an hour?" + +"But, mamma, it pained me very much." + +"You believe then that one may complain before strangers of things +which give real pain? Suppose now that you had received a letter from +the school, saying that your brother was ill, would you not have +thought it allowable to show your grief on such an occasion before the +princess?" + +"Yes, indeed, mamma," replied Adela quickly. + +"You see then that when we suffer real evils we may complain of them +before strangers, it is only when things are too trifling to deserve +notice, that it is ridiculous to make complaints in their presence, and +since they do not deserve notice, it is just as ridiculous to complain +of them when strangers are not present." + +Adela might not perhaps have been convinced by this reasoning, but +thenceforth whenever she said that anything was _insupportable_, her +mother replied, "You did not find it so when the princess was here." +Nor would Amelia suffer herself to be harshly treated without talking +of the princess: even Chambéri, if Adela scolded him, would say, "Ah! +Miss Adela, I see we want the princess here again." Adela began to be +terribly annoyed with this raillery; then she got frightened, lest from +its being so often repeated it might at last reach the ears of the +princess; so that to avoid these constant allusions to her name, she +endeavoured to be less impatient. When she had once become convinced +that it was possible to repress her angry feelings, she found it was +easy to do so; she perceived that three fourths of the things which +vexed her, were in reality of no consequence to her, and that the only +real harm she experienced from them, was that which she inflicted +on herself by losing her temper. Some years afterwards, she saw the +princess again, and could not help blushing a little when she thought +of all the taunts which her first visit had brought upon her; but these +things were now forgotten by her friends, for Adela had ceased to be a +grumbler. + + * * * * * + +"Well!" said the Curé to Juliana, when he had finished his story. "What +do you think of it?" + +"I think," replied Juliana, a little discontented, "that she was a very +ridiculous girl with her princess." + +"What! ridiculous for correcting herself?" + +"No, but for doing so on account of the princess." + +"When we correct our faults it must be for some motive." + +"There are many more important motives," said Juliana a little proudly, +"which ought to have induced her to correct herself." + +"Since you are so well acquainted with these things, Miss Juliana, let +me know them," said the Curé, "and we will make a story about them." + +"A story?" asked Juliana, uncertain whether to laugh or be offended. + +"Certainly: I shall begin it from the point where Miss Juliana made the +discovery that there were many good reasons for inducing her to correct +her faults, and I shall terminate it by saying--Miss Juliana, whose +only serious fault was that of losing her temper when anything was +disagreeable to her, corrected herself completely, and became a most +amiable young lady." + +At this moment, the two little boys, quite disappointed that the +Curé would not admit them to his conversation with Juliana, came to +teaze him to tell them at least the story. "You shall hear it," he +said, "when you have quite left off tormenting your sister," for in +correcting Juliana he would not encourage bad habits in her brothers; +then turning towards her, "you know now, Miss Juliana, what you have to +do in order to silence them." + +"That will not be giving them much trouble, at all events," said +Juliana. + +"But who will have the advantage?" said the Curé; and Juliana appeared +pleased at the idea of being some day free from a defect which made her +pass many unhappy moments; besides she felt touched and flattered by +the pains which the Curé took to be useful to her. + +It began to rain; Juliana, whose bonnet was almost new, was anxious to +return to the house; but before they could reach it they had to cross +a large flower garden, and in an instant the shower became so violent +that it was impossible to escape it. Juliana, in running, caught in +some trellis work, which tore her dress and threw her down. The Curé, +though not running, came up however in time to assist her in rising, +and thinking her much disposed to be angry, said to her, "Providence +has soon given you an opportunity, Miss Juliana, of introducing a fine +passage into our story." + +Juliana had sufficient command over herself to make no reply, and that +was a great deal for her, as besides spoiling her bonnet, and tearing +her frock, she was covered with dirt from head to foot, and had also +hurt her knee in her fall. The Curé gave her his arm to assist her +to the house, and she might have remarked that although by touching +her he had soiled the sleeve and skirt of his coat, and that on their +way she had accidentally splashed some water into his shoe and almost +filled it, he did not show the slightest mark of displeasure. When, +however, they entered the drawing-room, and Zemira came jumping upon +her to testify his joy at seeing her again, she was very near giving +him a kick, but she checked herself, and the Curé who observed this, +said to her, "I shall write on my tablets that Zemira did _not_ receive +a kick." If Juliana smiled, it was perhaps against her will, and her +brothers, who now entered and began laughing when they saw the plight +she was in, would no doubt have felt the weight of her long repressed +vexation, if the Curé had not said, "I perceive, Miss Juliana, that +these little rogues will not deserve to hear the story of the princess, +till you have succeeded in curing them of their faults." Juliana made +her escape to her own room, where she changed her dress, not, it is +suspected, without more than once showing her impatience to her nurse, +who was eagerly busied in assisting her. At all events it is certain +that when she came down stairs, and her mother had complimented her on +the patience with which she had endured her accident, Juliana could not +help blushing. + +From that day forward, whenever the Curé came to the château, he asked +Juliana if there was anything to be added to the story; sometimes +Juliana shook her head, having nothing good to relate; at others, +she would smile, because she felt satisfied with herself. On such +occasions, she liked to converse with the Curé about the temptations +to which she had been exposed; but in recounting them she found them +far less serious than they had appeared at the time, and felt more +completely how foolish it would have been to have yielded to them. +This confirmed her in her good resolutions; and she was further +confirmed in them by the satisfaction which her friends testified +in her improvement. She afterwards went with her parents to Paris, +and remained there three years; during which time she kept up a +regular correspondence with the Curé of Chavignat. On her return +she was seventeen, and felt happy in the thought that he would find +her cured of her childish fault. Amadeus, instead of teazing, now +treated her with respect, for she no longer scolded him unjustly; +he was consequently accustomed to listen to her when she warned him +gently of any fault. Neither did she make any difficulty in relating +to him the story of the princess; and Amadeus, when talking of it to +the Curé on the day of his return, said, "At all events Juliana was +never so disagreeable as that;" and the good Curé rejoiced to find +that Juliana's defects were so well concealed that they had even been +forgotten. During this time Juliana was looking for her bag, which she +had mislaid, and although it was half-an-hour before she could find +it, and Paul was all the while tormenting her with a thousand childish +tricks, she was not in the least put out of temper. + +"Since my story is so well ended, Miss Juliana," said the Curé, when +she had found her bag, "pray inform me how you have managed to bring +things to so satisfactory a conclusion." + +Juliana blushed and smiled as she replied, "By being always, thanks to +you, Monsieur le Curé, so full of the desire of being reasonable, that +it drove out of my head whatever might have prevented me from keeping +my resolution." + + + + +THE DOUBLE VOW. + + +Henry was a youth of fifteen, which is as much as to say that he had +good intentions, but did not always carry them out in practice. He +loved his father and his tutor, but he loved his pleasures still more; +he would have done anything to make them happy, but he did not give +them the greatest of all happiness, that of seeing him docile and +well-conducted. The impetuosity of his disposition often drew from +those he loved bitter tears, which in the end made his own flow. His +life was thus divided between faults and repentance; and his good +intentions were so continually rendered useless by reprehensible +actions, that his friends at last gave up all hopes of his amendment. +His father, the Count of A----, was constantly thinking, with +increasing anxiety, of the time when Henry must leave him to enter +the university, or to travel. The paths of vice would then present +themselves to him under the most seductive aspects, and there would no +longer be the hand of a father to restrain or his voice to call him +back; he might fall deeper and deeper into error, and return to the +paternal mansion with a heart corrupted, despoiled of its purity and +elevation, and incapable even of that feeling which is at least the +reflection of virtue--repentance. + +The count was of a mild but feeble character, and his health was +delicate; the death of the countess, his wife, had mined beneath +his feet the ground on which he rested. Henry, on the return of his +father's birthday, fancied that he could hear a secret voice saying +to him, "The fragile layer of earth which bears thy father, and +separates him from thy mother's ashes, will soon crumble away, and he +will disappear from thy view without carrying with him to the tomb the +hope of thy amendment." This day he shed burning tears; but what avail +tears and softened feelings when they do not produce amendment? He +went into the park where stood the tomb of his mother, together with +the empty sepulchre which, during an illness, his father had caused to +be constructed for himself. There, he made a solemn vow to combat the +violence of his temper and his love of pleasure; but, alas! I should +too deeply grieve my young readers were I to relate in detail how only +a few days before that appointed for his going to the university, he +was guilty of a fault which cruelly pierced the heart of his unhappy +father, already so deeply wounded. The count fell ill, and was confined +to his bed without being able to flatter himself with the hope that he +might witness the return of his son to virtue, before he was called +upon to exchange his melancholy couch for the bed of stone which +awaited him in the park. + +I will not then describe to you either the fault or the regret of +Henry; but in passing a severe judgment on his errors you may as well +extend it also to those of which at any time you may yourselves have +been guilty. What child can approach the dying bed of his parents, +without saying to himself, "Alas! if I have not deprived them of whole +years of life, who knows by how many weeks or days I may not have +shortened their term? I may perhaps have added to the sufferings which +now I would so gladly have mitigated, and my follies may have closed +before their time those eyes which, but for me, might still enjoy the +light of day!" It is because the fatal consequences of our faults +are concealed from view that reckless mortals are so bold in the +commission of crimes: man gives free scope to the ungoverned desires +of his heart, as he might let loose a set of ferocious animals; he +permits them under favour of the darkness to wander amongst mankind; +but he sees not how many innocent people are wounded or torn to pieces: +he madly flings around him burning brands, lighted by guilty passions, +and when he has already sunk into the tomb, the neighbouring houses on +which the fatal spark has alighted, burst into flames, and the dense +column of smoke hovers over the place of his repose like a monument +raised to his shame. + +Henry, when all hope of recovery was at an end, could no longer support +the melancholy and care-worn aspect of his father: he remained in +the adjacent chamber, and there, whilst the count's ebbing life was +struggling against repeated fainting-fits, he addressed his silent +prayers to Heaven, closed his eyes to the future, and dreaded, like the +explosion of a terrible shell, those first awful words, "_He is dead._" +The time, however, came when he must present himself before his father, +take leave of him, receive his forgiveness, and give him his promise of +amendment. + +Alone in the apartment adjoining that of the invalid, he had roused +himself from a long and painful stupor: he listened, and heard only +the voice of his aged tutor, who had been his father's preceptor +also, and who, now seeing the approach of the shadows of death, gave +him his blessing in these words: "Go calmly to thy sleep, virtuous +soul! May all thy good actions, all thy promises fulfilled, all thy +pious thoughts, be gathered around thee at the close of life, as the +beautiful clouds of evening gather round the sun when sinking in the +west! Smile once more if you can hear my words, and if your dying +heart has still the power of feeling." The invalid made an effort to +rouse himself from the heavy sleep of his swoon, but he did not smile, +for, in the confusion of his senses, he had mistaken the voice of +his preceptor for that of his son. "Henry," he stammered in imperfect +accents, "I cannot see you, but I hear you. Lay your hand on my heart, +and solemnly promise me that you will become virtuous." Henry rushed +forward to make this promise, but the preceptor had already placed his +hand on the fluttering heart of the father, and, with a sign to the +son, said, in a low voice, "I promise for you." The heart of the count +was still beating with that slow and languid motion which announces the +near extinction of life; he neither heard the vow, nor the friends who +surrounded him. + +Henry, sinking under this heart-rending scene, and trembling for that +which must succeed it, resolved to quit the château, and not return +till the most agonizing hours of his affliction should have passed +away, but he felt that this amendment must not commence by a secret +flight. He therefore announced to his preceptor, "that he could no +longer support this dreadful sight, but that he would return in a +week," and then he added, in a voice choked with grief, "I shall still +find a father here." He embraced him, told him where he meant to +seclude himself, and left the house. + +With faltering steps he traversed the park. He perceived the two +white sepulchres visible through the trees, and approached them. Not +daring to touch the yet empty tomb beneath which his father was to +repose, he leaned against the one which covered a heart which he had +not broken, that of his mother, whom he had lost many years before. On +that mother's tomb, and in the presence of God, he renewed his vow of +amendment. + +Every step he took brought back the memory of his errors; a child led +by his father, a pit, a fading leaf, the sound of a church-bell, all +awakened the most painful recollections. + +He reached the place of his retreat, but after four days of remorse, of +tears and of anguish, he felt that he ought to return to the château, +and prove the sincerity of his regret for the loss of his father by +imitating his virtues. The most noble commemoration that man can offer +to those whom he has loved, and whose loss he deplores, is to dry the +tears of those who suffer;--a series of good works is the fairest +garland that can be suspended over their tombs. + +Henry again turned his steps homewards: it was evening when he crossed +the park; and the dusky pyramid which surmounted his father's tomb +looked through the trees, like one of those grey clouds which float +in the azure sky, over the blackened ruins of a village destroyed by +fire. Henry stopped: he leaned his head against the cold marble, his +face bathed with tears, but there was no gentle voice to bid him "be +consoled." No father there to show his affection by tenderly repeating, +"I pardon thee." The rustling of the leaves sounded to him as a murmur +of anger, and the obscurity of the evening chilled him with the terror +of some horrible gloom. However, he recovered himself, and renewed in +these words the vow which his tutor had pronounced in his name: "Oh! +father! dear father! Do you hear your poor child who is weeping over +your grave? Look at me; on my knees I implore your forgiveness, I +promise to fulfil the vow which my tutor pronounced for me upon your +dying heart. Oh father! father!"--here grief stifled his voice--"will +you not give your child some token of your forgiveness!" + +A rustling among the leaves was audible, a figure slowly advancing put +aside the branches, and said, "I have pardoned you." It was his father! +That which is intermediate between sleep and death, a deep swoon, had +restored him to life by throwing him into a salutary lethargy. It was +the first time he had been out, and he came, accompanied by his ancient +preceptor, to offer his thanks on his tomb. Tender father! if thou +hadst indeed passed into another world, thy heart could not thus have +throbbed with joy, nor thine eyes shed tears of happiness, on the +return of a penitent son who came to cast at thy feet a regenerate man! + +I cannot draw the curtain over this affecting scene, without addressing +one important question to my young readers. Are you still so happy as +to possess a father and a mother, to whom you may afford inexpressible +joy by your affection and your good conduct? Ah! if any one of you has +hitherto neglected to procure them this felicity, I will take upon me +the office of a conscience which cannot fail some day to awaken, and I +tell him that a time will come when nothing can afford him consolation +if he has to say to himself, "They loved me above all things, yet I +have seen them expire without having given them the happiness of being +able to say, My child is virtuous." + + + + +POOR JOSÉ. + + +On the 15th of May, 1801, an honest, but wretched woman breathed her +last, in a garret of one of the highest houses in the Rue Saint-Honoré. +She was still young; but misery more than sickness had rendered her +condition hopeless. Stretched, since the morning, without food, upon a +bed of straw, her strength was nearly exhausted; and she already was +speechless, when the cries of her only child, a boy of about six years +of age, attracted the neighbours, as well as the portress of the house. +Their assistance, however, was of no avail. The poor creature expired +without having the power to utter a single word, and her eyes closed in +death while still fixed upon her child, whose tears had already ceased +to flow on beholding himself thus surrounded. The portress took him in +her arms, and kissed him. "Poor little José!" she said. "Poor José!" +repeated the neighbours, and taking the child, they left the garret, +to go and consult with Dame Robert, a shoemaker, and owner of a shop +six feet square, attached to the same house. She was the friend and +adviser of all who lived near her: the most trifling circumstances were +referred to her superior judgment, and, in the present embarrassment, +it was to her that the neighbours turned to decide on the fate of +the unfortunate orphan. Before revealing the result of this noisy +conference, we will relate in a few words the melancholy, but too +common history, of the parents of poor José. + +His father, a native of Annecy, in Savoy, was named Joseph Berr, +or José, according to the _patois_ of the province. The name, thus +corrupted, is so common in that part of the country, that, if ignorant +of a man's name, one may call him José, without being often wrong; and, +under all circumstances, the appellation is received with pleasure. +José Berr, then, possessed the usual qualities of his countrymen; he +was honest, intelligent, and energetic. He had lately married, and not +finding sufficient work to maintain his little family in comfort, he, +like many other ignorant people, committed the folly of going to settle +in Paris, after having expended in a long and wearisome journey, one +half of his little store. The simple-hearted Berr firmly believed that +he should make his fortune; but he soon found that, if a large city +does offer great resources, there are also obstacles to be met with on +all sides. He wished to station himself at the corner of a street, to +do porter's work, but he found the ground already occupied by rivals, +who determined to beat him off the field. They would have nothing to +say to the new comer, and it was not until he had expended what was +to him a considerable sum, in treating the whole party at a tavern, +that he obtained the honour of being admitted into their fraternity. +But as, at the corner of almost every street, companies of porters +are to be met with, similar to the one into which Berr was received, +the profits, consequently, were very trifling, while living in Paris +is very dear. His wife, on her side, endeavoured to work, but having +neither acquaintances nor patrons, and obliged, moreover, to take care +of little José, who was just born, she earned still less than her +husband. For some years, this unfortunate family thus struggled against +poverty, Berr often repenting that he had left his native town, where, +if he did not earn much, he was at least sure of being employed and +assisted. Finally, at the close of a severe winter, during which he had +made redoubled efforts to obtain a subsistence for his wife and child, +Berr was seized with inflammation of the chest, and died in four days' +time for want of proper care. From that moment, his wife languished, +and unable to endure this loss, and the privations of all kinds which +were hourly increasing, she terminated her miserable existence, as we +have already seen. + +In the meantime, the council of neighbours, assembled at Dame Robert's, +deliberated, without coming to any conclusion, upon the fate of little +José, who, without troubling himself as to the future, was quietly +sleeping in the shoemaker's shop. The charity and the means of most +of these women were about sufficient to make them willing to keep the +child for a week, but not longer. One had a large family, another was +in service. A moment's silence ensued; then a voice uttered the word +"Workhouse." "The workhouse!" exclaimed Dame Robert, with indignation. +"Send this poor little innocent, the only child of these worthy people +to the workhouse! No, you shall not go to the workhouse, my little +cherub," she continued, taking up the sleeping José; "I have five +children of my own, but you shall share their bread, even if I have to +work an hour more morning and evening, I will take care of you until +you can provide for yourself; and God will help me." + +The idea of the workhouse, so distressing to the poor, had greatly +excited Dame Robert, but the kindness of her heart soon confirmed her +generous promise. Left alone with the child, after being overwhelmed +with praise by her neighbours, who envied her the good action, which +they had not themselves courage to perform, she laid the little orphan +in the same bed with her own boys, and retired to rest with the +satisfaction of having done her duty. + +The good done by the poor is more meritorious, and requires more +self-denial, than that done by others; for their charity is always at +the expense of necessaries, while that of the rich takes from nothing +but their superfluity. Dame Robert had recently become a widow. Her +small business was tolerably flourishing; but to suffice for the +maintenance of a sixth child, she made it a rule to work, as she had +said, an hour longer morning and evening. This was a great deal for +her, who, with the care of her six children, her work and her business, +could only obtain these two additional hours by taking them from her +time of rest. + +The produce of this surplus labour was amply sufficient for the +maintenance of a child so young as José; besides, Dame Robert was not +a woman to spoil him any more than the rest, for all her kindness of +heart did not prevent her from displaying the roughness of manner +so common to her class; his share of potatoes was the same as those +of the two younger children; he occupied the small space left in +the poor bed provided for them; and when the six little rogues made +too much noise, broke anything, or drank the milk of Dame Robert's +favourite cat, the reproofs and thumps which followed these misdeeds +were equally distributed between José and his adopted brothers. As +to the rest, Providence seemed willing to reward the good shoemaker +for her humanity. The labour of the two additional hours was scarcely +sufficient to satisfy her numerous customers; and, as she herself +observed to her neighbours, who were astonished at her constant +cheerfulness, "I laugh to see the people passing and repassing in such +a hurry, little thinking that by wearing out their shoes they are +helping to make my pot boil." + +José was beloved by all his little comrades on account of his gentle +and obliging disposition; but he was more especially the friend of +Philip, the youngest of Dame Robert's children. Somewhat older than +José, Philip protected him in their quarrels, gave him the best of +everything, and became seriously angry whenever any one called him the +little Savoyard, this appellation appearing to him insulting, without +his very well knowing why. However, as the children grew older, Philip +had no longer any need of exerting his influence for the protection +of José. The intelligence of the latter had developed so much, and +rendered him so far superior to his young friends, that he assumed +over them that kind of ascendancy which the grossest minds cannot +refuse to superior intellect, when it does not interfere with their own +self-respect. + +José had just attained his eighth year; he was small for his age, but +strong and active. Dame Robert had neither the means nor the capacity +to bestow upon him any education beyond some notions of religion, +rather limited, it is true, but still sufficient for his age. The whole +moral code of this worthy woman was contained in these four sentences, +which she was incessantly repeating to her children, and which they +always beheld her put in practice:-- + +"Be thankful to God for the bread he gives you. + +"Never tell a lie, even to gain your bread. + +"Earn your bread honestly, otherwise it will profit you nothing. + +"When you are grown up, return to your father and mother the bread they +have given to you." + +It may be seen, that if Dame Robert was not possessed of much +eloquence, the principles which guided her conduct were just and +solid, and that their correct application was sufficient to direct her +children in the narrow path they were destined to tread. + +"Now, my boy!" she said, one Sunday morning, taking José upon her +knees, "we have something besides sport to think about to-day; you are +now eight years old, and you may, in your turn, begin to assist me as I +have assisted you. There are no idlers with Dame Robert. My eldest boys +have begun their apprenticeship; Philip goes of my errands; and of you +I intend to make a little shoe-black, who will bring home every night +the pence he has earned in the day. See! here is the little box I have +bought for you." + +José was enchanted at these words. How delightful to be able, at his +age, to earn money, to be useful to his kind mother; for the tenderness +of his little heart made him already feel this joy. It must also be +owned, that the seductive idea of being almost his own master, and of +being able to go through a few streets when executing commissions, +delighted him beyond measure, and made him eagerly accept Dame Robert's +plan; and he immediately ran to admire his little shoe-cleaning +apparatus. Nothing had been forgotten; the box, two hard brushes, +two soft brushes, a little knife, some blacking, some spirit for the +tops of the boots, a supply of rags, and a vessel to contain water; +these articles comprised the whole of José's new possessions. They +were looked at, touched, and turned about, not only by himself, but by +the other children also; while José, impatient to make use of them at +once, wanted to clean all the dirty shoes in the house, and Dame Robert +decided, if he succeeded in this his first attempt, that he should +the next day be established sole master of his brushes, on the grand +Place du Musée. José, full of zeal, immediately set to work, aided +by the advice of his brothers and sisters. The first pair turned out +badly: José cut the strings; at the second attempt he gave his hand a +great scratch, but this only proved that his knife was good, so he did +not cry. Finally, he succeeded very well with the third pair, better +with the next, and still better with the succeeding one; so that, +when he came to Philip's shoes, which he intentionally reserved till +the last, the young novice executed what the apprentices term their +_masterpiece_, and it was therefore decided that he might exercise his +talents in public. + +It was with difficulty that José closed his eyes that night, and when +he did sleep he beheld in his dreams more than one passer-by stop +before him to require the exercise of his skill. As I have already +said, Dame Robert lived in the Rue Saint-Honoré, near the corner of +the Rue Froidmanteau; and, although but a short time has elapsed since +the period at which little José commenced his labours, this part of +Paris then bore no resemblance to what it is at the present day. The +wide and handsome street leading from the Carrousel to the Place du +Musée did not then exist, and the Place du Musée itself terminated +in a rapid descent at the end of the Rue Froidmanteau, while this +narrow, low, and always dirty street was almost the only thoroughfare +leading to the Louvre in this direction. Nevertheless it was the one +usually taken by the artists who were attracted either by business or +pleasure to the Palace of the Louvre, in which at that time, as now, +the exhibition of pictures was held, and in which, moreover, were +situated the free academy for drawing, the rooms for the exhibition of +prize pictures, both of which have been removed elsewhere, as well as +the studios of a great number of painters then situated in the immense +wing which extends from the Pont-des-Arts to the Pont-Royal. Dame +Robert, in her tender solicitude for José, and wishing also to justify +her reputation for prudence, had carefully examined all the localities +I have mentioned; the inevitable mud which every foot-passenger must +necessarily collect in crossing the Rue Froidmanteau, first suggested +to her the idea of the useful establishment, of which José was to be +the founder, and having with joy discovered that no rival in this +department had yet thought of taking advantage of so favourable a site, +she hastened, as we have already seen, to inform her adopted son of his +new destination. + +On the Monday morning, therefore, José commenced his new career. The +whole of the little family was awake at an early hour, anxious to +accompany and install José in the situation indicated by Dame Robert, +who herself carried the neat little box, while each of the children +took possession of one of the utensils. José alone, as the hero of +the day, carried nothing; he marched proudly at the head of the merry +troop, and never did conqueror take possession of a kingdom with +greater satisfaction than was experienced by the little Savoyard, when +he established his apparatus in a hollow, some feet in depth, faced by +two enormous posts, between which José appeared as in a fortress. Dame +Robert, after having strongly cautioned him not to leave his post, and +not to eat up at once his provisions for the day, which she had given +to him in a little basket, at length made up her mind to leave him, +and went away, accompanied by the other children, though not without +often looking back. Having reached the end of the Place du Musée, she +once more turned round, and saw, with infinite satisfaction, that José +was already engaged in cleaning some boots, which a lazy servant had +brought to him, in order to save himself the trouble of doing them. +With a contented heart, the good woman then redoubled her speed, and +returned home to resume her ordinary occupations; but the image of José +frequently presented itself to her imagination, and interrupted her +labours. The day seemed to her very long, and she had to exercise her +self-denial, in order to resist the temptation she felt to go and take +a distant peep at him, to ascertain how he was getting on; but not to +give her more credit than she deserved, it must be told that she turned +away her eyes when, at lunch-time, Philip, stealing by the side of the +houses, bent his steps towards the Place du Musée. When he returned +empty-handed, and with a smiling countenance, the kind soul became +quite easy, and resumed her needle with more activity than ever. + +At the close of this day, so memorable to the little family, the moment +José was perceived in the distance, dragging along his new possessions, +all the children ran to his assistance; José, throwing himself into +the arms of Dame Robert, commenced a confused recital of his wonderful +adventures; then, suddenly interrupting himself, he drew from his +pocket and presented to her, with inexpressible pride, twelve sous, +carefully tied up in a bit of rag. This was the result of his day's +labour, and José, encouraged by this first attempt, and having almost +completely overcome the timidity natural to his age, like all children +who are compelled by necessity to work while very young, he devoted +himself with so much assiduity and intelligence to his new calling, +that he soon became the most skilful, as well as the smartest little +shoeblack in the whole neighbourhood. As he grew older, his earnings +increased; he sometimes went of errands, called hackney coaches, &c., +&c., while his gentle disposition and pleasing manners gained for him +the esteem of all who lived in the neighbourhood of his ambulatory +establishment. Besides, José was industrious and docile, and not given +to mischief, neither was he greedy, as is sometimes the case with +children even better brought up than he could have been, and his good +conduct was all the more remarkable from his being entirely his own +master during the whole of the day, while fate, as if for the very +purpose of trying him, had placed objects of temptation in almost every +street through which he had to pass on his way backward and forward. +One of these objects was an attractive gingerbread shop, another, a +troop of little urchins, who endeavoured to entice every child that +passed by to join in their follies. It really required strength of +mind, and even what at José's age may be termed virtue, to withstand +these terrible rocks, but he was always triumphant, and if he did +sometimes cast a longing look towards the somersets and tricks of these +little vagabonds, or upon the delicious piles of Madame Legris' crisp +gingerbread, his daily treasure was always faithfully carried home to +Dame Robert, and never had the mud-soiled pedestrian to complain of +having to wait a single minute for the services of the useful shoeblack. + +As our reputation commences with ourselves, and is almost always +dependent on our own will, José, who was truly anxious to do what +was right, had already obtained for himself a very flattering one, +considering his age; and we will now relate the good fortune which this +reputation was the means of procuring for him at the expiration of a +year. + +In addition to Madame Legris', and many other enticing shops, there +was, at that time, upon the Place du Musée, one which kept an +excellent assortment of colours, canvasses, and everything connected +with painting, and which the artists and students of that period may +remember to have been well acquainted with. M. Barbe, the owner of this +establishment, was a kind-hearted and excellent man, very intelligent, +and very active in his business. His shop was always filled with +artists and young men engaged in painting, the proximity of a great +number of studios rendering it convenient for the purchases perpetually +required in this pursuit. Moreover, the length of time it had been +established, the confidence inspired by the worthy owner, and the +advantages it offered to the poorer class of students, had rendered +it a kind of rendezvous for that little world of its own which we +term artists. Barbe kept in his lumber-rooms those inferior pictures +which could not obtain a purchaser, and with which, otherwise, the +unfortunate authors would not have known what to do; he supplied one +with colours, for a certain time, gratis; lent a palette or an easel +to another; had a kind word for all, and took as much interest in +them as if they had been his own children. Madame Barbe seconded him +wonderfully, and shared his tastes and occupations with a degree of +skill and intelligence worthy of all praise; but, as there is nothing +perfect in this world, Madame Barbe will not be offended if I reveal +two little defects, of which, besides, I have since learned, that she +has corrected herself. She was a little too fond, to use a common +expression, of _storming_ at those about her; and she possessed such +an amazing volubility of tongue, that it was difficult to keep pace +with her, so that she almost always remained master of the field. +Still young and very agreeable, she exercised great influence over +her excellent husband, while she possessed sufficient attraction for +her numerous customers, who were amused with her eloquence without +suffering from her irritability. Her usual victims were her husband, +her little girl of four years old, and a man of about forty, named +Gabri, M. Barbe's head assistant and confidential clerk. Naturally +taciturn, Gabri had become still more so since the marriage of his +patron with this eloquent dame. He had remarked, with his usual +discrimination, that when these fits of passion commenced, the very +mildest answer was only pouring oil upon the fire; he maintained, +therefore, in such cases, the most perfect silence; and Madame Barbe, +satisfied with this evidence of the force of her arguments, went +elsewhere to exercise her power. Gabri was nevertheless esteemed by +her, as by every one else; and it is even asserted, that in one of +her better moments she acknowledged, that a great portion of the +prosperity of their business was due to his intelligence and integrity. +He therefore, with a few exceptions, fared pretty well in the house; +not to mention, that Barbe himself treated him altogether as a friend. +Still, poor Gabri could not overcome the melancholy induced by +irreparable misfortunes. In the course of six weeks he had lost his +three children and their mother, by the small-pox; and, even after the +lapse of many years, this man, apparently so cold, shed tears whenever +he spoke of his poor children. "They were three fine boys," he would +say, but could not finish. With a heart so sensitive, it was impossible +for him to behold without interest our amiable little José. He +carefully watched his disposition and conduct for a long time, became +more and more attached to him, and the fortunate child thus acquired by +his own merits alone a prudent and sincere friend. + +But it was not enough for Gabri that he should love José with his whole +heart; he wished also to take measures for his future welfare; and +after repeatedly talking over the matter with Madame Legris, who also +took a great interest in his young _protégé_, they commenced their +innocent plot in the following manner. + +Madame Barbe entertained some partiality for Madame Legris, who, +wishing to maintain a good understanding with her neighbours, listened +more patiently than others to the long speeches of this chatterbox. +Besides, she often gave cakes to the little girl, a generosity which +Madame Barbe could not find it in her heart to blame, notwithstanding +her desire to discover faults. The friendly vender of gingerbread went, +therefore, one morning, to call upon her at the hour she was sure to be +in the best humour, her shop being then filled with purchasers. "Well, +neighbour," she said, on entering, "how goes on business this week?" + +"Pretty well, pretty well," replied Madame Barbe, (all the while +dexterously filling and capping some bladders of colour, an occupation +which she always reserved till the middle of the morning, in order to +display the grace of her pretty fingers,) "but sit down, neighbour; I +am really very glad to see you.... Ah! good morning, sir; you shall be +attended to in a moment.... Pussy, my darling, here is Madame Legris, +who has brought you some cracknels.... Be so kind as to take a seat, +ladies.... Barbe, bring some canvasses.... Yes, ladies, they are +excellent and very fine, and have been made these twelve months and +more.... Your servant, sir; I know what you want.... Gabri, bring some +pencils to this gentleman.... Naples yellow and white? In a moment, +my little friend.... Gracious! what a crowd! what confusion! and only +myself to attend to it all! for as to my husband and Gabri ..." And +Madame Barbe shrugged her shoulders in a most significant manner. + +"Really, friend," resumed Madame Legris, "you seem to me ..." + +"What, sir!" exclaimed Madame Barbe, in a higher tone, "those brushes +good for nothing!... Brushes carefully sorted, and made with brass +wire.... Just look at them a second time, sir. Here's a glass of water. +Good heavens! those brushes ill made!" + +"Pooh!" exclaimed the discontented purchaser, "I don't want any water;" +and putting the brush into his mouth, "I see," he repeated, "that they +divide;" and he threw them on the counter with contempt. + +"You have them, however, from the best makers, my dear friend," said +Madame Legris, wishing to maintain the choleric shopkeeper in good +humour in order to attain her object; "and doubtless ..." + +"Doubtless!" resumed Madame Barbe, becoming scarlet, and biting her +lips; "the gentleman, doubtless, knows nothing about the manufactory of +Dagneau; so it's no use talking. Get out of my way, you little stupid," +she said, addressing her daughter, at the same time giving her a slap. +"Yes, five sous for every dip-cup[2] you bring me to clean, young +gentleman, and quite enough, I think; other people only give four. +Mercy! Gabri: you bring so many things at a time, that you will let +them all fall." And whether Madame Barbe's quick eye really saw what +was going to happen, or whether the sharp tones of her voice startled +poor Gabri, certain it is that he let fall the whole of his load in the +middle of the shop. His mistress, greatly irritated, rushed forward, +and she might, perhaps, have even ventured to have added acts to words +had not the entrance of a new comer suddenly changed the expression of +her features. + +This was a distinguished artist, one of M. Barbe's best customers, who +also affected to be an admirer of his wife, at whose expense he amused +himself, by deluding her with the hope that he would one day paint her +portrait. + +"What's the matter now? Here is truly a fine subject for a picture;" +he exclaimed, as he beheld the crayons and other articles floating +in a sea of oil, while Gabri, with folded arms, stood petrified, and +Madame Legris was engaged in restraining the infuriated mistress of the +establishment. "It might be called the Broken Cruse. But do not spoil +your pretty face, my charming model. My picture will be completed in a +week, and then we will commence the sketch of our portrait; but really +your complexion is so delicate, so transparent, that we shall have to +use all the resources of our art, and I have a great fancy to try it +on wood. Have you any panels at hand, as, if so, we will choose one at +once." + +Whilst Madame Barbe, now calmed and delighted, resumed her seat with +an affected air; the painter, half reclining upon the counter, amused +himself with sketching a small figure with a piece of white chalk, +while he related all the important news of the artistic world. "I told +you, Madame Barbe, that the number of fools was increasing; pictures of +ten feet are nothing to these gentlemen now. There is G----, whom you +know very well; he has just hired the tennis-court at Versailles, in +order to commence his picture, as no studio would be large enough for +it; and this they call painting." + +"Ah! Ah!" said Madame Barbe, smiling, "we shall see that at the +Exhibition. But what has become of that young man, a pupil of Monsieur +V----'s, so talented, and so admired? I never see him here now." + +"Lost! utterly lost!" replied the artist, with a malicious smile. "He +gave the greatest hopes, but his master's false system has ruined him. +That man will never turn out a first-rate pupil; I have said so for a +long time past.... But, Madame Barbe, they are not bringing me anything +I want. How is it that you have not more attendance for your numerous +customers? It is very strange, upon my word." + +"Indeed, neighbour!" said Madame Legris, who had been watching for +an opportunity of getting in a word, "Your business is getting so +extensive that it will be impossible for you to attend to it all +yourself, notwithstanding your activity. Were I in your place, I should +take an assistant--a child, for instance, that would not be much +expense." + +"You are right, neighbour," said Barbe, who at that moment joined them. +"Gabri is overwhelmed with messages and work, and an errand boy would +be very useful." + +Madame Barbe looked at her husband, and then at Gabri: but the latter +continued quietly to grind his colours, and Barbe saying no more, the +desire of contradicting them passed away almost immediately; and this +capricious woman, turning graciously towards the artist, begged him to +give his opinion upon a subject of so much importance. + +"Certainly!" he replied. "It is a good thing; you are quite right;" and +he had already forgotten the matter in question. + +"Since it is decided," resumed Madame Barbe, who now calculated that +she should have an additional person to exercise her authority over, +"tell me, neighbour, whether you happen to know a lad likely to suit +us. You know as well as we do what we require." + +"As to that," replied Madame Legris, concealing the pleasure she felt +at this question, "it is a difficult matter. I am not sure that I know +any one at this moment who would suit you in every respect.... Yes! +stop; I know a poor boy.... But no, it is impossible; his mother would +not consent...." + +"His mother would not consent!" exclaimed Madame Barbe, offended at +the supposition. "What! not consent to his entering a house like ours, +to be my husband's _pupil_, to live as we do! And for all this, what +do we ask in return? Almost nothing, in truth! only to be intelligent, +faithful, obedient, active, industrious, and not greedy, nor awkward;" +and as she named the last of the required qualifications, she glanced +towards Gabri, who bent his head in silence. "In fine, Madame Legris, +represent these advantages to the child's parents, and I cannot think +that they will hesitate for a moment." + +"They will not be so foolish," replied Madame Legris, "besides, this +boy has only adoptive parents. It is poor little José, the pretty +little Savoyard, who is established down yonder, between those two +great stones. His is a singular history, and when you know it...." + +"You shall relate it to me at our first sitting," interrupted the +painter, taking up his hat; and the hope of being able to relate an +interesting story, increased the desire which Madame Barbe then felt +of possessing José. The kind-hearted Madame Legris therefore went away +perfectly satisfied with the success of her project, and if Gabri's +conversation was still as laconic as usual, a close observer might have +seen him several times during the day rub his hands and smile, a thing +quite extraordinary for him. + +The day after this conversation, Dame Robert, dressed in her Sunday +clothes, and holding our little hero by the hand, called upon Madame +Barbe. The story was long, and the dialogue which followed it still +longer: and it may be presumed that Madame Barbe's eloquence was more +flowing and animated than usual; but, as her auditors did not take +the trouble to report it, we can only inform our reader that it was +agreed--firstly, that José should serve Madame Barbe during the space +of seven years, without receiving any remuneration whatever; and that, +after that time, if his conduct was good, he should be paid a small sum +monthly. Secondly, that the said José should, during his seven years' +apprenticeship, be lodged and boarded by his new masters, and that Dame +Robert should take charge of his clothing. + +Every thing being arranged to the satisfaction of both parties, José +was immediately set to work, and from the first moment displayed a +degree of intelligence which greatly delighted the kind-hearted Barbe +and much astonished his difficult partner. He had a wonderful faculty +for remembering where the different articles were kept, and, if he +happened to hesitate for a moment, Gabri, from the extremity of the +back shop, where he was grinding his colours, would quickly make him a +sign, which the intelligent child immediately understood. Poor Gabri +dared not display all his joy, for his tormenting mistress would have +punished him by scolding the innocent José; but, taking advantage of a +moment when the latter came to fetch something from where he was, he +would cast a rapid glance towards the counter, and, clasping the child +in his arms, press him with transport to his heart. Madame Barbe would +turn her head, but Gabri's grindstone was already in motion, while +little José was at the top of the ladder. + +In the evening, the mistress ordered Gabri to conduct the _apprentice_ +to his room. Oh! how delightfully did these words fall upon José's +ears! he who had hitherto possessed only one-third of the dark loft +in which the brothers slept! He was going to sleep alone, and in his +own room! After having gaily mounted seven stories, Gabri opened a +little door, and entered a very small room which led to the roof of +the house, and adjoined M. Barbe's lumber-room. "A window! a window!" +exclaimed José, on entering; "Monsieur Gabri, I have a window!" and he +clapped his hands, and jumped for joy. Gabri showed him his bed, which +was of fresh straw, covered with a sheet; the little fellow was in such +a state of joyous excitement that it was with difficulty his protector +could induce him to lie down. + +José was roused from his pleasant slumbers by the first rays of the +morning sun, when he was gladdened by another agreeable surprise, on +discovering that the walls of his garret were smooth and perfectly +white, for it had just undergone repair, and was then in a state of +cleanliness rarely met with in such places; but José, little sensible +to this advantage, was very much so to the cheerful appearance of his +room, and especially to the facilities which those white walls afforded +him for continuing his first attempts in art. For it must be known that +José, in the leisure moments left by his former occupation, used often +to exercise his talents by daubing with his blacking and clumsy brushes +upon stones or bits of wood a thousand figures of his own invention. +What pleasure, then, for him to be able to adorn his room with drawings +of soldiers and horses! and he was already on the point of commencing +operations when he heard the voice of Madame Barbe, and hastened to +obey the summons. + +For a whole week the house resounded with nothing but the name of José. +The poor boy, constantly watched and tormented, was subjected to a +very severe test; but the natural goodness of his disposition and his +indefatigable zeal, softened by degrees the severity of his mistress. +Besides, his kind friend Gabri, by his judicious advice, saved him from +many an act of thoughtlessness, and Madame Barbe scolded so often that +her husband never scolded at all. José was, therefore, good, beloved, +and happy. His taste for painting was increased by the conversations +which he daily heard in this house; still, perhaps, this taste might +never have been developed, had it not been for a singular occurrence, +and his genius, like the fire shut up in a rude stone, might never have +emitted a spark, had not some one struck upon it. + +Amongst the numerous houses to which José was sent with the orders +executed by M. Barbe, there was one at which he was received with +especial kindness, and which, notwithstanding all his prudence, he +found great difficulty in leaving when his errand was performed. This +was the house of one M. Enguehard, a respectable man, in only moderate +circumstances, who, being passionately fond of art, had exercised his +talents in engraving until compelled to discontinue, by weakness of +sight. Married, late in life, to an amiable woman; who made him happy, +their constant occupation was the education of their only son, a lad +about two years older than José. Francisco, as he was named, had from +his birth been destined to be a painter, and being brought up with this +idea, he manifested both facility and power; but naturally of a lively, +volatile temperament, and still too fond of amusement, he worked but +little, and his progress was consequently not rapid. Like many other +children he did not reflect on the sacrifices which his father's +slender means obliged him to make for his education, and he lost or +destroyed, without scruple, books, maps, mathematical instruments, +and other expensive articles, which his parents could only replace by +depriving themselves of some personal comfort. + +Francisco was nevertheless of a good disposition, and when he chose to +make an effort, his progress was so astonishing, that his kind parents +forgot his past faults. M. Enguehard was at first inclined to restrain +the liking which his son manifested for José, fearing lest this child, +whom he naturally supposed had not been very carefully brought up, +might lead his son to contract some bad habits; but feeling himself +an interest, which it was indeed difficult not to feel, on seeing the +boy's frank and amiable countenance, he made inquiries about him, and +what he learned was so satisfactory that it removed all apprehension +with regard to his intimacy with Francisco. The two boys grew daily +more and more attached to each other, and José divided all his leisure +moments between Dame Robert and his beloved Francisco. Philip, however, +was not forgotten; but José, always beyond his years in mental powers, +preferred the advantage of being enlightened by the conversation of M. +Enguehard and Francisco, to the pleasure of being admired by Philip. +His ideas became enlarged and elevated; and, grieved at his own +ignorance, he envied Francisco the happiness of an education from which +he profited so little. + +One day when the latter had thrown aside, in a passion, a book which +wearied him, José picked it up, and, turning it round, looked at it +with a sigh. + +"You are very fortunate," said Francisco, "in not knowing how to read +or write, for you are not forced to learn lessons." + +"Ah!" replied José, "that is my greatest grief: it is you who are +fortunate in having the opportunity of learning. Oh, if you would but +teach me to draw!" + +"Yes, yes!" cried Francisco, enchanted at the idea: "I will be your +master; but take care if you do not do well--upon the knuckles, my lad!" + +José smiled at this threat, and M. Enguehard, who entered at the +moment, having approved the project, it was decided that Francisco +should give José a lesson every Sunday, and of an evening during the +week whenever José could obtain permission to go out; but Francisco +thought no more about rapping knuckles. José comprehended so readily +and advanced so rapidly, that, in order to maintain the proper distance +between master and pupil, his friend was obliged to set seriously +to work, and this little experiment led him to make a few salutary +reflections. M. Enguehard, struck by José's astonishing aptitude, +neglected no opportunity of maintaining an emulation so advantageous +to both the boys. He often talked to them about the celebrated masters +of the old school, and related to them portions of their history. +"Almost all of them," he said, "displayed their genius from childhood. +Lanfranc, one of the most distinguished pupils of the Caracci, being +in the service of Count Scotti, covered all the walls with charcoal +drawings, his paper being insufficient to contain the fertility of his +imagination. Philippe de Champagne, a native of Brussels, but classed +amongst the painters of the French school, and who died President of +the Academy, used, when about eight or nine years of age, to copy every +picture and engraving that came in his way; and Claude Gelée, called +Lorraine, a real phenomenon, such as the history of the arts can offer +but few examples of, could learn nothing while at school; his parents +therefore apprenticed him to a confectioner, with whom he succeeded +still worse. Not knowing what to do, he went to Rome, and, unable to +find employment, he entered by chance the service of Augustin Tasso to +grind his colours and clean his palette. This master, in the hope of +obtaining some advantage from his talents, taught him some of the rules +of perspective; and Lorraine, devoting himself entirely to painting, +passed whole days in the fields sketching and painting, and became the +celebrated and almost unique landscape painter, whose works we still +daily admire in our Museum." + +José had listened to this recital with an attention which scarcely +permitted him to breathe. When M. Enguehard had finished speaking, +a silence of a few moments ensued, which José at length interrupted +by rising suddenly and crying out with all his might, "Why not? why +not?"... He then blushed when he beheld Francisco and M. Enguehard +laughing heartily. M. Enguehard sent them to play, and, reflecting +upon the words which had escaped from José, he felt tempted to direct +him into a career to which everything seemed to call him; but the +kind-hearted engraver was poor; to charge himself with José was +impossible; and then, was he not wrong in diverting the child's mind +from the ideas that were suitable to his present position? Again he +hesitated. "Good God! what a pity!" he repeated; "but if I should +render him unhappy without being able to assist him!" And from that +day M. Enguehard related no more stories, nor gave himself any further +anxiety about the lessons which Francisco continued to give to José. +But all precautions were now useless; José was born a painter; Claude +Lorraine incessantly recurred to his mind, and for want of fields, +which he was denied the privilege of beholding, he sketched horses +and figures in every corner, and sought subjects for composition in +the historical anecdotes which Francisco related to him. Francisco, +however, could only teach him the elements and mechanical details of +art, things which José's genius rendered almost useless to him. Drawing +even was not enough; he burned with a desire to paint, and found a +secret pleasure in touching palettes and colours. Examining with +attention the occupations of the various painters on whom he waited +with parcels, his imagination became excited, and when alone in his +garret, he grieved at being only able to work with black and white. He +took good care, however, to keep from Madame Barbe the knowledge of +his favourite amusement. It was at the expense of his sleep that he +exercised his talents; and his friend Gabri, his only confidant, did +not feel tempted to betray his secret. + +But a circumstance occurred, which all his prudence could not have +foreseen, and which, by enlightening Madame Barbe, cost poor José many +tears. + +We have already spoken of Barbe's kindness in giving room in his house, +not only to those pictures, whether good or bad, which their authors +had no convenience for keeping; but also to the colour boxes of the +young men employed in copying in the Museum; as well as to the studies +which the pupils were very glad to bring under the notice of the crowd +of artists, who were continually congregated in the shop of the honest +colour vender. Before being admitted to compete for the great prize +for painting which annually sends to Rome, and maintains there, at +the expense of the government, the person who has the good fortune +to obtain it, the students have a first trial with a full-length +figure, and afterwards with painted sketches; and the six or eight +most successful competitors then take their places, and commence +the pictures for which the prize is to be awarded. It may easily be +conceived how great is the importance attached to these competitions by +those young and poor students, who behold in them the termination of +their elementary course, and the possibility of pursuing their studies +on a more extended scale. One of the most promising pupils of that time +had just obtained the prize for the figure. As Barbe had assisted him +in various ways, he was anxious to make him a participator in his joy, +and place in his hands his triumphant work. He arrived, therefore, +followed by a dozen of his companions and rivals, who, the first moment +of disappointment over, usually participate cordially in the delight of +the victor, especially when they happen to study under the same master. +José was a witness to the transports of these young men, and heard the +praises lavished by the spectators on the fortunate student. Agitated +by a thousand varied emotions, jealous, but with that noble and rare +jealousy which made Cæsar weep at the feet of Alexander's statue, he +would doubtless in his excitement have drawn upon himself a severe +reprimand from Madame Barbe, had not Gabri whom nothing could divert +from his silent watchfulness, led him away, in spite of himself. + +"Ah!" said José, with emotion, "Do you see that young man? He is only +fifteen.... Claude Lorraine was a confectioner.... And I, what am I?... +I feel that I, too, have something in me!..." + +Gabri knew nothing about Claude Lorraine, but he exerted himself with +so much kindness to pacify José, that he at length succeeded, by means +of a positive promise, to satisfy, at least, the most attainable of his +wishes. The Exhibition had just opened, and José from his station in +Madame Barbe's shop, could see successive crowds of amateurs thronging +the entrance to the Museum; and he was constantly hearing the merits of +the different paintings discussed. How, then, could he help ardently +longing to examine for himself those interesting works? He had once +ventured timidly to approach the door of the Museum, but the dark scowl +of the porter, and a slight movement of his cane, warned him to make a +precipitate retreat; not that working-men of all kinds, and soldiers, +cannot without difficulty gain admission into these exhibitions; but it +must be owned that poor José, at his age, and in his linen pantaloons, +besmeared with every colour in M. Barbe's establishment, and in his +tattered and scanty jacket, presented an appearance by no means +calculated to soften the rigour of so proper a gentleman. Having then +confided his grief, both to his young and his old friend,--to Francisco +and to Gabri,--the affair was settled in the following manner. +Francisco, with his father's permission, presented his little companion +with a coat, and a pair of nankeen trousers, which he had laid aside, +and which could easily be made to fit José. Philip, who had for some +time been working at a tailor's, eagerly offered his services. Dame +Robert purchased a pretty piece of stuff, which her daughter cut out +for a waistcoat; and Gabri declared that he would take upon himself to +provide the hat. José burned with impatience to enjoy the generosity of +his friends; but the requisite preparations necessarily took some time, +for the little workers had more zeal than capacity; and, besides, they +could not neglect their ordinary tasks. It was necessary, therefore, +to wait, and José, finding himself alone in the shop, and wishing to +divert his mind, determined to take another view of the picture which +had made so deep an impression on him, and which the young painter, +according to custom, had left for some time with M. Barbe. It was hung +at a considerable height; José mounted a ladder, to get it down; but, +thinking he heard the voice of the terrible Madame Barbe, he hastily +replaced it, and, in his precipitation, brushed against the still fresh +paint with his sleeve, and rubbed out a portion of the ground and +almost the whole of one leg. Recovering from his fright, and finding +no one approach, he again raised his eyes: judge of his dismay, on +beholding what had occurred! What was to be done? What would become of +him, if the young painter happened to come for his picture? What would +Madame Barbe say? for, if questioned on the subject, he would not utter +a falsehood. Besides, all evasion would be as useless as it would be +wicked, as such an act of carelessness could have been committed by +no one but him. The poor child was in despair; he already saw himself +ignominiously turned out of the house; but time pressed, and he must +discover some means of repairing the mischief. He could find but one. +He ran to hide the picture in his room, and was presumptuous enough to +rely upon his own ability to repair the fatal blemish. + +It may be thought, that so daring an idea was but little likely to +enter the mind of a child only thirteen years of age; but José, as +we have before observed, was born with extraordinary talents for +painting; besides, he knew nothing else; he occupied his thoughts +with nothing else;--all that he had seen and heard from his earliest +childhood had reference to painting. Neither is it without example, +that remarkable talents--especially when constantly directed towards +one object--have produced, even in extreme youth, very astonishing +results. Some years ago at Florence, when there happened to be a fall +of snow of a few inches thick, a very unusual occurrence in that +climate, the children of the common people might be seen gathering it +together into great heaps, forming it into giants in the principal +square, and in the streets into colonnades and statues, and even +into groups, in which artists themselves could not but acknowledge a +remarkable imitation of the great works in the midst of which they were +born; so much does the influence of what they hear and see act upon the +minds and dispositions of children, and give, as a mere starting-point, +to some of those who live in the atmosphere of art, that which to +others less favoured proves almost a goal. It must also be remembered, +that the work on which José was about to try his skill was that of a +youth of fifteen, and, consequently, far from being faultless. + +He had seen enough of painting to feel at no loss in charging a +palette; but he wanted colours, brushes, &c.; and José well knew that, +though in the midst of everything of this kind, he had no right to +touch any. He therefore resolved to have recourse to the friendship of +Francisco, and to ask him for the money necessary to make his purchases +at a distant shop. It may perhaps appear singular that his friend Gabri +did not come to his aid; but the absence of this guardian angel had +been the cause of his misfortune as there was no friendly glance or +hand to warn, or raise him up. Gabri, for the first time during the +whole fifteen years that he had lived with M. Barbe, had asked leave of +absence for a few days, in order to visit his native place; his request +was so reasonable, that it could not be refused, but Madame Barbe's +ill-temper was at its height when she beheld him depart without being +able to obtain a single word of explanation relative to the motives +which had induced him to undertake this unexpected journey. + +Gabri was to return on the Sunday evening, the day following that +which had proved so fatal to poor José; but to wait for his coming +was impossible, this same Sunday being the only time that the poor +boy had at his own disposal. He therefore hastened to M. Enguehard's, +and having fortunately found Francisco alone, he confided to him his +embarrassment. Francisco shuddered at his friend's danger, but was +almost as much terrified at the projected reparation as at the accident +itself; nevertheless, at the urgent entreaty of José, who feared lest +his absence should be remarked, he gave him all the money he had, +amounting to four francs ten sous. This was sufficient for José's +purpose; for, as may be easily imagined, there was no question of +easel, nor colour box, and he made so much haste, that his purchases +were completed and hidden before Madame Barbe had once asked for him. + +José was tormented during the whole of the day by the idea of his +daring undertaking; and his preoccupation prevented him from being as +much delighted as he would otherwise have been with his new clothes, +which Philip, with an air of importance, brought home tied up in a +handkerchief, in tailor fashion, under his arm. The poor boy, who +expected great praise and many thanks, was somewhat disconcerted at the +indifference with which José examined an _invisible_ seam, which in +spite of this qualification was even more easily distinguishable than +any of the others. He therefore went off, persuaded that José was ill, +for he could never attach an unkind motive to his conduct. + +José, awakening with the earliest dawn, at first felt nothing but +the delight of possessing colours and brushes. He prepared his rude +palette with extreme care, and made this important operation last as +long as he could; but when all was ready, the difficulty of commencing +vividly presented itself to his mind, and caused him so much anxiety, +that he remained motionless, not daring to touch a brush, when all at +once a fortunate inspiration restored his courage. "I have to paint +half a leg," he said to himself. "Well, then, why not copy my own? The +greatest masters use models, and paint everything from nature; I can +easily place one foot without inconveniencing myself. We shall see if +with this assistance I cannot manage." And José commenced by cutting a +caper; then looking at the figure, the legs of which, fortunately for +him, were outstretched, he placed one of his own in nearly the same +position, and with a trembling hand gave the first touch. By degrees +that fever of enthusiasm, which always fills the mind in every kind +of composition, took possession of him; he became excited; he fancied +himself drawing like Raphael, colouring like Rubens; and his hand, so +timid at first, worked with freedom and facility; he felt no further +embarrassment, and did not cease until he had completely repaired the +mischief. + +[Illustration: Poor José, p. 264.] + +His task ended, José went down, to watch for an opportunity of +replacing the picture without being observed. It was already late, the +whole of the family were going out for a walk; and Madame Barbe was +in such good humour, on account of a pretty cap which her husband had +just given her, that José had no difficulty in obtaining leave to go +to the Exhibition, on the understanding that he was to be back before +dinner-time, to arrange certain things, which Gabri's absence had left +in disorder. José, with a light heart, had no sooner lost sight of them +than he hastened to hang up the picture, and smiled, as from beneath +he beheld the fine effect of his work. Having now nothing to think of +but the delight of possessing his new clothes, and, especially, of +being privileged to pass the threshold of that door, so long closed +against him, he went out, fastening with some pride the metal buttons +of his coat, and entered the Exhibition, eyeing the burly porter, as he +passed, with a confident air. + +At that period, the noble staircase, with its double banister, +which we admire at present, was not built; the square saloon of the +Exhibition was reached by a side door, leading from the Place du +Musée, and a staircase, which now only serves as a private entrance. +This entrance was neither so convenient nor handsome as the present +one; but still it was princely in its dimensions, and especially so +to the unaccustomed eyes of poor José, who had never seen anything +more splendid than the church of Saint Roch. Those wide steps of white +stone; those walls covered with pictures, for they reached almost to +the first landing-place; the tumult of the crowd which pressed forward, +carrying him along with it,--all combined to throw José into a kind +of bewilderment. He looked without seeing, walked without thinking, +and, driven onwards by the crowd, at length found himself at the door +of the great gallery of the Museum, which is left open during the +Exhibition, but which at that time contained only the works of the +old masters. At the sight of this immense gallery, magnificent even +to those who are familiar with magnificence, José stood struck with +astonishment, while an involuntary feeling of respect caused him to +take off his hat. There were but few visitors in that part of the +Museum; José breathed more freely, and being able to examine without +being jostled, began deliciously to taste the pleasure he had so +often longed for. Various pictures attracted his attention; but too +ignorant to divine their subjects, there was something wanting to his +enjoyment. But when, at last, he came to that picture of Raphael's, +known by the name of _La Vierge à la chaise_, the figures could easily +be recognised, and José found himself, so to speak, in the midst of +his habitual acquaintances; he was able to make comparisons, having +seen other church paintings; and his natural taste was so pure, and +he had so remarkable an instinct for appreciating the master-pieces +of art, that at the sight of this admirable production, an emotion +hitherto unknown took possession of him. The more he looked, the more +complete did the illusion become; the face of the divine infant seemed +to become animated, and to smile upon him. José, leaning against the +balustrade, extended his arms and smiled too, and in the delight of +these new sensations, forgot everything else, when a noise close by +him made him start and awake from his reverie. He turned his head, +and beheld a man attentively examining him; he was still young, and +possessed a countenance remarkable for its expression; his eyes, full +of fire, were fixed with kindness upon José, who, notwithstanding his +ordinary timidity, replied without embarrassment to the questions +addressed to him. The stranger wished to know his name, what he thought +of Raphael's picture, what were his views, his occupations, &c. José's +artless statements, through which his precocious genius could readily +be discerned, deeply interested the stranger. "You were born a painter, +child," he said, touching José's forehead. "You already know what no +master could teach you, but you must be directed, and this I will +undertake to do. Here is my address, my name is G----; call upon me, I +will make something of you." + +José, overwhelmed with joy in recognising the name of one of our most +celebrated artists, clasped his hands without being able to utter a +word. Monsieur G. gave him another kind look, and departed. It was some +time before José recovered from the agitation into which this event had +thrown him, and the day was already far advanced when he remembered +that he was still in the service of Madame Barbe, and that his accident +caused him to run great risk of not remaining in it. Full of anxiety, +he precipitately retraced his steps, and soon reached home. Alas! +every one had returned, and the manner in which he was received, was a +presage of the storm about to burst over his devoted head. + +Barbe, who was hurriedly pacing the shop, advanced towards him, as if +to question him, then turned away his head with an expression of vivid +sorrow. José, confounded, was beginning to murmur some excuses, when +Madame Barbe, the violence of whose passion had hitherto prevented her +from speaking, at length recovered the power of pouring forth the abuse +destined for the hapless culprit. + +"Here you are, at last, Sir!" she said. "You are certainly very +punctual; however, I can easily imagine, you young rascal, that you +were in no hurry to make your appearance." + +"I am very sorry, Madame....." replied José. + +But Madame Barbe would not give him time to finish. + +"Do not interrupt, you shameless liar," she cried; "you little viper, +whom we have nourished, and who now stings his benefactors. But I could +pardon you for being idle and ungrateful, if you had not sacrificed +the reputation of my house, by destroying the pictures confided to us. +Yes," she continued with more vehemence, seeing José turn pale, "you +fancied, you hardened, good-for-nothing, that your tricks would not be +discovered; thief, we know all: not content with having irreparably +destroyed a fine work, you have carried your villany so far as to steal +from us the things necessary for your undertaking." José uttered a +cry of horror, and rushing towards his implacable mistress, who still +continued her invectives, he protested his innocence, in so far at +least as related to the second part of the accusation; but neither his +tears nor his protestations produced any effect upon the prejudiced +minds of his employers. It had so happened that when they entered, +the light which M. Barbe carried, fell directly upon the unfortunate +figure restored by José; and as nature had made him a colorist, a +quality which can never be acquired, and one in which the young student +was deficient, it was an easy matter to perceive the difference. +Besides, poor José, in his embarrassment, had copied the left foot, +which happened to be most convenient for him, without observing whether +it was the proper one, and had so placed it that the great toe was on +the outside. The loft in which the culprit slept was visited, and his +still moist palette and colours left no doubt of what he had done. +Barbe would have pardoned the injury done to the painting, but the idea +of theft revolted his honest nature, and it was difficult to avoid +suspecting José, since they were ignorant of Francisco's friendship for +him, and well knew that he had nothing of his own. It was in vain that +he related the simple truth, it only appeared an ingeniously concocted +story; and Madame Barbe, after a second explosion of invectives, took +him by the arm, and would have turned him out of doors that very +evening, had not her husband positively declared that he should remain +for that night. His wife, obliged to yield, revenged herself by seeking +two or three of her neighbours, who hurried with malicious eagerness +to see the left foot upon the right leg, and the woful condition of +poor little José, choking with grief in a corner. He was spared none of +their commentaries, these kind souls taking care to speak very loudly +and very distinctly. + +"Certainly," said one, "his mother did well to die, poor dear woman. +She did not deserve such a son." + +"I always expected it," said another, "this is what comes of picking +up vagabonds; but Dame Robert is such an obstinate woman. What is one +to do?" A third added that everything must be locked up, and care +taken that he was never left alone. Finally, their cruelty was carried +to such extremes, that poor José was unable any longer to restrain +his sobs, which being heard by M. Barbe in his room, he immediately +hastened to the poor child and sent him to bed. + +José passed a frightful night; a few hours more and he would be sent +away disgraced, and obliged to return to his adopted mother, without +the means of support, and with a charge of dishonesty weighing upon +him. One hope alone remained to him, Francisco might attest the truth +of what he had said; he therefore determined to entreat M. Barbe, who +was more humane than his wife, to go and question Francisco, who would +establish his innocence; but even this resource failed the unfortunate +child. The same idea had occurred to Barbe, who was very fond of him, +and early in the morning he had called upon M. Enguehard. Wishing to +spare his favourite as much as possible, he merely asked Francisco +whether he had lent José any money. But Francisco not having been put +upon his guard, and fearing lest he might in some manner injure his +friend, or be reprimanded by his father, committed a fault too common +among children, and in order to save José he told a falsehood, and by +so doing completed his ruin, for he assured M. Barbe that he had not +lent his apprentice anything. M. Enguehard knew nothing more, and Barbe +returned, convinced of José's theft, and of the necessity of sending +him away. He therefore repulsed him angrily when he came to present his +request, and told him to pack up his things. But Madame Barbe was not a +woman to lose an opportunity of delivering a speech or making a scene, +and therefore determined before expelling the unhappy boy, to oblige +him to make an apology to the young student whom she had begged to +call at the shop. José almost happy at this unexpected respite, placed +his little bundle on the ground, and leaning upon it, cast a sorrowful +look on all the objects around him, and which he was about to leave +for ever. Gabri's vacant place caused his tears to flow afresh; would +that faithful friend believe his protestations any more than the rest, +whilst proofs were so strong against him? At that moment the postman +placed a letter in M. Barbe's hand. "Oh!" said the latter, "it is from +Nogent-sur-Marne, and from friend Gabri. What can he have to write to +us about?" and he read the letter to himself with signs of the greatest +surprise. Madame Barbe, impatient to know what it contained, snatched +it from his hand, and, after reading it, exclaimed, "Heaven be praised, +this act of folly will never be committed. Listen to this," she said, +calling to José, "behold the just punishment of your infamous conduct;" +and she read, or rather declaimed the following letter:-- + + "From Nogent-sur-Marne, my native + place, September the 7th. + + "MONSIEUR BARBE,--Notwithstanding my intention of returning the day + after that fixed by you, I write to inform you in a more authentic + and convenient manner of my intentions with regard to Joseph Berr, + called José, your apprentice. Monsieur Barbe, I have lost my wife + and three children, three fine boys whom God has taken away from + me; but I dare say I have already told you this. I have a nice + little property perfectly free from all claims (a good seven + thousand francs placed here in honest hands). Therefore, being + master of my own will, which is to love and assist the said José, + I intend that he shall follow the calling which he is so anxious + for, viz., that of an artist, and for this I have bound myself, by + my signature, which you will see at the end of the deed written by + me upon stamped paper, and which accompanies this letter. I beg + that it may be read to the said José, and never again recurred to, + being, notwithstanding, Monsieur Barbe, + + "Your very faithful Servant, + "SEBASTIAN GABRI." + +The second paper was as follows:-- + + "Joseph Berr, called José, requiring, in order to be able to + prosecute his studies in painting, during four years, a sum of + money, which I possess, I give it to him as a loan which he will + return to me when his profession becomes profitable, together with + the interests and costs as is just and customary. + + f. c. + + "First. One franc per day for maintenance + during the space of four years, making 1460 0 + + Item. For entering the studio of a celebrated + master, 15 francs per month for four + years 720 0 + + Item. For indemnifying Madame Barbe, for + three years' apprenticeship, still due to + her 50 0 + + Item. For 25 centimes every Sunday, for + child's amusements 52 0 + + Item. For my journey hither by coach, expressly + on his account 10 0 + + Item. For my expenses while here 12 0 + + Item. For this sheet of stamped paper 0 30 + + Item. For interest during four years 460 6 + -------- + 2764 36 + + "Which sum I undertake to pay, according as required, Provided that + the board and lodging be furnished by Dame Robert as heretofore. + + "The said José will put his mark at the end of this deed, to which + I also cheerfully put my name. + + "SEBASTIAN GABRI." + +It is easy to imagine the agony of poor José while listening to the +reading of these papers; what would have overwhelmed him with joy the +evening before, now filled him with anguish. Gabri, that tender and +generous friend, as a reward for his sacrifice, was about to learn that +the object of his care was unworthy of it. Still José was not guilty, +and these bitter trials were now on the point of coming to the happiest +termination. Francisco, tormented as one always is by the consciousness +of having done wrong, and rendered uneasy about his friend on account +of M. Barbe's visit, determined to confess all to his father, who had +no difficulty in convincing him of the gravity of his fault, and of +the inconvenience which might result to the innocent José, who might +perhaps be accused of having stolen the colours from his master. +Francisco, alarmed at this idea, entreated his father to take him +instantly to M. Barbe's; and there, regardless of the spectators, he +had the courage and the merit to confess his fault, and thus completely +justify his friend. + +Whilst Madame Barbe stood biting her lips, and saying, "It is very +singular, very strange," and her kind-hearted husband brushed the tears +from his eyes, the two boys affectionately embraced each other, and +enjoyed the happiest moment of their young lives. A moment afterwards, +José had another triumph, highly flattering indeed to his self-love, +but not to be compared in real worth with the noble friendship of +Francisco. The young author of the injured painting was with his +master when Madame Barbe wrote to him her anything but clear account +of the accident, which she was anxious to turn to the disgrace of +poor José. This master was the very Monsieur G---- before mentioned, +who, recognising in the hero of the story, the child who had so much +interested him at the Museum, wished to accompany his pupil to M. +Barbe's. For a long time he examined in silence the attempt which +had cost the poor boy so dear, then turning towards his pupil, "If +you don't make haste," he said, "I can tell you he will catch you." +This man, distinguished as much by feeling as by genius, was able to +appreciate the action of the worthy and generous Gabri; he read his +letter with emotion, and taking a pencil, ran it through the fifteen +francs per month destined for José's instruction. "I cannot hope," he +said, smiling, to José, "to be the _celebrated master_ mentioned by +Gabri, but he must at least let me teach you all I know." + +It may easily be imagined, that everything was arranged, without +difficulty, to the entire delight of the poor boy. Madame Barbe, +awed by the presence of Monsieur G---- and Monsieur Enguehard, felt +that she must put some restraint upon her tongue. She unhesitatingly +accepted, it is true, the indemnification of fifty francs, and only +murmured on the day that Barbe presented José with his first box of +colours. Dame Robert, who was consulted in all important arrangements, +was at first somewhat discontented with José's choice; but she could +refuse nothing to her dear child. "And, after all," she said, "it is a +trade, like any other. I am only sorry that the apprenticeship is so +long." She was completely consoled, however, when José came once more +to live with her. + +To complete José's happiness, M. Enguehard, a short time after these +occurrences, begged M. G---- to receive his son as a pupil. The two +friends, therefore, were again together, following the same career with +equal ardour, and although with different success, still without any +interruption to their mutual friendship. + +Those who are curious to know whether José justified the hopes inspired +by his childhood, may have their curiosity gratified by a perusal of +the Second Part of his history. + + +SEQUEL TO THE HISTORY OF POOR JOSÉ. + +How tranquil and pleasant is the life of the artist! He possesses an +advantage which is denied even to the fortunate of this world,--an +occupation always affording amusement and variety, together with an +almost total indifference to everything which does not bear directly +upon painting. The artist sees that all is quiet in the town in which +he lives; this is enough for him: scarcely does he know the names of +the ministers in office, and he is the last to learn what is going +on around. Occupied the whole day with his art, his studio is his +universe; and at night, in the midst of a re-union of friends, artists +like himself, he still dwells upon his favourite idea, which is never +absent from his mind, while he gains instruction, or is inspired with +increased ardour by the conversation of his colleagues or rivals. These +re-unions are gay, and abound in wit, as well as in mischief. Not a +few of those caricatures which attract the loungers of the Boulevards +and the Rue du Coq, have been sketched by a skilful hand during these +moments of recreation. A few amiable women, authors, distinguished +musicians, and poets, make a part of these seductive meetings: each one +amuses himself according to his fancy; and if the mirth is sometimes a +little noisy, and the wit a little too free, wit and mirth are at least +always to be found in them. + +But if the artist is happy, the student is even more so. The former, +being no longer at an age in which he can advance much, is keenly +alive to his own deficiencies, and, if it must be owned, often looks +with a jealous eye on the success of his brother artists; while to +the other, on the contrary the horizon of his hopes is unbounded, and +emulation but a healthy stimulant, which does not degenerate into envy. +The student tries to excel his companions, but he loves them all; he +encourages the less skilful, frankly admires those who are superior to +himself, and, while pursuing his laborious occupations, seldom fails to +lay the foundation of one of those honourable and lasting friendships +which embellish the remainder of his life. Little favoured by fortune, +as a general rule, these young men endure privations with cheerfulness, +or rather their simple habits prevent them from feeling them as such. +The whole of their time and powers, being constantly directed towards +the one object in view, there is no space left for the minor passions, +which so often disturb the mind of youth. The pleasures of the toilet +are unknown to him who spends his days in the studio, and public +amusements are too expensive to be thought of more than once or twice +a year. + +Francisco and José, re-united as we have already said in the studio +of a celebrated painter, led a life in every way consonant to their +tastes; but José especially felt the happiness of a condition, to +which he had never thought it possible to attain. He was no longer +the hapless child, rescued from the street by the benevolence of a +kind-hearted woman, but a fine young man, the honour and hope of +Monsieur G----'s studio, and, what was still better, a good young man, +always simple and modest, almost ashamed of being distinguished, and +redoubling his attentions towards his first protectors, in proportion +as his success rendered them less necessary to him. The excellent +Gabri devoted a portion of the sum which had been destined for his +instruction to the hire of a room in the house in which Dame Robert +lived, where José could work without much inconvenience. He rose very +early, and commenced the labours of the day by making pictures of +everything that presented itself to his imagination, or copied drawings +lent to him by his master. After a hasty breakfast, he repaired to the +studio, worked until five o'clock, when, accompanied by Francisco, and +conversing together on their projects and hopes, he quietly returned +home. M. Enguehard often invited him to dinner, and took great pleasure +in extending his knowledge in such a manner as might be useful to +him. Thanks to the kind instruction of Madame Enguehard, and to his +own natural abilities, he soon learned to read and write; while M. +Enguehard especially endeavoured to make him acquainted with history +and fable,--acquirements indispensable to a painter, who, in fact, +ought not, if it were possible, to remain in ignorance of any branch of +knowledge. Everything can and ought to tend to his advancement in art: +travel, reading, science, the habits of different classes of society, +solitude, happiness, and misery, all are useful and profitable to him +who seeks to represent, with the utmost possible truth, the acts and +passions of man. + +Francisco and José had not yet reached what might be called the moral +portion of their studies; but José could form some idea of it, and +began to make, beforehand, his provisions for the future. During the +winter evenings, the two friends used to draw by lamplight, from seven +till ten, according to the custom of almost all the students. Each pay +a trifling sum monthly for the hire of the room, the models, and the +lights. The students of the various academies assemble together, and +their masters often take pleasure in passing an hour with them, and +aiding them with their counsel. + +It may, perhaps, be thought that such constant occupation must be very +fatiguing, but there are so many attractions, and so much novelty, in +the study of art, that weariness is seldom felt, especially in the full +vigour of youth; and those who have experienced it, can say whether a +week in the life of a man of the world does not leave behind it more +lassitude, more weariness, and more void, than one such as I have just +described. Besides, all is not labour in these pursuits: they rest, +they chat; ideas are exchanged and corrected; the rich are generous +towards the poor, and never refuse to share with them their experience. +The character even is improved in these studious reunions--images in +miniature of the great world into which they will have, at a later +period, to be thrown; it is no longer the rod and the rule of college, +but it is still the salutary influence of companionship; it is +emulation, and a something of the honours of renown, without that alloy +which so often spoils it for man. But woe to the sullen and morose! +woe to those who cherish absurd or bad propensities! for justice is +speedily rendered either by bitter sarcasm or by force. There, as +elsewhere, the most distinguished take the lead, and it can easily be +understood that studies, whose aim in general is to trace the good +and the beautiful, may tend to elevate the mind, and strengthen every +generous sentiment of the heart. + +José enjoyed, with intense delight, the idea of being something +of himself, of seeing before him the almost certain prospect of +an honourable subsistence, acquired by a great talent. He may one +day, perhaps, be rich; the name of Berr may one day be uttered with +respect, and his pictures placed with care in the cabinets of the most +fastidious lovers of art; but I may confidently assert, in advance, +that nothing will be so dear to him, that nothing will efface from his +memory the remembrance of the time, when, on the Monday, accompanied by +Francisco, each went to purchase his sheet of tinted paper, or when, +before retiring to rest, once more turning his canvass to take another +look at the morning's work, he ventured to hope for all that he might +then possess. + +Profoundly impressed with the obligations which he was under to Dame +Robert and to Gabri, he made it a law to himself never to lose a +single day during the whole four years of his pupilage. Always the +first at the studio, he never left before the time of the lessons, +as is sometimes done by those idlers who, having gossiped or wasted +in play the whole of the morning, hide themselves at the arrival of +the master, who supposes them absent. Still, José was not always in +an equally favourable disposition; the games and boyish tricks of his +companions possessed some attraction for him; but he rarely yielded to +the temptation, and did all he could to prevent his too volatile friend +Francisco from doing so. "What matters," said the latter, "losing +a few hours? We have time enough!" and Francisco wasted his time +without scruple. Nevertheless, his natural ability, and a few weeks' +steadiness, always kept him pretty nearly in the second rank among his +companions. + +At the expiration of a year, José began to paint sufficiently well +from nature to attempt some portraits; and he eagerly availed himself +of this means of being less burdensome to his friend Gabri. At his +express desire, Dame Robert persuaded one of her relations _to have +her face drawn in colours_; at the same time assuring her, that her +boy _was well skilled in his business_. José would certainly have been +sadly distressed could he have heard her thus torture the language of +art; but, happily, he was not present, and the good woman, with two or +three phrases of this kind, persuaded her cousin, who merely stipulated +that she should be painted with two eyes, and with her lace cap and +coral ear-rings. This portrait was to be finished for her husband's +birthday. José therefore left the studio a little earlier every day; +and, as the likeness was very striking, and had but little shade, while +the eyes looked full at the spectator, and the coral ear-rings seemed +_as if they could be taken in the fingers_, the work was universally +applauded. The young painter received innumerable compliments, twelve +francs, and several commissions, which, although paid for below their +value, so much increased his little store, that he had the satisfaction +of being able, at the end of a year, to reimburse Gabri for the hire of +his room, and Dame Robert for the trifling expense of his board. The +greater his advancement, the more profitable did his talents become; +and he at length followed the example of many other students of slender +means, who, having the good sense not to be ashamed of employing their +talents in sign-painting, adorn the shops of Paris with what might +almost be called handsome pictures. + +All Monsieur G----'s instructions were attentively listened to by José, +who sometimes even wrote down the most remarkable passages before +he went to bed. One phrase especially struck him as being the true +definition of an artist. "Three things," said this clever master to +his pupils, "are requisite for him who devotes his life to the fine +arts,--genius to conceive, taste to select, and talent to execute." +These conditions are equally applicable to the musician and to the +poet; but who can flatter himself with being possessed at once of all +these three qualifications? José dare not cherish such a hope; he dare +not believe that he had genius; but taste and talent might be acquired, +he thought; and, as our sage little friend was still but just emerged +from childhood, he wrote in large letters, upon his table and upon his +easel, the words which thus became to him a fundamental law of painting. + +The excellent Gabri experienced the most heartfelt joy at the success +of his _protégé_; he frequently visited him when at work in his room, +and, for fear of disturbing him, would remain in perfect silence behind +his chair, and then, after embracing him, he would go down to listen to +Dame Robert's chat. As we have already observed, Gabri was no talker; +their intercourse, therefore, was rather a monologue than a dialogue; +but he was never weary of listening, so long as José was the theme; +but when Dame Robert went on to any other subject, "Good evening, +neighbour," he would say; "Madame Barbe is expecting me, and you know +she is not one to make light of things." + +One morning, at the class, Monsieur G---- said to his pupils, +"Gentlemen, you will to-morrow have a new companion. I recommend him to +your kindness. Not too many experiments or jokes, if you please. He is +very young, and, doubtless, but little experienced in your ways; be, +therefore, good boys. He is sent to me by the city of Angers. Berr, +my friend, you will place him by you; and I beg that you, Enguehard, +will not show off the Parisian too much." Francisco smiled, without +replying; but Monsieur G----'s speech produced the ordinary effect, +and which he very well knew himself. The desire of tormenting the new +comer immediately seized all these young madcaps, and Francisco in +particular. "Oh!" said he, "a pupil from the provinces! how odd that +we have had none before. And they think I shall not amuse myself with +this young Raphael from Angers! Stuff! our master very well knows the +value of his recommendations in this line." And Francisco, encouraged +by the laughter of his auditors, began to make a grotesque sketch upon +the wall which he assured them was an exact portrait of the Angevin. + +"Angevin! Yes, that must be his name," said another young rogue, the +usual companion of Francisco's follies; "you know how that exasperates +them." + +"Oh! as to that," replied Francisco, "we have all our nicknames: am I +not the Madcap, and Berr the Phoenix? But listen! I'll tell you what +we must do;" and hereupon these two giddy brains began whispering in a +corner. José hazarded a few words in favour of the provincial; but he +was only laughed at, and was at last obliged to end by joining in their +mirth, though he determined, nevertheless, to exert his influence to +the utmost at the proper time, in order to save the new pupil from too +much annoyance. + +Many of the provincial towns had then, and still have, academies of +painting, destined for the artistic education of children in humble +circumstances; and the pupil who displayed the greatest amount of +talent was sent to Paris, to continue his studies under a better master +than could generally be obtained in a small town, the expenses of +those studies being defrayed by the establishment which elected him. +The youth, from whom Francisco and his mischievous companions expected +so much diversion, had been chosen by the professors of the Academy +of Angers as the most promising of its pupils. This, however, was +not saying much; and it did not unfrequently happen, that those who +occupied the first rank in the Departmental Schools, were, on entering +those of Paris, immediately placed in the lowest; still, however, +fortunate that the principles inculcated by their professors were +not those of the time of Jouvenet and Boucher. The young student had, +unhappily, been directed by an old master--an admirer of that age of +absurdity and bad taste. He made his pupils copy figures in red chalk, +portraits in pastel, and showed them with pride his prize picture--for +he, too, had been to Rome. But we may judge of the merits of his +rivals, and of the advantage he derived from his journey, when we learn +that this picture, regarded by him thirty years afterwards as his +best production, represented Cleobis and Biton; and that the Grecian +characters wore Roman armour, and draperies of gauze and silk. To crown +his misfortune, the poor candidate, small, ill-made, and more than +plainly attired, not so much in conformity with the fashions of his +province as with the length of his purse, presented an appearance not +altogether unlike the caricature sketched by Francisco upon the wall; +and it may, therefore, be easily imagined, that these young satirists +did not lose so favourable an opportunity of exercising their humour. + +Scarcely had the young man entered, than he was received with noisy +acclamations; and two of the pupils, eagerly pressing forward to +receive him, overwhelmed him with ironical and _outré_ compliments. + +"Sir!" they exclaimed, "your reputation has preceded you; the +admiration of your native city was insufficient for such distinguished +merit. You are about to receive the homage of Paris, while you have +ours already...." + +"The name of the Angevin is already celebrated," added another; "and it +will be handed down to posterity like that of Josepin." + +"But, gentlemen," said the unfortunate victim,--speaking as if all +the A's and E's had circumflex accents over them, according to the +agreeable custom of his province,--"Gentlemen, I am not called +the Angevin. My father's, as well as my own name, is Valentin lâ +Grimâudière."[3] + +This name, and especially the tone in which it was pronounced, a kind +of sing-song, difficult of imitation to those unacquainted with the +fair province of Anjou, excited fresh bursts of laughter; and Francisco +again taking the word, "You must be aware, Sir," he said, gravely, and +at the same time endeavouring to imitate the accent of the stranger, +"that the great painters are rarely known by their true names. Thus we +speak of Dominichino and Guercino, instead of Dominico Zampieri, and +Barbieri da Cento. Assuredly then it is not surprising that you should +be called the Angevin." + +"But, gentlemen," replied the simple youth, "you are indeed too good; I +do not deserve...." + +"You deserve our most profound respect, illustrious companion," +interrupted Francisco. "Gentlemen, I present to you the glory of the +Angevin Academy, the hero of Pasticcio,[4] the conqueror of Stipling, +and the favourite of the Rococos.[5] And to you, noble Angevin, I +present my especial friends, Landort, Galvaudeur (the Disturber), La +Picoterie (the Torment), Rubens the Younger, and myself, Le Braque (the +Madcap), your very humble servant. Now, my worthy friend, you know us +perfectly, so away with ceremony; take your place, my Gringalet, and +let us see what you can do. At the first rest, you shall be made to +read, to write, and to sing, and, after the model, you shall pay your +welcome." + +The unfortunate Angevin, bewildered by this torrent of bad jokes, +dared neither reply nor resist. He had arrived early, in the hope +of finding his future companions less numerous; but his precaution +had proved a failure. Francisco, and the merry participators in his +follies, had divined his intention, and their diligence surpassed his +own. The more sober pupils had not yet arrived; and José, detained by +a portrait which he had to finish that morning, did not arrive until +late, so that the innocent victim remained unprotected in the midst of +his persecutors. Although he had announced himself as having painted, +Monsieur G---- made him commence by drawing, in order to judge of his +power. + +"Sit there," said Francisco, pointing to an empty seat between two +of his companions; "the call has been made, but that is the place of +honour, the best for the light, and the one always chosen by the first +on the master's list;" and he pushed the poor lad towards the place +which his mischief had destined for him. + +As studios in repute are usually well attended, and as space is not +always in proportion to the number of the pupils, they are often +much inconvenienced, and press round the model in three or four rows +of different elevations. Those of the first row are seated upon +low wooden benches; those of the second upon chairs; others again +upon high stools; while, behind these, upon still higher stools, or +standing, come those who paint, with scarcely room for themselves +and their light easels. The place pointed out by Francisco to the +unfortunate competitor, was upon one of the little benches, so that +above him were seated two pupils who amused themselves by resting +their drawing-boards upon his head, and obliged him to hold it bent +down, in a position by no means convenient, especially for looking +at the model, which was placed upon a table two or three feet high. +Besides, the disagreeable person above him, pretending to be obliged to +touch and retouch his work again and again, crumbled up large pieces +of bread, which he afterwards shook over the work of the patient +Angevin. More than one bullet of bread was aimed at his nose, too, +and by such well-practised hands, that their occupation seemed in no +way interrupted. Conversation, however, flowed on as usual, while +the elder students, busied with their work, thought no more of the +stranger. He, poor fellow, tormented, crushed, with heavy drops of +perspiration standing on his brow, and not daring to utter a syllable, +smudged his paper at random, while tears rolled down his cheeks when +he thought of the opinion Monsieur G---- would form of his talents. +Summoning up his courage, however, he at length ventured to address +his right-hand neighbour, and said gently, "Would you be so kind as to +lend me your penknife, Sir?" No reply. "Sir;" he resumed in a somewhat +louder tone, and gently touching him, "if you have a penknife...." +The young man looked at him with astonishment, and pointing to his +ear, gave him to understand that he was deaf. The Angevin sighed, +not wishing to speak louder, for fear of again becoming an object of +ridicule, and turning towards his left-hand neighbour, he again said, +"Oblige me with a penknife, Sir, if you please." The student raised his +head, and replied gravely, "_Non intelligo, domine; non sum Gallus._" +"But, Sir, it is a penknife I want," continued the Angevin, at the same +time making a movement with his fingers, as if cutting a pencil. His +mischievous companion pretended not to understand him, and affecting +to believe that he was making game of him, he pretended to be angry, +and gave him so rude a push that he almost fell from his by no means +steady seat. His portfolio escaped from his hold, and all the drawings +and papers contained in it flew into the middle of the room. The +Angevin, in despair, crept as softly as possible to pick them up, but +his persecutors were not yet weary of the sport. "Get away from the +model! Silence!" exclaimed those of the last row, who were disturbed by +this commotion. "To the hunt! dog! hunt!" cried the others. At length +the poor boy succeeded in returning to his place; but he found himself +so much pressed, and so ill at ease, his companions having designedly +drawn closer together, that, urged to extremes, his anger was on the +point of triumphing over his timidity, when the door opened, and José +appeared. + +"Ah! Phoenix, Phoenix!" exclaimed the young students. "Good morning, +my brave Phoenix," said Francisco; "you are late for a Monday morning, +and will get no place for painting."--"I shall not paint this week," +replied José, advancing towards the fire-place; then looking round +him he said, "Who will give me his place, and I will give him my +study?"--"I! I!" exclaimed several voices. + +"Come, then!" said José, who had immediately observed the uncomfortable +position of the Angevin, "it shall be you, Maurice;" and he pointed to +the pupil seated beside the stranger, who had pretended to be deaf. +"Bravo!" exclaimed Maurice, rising, "I shall have your study. Besides, +I am not very industriously disposed. I shall do nothing this week. +I'll be a gentleman at large!" + +José took his place, and by a glance caused the drawing-boards which +crushed his unfortunate _protégé_ to be removed: then, as if he had +forgotten to bring paper with him, he asked him for a sheet. The +Angevin hastened to comply with the request, and José having kindly +addressed some questions to him, he began to feel a little more at +his ease. At the hour of recreation, these mischief-loving urchins +again met to decide whether some grand joke could not be played off +upon their victim; but José, stepping into the midst of the group, +exclaimed, "No! no! gentlemen, enough of this; let us leave the poor +fellow in peace; he is not a Paris boy, and I demand an exception in +his favour. I was far more of a foreigner among you than he is, yet +have I found in you most excellent comrades." + +José was so much beloved, and possessed so much influence over his +companions, that their sport had no longer any interest for them the +moment he disapproved of it; so the Angevin was abandoned to his young +protector. The nickname alone adhered to him, and it was not long +before they discovered in him so much kindness and good-nature, that +they soon ceased to have any desire of tormenting him. He obtained the +good opinion of all his fellow-students; but José was his friend, and +to serve him he would have gone through fire and water. + +Solon has, I think, said: "No praise before death;" and he said +wisely, for one moment of forgetfulness might tarnish even the most +irreproachable life. Who can boast of being infallible, especially +in youth? José, the prudent José, learned this to his cost; for, +unhappily, these reflections apply to him. It was his first fault; but +it was a serious one, as we shall show. + +Occasionally, during the summer, José's companions formed themselves +into little parties, and spent the day in the country in an inexpensive +manner; for they had both good legs and a good appetite, and required +only simple fare. They went into the environs of Paris, and returned +home in the evening, after spending a pleasant day. But José, though +keenly alive to the pleasure of these parties, often refused to join +them, as they occasioned a loss of time which to him was very precious. +However, the fête of Saint Cloud was approaching, and Francisco +proposed going to see the fountains play. This proposition was eagerly +acceded to, and José felt a strong desire to accompany them. He had +never seen the fountains play, and this sight possesses powerful +attractions to a Parisian, and especially to a young man like José, +who was ignorant of almost everything foreign to his studies. It was, +therefore, decided that they should form a party of twelve, dine at +Saint Cloud, and share the expenses between them. José communicated +his project to Dame Robert, and this excellent woman loved him too +tenderly to oppose what appeared likely to afford him so much pleasure; +nevertheless, at the moment of his departure, she followed him to the +door, recommending him not to lose his purse in the crowd, and not get +into any quarrel with the boothkeepers at the fair. José smiled at her +fears, and hastened to rejoin his friends, who were to meet him at the +Tuileries. + +The young people merrily pursued their way, already amused with +the procession of carriages, horses, carts, and pedestrians, like +themselves, all taking the same direction. On arriving at Saint Cloud, +they commenced with a simple breakfast, the greater part of their +little treasure being reserved for their evening meal. They then took +a survey of the booths, admired the cascades, listened to the bands, +marvelled at the conjurors, and even laughed at Punch's buffoonery, as +the numerous spectators of this fête are annually accustomed to do at +the same season of the year. They several times fell in with a troop +of young men, pupils of a different master, and their rivals in glory +and talent. These two studios were jealous and inimical, as well from +party spirit as from a sentiment of attachment to their masters; and +this animosity had been manifested in more than one encounter of class +against class, for there existed between them no individual aversion. +On this occasion, they looked at each other with an expression of irony. + +"Oh, oh!" cried José's companions, "here are the Princes of _Babocheux_ +and _Flou-flou_."[6] + +"Yes, gentlemen," replied the others, "ready to admire your _Croûtes +aux épinards_."[7] + +Each made a grimace; but they separated without saying anything more. + +Returned to the inn, after having wandered about for a considerable +time, José and his companions were prepared to enjoy a repast, dainty +to them, from their simple habits; and they contemplated it with a +degree of satisfaction, which would have made many young people, +spoiled either by fortune or by their parents, shrug their shoulders +with contempt. Their table was laid in what was called the garden, +a small enclosure surrounded by walls, and covered with a trellis +work, ornamented with honey-suckle and vine. This spot was capable of +containing five or six tables, separated by partitions, also of trellis +work, and though very warm, still there was a little more air there +than in the house; besides the circumstances of the guests permitted +them no choice, and our young students were therefore very well +satisfied at being so comfortably located. + +As may be imagined, there was no lack of conversation; this turned at +first upon their good cheer, which they had time enough to enjoy, as +the waiters were so much occupied, that they allowed full half an hour +to intervene between each course. + +"Well! Angevin, my friend," said Francisco,--for José's protection had +caused him to be received into the party,--"what do you think of this +Marinade?[8] something better than your usual fare, hey!" + +"I should think so," replied the Angevin, holding out his plate for +the third or fourth time. "Plague take the stew, I shan't touch it +to-morrow." + +"What!" cried the young folks, laughing; "what do you mean by the stew?" + +"Oh! nothing, nothing," replied the Angevin, already regretting his +indiscretion; but his companions insisting, and José joining in their +request, he told them, laughingly, that, finding it impossible to live +in Paris in any other than the most economical manner, he had ended, +after trying various plans, by purchasing a large stew-pan and an +earthen stove. He filled it once a week with turnips, potatoes, and a +few slices of bacon, which he boiled altogether, and this _ragout_, +which was hot only for the first time, served him for dinner during the +whole week. He was so much accustomed to call it his stew, that the +word had inadvertently escaped him in the presence of his companions. + +"My poor fellow!" said José, holding out his hand to him. "Poor +Angevin!" repeated the others; and, so far from laughing, a momentary +silence pervaded the whole party. + +"Gentlemen," said Francisco, who blushed at the remembrance of the +murmurs which often escaped him on account of what he called his +father's unnecessary economy; "I am going to propose a toast: to the +success of our worthy comrade! May he gain the prize, even though I +should myself have to be left behind him." + +The young friends rose, and eagerly touched their glasses, while the +Angevin, deeply moved, repeated, in a tone of emotion, "Oh! Berr, Berr, +it is to you that I owe all this!" + +Their conversation then turned upon painting, and upon the hopes +entertained by Francisco and José, who flattered themselves with being +this year permitted to compete for the prize, not, however, with the +presumptuous hope of obtaining it, for they were both very young, +especially José; but the mere fact of being admitted to the competition +counted for much, and they might perhaps deserve honourable mention. +Francisco had, moreover, an additional motive for desiring, as soon as +possible, to distinguish himself. Glory was not the only passion which +agitated his breast; for some time past he had grieved at being without +fortune or reputation, which prevented him from aspiring to an alliance +which would have crowned his fondest wishes. But this prospect was so +distant and so uncertain that he had never spoken of it, even to José, +except once, and then very vaguely. + +Whilst, then, they were conversing upon art, with an enthusiasm +worthy of the subject, they were interrupted by a loud noise, which +proceeded from a room on the first-floor, immediately above the +spot where they were dining. As the window was open, it was easy to +overhear what passed, and, by a natural feeling of curiosity, the young +guests checked their conversation, in order to listen to their joyous +neighbours. + +"By the powers!" cried one, "here's a splendid _charge_[9] it ought to +be hung up in Barbe's shop; the veriest _rapin_[10] would recognise it!" + +"Yes," said another, "it is his very self, with his vagabond air! Ah! +ah! my gentlemen of the green and yellow school! you fancy you are +going to carry off the next prizes from us, do you? We shall see, my +lads! we shall see!" + +Our young friends looked at each other with indignation, and softly +approached the window, in order to hear more, for they recognised their +antagonists, who doubtless little imagined they were so near. + +"For my part," said one of the rival students, "I fear neither Rivol +nor Enguehard, nor even the famous Berr, about whom they make such a +fuss; he is ready enough, and up to the tricks of the art, and that's +all. Enguehard is an idle dog, who does no good, while Rivol is too +well off ever to be anything more than an amateur and a dauber. So down +with the Purists, and long life to the Colourists!" + +"Long life to the Colourists!" shouted his companions, and they +added many other jests so bitter and so personal, that José and his +friends, already animated by a few glasses of wine, to which they were +unaccustomed, could no longer restrain their indignation, and commenced +the attack by throwing into the room plates, knives, and anything +else which happened to come in their way. The enemy hastened to the +window, and recognising their adversaries, uttered shouts of laughter, +which completely exasperated the others. A decanter, thrown by José, +struck the forehead of one of the Colourists, who in their turn became +furious, and began to make a descent, by means of the trellis-work +placed beneath the window, for the purpose of crushing their +antagonists. A battle then ensued, amidst bitter insults. Fragments +of broken chairs flew about in all directions, the women at the +neighbouring tables screamed, the children cried, and the men rushed +forward to separate the combatants, without being in the least able to +understand the invectives with which they overwhelmed each other, under +the names of Purists and Colourists. The landlord of the inn, attracted +by the noise, ran towards the scene of action, followed by his waiters, +and they succeeded, without much difficulty, in calming those who were +only _soldiers_--for they fought solely for the honour of their corps. +But the chiefs did not so readily listen to reason; Enguehard was +stretched upon the ground, his arms pinioned by the two stout hands of +a Colourist, and José, absolutely out of his senses, was stifling, with +the weight of his knee, the young man who had spoken of him with so +much contempt, and who had just been conquered by his impetuosity. + +These four madmen would listen to nothing, and were at length obliged +to be separated by main force; but José, while still struggling, +slipped over some pieces of the broken plates, and gave himself so +violent a twist that he was unable to rise, and was obliged to remain +seated on the ground, suffering excruciating pain. + +It being proved by the testimony of eye-witnesses, that the young +people in the garden had commenced this memorable battle, by throwing +plates into the room, and that the Colourists had only broken the +trellis-work in descending, the landlord contented himself with a +slight sum as indemnification, and allowed them to depart; but José +and his friends had done considerable damage, and had been the first +to commence the disturbance; they had only sufficient money to defray +the expenses of their dinner, and the innkeeper declared that he would +be paid, and that he should send for the police. Francisco increased +the man's anger, by the rage into which he put himself; the poor +Angevin employed prayers and tears, to soften the innkeeper; while +José, ashamed, and in despair, maintained a gloomy silence, abandoning +himself to the most melancholy reflections, when his name, pronounced +by a severe and well-known voice, made him utter a cry, and hide his +face in his hands. + +The voice was that of the good and vigilant Gabri, who had been induced +by his active friendship for José to follow him to the fête, and to +watch over the inexperience which he very justly attributed to him. He +had watched the young men from a distance, and determined not to make +his appearance, except in case of accident; finally, having been able +to find accommodation only at the farther end of the place occupied by +them at the inn, he had been the last to arrive at the scene of action. + +"Sir," he said coldly to the innkeeper, "estimate the damage done, and +make out your account; I will discharge the debts of these madcaps, who +are of my acquaintance, and we will afterwards settle matters together." + +The host, who was no cheat, and who was, moreover, too happy to be paid +without any further trouble, made out a tolerably reasonable account, +which Gabri immediately discharged. Then telling Francisco and the +Angevin to support José, who was unable to walk, he placed him in a +carriage, and drove off with him, after having saluted the troop of +students, who were still too much bewildered by what had taken place +even to think of thanking him. + +Gabri had placed José in the cabriolet in as convenient a position +as possible for his injured leg, while he went upon the box himself, +and during the whole of their way home never once addressed a single +word to the poor sufferer, nor even turned his head towards him, +notwithstanding the complaints which the constant jolting of the rude +vehicle drew from the culprit. The well-paid coachman took them as +far as Dame Robert's door. "There, there he is," said Gabri to the +terrified woman, "and now good evening; I will see him again when he +has recovered, and grown wiser;" and he turned away without listening +to Dame Robert's exclamations, who in her trouble did not perceive +that José had almost fainted. He was conveyed to bed, his dislocated +ankle set, and his numerous bruises attended to: but the wine which +he had taken, and the violent excitement which had followed an excess +altogether new to him, brought on a somewhat severe illness, which +lasted for several days; and even when it was subdued he was obliged +to remain six weeks with his foot resting upon a chair, without being +able to move. We may judge of his grief and remorse, which many +circumstances contributed to augment. Gabri allowed his heart to be +touched by his repentance, and consented to see him; but he was sad, +and Dame Robert uneasy; and José was one day deeply grieved to see her, +while thinking herself unobserved, lock up a bottle of brandy which was +standing near him. + +Soon afterwards he had to endure a far more bitter trial. The time +for competing for the prizes arrived; Francisco was admitted for +the sketches; while José, who was only just beginning to walk, and +whose studies had, moreover, been too much interrupted, was obliged +to give up all hope for that year, and endure the mortification of +finding himself left behind by companions considerably less advanced +than himself. Francisco, though sincerely grieved at his friend's +misfortune, felt his ardour increased from not having to compete with +so formidable a rival. He made astonishing efforts to sustain the +honour of the school, but he only obtained the second prize, which did +not send its possessor to Rome: the first was carried off by that same +chief of the Colourists who had spoken of José with so much contempt: +and thus the poor boy remained with the bitter remembrance of two +months passed in suffering, of a triumph lost, and of a folly committed. + +However, as it is not considered that a young man must necessarily be +dishonoured because he has once been intoxicated and beaten, José, +after having passed some time in a state of complete apathy, at length +took courage. He perceived, that instead of abandoning himself to vain +regrets he ought to endeavour to repair his fault, while that intimate +consciousness of power, in which even the most modest cannot help +believing, told him, that he _could_ repair everything. It usually +happens after a first fault, that a young man either turns from the +evil path, or pursues it for the rest of his life. José had too +much superiority of nature not to profit by experience. Redoubling, +therefore, both his assiduity and zeal, he made such marked progress +during the course of the current year, that Monsieur G. decided that he +also might compete as well as Francisco and Rivol. + +The place in which the young people then worked at their prize +pictures, was situated at the top of that same _Pavilion du Musée_, +of which we have already spoken. It was divided into several little +compartments, or cells, called _boxes_, in each of which a student +was shut up, so as to allow him no communication with his companions, +and still less with his master or with strangers. The subject for the +picture was chosen by the professors of painting of the Institution; +the programme was distributed to the candidates, and when their +sketches were made, and received, they were all to commence their +pictures at the same time, according to those sketches, without +changing anything. Each morning, on arriving, they were rigidly +searched, in order to make sure that they brought with them no drawings +or engravings which could in any manner aid them. Thus left to their +own resources, they passed two months in this manner, _en loge_, as +it is termed; and these pictures, the figures in which were one third +the size of life, were publicly exhibited during three days before the +prizes were awarded. But although it was strictly forbidden for the +pupils to see their respective works, in order, doubtless, to prevent +the weak from being aided by the strong, or to take care that a happy +idea should remain the sole property of its author--notwithstanding, I +say, all these precautions, the students of that time, less sensible +perhaps than those of the present day, found means of visiting each +other without being perceived. The windows of their cells all looked +in the same direction, upon a small, dirty, and almost unfrequented +square, in which is now situated one of the gates leading to the quay. +These temporary abodes were, as we have already said, situated in the +roof, all the windows opening upon wide leads, unprotected by railings. +These madcaps, at the imminent risk of breaking their necks by falling +from an immense height, glided by this way from one cell to another. +The more scrupulous closed their windows, so as to prevent intrusion; +but two days before the expiration of the time allowed for the +pictures, each student permitted, without difficulty, his work to be +inspected by his companions, and the little Areopagus, with remarkable +sagacity and impartiality, precisely anticipated the decrees of the +greater one, and awarded the first and second prize in such a manner, +that there is scarcely an example of their decisions having turned out +erroneous. + +José, who took the first rank in the sketches, now prepared to submit +to this trial, so severe, but, at the same time, so important to him. +Monsieur G. had recommended the reputation of his studio to his pupils. +Three times had they competed, without any of them obtaining the first +prize. It was necessary to repair this disgrace, and be avenged for +the late success of the Colourists. In addition to two formidable +rivals in the opposition school, José had to contend against his two +friends, Francisco and Rivol, who, besides having already competed +for the prize, had, also, the advantage of age--José was then only +fifteen years and a half old; but these considerations by no means +discouraged him; and fired by that enthusiastic and true love of art +which overcomes all difficulties, he commenced, though not without +emotion, the required picture, the subject of which was the "Death of +Hippolytus." + +Dame Robert, as may be imagined, was greatly excited, and her mind +wholly absorbed by her darling boy's undertaking. Certainly, had she +been consulted, José would have had nothing to fear; but neither the +good woman's indulgence, nor Gabri's affection, could avail poor José +anything--they must wait. "If," said Dame Robert, "I could only see +what they are doing, I should soon find out whether José had not left +them behind; but they are cloistered up like so many monks, and when +the boy comes home at night, he does not even so much as give us a hint +as to how things are going on." + +Gabri, equally anxious, but more discreet than Dame Robert, did not +seek to elicit anything from José; but he watched him carefully, sighed +when the poor boy appeared depressed, and rubbed his hands with glee +when he seemed happy. + +The good-natured Angevin, who was not yet sufficiently advanced to +compete for the prize, was deeply interested in the success of his +friend; but he felt little uneasiness, for he knew that José was very +far superior to his rivals. He too would have liked to have seen his +work, but he was obliged to content himself with walking beneath the +windows of the young captives, and see their heads pop out and in +occasionally, like so many marionettes, with now and then a mahl-stick +accompanying them, and serving to complete the resemblance. + +Six weeks had passed away, the pictures were advancing, and as, with +the exception of José and his companions, the competitors were of +different schools, he had seen only the work of his friends; and his +own was so far superior to theirs, that a hope which he scarcely dared +own, even to himself, made his heart beat high within his breast. He +had nothing to fear from the other students, as they were all inferior +to Francisco and Rivol. He was standing, therefore, contemplating with +a kind of secret pleasure the group of terrified horses which he had +just completed, when Francisco tapped at his window, and immediately +afterwards leaping into the room, told him, with a countenance +expressive of the utmost concern, that he was in despair, and should +never succeed with his figure of Aricia, which was in the programme +distributed for the picture. Subjects are usually selected with but few +female figures, these being more difficult for the young artists, as +they cannot have models; and the unfortunate Aricia, which almost all +of them had reserved till the last, had completely wrecked both the +courage and talent of Francisco. He looked with admiration on José's +Aricia, for he had been entirely successful, at least in his sketch. +José, anxious to soothe the agitation of his friend, accompanied him +across the leads to his cell, in order to examine the figure which so +much distressed him: he found it awkward, ill-drawn, and in bad taste, +and could not conceal from his friend that he thought it detestable. +This, of course, served only to increase Francisco's despair. He +dashed his palette to the ground, stamped upon it, broke his brushes, +and ended by crying with rage. José embraced and tried to soothe him, +and at length, by dint of kindness and encouragement, succeeded in +persuading him that all was not yet lost, and that he could still +repaint the figure during the week that yet remained to them. He +pointed out to him what he had to avoid, and raised his courage by +dwelling on the merits of the rest of the picture. At last, after +having spent two hours in this manner, he left him, if not entirely +consoled, at least sufficiently recovered to resume his work. + +The following days Francisco repainted his unfortunate figure, but +still without success; he effaced it, recommenced, again effaced it, +and at last succeeded in completing it; but in a manner so far inferior +to the other parts of the composition, that it formed a blemish which +destroyed the general effect. Such was the opinion of his companions, +when, according to the rule established among them, they visited each +other to judge of the respective merits of their productions. They had +still four days to remain at work, and the pictures were not completely +finished, but it was easy to judge which would obtain the prize; and +José was regarded as the conqueror, provided he completed the figure of +Aricia as he had done the group of Hippolytus and his horses. Next to +his, came Francisco's picture, then Rivol's, the others were very far +from the mark, and need, therefore, cause them no anxiety. + +Francisco, deprived of the last ray of hope by the decision of his +companions, as well as by that of his own judgment, shut himself up in +his cell, and would not allow José to enter, though he entreated for +admittance. He gave no reply to these friendly solicitations, and the +intensity of his annoyance had rendered him so unjust, that to avoid +seeing José, who lay crouched upon the narrow ledge of the window, he +took a large piece of linen, which served him for a blind, and fastened +it before the window. José listened to him for some time pacing up and +down and groaning with despair; but seeing that his perseverance was +useless and importunate he retired, deeply grieved at his distress. + +He passed a sleepless night, and the next morning no sooner had he +reached his own cell than he ran to Francisco's; but he was not there, +his picture still rested upon the easel, and for a moment José thought +of retouching the figure of Aricia. But this would have been a +palpable fraud, and his honour revolted from its commission. Francisco, +moreover, would never have consented to triumph by such disgraceful +means. José, therefore, laid down the brush which he had taken up, and +with a heavy heart returned to his own cell. + +Whilst painting the figure which had proved so fatal to poor Francisco, +he vainly sought some method of serving him, and his tender friendship +made him almost desire that his Aricia might not be better than his +companion's. He worked with so little care, that, had any one else been +in the case, his wishes would have been accomplished; but, as it often +happens with artists, the very thing that he took the least pains with +turned out the best; and, to make use of a familiar expression, this +figure came so happily, that even an experienced painter would not have +been ashamed to own it. + +With a mind absorbed in reflection, José painted on almost without +heeding what he did, and it was not until he rose up, when all was +completed, that he perceived that the last touches seemed to have been +given by the hand of a master, rather than by that of a pupil. His +first feeling was one of intense joy, but it was soon overshadowed by +the thought of Francisco. He felt that the prize was his, but soon one +of those noble inspirations which elevated minds alone receive in their +happiest moments, presented itself to his imagination, and showed him +that the safety of his friend depended solely upon him. + +By one of the old rules of the professors, the pupil who presented his +picture with a figure completely erased, or otherwise defaced, was on +this account excluded from the competition; his picture was exhibited +with the others, but was not taken into account in the awarding of the +prizes, even though it were a masterpiece in comparison with the rest. +This rule, which it was found rarely necessary to apply, was unknown +to most of the students. José had become informed of it during his +residence at M. Barbe's, but he was quite sure that Francisco knew +nothing about it. His friend's picture was the best, after his own; +and by having the courage to destroy the figure of Aricia, which alone +would have ensured the prize to a work of less merit, Francisco would +remain without a rival. + +At first José seized upon this idea with all the warmth of generous +affection, but, on raising his eyes to his work, he began to think +the sacrifice beyond his strength. Pacing his cell with agitation, he +thought of the honour of being crowned at the age of sixteen, of the +pleasure of going to Italy, and of the advantage his studies would +derive from the journey. + +"But," said he, turning his back upon his picture, "Francisco needs it +almost as much as myself; the means of his parents are almost exhausted +by the efforts they have made for his education; his mother's health +requires a warmer climate; if Francisco gains the prize his family will +follow him,..." and José again approached his easel. + +"Francisco is nearly twenty," he continued; "he has already obtained a +second prize, and thus cannot have it again; his age will soon exclude +him from the competition, while I have still two or three years before +me; moreover, he spoke to me of a vague hope which he entertained of a +happy marriage, to which his want of fortune might one day be the only +obstacle. If a brilliant success were to overcome this obstacle? If the +happiness of his future life depended upon what I am about to do?..." +José trembled, opened a box, took out his palette knife, and approached +the head of the charming Aricia--but again he paused. + +"If I were only to injure it a little," he thought, "alas! it would +still be better than my poor friend's!"... and he cast a look of +approbation upon the canvas. But soon a thought presented itself, which +dispelled his irresolution, and strengthened his wavering heroism. He +recalled that painful moment when, despised, falsely accused, on +the point of being driven from the house by Barbe, and without hope +of justification, Francisco did not fear to own the truth, and to +re-establish, at his own cost, the honour of the poor little Savoyard. +The honourable career which was now before him commenced from that +moment; all that he was, all that he hoped to be, sprang, in the first +instance, from Francisco's generous confession.... José no longer +hesitated, he resumed his knife, and with a firm hand so erased the +figure that nothing but the sketch remained--and thus nobly repaid the +debt of friendship formerly contracted to his young companion. + +[Illustration: José erasing his Figure of Aricia, p. 301.] + +Satisfied with himself, and more calm after this trial of strength--an +act of high virtue in a young man of sixteen--José gave the last +touches to the other parts of his picture, and so cleverly managed the +erasure, that nothing more could be inferred from it, than one of those +movements of irritability by no means uncommon among students. He kept +his secret until the day previous to the one on which the pictures were +to be removed. He then called upon Francisco at his father's, and told +him that his figure of Aricia was unfinished, and indeed in a great +measure effaced, and that there was not time to repaint it. Francisco, +recovered from his unjust displeasure, grieved for and blamed his +friend; but, being ignorant of the rule of exclusion, he assured him +that the prize would still be his, and José did not attempt to remove +his impression. + +But José had still severe trials to encounter: he foresaw the grief of +Dame Robert, Gabri's disappointment, and finally a whole year's work +before he could again reach the desired goal, which he had so nearly +attained; but the most painful moment was past, and he awaited that in +which Francisco should be triumphant, as the only compensation worthy +of him. + +The exhibition of pictures was held, as usual, in a small room on the +basement floor, now appropriated to another use. The artistic crowd +arrived, and was constantly renewed during three entire days; and the +young students, mingling with it, heard alike the censure and praise +unreservedly bestowed, and often even with the knowledge that the +young authors of the works were present. The universal opinion was +in favour of the pictures of José and Francisco; but the spectators +were constantly heard to exclaim, "A figure erased! what a pity! what +madness!" + +At length, on the fourth day, after a private conference, the +professors summoned before them the trembling candidates, and José's +sacrifice did not prove unavailing. He heard Francisco Enguehard +proclaimed for the first prize, Rivol for the second, and he scarcely +heard the honourable mention made of himself, notwithstanding the fatal +figure which had excluded him from the competition. + +Francisco, surprised and bewildered at such unexpected happiness, +scarcely knew what he was about; he did not hear the felicitations of +his companions, but allowed himself to be led away by José, who made +him run until he reached his father's house. + +"He has gained the prize!" cried José, at the foot of the stairs, +"Francisco has gained the prize!" and seeing his friend in the arms +of his parents, who wept while they blessed him, this noble youth was +rewarded by a pleasure more intense and more elevated than any which +his own triumph could have afforded him. + +Leaving Francisco in the arms of his happy mother, who was never weary +of looking at him, and who even thought him handsomer, now that the +laurel decked his brow, José bent his steps homeward, and perceived in +the distance Dame Robert and Gabri anxiously awaiting his return. + +"He walks rapidly," said Dame Robert; "so much the better, he bears us +good news."--"He looks happy," continued Gabri: "Oh, if he has gained +the prize! at sixteen, too!" and already a smile of joy shone upon the +countenance of this excellent man. + +"Congratulate me, my friends," cried José, as he approached them; "I am +happy in my failure; Francisco has gained the prize!" + +"Francisco!" exclaimed Dame Robert, letting fall her arms, already +extended to embrace him; "and you? Have you gained nothing? On my word +there must be some abominable trickery in the affair." + +"No," replied José smiling, "but be comforted, my good mother, I am +neither depressed nor discouraged, and next year you shall see the +laurels on my brow." + +"But," said Gabri, in a tone of vexation, "who obtained the second +prize?" + +"Rivol," replied José; "and I might perhaps have had it if ..." and he +looked timidly at Gabri, "if I had not erased my figure of Aricia." + +"Yes!" exclaimed Gabri, as if talking to himself, "I was sure of it, I +suspected as much at the exhibition.... José, José, embrace me, my son. +Gracious Heaven! this is the first day I have passed without regretting +the loss of my own noble boys." + +Gabri was too familiar with artistic matters not to have divined the +sacrifice which José's friendship had induced him to make, and his +heart was capable of appreciating and rejoicing in it; but Dame Robert, +who understood nothing of the matter, save that her boy was rejected, +gave free vent to her dissatisfaction. + +"Indeed, M. Gabri, it is very fine to pet him up after such a failure +as that. Who would have thought it? It was well worth while to be shut +up for two months without uttering a syllable, to let others walk off +with the prize; still your picture was very fine, my boy, though, +to tell you the truth, your female figure was too pale. I told you, +however, not to spare your colours, but young people will always have +their own way." + +José smiled, and hastened to tranquillize the good woman. So far as +concerned himself he succeeded without much difficulty; but she was for +some time out of humour with Gabri, whose triumphant air annoyed her, +because she did not understand it. Nor did she gain any information +on the subject, for Gabri was discreet, and would not divulge José's +secret; he did not even seek an explanation from the lad himself; +but his marks of friendship were increased, and he more frequently +repeated, "My son José!" + +At the annual meeting of the Academy, when the students publicly +receive the laurel crown, awarded for the merits of their works, José +appeared more pleased than Francisco. He was restless, busying himself +with his friend's toilet, &c.; and, placed in a corner of the room +during the ceremony, the spectators might have imagined, from his +excitement and his looks, when Francisco Enguehard was proclaimed, that +he was the happy father of the young laureate, were it not that his +almost childish features precluded the supposition. + +A month after this great epoch for the two friends, they were +separated; Francisco and his parents took the route to Italy; and +José having returned to his studies, pursued them with ardour and +contentment in thinking of the happiness which he had been the means of +securing to three persons. + +The year passed, and when again about to compete for the prize, José +wrote to his friend, and told him to expect him in three months from +that date. He felt confidence in himself, and had acquired so much +power, that notwithstanding the merits of seven competitors, all older +than himself, his picture was unanimously declared the best. It was +even so superior to anything usually seen at these competitions, that +it was thought proper to allow the exhibition to remain open several +days longer than usual, in order to gratify the crowd of amateurs who +flocked to see it. Dame Robert fully enjoyed José's triumph, and the +almost equal pleasure of relating its history to her neighbours. Gabri +rubbed his hands, and bent his head while listening to the praises of +the young artist, and the honest Barbe exultingly boasted of having +supplied for this famous picture the finest and the best canvas in his +shop. + +José, overwhelmed with honours, and full of joy, set out on his way +to Rome, where he found Francisco, who had still four years remaining +of the five granted by the government. Monsieur and Madame Enguehard +received José as a second son; he lived in the same house with them, +and enjoyed, in all its fulness, the delights of a life devoted to +friendship and the fine arts, in that beautiful land where these arts +so naturally flourish. + +Many years have passed away since these events took place. Monsieur +and Madame Barbe, grown rich and old, have retired, and given up +their business to the excellent Gabri. A new generation of artists +and students frequents the shop, and pursues pretty nearly the same +habits as that which preceded it. But it is not in the same spot; +the theatre of José's first exploits no longer exists. The two large +posts may still, indeed, be seen; but Barbe's house has been taken +down, and in its place monkeys and learned birds, attract by their +various tricks, numerous spectators. Francisco Enguehard, steady and +talented, is married, as he wished, to the only daughter of a rich +antiquary, who desired to have for a son-in-law, a man of genius. +Dame Robert has given up her business to her eldest son, and rests +her fingers, if not her tongue, for she is never weary of relating to +any one who will listen to her, how that José was a poor orphan, how +she took him and put him to sleep on her counter, &c., &c. Philip, a +worthy fellow, and a passable tailor, is married and settled, as he +says, in his wife's native province, that is to say in the Marais. The +poor Angevin, still a bad painter, notwithstanding all his efforts and +perseverance, has returned to Angers. There, at least, he has talent, +and directs in his turn the same school which sent him to Paris. He +who was called poor José is now one of our most distinguished artists. +He possesses a respectable fortune, acquired by his talents, and, +what is far more valuable to him, the universal esteem granted to the +most noble character and the most irreproachable conduct. Faithful +alike to delicacy and friendship, Francisco never knew the sacrifice +which obtained for him his crown. José's laurels are suspended in his +magnificent studio, beside his first palette, and his shoeblack's +knife. He watches over Gabri, as a son over a father; listens to the +long stories of the good old Dame Robert, without the least sign of +impatience; and, finally, though young, handsome, and sought after, he +always wears clothes made by Philip, and boasting of little elegance, +with shoes of the same kind from Dame Robert's shop: and this is not +the least remarkable trait in his history. + + + + +CAROLINE: + +OR, THE EFFECTS OF A MISFORTUNE. + + +"How delighted I am that Robert is gone!" exclaimed Caroline de +Manzay, as she entered her mother's room; "I never knew anybody so +disagreeable!" + +"What!" said Madame de Manzay, "not even Denis?" + +"Oh! that is quite different; Denis is teazing and troublesome, meddles +with everything, and is angry when prevented; he jeers and laughs at +one, and becomes passionate and insulting when contradicted; but then +he is a mere child, and one overlooks it." + +"You did not seem very ready to do so: you were always quarrelling, and +could say very insulting things yourself sometimes." + +"For all that I like him better than Robert." + +"Yet Robert never teazed you; he is very reasonable." + +"To be sure he is; he is twenty years old: and how proud he is! Because +he is five years older than I am he treats me like a little girl, and +to-day he told me I was a spoiled child." + +"Robert is not the first person who has said that, my dear; but for +what reason did he pay you this compliment?" + +"It was because Denis, who always takes delight in seeing me vexed, +came to tell me, with an air of triumph, that when we took him and +Robert to the village, we were to go by the road which I do not like. I +said we were not to go that way; he asserted that we were, because he +had heard my father give orders to his forester to wait for him at the +green-gate, that he might see on his way back the fir-trees which are +to be cut. Then I declared that I would not go out at all, and Robert +laughed at me, and insisted that if my father chose it I should be +obliged to go, and to take the road he wished. All this made me angry, +and when papa came up I teazed him so, till he said we should go the +way I liked best, and that he would look at the fir-trees another time. +'Well,' said I to Robert, when my father was at a little distance, +'it is my turn to laugh at you now;' 'I would recommend you not,' he +replied, very contemptuously, 'there is no glory in being a spoiled +child, and in abusing indulgence,' and then he turned his back on me. +Oh! I detest him! So when he got into the carriage I would not say +good-bye, and when he came up to kiss me, I turned my back upon him in +my turn." + +"And did that appear to grieve him?" + +"He did not care in the least; he began to laugh, and said, 'Adieu, +Caroline, try to become a little more reasonable, you need it greatly.'" + +"And how did you part with Denis?" + +"Oh, very well, for I spoke to him." + +"What did you say to him?" + +"I told him I was delighted that he was going away, because he was +so rude; and he replied, that he was quite as glad, because I was so +wilful and captious. In fact, I am not at all fond of Denis, either, +and it is a great relief to be rid of him. It will be a long time, will +it not, before we see him again?" + +"Much too long; his guardian thinks of going to America, and taking +Denis with him. God only knows when he will come back." + +"Oh! I shall have quite enough of him; he is so insufferable! And +Robert?" + +"He is going on his travels for four or five years." + +"That is a great blessing." + +"But, my dear child, you should reflect that Robert is your father's +nephew, and that Denis is my poor sister's son; they are both of them +your nearest relatives, and ought to be your best friends." + +"Fine friends, indeed! the one teazes me, and the other despises me." + +"I allow that Denis is fond of teazing, and that Robert is scornful, +but they will out-grow that." + +"No, that they won't." + +"What! do you, then, really think that Denis, at twenty years old, will +spoil your drawing, or blow out your candle?" + +"He will do something as tiresome; and even if he should improve, +Robert will always remain the same." + +"I hope not; he will gain with years the gentleness in which he is +deficient. But, even supposing he should not change, you yourself will +alter, and when you are no longer a spoiled child, he will not call you +such." + +"I don't know that; he is so unamiable. However, it is all the same to +me; I do not care for his opinion." + +"So I perceive, my dear," said her mother, smiling, "you speak of it so +calmly." + +At this moment, Caroline heard her father calling her, and ran out +to join him; she was always happy to be his companion, and responded +with all her heart to the passionate affection which he showed her. +Caroline was the only survivor of Monsieur and Madame de Manzay's eight +daughters, and during her infancy her health had been so delicate, +as to cause them the greatest anxiety. Continually agitated by the +fear of losing her, their only thought had been to preserve their +treasure: they trembled lest the slightest opposition should endanger +her fragile existence, or cast a cloud over a life which might have so +short a duration. For some years past, these terrible apprehensions had +ceased, but Caroline had been so long accustomed to have her own way, +that the effect survived the cause. She was accustomed to no other rule +than her caprice, or the prompting of a disposition naturally upright +and generous. When her fancies or her self-love did not interfere, +she was ready to do everything to oblige, and diffused around her all +the cheerfulness natural to her age: but if it at all crossed in her +wishes, nothing could be obtained from her, and even her kindness +of heart was insufficient to conquer her temper. In such unhappy +moments, which were but too frequent, she would answer her mother with +petulance, refuse to walk with her father, or sing him the airs he +loved, and behave roughly to her little brother, whom she nevertheless +loved with all her heart, and considered almost as her own child. Being +ten years old, when Stephen was born, she had never thought of him as a +rival, but as a _protégé_. She was habitually kind and indulgent, and +would spend whole hours in building card-houses for him, or in telling +him stories. It is true she did not like him to amuse himself with +others: as she could not appropriate him to herself, like his parents, +she devoted herself to him; but she did appropriate him, in fact, and +one of the principal causes of her dissatisfaction with Denis was, that +Stephen preferred his stories to hers, and his noisy games to the more +tranquil pleasures procured him by his sister. + +"What does it signify, if Stephen enjoys himself better with Denis than +with you?" said Robert to her one day. + +"It displeases me." + +"But why?" + +"Because he is so whimsical; a week ago he was interrupting me +perpetually, to make me tell him over and over again the story of the +Wonderful Cat, and now, when I call him on purpose, he says it wearies +him." + +"Naturally enough, when you propose telling it to him at the very time +that Denis is just in the finest part of a story about robbers or +battles." + +"And twenty times have I begged Denis not to tell him any more such +stories: but he does not care for a word that is said to him." + +"Stephen would be very sorry if he left off, I can assure you: look how +attentive he is." + +"Yes, and what am I to do while Stephen is listening to Denis?" + +"You might finish the drawing which your father asked for this morning, +and which, as you said, you had not time to complete." + +"Indeed I shall not, it is too tiresome; and if anything more is said +about it, I will tear it to pieces." + +"Surely not, you are not silly enough to do that." + +"And why then should I be silly to tear this drawing? It is my own, I +hope." + +"A fine reason truly! The château yonder is mine also. What would you +say if I were to burn it down?" + +"There is no resemblance in the two cases." + +"In fact, I should be a madman, and you merely a child." + +"A child! Do you know that I am fifteen?" + +"So they say, but I cannot believe it." + +"Why not? I am taller than the gardener's daughter, who is sixteen." + +"Yes; but you are not as reasonable as Stephen, who is only five." + +"And, how not, pray?" + +"Come, do not be angry; you are, perhaps, about as much so, but that is +all I can grant you. Now do not put yourself in a passion, that will +not frighten me; you cannot tear me to pieces like your drawings. +Adieu, make yourself happy: I am going to carry off Denis to hunt, so +you may tell Stephen the story of the Wonderful Cat as many times as +you please." + +It was by conversations like these that Robert had drawn upon himself +the animadversions of Caroline. Unaccustomed to any opposition to her +wishes, she could not forgive the harsh manner in which her cousin +contradicted her, and, spoiled as she was by continual marks of +affection, she was astonished at the contemptuous disapprobation which +she had to encounter from one, whose good opinion she was desirous of +obtaining. Never had she heard the name of Robert de Puivaux mentioned +without eulogium. He had completed his studies most successfully, and +had particularly distinguished himself at the Polytechnic School, +which he had just left, after spending two years there, simply for +instruction. His character was extolled, his judgment esteemed, and +his understanding and acquirements were considered by all as beyond +his years; but all these advantages were effaced, in Caroline's mind, +by his ungracious conduct towards herself--or, rather, they served to +render it the more vexatious to her. It must be allowed that Robert +had treated her in a manner far from pleasant. Naturally serious, and +disposed to regulate his conduct on principles of reason and duty, +he could not comprehend the inconsiderateness of Caroline, and the +importance which she attached to her own whims; he had no patience +in seeing everyone yield to her, and was as angry with her for their +weakness as for her own defects; he, therefore, never lost any +opportunity of showing his disapprobation and contempt: and, wholly +engrossed by the unfavourable impressions with which she inspired +him, he did not remark the good qualities which lay hidden under this +petulant exterior, and which the future would develope. + +Shortly after the departure of Robert and Denis, Madame de Manzay, who +had been an invalid ever since the birth of Stephen, was suddenly +snatched from her family, after a few days' illness. We will not +attempt to describe this sad event: there are sorrows which can never +be comprehended by those who have not felt them, and which it is +needless to relate to those who know them by experience. The language +of man cannot adequately express all that the soul of man is capable +of feeling, and such feelings are not learned but revealed; a single +moment--one of those moments which are equal to a whole life--can +explain more than years of reflection, and convey to the heart, what +all the knowledge of the mind would be unable to grasp. + +A week had elapsed since the death of Madame de Manzay, and her unhappy +family were not yet roused from the first stupor of grief; their hearts +had not yet recovered composure; they had not returned to their usual +habits; no one obeyed, for no one commanded; and each one, engrossed +by his affliction, forgot his duties. There was neither regularity nor +labour; confusion alone reigned in the desolate household. Poor little +Stephen was left all day long to himself; Monsieur de Manzay wandered +about in the park; his daughter shut herself up in her room; and no one +attempted to assist anyone else in supporting the weight of grief, by +which each was oppressed. Caroline, as usual, was weeping in her own +apartment, when an old servant, who had been in the family from the +birth of her father, and who had just seen his master, seated, alone, +in his wife's room, thinking he would like to see his daughter, went to +her, and said, "Pray go, Miss Caroline, to my master. Poor gentleman! +he has no one now but you." + +"And Stephen, Peter; you do not reckon him." + +"Oh! that is quite another thing, miss; master loves the dear little +fellow with all his heart, but he is not company for him; he cannot +talk with him, and divert his thoughts, as you could. Oh! Miss +Caroline, you are the very image of my good mistress; try then to +resemble her in everything. You cannot remember it, for you were too +young, but when my mistress lost four of her children in one year, and +you alone were left--well, miss, it was she who then consoled master. +He was like one distracted, and said he felt tempted to throw himself +in the water, and the poor lady was obliged to appear perfectly calm, +in order to tranquillize him. I have sometimes seen her leave my +master's room, to go and cry, and then she would return, and urge him +to submit to the will of God; she would make him walk with her, or read +aloud to divert his thoughts; she would even amuse him with music: and +how he loved her in return! Oh! Miss Caroline! you had a treasure in +your mother; endeavour to be as good as she was." + +Caroline's sobs prevented her from making any reply; but she held out +her hand to the aged Peter, and rose immediately to follow him to her +father. She was told that he was in the park, and repaired thither; +but, absorbed in her affliction, and in the reflections suggested +by Peter's artless observations, she mistook the path, and did not +perceive her error, for she went on without thinking whither her steps +were directed. For the first time in her life, perhaps, she became +aware that she had a duty to fulfil towards others, and that she was +not placed in this world merely to be loved and indulged. She had +just been told--"_Your father has no one but you._" It was the truth; +but of what use had she been to her father, during the past week? Had +she afforded him consolation or assistance, when, given up to her +own affliction, she had scarcely bestowed a thought on his; when he +had been obliged to try and comfort her, and had sought to do so in +vain; when her tears and cries had shaken the resolution he found it +so difficult to maintain; when she had kept out of his presence, and +abandoned him at the time he most needed her? Was it thus that her +mother had acted, when, struck by misfortune, she had, for the sake of +calming her husband's despair, begun by controlling her own feelings? +Yet who, more than her father, possessed a claim to her active +gratitude, to her affectionate devotion? Her earliest recollections +were associated with his kindness and tenderness. He had consecrated +his leisure to her instruction, relinquished for this purpose studies +in which he took delight, and renounced all recreations but those +which he could share with her; he had made her the companion of his +walks, and allowed her to direct them as she chose. If she wished for +an excursion in the neighbourhood, M. de Manzay would leave all his +occupations to procure this pleasure for her; in a word, he never +refused her a request, and yet her demands had not been few. And what +had she done, on her part, to requite such great affection? How had she +repaid the extreme indulgence of her parents? She loved them heartily, +and they were convinced of this, but she had done nothing more: whilst +they thought only of her, she had never considered them, and had found +it perfectly natural to be continually the recipient of benefits, +without ever giving anything in return. "Oh, how wicked I have been!" +she exclaimed, clasping her hands; "can God ever forgive me, or mamma?" +She threw herself on her knees, and, melting into tears, promised, as +if still in the presence of her whom she could never again behold in +this world, to repair, by her attention to the objects of affection +she had left, the faults which she had committed against her. She +felt that her resolution was accepted and blessed; that the relations +of those who love each other are eternal; and that her mother was +pleased with her earnest endeavours, as she would have been if still +living. She felt that it was her soul which responded to her own, and +inspired her with the love of virtue, the hope of perseverance, the joy +of pardon. She arose, and returned to the château, eager to find her +father, and begin her new part. "Hitherto, he has devoted his life to +me," said she to herself, "now, it shall be my care to live for him;" +and immediately, with the ardour so natural to youth, she depicted +to herself all the various ways in which she could be useful to him, +and was enchanted at the idea of being at last good for something in +the world; no obstacle or difficulty presented itself to her mind, so +natural did the performance of her duty appear to her at this moment. + +On approaching the château, she found Stephen sitting quite alone, +under a tree, crying. "What is the matter, Stephen?" she asked, kissing +him. + +"I am hungry." + +"Hungry! why what o'clock is it?" + +"It is twelve o'clock." + +"But you have already had your breakfast?" + +"No; Mary forgot to make my soup. Nobody thinks about me now that mamma +is gone." + +"I will think of you, my dear child. Come with me, I will get you +some breakfast, and tomorrow you shall not have to wait so long." On +entering the house, she inquired for her father. She was told that he +had come in, and had asked for her, and, after waiting some time, had +gone out again. "But he has had his breakfast, I suppose?" + +"No, miss, the cook has gone out." + +"Things must not go on thus," thought Caroline; "I must have some order +in the household." She perceived at this moment her father coming in, +and hastened to meet him; she was eager to have some conversation with +him, and impart to him her good resolutions; but the very first was, +to attend to others rather than herself, and she therefore sacrificed +to Stephen's appetite her desire of communicating to her father her +new projects. After breakfast, M. de Manzay was going towards his +wife's sitting-room, where he passed all the time which he spent +in-doors. Caroline, who wished to follow him, paused for an instant +at this sight: she never yet had sufficient resolution to enter her +mother's apartment, and trembled at the idea of revisiting a spot +so filled with her image. "But how can I ever be of service to my +father, if I cannot go where it is his desire always to remain? Come, +I must go to him;" and, making an effort to command her feelings, she +went to her father. Surprised and pleased to see her in this room, +where his recollections became almost realities, he embraced her with +even more than his wonted tenderness; and, comparing, with a pleasure +mingled with grief, the portrait of his wife with the features of his +daughter,--"Oh, my child!" he exclaimed at length, his voice checked +by tears, "I have only you now." She threw her arms round him, and for +some time neither father nor daughter could utter a word. At length, +overcoming her emotion, she said, "My dear papa, I have hitherto done +very wrong, but I will endeavour to repair my faults. I have been a +selfish, ungrateful child, and lived only for myself; henceforth my +life shall be devoted to you. Forgive me for having been so useless +to you; forget the past; you shall see that I am no longer the same, +and you shall be satisfied with my conduct. Kiss me, dear papa; I will +correct all my faults, and endeavour to be like mamma." + +"God bless you, my child, for having formed such a project! but you are +very young to make even the attempt." + +"Not too young, I hope. I shall hardly succeed at first, but the +recollection of mamma will come to my assistance. I know what she used +to do, and I will endeavour to imitate her. I will come and see you in +your study, and be always ready to give up my own occupations to please +you. I will give Stephen his lessons. I will keep the accounts. You +shall see how steady I will be; only try me, papa." + +"Do what you like, my child; I am in no state to make any decision; +I can think of nothing. I leave you mistress of the house, of your +brother, of myself. If there are still any peaceful moments in store +for me on this earth, I shall enjoy them through you, and you alone." + +"And Stephen, papa, you forget him." + +"Poor child! no, I do not forget him; go and bring him here." + +Caroline brought her little brother to her father, who took him in his +arms, saying, "Stephen, you loved dear mamma, did you not?" + +"With all my heart," replied the child, sobbing. + +"And you were also obedient to her. Well, now you must love your +sister, and obey her; she will be a mother to you henceforward." + +"Would you like it, Stephen?" asked Caroline, "would you like me to +take care of you, and give you your lessons?" + +"Yes, if you promise not to scold me." + +"My dear child, I will not scold you; I will try to be kind like mamma." + +"Oh, you are very kind already, I am sure," said Stephen, caressing his +sister, "only sometimes you get out of patience, and that frightens me." + +"Make yourself easy, I intend to grow better; but you must also be very +good, to please papa, who has so much sorrow." + +"Oh! yes; for that I will learn my lessons better than I used to do." + +"My beloved children," said M. de Manzay, encircling them both in his +arms, "my dear children, this is the first moment of comfort I have had +for a week past. Go, my own Caroline, assume your new functions; take +possession of the keys; direct, command, re-establish the regularity +which formerly reigned in the house; take the same care of your brother +that he has been accustomed to; but first come to me, that I may give +you my blessing, before the portrait of your mother." + +After some moments devoted to these tender and afflicting emotions, +Caroline left the room with Stephen. Her first care was to see if his +apartment was in order: she found it completely stripped of all the +articles which he was in the habit of using. + +"What has become of your little table, Stephen?" she enquired. + +"Oh! I dare say it is in the garden; I took it there the day before +yesterday, and they have forgotten to bring it in." + +"And your arm-chair?" + +"I tied it to Turk's tail, for a carriage, and he broke it." + +"You might have expected as much, my dear." + +"What could I do? I was alone, and tired of doing nothing." + +"You have recollected, I hope, to give water to your birds." + +"Oh! gracious! I have never given them any but once. Poor creatures! +they must be very thirsty. But, Caroline, do not scold me, it is not +my fault. Every morning, mamma used to ask me if I had taken water and +seeds to my birds, leaves to my rabbits, and grass to my fawn; and now, +who is there to think of all these things?" + +"I will. Let us go to your aviary, and I will talk to you by the way." + +Caroline then explained to her brother all her plans concerning him. +She told him that he should work with her, and that she would amuse +him, and take care of all his things; in a word, that she would, as +far as possible, supply the place of a mother to him. She had his +books brought into her sitting-room, and such of his playthings as he +had been accustomed to keep in his mother's apartment; she gave him a +shelf in her library, and the lower part of a closet, and established +his little table by the window, as he wished. At first, she intended +to place it elsewhere, for this was her own favourite place; but she +recollected that last year, when she had remarked that her mamma was +happy in being able to enjoy, while sitting at table, the prospect over +the valley, her mother had yielded to her the place she coveted. "I +cannot be so good as mamma," she thought, "unless I do as she did, so I +will remove my table from the window." + +Such were the feelings and views with which Caroline undertook +the reformation of her character, and she begun the task with the +blind ardour so natural to youth: that happy privilege bestowed by +Providence, to remove all hesitation from their resolutions, and leave +nothing doubtful but the execution. But this first strong and happy +impulse does not always last; when the sentiment which gave it birth +ceases to be exclusive, things which had been forgotten reappear, the +realities of life and the peculiarities of character resume their +claims, and what we still desire above all things is, nevertheless, +not our sole object. This was precisely the case with Caroline. For a +considerable time her heart was so full of the idea of her great loss, +of the remembrance of her faults, of her affection for her father, +and of the new pleasure of exerting herself for the sake of others, +that she could not form a thought exclusively for herself, and would +have been indignant had she been desired to do so; but when, after the +lapse of several months, life had returned to its uniform course, when +business was again attended to, and all the family had resumed their +usual habits, she perceived how completely her own had been overturned. +The time which she formerly employed, according to her fancy, was no +longer her own; a great part of it was absorbed by her little brother, +and her pursuits were also frequently interrupted by her father. As +long as he had a friend constantly at hand, he might be always disposed +to accommodate himself to the arrangements of his daughter, but now +that this friend was no more, Caroline was required to replace her, +and became his property: their positions were changed, and the effect +of this was perpetually felt, and the more strikingly in proportion as +their first deep affliction subsided by degrees, and M. de Manzay was +able to take some interest in the scenes around him, and his daughter +to enter into her own employments. + +It will readily be believed that, in a young person of sixteen, a +change of this nature could not be made easily, or completely carried +out from the first. In order to maintain it, Caroline was obliged to +exert much self-control, and she often failed of success. It would +sometimes happen that she kept her brother waiting to repeat his +lesson, because she was reading an interesting book, or playing an +air that she liked; on other occasions, she would defer the household +accounts for several days whilst she was finishing a drawing, or +completing a piece of embroidery; and occasionally her father could +read so plainly in her countenance that she had no interest in what he +proposed, that he would give up his intention, not without a melancholy +retrospect of the days when whatever he wished became immediately the +earnest object of another. Yet it must also be said that Caroline +acknowledged and regretted all her faults, and very often repaired +them so promptly and so thoroughly, that they almost became a merit, +and led to fresh improvement. Stephen never found her so kind and +patient, or her father so affectionately devoted to him, as when she +had to reproach herself with some act of impatience or caprice; and, +generally speaking, she quickly recovered herself. To give one instance +amongst others:--It was several months after the death of Madame de +Manzay, and everything had been placed as far as possible on its former +footing in the château, and tranquillity and peace, the more valuable +in proportion as happiness is wanting, were reestablished in the house, +when, one day, M. de Manzay entered his daughter's apartment with a +letter in his hand. "Caroline," he said, "would you like Denis to come +and live with us for some time?" + +"Oh, no, certainly not. I do not want him; he is insufferable." + +"But, my dear, his guardian is lately dead, and Denis, as you know, is +on bad terms with the wife, so that he cannot remain with her: where +can he go, unless he comes to Primini?" + +"Let him go where he likes. Why does he make himself detested by every +one? Oh! I should not have a moment's peace if he were here; I would +rather go away myself than remain with him. Pray, papa, write word at +once that you cannot have him." + +"I will write and say that _you_ would rather not; for my own part, I +will assuredly not be the person to refuse to receive your mother's +nephew;" and M. de Manzay left the room. Caroline was struck with these +last words, and with the tone in which they were uttered. "_My mother's +nephew_," thought she; "but Denis does not in the least resemble mamma; +he is as unamiable as she was good: yet my father appears to regret +him: perhaps he thinks that Denis will be cured of his faults--but that +cannot be, for he never listens to a word that is said to him. However, +he must not be left in the streets; besides, if my father wishes him to +come here, that is the most important point. Well! I must be patient, +and, after all, he will not eat me." + +Caroline rose, after having made these brief reflections, and repaired +to her father's room. He was pacing the apartment with a pensive air, +still holding in his hand the letter which announced the death of +Denis's guardian. + +"My dear papa," said she, "I come to request you to invite Denis to +come to us." + +"Indeed, my dear." + +"Yes; just now I was still more unreasonable than he is: pray be so +kind as to think no more of it, and to write for Denis." + +"You are a good girl, and I promise you to prevent him from tormenting +you." + +"Oh! no, papa, do not trouble yourself about the matter; I know that +these petty grievances are very annoying to you, and I will find means +to manage. Perhaps he may have learned to behave better than formerly, +and I am certainly less childish than I was a year ago. Make yourself +easy, papa, all shall go on well." + +A fortnight after this conversation, Denis arrived at his uncle's +house. He was fifteen, but his reason was not in proportion to his age. +Endowed with great strength and unconquerable activity, he delighted +only in noise and commotion, and, if he was fond of teazing, it was +only to produce this commotion. Anything was acceptable to him but +quiet: the anger of a child, the insults of a servant, the barking of a +dog, all answered his purpose, and he would not have cared to teaze an +animal unless it cried out. During his first visit to Primini, Stephen +had been a great assistance to him. Sometimes he would torment him, +and amuse himself with his anger; sometimes he would divert him, and +laugh at the displeasure which this occasioned to Caroline; and, if +the latter became seriously angry, Denis had attained the height of +his wishes. He was not ill-disposed, but he could not endure _ennui_, +and he knew not how to avoid it by rational occupations. Brought up +in the country, and much spoiled by his guardian, he had taken more +interest in the employments of the labourers, the gardeners, and the +gamekeepers, than in the lessons which he from time to time received +from the masters, who came from the neighbouring town. He never took up +a book, unless he met with accounts of voyages, and battles, tales of +robbers, or ghost stories; and his greatest ambition was to lead the +life of a corsair some day, or to go and live amongst the savages, and +endeavour to be chosen as the chief of a tribe. He was brave, adroit, +and capable of generous actions, but he was violent and wilful, and +through his excessive activity was becoming a torment to himself and +others. + +Such was the guest whose arrival Caroline dreaded and certainly not +without reason. When he entered the drawing-room, where all the family +was assembled, he rushed forward so abruptly to embrace his uncle, that +he overturned a table which stood in his way; the lamp which was upon +it fell upon Stephen, struck him severely, and covered him with oil. +He began to cry, and Caroline, running to him, wounded her foot with +a piece of the broken glass. In a word, the arrival of Denis was a +signal for noise and confusion; and, what was still worse, Caroline was +much disposed to be angry with him, and demand whether he would never +learn to be more careful--but she restrained herself, recollecting the +promise she had given to her father that all should go well; and, when +tranquillity was a little restored, she embraced her cousin cordially, +and received him in a very friendly manner. During some days all went +on tolerably well; Denis had so much to see that he did not require +the aid of others to pass away his time; besides, notwithstanding his +rudeness, he was not altogether exempt from that kind of shyness, which +is not unusual with those who can neither conform to the established +usages of society, nor entirely shake off their exactions. He was +always ill at ease with persons with whom he was not completely +familiar; indeed, he generally withdrew when a stranger came in; and +the few days which were required to renew his acquaintance with the +inhabitants of Primini were agreeable enough to them, and very painful +to himself: but this state of things did not long continue, he soon +recovered the freedom of his disposition and manners, and the effect +of this upon the tranquillity of the château was speedily felt. At his +first attacks, Caroline, who had prepared herself to bear everything +with patience, supported her cousin's tricks without complaint, picked +up a dozen times the reel of cotton which he threw down, re-lighted the +taper which he extinguished, or replaced before her piano the chair +which he removed as soon as she left it. One day, however, Denis, weary +of his ineffectual attempts to put her out of temper, after having +tried in vain during the whole of a rainy morning, began to teaze +Stephen, and smeared with ink a picture which he held in his hand. The +child burst into tears, and Caroline, excited by his vexation, and by +the impatience which she had so long curbed, was now seriously angry. + +"Leave my room, Denis," she cried, "it really is impossible to live +with you. Not satisfied with trying the whole day to provoke me, you +must now make poor Stephen cry. Go away, I will not have you stay in my +room." + +"Then you must put me out of the door yourself, for I shall not stir." + +"You will not go! Am I not mistress in my own apartment?" + +"Certainly, if you can only make yourself obeyed;" and, so saying, +Denis placed himself in an arm-chair. + +"I will go and fetch my father." + +"As you please; I am not afraid of my uncle, he is much kinder than you +are." + +Caroline hastened to M. de Manzay's room; she was ready to cry, and her +flushed cheeks betrayed her vivid emotion. + +"Papa," she said, "will you come and order Denis to quit my room?" + +"Why do you wish to turn him out?" + +"He teazes me, and makes Stephen cry; it is impossible to have any +peace with him,--he makes me quite miserable." + +"Well, then, let him return to Paris." + +"No--I only want him to leave my room." + +"That would settle the question to-day, but to-morrow he might begin +again; and I will not have to interfere perpetually in your quarrels." + +"This is the first time, papa, I have ever applied to you." + +"The same thing will be recurring every day. I would rather he should +go--he must be sent to college." + +"Send Denis to college, papa! He would be expelled directly." + +"So much the worse for him; there will be nothing left for him but to +go to sea; that is, after all, the best profession for him, and I will +not have him render you unhappy." + +"But, papa, would it not be better to prevent him from doing so, by +obliging him to behave more reasonably?" + +"It would be insufferable to me, to be obliged to be always looking +after him. I require tranquillity. I will send Denis away if you like +it, but to be perpetually watching him is what I cannot do." + +"Then," she exclaimed, in tears, "I must be the victim of this +mischievous boy." + +"No, certainly; that shall not be the case: he shall go at once. Call +my nephew," said M. de Manzay to a gardener, who was at work in front +of the window. + +"He is not in the château, sir," replied the man; "he has just gone +down towards the mill with Master Stephen." + +"With Stephen!" repeated M. de Manzay. "What were you telling me then +just now, Caroline?" + +"They seem to have made up their quarrel, papa, and I will follow their +example, for I could not suffer Denis to be sent away." + +"So much the better, for this time I will pass over his conduct, but at +the very first dispute---- + +"There shall be none, papa; or, at least, you shall not be troubled +about the matter." + +"Thank you, my dear child, embrace me. You are a good girl, and the +joy of your poor father's heart." And M. de Manzay pressed Caroline to +his bosom with the utmost tenderness, grateful for the decision which +spared his weakness. When she had quitted him, she reflected on her +position. She saw clearly that it was in vain to seek from her father +any support against Denis, for, although he had not the same affection +for him as he felt towards herself, he was almost as much afraid of +opposing him: not that Denis was ill-disposed, but he was so eager +about what he wished, and had so determined a will, that his uncle +hesitated to resist him; and it would have been a thousand times less +painful to him to send Denis away, in order to spare his daughter a +moment's uneasiness, than to watch over his conduct, and prevent him +from being so troublesome and disagreeable. + +It was, therefore, in herself alone that she must seek a remedy for the +inconveniences occasioned by her cousin's disposition. It was only by +her own calmness and superior sense that she could make him ashamed of +his resolution to teaze her. She had already occasionally experienced +the happy effects of apparent indifference, and he had more than once +desisted from his mischievous tricks, when he found that they did not +attain his object. The only plan, then, was to be habitually so patient +as to weary him out, and induce him to seek amusements less annoying +to others. This being the case, her own tranquillity, and that of her +father, must depend upon herself, and for this it was worth while to +make some efforts. Yes, undoubtedly, it was well worth while, but such +efforts were not so easy as Caroline had imagined, as she quickly found +by experience. She said to herself, beforehand, that, after all, she +need not be so very unhappy, because Denis would gather her choicest +flowers, trample on her flower-beds, disturb her silkworms, or meddle +with her herbal; that domestic tranquillity was more valuable than +these trifles; and that she had but to sacrifice them at once and +entirely: but, if she could bear calmly, though not without a secret +struggle, the malicious tricks which her cousin played her, and was not +angry once in a dozen times that she was tempted to be so, and that +he well deserved it, she could not behold Stephen's vexations with +the same equanimity, and when he began to cry her indignation would +burst forth. This was, however, bad policy; for Denis then enjoyed a +double triumph, which was the more agreeable to him because it was +so easily gained. Poor Caroline had, therefore, to pass many unhappy +moments; and, whether she succeeded in commanding herself or not, she +was continually vexed and agitated, and was every day surprised to find +life so full of hardships, and duty so difficult. + +But she had also to encounter other difficulties, which were quite +unexpected, and which she could not overcome by mere force of will, and +a determination to conquer them. The greater part of these difficulties +did not arise from within, from her own habits and disposition, from +her old aversion to contradiction, and still more to restraint; +they came from without, and had their source in the prejudices and +passions of others; and upright intentions and firm resolution were +not sufficient immediately to overcome them. Caroline had excited +many unfavourable prejudices, which, however just in some respects, +were unjust in their exclusive severity: it was necessary for her to +triumph over these,--necessary, but difficult; and she learned to +see how intimate is the connection in our destinies, what lengthened +responsibility may attach to an action, in appearance the most +trivial, and how indispensable it is to act to the best of our ability +in all things, if we would have a conscience free from the fear of +consequences. + +Two years had now elapsed since Caroline had lost her mother. M. de +Manzay had regained sufficient self-command to occupy himself with the +education of Stephen. The hunting season detained Denis at a distance +from the château; and Caroline, being now accustomed to the management +of household affairs, was not obliged to devote so much time to them; +and, having become more reasonable, she employed her remaining hours +better, and consequently found more leisure than formerly, although +in reality she had much more to do. She was particularly struck by +the details given in a newspaper of the happy results produced in +the village of L----, by the establishment of a school and working +institution for girls, according to the method of mutual instruction. +All night her head was full of the subject, and the next day, as soon +as she rose, she went and proposed to her father to found a similar +school of industry in the village, near their château, and offered to +undertake its direction. + +"We must send for a person who understands the method from one of the +Paris schools," she said, "we can then form the establishment and train +the monitors; when they are sufficiently instructed, the management of +the children will be entrusted to them, and I shall superintend them. +That was the plan adopted at L----." + +"I ask nothing better, my dear; it will be useful to the village, and +afford you occupation. Think over the matter again, and, if you persist +in your project, we will speak of it to the curé." + +"Why speak to him? It is not his business." + +"The education of his parishioners is, in a certain sense, his +business; and his opposition would be a great obstacle." + +"But surely he would not oppose it; he ought to be pleased when the +poor are benefited." + +"He is no doubt very charitable, but he is also self-willed. You know +I have never been able to hold intercourse with him upon any point +whatever. He would not even recommend a beggar to me." + +"Very true, but he cannot refuse our proposal. Oh! how happy I shall be +when the plan is carried into effect." + +Caroline had several conversations with her father on the subject, +and was delighted at the idea of being useful to all those little +girls, who were so wretched and so ignorant. The day on which it was +at length decided between them that the school should be established, +she went out full of joy to take a walk. She was musing over her +projects, considering in what manner she could render herself beloved +and respected by the children, and gain their confidence--thought over +the rewards she would give, and the good advice she would address to +them--in a word, she was at this moment quite happy, and foresaw no +difficulty, when she met the curé, who was returning from a visit to a +sick person. He bowed, and would have passed without speaking to her, +but, with the confidence natural to her age and character, she stopped +him saying, "Monsieur le Curé, I have something to tell you." + +"Indeed! Miss Caroline; what can it be?" replied the curé, with an air +of surprise and almost of severity. "It appears to me that we have +not much connection with each other, and that you occupy yourself but +little with the sort of affairs that interest me." + +"But I wish to occupy myself with them, and that is what I have to tell +you about. My father intends to establish a school of industry in the +village." + +"For what purpose? We have already a schoolmistress." + +"She is old and half deaf, they say; besides she has not a good method +of teaching." + +"How do you know that? You have never visited the school." + +"I shall go every day to the new school; I shall be superintendent." + +"You understand, then, what is to be taught?" + +"I suppose I know how to read and write." + +"Yes, but the catechism; you are probably not acquainted with that; for +you do not set a very good example to our young girls." + +"How! Monsieur le Curé," exclaimed Caroline, colouring with anger and +vexation; "what do you mean?" + +"I mean, young lady, that you often come into church after the service +has begun, and sometimes go away before it is over." + +"Oh, Monsieur le Curé, it is a very long time since that has happened." + +"I know nothing about that; I have not time to pay attention to the +exact days, but it is really a scandal." + +"Monsieur le Curé, I now always remain the whole time. Pray inquire if, +for the last two years, I have not come in very punctually." + +"Yes; and do you no longer give bad advice as you used to do formerly?" + +"I never gave any one bad advice." + +"You forget that, in consequence of your interrupting the gardener's +daughter in her attendance on the catechism, you caused her first +communion to be deferred, and that, when you saw her crying on that +account, you told her it was no great misfortune, and gave her a +neck-handkerchief to console her, so that she ended by saying that it +did not much matter whether she made her first communion then or not, +and that a year sooner or later was all the same to her. Perhaps you do +not recollect also, that when your milkwoman, Dame Joan, wanted to send +her daughter to her old mother, and that Matty did not like going, you +told her that her mother was very ill-natured to oppose her wishes, and +that your parents let you do whatever you pleased." + +"But, Monsieur le Curé, I was then a child; it is more than three years +ago." + +"You have now, then, become reasonable, I suppose, Caroline?" + +"You know I have, Monsieur le Curé.' + +"And how should I know it? Have you ever told me so?" + +"How could I tell you? We never see you at the château." + +"Where, then, could I learn the alteration of which you speak? Have I +seen any effects of it? Do you ever visit our poor? Have you given good +advice to our young girls? Have you procured work for their mothers? +You talk of superintending a school of industry; do you even know how +to hem a duster? It is said that you do not. No, Miss Caroline; go and +play on the piano, work at your embroidery, amuse yourself, but do not +pretend to teach others: there we can do without you." + +"Oh! how severe you are, Monsieur le Curé," said poor Caroline. + +"I am but just, Miss Caroline. I am aware that this is not the way they +speak to you at the château; but things are not the better for that." + +"Why have you not given me good advice? I should have profited by it." + +"To be sure I ought to have done so, in order that M. de Manzay might +ridicule it!" + +"My father has never ridiculed you, Monsieur le Curé." + +"That is hardly probable. He opposes me constantly. Not a week ago he +prevented the municipal council from doing what I requested: he had the +upper hand then, now it is my turn. Good evening, Miss Caroline; you +will not establish your school." + +[Illustration: Caroline repulsed by the Curé, p. 332.] + +Having thus spoken, the curé bowed, and left her, without waiting for a +reply. The poor child was thunderstruck at finding herself the object +of so much severity, prejudice, and injustice. "What have I done, +then," she exclaimed, in tears, "to give such a bad opinion of me? I +wish well to every one, and no one loves me. Oh, how ill-natured the +world is--nobody has been kind to me but papa and mamma; and mamma is +no longer with us!" Caroline abandoned herself for some time to all the +bitterness of her heart, and was indignant at this malevolence, without +at all considering whether it were altogether gratuitous, or whether +it might not have some foundation. However, as she reflected on the +reproofs of the curé, they brought to her recollection other occasions +on which she might have justly incurred his censure. By continued +reflection and self-examination, she at last perceived, that she +must formerly have given a sufficiently bad opinion of herself to all +the grave heads of the village, and that she had done nothing since +calculated to change that opinion. Fully occupied with her father, +towards whom alone she felt that she had been deficient, and with her +brother, whom she considered as a sacred legacy from her mother, it +had not for a moment occurred to her that strangers might have reason +to complain, or pass an unfavourable judgment upon her conduct; nor +that approbation might be refused, even when her actions deserved it. +"It is quite natural," she said, at length; "why should Monsieur le +Curé suppose that I have corrected my faults? He would not enquire +of my father if I now comply with all his wishes, or ask Stephen if +I am a patient teacher, or Denis whether I bear with him better than +formerly. Since I wish to persuade him of the change which has taken +place in me, I must begin by giving him proofs of it. I will do all +I can, but it will take a long time, for Monsieur le Curé does not +give up his notions very readily. I must ask my father to wait before +he establishes the school." Monsieur de Manzay was surprised, like +his daughter, at the prejudices which existed against her; he loved +her so tenderly, and found in her so many charming qualities, that he +could never have calculated the effects of her faults, and he found +it difficult to conceive that any one could look upon his Caroline +with other eyes than his own. However, he entered into her views, +and readily consented to her wish to postpone the execution of her +benevolent projects, in order to carry them out more effectually. + +A few days after that on which the curé had treated her so harshly, +Caroline met him again. He bowed to her with more amenity than on the +former occasion, for he had reproached himself most heartily for having +repulsed with such asperity the good intentions of so young a person, +and one who showed so much enthusiasm. He had besides, made some +inquiries about her during the interval; had spoken to persons who kept +up an intercourse with the château; and all he had heard increased his +regret. He was therefore glad to meet her, and hastened to address her. +"How is your little brother, Miss Caroline?" he inquired; "I hear that +he has a cold." + +"Thank you, Monsieur le Curé, he is better to-day." They remained +some moments silent, each wishing to say something, but not knowing +exactly where to begin. Caroline at length broke the silence: "Monsieur +le Curé, you were very hard upon me the other day; but you taught me +something of which I was completely ignorant, and which it was very +necessary I should know. I had forgotten my childish follies, and did +not imagine that others would remember them; you have rendered me a +service by undeceiving me; I entreat you now to assist me in convincing +every one--and yourself especially--that I have altered for the better. +What must I do for this purpose? I am ready to follow your advice." + +"My dear young lady," replied the curé with a gentleness which was +unusual to him, "I perceive clearly that you are very much improved, +for formerly you resented the slightest remonstrance, and now you +bear with sweetness even harshness and injustice. I have been really +grieved, I assure you, that I was so hard upon you the other day. When +I was at some distance, I said to myself: Now, here is this child of +sixteen, who was never contradicted in her life, and yet is as patient +as a lamb when severe things are said to her; whilst I, an old priest, +who fifty years ago renounced the world and its passions, am angry +and repulse her good resolutions. Instead of killing the fatted calf, +I shut the door against the returning prodigal; and yet, poor little +thing, she has done no great harm; she can only be reproached with +childish conduct." + +"Indeed! Monsieur le Curé," cried Caroline, joyfully, "you really +thought all this? Oh! how grateful I am to you!" + +"You have nothing to thank me for, my dear young lady, it is but common +justice. I much wished to pay you a visit at the château, to express my +regret, but I dared not, it is so long since I have seen Monsieur de +Manzay, and I responded so ill last week to his request for additional +seats in the church, that I did not know how he might receive me; but +you are very kind I see, and you will not be offended with an old man +who has not yet learned to command his temper. Oh! my child, you are +young, and in the season of vigour; for the love of God, employ all the +strength you possess in mastering your passions. This is the real duty +of man, as the Scripture says. To be benevolent and compassionate, to +possess a generous heart and an exalted character, to act so as to make +yourself beloved by every one, all this is much in the sight of God +and man, and all this I believe you will be; but still all this is not +sufficient, and, in conjunction with so many good qualities, may exist +great faults, which will prepare for us many regrets. Witness me, for +instance, my dear young lady; I am not good for much, but I may say +that I love my parishioners, and that I desire their welfare with all +my heart. Your father has the best intentions possible, and is full of +compassion for the poor, and yet I ask nothing from him, and take no +advantage of so good a neighbour: and why is this? Because the first +time I met him, four years ago, when he had just completed the purchase +of this estate, I heard him praise the Revolution, and say that it was +a glorious event. From that moment all was at an end between us; he +appeared to my imagination a Jacobin, ready to set fire to our church, +and oblige us again to say mass under the shelter of the woods; and I +would never hear of any intercourse with him. I am no longer of that +opinion, Miss Caroline: I perceive that it is possible to be a very +peaceful, and a very honest man, and yet speak well of the Revolution; +and several times I have been tempted to renew intercourse with +Monsieur de Manzay, but various things have turned out unfavourably. +He had a master removed whom I patronised; he decided the municipal +council to employ upon a road the money which I had asked for a bell; +and when you spoke to me about the school, I fancied it was to oppose +me that he chose to have another in these new methods, of which I know +nothing, and in which, therefore, I could not interfere. There is my +confession, my dear young lady. Now give me your hand, for yourself, +and for Monsieur de Manzay; assure me that you bear me no ill-will; and +tell me what are your projects." + +"I have none for the present, Monsieur le Curé," replied Caroline, +greatly moved, as she placed her hand in that of the old man. "I have +no plan, but to follow your advice in everything. Tell me what I must +do, in order to make the villagers forget that I was formerly a very +unreasonable child." + +"My dear young lady, you need only be the same at Montfort that you are +at the château. I have asked a great deal about you since the other +day, and have heard much in your favour, but these things are not known +amongst our people, and it is a pity. Observe, Miss Caroline, that you +cannot be useful to our poor people, without becoming acquainted with +them, and making them acquainted with you. Go and see them sometimes; +I assure you that you would become attached to them; and when you are +familiar with their wants and have acquired their confidence, we will +talk of your school, if you like." + +At this moment the bell of the château rang for dinner, and Caroline +was obliged to take leave of the curé. They parted on the best +terms possible, and the very next day she began her visits to the +poor inhabitants of Montfort: but her project was not easy of +accomplishment. The curé had not exaggerated the prejudices of which +she was the object; and, to those which affected her personally, were +united other grounds of dislike, of which she was totally innocent. +The arrival of Monsieur de Manzay in this part of the country, had +not been looked on with favour, because he succeeded a proprietor who +was much beloved by the inhabitants, and who had been obliged, by +misfortune, to sell the estate. In order to banish the remembrance of +this unfavourable commencement, Monsieur and Madame de Manzay must +have been to the inhabitants of Montfort all that Monsieur and Madame +de Solanges had been. The latter, without children, without any lively +affections, or high powers of mind, but endowed with that intelligent +activity which is so great a resource in the various relations of +life, took much interest in all the affairs of the peasantry, gave +them advice and assistance, and were to them a sort of visible and +friendly Providence, whose aid they believed could never fail. With +Monsieur and Madame de Manzay all was very different: concentrated in +their domestic circle, in the happiness of conscious mutual affection, +in the care of their children, and in the elevated pleasures derived +from highly cultivated minds, they paid little attention to anything +beyond the very small circle of their affections. They were supposed to +be indifferent, because they were exclusive; proud, because they were +absorbed in themselves: and the departure of Monsieur and Madame de +Solanges was a continued source of regret. Caroline was, therefore, not +received with much pleasure at Montfort, and it often required great +forbearance on her part not to abandon the inhabitants of the village +to their unreasonableness and injustice, and renounce all her plans: +even the curé himself, whom she had seen so well disposed, often fell +back into his old prejudices against her and her family. Sometimes he +would be influenced by the ill-humour of some of the village gossips, +and sometimes the appearance of a dress or bonnet a little fashionable +would induce him to say that Caroline was better fitted for the gay +society of Paris than for the country, and that she would not do as +much good in her whole life, as Madame de Solanges in a single hour. +Sometimes he was angry because she did not compel all the household +to attend church, but left every one at liberty in this respect; at +others, Monsieur de Manzay, as mayor, had to support the rights of the +commune against the encroachments of the curé, and the latter vented +his displeasure on poor Caroline, and would hardly answer her when she +wished to communicate to him her remarks, her views, and her hopes. The +elections, when Monsieur de Manzay voted for the opposition candidate, +retarded the establishment of the school at Montfort three months; not +that the curé interested himself deeply in politics, but his friends +took up the question with so much warmth, that they succeeded in +inflaming him, and for more than six weeks he never set foot in the +château. + +Caroline found it difficult, without becoming morose, to fortify +herself against all these obstacles; to maintain calmness under +disappointment, yet keep up the same lively interest in success. +Indeed, I know not if the welfare of the inhabitants of Montfort, +her conviction that she had duties to fulfil towards them, and that +God would not have given her the means, without imposing on her the +obligation of being useful, would always have sufficed to support +her under this arduous struggle--and if she might not, in a moment +of discouragement, have said to herself, that she was no longer +responsible towards persons who rejected all her efforts for their +benefit,--had not another sentiment come to her aid, and softened the +unpleasantness of her enterprise. She had perceived, with sorrow, that +her mother was not beloved at Montfort as she deserved to be. Her +first impulse was that of violent irritation and bitter displeasure +against those who failed to do justice to Madame de Manzay; but a +little reflection corrected this feeling, and she considered that the +best homage she could render to the memory of her mother, would be +to acquire the affection of her neighbours, to such a degree, that +some portion of it might be reflected upon her by whose remembrance +she was guided and encouraged: this idea rendered every sacrifice +and every effort more easy to her; she found nothing difficult, when +the aim was to call down blessings on the name of her mother, and +to efface the unjust prejudice which even death had been unable to +destroy. Her filial efforts were crowned with success; she saw all her +desires accomplished; and became the successor, with the inhabitants +of Montfort, to the attachment which they had retained for Monsieur +and Madame de Solanges. They ceased to regret that Monsieur de Manzay +had come to settle amongst them, and very soon began to congratulate +themselves on that event; for Caroline, who was all-powerful with her +father, induced him to have more intercourse with his neighbours, +and by that means he was frequently able to be of service to them. A +fountain was required in the town. Caroline begged her father to have +one constructed, and to name it after her mother, so that her memory +might be connected, in the minds of the people, with the idea of a +benefit. The curé united with her in the distribution of relief to the +poor: Caroline gave away flax for spinning, potatoes, meal; Monsieur +de Manzay kept in store faggots and turf; and the curé recommended to +them those who were really distressed and deserving of assistance. The +school and the work-room were established, and the children made rapid +progress. Thus, in the course of a few years, the inhabitants of the +château and those of the village found their position, with regard to +each other, completely altered; instead of being grievous and hurtful, +they had been rendered agreeable and useful, through the exertions of a +young girl, who, against the difficulties of the present, drew all her +strength from her regret for the past, and her hopes for the future. + +But if the salutary influence of Caroline extended itself abroad, it +was not, on that account, the less active, or the less efficacious, at +home, in the bosom of her own family. In a very few years, everything +at Primini had undergone a change. Monsieur de Manzay, who was formerly +acquainted only with the enjoyments of the heart, and the pleasures of +the intellect, whose life passed away in generous but useless emotions, +in beautiful but sterile conceptions, who never sought to communicate +his ideas to others, and found, in the disinterested contemplation of +truth, sufficient to delight his heart and satisfy his conscience, was, +unknown to himself, raised from this state of careless languor, which +he had looked upon almost as a merit, and learned to consider it a +fault. Caroline, no longer a child, matured by misfortune, and anxious +to associate herself with all the tastes and occupations of her father, +directed towards the subjects which interested him the energy which +had formerly been expended on her own fancies. She very soon became +acquainted with his opinions, and adopted them. But it was not merely +for her personal satisfaction that she entered into them so deeply. +Endowed with great strength of will, and full of the ardour of her +age, it was inconceivable to her, that any one should consider he had +fulfilled his duty to the cause of truth, while yet he did nothing to +promote its triumphs, nor felt the necessity of imparting that of which +he cherished the belief. This disposition in the daughter reacted on +the father. Monsieur de Manzay, at first, contented himself with taking +the steps which Caroline requested, out of complaisance to her. He +expected no other result than the pleasure which she derived from them, +and the affectionate gratitude which she evinced towards him. But, when +success had several times crowned his efforts, when exertions, which +he fancied useless, had brought back to constitutional principles a +neighbour who had been enlisted on the other side, by prejudices easy +to be overcome; when an appeal to the proper authority had obtained +the redress of an illegal act; when a journey to the principal town had +been of essential service to an election, important to the country; or, +when the farmers had consented to adopt new and advantageous methods +of culture, Monsieur de Manzay congratulated himself on having yielded +to the entreaties of his daughter, and began to think that men are +naturally accessible to reason, and that to induce them to submit to +it completely, there is often nothing more required than to present it +to them in their own way. Such a conviction was encouraging, and made +him wish to employ, for the advantage of his neighbours, all those +facilities for serving them which he enjoyed, in the possession of a +superior understanding and extensive knowledge. He became more intimate +with them, and was useful to almost all. Old emigrants, strangers to +what was passing around them, to whom liberty was but revolution, and +monarchy the old _régime_, learned, by their intercourse with him, that +it was possible to be a friend to representative government, without +approving the crimes of the Convention; that a man might love equality, +without being, necessarily, ill-bred; that the king's authority gains +nothing from being served by bad ministers; and that there is no +rebellion in preferring an honest man, brought in by the opposition, +but of good ability, and well-known amongst his fellow-citizens, to a +designing fellow, without merit, who is sent from Paris, or imposed +on the electors by a circular. Young people, on the contrary, led by +discontent with what is around them to admire all that existed thirty +years back, were convinced, by conversing with Monsieur de Manzay, that +everything was not to be regretted in the times of the Revolution or +of the Empire; and that because the past was very different from the +present, it had not the less been often very bad. Aged men, full of +the ideas of the last century, obstinately refused all the demands of +the curé, and applauded themselves on the success of this obstinacy, +as a victory in the good cause; Monsieur de Manzay led them back to +more reasonable sentiments, and the curé, in his turn, ceased to attack +them. In a word, Monsieur de Manzay, from a solitary and unknown man, +became a communicative and influential one; his power of being useful +was thus increased, and consequently his happiness; and for these +advantages he was indebted to his daughter. + +Stephen was also a gainer by the new order of ideas which had been +introduced into the family. His sister, convinced by her own experience +of the disadvantages of a too desultory education, felt it to be a +matter of much importance that his should be conducted with regularity. +She prevailed on her father to give him fixed lessons, and to exact +a strict performance of the duties imposed on him; she undertook to +watch over their execution, and devoted to this inspection a large +portion of her time; she also took upon herself the charge of teaching +him many things which it was desirable he should know, and in which +she was capable of giving him instruction. All this was easy, but +there was yet more to be done: knowledge is desirable and necessary, +it is even indispensable; yet it is but one portion, and that not the +most important, of education. Though Stephen's mind was not yet fully +developed, Caroline was extremely desirous to turn all his abilities +to account; but she was still more anxious that his views should be +right, his decisions just, and his character firm: she wished him to +know how to appreciate everything according to its real value, that he +might not passionately attach himself to trivial objects, and that he +should give his whole mind to whatever he had once determined on. To +attain these results, Stephen must not be indulged as she had been, +for she still often felt how naturally the habit of yielding to every +fancy leads to mistakes as to what is of real importance. This point, +however, she found it difficult to obtain from M. de Manzay. How was +he to be induced to give pain to this child, the last pledge of her +whose remembrance constituted his life; how could he resist his wishes, +impose restraints on him, treat him with severity? Perhaps by urging it +very importunately, and asking it as a personal favour, Caroline might +have gained this difficult conquest, and led her father to subdue the +feelings of his heart, and make use of one weakness to combat another; +but she did not have recourse to this dangerous method; her natural +sense of uprightness deterred her from making use of it, and taught her +that truth alone has the privilege of finally triumphing over error; +that one passion is not well vanquished by another; and that though it +be a longer, it is at all events a surer way to appeal to reason, the +sole legitimate and absolute sovereign of our moral nature. It was, +therefore, not by entreaties, but by rational persuasion, that she +succeeded in inducing her father to train Stephen for other aims than +mere present enjoyment, the amusement of the day, or the gratification +of his passing fancies. Nor let it be imagined that Stephen had any +reason to regret this change; on the contrary, his mode of life being +better regulated, afforded him more enjoyment; the necessity of working +gave value to his amusements; he found more happiness in doing what was +right, when he had experienced the effects of the reverse; and he loved +his father and sister all the better for their complaisance, when he +had felt their firmness. + +Even Denis himself found his advantage in the reform which had +taken place at Primini. When life flowed on there so tranquilly and +so happily that each seemed to have no other duties than those of +affection, no occupations but those which were required to pass time +agreeably, there was abundance of room for him, and he could abandon +himself to all the impetuosity of his character; but when misfortune +and time had changed the habits of the family--when all was according +to rule, and each hour had its employment, each person his work,--what +remained for him but to make up his mind, and be reasonable like the +others? He had no longer any one to torment, and he scarcely regretted +it, for Caroline's patience had at length wearied him of this singular +amusement; and if he was sometimes a weight upon his cousin, it was +rather from the burthen of his idleness than from any bad intention. +But he required society--idle people; when everybody was occupied he +knew not what to do with himself. He could not pass the whole of his +time in walking, in looking at the haymaking, or in angling; and when +Stephen was studying with his father, Caroline at her school, and the +servants at their work, he must either lounge about wearily by himself, +or find some employment. He resolved one day to try this last plan, +fully resolved that if, after six months' trial, he should find it too +laborious, he would resume his old mode of proceeding, and give up +books for ever. As he had much resolution and strength of character, +and would not do things by halves, he gave himself up completely to his +new project, and voluntarily, without even requiring to be reminded, +he every day devoted eight hours to work. At first he found this +insupportable, and could only console himself for the disgust which he +experienced, by counting the number of days which remained to complete +his term of trial; but by degrees his distaste vanished; he perceived +that there is a vast difference between studying at broken intervals, +like a child and from constraint, and in seeking heartily to acquire +fresh knowledge. For his special employment he had chosen mathematics, +which he had formerly begun to learn, and which would be essential if +he persisted in his design of entering the naval service; but which he +had, nevertheless, thrown aside and neglected. M. de Manzay offered +him his assistance, although convinced that his resolution would not +be of long duration, and that he would not persevere even to the term +which he had prescribed for himself. He was mistaken. Denis, far from +being discouraged, every day became more attached to his new mode of +life, and the fatal epoch passed without his having remarked it. He was +now quite decided upon the continuance of his studies; he was eighteen +years of age, and calculated upon employing one more year in preparing +himself to enter the Polytechnic School. These two years of labour +and of seclusion, the mere idea of which formerly alarmed him to such +a degree that he was ready to relinquish his desire of entering the +navy, he now scarcely dreaded at all; besides which, he felt that he +had sufficient energy to surmount any unpleasant feelings they might +occasion. Whenever he again felt any dismay at the prospect, he would +go and confide his uneasiness to Caroline, now his best friend, whom he +no more thought of teasing than she recollected having been tormented +by him; their childish quarrels were so far from their thoughts, that +they would have been astonished had they been reminded that only four +years had intervened since these puerile disputes. + +But if Caroline had forgotten the annoyance which had formerly been +given her by Denis, this was far from being the case with respect to +the contempt with which she had been treated by Robert; she could not +reconcile herself to the idea of his disdainful tone towards her, and +though her own good sense told her that her cousin's censure was justly +founded, yet she could not sufficiently conquer herself to forgive +the manner in which it was shown. Her imagination always represented +Robert, and his intercourse with her, such as she recollected them, +and she did not take into consideration, either the change in herself, +nor that which must have taken place in her cousin; all the praises +which she heard bestowed upon him redoubled her fear at the thought +of meeting him again, and it was with real dread that she awaited his +approaching return. + +Robert, on his part, came back full of prejudices against Caroline. +With all the self-sufficiency of a young man of twenty, he had +formerly seen only her defects, and he persisted in the opinion +which he had then formed of her, with an obstinacy which would have +been unpardonable, if his absence, and the little taste he had for +letter-writing, joined to a not ill-founded mistrust of Monsieur de +Manzay's opinion where his daughter was concerned, had not afforded +some excuse for the error of still seeing, in the Caroline of twenty, +the Caroline of fifteen. + +The mutual dislike existing between Robert and Caroline was the more to +be regretted as they were destined to pass their lives near each other. +Robert's estate was contiguous to that of Monsieur de Manzay, and it +was with the intention of settling there that he returned from his +travels. Decided to enter upon a completely independent career, which +should allow him the free disposal of his mode of life, he had resolved +to seek in commercial enterprises the means of employing his time and +abilities; he determined to convert his château into a manufactory, and +to add to his position as a landowner that of a merchant. His estate, +which was thickly wooded, and, traversed by a river, was exactly +suited for the establishment of an iron factory;--he promised himself +much satisfaction in setting it on foot, and superintending it, and +calculated upon being very useful to the country by such a measure. +He was not fond of the world, and regretted nothing at Paris but that +brilliant circulation of intellect which is as natural to it as its +atmosphere. No one can say whence it comes, or whither it goes; who is +the giver, or who the receiver; what will be its influence, or what +may be its limit: it is enough that it exists, that it spreads itself +around, that it seizes on all--yes, on all--even on those who deny it, +even on those who condemn it. But although Robert was more than any man +capable of appreciating, and of contributing his share to this noble +pleasure, he was not disposed to purchase it at the price of a life +of idleness, equally devoid of results as of aim. Had the state of +his country opened to him a career in which all his abilities might +be simultaneously developed, in which activity would have required no +sacrifice, but in which his individual progress would have advanced +the public good, he would have given this the preference; but this was +not possible, and Robert had too much strength of character to suppose +that he was exempted from doing that which was good, because he had +a glimpse of something better. He felt confident that a time would +come, when his wishes might be accomplished, and in the course of a +long career he looked forward to the promise of a future for himself +and for his country. But the future is in the hands of God alone, and +our obligations are attached to the present time; to squander it in +the expectation of the future, is to borrow without knowing whether we +have wherewith to pay, and to expose ourselves to the danger of being +some day bankrupt. Robert, therefore, not without some hesitation, but +without regret, fixed on the plan the best suited to his tastes and his +position, and which offered the best employment for his time, whilst +awaiting a more extended career; but he would not enter on his project +lightly, or without acquiring all the knowledge requisite for such an +enterprise. It would not satisfy him to be merely a worker on a grand +scale; even could he have made it profitable, it would have given him +no pleasure; and he was rich enough to entitle him not to consider +money as his sole object. He began, then, by passing two years at the +Polytechnic Institution, which he left with a brilliant reputation. It +was at that period that he spent a short time at Primini, before he +set out on the long tour on which he had determined, in order to see +various countries, and study their manners and institutions; to perfect +himself in living languages; and to examine the different industrial +processes invented and practised beyond the bounds of his own country, +with which it was right that he should be acquainted. + +He thus came back to Puivaux at twenty-five years of age, happy to +return to his own country, to revisit the scenes of his childhood, +and renew his family ties; and the only thing that disturbed him was, +the disagreeable recollection which he retained of Caroline. In spite +of his prejudices, she had often presented herself to his mind, and +the remembrance of her caprices could not efface that of her lovely +face, the elegance of her form, and the grace of her movements; the +sweet tones of her voice still vibrated on his ears, and often had he +repeated to himself that it was a great pity she was so insufferable, +for she might have been charming; and then--then--but it must not be +thought of, she possessed neither good sense nor good temper, and from +such a person what could be hoped for? + +It was rather late, one evening, when Robert arrived at Primini, where +he was to take up his abode till everything was in order at his own +house. He was not yet expected, but the absence of a friend, whom he +had intended to visit by the way, had shortened his journey; and he +had entered the château, and made his way to the drawing-room, before +his coming was even suspected. He was struck by the scene presented +by the persons there assembled. Monsieur de Manzay was reading aloud, +Stephen was drawing, Denis copying music, and Caroline working at her +embroidery frame. This social employment, this active tranquillity, was +the more striking from its contrast with the former habits of those +present, and its congeniality with his own tastes. He looked on without +stirring, when Caroline chanced to raise her eyes, and exclaimed, "It +is Robert!" Her voice expressed more surprise than pleasure, and, after +having risen hastily, she remained where she was without advancing +towards her cousin. He had already repeatedly embraced his uncle and +Stephen, and shaken hands with Denis, before she could recover herself +sufficiently to speak; she opened her lips and closed them again +without uttering a syllable. Robert, on his side, was ill at ease, +and it is impossible to say how long their embarrassment might have +lasted, if Monsieur de Manzay had not cried out, "Well! what are you +both doing? Are you not glad to see each other again? What are you +thinking about?" + +"Will you permit me to embrace you, Caroline?" then said Robert. + +"Permit you!" repeated Monsieur de Manzay; "are you such a simpleton as +to ask? I should like to see her refuse, indeed. For I am a terrible +despot, as you well know," he added, caressing his daughter, as he led +her towards Robert. They then embraced, but without much pleasure on +either side; and, under the pretext of giving some orders, Caroline +speedily made her escape from the room. + +"My cousin is, then, at the head of your house?" inquired Robert, when +she was gone. + +"Yes, certainly, and a capital manager she is, I can assure you." + +"I should not have supposed her to be over-gifted with order." + +"Formerly she had little enough; but she is greatly changed; you would +not recognise her, my friend." + +"She has at least retained her good looks, and she has done well, for +she is really charming." + +"Why, then, did you stand there like a post before her?" + +"We were not very good friends, formerly, and I was afraid she might +recollect it. By the way, Denis, how do you agree with Caroline?" + +"With Caroline! how is it possible to do otherwise than agree with her, +kind as she is?" + +"Yet you used to be always quarrelling." + +"Oh! that is a long time ago, when I was quite a child; but now, I +would throw myself into the river to give her pleasure." + +"Or, what would be more to the purpose, you would work for her--as I +imagine this music is destined for her?" + +"Exactly so; but, Robert, do not suppose that I am still the idle +fellow I used to be. I have been quite reformed here, and I am going to +enter the Polytechnic School." + +"How! you, who spoke of it with such horror?" + +"I tell you that I am quite reformed; for the last four years, nearly, +I have been living at Primini, and as everyone here is occupied, I +was obliged to do like the rest. In the beginning it was exceedingly +wearisome, but afterwards I took delight in the exertion, and so does +everyone. Is it not so, Stephen?" + +"How tall Stephen is grown," said Robert; "he was quite a little +fellow, when I went away." + +"You must remember that five years have passed since then, and many +events have occurred; but you will have time enough to discover this, +my friend, and for the present you must need refreshment and repose. +Stephen, go and tell your sister that she had better order supper." + +At this moment, Caroline entered the room. + +"Your apartment is quite ready, Robert," she said; "shall Stephen +conduct you to it, or would you rather take supper immediately?" + +"Just as you please, I am quite at your disposal," replied Robert, +in a ceremonious manner, corresponding, perfectly, with the extreme +politeness of Caroline. + +They were both of them ill at ease, infinitely more so than they would +have been with total strangers, when a little constraint would have +been natural. In fact, when all is real, there can be no embarrassment. +It is by a false position, and not by a difficult one, that we are +disconcerted. The remainder of the evening passed cheerlessly enough. +Caroline, who usually diffused life and gaiety over the home circle, +was constrained and silent, and took no share in the conversation; her +silence reacted upon Denis, who was accustomed to laugh and jest with +her: Robert reproached himself for the constraint and _ennui_ which he +seemed to have introduced into the house, and promised himself not to +prolong his stay, grieved as he was to find himself like a stranger, +and a troublesome stranger, in his own family. Following up his old +prejudices he laid all the blame of his vexation upon Caroline. "She +is still the same, whatever they may say," thought he to himself; +"she yields completely to the fancy of the moment. Because she is +sorry to see me--yet what harm have I ever done her?--she makes us all +uncomfortable, with her intolerable, ill-humoured airs. I perceive +nothing of that devotion to others--that self-denial, of which my uncle +spoke in his letters. However, I never believed in it, and I was right; +she is, and she always will be, a spoiled child." + +The next day affairs assumed a different aspect, but Robert was no +great gainer by the change. Caroline, who had reproached herself for +making the evening pass disagreeably to her father, determined to +overcome the awkwardness which she experienced in Robert's presence, +and, as far as outward appearances were concerned, she succeeded. She +threw off the almost gloomy silence of the preceding evening, replied +gaily to the pleasantries of Denis on the subject, and appeared, +as usual, serene and amiable; but she found it impossible to be at +her ease with Robert. She listened to him with attention, replied +with gentleness, and even addressed her conversation to him when the +opportunity occurred; but it was evident that she did so with effort, +and that she laboured under insufferable constraint with him. Robert +perceived this clearly, and every day added to his vexation; this +negative distinction wounded and annoyed him, and he had to encounter +it perpetually. If Caroline wanted a strong hand to stretch her +embroidery frame, it was to Denis that she applied; if she wished to +gather a flower that was beyond her reach, she would call Denis to her +assistance, even if Robert were close beside her. At table, she might +sometimes forget to help Denis, or attend to Stephen before him, whilst +her scrupulous politeness towards Robert marked the distance between +them. Treated thus as a stranger, and more wounded by Caroline's polite +attention than even by her coldness, Robert found little pleasure at +Primini, and was dissatisfied with his cousin. He felt that their near +relationship gave him a right to more familiar intercourse, whilst +he forgot that he did nothing to promote it; greatly piqued, and +more grieved than he was aware of, to find himself on such bad terms +with Caroline, he took the very way to increase the distance between +them; he was reserved and ceremonious in his conduct towards her, yet +captious, and even ironical. Never did a word of friendly regard drop +from his lips, but he would often complain; and, too proud to own his +vexation, he veiled it under so much bitterness, that he was completely +misunderstood by Caroline, whose heart, accustomed to the full light of +truth, never suspected simulation, or detected what was feigned. + +As Robert's stay at Primini was prolonged, he was day after day the +more grieved at the state of his relations with Caroline; seeing her +as he did continually, he could not but acknowledge that she possessed +excellent qualities, great amiability and simplicity of character, and +that she had wonderfully improved since they parted. Although he was +still far from being acquainted with all her worth, he began to think +that it would be very delightful to gain her friendship and possess +her confidence, and also to doubt whether he had ever deserved either +the one or the other. The remembrance of his former wrongs towards her +presented itself to his mind; he recollected how disagreeable had been +his manners, how severe his condemnation; he was no longer surprised at +the coldness of Caroline, and asked himself whether, since his arrival, +he had taken the proper measures to overcome it. His conscience told +him that he had not; his regret augmented, and soon assumed the form +of self-reproach. He accused himself as the sole cause of all this +vexation, and anxiously sought the means of putting an end to the +constraint which was so painful to both, so distressing to himself. One +morning, as he was pondering over the subject whilst taking a walk, +he heard bursts of laughter, and, approaching, saw Caroline and Denis +engaged in watering the flowers, and chatting in the most animated +manner. He joined them, wished them good morning; Caroline resumed her +gravity; Denis recollected that it was the hour to begin his studies, +and left them. Robert and Caroline remained for some moments without +speaking. At last, making an effort, he said, "I have disturbed you, +Caroline; I am sorry for it." + +"Why should you think you disturb me, Robert? I can go on watering my +flowers whilst you are here." + +"Yes; but you are not laughing as you were just now." + +"I have no longer any inclination to do so." + +"That is the very thing of which I complain; I always interrupt your +merriment, my dear Caroline; cannot you laugh and chat with me as you +do with Denis?" + +"With you, Robert? Oh, that would be very difficult." + +"And why? Am I not also your cousin?" + +"I do not know you so well as Denis." + +"But yesterday, when the curé introduced his nephew, to whom you were +a stranger, you conversed a great deal with him, and appeared to be +amused." + +"I am not afraid of M. Julius." + +"Are you, then, afraid of me?" + +"Yes, certainly: you are so extremely severe." + +"Have I found fault with you once since my return?" + +"No; but you do not blame me the less in your own thoughts." + +"Nay, I assure you I think of you very favourably. Besides, my dear +Caroline, allowing that we are not always of the same opinion, and +that--pardon my frankness--some of the disadvantages which I formerly +remarked may yet remain from your too indulgent education--you possess +so many good qualities, that these slight defects may be easily +overlooked. I, also, have had my faults, and especially towards you; +but, because we are neither of us perfect, need we be other than good +friends? Forget the past, I entreat you, and give me some portion of +your regard." + +"With all my heart, Robert," cried Caroline, holding out her hand +to her cousin, who kissed it affectionately. "Believe me, I was far +from supposing that you set any value on my affection. I thought you +despised me." And the tears stood in her eyes. "Let us say no more +about it," she continued, more calmly, "it makes me too unhappy." + +"How good and amiable you are, my dear Caroline; I have been very +unjust." + +"I shall think of it no more. I was so unreasonable five years ago, +that I quite understand your thinking me very ridiculous." + +"Yes; but how harsh I was! Oh, I repent it with all my soul! Pardon me, +I entreat you." + +"Pardon you! my dear Robert, what a grand word! Must I, in my turn, +remind you that you are my cousin, and, above all, my senior; and that +I could not allow myself to talk of pardon to you? Come, let us return +to the house; my father will be delighted to see us on such good terms; +for our coldness annoys him, and he scolds me every day--in his way of +scolding, however--for not making myself more agreeable to you." She +took Robert's offered arm, and they went back to the house chatting +familiarly. + +This first step once made, a complete change took place in the +nature of the relations between Caroline and Robert. They were both +so simple-minded, so truthful, so upright, that as soon as what +may be called the exterior obstacles which had separated them were +removed, the most perfect confidence was established between them. +There were, besides, so many reasons to bring them together; all their +affections were directed to the same objects: Robert had no relatives +that were not also those of Caroline; their interests were alike; +near neighbours, their exertions were employed for the welfare of the +same persons: the workmen of Robert were the sons, the brothers, the +husbands of Caroline's _protégées_; their opinions agreed, their tastes +were congenial; in a word, everything combined to attract them to each +other, and they could not become intimately acquainted without finding +how exactly they suited each other's tastes. Caroline was never tired +of listening to the accounts which her cousin gave of his travels, or +to the development of his ideas, his projects, and his hopes, of which +he perpetually conversed with her. It was with intense delight that he +contemplated the vivid impressions of so fresh a mind, so youthful a +heart; he was surprised by her good sense, enchanted by her gentleness, +and was particularly charmed with the seriousness and sincerity which +induced her to maintain her own opinion with firmness till the moment +that she was convinced of an error, when she would at once abandon it, +without any subterfuge or embarrassment. + +The winter arrived, and passed away in this pleasing intercourse. Its +long days afforded Robert the greater opportunity for attaching himself +to Caroline, and gaining her affections. With the return of spring +he was to quit Primini, and establish himself at Puivaux. Scarcely +six months ago, he had impatiently longed for this period; a little +later, he felt that he looked forward to it without eagerness; and now +that the time approached, he could not contemplate it without dread. +However, by frequently grieving over the matter, and thinking how +dreary life would appear to him without Caroline, he at last arrived +at the conclusion, that he might render it happy through her means, and +that his cousin might perhaps consent to become his wife: she already +showed so much regard and esteem for him, and placed in him so much +confidence; might she not bestow on him still more? Why should not +Caroline return his love? + +His addresses were not destined to encounter any obstacles; he had +never been indifferent to Caroline, and had now become extremely dear +to her: the certainty of living in his vicinity had already appeared to +her a happy destiny; what, then, would it be to live for him, to form +his happiness, and receive from him her own; to be the first object +of his thoughts and pursuits; to find such admirable qualities and +such noble faculties devoted entirely to her; in a word, to become the +wife of a man whom she was proud to call her friend, and congratulated +herself on having for a relative? + +It may easily be imagined that M. de Manzay was not slow in granting +his consent. He had often dwelt with pleasure on the idea of this +union, and had never abandoned the hope of seeing it take place. +The marriage was celebrated at Montfort by the curé, who had once +thought so ill of Caroline. She was accompanied to the altar by four +young couples, M. de Manzay giving the dowry to the girls selected by +Caroline from amongst her former pupils, whilst Robert supplied the +funds for their establishment. The bridegrooms were workmen employed at +his ironworks, and were to live at Puivaux, whither Robert conducted +Caroline the day after the wedding. Her father followed her thither. +It was impossible for him to live without her, and he would not detain +her from her husband's affairs; but Primini was not neglected. This +place, which was destined for Stephen, was on all accounts much loved +by Caroline; she therefore watched over it with the greatest care, and +thither her walks were habitually directed. The two châteaux belonged +to the same commune, and were situated in the same parish: their +interests were identical, and the good which was undertaken by Monsieur +and Madame de Puivaux was only the continuation of that which had been +effected by Monsieur and Mademoiselle de Manzay. + + + Reed & Pardon, Printers, Paternoster-row, London. + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + + +[1] The Italian Marionettes are made with a degree of perfection +unequalled in this country.--NOTE by the Author. + +[2] These dip-cups, or _pinceliers_, are little boxes of tin used +for cleaning the brushes. The colour-venders repurchase the residue +of these boxes, and the colour thus obtained is employed in the +manufacture of printed goods. + +[3] Grimaud signifies a sulky person. + +[4] Pasticcio signifies an imitation of the mixed style of various +artists. + +[5] Derisive epithets employed to designate one who does not follow +the method and taste of the existing school of art, or who adopts a +finicing style of painting. + +[6] Slang terms, indicative of a soft and finicing style of painting. + +[7] Croûtes aux épinards, signifying daubs. + +[8] Pickled meat, fried. + +[9] That is to say, a caricature. + +[10] The last entered or the least skilful in the studio. + + + + + NEW ILLUSTRATED WORKS, + + In Elegant Cloth Bindings, + + PUBLISHED BY + GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & CO., FARRINGDON ST., + LONDON. + + Price 3_s._ 6_d._ each, + + +DAWNINGS OF GENIUS (The) Exemplified and Exhibited in the Early Lives +of Distinguished Men. By Rev. T. A. BUCKLEY, M.A., F.S.A. With Eight +Illustrations by Godwin. + +Amongst many other Distinguished Persons are Petrarch, Sir Thomas +More, Pascal, Sir Francis Bacon, Newton, Galileo, Hogarth, Sir Thomas +Lawrence, Chatterton, Sir Walter Scott, Franklin, Washington, &c. &c. +From the above list, comprising as it does notices of Poets, Statesmen, +Divines, Philosophers, Astronomers, and Painters, it will be at once +apparent the work forms an admirable _School Prize_ or _Gift Book_. + + +INFLUENCE; or, The Evil Genius. By the Author of "A Trap to Catch a +Sunbeam," &c. With Eight Illustrations, from designs by John Gilbert. + + +CELEBRATED CHILDREN of all Ages and Nations. By M. MASSON. With +Illustrations, from designs by Absolon. + + ROYAL CHILDREN. + MARTYR CHILDREN. + COURAGEOUS CHILDREN. + LEARNED CHILDREN. + CHILDREN CELEBRATED FOR THEIR FILIAL AFFECTION. + LABORIOUS CHILDREN. + POET AND ARTIST CHILDREN. + +This volume is one which cannot fail to interest and benefit the young; +for in offering to their consideration, in a very attractive form, the +remarkable actions of persons of their own age, it not only ensures a +ready sympathy, but is also eminently calculated to excite emulation +and encourage perseverance. + + +THE ISLAND HOME; being the Adventures of Six Young Crusoes cast on a +Desolate Island. With Illustrations. + + + In One Stout Volume, price 3_s._ 6_d._, + +BOYS AT HOME; or, The Loss of Fortune Counterbalanced by Good Conduct +and Industry. By C. ADAMS, Author of "Edgar Clifton." With Eight +Illustrations. + +A beautiful and deeply interesting tale, remarkable for its vigorous +and disciplined imagination, its lively and pure style, and high +moral tone; it cannot fail to be as great a favourite with the rising +generation, as those tales of Miss Edgeworth which have been read and +re-read by almost all the world. + + + + Price Three Shillings and Sixpence each, + +TRAVELS OF ROLANDO; or, A Tour Round the World. By LUCY AIKIN. Newly +corrected and revised by CECIL HARTLEY, A.M. Illustrated by Harvey. + + +ROMANCE OF ADVENTURE; or, True Tales of Enterprise, for the Instruction +and Amusement of the Young. With Eight Illustrations by Campbell. + + +THE BOY'S OWN STORY BOOK OF FAIRY TALES AND LEGENDS. With numerous +Illustrations by Wm. Harvey. + + +THE FURTHER TRAVELS OF ROLANDO. Describing those parts of the World not +before visited. By Miss ANN BOWMAN. + + +VOYAGE AND VENTURE; or, Narratives of Perils by Sea and Land. +Illustrated with Eight Engravings. + +A volume of excitement for the fireside: in it are narrations of +perilous incidents in naval life--by famine, fire, and wreck, as well +as in the busy stir of war; the calm decision of Nelson at the Nile; +the career of the soldier in tented field and siege; an instance +of the firm and steady purpose of Wellington at Vittoria, as well +as his kindly care for others, by an eye-witness. Here, also, are +the adventures of hardy hunters in the Indian wilds, and their many +hair-breadth escapes when in pursuit of savage animals, or their +greater peril, the wild Indian. + + +ROBINSON CRUSOE; including His Farther Adventures. Complete Edition, +with Life of DE FOE. Illustrated by Phiz. 432 pages. + + +SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON; or, Adventures on a Desert Island. A New +Edition. The Two Series complete in One Volume, entirely Revised and +Improved. Eight Illustrations by John Gilbert. + +The purport of this pleasing story is to convey instruction in the +Arts and Natural History, and at the same time to inculcate by example +principles which tend to the promotion of social happiness. It well +deserves the high encomium passed on it by one of the most competent +judges, that it is one of the best children's books ever written. + + +EVENINGS AT HOME; or, The Juvenile Budget Opened. By L. AIKIN and Mrs. +BARBAULD; a New and Revised Edition, with Eight Engravings. + +"This is one of the best books for young people from seven to ten +years old that has yet appeared in the world; and the mixture of +scientific and moral lessons is so happily blended as to relieve the +attention."--_Miss Edgeworth._ + + +SANDFORD AND MERTON. By Thomas Day. A New Edition, entirely Revised and +Corrected. Eight Illustrations. 416 pages. + +This well-known and popular work has been read by many a boy with +delight and instruction, and will continue to communicate equal delight +to those that are to follow. + + + +Transcriber's note: + + Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully + as possible, including some inconsistencies of hyphenation. + + Oe-ligatures have been expanded to "oe." + + The following is a list of changes made to the original. + The first line is the original line, the second the corrected one. + + into one of Martin's paniers, where, covered + into one of Martin's panniers, where, covered + + had just flattered himself, "Give it to me with the + had just flattered himself, "give it to me with the + + the sound of his horses' feet growing fainter and + the sound of his horse's feet growing fainter and + + "lest we lose our way," Cecilia did not dare to say + "lest we lose our way." Cecilia did not dare to say + + First of all, she said, I will teach her to work well + "First of all," she said, "I will teach her to work well + + B, then C; and at last, all the letters of the aphabet. + B, then C; and at last, all the letters of the alphabet. + + Thus, all the success obtained that that day was, + Thus, all the success obtained that day was, + + his mind still perplexed with the came doubt, + his mind still perplexed with the same doubt, + + "Oh! my father," demanded Nadir, how, amidst + "Oh! my father," demanded Nadir, "how, amidst + + I should not say, "To what purpose have I paid my debts? + I should not say, "To what purpose have I paid my debts?" + + to find it, for it is in my shoe, under my stocking. + to find it, for it is in my shoe, under my stocking." + + "there is master Louis himself, who will tell you that it is + "there is Master Louis himself, who will tell you that it is + + if they find all the house out of sorts in this mannner----" + if they find all the house out of sorts in this manner----" + + disturb every body, and require to be pitied,--not that + disturb everybody, and require to be pitied,--not that + + could not wait on Amelia as attentively as on other occasions, + could not wait on Adela as attentively as on other occasions, + + she made it a rule to work, as she had had said, an hour longer + she made it a rule to work, as she had said, an hour longer + + My father's, as well as my own name, is Valentin lâ Grimâudière. + My father's, as well as my own name, is Valentin lâ Grimâudière." + + the inexperience which he very justly atttributed to him. + the inexperience which he very justly attributed to him. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42839 *** |