how I am interested in what you came to tell me."
"Oh! Monsieur Dalville, if we could have guessed; if we could have
foreseen! But, bless my soul! we aren't sorcerers; that's what I told
Bichette this morning when she insisted on taking my snuff-box away."
"I never supposed that you were a sorcerer, Monsieur Monin; but I
confess that at this moment I find you rather incomprehensible."
"That's because I haven't recovered yet, monsieur."
"Recovered from what?"
"And Bichette declares that he's taken you in, too."
Dalville lost patience, and glanced at Bertrand, who was pacing the
floor, muttering:
"If I had a squad of men like him to drill, I'd begin by fastening 'em
to horses' tails and driving the horses at a gallop."
Monin took out his snuff-box, stuffed his nostrils, and continued:
"I have come to you, Monsieur Dalville, to see if by chance you have
discovered which way he has gone."
"Who on earth do you mean, Monsieur Monin? For heaven's sake, explain
yourself more fully! You have been talking to me for an hour, and I
haven't understood a word that you've said. What is it that someone has
been doing to you?"
"Someone has robbed me, monsieur!"
"Robbed you?"
"That is to say, carried off twenty-five thousand francs."
"Who, pray?"
"Monsieur Destival."
"Destival!"
"Yes, monsieur; he's gone away, left France, so I am told. That is what
I had the honor to come to tell you."
Auguste understood now too well; he was overwhelmed. Bertrand walked up
to Monin, shouting:
"What's that you say? Damnation! Is it possible that that Monsieur
Destival----"
"Ah! Monsieur Bertrand! How's the state of your health?"
"He has gone--with our two hundred and fifty thousand francs!"
"Just so. You know you taught him to drill."
"Ah! the double-dyed villain!--We are ruined, lieutenant!"
"Don't get excited, Bertrand; perhaps this intelligence is false. I
can't believe that Destival----"
"That's what I told Bichette; I couldn't believe it either."
"But how do you know? Who told you that Destival has gone?"
"I'll tell you, monsieur: he sold my shop for me not long ago, and kept
the money to invest; and I gave him six thousand francs more a week ago,
because he said that the more he had, the better investments he could
make. And yet Bichette wasn't very much inclined to leave our money with
him. But Monsieur Bisbis advised her to leave it, so--Do you take
snuff?"
"I must go at once to Destival's," said Auguste, interrupting Monin in
the middle of his speech.
"Yes, lieutenant," said Bertrand, "that will be much better than
listening to monsieur. Go, don't lose any time; and meanwhile I'll go
and try to find out something about which way the villain has gone.
Perhaps he ain't far away yet, and if we have to founder ten horses,
we'll catch him!"
"If you do catch him, Monsieur Bertrand, remember that I'm in for
twenty-five thousand francs," said Monin. But nobody was listening to
him; Auguste was already on the staircase and the corporal lost no time
in following him. Monin, finding that he was left alone with the little
groom, decided to leave Dalville's abode and to return to his own.
"At the rate they're going," he thought, "there's no doubt that those
gentlemen will succeed in catching our man; so I'll go home and
encourage Bichette."
Auguste betook himself to the business agent's abode. He inquired for
Destival of the concierge, who replied:
"Monsieur Destival hasn't been seen for three days, and nobody knows
what's become of him; he didn't say where he was going. The negro and
Baptiste have gone, too; but madame and her maid stayed behind. She's at
home now."
Auguste went upstairs and was admitted by Julie. The young man noticed
no change in the apartments, where it simply seemed more quiet than
before. He was ushered into the presence of madame, who seemed a little
embarrassed at sight of him.
"Can it be that the current report is true, madame?" Auguste asked. "I
am told that your husband has gone away, that he has left France!"
"Alas! it is only too true, monsieur," replied Emilie, sinking into an
easy-chair.
"What, madame! has he gone, not to return?"
"I think so, monsieur. He has abandoned me; he is an abominable man!"
"And do you know what he has taken with him, madame?"
"No, monsieur; I knew absolutely nothing about his business."
"Two hundred and fifty thousand francs! It is almost all that I
possessed."
"Oh! that was shocking on his part!"
"Say rather that it is robbery, infernal rascality!" cried Auguste,
angered by Madame Destival's indifference. "And you don't know, madame,
where he has gone?"
"I know nothing at all about it, monsieur; I am overwhelmed, stunned,
like yourself!"
"Your husband has ruined me, madame."
"I am terribly distressed, monsieur; but what do you expect me to do?"
"It seems to me, madame, that this occurrence is likely to involve you
in some unpleasantness."
"I have no responsibility whatever to Monsieur Destival's creditors,
monsieur; we had each our own property; this house is hired in my name,
and everything in it is mine. Is it my fault that Monsieur Destival has
been unfortunate in his speculations? Is it the first time that such a
thing ever happened? Am I not more to be pitied than anybody else? He
has carried off my marriage portion, monsieur, and the furniture that is
left here is certainly not worth the amount of that.--However, monsieur,
do whatever you choose; proceed against me; turn me into the street if
such is your desire!"
Auguste made no reply, but left Madame Destival's presence abruptly,
cursing the business agent's rascality.
Bertrand returned, having failed to discover any traces of the fugitive.
He continued his efforts in that direction for three days, while Auguste
on his side did all that he could; but it seemed certain that Destival
was already outside of France; that was the utmost that he could learn
about him.
Auguste tried to recover his cheerfulness and to endure the blow
philosophically. Bertrand was very careful not to offer his master any
counsel at that moment, for he realized that the time would be
ill-chosen. But when all hope was abandoned of discovering the tracks of
the swindler who had carried off Dalville's fortune, Bertrand bethought
himself of the Marquis de Cligneval's little debt; and Auguste consented
that the corporal should call upon him.
Bertrand hastened to the address given him and asked for monsieur le
marquis.
"He don't live here now," said the concierge.
"Where does he live?"
"He's gone to take the waters."
"What waters, morbleu?"
"Faith, he didn't tell me, monsieur."
Bertrand was furious; he returned, cursing, to tell Auguste, who
received the news calmly enough.
"What! lieutenant, you are robbed of a hundred louis more, and it
doesn't make you angry!" said Bertrand.
"Faith, my friend, when a fellow is ruined, a hundred louis more or less
aren't worth worrying about."
"Still, they'd tide over for some time. That cursed marquis! I had a
presentiment of this."
"I shall find him somewhere."
"He won't pay you."
"Bertrand, you must look into the condition of my cash-box and see how
much I have left."
"That won't take long, lieutenant."
Bertrand walked sadly toward the desk; then returned and presented with
a sigh a statement of their finances.
"Eighteen thousand six hundred and forty francs," said Auguste, reading
the total; "Gad! I didn't think that I was still so rich as this."
"I haven't counted the marquis's hundred louis, nor what several of your
friends owe you."
"I am inclined to think that that is wise. But I must know what I owe
also; send to my tailor and boot-maker and harness-maker, and pay their
bills. When I was rich I could afford to owe; but when one's money is
gone, one should not think of running into debt."
"You speak like the great Turenne, lieutenant. All the bills shall be
paid to-morrow."
After the bills were paid, Auguste possessed sixteen thousand four
hundred francs.
"Add to that our handsome furniture and the wine in the cellar, and by
leading an orderly, economical life, you can wait to see what will turn
up," Bertrand observed.
"We must subtract from the total, Bertrand, three hundred francs that I
have promised to pay for a pretty mercer's apprentice, whose furniture a
heartless bailiff proposed to seize; two hundred francs which I am
lending to Virginie, and ten louis for some bracelets that I am going to
buy to-night."
Bertrand nearly swallowed the pen that he had in his mouth.
"You can't mean it, lieutenant!" he cried; "before long you won't have
anything left."
"Look you, my friend, I promised all these things when I was still rich;
shall I break my promises just because a villain has ruined me? You
wouldn't do it yourself. But I swear that these shall be my last
follies. Henceforth I propose to be virtue itself; besides, you must
remember that we shall also have the proceeds of the sale of my two
horses and my cabriolet, for I can no longer indulge in a carriage! I
must cut down my establishment, dismiss Tony, and go on foot.--Does that
make you feel sad, Bertrand?"
"For your sake, lieutenant!"
"Oh! very likely I shall be all the better for it, my friend. Exercise
is essential to good health--I've heard you say that a thousand times.
Do you think that people who go on foot aren't just as good as those who
ride in carriages?"
"Oh! you don't think I'm such a fool as that, lieutenant!"
"Well then, why regret a thing one can do so well without! With money,
hasn't one always a cab at his command, without having horses and a
groom to keep? Upon my word, I can't understand now why I ever had a
cabriolet."
"But all those grisettes who come to tell you about their little
troubles, to have you comfort them, and the great ladies whose heads you
turned--don't you think, lieutenant, that your cabriolet had something
to do with their display of affection for you?"
"That would be an additional reason for not regretting it. Henceforth I
shall know the hearts of the women to whom I make love; I shall be sure
of being loved for myself; and if I triumph over a youthful beauty, if I
carry the day over a rival, I shall have no reason to fear that I owe
the preference accorded me to my fortune and to that alone."
"You will soon find out, lieutenant, that it was for your advantage that
that villain carried off your money!"
"Faith! who knows? Tell me, am I wrong to look at the bright side?"
"No, indeed; there are lots of people who couldn't find a bright side to
such a thing; but still--excuse my fears, monsieur--what you have left
won't last forever, no matter how much we may economize; and what will
you do then, lieutenant? for a man can't live on his cheerfulness
alone."
"Why, then--we'll see, my dear Bertrand; I have some talents--well, I'll
turn them to account, I'll work."
"You work, monsieur!" said Bertrand, turning his back, to wipe away a
tear.
"Why not, my friend?"
"Because you're not used to it--because it would be too hard for
you--because I wouldn't allow it, in fact,--and--But let's not say any
more about that. You're right; it's better to forget ourselves. Who
knows? perhaps we shall find your thief!"
"That's the talk, my dear Bertrand; we must always hope; it makes us
none the poorer and it does us good."
Auguste went out to seek distraction with a mercer's apprentice, and
Bertrand went downstairs to read the life of the great Turenne to
Schtrack.
XVI
A SCENE IN SOCIETY
The cabriolet was sold, the little groom found another place. When
Madame Saint-Edmond observed that her neighbor was cutting down his
establishment, she no longer deigned to look at him, but passed him
without even bowing to him. Bertrand was indignant at her discourtesy,
but Auguste laughed at it, saying:
"I am certain now that that woman never loved me, and it is always
pleasant to know whom one is dealing with."
But Bertrand muttered:
"Just let her lose her poodle again; and if I find him I'll make him do
a turn of sentry duty that he'll never be relieved from."
Auguste continued to seek distraction in society, and as distraction is
ordinarily expensive, he spent much more than he should have done,
although he had determined to be virtuous and orderly. He considered
himself very prudent, because, instead of losing fifty louis at an
evening party, he lost only fifty crowns; because, instead of hiring a
box at the theatre, he contented himself with buying seat tickets at the
office; and because he rode in cabs instead of keeping a cabriolet. But
even this outlay was too large for a person who had only a small capital
and no income. Bertrand saw with dismay that their funds would not last
as long as he had hoped; he dared not remonstrate with Auguste, but he
often said to him:
"Let's go see the pretty milkmaid, monsieur, and that little Coco that
you're so fond of; that will divert you. We can pass a few days at the
village, and amusements don't cost so much there as they do in Paris."
Auguste constantly postponed visiting Montfermeil. He did not tell
Bertrand the reason that he dreaded to go there; but he was pained to
think that he was no longer able to do all that he had hoped to do for
the child; he supposed that the money which he had left for him had been
used; and, being accustomed to follow nothing but the impulses of his
heart and give money away with a lavish hand, he sighed at the idea of
being obliged to reckon the extent of his benefactions. That pang was
the keenest that the loss of his fortune had as yet caused him.
After an absence of six weeks, Monsieur and Madame de la Thomassinière
returned to Paris. Their mansion became once more the rendezvous of the
people who love good dinners, evening parties and balls; and the old
chevalier of the pigeon's wings was not the last to return thither,
although at their last dinner-party he had sworn that they would never
catch him there again. The marquises and dandies, the women of fashion,
the poets and bankers were very careful not to mention Madame Thomas to
Monsieur de la Thomassinière; and he said to himself, rubbing his hands:
"It's all forgotten, nobody thinks about it now, it hasn't injured me in
the least. For all that, I did well to pass six weeks in England; that
sufficed to forget it."
Monsieur de la Thomassinière was mistaken; Madame Thomas's visit was not
forgotten; but so long as he was rich and continued to give gorgeous
parties and grand dinners, people would continue to go to his house and
to welcome him warmly. Let him but lose his money, and everybody would
very soon discover what he was--a very stupid, vulgar individual. So
that it was not necessary for him to make the journey to England. To be
sure, he did not say all this to himself.
Destival's flight caused a sensation. When it was mentioned to La
Thomassinière, he cried:
"I was certain that that man would turn out ill! He fancied that he was
as well equipped as I; he had the assurance to dream of making a fortune
like mine! As if my talents were given to everybody! He gave wretched
dinners: poor food and poor wine! And he had an idea that he gave
dinners like mine! I have said a hundred times: 'That man will go
under!' and he hasn't failed to do it."
"His wife was too much of a flirt," said Athalie; "she insisted on
following all the fashions and wearing cashmere shawls; she had taken my
dressmaker."
"Taken your dressmaker, madame!" cried her husband; "you must agree that
that was utterly absurd! Those people had lost their senses! The idea of
taking your dressmaker! the wife of a miserable little business agent!"
"But she's still in Paris," said the Marquis de Cligneval, who was
present at this conversation. "I saw her in a buggy a few days ago, more
stylishly dressed than ever."
"Really?" said the speculator; "you say that she was dressed in style?
It's a fact that she had much more wit than her husband! It seems that
her skirts are entirely clear of his business; she must have taken
measures beforehand, and she did well; certainly no one can blame her."
The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Dalville, who had not
been at the Thomassinière's since their return from England.
"Ah! Monsieur Dalville!" said the speculator, hurrying to meet the young
man with an air of great cordiality, while the marquis seized Auguste's
hand and cried:
"How delighted I am to see you, my amiable friend! Gad! I intended to
come to see you one of these days.--'Nobody ever sees him now,' I said
to myself; 'what in the deuce has become of him?'"
"It is a fact, monsieur," said Athalie, with a gracious smile to
Auguste, "you have been in no hurry, monsieur, to come to see us since
we returned more than ten days ago; it's very unkind, for you know how
fond of you we are."
"You are too kind, madame," said Auguste, taking a seat beside the
petite-maîtresse; "but I have been very much occupied. You have learned
no doubt that Destival----"
"We were speaking about him a moment ago," said La Thomassinière, "and I
was saying to monsieur le marquis, my good friend, that his performance
did not surprise me in the least! Indeed, I believe that I anticipated
it!"
"That is true--you did say that to me," the marquis replied; "but I
admit that such things always pass my comprehension. To fail--to run
away with other people's money--why, it's shocking! Let a man go off
with his own all he pleases; but the idea of deceiving people who have
confidence in one's good faith! who place their property in one's hands
to administer! who leave everything to one's honesty! Ah! I could never
forgive that!"
"Nor I," cried La Thomassinière; "I could never forgive anyone for not
succeeding in business. I will say more--I won't receive such a man in
my house. The minute your credit begins to sink, why, good-evening;
you'd better stay at home! That's all I know! For we must have honesty
first of all, as monsieur le marquis observed; and with rich people a
man is never in any danger."
Dalville smiled at the warmth with which the two worthies emphasized
their love of honesty, and after a moment he rejoined:
"Do you know how much of my money Destival has taken away with him?"
"No," said La Thomassinière; "is it possible that he cheated you too? I
thought that you were too shrewd to allow yourself to be taken in,
Monsieur Dalville!"
"Oh! in money matters, monsieur, the shrewdest are likely to be the
stupidest. A man doesn't need intelligence to grow rich; that's a truth
of which the world presents us with proofs every day."
"Monsieur Dalville is forever joking," Athalie said, laughingly; while
La Thomassinière said to the marquis in an undertone:
"This young man knows nothing whatever about business. I feel sorry for
him."
"How much did the scoundrel rob you of?" queried the marquis.
"Two hundred and fifty thousand francs."
"The deuce!" cried La Thomassinière; "but that's quite a sum of money!
Two hundred and fifty thousand francs! You must have stout loins to
stand such a loss!"
"Oh well! I stand it as best I can. This is the time to be
philosophical."
"I understand; that means that you are still very rich."
"Not at all; on the contrary, I have nothing left. Destival has carried
off my capital, and in a few months I shall have to turn my attention to
earning my living."
Monsieur de la Thomassinière's face grew long and the marquis's anxious.
Athalie alone seemed to take any interest in Auguste's situation.
"What!" she exclaimed; "do you really mean, Monsieur Dalville, that that
wretched man has ruined you?"
"Yes, madame, the fact is only too certain."
"And you take it as calmly as this?"
"If I should rage and tear my hair, that would not give me back my
money."
"Philosophy is a fine thing, that is sure," said the marquis. "It helps
us to take things as they come, it makes us superior to adversity,
and--But it occurs to me that I am invited out to dinner, to eat a
truffled turkey. I promised to be on hand at the overture, and a man of
honor has only his word. Au revoir, my dear friends."
The marquis rose and was about to leave the room, when Dalville ran
after him and stopped him.
"I beg your pardon, my dear Monsieur de Cligneval," he said under his
breath, "but you probably have forgotten a little debt of a hundred
louis. If I venture to remind you of it, you will understand that just
at this time I am in need of whatever I possess."
"My dear friend, what do you say? Pardieu! it had slipped my mind
entirely."
"You were to repay it that same week, and as it was two months ago, I
thought you had forgotten that trifle."
"Entirely, my dear friend, entirely; I have no memory except for
important things, and a hundred louis, you will agree, is the merest
bagatelle. Send to my house."
"They could not give me your address at your former residence."
"True, I am on the wing. I will send the money to you--that will be the
better way. But they are waiting for me; the turkey is probably served.
It's a party of gentlemen only, and I promised to be prompt. I am very
particular about keeping my word."
"I can rely, then, upon----"
"Yes, you shall hear from me to-morrow at the latest. Adieu; pardon me
for leaving you so abruptly, but a truffled turkey admits of no
postponement."
And Monsieur de Cligneval, who was in truth very particular about
keeping his word when a dinner or luncheon was concerned, shook off his
creditor and escaped from the salon. But as he was by no means anxious
to meet Dalville frequently at his friend La Thomassinière's, monsieur
le marquis, when he reached the reception-room, told a servant to go to
his master and tell him privately that Monsieur de Cligneval had
something to impart to him in confidence.
The servant did the errand and La Thomassinière hastily left the salon
and joined the marquis, whose obsequious servant he deemed himself very
fortunate to be.
"What is it, my dear marquis? I am at your service," cried the parvenu.
"Sh! let us go into your study, my friend. Dalville thinks that I have
gone, and I don't want him to meet me when he goes away."
They went into Monsieur de la Thomassinière's study, and there the
marquis seemed to hesitate, as if he did not know whether he ought to
speak.
"I am dreadfully perplexed," he said at last to La Thomassinière, who
was waiting humbly to hear what he had to tell him.
"Perplexed!--you! Is it possible that a marquis can ever be perplexed?
Nonsense, you are joking!"
"No, my friend, no. Mon Dieu! because one happens to have been born in
an exalted sphere, because one enjoys some consideration and has some
little power, do you suppose that one is not human just the same, and
subject to all the weaknesses that nature has allotted to us?"
"Surely not, monsieur le marquis! and----"
"Bless my soul! we are all very much alike! In the eyes of men of
intelligence what does a little more or a little less nobility amount
to?--For my own part, I give you my word that, if you were a duke, I
should esteem you no more highly!"
"You are too kind, monsieur le marquis!"
"No, I am frank, that's all."
La Thomassinière was wondering how this discussion would take the
marquis to the truffled turkey that awaited him, when Monsieur de
Cligneval resumed:
"It was about Dalville that I wanted to speak to you in private. That
young man allowed himself to be taken in like an idiot."
"Like an absolute idiot, monsieur le marquis."
"And he was so conceited, so self-sufficient! He wouldn't take anybody's
advice; he thought that he knew how to manage his business. It was a
pitiable thing!"
"It was, as you say, pitiable."
"The idea of entrusting all his money to Destival! He must have lost his
senses."
"However that may be, monsieur le marquis, I always come back to my
principle--I never forgive a man for allowing himself to be robbed."
"And you are quite right. Let him rob others--that is to say, make sport
of others--and I've not a word to say; that is cleverness,
tact!--However, this Dalville is in a most infernal position!"
"That's what I thought as soon as he told me he had nothing left."
"If he even had any social rank--a title--any of those things that may
lead to everything."
"In short, if he were noble."
"Oh! in that case he might get out of it--but when a man isn't noble
it's essential that he should be rich!"
"To be sure--that's another of my principles."