The clock of the church of Besançon had struck nine, when a woman
about fifty years of age, wrapped in a cotton shawl and carrying a
small basket on her arm, knocked at the door of a house in the Rue St
Vincent, which, however, at the period we refer to, bore the name of
Rue de la Liberté. The door opened. 'It is you, Dame Margaret,' said
the porter, with a very cross look. 'It is high time for you. All my
lodgers have come home long since; you are always the last, and'----
'That is not my fault, I assure you, my dear M. Thiebaut,' said, the
old woman in a deprecatory tone. 'My day's work is only just finished,
and when work is to be done'----
'That's all very fine,' he muttered. 'It might do well enough if I
could even reckon on a Christmas-box at the end of the year; but as it
is, I may count myself well off, if I do but get paid for taking up
their letters.'
The old woman did not hear the last words, for with quick and firm
step she had been making her way up the six flights of stairs, steep
enough to make her head reel had she been ascending them for the first
time. 'Nine o'clock!--nine o'clock! How uneasy she must be!' and as
she spoke, she opened with her latch-key the door of a wretched
garret, in which dimly burned a rushlight, whose flickering flame
scarcely seemed to render visible the scanty furniture the room
contained.
'Is that you, my good Margaret?' said a feeble and broken voice from
the farther end of the little apartment.
'Yes, my dear lady; yes, it is I; and very sorry I am to have made you
uneasy. But Madame Lebriton, my worthy employer, is so active herself,
that she always finds the workwoman's day too short--though it is good
twelve hours--and just as I was going to fold up my work, she brought
me a job in a great hurry. I could not refuse her; but this time, I
must own, I got well paid for being obliging, for after I had done,
she said in her most good-natured way: "Here, you shall take home with
you some of this nice pie, and this bottle of good wine, and have a
comfortable supper with your sister." So she always calls you,
madame,' added Margaret, while complacently glancing at the basket,
the contents of which she now laid out upon the table. 'As I believe
it is safest for you, I do not undeceive her, though it is easily
known she cannot have looked very close at us, or she might have seen
that I could only be the servant of so noble-looking a lady'----
The feeble voice interrupted her: 'My servant!--you my servant! when,
instead of rewarding your services, I allow you to toil for my
support, and to lavish upon me the most tender, the most devoted
affection! My poor Margaret! you who have undertaken for me at your
age, and with your infirmities, daily and arduous toil, are you not
indeed a sister of whom I may well be proud? Your nobility has a
higher origin than mine. Reduced by political changes, which have left
me homeless and penniless, I owe everything to you; and so tenderly do
you minister to me, that even in this garret I could still almost
fancy myself the noble Abbess of Vatteville!'
As she spoke, the aged lady raised herself in her old arm-chair, and
throwing back a black veil, disclosed features still beautiful, and a
forehead still free from every wrinkle, and eyes now sparkling with
something of their former brilliancy. She extended her hand to
Margaret, who affectionately kissed it; and then, apprehensive that
further excitement could not but be injurious to her mistress, the
faithful creature endeavoured to divert her thoughts into another
channel, by inviting her to partake of the little feast provided by
the kindness of her employer. Margaret being in the habit of taking
her meals in the house where she worked, the noble Lady Marie Anne
Adelaide de Vatteville was thus usually left alone and unattended, to
eat the scanty fare prescribed by the extreme narrowness of her
resources; so that she now felt quite cheered by the novel comfort,
not merely of the better-spread table, but of the company of her
faithful servant; and it was in an almost mirthful tone she said, when
the repast was ended: 'Margaret, I have a secret to confide to you. I
will not--I ought not to keep it any longer to myself.'
'A secret, my dear mistress! a secret from me!' exclaimed the faithful
creature in a slightly reproachful tone.
'Yes, dear Margaret, a secret from you; but to be so no longer. No
more henceforth of the toils you have undergone for me; they must be
given up: I cannot do without you. At my age, to be left alone is
intolerable. When you are not near me, I get so lonely, and sometimes
feel quite afraid, I cannot tell of what, but I suppose it is natural
to the old to fear; and often--will you believe it?--I catch myself
weeping like a very child. Ah! when age comes on us, we lose all
strength, all fortitude. But you will not leave me any more? Promise
me, dear Margaret.'
'But in that case what is to become of us?' said Margaret.
'This is the very thing I have to tell. And now listen to me. Take
this key, and in the right-hand drawer of the press you will find the
green casket, where, among my letters and family papers, you will see
a small case, which bring to me.'
Margaret, not a little surprised, did as she was desired. The abbess
gazed on the case for some moments in silence, and Margaret thought
she saw a tear glisten in her eye as she pressed the box to her lips,
and kissed it tenderly and reverentially.
'I have sworn,' she said, 'never to part with it; yet what can I do?
It must be so: it is the will of God.' And with a trembling hand, as
if about to commit sacrilege, she opened the case, and drew from it a
ruby of great brilliancy and beauty. 'You see this jewel?' she said.
'Margaret, it is the glory of my ancient house; it is the last gem in
my coronet, and more precious in my eyes than anything in the world.
My grand-uncle, the noblest of men, the Archbishop of Besançon,
brought it from the East; and when, in guerdon for some-family
service, Louis XIV. founded the Abbey of Vatteville, and made my
grand-aunt the first abbess of the order, he himself adorned her cross
with it. You now know the value of the jewel to me; and though I
cannot tell its marketable value, still, notwithstanding the pressure
of the times, I cannot but think it must bring sufficient to secure
us, for some time at least, from want. "Were I to consider myself
alone, I would starve sooner than touch the sacred deposit; but to
allow you, Margaret, to suffer, and to suffer for me--to take
advantage any longer of your disinterested affection and devoted
fidelity--would be base selfishness. God has at last taught me that I
was but sacrificing you to my pride, and I must hasten to make
atonement. I will endeavour to raise money on this jewel. You know old
M. Simon? Notwithstanding his mean appearance and humble mode of
living, I am persuaded he is a rich man; and though parsimonious in
the extreme, he is good-natured and obliging whenever he can be so
without any risk of loss to himself.'
The next day, in pursuance of her project, the abbess, accompanied by
Margaret, repaired to the house of M. Simon. 'I know, sir,' she said,
'from your kindness to some friends of mine, that you feel an interest
in the class to which I belong, and that you are incapable of
betraying a confidence reposed in you. I am the Abbess of Vatteville.
Driven forth from the plundered and ruined abbey, I am living in the
town under an assumed name. I have been stripped of everything; and
but for the self-sacrificing attachment of a faithful servant, I must
have died of want. However, I have still one resource, and only one. I
know not if I am right in availing myself of it, but at my age the
power to struggle fails. Besides, do not suffer alone; and this
consideration decides me. Will you, then, have the goodness to give me
a loan on this jewel?'
'I believe, madame, you have mistaken me for a pawnbroker. I am not in
the habit of advancing money in this way. I am myself very poor, and
money is now everywhere scarce. I should be very glad to be able to
oblige you, but just at present it is quite out of the question.'
For a moment the poor abbess felt all hope extinct; but with a last
effort to move his compassion, she said: 'Oh, sir, remember that
secrecy is of such importance to me, I dare not apply to any one else.
The privacy, the obscurity in which I live, alone has prevented me
from paying with my blood the penalty attached to a noble name and
lineage.'
'But how am I to ascertain the value of the jewel? I am no jeweller;
and I fear, in my ignorance, to wrong either you or myself.'
'I implore you, sir, not to refuse me. I have no alternative But to
starve; for I am too old to work, and beg I cannot. Keep the jewel as
a pledge, and give me some relief.'
Old Simon, though covetous, was not devoid of feeling. He was touched
by the tears of the venerable lady; and besides, the more he looked at
the jewel, the more persuaded he became of its being really valuable.
After a few moments' consideration, he said: 'All the money I am worth
at this moment is 1500 francs; and though I have my suspicions that I
am making a foolish bargain, I had rather run any risk than leave you
in such distress. The next time I have business in Paris, I can
ascertain the value of the jewel, and if I have given you too little,
I will make it up to you.' And with, a glad and grateful heart the
abbess took home the 1500 francs, thankful at having obtained the
means of subsistence for at least a year.
Some months later, old Simon went up to Paris, and hastening to one of
the principal jewellers, shewed the ruby, and begged to know its
value. The jeweller took the stone carelessly; but after a few
moments' examination of it, he cast a rapid glance at the threadbare
coat and mean appearance of the possessor, and then abruptly
exclaimed: 'This jewel does not belong to you, and you must not leave
the house till you account for its being in your possession. Close the
doors,' he said to his foreman, 'and send for the police.' In vain did
Simon protest his innocence; in vain did he offer every proof of it.
The lapidary would listen to nothing; but at every look he gave the
gem, he darted at him a fresh glance of angry contempt. 'You must be a
fool as well as a knave,' he said. 'Do you know, scoundrel, that this
is the Vatteville--the prince of rubies; the most splendid, the rarest
of gems. It might be deemed a mere creation of imagination, were it
not enrolled and accurately described in the archives of our art. See
here, in the _Guide des Lapidaires_, a print of it. Mark its antique
fashioning, and that dark spot!--yes, it is indeed the precious ruby
so long thought lost. Rest assured, fellow, you shall not quit the
house until you satisfy me how you have contrived to get possession of
it.'
'I should at once have told you, but from unwillingness to endanger
the life of a poor woman who has confided in me. I got the jewel from
the Abbess de Vatteville herself, and it is her last and only
resource.' And now M. Simon proved, by unquestionable documents, that
notwithstanding his more than humble appearance, he was a man of
wealth and respectability, and received the apologies which were
tendered, together with assurances that Madame Vatteville's secret was
safe with one who, he begged to say,'knew how to respect misfortune,
whenever and however presented to his notice.'
'But what is the jewel worth?' asked M. Simon.
'Millions, sir! and neither I nor any one else in the trade here could
purchase it, unless as a joint concern, and in case of a coronation or
a marriage in one of the royal houses of Europe, for such an occasion
alone could make it not a risk to buy it. But meanwhile I will, if you
wish, mention it to some of the trade.'
'I am in no hurry,' said Simon, almost bewildered by the possession of
such a treasure. 'I may as well wait for some such occasion, and in
the meantime can make any necessary advances to the abbess. Perhaps I
may call on you again.'
The first day of the year 1795 had just dawned, and there was a thick
and chilling fog. The abbess and her faithful servant felt this day
more than usually depressed, for fifteen months had now elapsed since
the 1500 francs had been received for the ruby, and there now remained
provision only for a few days longer. 'I have got no answer from M.
Simon,' said the abbess; and in giving utterance to her own thought,
she was replying to what was at that moment passing through Margaret's
mind. 'I fear he has not been able to get more for the ruby than he
thinks fair interest for the money he advanced to me.'
'It is most likely,' said Margaret; and both relapsed into their
former desponding silence.
'What a dreary New-Year's Day!' resumed Madame de Vatteville, in a
melancholy tone.
'Oh, why can I not help you, dear mistress?' exclaimed Margaret,
suddenly starting from her reverie. 'Cheerfully would I lay down my
life for you!'
'And why can I not return in any way your devoted attachment, my poor
Margaret?'
At this instant, two loud and hurried knocks at the door startled them
both from their seats, and it was with a trembling hand Margaret
opened it to admit the old porter, and a servant with a letter in his
hand.
'Thank you, thank you, M. Thiebaut: this letter is for my mistress.'
But the inquisitive old man either did not or would not understand
Margaret's hint to him to retire, and Madame de Vatteville was obliged
to tell him to leave the room.
'Not a penny to bless herself with, though she has come to a better
apartment!' muttered he, enraged at the disappointment to his
curiosity--'and yet as proud as an aristocrat!'
The abbess approached the casement, broke the seal with trembling
hand, and read as follows:--
'I have at length been able to treat with a merchant for the
article in question, and have, after much difficulty,
obtained a sum of 25,000 francs--far beyond anything I could
have hoped. But the sum is to be paid in instalments, at
long intervals. It may therefore be more convenient for you,
under your peculiar circumstances, to accept the offer I now
make of a pension of 1500 francs, to revert after your
decease to the servant whom you mentioned as so devotedly
attached to you. If you are willing to accept this offer,
the bearer will hand you the necessary documents, by which
you are to make over to me all further claim upon the
property placed in my hands; and on your affixing your
signature, he will pay you the first year in advance.