I did that I was already in love with her. I offered to keep her posted
as to the general tendency of values on the Bourse and the financial
situation. She accepted my offer; and Monsieur Gerbault, knowing that I
was Monsieur Grandcourt's nephew, gave me free access to his house. In
short, my dear--my dear--monsieur--I beg your pardon, but I don't as yet
know your name."
"Pardieu! that's true; I had not thought to tell you. My name is Arthur
Cherami, former land-holder, ci-devant premier high-liver of the
capital. I set the fashion, I was the arbiter of style, and all the
women doted on me. Oh! my story is very short: at twenty-two, I had
thirty-five thousand francs a year; at thirty, I had nothing left. When
I say _nothing_, I mean practically nothing; I still have a small
remnant of income, a bagatelle, but my fortune is all eaten up. Well!
young man, I give you my word of honor, that, if I could start afresh, I
believe I would do the same again. I employed my youth to good purpose,
and everybody can't say as much. For God's sake, must a man be old,
infirm, and gouty, to enjoy life? You can't crack nuts when your teeth
are all gone; therefore, you shouldn't wait till you're old to play the
young man. Now, if I add that I am still a lusty fellow, as brave as
Caesar, as gallant as Francois I, and as philosophical as Socrates, you
will know me as well as if you had been my groom.--I have said."
"Very good! Your name, you say, is----? I beg your pardon, but I have
forgotten it already."
"You are absent-minded; I can understand that. My name is Cherami, and I
am yours, which constitutes a pun;[B] but, to avoid mistakes, call me
Arthur; that is my Christian name, and all the ladies call me that.
Sapristi! this is an excellent fish; do eat a bit of it."
"I prefer to talk to you of my love."
"So be it!--That won't give you indigestion. Meanwhile, I'll eat for
two--and listen to you. Fire away!"
XII
GUSTAVE'S LOVE AFFAIR
"I was saying, Monsieur Arthur, that, as I had received permission to go
to Monsieur Gerbault's house, you will divine that I took advantage of
it."
"Yes, indeed.--This fish is perfect; you make a great mistake not to eat
it."
"Monsieur Gerbault, formerly a clerk in one of the government offices,
has only a modest fortune; he is a widower with two daughters, to both
of whom he has given an excellent education. Fanny is talented; she is a
good musician, and knows English and Italian."
"And her sister?"
"Adolphine plays the piano, too, and sings quite well. She is very sweet
and of a very amiable disposition; but, you see, I didn't pay any
attention to the sister; I had eyes for Fanny alone. Her grace, her wit,
her lovely eyes, all combined to turn my head. She saw it plainly
enough, and, far from repelling me, she seemed to try to redouble her
charms, in order to make me more in love with her than ever."
"The devil! she's a shrewd coquette!"
"Oh! no, monsieur! but it's her nature always to make herself
attractive; she can't help it."
"Here's the capon _au gros sel._--Now's the time for the champagne
frappe. Corbleu! you'll drink some of this."
"But, monsieur----"
"It will give you strength, nerve. Nobody knows what may happen
to-night; a man should always be ready for action."
"A year passed; I had the good fortune to make some lucky turns for
Fanny; she had made nearly three thousand francs in railroad shares; she
was overjoyed, and was already dreaming of an immense fortune. I had
told her that I loved her, and she had replied, with a smile, that she
suspected as much. Thereupon, I asked her if she would marry me, and she
replied: 'My father can give only twenty thousand francs to each of his
daughters, and you know what I have besides. That doesn't make much of
an income.'
"'What does it matter?' said I; 'I love you with all my heart; if you
had no marriage portion at all, I should none the less consider myself
the happiest of men if I could obtain your hand.--I have twelve hundred
francs a year,' I added, 'and my uncle pays me eighteen hundred; you see
that we shall have enough to live comfortably.'
"Fanny listened to me, and seemed to reflect; but I had taken her hand
and squeezed it, and she did not take it away.
"'Are you willing,' I said, 'that I should prefer my suit to your father
to-morrow?'
"'That's not necessary,' she replied; 'we have time enough; and then,
you need have no fear in that respect; father has told me a hundred
times that he would not interfere with my choice; that he was sure that
I would not marry anyone who would not make me happy.'
"For my part, I wanted to be married at once, but Fanny desired to add a
little more to her capital before marrying, so that she might have a
more substantial dowry to offer me. It was of no use for me to say that
I cared nothing about that; I could not make her listen to reason."
"If you took that for love, my dear Gustave, you can hardly claim to be
a connoisseur.--Here's your very good health!"
"Ah! monsieur; Fanny was always so amiable! her eyes always had such a
sweet look in them when they met mine! she had such pretty, caressing
little ways with me!"
"Yes, yes, I know. The whole battery of the petticoat file!"
"Six months more passed, and I implored Fanny to fix a date for our
wedding. Unluckily, her operations in railroads no longer showed a
profit; the shares she had bought had gone down; it was necessary to
wait; and Fanny was angry at the way things were going on the
Bourse.--It was about that time---- Ah! it was then that my misfortunes
began."
"Courage, dear Gustave!--and another glass of Moet! Do take a wing of
this capon--just a bit of white meat. What! nothing? Well, then,
sapristi! I will sacrifice myself and eat the whole bird. Never mind
what the result may be; but I will drink, too, for I must wash it
down.--Your health!"
"As I was saying, it was about this time that Monsieur Auguste Monleard
made the acquaintance of the Gerbault family--at a ball, I believe; he
asked and obtained from the father permission to come occasionally and
play and sing with the young ladies. I did not know that until later,
for I did not happen to meet him for some time. The very first time that
I saw him, I had a presentiment that his presence in Monsieur Gerbault's
house would be fatal to my love. This Monleard made a great parade; he
had a cabriolet and a negro footman; indeed, he had, so it was said,
forty thousand francs a year. All that would have been a matter of
indifference to me, if I had not noticed that he was very attentive,
very gallant, to Fanny. However, she continued to smile on me in the
most charming way; but when I said to her: 'Fix a day for our wedding, I
beg you, and let me speak to your father,' she replied: 'Oh! not yet; we
have plenty of time; I must increase my capital first.'
"One morning, I had escaped from my duties at my uncle's, who scolded me
sometimes because love led me to neglect business."
"Did your uncle approve your matrimonial plans?"
"Not very warmly; he had said to me several times: 'You're too young to
marry; wait awhile.'
"But when he saw how dearly I loved Fanny, he finally said: 'Do as you
please; but if I were in your place, I'd have nothing to do with a young
woman who speculates in railroad stocks.'"
"I am much of your uncle's opinion."
"And he added: 'You know that I will not give you a sou to be married
on, don't you?'
"I replied: 'And you know that I ask you for nothing but your
affection.'"
"A noble reply! and one that binds you to nothing.--Have a glass of
champagne."
"I have already had one."
"So much the more reason for taking another. I say, my boy, order us a
Perigord macaroni, and a _parfait a la vanille."_
"Yes, monsieur."
"Waiter, how is the wedding party getting along?"
"They're at the second course, monsieur."
"They have not got beyond that!"
"What a delightful fellow this dear Gustave is! because he doesn't eat,
he fancies that nobody else has any appetite."
"Is the bride eating, waiter?"
"Yes, monsieur; she's eating everything, I may say."
"Everything!"
Gustave angrily resumed his seat at the table, and held out his plate,
saying to his companion:
"Very good! then I will eat, too! Give me some capon, Arthur; give me a
lot of it!"
"Ah! good, good! spoken like a man! Now you're a man again! There's
nothing left of the capon but one drumstick and the carcass, but they're
the most delicate parts."
"Give them to me, give them to me! Oh! what a fool, what an idiot, I
have been! To give way to despair for a woman who makes sport of me, who
eats everything, when she knows that I am consumed by grief!"
"You acted like a fool, and that's just what I've been killing myself
telling you."
"Give me some wine!"
"Bravo! let's drink! This champagne is delicious, and I know what I'm
talking about."
"Yes, I will think no more of her, I will forget everything, I will love
some other woman."
"Pardieu! that's the true way! In love especially, I believe in
homoeopathy."
Gustave swallowed his glass of wine at a draught, then ate a few
mouthfuls with a sort of avidity; but he soon pushed his plate away, and
let his head fall on his breast, muttering:
"Oh! no, I shall never love another woman; I know well enough that it
would be impossible."
"The deuce! here he is in another paroxysm of his passion! We shall have
some difficulty in curing the dear boy; but we will succeed, even though
that should necessitate our not leaving him for a second for ten years
to come! Be yourself, Gustave, and finish your story, which, I presume,
must be drawing near its end, and which interests me in the highest
degree."
"Yes, yes; you are right!--I was saying that one morning, having gone to
Monsieur Gerbault's house, I found Mademoiselle Adolphine alone. She
greeted me with such a sorrowful air that I could not refrain from
asking her what caused her sadness, and she replied: 'I suffer for your
sake, I am grieved for you; for I know how dearly you love my sister,
and I foresee how you will suffer when you learn that she is going to be
married, and not to you.'
"'Great heaven!' I cried; 'can it be possible? Fanny, false to me!
Fanny, give herself to another!'
"'Yes,' said Adolphine. 'It seems to me that it is especially cruel to
let you hope on, when her marriage to Monsieur Auguste Monleard was
decided on a fortnight ago.'
"'She is going to marry Monsieur Monleard!' I cried; 'she throws me over
for that man! And she smiled at me only yesterday when I swore to love
her all my life!'
"'That's the reason I determined to tell you all,' said Adolphine. 'I
did not choose that you should be deceived any longer.'
"I need not tell you what a state of despair I was in. Adolphine tried
in vain to comfort me; I could not believe in Fanny's treachery, and I
insisted upon seeing her, and learning from her own lips that she
preferred my rival to me.
"The next day, I found her alone. Can you believe that she greeted me
with the same tranquillity, the same smile, as usual? So much so, that I
cried: 'It isn't true, is it, Fanny, that you are going to marry another
man?'--Thereupon, with a little pout to which she tried to give a
fitting touch of melancholy, she replied: 'Yes, Gustave; it is true. Mon
Dieu! you mustn't be angry with me. At all events, it will do no good,
my friend; I have reflected. We haven't enough money to marry; we should
have had to lead the sort of life in which one is always forced to count
the cost before indulging in any pleasure, to see if it is compatible
with one's means; and, frankly, it is not amusing to figure up whether
one can afford to enjoy one's self a little, to buy a hat or a jewel
which takes one's fancy. So I concluded that it was more sensible to
marry Monsieur Monleard, who has a handsome fortune, and I have accepted
his hand. But it seems to me that you shouldn't bear me a grudge,
because I have acted like a sensible woman, and we can still remain
friends.'
"'I, your friend!' I exclaimed, bursting into tears; 'when you give
yourself to another, when you make me miserable for life!'
"I don't know what reply she made; but somebody came to tell her that
the materials for her wedding gown had arrived, and she hurried away.
Her calmness, her indifference, exasperated me. When I was alone, all
sorts of incoherent ideas assailed me, but I know that I was determined
to die. I was about to leave the house, fully resolved not to survive
Fanny's treachery, when suddenly I felt a caressing hand on my arm,
while a sweet voice said to me in an imploring tone: 'Be a man, Gustave,
be brave; resolve to endure this misfortune, which seems to break your
heart to-day. Time will allay your suffering--you will love another
woman, who will love you in return, who will understand your heart; and
later you will be happy--much happier, perhaps, than she, who thinks of
nothing but money! But, I entreat you, promise me that you will live!'
"It was Adolphine who spoke to me thus. Her tears were flowing freely.
When I found that my grief was shared, I felt a little relieved, for
unhappiness makes a man selfish, and, when we are unhappy, it seems to
us that other people ought to suffer as we do. I promised Fanny's sister
to renounce my thoughts of death, and I left that house, to which I
shall never return!"
"I drink to good little Adolphine's health! For my part, I love that
feeling heart--I shall never forget her. And our dear uncle, what said
he when he learned the result of your love affair?"
"My uncle? Oh! he doesn't believe in love, not he!"
"He was quite right not to believe in your Mademoiselle Fanny's."
"He has no confidence in women."
"He has probably made a study of them."
"In fact, when I told him that Fanny was to marry another, he had the
heartlessness to retort that that was lucky for me."
"Frankly, I agree with him; for, after all, my boy as the damsel didn't
love you----"
"Why, yes, she did love me, before she knew this Monleard."
"She gave you the preference when there was nobody else."
"He turned her head by his magnificence, his presents."
"It is much better for you that it happened before your marriage rather
than after.--Here's to your health! Ah! here's the Perigord
macaroni--with truffles on top--that's the checker! Do you know this way
of preparing macaroni?"
"It seems that he hastened the ceremony after our last interview; for
that was only twelve days ago, and to-day I learned that the wedding was
to take place at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, to be followed by a banquet and
ball here."
"Yes, and then you lost your head! You said to yourself: 'I will be
there, I want to see what sort of a face the faithless creature will
make when she sees me.'"
"True, monsieur, true. But they must have misinformed me as to the hour
of the ceremony, for when I reached the church it was all over--they had
gone."
"So much the better! that saved you one stab."
"Then I started off like a madman and ran all the way here, saying to
myself: 'I simply must see her!'--And you know the rest, monsieur."
"I do, indeed; and if I hadn't been here, God knows what would have
happened! But I'm a lucky dog; I almost always turn up when I'm wanted.
Let us water the macaroni! I defy all the wedding parties in the place
to dine better than me!"
XIII
A GENTLEMAN WHO HAD DINED WELL
Cherami had reached the dessert stage; he had amply repaired the ravages
wrought in his stomach by the privation of the previous day, and he had
watered his food so copiously with madeira, bordeaux, and champagne,
that his face had become very red, his eyes very small, and his tongue
very thick, which fact did not prevent his making constant use of it.
Gustave had drunk only two glasses of champagne; but, as he had eaten
nothing at all, that had made him slightly tipsy, and he was beginning
anew his trips from the dining-room to the corridor, when the waiter who
served them hurried up to him, saying:
"The ladies are leaving the table, monsieur; I believe they are going to
dress for the ball, for some of them have already put on their hats."
"Hurry back, then; take the bride's sister, Mademoiselle Adolphine,
aside, and tell her that--Monsieur Gustave insists upon speaking to
her--that I am waiting for her at the end of the corridor. Tell her that
she simply must come; you understand, she must come! See, here are five
francs more for you."
"Very good, monsieur. The bride's sister. But I don't know her, do I?"
"Mademoiselle Adolphine."
"Oh! yes, yes. I go, I fly, monsieur."
Gustave returned to the private room, where Cherami was occupied in
admiring the bubbling of the champagne in his glass.
"She is coming! I am going to speak to her!" cried the young man.
"What! Do you mean that she's coming to join us here?"
"Yes. Oh! I am certain that she'll come. She would not like to drive me
to do some crazy thing."
"All right! so much the better, sacrebleu! Let her come, and we'll tell
her something. She's a sinner, a flirt."
"But it's Adolphine who's coming, not Fanny."
"Adolphine, the good little sister? Oh! that's a different matter. I
will embrace her, I will even make love to her a bit, if she will permit
me."
"They are going away, to dress for the ball; but first, I am
determined---- Ah! someone is coming--a woman--it's she!"
It was, in fact, the young Adolphine, who ran along the corridor,
trembling with distress and emotion, and entered the room, crying:
"What! Monsieur Gustave! you here! Why, in heaven's name, did you come?"
"Because I knew that she was here--and I hope to see her once more."
"Ah! mon Dieu! what madness!--And you, monsieur, you promised to take
care of him."
"Why, mademoiselle, I am doing just that; I haven't lost sight of him a
moment; and if I hadn't been here, to constantly restrain him, he would
have gone twenty times to make trouble at your wedding feast, and to
insult the husband."
"Oh! Gustave!"
"No, no, Adolphine; have no fear of that."
"Don't you trust what he says, mademoiselle; he's lost his head;
luckily, I am here; I am calm and prudent."
"But why did you come here?"
"We came here to dine, mademoiselle, which we had a perfect right to do.
For, after all, although a man may not belong to a wedding party, that
need not prevent his dining, and dining very well too, I give you my
word."
"But I can't stay any longer!--We are going away to dress; I am sure
they are waiting for me. What do you want of me, Monsieur Gustave?"
"To beg you to give me an opportunity to speak to your sister once
more."
"To Fanny? Why, it isn't possible! Besides, what would you say to her?"
"I will say good-bye to her forever; I will tell her that I hope that
she will be happy--although she has wrecked my life."
"But how do you suppose that she can speak to you in secret? she is
always surrounded; there's always somebody with us. What would people
say? what would they think?"
"If you refuse, I will go and speak to her during the ball."
"Well--no---- Wait here, then; and, when we return from dressing, I will
try--I will make her come through this corridor."
"Oh! thanks, thanks a thousand times! Ah! you are too kind!"
"I must go; adieu! But, in heaven's name, keep out of sight, don't show
yourself!"
As she spoke, Adolphine made a sign of intelligence to Cherami, who
imagined that the charming young woman was throwing him a kiss; but she
disappeared just as he left the table to go to embrace her; and as the
waiter entered the room at that moment, the ex-beau bestowed a
resounding smack upon that functionary's cheek.
"Sacrebleu! what is this?" cried Cherami, roughly pushing back the
waiter, who stood by the door in open-mouthed amazement at the caress he
had received.--"Why the devil do you come up under my nose, waiter?
Plague take the knave! I said to myself: 'Gad! this young lady uses very
cheap soap!'"
"Pardon, monsieur; it isn't my fault; I was coming in, and you ran into
my arms. I know well enough that it wasn't me you meant to embrace."
"It's lucky that you understand that."
"Waiter, what are the ladies doing now?"
"They are all going away, monsieur."
"And the men?"
"Some of them have gone, too; but many stayed, and are playing cards."
"And the Blanquette party, waiter--what are they doing now?"
"The Blanquette party are still at table, monsieur, and singing."
"Ah! I recognize them by that. They'll sit at table till ten o'clock,
those people; the petty bourgeois sing at dessert, which is very bad
form. However, I confess that I have sometimes gone so far as to hum a
ditty myself; I have even composed one on occasion, one which Panard or
Colle wouldn't have been ashamed to father. But I like a touch of smut
myself; don't talk to me of your insipid ballads about roses and zephyrs
and the springtime; no, nor your political ballads either; I abominate
them; and yet, that's the kind of thing that makes great reputations;
and I know men who would have been nothing more than common
ballad-mongers, if they hadn't flattered parties and passions, and who
have reached the very pinnacle of fame because they always end their
couplets with the words _fatherland_ and _liberty_. O Armand Gouffe! O
Desaugiers! you didn't resort to such methods, so very little is heard
of you. You are none the less the real French ballad-makers; your
fruitful and vigorous muse has discovered innumerable varied subjects
and described them in song, which is much more difficult than to keep
harping on the same refrain."
"But, my dear Monsieur Arthur, now that I am waiting for the return of
the bride, to whom I shall say adieu forever, if your affairs call you
elsewhere, do not hesitate to go. Leave me; I have abused your
good-nature too far already."
"I, leave you! No, indeed! What do you take me for?--What! after
accepting your suggestion that we should dine together, leave you all of
a sudden at dessert? Fie! Only a cad would do that; and, thank God! I
know what good-breeding is. Tell me, do I annoy you? Is my presence
distasteful to you?"
"Ah! far from it, my dear sir; you have shown an interest in my affairs,
which I shall never forget."
"We were born to be friends, and we are; that is settled, your affairs
are mine, what concerns you concerns me. Wherever there is danger for
you, it is my duty to look after you; and, you understand, if, while you
are talking with the bride, her new husband should happen to come
prowling about here, I will just step in front of him and say: 'I am
very sorry, my boy, but you can't pass!'"
"Oh! a thousand thanks for your devotion to me! Waiter! waiter! our
bill!"
"Here it is, monsieur."
"You pay for the dinner; that's all right; but as we are to stay here
some little time perhaps, we must have something to keep us busy."
"Order whatever you want."
"Waiter, make us a nice little rum punch; it's excellent for the
digestion; the English eat a great deal, but they drink punch at
dessert, and they're all right. Would you like to play cards, to kill
time?"
"Thanks, it would be impossible for me to put my mind on the game."
"I don't insist. I am rather fond of cards, but I don't carry that
passion to excess. Pardieu! I don't say that I may not take a hand by
and by at the Blanquette function. Did I tell you that I knew them?
They're linen-drapers; that sort of people play rather high; but that
doesn't frighten me. Ah! here's our punch! I divine it by the odor; the
table is excellent at this house."
Cherami lost no time in partaking of the punch. Gustave refused it at
first, but finally consented to take a glass.
The night had come; the lights were lighted on all sides. With the
darkness, the unhappy lover's thoughts became more gloomy, his suffering
more intense; he buried his face in his hands, muttering:
"It's all over! O Fanny! Fanny! you will belong to another! Ah! I shall
die of my grief!"
"Sapristi!" said Cherami to himself, swallowing several glasses of punch
in rapid succession; "this youngster is very lachrymose; he isn't lively
in his cups. With me, it's different; I feel in the mood to dance at all
the wedding parties, and to play cards too--only I shall have to borrow
a few napoleons from my new friend, in order to be able to tempt
fortune. I have an idea that I shall have a vein of luck! I say, my dear
friend, aren't we drinking any more?"
"Oh! no, thanks, monsieur!"
"Then I will drink for both of us. This punch is too sweet! Here,
waiter, put in more rum, a lot of it!"
"But, monsieur, there's no more punch in the bowl."
"Well! then make another bowl, but make it stronger."
The other bowl was brought.
After drinking two more glasses, Cherami tried to rise, but was obliged
to hold on to the table to keep from falling; however, although he felt
that his legs were wavering under him, he determined to maintain his
dignity, and did his best to keep his balance as he walked toward the
door.
XIV
THE PUNCH PRODUCES ITS EFFECT
"They are a long while coming back, those ladies!" muttered Gustave,
coming and going from the room to the corridor.