THE THREE RIVALS.
"In order to fully understand these recent events, it is necessary to
review the past, my dear mother," Mlle. de Beaumesnil continued.
"The day after my arrival at my guardian's house I went to church with
Mlle. Helena, who during mass called my attention to a young man who was
praying fervently before the same altar.
"This young man I afterwards learned was a M. Celestin de Macreuse.
"Mlle. Helena's attention had been attracted to him, she told me,
because, instead of kneeling upon a chair like every one else, he was
kneeling upon the marble floor of the church. It must have been for his
mother, too, that he was praying, for we afterwards heard him ask the
priest who took up the collection in our part of the church for another
novena of masses in the same chapel for the repose of his mother's soul.
"As we were coming out of church, M. de Macreuse offered us the holy
water with a bow, for he had preceded us to the font. A moment
afterwards, we saw him distributing alms among a number of beggars who
had crowded around him, saying in a faltering voice: 'The little I can
give, I offer you in the name of my mother who is no more. Pray for
her.'
"Just as M. de Macreuse was disappearing in the crowd I perceived M. de
Maillefort. Whether he was just entering or leaving the church I can
not say; but Mlle. Helena, who caught sight of him just as I did, seemed
surprised and even disturbed by his presence.
"On our way home she spoke several times of this M. de Macreuse, who
seemed to be so truly devout and charitable. She did not know him
personally, she said, but she could not help feeling a great interest in
him because he seemed to possess virtues seldom found in young men of
the present day.
"The next day we went to church again; and again we saw M. de Macreuse.
He was performing his devotions in the same chapel, and this time he was
so deeply absorbed in prayer that, when mass was over, he remained on
his knees with his forehead almost touching the marble pavement, and
seemed positively crushed with grief. A moment afterwards he fell
backward in a sort of swoon, and had to be carried into the sacristy.
"'Unfortunate young man,' whispered Mlle. Helena, 'how inconsolable he
is! How deeply he mourns for his mother! What a noble and tender heart
he must have.'
"I shared this feeling of compassion, for who could better sympathise
with the sorrow of this young man whose melancholy face indicated the
deepest grief.
"Just as the door of the sacristy opened to admit the beadles, who had
come to M. de Macreuse's assistance, M. de Maillefort, who chanced to be
directly in their path, began to smile ironically.
"Mlle. Helena seemed more and more disturbed to see M. de Maillefort at
church a second time.
"'This imp of Satan must have come to the house of God for some deviltry
or other,' she remarked to me.
"On the afternoon of that same day, Madame de la Rochaigue insisted upon
my driving with her and one of her friends, Madame la Duchesse de
Senneterre, a lady I had never met before. We went to the Bois. There
were a great many people there, and as our carriage was moving along at
a snail's pace, Madame de la Rochaigue remarked to her friend:
"'Isn't that your son I see on horseback over there, my dear duchess?'
"'Yes, I believe it is Gerald,' replied Madame de Senneterre, turning
her lorgnette in the direction indicated.
"'I hope he will see us, and come and speak to us,' added Madame de
Mirecourt, who was also with us.
"'Oh, M. de Senneterre will not fail to do that, as the duchess
fortunately is with us,' replied Madame de la Rochaigue. 'I say
fortunately, but that is not exactly the word, as that lady's presence
prevents us from saying all we would like to say in M. Gerald's praise.'
"'Oh, as for that, I warn you I haven't a bit of maternal modesty,'
answered Madame de Senneterre, smiling. 'I never hear half enough nice
things said about my son.'
"'However exacting you may be, you ought to be very well satisfied on
that score, it seems to me, my dear duchess,' replied Madame de
Mirecourt.
"'But speaking of M. de Senneterre, did you ever hear why he enlisted as
a common soldier, at the age of eighteen?' continued Madame de
Mirecourt, addressing Madame de la Rochaigue.
"'No,' replied that lady, 'I have heard that, beginning as a common
soldier, in spite of his birth, he gained his several promotions, as
well as his cross, on the battlefield, at the cost of several wounds;
but I never heard why he enlisted.'
"'Madame la duchesse,' said Madame de Mirecourt, turning to Madame de
Senneterre, 'is it not true that your son enlisted because he thought it
cowardly to hire a man to go and be killed in his stead?'
"'Yes, that is true,' replied Madame de Senneterre; 'that is the reason
my son gave us, and he carried out his resolution in spite of my tears
and entreaties.'
"'Superb!' exclaimed Madame de la Rochaigue. 'Nobody in the world but M.
de Senneterre would ever have made and carried out such a chivalrous
resolution as that.'
"'It is easy to judge of the generosity of his character from that fact
alone,' added Madame de Mirecourt.
"'Oh, I can say with just pride that there is no better son in the world
than my Gerald,' remarked Madame de Senneterre.
"'And when one says that, one says everything,' added Madame de la
Rochaigue.
"I listened in silence to this conversation, naturally sharing in the
admiration that M. de Senneterre's generous act excited in those around
me.
"A few minutes afterwards, a party of young men passed us on horseback.
One of them, I noticed, paused on seeing us, wheeled his horse around
and came back.
"This young man proved to be M. de Senneterre. He bowed to his mother;
Madame de la Rochaigue introduced him to me. He made a few courteous
remarks, and then walked his horse along by the side of our carriage
while we drove several times around the race-track.
"It is needless to say that scarcely a handsome equipage passed without
an interchange of friendly bows between the occupants and M. de
Senneterre, who seemed to be a general favourite.
"During the conversation he had with us, he was very gay and a trifle
sarcastic, but not the least spiteful.
"A short time before he left us, we met a magnificent carriage, drawn by
four horses. Its sole occupant was a man to whom many persons bowed with
great deference. This man bowed very low to M. de Senneterre, who,
instead of returning the salute, surveyed him with the utmost disdain.
"'Why, that was M. du Tilleul that just passed, M. de Senneterre!'
exclaimed Madame de la Rochaigue, evidently much surprised.
"'Yes, madame.'
"'He bowed to you.'
"'True, madame.'
"'But you did not return his bow.'
"'I no longer bow to M. du Tilleul, madame.'
"'But everybody else does.'
"'Then they do very wrong, in my opinion.'
"'But why, M. de Senneterre?'
"'You ask me that, with his recent affair with Madame--'
"Then suddenly checking himself, probably on account of my presence, he
continued, addressing Madame de la Rochaigue:
"'You have heard about his conduct with a certain marquise?'
"'Of course.'
"'Well, in my opinion, a man who behaves with such cowardice and cruelty
is a scoundrel, and I do not bow to a scoundrel.'
"'Still, he is received everywhere,' remarked Madame de Mirecourt.
"'Yes, because he owns the handsomest house in Paris, and everybody
wishes to attend his entertainments.'
"'Oh, you are entirely too particular, M. Gerald,' said Madame de
Mirecourt.
"'I too particular?' exclaimed M. de Senneterre, laughing. 'What a
frightful slander! I will convince you to the contrary. Look at that
little green brougham coming this way, and that--'
"'Gerald!' cried Madame de Senneterre, reminding her son of my presence
with a look, for I had involuntarily turned to glance at the vehicle to
which M. de Senneterre had called attention, and which was occupied by a
young and extremely pretty woman, who seemed to be following the young
duke with her eyes.
"His mother's warning exclamation, and the look she cast at me, made M.
de Senneterre bite his lips, but it was with a smile that he replied:
"You are right, mother. It would make angels too unhappy to know that
there are such things as demons in the world."
This half apology was indirectly addressed to me, I suppose, for two of
the ladies glanced at me, smiling in their turn, and I felt greatly
embarrassed.
"As we were leaving, Madame de Senneterre asked:
"You dine with me to-day, do you not, Gerald?"
"No, mother, and I must ask you to pardon me for not having told you
that I had made another engagement."
"That is very unfortunate, for I, too, have made an engagement for you,"
replied Madame de Senneterre, smiling.
"All right, mother," said M. de Senneterre, affectionately; "I will send
my friends a brief note of excuse; then I shall be entirely at your
service."
And after having bowed very deferentially to us, M. de Senneterre
started his horse off at a gallop.
"He rides with perfect skill and grace, and on horseback reminds me not
a little of my poor father.
"Though he had addressed only a very few remarks to me, I feel sure,
from what I saw and heard during this interview, that M. de Senneterre
must possess a frank, generous, and resolute nature, as well as a
profound respect and affection for his mother. The other ladies must
have thought so, too, for they did not cease praising him until we
separated.
"The next day and the day following, we again saw M. de Macreuse at
church. His grief seemed no less deep, though more calm. Two or three
times he happened to glance in our direction, and I could not help being
struck by the contrast between his sad, almost timid look and bearing,
and M. le Duc de Senneterre's dashing ease of manner.
"The next day after our visit to the Bois, I accompanied my guardian to
the garden of the Luxembourg, as I had promised.
"We had visited the conservatories and the magnificent rose gardens,
when we met a friend of M. de la Rochaigue. He was introduced to me as
the Baron de Ravil or du Ravil, I believe.
"This gentleman walked along beside us for several minutes, then,
drawing out his watch, he remarked to M. de la Rochaigue:
"'Pardon me for leaving you so soon, M. le baron, but I am very anxious
not to miss this important session.'
"'What important session?' inquired my guardian.
"'Can it be that you haven't heard that M. de Mornand speaks to-day?'
"'Is it possible?'
"'Certainly; all Paris will be there, for when M. de Mornand speaks, it
is an event.'
"'It is indeed. He is a man of wonderful talent, I think, a man who can
hardly fail to be minister some day or other. How unfortunate that I did
not hear of this before. I am sure, my dear ward, that the session would
have interested you very much, in spite of all Madame de la Rochaigue's
nonsensical talk, but if I should take you to the chamber now she would
be sure to accuse me of having set a trap for you.'
"'Still, if mademoiselle has the slightest desire to attend the session,
I am at your service, M. le baron,' said our companion; 'I expected to
meet one of my nieces and her husband here, but they have not come, and
probably will not, now. I had procured tickets of admission to the
diplomatic gallery for them, and if these tickets would be of any
service to you--'
"'What do you say, my dear ward?'
"'I will do whatever you like, monsieur; but it seems to me a session of
the Chamber of Peers might be very interesting,' I added, chiefly out
of regard for my guardian, I fear.
"'Very well, I will accept your offer, then, my dear M. de Ravil,' cried
M. de la Rochaigue, 'and you are lucky, indeed, my dear child,' he
added, turning to me, 'to happen here on a day M. de Mornand speaks.'
"We hastened towards the palace, and just as we were leaving the
quincunxes I saw, some distance off, M. de Maillefort, who seemed to be
following us,--a fact that surprised me, and made me rather uneasy.
"'Why do I meet this wicked man at every turn?' I said to myself. 'Who
could have informed him of our plans?'
"The diplomatic gallery, where we had seats, was filled with elegantly
dressed ladies. I occupied a seat on the upper row of benches between my
guardian and M. de Ravil.
"A gentleman near us, having been heard to remark that some noted
orator--he did not refer to M. de Mornand--was also to speak during the
session, M. de Ravil replied that there was no other orator who could
compare with M. de Mornand, and that this crowd had come to hear him. He
ascended the tribune almost immediately, and there was a profound
silence.
"I was incapable of criticising or even of entirely comprehending M. de
Mornand's discourse. It related to subjects with which I was totally
unacquainted, but I was deeply impressed by the conclusion of his
speech, in which he spoke with the warmest sympathy of the unhappy lot
of fishermen's families awaiting in sickening suspense upon the beach
the return of a beloved father, son, or husband, while the tempest was
raging wildly around them.
"It so happened that, as M. de Mornand uttered these touching words, he
turned towards our tribune, and his strong face seemed to me filled with
a profound compassion for the unfortunate creatures whose cause he had
espoused.
"'Wonderful! How very touching!' whispered M. de Ravil, wiping his eyes,
for he, too, seemed deeply affected.
"'M. de Mornand is sublime!' exclaimed my guardian. 'There is little
doubt that his speech will greatly ameliorate the lot of thousands of
these unfortunates.'
"Prolonged applause followed the conclusion of M. de Mornand's speech.
He was about to leave the tribune when another member of the Chamber, a
man with a malevolent, sarcastic face, rose in his seat, and said:
"'I ask the permission of the Chamber to ask M. de Mornand a simple
question before he descends from the tribune and before his sudden and
generous compassion for our brave fishermen shall consequently have
evaporated.'
"'If you will take my advice, we will leave at once to escape the
crowd,' M. de Ravil remarked to my guardian. 'M. de Mornand having
finished, everybody will want to go, for there will be nothing else of
interest.'
"M. de la Rochaigue offered me his arm, but just as we were leaving the
hall we heard shouts of laughter, and renewed applause.
"'I know what that means,' remarked M. de Ravil. 'M. de Mornand has
crushed, by his sarcasm, the imprudent member who had the audacity to
question any of his statements, for when he wishes to be, M. de Mornand
is as witty as the devil.'
"My guardian having suggested that we extend our walk to the
observatory, I consented, and M. de Ravil accompanied us.
"'M. le baron,' he remarked to my guardian; 'did you notice Madame de
Bretigny, who left the hall just as we did?'
"'The wife of the minister? No, I did not.'
"'I am sorry, monsieur, for you would have seen one of the noblest women
that ever lived. You have no idea what wonderfully good use she makes
of her position as a minister's wife, or of the vast amount of good she
does, the wrongs she repairs, and the assistance she gives to the
worthy.'
"'I am not surprised to hear it,' replied my guardian. 'In a position
like that of Madame de Bretigny, one can do any amount of good, for--'
"But interrupting himself suddenly, he turned to M. de Ravil and
exclaimed, eagerly:
"'Say, isn't that he over there in that secluded path, walking along,
looking at the flowers?'
"'To whom do you refer?'
"'Why, to M. de Mornand. Look!'
"'You're right, it is he!' replied M. de Ravil. 'He has forgotten his
triumph--and is finding a welcome relief from the onerous cares of state
in gazing at the flowers. This does not surprise me, however, for, with
all his talent and his political genius, he is one of the best and most
simple-hearted of men, and his tastes prove it. After his brilliant
success, what does he seek? Solitude and flowers.'
"'M. de Ravil, you know M. de Mornand, do you not?' inquired my
guardian.
"'Slightly. I meet him occasionally in society.'
"'But you know him well enough to speak to him, do you not?'
"'Certainly.'
"'Then go and congratulate him on the success he just achieved. We will
follow you so as to get a closer look at this great man. What do you say
to my scheme, my dear ward?'
"'I will accompany you, monsieur. One always likes to see distinguished
men like M. de Mornand.'
"Changing our course, we soon reached the path where M. de Mornand was
walking. He replied to M. de Ravil's and my guardian's compliments with
quite as much modesty as simplicity of manner, and addressed a few
kindly remarks to me, after which we left him to continue his lonely
promenade.
"'When one thinks that this simple-mannered man will govern France in
less than six months!' exclaimed M. de Ravil.
"'Say admirably-mannered, my dear M. de Ravil,' corrected my guardian.
'M. de Mornand has quite the manner of a grand seigneur. He is both
affable and dignified. He is not one of those silly popinjays who think
only of the tie of their cravats and the cut of their hair.'
"'Creatures of that type are never likely to govern France,' answered M.
de Ravil. 'I say govern because M. de Mornand will not accept a
subordinate position. He will be chief of the Cabinet which he forms.
May Heaven preserve him, M. le Baron. The welfare of France and the
peace of the civilised world depend upon him,' added M. de Ravil, in
tones of profound conviction.
"As I walked homeward with my guardian, I thought that there could
indeed be no more enviable and noble position than that of a man who,
like M. de Mornand, exercises a controlling influence over the welfare
of France and the peace of Europe.
"Such, my dear mother, were the circumstances under which I met, for the
first time, Messieurs Macreuse, Senneterre, and Mornand.
"I will now tell you what the consequences of these meetings have
been."