By a long system of exact economy, my mother had, by this time,
repaired, in some degree, the ravages which many generations of
extravagance had committed on our family estates; and though the
pimple-nosed _maître d'hôtel_ and old Houssaye, with two other
septuagenarian lackeys, who might be considered as heirlooms in the
family, still maintained their faces in the hall, yet four other more
youthful attendants had been added to the number; and on the first day
of the Marquis de St. Brie's arrival, all eight figured in new bright
liveries of green and gold, with well-starched ruffs, and white sword
scabbards. This was an expansion of liberality on the part of my
mother which I had not expected; not that for a moment I mean to
insinuate that the spirit of frugality was in her the effect of a
sordid heart--far, far from it; it was an effort of her mind, and had
ever been a painful one. She had herself experienced all the
uncomforts of that miserable combination, a great name and an inferior
fortune; and she was resolved, if possible, to save her son from the
same distresses.
In the present instance, she was actuated by a feeling of that refined
delicacy towards her husband, which ever taught her not only to
respect him herself, but to throw a veil even round his foibles, for
the purpose of hiding them from the eyes of the others. She had heard
my father calmly talk to the Marquis de St. Brie, on the former visit,
of his retinue and his vassals; and a slight smile had played about
the guest's lip, which my father never saw, but which wounded my
mother for him. She instantly determined to sacrifice some part of her
system of economy, without attempting any vain display, or going
beyond what she could reasonably afford; and the present effect was
that which I have described.
We dined in general a little after noon; but on the day of the
Marquis's arrival, which was looked upon by the servants as one of
those occasions of ceremony, when their rights and privileges were to
be as strictly enforced as the official tenures at a royal coronation,
the announcement of dinner was somewhat delayed by a contest between
Houssaye and the _maître d'hôtel_, in regard to which should sound the
trumpet. Houssaye grounded his claim upon patent of office, as the
trumpeter-general to the Counts of Bigorre; and the _maître d'hôtel_,
contended for the honour as a right prescriptive, which he had
exercised for thirty years. The _maître d'hôtel_ would certainly have
carried the day, being in possession of the brazen tube in dispute;
but Houssaye, like a true old soldier, hung upon his flanks,
embarrassed his man[oe]uvres, and at length defeated him by a _coup de
main_. The _maître d'hôtel_ having possession, as I have said,
resolved to exercise his right; and, at the hour appointed, raised the
trumpet to his lips, and prepared an energetic breath. His red cheeks
swelled till they looked like a ripe pomegranate; his eyes stared as
if they would start from their sockets; his long, pimpled nose was
nearly eclipsed by its rubicund neighbours, the cheeks, and would
hardly have been seen but for a vibratory sort of movement about the
end, produced, probably, by the compression of his breath. All
announced a most terrible explosion, when suddenly the undaunted
Houssaye stepped up, and applying his thumb to the cheek of this
unhappy aspirant to _tubicinal_ honours, expelled the breath before
the lips were prepared. The cheeks sunk, the eyes relapsed, the nose
protruded, and a hollow murmur died along the resonant cavities of the
brass--a sort of dirge to the pseudo-trumpeter's defeat.
The whole scene was visible to me through the open door of the
vestibule, and so irresistibly comic was it altogether, that I could
not refrain from staying to witness its termination. Again the _maître
d'hôtel_ essayed the feat, and again the malicious Houssaye rendered
his efforts abortive; upon which the discomfited party declared he
would carry his cause before a higher tribunal, and was proceeding
towards my father's apartments to state his grievances. But he
committed one momentous oversight which completed his defeat.
In the agitation of the moment he laid the trumpet down; Houssaye
pounced upon it like lightning, started upon a chair, and applied the
brass to his lips. The _maître d'hôtel_ threw his arms round him to
pull him down, but Houssaye's weight overbalanced his adversary, and
both rolled upon the floor together.
The old trumpeter, however, had blown many an inspiring blast on
horseback and on foot, in the charge, in the retreat, in the camp, or
in the rage of the battle; all situations were alike to him, and as he
rolled over and over with the _maître d'hôtel_, he still kept the
trumpet to his lips, and blew, and blew, and blew, till such a call to
the standard echoed through the château as had never before disturbed
its peaceful halls.
After I had seen the conclusion of this doughty contention, I was
proceeding towards my father's library, when I was met in the corridor
by the whole party coming from their various apartments. My father
resigned to no one the honour of handing down the Countess; and the
Marquis turned to offer his hand to Helen, who followed her, giving a
slight sort of start as his eye fell upon so much loveliness.
"I did not know, madam," said he, "that you had so fair a daughter."
"She is no farther my daughter," replied the Countess, looking back to
Helen with a smile, "than in being the daughter of my love.
Mademoiselle Arnault, Monsieur le Marquis de St. Brie!"
The hall, as we entered it, looked more splendid than ever I had seen
it. With infinite labour, the old banners, that flaunted in the air
above the table, had been cleared of their antique dust; all our
family plate was displayed upon the buffet; and the eight liveried
lackeys, in their new suits, gave an air of feudal state to the hall,
that it had not possessed since the days of Henri Quatre.
During the first service but little was said by any one. After the
grave employment of half an hour, however, the mind would fain have
its share of activity; and, though somewhat impeded by the gross
aliments of the body, found means to issue forth and mingle with the
banquet.
"The bird of Juno," said the Marquis, pointing to a peacock that, with
its spread tail and elevated crest, ornamented the centre of the
table, "is a fitting dish in such a proud hall as this. I love to dine
in a vast and antique room, with every haughty accessory that can give
solemnity to the repast."
"And is it," demanded my father with a smile, "from a conviction of
the importance, or the littleness of the employment?"
"Oh, of its meanness, certainly!" replied the Marquis; "it needs, I
think, all the ingenuity of man's pride--all that he can collect of
grand or striking, associated with himself--to soothe his vanity under
the weight of his weaknesses and necessities; and what can be more
painfully degrading than this propensity to devour!"
"It is a philosophy I can hardly admit," replied my father; "the
simple act of eating is surely not degrading, and, when employed but
as the means of support, it becomes dignified by the great objects to
which it tends--the preservation of life, the invigorating the body,
and, consequently, the liberation of the mind from all those
oppressive chains with which corporeal weakness or ill health is sure
to enthral it. In my eyes, everything that nature has given or taught,
is beautiful; and never becomes degrading but by the corruption with
which it is mingled by man himself."
"I know not," answered the Marquis, smiling at the enthusiasm with
which my father sustained what was one of his most favourite theses,
"but I can conceive no dignity in eating the mangled limbs of other
animals slaughtered for our use."
"You look not so cynically, I hope, on all other failings of
humanity?" demanded my mother, willing to change the subject; and
changing it to one on which every Frenchwoman thinks or has thought a
great deal, she added, "Love for instance?"
The Marquis bowed. "No one can be more devoted," replied he, "to the
lovelier part of the creation than I am, and yet I cannot but think
that the ancients did well to represent Venus as springing from the
foam of the sea."
"Somewhat light, you would say, in her nature," rejoined my father,
"and variable as her parent waves----"
"And sometimes as cold and as uncertain too," said I; but, as I did
so, I saw a slight flush pass over Helen's brow, and I added, "But you
forget, Monsieur le Marquis, or rather, like a skilful arguer, you do
not notice, that the blood of C[oe]lus, which we translate, almost
literally, a drop from heaven, was mingled with the foam of the sea to
produce the goddess."
"Happily turned!" replied the Marquis with a smile; "but I trust, my
young friend, you are aware that the queen of love is only to be won
by thes god of arms, as our sweet and tumid Raccan would put it. Have
you yet entered the path in which you are born to distinguish
yourself; I mean the service of your king?"
With somewhat of a blush, I replied that I had not, and the Marquis
proceeded:--"Fie, now! 'tis a shame that a sword, which I know, to my
cost, is a good one, should rust in its scabbard. Every gentleman,
whatever may be his ultimate objects in life, should serve his country
for at least one campaign. It is rumoured that our wars in Italy will
infallibly be renewed: in that case, I shall of course take the
command of my regiment; and if your noble father will allow you to
accompany me, we will turn the two good swords, that once crossed upon
a foolish quarrel, against the enemies of our king and our country."
Without a moment's hesitation I should have accepted the proposal; but
my mother interposed. "I have already," said she, after having
expressed her thanks to the Marquis for the honour he proposed to her
son--"I have already written to her highness the Countess de Soissons,
who honoured me in my youth with her favour and affection, soliciting,
if it be possible, that Louis may, for a short period, enjoy the
advantage of being near Monsieur le Comte, her son. I have no doubt
that she will comply with my request; and, at all events, we must, of
course, suspend every other plan till her highness's answer is
received."
The Marquis appeared somewhat mortified, but immediately changed the
conversation to other subjects, and certainly no man I ever met could
render himself more fascinating when he chose to do so. His language
was as elegant as his manners, and he mingled, with a playful,
shining, unforced wit, a slight degree of cynical bitterness, which
rendered it more exciting by its pungency. He had the great art, too,
of suiting his conversation exactly to those with whom he conversed;
not precisely as the cameleon, taking its hue from the object next to
it, but rather like a fine piece of polished china, receiving a
sufficient reflection from whatever salient colour was placed near,
without losing the original figures with which it was itself marked.
Thus he never lost in manner a certain degree of pride, which was the
great master-passion of his soul; but when he wished to please or win,
he made even this pride subservient to his purpose, by acting as an
opposition to his courtesy and condescension. Nor did he ever in the
fits of that cynical humour, which he either affected or possessed
from nature, go beyond the exact point at which it could amuse or
stimulate those that listened to him; and he calculated, with
wonderful insight into their characters, the precise portions that
each could bear or relish.
With whatever feelings one entered his society, one quitted it struck
and fascinated. I did so myself, notwithstanding the warning I had
received with regard to him--notwithstanding a strong prepossession
against him. I felt attracted, amused, and pleased; and every minute
that I passed in his company, I had to recall the demoniacal passions
his countenance had expressed at Estelle, and ask myself--Can this be
the same man? It was; and when closely observed, there was a glance of
malignity in the eye, which, if rightly read, would have told that
there the real man shone out, and that the rest was all a mask. The
nations of the East have a superstition, that their _Dives_, _Afrits_,
and other evil spirits, have the power of transforming themselves into
the most beautiful and enticing shapes; but that some one spot of
their body is always exempt from this change, and remains in its
original hideousness. Thus I believe it is with the human character;
give it what gracious form you will, there is still some original
feature will rest unchanged, to show what shape it has at first
received from Nature.
The Marquis de St. Brie, however, maintained the doubtful favour he
had gained with the inhabitants of the Château de l'Orme as long as he
remained within its walls, which was during the space of three days.
Each passed much like the former, with the exception of the second, in
the course of which we went out upon the mountains to shoot the
izzard.
At the hour appointed for setting forth, it so happened that I was a
moment later than my father and the Marquis. My mother, too, was in
the court seeing the preparations for our departure; when, on going
from my bedchamber into the corridor, I was met by Helen, who, instead
of passing me hastily, as she usually did, paused a moment, as if
anxious to speak. Her cheek was rather flushed, and never did I behold
her looking more lovely. The temptation to delay was not to be
resisted, and besides, such a moment might never come again. "Helen!"
said I, taking her hand, "dearest Helen, I would give a world to speak
with you alone, for but five minutes. You once said you loved me--you
promised you would always love me. Helen, you must have seen how much
I have wished for such an opportunity, and yet you have never, since
my return, given me one moment of your private time."
"Indeed, Louis," she answered, still letting me keep her hand, "I
could not then--I thought it would be wrong. Now, perhaps, I may think
differently; and I will no longer avoid you as I have done. But what I
sought you for now, was to say, beware of that Marquis de St. Brie. I
am sure--I _feel_ sure--that he is a villain. And oh, Louis, beware of
him! for your sake--for mine." So saying, she waited for no reply, but
drawing away her hand, glided back to the Countess's apartments.
Oh what a nicely balanced lever is the mind of youth! a breath will
depress it, or a breath will raise. For days before, I had been gloomy
and desponding. Existence, and all that surrounded it, I had looked
upon with a jaundiced eye, which saw only defects. I could have
quarrelled with the sunbeam for ever casting a shade--the summer
breeze for ever bearing a vapour on its wings; and now I went away
from Helen with a heart beating high with expectation and delight! One
kind word, one affectionate look, one expression of interest and love,
and every cloud was banished from my mind; and all was again sunshine,
and summer, and enjoyment. My father and the Marquis had already set
out, but a few steps brought me to their side; and, speeding on
towards the heights above the valley of Argelez, we separated, to beat
a narrow lateral dell, while the servants, spreading in a larger
circle, drove the game in towards us. My father took his range along
one side of the hollow, and I on the other; while the Marquis chose a
path above mine, having a view of the whole side of the hill.
For some time we met with little success, when suddenly an izzard
bounded away along the path, about three hundred yards in advance.
Before I could fire, it was out of shot; but springing after it, I
followed eagerly along the shelf of rock, knowing that a little
farther a precipice intervened, which I did not believe the animal
could leap; and consequently, if it escaped me, it must run up the
hill and cross the Marquis, or go down into the valley and come within
my father's range. As I went on, circling round the mountain, a piece
of rock jutted out across the path about thirty yards in advance, and
hid the precipice from my view. The izzard I doubted not was there,
hesitating on the brink, as they often do when the leap is dangerous;
and hoping to obtain a shot at it before it turned, I was hurrying on,
when suddenly I heard the ringing of a carbine, and a bullet whistled
close to my ear. Its course must have lain within two inches of my
head; and, not a little angry, I turned, and saw the Marquis standing
on a rock a little way above me.
"There! there!" cried he, pointing with his hand: "there, I have
missed him! Why don't you fire?"
At that moment I caught a sight of the izzard actually springing up
the most perpendicular part of the mountain. It was almost beyond the
range of my carbine, but, however, I fired, and the animal rolled down
dead into the valley. Neither the Marquis nor myself alluded to the
shot which he had discharged, and it remains a very great doubt in my
mind whether he had missed me or the izzard.