The Wandering Jew, Complete

E >> Eugene Sue >> The Wandering Jew, Complete


This extension was a Pompadour summer-house, built in the form of a
rotunda, with the charming though incorrect taste of the era of its
erection. It presented, in every part where it was possible for the
stones to be cut, a profusion of endives, knots of ribbons, garlands of
flowers, and chubby cupids. This pavilion, inhabited by Adrienne de
Cardoville was composed of a ground floor, which was reached by a
peristyle of several steps. A small vestibule led to a circular hall,
lighted from the roof. Four principal apartments met here; and ranges of
smaller rooms, concealed in the upper story, served for minor purposes.

These dependencies of great habitations are in our days disused, or
transformed into irregular conservatories; but by an uncommon exception,
the black exterior of the pavilion had been scraped and renewed, and the
entire structure repaired. The white stones of which it was built
glistened like Parian marble; and its renovated, coquettish aspect
contrasted singularly with the gloomy mansion seen at the other extremity
of an extensive lawn, on which were planted here and there gigantic
clumps of verdant trees.

The following scene occurred at this residence on the morning following
that of the arrival of Dagobert, with the daughters of Marshal Simon, in
the Rue Brise-Miche. The hour of eight had sounded from the steeple of a
neighboring church; a brilliant winter sun arose to brighten a pure blue
sky behind the tall leafless trees, which in summer formed a dome of
verdure over the summer-house. The door in the vestibule opened, and the
rays of the morning sun beamed upon a charming creature, or rather upon
two charming creatures, for the second one, though filling a modest place
in the scale of creation, was not less distinguished by beauty of its
own, which was very striking. In plain terms two individuals, one of them
a young girl, and the other a tiny English dog, of great beauty, of that
breed of spaniels called King Charles's, made their appearance under the
peristyle of the rotunda. The name of the young girl was Georgette; the
beautiful little spaniel's was Frisky. Georgette was in her eighteenth
year. Never had Florine or Manton, never had a lady's maid of Marivaux, a
more mischievous face, an eye more quick, a smile more roguish, teeth
more white, cheeks more roseate, figure more coquettish, feet smaller, or
form smarter, attractive, and enticing. Though it was yet very early,
Georgette was carefully and tastefully dressed. A tiny Valenciennes cap,
with flaps and flap-band, of half peasant fashion, decked with
rose-colored ribbons, and stuck a little backward upon bands of beautiful
fair hair, surrounded her fresh and piquant face; a robe of gray
levantine, and a cambric neck-kerchief, fastened to her bosom by a large
tuft of rose-colored ribbons, displayed her figure elegantly rounded; a
hollands apron, white as snow, trimmed below by three large hems,
surmounted by a Vandyke-row, encircled her waist, which was as round and
flexible as a reed; her short, plain sleeves, edged with bone lace,
allowed her plump arms to be seen, which her long Swedish gloves,
reaching to the elbow, defended from the rigor of the cold. When
Georgette raised the bottom of her dress, in order to descend more
quickly the steps, she exhibited to Frisky's indifferent eyes a beautiful
ankle, and the beginning of the plump calf of a fine leg, encased in
white silk, and a charming little foot, in a laced half-boot of Turkish
satin. When a blonde like Georgette sets herself to be ensnaring; when
vivid glances sparkle from her eyes of bright yet tender blue; when a
joyous excitement suffuses her transparent skin, she is more resistless
for the conquest of everything before her than a brunette.

This bewitching and nimble lady's-maid, who on the previous evening had
introduced Agricola to the pavilion, was first waiting woman to the
Honorable Miss Adrienne de Cardoville, niece of the Princess Saint
Dizier.

Frisky, so happily found and brought back by the blacksmith, uttered weak
but joyful barks, and bounded, ran, and frolicked upon the turf. She was
not much bigger than one's fist; her curled hair, of lustrous black,
shone like ebony, under the broad, red satin ribbon which encircled her
neck; her paws, fringed with long silken fur, were of a bright and fiery
tan, as well as her muzzle, the nose of which was inconceivably pug; her
large eyes were full of intelligence; and her curly ears so long that
they trailed upon the ground. Georgette seemed to be as brisk and
petulant as Frisky, and shared her sportiveness,--now scampering after
the happy little spaniel, and now retreating, in order to be pursued upon
the greensward in her turn. All at once, at the sight of a second person,
who advanced with deliberate gravity, Georgette and Frisky were suddenly
stopped in their diversion. The little King Charles, some steps in
advance of Georgette, faithful to her name, and bold as the devil, held
herself firmly upon her nervous paws, and fiercely awaited the coming up
of the enemy, displaying at the same time rows of little teeth, which,
though of ivory, were none the less pointed and sharp. The enemy
consisted of a woman of mature age, accompanied by a very fat dog, of the
color of coffee and milk; his tail was twisted like a corkscrew; he was
pot-bellied; his skin was sleek; his neck was turned little to one side;
he walked with his legs inordinately spread out, and stepped with the air
of a doctor. His black muzzle, quarrelsome and scowling showed two fangs
sallying forth, and turning up from the left side of the mouth, and
altogether he had an expression singularly forbidding and vindictive.
This disagreeable animal, a perfect type of what might be called a
"church-goer's pug," answered to the name of "My Lord." His mistress, a
woman of about fifty years of age, corpulent and of middle size, was
dressed in a costume as gloomy and severe as that of Georgette was gay
and showy. It consisted of a brown robe, a black silk mantle, and a hat
of the same dye. The features of this woman might have been agreeable in
her youth; and her florid cheeks, her correct eyebrows, her black eyes,
which were still very lively, scarcely accorded with the peevish and
austere physiognomy which she tried to assume. This matron, of slow and
discreet gait, was Madame Augustine Grivois, first woman to the Princess
Saint-Dizier. Not only did the age, the face, and the dress of these two
women present a striking contrast; but the contrast extended itself even
to the animals which attended them. There were similar differences
between Frisky and My Lord, as between Georgette and Mrs. Grivois. When
the latter perceived the little King Charles, she could not restrain a
movement of surprise and repugnance, which escaped not the notice of the
young lady's maid. Frisky, who had not retreated one inch, since the
apparition of My Lord, regarded him valiantly, with a look of defiance,
and even advanced towards him with an air so decidedly hostile, that the
cur, though thrice as big as the little King Charles, uttered a howl of
distress and terror, and sought refuge behind Mrs. Grivois, who bitterly
said to Georgette:

"It seems to me, miss, that you might dispense with exciting your dog
thus, and setting him upon mine."

"It was doubtless for the purpose of protecting this respectable but ugly
animal from similar alarms, that you tried to make us lose Frisky
yesterday, by driving her into the street through the little garden gate.
But fortunately an honest young man found Frisky in the Rue de Babylone,
and brought her back to my mistress. However," continued Georgette, "to
what, madame, do I owe the pleasure of seeing you this morning?"

"I am commanded by the Princess," replied Mrs. Grivois, unable to conceal
a smile of triumphant satisfaction, "immediately to see Miss Adrienne. It
regards a very important affair, which I am to communicate only to
herself."

At these words Georgette became purple, and could not repress a slight
start of disquietude, which happily escaped Grivois, who was occupied
with watching over the safety of her pet, whom Frisky continued to snarl
at with a very menacing aspect; and Georgette, having quickly overcome
her temporary emotion, firmly answered: "Miss Adrienne went to rest very
late last night. She has forbidden me to enter her apartment before mid
day."

"That is very possible: but as the present business is to obey an order
of the Princess her aunt, you will do well if you please, miss, to awaken
your mistress immediately."

"My mistress is subject to no one's orders in her own house; and I will
not disturb her till mid-day, in pursuance of her commands," replied
Georgette.

"Then I shall go myself," said Mrs. Grivois.

"Florine and Hebe will not admit you. Indeed, here is the key of the
saloon; and through the saloon only can the apartments of Miss Adrienne
be entered."

"How! do you dare refuse me permission to execute the orders of the
Princess?"

"Yes; I dare to commit the great crime of being unwilling to awaken my
mistress!"

"Ah! such are the results of the blind affection of the Princess for her
niece," said the matron, with affected grief: "Miss Adrienne no longer
respects her aunt's orders; and she is surrounded by young hare-brained
persons, who, from the first dawn of morning, dress themselves out as if
for ball-going."

"Oh, madame! how came you to revile dress, who were formerly the greatest
coquette and the most frisky and fluttering of all the Princess's women.
At least, that is what is still spoken of you in the hotel, as having
been handed down from time out of mind, by generation to generation, even
unto ours!"

"How! from generation to generation! do you mean to insinuate that I am a
hundred years old, Miss Impertinence?"

"I speak of the generations of waiting-women; for, except you, it is the
utmost if they remain two or three years in the Princess's house, who has
too many tempers for the poor girls!"

"I forbid you to speak thus of my mistress, whose name some people ought
not to pronounce but on their knees."

"However," said Georgette, "if one wished to speak ill of--"

"Do you dare!"

"No longer ago than last night, at half past eleven o'clock--"

"Last night?"

"A four-wheeler," continued Georgette, "stopped at a few paces from the
house. A mysterious personage, wrapped up in a cloak, alighted from it,
and directly tapped, not at the door, but on the glass of the porter's
lodge window; and at one o'clock in the morning, the cab was still
stationed in the street, waiting for the mysterious personage in the
cloak, who, doubtless, during all that time, was, as you say, pronouncing
the name of her Highness the Princess on his knees."

Whether Mrs. Grivois had not been instructed as to a visit made to the
Princess Saint-Dizier by Rodin (for he was the man in the cloak), in the
middle of the night, after he had become certain of the arrival in Paris
of General Simon's daughters; or whether Mrs. Grivois thought it
necessary to appear ignorant of the visit, she replied, shrugging her
shoulders disdainfully: "I know not what you, mean, madame. I have not
come here to listen to your impertinent stuff. Once again I ask you--will
you, or will you not, introduce me to the presence of Miss Adrienne?"

"I repeat, madame, that my mistress sleeps, and that she has forbidden me
to enter her bed-chamber before mid-day."

This conversation took place at some distance from the summer-house, at a
spot from which the peristyle could be seen at the end of a grand avenue,
terminating in trees arranged in form of a V. All at once Mrs. Grivois,
extending her hand in that direction, exclaimed: "Great heavens! is it
possible? what have I seen?"

"What have you seen?" said Georgette, turning round.

"What have I seen?" repeated Mrs. Grivois, with amazement.

"Yes: what was it?"

"Miss Adrienne."

"Where?" asked Georgette.

"I saw her run up the porch steps. I perfectly recognized her by her
gait, by her hat, and by her mantle. To come home at eight o'clock in the
morning!" cried Mrs. Grivois: "it is perfectly incredible!"

"See my lady? Why, you came to see her!" and Georgette burst out into
fits of laughter: and then said: "Oh! I understand! you wish to out-do my
story of the four-wheeler last night! It is very neat of you!"

"I repeat," said Mrs. Grivois, "that I have this moment seen--"

"Oh! adone, Mrs. Grivois: if you speak seriously, you are mad!"

"I am mad, am I? because I have a pair of good eyes! The little gate that
open's on the street lets one into the quincunx near the pavilion. It is
by that door, doubtless, that mademoiselle has re-entered. Oh, what
shameful conduct! what will the Princess say to it! Ah! her presentiments
have not yet been mistaken. See to what her weak indulgence of her
niece's caprices has led her! It is monstrous!--so monstrous, that,
though I have seen her with my own eyes, still I can scarcely believe
it!"

"Since you've gone so far, ma'am, I now insist upon conducting you into
the apartment of my lady, in order that you may convince yourself, by
your own senses, that your eyes have deceived you!"

"Oh, you are very cunning, my dear, but not more cunning than I! You
propose my going now! Yes, yes, I believe you: you are certain that by
this time I shall find her in her apartment!"

"But, madame, I assure you--"

"All that I can say to you is this: that neither you, nor Florine, nor
Hebe, shall remain here twenty-four hours. The Princess will put an end
to this horrible scandal; for I shall immediately inform her of what has
passed. To go out in the night! Re-enter at eight o'clock in the morning!
Why, I am all in a whirl! Certainly, if I had not seen it with my own
eyes, I could not have believed it! Still, it is only what was to be
expected. It will astonish nobody. Assuredly not! All those to whom I am
going to relate it, will say, I am quite sure, that it is not at all
astonishing! Oh! what a blow to our respectable Princess! What a blow for
her!"

Mrs. Grivois returned precipitately towards the mansion, followed by her
fat pug, who appeared to be as embittered as herself.

Georgette, active and light, ran, on her part, towards the pavilion, in
order to apprise Miss de Cardoville that Mrs. Grivois had seen her, or
fancied she had seen her, furtively enter by the little garden gate.




CHAPTER XXXIV.

ADRIENNE AT HER TOILET.

About an hour had elapsed since Mrs. Grivois had seen or pretended to
have seen Adrienne de Cardoville re-enter in the morning the extension of
Saint-Dizier House.

It is for the purpose, not of excusing, but of rendering intelligible,
the following scenes, that it is deemed necessary to bring out into the
light some striking peculiarities in the truly original character of Miss
de Cardoville.

This originality consisted in an excessive independence of mind, joined
to a natural horror of whatsoever is repulsive or deformed, and to an
insatiable desire of being surrounded by everything attractive and
beautiful. The painter most delighted with coloring and beauty, the
sculptor most charmed by proportions of form, feel not more than Adrienne
did the noble enthusiasm which the view of perfect beauty always excites
in the chosen favorites of nature.

And it was not only the pleasures of sight which this young lady loved to
gratify: the harmonious modulations of song, the melody of instruments,
the cadences of poetry, afforded her infinite pleasures; while a harsh
voice or a discordant noise made her feel the same painful impression, or
one nearly as painful as that which she involuntarily experienced from
the sight of a hideous object. Passionately fond of flowers, too, and of
their sweet scents, there are some perfumes which she enjoyed equally
with the delights of music or those of plastic beauty. It is necessary,
alas, to acknowledge one enormity: Adrienne was dainty in her food! She
valued more than any one else the fresh pulp of handsome fruit, the
delicate savor of a golden pheasant, cooked to a turn, and the odorous
cluster of a generous vine.

But Adrienne enjoyed all these pleasures with an exquisite reserve. She
sought religiously to cultivate and refine the senses given her. She
would have deemed it black ingratitude to blunt those divine gifts by
excesses, or to debase them by unworthy selections of objects upon which
to exercise them; a fault from which, indeed, she was preserved by the
excessive and imperious delicacy of her taste.

The BEAUTIFUL and the UGLY occupied for her the places which GOOD and
EVIL holds for others.

Her devotion to grace, elegance, and physical beauty, had led her also to
the adoration of moral beauty; for if the expression of a low and bad
passion render uncomely the most beautiful countenances, those which are
in themselves the most ugly are ennobled, on the contrary, by the
expression of good feelings and generous sentiments.

In a word, Adrienne was the most complete, the most ideal personification
of SENSUALITY--not of vulgar, ignorant, non intelligent, mistaken
sensuousness which is always deceit ful and corrupted by habit or by the
necessity for gross and ill-regulated enjoyments, but that exquisite
sensuality which is to the senses what intelligence is to the soul.

The independence of this young lady's character was extreme. Certain
humiliating subjections imposed upon her success by its social position,
above all things were revolting to her, and she had the hardihood to
resolve to withdraw herself from them. She was a woman, the most womanish
that it is possible to imagine--a woman in her timidity as well as in her
audacity--a woman in her hatred of the brutal despotism of men, as well
as in her intense disposition to self-devoting herself, madly even and
blindly, to him who should merit such a devotion from her--a woman whose
piquant wit was occasionally paradoxical--a superior woman, in brief, who
entertained a well-grounded disdain and contempt for certain men either
placed very high or greatly adulated, whom she had from time to time met
in the drawing-room of her aunt, the Princess Saint-Dizier, when she
resided with her.

These indispensable explanations being given, we usher, the reader into
the presence of Adrienne de Cardoville, who had just come out of the
bath.

It would require all the brilliant colorings of the Venetian school to
represent that charming scene, which would rather seem to have occurred
in the sixteenth century, in some palace of Florence or Bologna, than in
Paris, in the Faubourg Saint-Germain, in the month of February, 1832.

Adrienne's dressing-room was a kind of miniature temple seemingly one
erected and dedicated to the worship of beauty, in gratitude to the Maker
who has lavished so many charms upon woman, not to be neglected by her,
or to cover and conceal them with ashes, or to destroy them by the
contact of her person with sordid and harsh haircloth; but in order that,
with fervent gratitude for the divine gifts wherewith she is endowed, she
may enhance her charms with all the illusions of grace and all the
splendors of apparel, so as to glorify the divine work of her own
perfections in the eyes of all. Daylight was admitted into this
semicircular apartment, through one of those double windows, contrived
for the preservation of heat, so happily imported from Germany. The walls
of the pavilion being constructed of stone of great thickness, the depth
of the aperture for the windows was therefore very great. That of
Adrienne's dressing-room was closed on the outside by a sash containing a
single large pane of plate glass, and within, by another large plate of
ground glass. In the interval or space of about three feet left between
these two transparent enclosures, there was a case or box filled with
furze mould, whence sprung forth climbing plants, which, directed round
the ground glass, formed a rich garland of leaves and flowers. A garnet
damask tapestry, rich with harmoniously blended arabesques, in the purest
style, covered the walls and a thick carpet of similar color was extended
over the floor: and this sombre ground, presented by the floor and walls,
marvellously enhanced the effects of all the harmonious ornaments and
decorations of the chamber.

Under the window, opposite to the south, was placed Adrienne's dressing
case, a real masterpiece of the skill of the goldsmith. Upon a large
tablet of lapis-lazuli, there were scattered boxes of jewels, their lids
precisely enamelled; several scent boxes of rock crystal, and other
implements and utensils of the toilet, some formed of shells, some of
mother-of-pearl, and others of ivory, covered with ornaments of gold in
extraordinary taste. Two large figures, modelled in silver with antique
purity; supported an oval swing mirror, which had for its rim, in place
of a frame curiously carved, a fresh garland of natural flowers, renewed
every day like a nosegay for a ball.

Two enormous Japanese vases, of purple and gold, three feet each in
diameter, were placed upon the carpet on each side of the toilet, and,
filled with camellias, ibiscures, and cape jasmine, in full flower formed
a sort of grove, diversified with the most brilliant colors. At the
farther end of the apartment, opposite the casement, was to be seen,
surrounded by another mass of flowers, a reduction in white marble of the
enchanting group of Daphnis and Chloe, the more chaste ideal of graceful
modesty and youthful beauty.

Two golden lamps burned perfumes upon the same pedestal which supported
those two charming figures. A coffer of frosted silver, set off with
small figures in jewelry and precious stones, and supported on four feet
of gilt bronze, contained various necessaries for the toilette; two
frosted Psyches, decorated with diamond ear-rings; some excellent
drawings from Raphael and Titian, painted by Adrienne herself, consisting
of portraits of both men and women of exquisite beauty; several consoles
of oriental jasper, supporting ewers and basins of silver and of silver
gilt, richly chased and filled with scented waters; a voluptuously rich
divan, some seats, and an illuminated gilt fable, completed the furniture
of this chamber, the atmosphere of which was impregnated with the
sweetest perfumes.

Adrienne, whom her attendants had just helped from the bath, was seated
before her toilette, her three women surrounding her. By a caprice, or
rather by a necessary and logical impulse of her soul, filled as it was
with the love of beauty and of harmony in all things, Adrienne had wished
the young women who served her to be very pretty, and be dressed with
attention and with a charming originality. We have already seen
Georgette, a piquante blonde, attired in her attractive costume of an
intriguing lady's maid of Marivaux; and her two companions were quite
equal to her both in gracefulness and gentility.

One of them, named Florine, a tall, delicately slender, and elegant girl,
with the air and form of Diana Huntress, was of a pale brown complexion.
Her thick black hair was turned up behind, where it was fastened with a
long golden pin. Like the two other girls, her arms were uncovered to
facilitate the performance of her duties about and upon the person of her
charming mistress. She wore a dress of that gay green so familiar to the
Venetian painters. Her petticoat was very ample. Her slender waist curved
in from under the plaits of a tucker of white cambric, plaited in five
minute folds, and fastened by five gold buttons. The third of Adrienne's
women had a face so fresh and ingenuous, a waist so delicate, so
pleasing, and so finished, that her mistress had given her the name of
Hebe. Her dress of a delicate rose color, and Grecian cut, displayed her
charming neck, and her beautiful arms up to the very shoulders. The
physiognomy of these three young women was laughter loving and happy. On
their features there was no expression of that bitter sullenness, willing
and hated obedience, or offensive familiarity, or base and degraded
deference, which are the ordinary results of a state of servitude. In the
zealous eagerness of the cares and attentions which they lavished upon
Adrienne, there seemed to be at least as much of affection as of
deference and respect. They appeared to derive an ardent pleasure from
the services which they rendered to their lovely mistress. One would have
thought that they attached to the dressing and embellishment of her
person all the merits and the enjoyment arising from the execution of a
work of art, in the accomplishing of which, fruitful of delights, they
were stimulated by the passions of love, of pride, and of joy.

The sun beamed brightly upon the toilet-case, placed in front of the
window. Adrienne was seated on a chair, its back elevated a little more
than usual. She was enveloped in a long morning-gown of blue silk,
embroidered with a leaf of the same color, which was fitted close to her
waist, as exquisitely slender and delicate as that of a child of twelve
years, by a girdle with floating tags. Her neck, delicately slender and
flexible as a bird's, was uncovered, as were also her shoulders and arms,
and all were of incomparable beauty. Despite the vulgarity of the
comparison, the purest ivory alone can give an idea of the dazzling
whiteness of her polished satin skin, of a texture so fresh and so firm,
that some drops of water, collected and still remaining about the roots
of her hair from the bath, rolled in serpentine lines over her shoulders,
like pearls, or beads, of crystal, over white marble.