The Chateau of Prince Polignac
Few Englishmen or Englishwomen are intimately acquainted with thelittle town of Le Puy. It is the capital of the old province of LeVelay, which also is now but little known, even to French ears, forit is in these days called by the imperial name of the Department ofthe Haute Loire. It is to the south-east of Auvergne, and is nearlyin the centre of the southern half of France.But few towns, merely as towns, can be better worth visiting. Inthe first place, the volcanic formation of the ground on which itstands is not only singular in the extreme, so as to be interestingto the geologist, but it is so picturesque as to be equallygratifying to the general tourist. Within a narrow valley therestand several rocks, rising up from the ground with absoluteabruptness. Round two of these the town clusters, and a thirdstands but a mile distant, forming the centre of a faubourg, orsuburb. These rocks appear to be, and I believe are, the harderparticles of volcanic matter, which have not been carried awaythrough successive ages by the joint agency of water and air.When the tide of lava ran down between the hills the surface leftwas no doubt on a level with the heads of these rocks; but here andthere the deposit became harder than elsewhere, and these harderpoints have remained, lifting up their steep heads in a line throughthe valley.The highest of these is called the Rocher de Corneille. Round thisand up its steep sides the town stands. On its highest summit therewas an old castle; and there now is, or will be before these pagesare printed, a colossal figure in bronze of the Virgin Mary, madefrom the cannon taken at Sebastopol. Half-way down the hill thecathedral is built, a singularly gloomy edifice,--Romanesque, as itis called, in its style, but extremely similar in its mode ofarchitecture to what we know of Byzantine structures. But there hasbeen no surface on the rock side large enough to form a resting-place for the church, which has therefore been built out on hugesupporting piles, which form a porch below the west front; so thatthe approach is by numerous steps laid along the side of the wallbelow the church, forming a wondrous flight of stairs. Let all menwho may find themselves stopping at Le Puy visit the top of thesestairs at the time of the setting sun, and look down from thencethrough the framework of the porch on the town beneath, and at thehill-side beyond.Behind the church is the seminary of the priests, with its beautifulwalks stretching round the Rocher de Corneille, and overlooking thetown and valley below.Next to this rock, and within a quarter of a mile of it, is thesecond peak, called the Rock of the Needle. It rises narrow, sharp,and abrupt from the valley, allowing of no buildings on its sides.But on its very point has been erected a church sacred to St.Michael, that lover of rock summits, accessible by stairs cut fromthe stone. This, perhaps--this rock, I mean--is the most wonderfulof the wonders which Nature has formed at La Puy.Above this, at a mile's distance, is the rock of Espailly, formed inthe same way, and almost equally precipitous. On its summit is acastle, having its own legend, and professing to have been theresidence of Charles VII., when little of France belonged to itskings but the provinces of Berry, Auvergne, and Le Velay. Somethree miles farther up there is another volcanic rock, larger,indeed, but equally sudden in its spring,--equally remarkable asrising abruptly from the valley,--on which stands the castle and oldfamily residence of the house of Polignac. It was lost by them atthe Revolution, but was repurchased by the minister of Charles X.,and is still the property of the head of the race.Le Puy itself is a small, moderate, pleasant French town, in whichthe language of the people has not the pure Parisian aroma, nor isthe glory of the boulevards of the capital emulated in its streets.These are crooked, narrow, steep, and intricate, forming here andthere excellent sketches for a lover of street picturesque beauty;but hurtful to the feet with their small, round-topped pavingstones, and not always as clean as pedestrian ladies might desire.And now I would ask my readers to join me at the morning tabled'hote at the Hotel des Ambassadeurs. It will of course beunderstood that this does not mean a breakfast in the ordinaryfashion of England, consisting of tea or coffee, bread and butter,and perhaps a boiled egg. It comprises all the requisites for acomposite dinner, excepting soup; and as one gets farther south inFrance, this meal is called dinner. It is, however, eaten withoutany prejudice to another similar and somewhat longer meal at six orseven o'clock, which, when the above name is taken up by the earlierenterprise, is styled supper.The dejeuner, or dinner, at the Hotel des Ambassadeurs, on themorning in question, though very elaborate, was not a very gayaffair. There were some fourteen persons present, of whom half wereresidents in the town, men employed in some official capacity, whofound this to be the cheapest, the most luxurious, and to them themost comfortable mode of living. They clustered together at thehead of the table, and as they were customary guests at the house,they talked their little talk together--it was very little--and madethe most of the good things before them. Then there were two orthree commis-voyageurs, a chance traveller or two, and an Englishlady with a young daughter. The English lady sat next to one of theaccustomed guests; but he, unlike the others, held converse with herrather than with them. Our story at present has reference only tothat lady and to that gentleman.Place aux dames. We will speak first of the lady, whose name wasMrs. Thompson. She was, shall I say, a young woman of about thirty-six. In so saying, I am perhaps creating a prejudice against her inthe minds of some readers, as they will, not unnaturally, supposeher, after such an announcement, to be in truth over forty. Anysuch prejudice will be unjust. I would have it believed thatthirty-six was the outside, not the inside of her age. She wasgood-looking, lady-like, and considering that she was anEnglishwoman, fairly well dressed. She was inclined to be ratherfull in her person, but perhaps not more so than is becoming toladies at her time of life. She had rings on her fingers and abrooch on her bosom which were of some value, and on the back of herhead she wore a jaunty small lace cap, which seemed to tell, inconjunction with her other appointments, that her circumstances werecomfortable.The little girl who sat next to her was the youngest of her twodaughters, and might be about thirteen years of age. Her name wasMatilda, but infantine circumstances had invested her with thenickname of Mimmy, by which her mother always called her. A nice,pretty, playful little girl was Mimmy Thompson, wearing two longtails of plaited hair hanging, behind her head, and inclinedoccasionally to be rather loud in her sport.Mrs. Thompson had another and an elder daughter, now some fifteenyears old, who was at school in Le Puy; and it was with reference toher tuition that Mrs. Thompson had taken up a temporary residence atthe Hotel des Ambassadeurs in that town. Lilian Thompson wasoccasionally invited down to dine or breakfast at the inn, and wasvisited daily at her school by her mother."When I'm sure that she'll do, I shall leave her there, and go backto England," Mrs. Thompson had said, not in the purest French, tothe neighbour who always sat next to her at the table d'hote, thegentleman, namely, to whom we have above alluded. But still she hadremained at Le Puy a month, and did not go; a circumstance which wasconsidered singular, but by no means unpleasant, both by theinnkeeper and by the gentleman in question.The facts, as regarded Mrs. Thompson, were as follows:- She was thewidow of a gentleman who had served for many years in the civilservice of the East Indies, and who, on dying, had left her acomfortable income of--it matters not how many pounds, butconstituting quite a sufficiency to enable her to live at her easeand educate her daughters.Her children had been sent home to England before her husband'sdeath, and after that event she had followed them; but there, thoughshe was possessed of moderate wealth, she had no friends and fewacquaintances, and after a little while she had found life to berather dull. Her customs were not those of England, nor were herpropensities English; therefore she had gone abroad, and havingreceived some recommendation of this school at Le Puy, had made herway thither. As it appeared to her that she really enjoyed moreconsideration at Le Puy than had been accorded to her either atTorquay or Leamington, there she remained from day to day. Thetotal payment required at the Hotel des Ambassadeurs was but sixfrancs daily for herself and three and a half for her little girl;and where else could she live with a better junction of economy andcomfort? And then the gentleman who always sat next to her was soexceedingly civil!The gentleman's name was M. Lacordaire. So much she knew, and hadlearned to call him by his name very frequently. Mimmy, too, wasquite intimate with M. Lacordaire; but nothing more than his namewas known of him. But M. Lacordaire carried a general letter ofrecommendation in his face, manner, gait, dress, and tone of voice.In all these respects there was nothing left to be desired; and, inaddition to this, he was decorated, and wore the little red ribbonof the Legion of Honour, ingeniously twisted into the shape of asmall flower.M. Lacordaire might be senior in age to Mrs. Thompson by about tenyears, nor had he about him any of the airs or graces of a would-beyoung man. His hair, which he wore very short, was grizzled, as wasalso the small pretence of a whisker which came down about as far asthe middle of his ear; but the tuft on his chin was still brown,without a gray hair. His eyes were bright and tender, his voice waslow and soft, his hands were very white, his clothes were always newand well fitting, and a better-brushed hat could not be seen out ofParis, nor perhaps in it.Now, during the weeks which Mrs. Thompson had passed at La Puy, theacquaintance which she had formed with M. Lacordaire had progressedbeyond the prolonged meals in the salle a manger. He hadoccasionally sat beside her evening table as she took her Englishcup of tea in her own room, her bed being duly screened off in itsdistant niche by becoming curtains; and then he had occasionallywalked beside her, as he civilly escorted her to the lions of theplace; and he had once accompanied her, sitting on the back seat ofa French voiture, when she had gone forth to see something of thesurrounding country.On all such occasions she had been accompanied by one of herdaughters, and the world of Le Puy had had nothing material to sayagainst her. But still the world of Le Puy had whispered a little,suggesting that M. Lacordaire knew very well what he was about. Butmight not Mrs. Thompson also know as well what she was about? Atany rate, everything had gone on very pleasantly since theacquaintance had been made. And now, so much having been explained,we will go back to the elaborate breakfast at the Hotel desAmbassadeurs.Mrs. Thompson, holding Mimmy by the hand, walked into the room somefew minutes after the last bell had been rung, and took the placewhich was now hers by custom. The gentlemen who constantlyfrequented the house all bowed to her, but M. Lacordaire rose fromhis seat and offered her his hand."And how is Mees Meemy this morning?" said he; for 'twas thus healways pronounced her name.Miss Mimmy, answering for herself, declared that she was very well,and suggested that M. Lacordaire should give her a fig from off adish that was placed immediately before him on the table. This M.Lacordaire did, presenting it very elegantly between his twofingers, and making a little bow to the little lady as he did so."Fie, Mimmy!" said her mother; "why do you ask for the things beforethe waiter brings them round?""But, mamma," said Mimmy, speaking English, "M. Lacordaire alwaysgives me a fig every morning.""M. Lacordaire always spoils you, I think," answered Mrs. Thompson,in French. And then they went thoroughly to work at theirbreakfast. During the whole meal M. Lacordaire attended assiduouslyto his neighbour; and did so without any evil result, except thatone Frenchman with a black moustache, at the head of the table, trodon the toe of another Frenchman with another black moustache--winking as he made the sign--just as M. Lacordaire, having selecteda bunch of grapes, put it on Mrs. Thompson's plate with infinitegrace. But who among us all is free from such impertinences asthese?"But madame really must see the chateau of Prince Polignac beforeshe leaves Le Puy," said M. Lacordaire."The chateau of who?" asked Mimmy, to whose young ears the Frenchwords were already becoming familiar."Prince Polignac, my dear. Well, I really don't know, M.Lacordaire;--I have seen a great deal of the place already, and Ishall be going now very soon; probably in a day or two," said Mrs.Thompson."But madame must positively see the chateau," said M. Lacordaire,very impressively; and then after a pause he added, "If madame willhave the complaisance to commission me to procure a carriage forthis afternoon, and will allow me the honour to be her guide, Ishall consider myself one of the most fortunate of men.""Oh, yes, mamma, do go," said Mimmy, clapping her hands. "And it isThursday, and Lilian can go with us.""Be quiet, Mimmy, do. Thank you, no, M. Lacordaire. I could not goto-day; but I am extremely obliged by your politeness."M. Lacordaire still pressed the matter, and Mrs. Thompson stilldeclined till it was time to rise from the table. She then declaredthat she did not think it possible that she should visit the chateaubefore she left Le Puy; but that she would give him an answer atdinner.The most tedious time in the day to Mrs. Thompson were the two hoursafter breakfast. At one o'clock she daily went to the school,taking Mimmy, who for an hour or two shared her sister's lessons.This and her little excursions about the place, and her shopping,managed to make away with her afternoon. Then in the evening, shegenerally saw something of M. Lacordaire. But those two hours afterbreakfast were hard of killing.On this occasion, when she gained her own room, she as usual placedMimmy on the sofa with a needle. Her custom then was to take up anovel; but on this morning she sat herself down in her arm-chair,and resting her head upon her hand and elbow, began to turn overcertain circumstances in her mind."Mamma," said Mimmy, "why won't you go with M. Lacordaire to thatplace belonging to the prince? Prince--Polly something, wasn't it?""Mind your work, my dear," said Mrs. Thompson."But I do so wish you'd go, mamma. What was the prince's name?""Polignac.""Mamma, ain't princes very great people?""Yes, my dear; sometimes.""Is Prince Polly-nac like our Prince Alfred?""No, my dear; not at all. At least, I suppose not.""Is his mother a queen?""No, my dear.""Then his father must be a king?""No, my dear. It is quite a different thing here. Here in Francethey have a great many princes.""Well, at any rate I should like to see a prince's chateau; so I dohope you'll go." And then there was a pause. "Mamma, could it cometo pass, here in France, that M. Lacordaire should ever be aprince?""M. Lacordaire a prince! No; don't talk such nonsense, but mindyour work.""Isn't M. Lacordaire a very nice man? Ain't you very fond of him?"To this question Mrs. Thompson made no answer."Mamma," continued Mimmy, after a moment's pause, "won't you tell mewhether you are fond of M. Lacordaire? I'm quite sure of this,--that he's very fond of you.""What makes you think that?" asked Mrs. Thompson, who could notbring herself to refrain from the question."Because he looks at you in that way, mamma, and squeezes yourhand.""Nonsense, child," said Mrs. Thompson; "hold your tongue. I don'tknow what can have put such stuff into your head.""But he does, mamma," said Mimmy, who rarely allowed her mother toput her down.Mrs. Thompson made no further answer, but again sat with her headresting on her hand. She also, if the truth must be told, wasthinking of M. Lacordaire and his fondness for herself. He hadsqueezed her hand and he had looked into her face. However much itmay have been nonsense on Mimmy's part to talk of such things, theyhad not the less absolutely occurred. Was it really the fact thatM. Lacordaire was in love with her?And if so, what return should she, or could she make to such apassion? He had looked at her yesterday, and squeezed her hand to-day. Might it not be probable that he would advance a step furtherto-morrow? If so, what answer would she be prepared to make to him?She did not think--so she said to herself--that she had anyparticular objection to marrying again. Thompson had been dead nowfor four years, and neither his friends, nor her friends, nor theworld could say she was wrong on that score. And as to marrying aFrenchman, she could not say she felt within herself any absoluterepugnance to doing that. Of her own country, speaking of Englandas such, she, in truth, knew but little--and perhaps cared less.She had gone to India almost as a child, and England had not beenspecially kind to her on her return. She had found it dull andcold, stiff, and almost ill-natured. People there had not smiled onher and been civil as M. Lacordaire had done. As far as England andEnglishmen were considered she saw no reason why she should notmarry M. Lacordaire.And then, as regarded the man; could she in her heart say that shewas prepared to love, honour, and obey M. Lacordaire? She certainlyknew no reason why she should not do so. She did not know much ofhim, she said to herself at first; but she knew as much, she saidafterwards, as she had known personally of Mr. Thompson before theirmarriage. She had known, to be sure, what was Mr. Thompson'sprofession and what his income; or, if not, some one else had knownfor her. As to both these points she was quite in the dark asregarded M. Lacordaire.Personally, she certainly did like him, as she said to herself morethan once. There was a courtesy and softness about him which werevery gratifying to her; and then, his appearance was so much in hisfavour. He was not very young, she acknowledged; but neither wasshe young herself. It was quite evident that he was fond of herchildren, and that he would be a kind and affectionate father tothem. Indeed, there was kindness in all that he did.Should she marry again,--and she put it to herself quitehypothetically,--she would look for no romance in such a secondmarriage. She would be content to sit down in a quiet home, to thetame dull realities of life, satisfied with the companionship of aman who would be kind and gentle to her, and whom she could respectand esteem. Where could she find a companion with whom this couldbe more safely anticipated than with M. Lacordaire?And so she argued the question within her own breast in a manner notunfriendly to that gentleman. That there was as yet one greathindrance she at once saw; but then that might be remedied by aword. She did not know what was his income or his profession. Thechambermaid, whom she had interrogated, had told her that he was a"marchand." To merchants, generally, she felt that she had noobjection. The Barings and the Rothschilds were merchants, as wasalso that wonderful man at Bombay, Sir Hommajee Bommajee, who wasworth she did no know how many thousand lacs of rupees.That it would behove her, on her own account and that of herdaughters, to take care of her own little fortune in contracting anysuch connection, that she felt strongly. She would never so commitherself as to put security in that respect out of her power. Butthen she did not think that M. Lacordaire would ever ask her to doso; at any rate, she was determined on this, that there should neverbe any doubt on that matter; and as she firmly resolved on this, sheagain took up her book, and for a minute or two made an attempt toread."Mamma," said Mummy, "will M. Lacordaire go up to the school to seeLilian when you go away from this?""Indeed, I cannot say, my dear. If Lilian is a good girl, perhapshe may do so now and then.""And will he write to you and tell you how she is?""Lilian can write for herself; can she not?""Oh yes; I suppose she can; but I hope M. Lacordaire will write too.We shall come back here some day; shan't we, mamma?""I cannot say, my dear.""I do so hope we shall see M. Lacordaire again. Do you know what Iwas thinking, mamma?""Little girls like you ought not to think," said Mrs. Thompson,walking slowly out of the room to the top of the stairs and backagain; for she had felt the necessity of preventing Mimmy fromdisclosing any more of her thoughts. "And now, my dear, getyourself ready, and we will go up to the school."Mrs. Thompson always dressed herself with care, though not inespecially fine clothes, before she went down to dinner at the tabled'hote; but on this occasion she was more than usually particular.She hardly explained to herself why she did this; but, nevertheless,as she stood before the glass, she did in a certain manner feel thatthe circumstances of her future life might perhaps depend on whatmight be said and done that evening. She had not absolutely decidedwhether or no she would go to the Prince's chateau; but if she didgo -. Well, if she did; what then? She had sense enough, as sheassured herself more than once, to regulate her own conduct withpropriety in any such emergency.During the dinner, M. Lacordaire conversed in his usual manner, butsaid nothing whatever about the visit to Polignac. He was very kindto Mimmy, and very courteous to her mother, but did not appear to beat all more particular than usual. Indeed, it might be a questionwhether he was not less so. As she had entered the room Mrs.Thompson had said to herself that, perhaps, after all, it would bebetter that there should be nothing more thought about it; butbefore the four of five courses were over, she was beginning to feela little disappointed.And now the fruit was on the table, after the consumption of whichit was her practice to retire. It was certainly open to her to askM. Lacordaire to take tea with her that evening, as she had done onformer occasions; but she felt that she must not do this now,considering the immediate circumstances of the case. If any furthersteps were to be taken, they must be taken by him, and not by her;--or else by Mimmy, who, just as her mother was slowly consuming herlast grapes, ran round to the back of M. Lacordaire's chair, andwhispered something into his ear. It may be presumed that Mrs.Thompson did not see the intention of the movement in time to arrestit, for she did nothing till the whispering had been whispered; andthen she rebuked the child, bade her not to be troublesome, and withmore than usual austerity in her voice, desired her to get herselfready to go up stairs to their chamber.As she spoke she herself rose from her chair, and made her finallittle bow to the table, and her other final little bow and smile toM. Lacordaire; but this was certain to all who saw it, that thesmile was not as gracious as usual.As she walked forth, M. Lacordaire rose from his chair--such beinghis constant practice when she left the table; but on this occasionhe accompanied her to the door."And has madame decided," he asked, "whether she will permit me toaccompany her to the chateau?""Well, I really don't know," said Mrs. Thompson."Mees Meemy," continued M. Lacordaire, "is very anxious to see therock, and I may perhaps hope that Mees Lilian would be pleased withsuch a little excursion. As for myself--" and then M. Lacordaireput his hand upon his heart in a manner that seemed to speak moreplainly than he had ever spoken."Well, if the children would really like it, and--as you are so verykind," said Mrs. Thompson; and so the matter was conceded."To-morrow afternoon?" suggested M. Lacordaire. But Mrs. Thompsonfixed on Saturday, thereby showing that she herself was in no hurryfor the expedition."Oh, I am so glad!" said Mimmy, when they had re-entered their ownroom. "Mamma, do let me tell Lilian myself when I go up to theschool to-morrow!"But mamma was in no humour to say much to her child on this subjectat the present moment. She threw herself back on her sofa inperfect silence, and began to reflect whether she would like to signher name in future as Fanny Lacordaire, instead of Fanny Thompson.It certainly seemed as though things were verging towards such anecessity. A marchand! But a marchand of what? She had aninstinctive feeling that the people in the hotel were talking abouther and M. Lacordaire, and was therefore more than ever averse toasking any one a question.As she went up to the school the next afternoon, she walked throughmore of the streets of Le Puy than was necessary, and in everystreet she looked at the names which she saw over the doors of themore respectable houses of business. But she looked in vain. Itmight be that M. Lacordaire was a marchand of so specially high aquality as to be under no necessity to put up his name at all. SirHommajee Bommajee's name did not appear over any door in Bombay;--atleast, she thought not.And then came the Saturday morning. "We shall be ready at two," shesaid, as she left the breakfast-table; "and perhaps you would notmind calling for Lilian on the way."M. Lacordaire would be delighted to call anywhere for anybody onbehalf of Mrs. Thompson; and then, as he got to the door of thesalon, he offered her his hand. He did so with so much Frenchcourtesy that she could not refuse it, and then she felt that hispurpose was more tender than ever it had been. And why not, if thiswas the destiny which Fate had prepared for her?Mrs. Thompson would rather have got into the carriage at any otherspot in Le Puy than at that at which she was forced to do so--thechief entrance, namely, of the Hotel des Ambassadeurs. And whatmade it worse was this, that an appearance of a special fate wasgiven to the occasion. M. Lacordaire was dressed in more than hisSunday best. He had on new yellow kid gloves. His coat, if notnew, was newer than any Mrs. Thompson had yet observed, and waslined with silk up to the very collar. He had on patent leatherboots, which glittered, as Mrs. Thompson thought, much tooconspicuously. And as for his hat, it was quite evident that it wasfresh that morning from the maker's block.In this costume, with his hat in his hand, he stood under the greatgateway of the hotel, ready to hand Mrs. Thompson into the carriage.This would have been nothing if the landlord and landlady had notbeen there also, as well as the man-cook, and the four waiters, andthe fille de chambre. Two or three other pair of eyes Mrs. Thompsonalso saw, as she glanced round, and then Mimmy walked across theyard in her best clothes with a fete-day air about her for which hermother would have liked to have whipped her.But what did it matter? If it was written in the book that sheshould become Madame Lacordaire, of course the world would know thatthere must have been some preparatory love-making. Let them havetheir laugh; a good husband would not be dearly purchased at sotrifling an expense. And so they sallied forth with already halfthe ceremony of a wedding.Mimmy seated herself opposite to her mother, and M. Lacordaire alsosat with his back to the horses, leaving the second place of honourfor Lilian. "Pray make yourself comfortable, M. Lacordaire, anddon't mind her," said Mrs. Thompson. But he was firm in his purposeof civility, perhaps making up his mind that when he should in truthstand in the place of papa to the young lady, then would be his timefor having the back seat in the carnage.Lilian, also in her best frock, came down the school-steps, andthree of the school teachers came with her. It would have added toMrs. Thompson's happiness at that moment if M. Lacordaire would havekept his polished boots out of sight, and put his yellow gloves intohis pocket.And then they started. The road from Le Puy to Polignac is nearlyall up hill; and a very steep hill it is, so that there was plentyof time for conversation. But the girls had it nearly all tothemselves. Mimmy thought that she had never found M. Lacordaire sostupid; and Lilian told her sister on the first safe opportunitythat occurred, that it seemed very much as though they were allgoing to church."And do any of the Polignac people ever live at this place?" askedMrs. Thompson, by way of making conversation; in answer to which M.Lacordaire informed madame that the place was at present only aruin; and then there was again silence till they found themselvesunder the rock, and were informed by the driver that the rest of theascent must be made on foot.The rock now stood abrupt and precipitous above their heads. It waslarger in its circumference and with much larger space on its summitthan those other volcanic rocks in and close to the town; but thenat the same time it was higher from the ground, and quite asinaccessible, except by the single path which led up to the chateau.M. Lacordaire, with conspicuous gallantry, first assisted Mrs.Thompson from the carriage, and then handed down the two youngladies. No lady could have been so difficult to please as tocomplain of him, and yet Mrs. Thompson thought that he was not asagreeable as usual. Those horrid boots and those horrid gloves gavehim such an air of holiday finery that neither could he be at hisease wearing them, nor could she, in seeing them worn.They were soon taken in hand by the poor woman whose privilege itwas to show the ruins. For a little distance they walked up thepath in single file; not that it was too narrow to accommodate two,but M. Lacordaire's courage had not yet been screwed to a pointwhich admitted of his offering his arm to the widow. For in France,it must be remembered, that this means more than it does in someother countries.Mrs. Thompson felt that all this was silly and useless. If theywere not to be dear friends this coming out feting together, thoseboots and gloves and new hat were all very foolish; and if theywere, the sooner they understood each other the better. So Mrs.Thompson, finding that the path was steep and the weather warm,stood still for a while leaning against the wall, with a look ofconsiderable fatigue in her face."Will madame permit me the honour of offering her my arm?" said M.Lacordaire. "The road is so extraordinarily steep for madame toclimb."Mrs. Thompson did permit him the honour, and so they went on tillthey reached the top.The view from the summit was both extensive and grand, but neitherLilian nor Mimmy were much pleased with the place. The eldersister, who had talked over the matter with her school companions,expected a fine castle with turrets, battlements, and romance; andthe other expected a pretty smiling house, such as princes, in hermind, ought to inhabit.Instead of this they found an old turret, with steps so broken thatM. Lacordaire did not care to ascend them, and the ruined walls of amansion, in which nothing was to be seen but the remains of anenormous kitchen chimney."It was the kitchen of the family," said the guide."Oh," said Mrs. Thompson."And this," said the woman, taking them into the next ruinedcompartment, "was the kitchen of monsieur et madame.""What! two kitchens?" exclaimed Lilian, upon which M. Lacordaireexplained that the ancestors of the Prince de Polignac had been verygreat people, and had therefore required culinary performances on agreat scale.And then the woman began to chatter something about an oracle ofApollo. There was, she said, a hole in the rock, from which in pasttimes, perhaps more than a hundred years ago, the oracle used tospeak forth mysterious words."There," she said, pointing to a part of the rock at some distance,"was the hole. And if the ladies would follow her to a littleouthouse which was just beyond, she would show them the huge stonemouth out of which the oracle used to speak."Lilian and Mimmy both declared at once for seeing the oracle, butMrs. Thompson expressed her determination to remain sitting whereshe was upon the turf. So the guide started off with the youngladies; and will it be thought surprising that M. Lacordaire shouldhave remained alone by the side of Mrs. Thompson?It must be now or never, Mrs. Thompson felt; and as regarded M.Lacordaire, he probably entertained some idea of the same kind.Mrs. Thompson's inclinations, though they had never been very strongin the matter, were certainly in favour of the "now." M.Lacordaire's inclinations were stronger. He had fully and firmlymade up his mind in favour of matrimony; but then he was not soabsolutely in favour of the "now." Mrs. Thompson's mind, if onecould have read it, would have shown a great objection to shilly-shallying, as she was accustomed to call it. But M. Lacordaire,were it not for the danger which might thence arise, would have seenno objection to some slight further procrastination. His couragewas beginning, perhaps, to ooze out from his fingers' ends."I declare that those girls have scampered away ever so far," saidMrs. Thompson."Would madame wish that I should call them back?" said M.Lacordaire, innocently."Oh, no, dear children! let them enjoy themselves; it will be apleasure to them to run about the rock, and I suppose they will besafe with that woman?""Oh, yes, quite safe," said M. Lacordaire; and then there wasanother little pause.Mrs. Thompson was sitting on a broken fragment of a stone justoutside the entrance to the old family kitchen, and M. Lacordairewas standing immediately before her. He had in his hand a littlecane with which he sometimes slapped his boots and sometimes pokedabout among the rubbish. His hat was not quite straight on hishead, having a little jaunty twist to one side, with reference towhich, by-the-bye, Mrs. Thompson then resolved that she would make achange, should ever the gentleman become her own property. He stillwore his gloves, and was very smart; but it was clear to see that hewas not at his ease."I hope the heat does not incommode you," he said after a fewmoments' silence. Mrs. Thompson declared that it did not, that sheliked a good deal of heat, and that, on the whole, she was very wellwhere she was. She was afraid, however, that she was detaining M.Lacordaire, who might probably wish to be moving about upon therock. In answer to which M. Lacordaire declared that he never couldbe so happy anywhere as in her close vicinity."You are too good to me," said Mrs. Thompson, almost sighing. "Idon't know what my stay here would have been without your greatkindness.""It is madame that has been kind to me," said M. Lacordaire,pressing the handle of his cane against his heart.There was then another pause, after which Mrs. Thompson said thatthat was all his French politeness; that she knew that she had beenvery troublesome to him, but that she would now soon be gone; andthat then, in her own country, she would never forget his greatgoodness."Ah, madame!" said M. Lacordaire; and, as he said it, much more wasexpressed in his face than in his words. But, then, you can neitheraccept nor reject a gentleman by what he says in his face. Heblushed, too, up to his grizzled hair, and, turning round, walked astep or two away from the widow's seat, and back again.Mrs. Thompson the while sat quite still. The displaced fragment,lying, as it did, near a corner of the building, made not anuncomfortable chair. She had only to be careful that she did notinjure her hat or crush her clothes, and throw in a word here andthere to assist the gentleman, should occasion permit it."Madame!" said M. Lacordaire, on his return from a second littlewalk."Monsieur!" replied Mrs. Thompson, perceiving that M. Lacordairepaused in his speech."Madame," he began again, and then, as he again paused, Mrs.Thompson looked up to him very sweetly; "madame, what I am going tosay will, I am afraid, seem to evince by far too great audacity onmy part."Mrs. Thompson may, perhaps, have thought that, at the presentmoment, audacity was not his fault. She replied, however, that shewas quite sure that monsieur would say nothing that was in any wayunbecoming either for him to speak or for her to hear."Madame, may I have ground to hope that such may be your sentimentsafter I have spoken! Madame"--and now he went down, absolutely onhis knees, on the hard stones; and Mrs. Thompson, looking about intothe distance, almost thought that she saw the top of the guide'scap--"Madame, I have looked forward to this opportunity as one inwhich I may declare for you the greatest passion that I have everyet felt. Madame, with all my heart and soul I love you. Madame, Ioffer to you the homage of my heart, my hand, the happiness of mylife, and all that I possess in this world;" and then, taking herhand gracefully between his gloves, he pressed his lips against thetips of her fingers.If the thing was to be done, this way of doing it was, perhaps, asgood as any other. It was one, at any rate, which left no doubtwhatever as to the gentleman's intentions. Mrs. Thompson, could shehave had her own way, would not have allowed her lover of fifty togo down upon his knees, and would have spared him much of theromance of his declaration. So also would she have spared him hisyellow gloves and his polished boots. But these were a part of thenecessity of the situation, and therefore she wisely took them asmatters to be passed over with indifference. Seeing, however, thatM. Lacordaire still remained on his knees, it was necessary that sheshould take some step toward raising him, especially as her twochildren and the guide would infallibly be upon them before long."M. Lacordaire," she said, "you surprise me greatly; but pray getup.""But will madame vouchsafe to give me some small ground for hope?""The girls will be here directly, M. Lacordaire; pray get up. I cantalk to you much better if you will stand up, or sit down on one ofthese stones."M. Lacordaire did as he was bid; he got up, wiped the knees of hispantaloons with his handkerchief, sat down beside her, and thenpressed the handle of his cane to his heart."You really have so surprised me that I hardly know how to answeryou," said Mrs. Thompson. "Indeed, I cannot bring myself to imaginethat you are in earnest.""Ah, madame, do not be so cruel! How can I have lived with you solong, sat beside you for so many days, without having received yourimage into my heart? I am in earnest! Alas! I fear too much inearnest!" And then he looked at her with all his eyes, and sighedwith all his strength.Mrs. Thompson's prudence told her that it would be well to settlethe matter, in one way or the other, as soon as possible. Longperiods of love-making were fit for younger people than herself andher future possible husband. Her object would be to make himcomfortable if she could, and that he should do the same for her, ifthat also were possible. As for lookings and sighings and pressingsof the hand, she had gone through all that some twenty years sincein India, when Thompson had been young, and she was still in herteens."But, M. Lacordaire, there are so many things to be considered.There! I hear the children coming! Let us walk this way for aminute." And they turned behind a wall which placed them out ofsight, and walked on a few paces till they reached a parapet, whichstood on the uttermost edge of the high rock. Leaning upon thisthey continued their conversation."There are so many things to be considered," said Mrs. Thompsonagain."Yes, of course," said M. Lacordaire. "But my one greatconsideration is this;--that I love madame to distraction.""I am very much flattered; of course, any lady would so feel. But,M. Lacordaire--""Madame, I am all attention. But, if you would deign to make mehappy, say that one word, 'I love you!'" M. Lacordaire, as heuttered these words, did not look, as the saying is, at his best.But Mrs. Thompson forgave him. She knew that elderly gentlemenunder such circumstances do not look at their best."But if I consented to--to--to such an arrangement, I could only doso on seeing that it would be beneficial--or, at any rate, notinjurious--to my children; and that it would offer to ourselves afair promise of future happiness.""Ah, madame; it would be the dearest wish of my heart to be a secondfather to those two young ladies; except, indeed--" and then M.Lacordaire stopped the flow of his speech."In such matters it is so much the best to be explicit at once,"said Mrs. Thompson."Oh, yes; certainly! Nothing can be more wise than madame.""And the happiness of a household depends so much on money.""Madame!""Let me say a word or two, Monsieur Lacordaire. I have enough formyself and my children; and, should I every marry again, I shouldnot, I hope, be felt as a burden by my husband; but it would, ofcourse, be my duty to know what were his circumstances before Iaccepted him. Of yourself, personally, I have seen nothing that Ido not like.""Oh, madame!""But as yet I know nothing of your circumstances."M. Lacordaire, perhaps, did feel that Mrs. Thompson's prudence wasof a strong, masculine description; but he hardly liked her the lesson this account. To give him his due he was not desirous ofmarrying her solely for her money's sake. He also wished for acomfortable home, and proposed to give as much as he got; only hehad been anxious to wrap up the solid cake of this business in acasing of sugar of romance. Mrs. Thompson would not have the sugarbut the cake might not be the worse on that account."No, madame, not as yet; but they shall all be made open and at yourdisposal," said M. Lacordaire; and Mrs. Thompson bowed approvingly."I am in business," continued M. Lacordaire; "and my business givesme eight thousand francs a year.""Four times eight are thirty-two," said Mrs. Thompson to herself;putting the francs into pounds sterling, in the manner that she hadalways found to be the readiest. Well, so far the statement wassatisfactory. An income of three hundred and twenty pounds a yearfrom business, joined to her own, might do very well. She did notin the least suspect M. Lacordaire of being false, and so far thematter sounded well."And what is the business?" she asked, in a tone of voice intendedto be indifferent, but which nevertheless showed that she listenedanxiously for an answer to her question.They were both standing with their arms upon the wall, looking downupon the town of Le Puy; but they had so stood that each could seethe other's countenance as they talked. Mrs. Thompson could nowperceive that M. Lacordaire became red in the face, as he pausedbefore answering her. She was near to him, and seeing his emotiongently touched his arm with her hand. This she did to reassure him,for she saw that he was ashamed of having to declare that he was atradesman. As for herself, she had made up her mind to bear withthis, if she found, as she felt sure she would find, that the tradewas one which would not degrade either him or her. Hitherto,indeed,--in her early days,--she had looked down on trade; but ofwhat benefit had her grand ideas been to her when she had returnedto England? She had tried her hand at English genteel society, andno one had seemed to care for her. Therefore, she touched his armlightly with her fingers that she might encourage him.He paused for a moment, as I have said, and became red; and thenfeeling that he had shown some symptoms of shame--and feeling also,probably, that it was unmanly in him to do so, he shook himselfslightly, raised his head up somewhat more proudly than was hiswont, looked her full in the face with more strength of characterthan she had yet seen him assume; and then, declared his business."Madame," he said, in a very audible, but not in a loud voice,"madame--je suis tailleur." And having so spoken, he turnedslightly from her and looked down over the valley towards Le Puy.There was nothing more said upon the subject as they drove down fromthe rock of Polignac back to the town. Immediately on receiving theannouncement, Mrs. Thompson found that she had no answer to make.She withdrew her hand--and felt at once that she had received ablow. It was not that she was angry with M. Lacordaire for being atailor; nor was she angry with him in that, being a tailor, he hadso addressed her. But she was surprised, disappointed, andaltogether put beyond her ease. She had, at any rate, not expectedthis. She had dreamed of his being a banker; thought that, perhaps,he might have been a wine merchant; but her idea had never gonebelow a jeweller or watchmaker. When those words broke upon herear, "Madame, je suis tailleur," she had felt herself to bespeechless.But the words had not been a minute spoken when Lilian and Mimmy ranup to their mother. "Oh, mamma," said Lilian, "we thought you werelost; we have searched for you all over the chateau.""We have been sitting very quietly here, my dear, looking at theview," said Mrs. Thompson."But, mamma, I do wish you'd see the mouth of the oracle. It is solarge, and so round, and so ugly. I put my arm into it all theway," said Mimmy.But at the present moment her mamma felt no interest in the mouth ofthe oracle; and so they all walked down together to the carriage.And, though the way was steep, Mrs. Thompson managed to pick hersteps without the assistance of an arm; nor did M. Lacordairepresume to offer it.The drive back to town was very silent. Mrs. Thompson did make oneor two attempts at conversation, but they were not effectual. M.Lacordaire could not speak at his ease till this matter was settled,and he already had begun to perceive that his business was againsthim. Why is it that the trade of a tailor should be less honourablethan that of a haberdasher, or even a grocer?They sat next each other at dinner, as usual; and here, as all eyeswere upon them, they both made a great struggle to behave in theiraccustomed way. But even in this they failed. All the world of theHotel des Ambassadeurs knew that M. Lacordaire had gone forth tomake an offer to Mrs. Thompson, and all that world, therefore, wasfull of speculation. But all the world could make nothing of it.M. Lacordaire did look like a rejected man, but Mrs. Thompson didnot look like the woman who had rejected him. That the offer hadbeen made--in that everybody agreed, from the senior habitue of thehouse who always sat at the head of the table, down to the juniorassistant garcon. But as to reading the riddle, there was no accordamong them.When the dessert was done, Mrs. Thompson, as usual, withdrew, and M.Lacordaire, as usual, bowed as he stood behind his own chair. Hedid not, however, attempt to follow her.But when she reached the door she called him. He was at her side ina moment, and then she whispered in his ear -"And I, also--I will be of the same business."When M. Lacordaire regained the table the senior habitue, the juniorgarcon, and all the intermediate ranks of men at the Hotel desAmbassadeurs knew that they might congratulate him.Mrs. Thompson had made a great struggle; but, speaking for myself, Iam inclined to think that she arrived at last at a wise decision.
THE END.* * * * * * * * * * * *
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