The False Gems
Monsieur Lantin had met the young girl at a reception at the house of thesecond head of his department, and had fallen head over heels in lovewith her.She was the daughter of a provincial tax collector, who had been deadseveral years. She and her mother came to live in Paris, where thelatter, who made the acquaintance of some of the families in herneighborhood, hoped to find a husband for her daughter.They had very moderate means, and were honorable, gentle, and quiet.The young girl was a perfect type of the virtuous woman in whose handsevery sensible young man dreams of one day intrusting his happiness.Her simple beauty had the charm of angelic modesty, and the imperceptiblesmile which constantly hovered about the lips seemed to be the reflectionof a pure and lovely soul. Her praises resounded on every side. Peoplenever tired of repeating: "Happy the man who wins her love! He could notfind a better wife."Monsieur Lantin, then chief clerk in the Department of the Interior,enjoyed a snug little salary of three thousand five hundred francs, andhe proposed to this model young girl, and was accepted.He was unspeakably happy with her. She governed his household with suchclever economy that they seemed to live in luxury. She lavished the mostdelicate attentions on her husband, coaxed and fondled him; and so greatwas her charm that six years after their marriage, Monsieur Lantindiscovered that he loved his wife even more than during the first days oftheir honeymoon.He found fault with only two of her tastes: Her love for the theatre, andher taste for imitation jewelry. Her friends (the wives of some pettyofficials) frequently procured for her a box at the theatre, often forthe first representations of the new plays; and her husband was obligedto accompany her, whether he wished it or not, to these entertainmentswhich bored him excessively after his day's work at the office.After a time, Monsieur Lantin begged his wife to request some lady of heracquaintance to accompany her, and to bring her home after the theatre.She opposed this arrangement, at first; but, after much persuasion,finally consented, to the infinite delight of her husband.Now, with her love for the theatre, came also the desire for ornaments.Her costumes remained as before, simple, in good taste, and alwaysmodest; but she soon began to adorn her ears with huge rhinestones, whichglittered and sparkled like real diamonds. Around her neck she worestrings of false pearls, on her arms bracelets of imitation gold, andcombs set with glass jewels.Her husband frequently remonstrated with her, saying:"My dear, as you cannot afford to buy real jewelry, you ought to appearadorned with your beauty and modesty alone, which are the rarestornaments of your sex."But she would smile sweetly, and say:"What can I do? I am so fond of jewelry. It is my only weakness. Wecannot change our nature."Then she would wind the pearl necklace round her fingers, make the facetsof the crystal gems sparkle, and say:"Look! are they not lovely? One would swear they were real."Monsieur Lantin would then answer, smilingly:"You have bohemian tastes, my dear."Sometimes, of an evening, when they were enjoying a tete-a-tote by thefireside, she would place on the tea table the morocco leather boxcontaining the "trash," as Monsieur Lantin called it. She would examinethe false gems with a passionate attention, as though they imparted somedeep and secret joy; and she often persisted in passing a necklace aroundher husband's neck, and, laughing heartily, would exclaim: "How droll youlook!" Then she would throw herself into his arms, and kiss himaffectionately.One evening, in winter, she had been to the opera, and returned homechilled through and through. The next morning she coughed, and eightdays later she died of inflammation of the lungs.Monsieur Lantin's despair was so great that his hair became white in onemonth. He wept unceasingly; his heart was broken as he remembered hersmile, her voice, every charm of his dead wife.Time did not assuage his grief. Often, during office hours, while hiscolleagues were discussing the topics of the day, his eyes would suddenlyfill with tears, and he would give vent to his grief in heartrendingsobs. Everything in his wife's room remained as it was during herlifetime; all her furniture, even her clothing, being left as it was onthe day of her death. Here he was wont to seclude himself daily andthink of her who had been his treasure-the joy of his existence.But life soon became a struggle. His income, which, in the hands of hiswife, covered all household expenses, was now no longer sufficient forhis own immediate wants; and he wondered how she could have managed tobuy such excellent wine and the rare delicacies which he could no longerprocure with his modest resources.He incurred some debts, and was soon reduced to absolute poverty. Onemorning, finding himself without a cent in his pocket, he resolved tosell something, and immediately the thought occurred to him of disposingof his wife's paste jewels, for he cherished in his heart a sort ofrancor against these "deceptions," which had always irritated him in thepast. The very sight of them spoiled, somewhat, the memory of his lostdarling.To the last days of her life she had continued to make purchases,bringing home new gems almost every evening, and he turned them over sometime before finally deciding to sell the heavy necklace, which she seemedto prefer, and which, he thought, ought to be worth about six or sevenfrancs; for it was of very fine workmanship, though only imitation.He put it in his pocket, and started out in search of what seemed areliable jeweler's shop. At length he found one, and went in, feeling alittle ashamed to expose his misery, and also to offer such a worthlessarticle for sale."Sir," said he to the merchant, "I would like to know what this isworth."The man took the necklace, examined it, called his clerk, and made someremarks in an undertone; he then put the ornament back on the counter,and looked at it from a distance to judge of the effect.Monsieur Lantin, annoyed at all these ceremonies, was on the point ofsaying: "Oh! I know well 'enough it is not worth anything," when thejeweler said: "Sir, that necklace is worth from twelve to fifteenthousand francs; but I could not buy it, unless you can tell me exactlywhere it came from."The widower opened his eyes wide and remained gaping, not comprehendingthe merchant's meaning. Finally he stammered: "You say--are you sure?'The other replied, drily: "You can try elsewhere and see if any one willoffer you more. I consider it worth fifteen thousand at the most. Comeback; here, if you cannot do better."Monsieur Lantin, beside himself with astonishment, took up the necklaceand left the store. He wished time for reflection.Once outside, he felt inclined to laugh, and said to himself: "The fool!Oh, the fool! Had I only taken him at his word! That jeweler cannotdistinguish real diamonds from the imitation article."A few minutes after, he entered another store, in the Rue de la Paix. Assoon as the proprietor glanced at the necklace, he cried out:"Ah, parbleu! I know it well; it was bought here."Monsieur Lantin, greatly disturbed, asked:"How much is it worth?""Well, I sold it for twenty thousand francs. I am willing to take itback for eighteen thousand, when you inform me, according to our legalformality, how it came to be in your possession."This time, Monsieur Lantin was dumfounded. He replied:"But--but--examine it well. Until this moment I was under the impressionthat it was imitation."The jeweler asked:"What is your name, sir?""Lantin--I am in the employ of the Minister of the Interior. I live atnumber sixteen Rue des Martyrs."The merchant looked through his books, found the entry, and said: "Thatnecklace was sent to Madame Lantin's address, sixteen Rue des Martyrs,July 20, 1876."The two men looked into each other's eyes--the widower speechless withastonishment; the jeweler scenting a thief. The latter broke thesilence."Will you leave this necklace here for twenty-four hours?" said he; "Iwill give you a receipt."Monsieur Lantin answered hastily: "Yes, certainly." Then, putting theticket in his pocket, he left the store.He wandered aimlessly through the streets, his mind in a state ofdreadful confusion. He tried to reason, to understand. His wife couldnot afford to purchase such a costly ornament. Certainly not.But, then, it must have been a presenta present, fromwhom? Why was it given her?He stopped, and remained standing in the middle of the street. Ahorrible doubt entered his mind--She? Then, all the other jewels musthave been presents, too! The earth seemed to tremble beneath him--thetree before him to be falling; he threw up his arms, and fell to theground, unconscious. He recovered his senses in a pharmacy, into whichthe passers-by had borne him. He asked to be taken home, and, when hereached the house, he shut himself up in his room, and wept untilnightfall. Finally, overcome with fatigue, he went to bed and fell intoa heavy sleep.The sun awoke him next morning, and he began to dress slowly to go to theoffice. It was hard to work after such shocks. He sent a letter to hisemployer, requesting to be excused. Then he remembered that he had toreturn to the jeweler's. He did not like the idea; but he could notleave the necklace with that man. He dressed and went out.It was a lovely day; a clear, blue sky smiled on the busy city below.Men of leisure were strolling about with their hands in their pockets.Monsieur Lantin, observing them, said to himself: "The rich, indeed, arehappy. With money it is possible to forget even the deepest sorrow. Onecan go where one pleases, and in travel find that distraction which isthe surest cure for grief. Oh if I were only rich!"He perceived that he was hungry, but his pocket was empty. He againremembered the necklace. Eighteen thousand francs! Eighteen thousandfrancs! What a sum!He soon arrived in the Rue de la Paix, opposite the jeweler's. Eighteenthousand francs! Twenty times he resolved to go in, but shame kept himback. He was hungry, however--very hungry--and not a cent in his pocket.He decided quickly, ran across the street, in order not to have time forreflection, and rushed into the store.The proprietor immediately came forward, and politely offered him achair; the clerks glanced at him knowingly."I have made inquiries, Monsieur Lantin," said the jeweler, "and if youare still resolved to dispose of the gems, I am ready to pay you theprice I offered.""Certainly, sir," stammered Monsieur Lantin.Whereupon the proprietor took from a drawer eighteen large bills,counted, and handed them to Monsieur Lantin, who signed a receipt; and,with trembling hand, put the money into his pocket.As he was about to leave the store, he turned toward the merchant, whostill wore the same knowing smile, and lowering his eyes, said:"I have--I have other gems, which came from the same source. Will youbuy them, also?"The merchant bowed: "Certainly, sir."Monsieur Lantin said gravely: "I will bring them to you." An hour later,he returned with the gems.The large diamond earrings were worth twenty thousand francs; thebracelets, thirty-five thousand; the rings, sixteen thousand; a set ofemeralds and sapphires, fourteen thousand; a gold chain with solitairependant, forty thousand--making the sum of one hundred and forty-threethousand francs.The jeweler remarked, jokingly:"There was a person who invested all her savings in precious stones."Monsieur Lantin replied, seriously:"It is only another way of investing one's money."That day he lunched at Voisin's, and drank wine worth twenty francs abottle. Then he hired a carriage and made a tour of the Bois. He gazedat the various turnouts with a kind of disdain, and could hardly refrainfrom crying out to the occupants:"I, too, am rich!--I am worth two hundred thousand francs."Suddenly he thought of his employer. He drove up to the bureau, andentered gaily, saying:"Sir, I have come to resign my position. I have just inherited threehundred thousand francs."He shook hands with his former colleagues, and confided to them some ofhis projects for the future; he then went off to dine at the CafeAnglais.He seated himself beside a gentleman of aristocratic bearing; and, duringthe meal, informed the latter confidentially that he had just inherited afortune of four hundred thousand francs.For the first time in his life, he was not bored at the theatre, andspent the remainder of the night in a gay frolic.Six months afterward, he married again. His second wife was a veryvirtuous woman; but had a violent temper. She caused him much sorrow.
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