Fabiola : or, The church of the catacombs - Digital Repository Services

i-ially were full cf v
THK POUTUMT AY M Y I
which
e lords
.pi-ire at li dee, 'J'lu 3
-1 only
iow silk i';>
As the baron stood gazing on tin
ii stall of black
Ti IA may abolish nil titles of nobility, they may deprive us
of nil our rights, but they can never turn those old Sanireu
bahiurs in'ui mere worthless rags. Anil it is the same with us.
As long as our race exists, it will be noble by right, and noble
in fact, in spite of revolutions.' I quote the old nobleman's
BUfle they give you an idea of his principles, and
ant for the stern inflexibility he testified later on.
"A little before dinner time Madame de Malpeire sent Mile.
Boinct to request me to come to her room. To my great dis-
appointment, I found her alone.
"'
Good morning, my dear Count,' she said. 'The Baron
ven me a hint of what passed between you this morning.
1 was longing to tell you how charmed I am with the delicacy
of your sentiments. They are worthy of a high-minded gentle-
I approve very much of your wish to begin, in the first
. by winning my daughter's affections.'
4 to do so,' I answered with a sigh.
'
I shall tiy my
' You will not be at
a loss for opportunities of ingratiating yourself,' replied Ma-
THE COUBTSHIP.
1 lower on one side of the parterre, ending with an arbor,
\ sort of trellis painted light green, up which a few creep-
' -re twisting their sickly shoots, could be dignified by that
I hurried into a little wnlk which ran parallel to the
alley, but Mile, de Malpiere was so engrossed by her own
: lits that she did not notice my approach. I saw her go
into the summer-house and seat herself on the bench where she
had left her work-basket. For a few minutes she remained in
;-ive attitude, her head leaning on her hand, her elbow
ig on a little garden table. I did not venture to interrupt
her meditation, but when she took up her embroidery and
D diligently to ply her needle, I joined her in the arbor.
The instant she saw me, Mile, de Malpeire rose as if she meant
'
away. I hastened to say Madame la Baroune gave me
to come and look for you, mademoiselle. Will you allow
i lie to oifer you my hand to escort you back to the drawing*
room?'
' '
She 1 lowed in a way that did not imply
either consent or
refusal, and continued to keep her eyes bent down on her work.
I f*lt too much agitated to begin the conversation, and remain-
i rut, which must have seemed to her extraordinary. In
order to relieve my embarrassment, I took up and held in my
hand one end of the long strip of blue silk which she was orna-
niiYiting with silver and gold lace. The taste and execution of
i.iece of embroidery waa very questionable, but
1 kept gazing upon it as if it had been a chef d'ceuvrc worthy
he most profound admiration. After having carefully
details, I replaced it in a very respectful manner on
the table before Mile, de Malpeire, and asked her for whom
'
she intended Ibis work of her hands. For him who shall win
it,' si spreading out the piece of silk on her knees, in
to judge of the effect of a bit of edging she had been
dery.
'
Is there, then, going to be a tour-
it?' I said, witli a smile; 'because in that case,
inly cuter the lists, ami dispute ,
ilie prize you p .1 ward tile i-umjueror. '
nil-' she auswc red, with a hali-umu.se.d look, 'lum sure yo.;
'No,
i by
'AVliy not, mad 1,
'
I would willingly
run the risk of lii, my i. but
which
.al worn.' She
turning
her head away with a look of nnv 'Do tell -mi-,' [
urged, 'what would be the way to win so inestimable a prize."
'The way would be,' she answered, 'to ovi-renm" a crowd of
This was said with a smile bordering on a sneer.
competitors. '
'I shall carry it off,' I exclaimed.
she said again, smiling, '
' You will do no such thing,"
you will not even try to do so.'
' What can prevent me?' I asked. She replied 'Next Sunday
is the fete of the village. All the young men will tako
part in the games. In the afternoon they wrestle on the green,
and the strongest and most active of the lot will receive this
scarf. So you see that I was right when I said that you would
not even wish to compete for it. '
" I was weak enough to feel vexed with this explanation,
and I instantly replied. 'And BO, then, mademoiselle, the
work of your hands is to figure by the side of the pewter dish
your father was mentioning yesterday. Allow me to say that
this is doing too great an honor in my opinion to that publichouse
trophy.' She seemed more deeply wounded by these
words than I had expected. The color rose in her face, and
she exclaimed, in a tone of indignation and even' anger, ' You
de Malpeire. 'I would, for instance, advise you to join
my daughter in the parterre, where she is gone to take a walk,
secured for you this little teie-d-tete with her.'
despise, I see, tho people and their amusements. Your pride
disdains the industrious, simjip-hearted men whose labor you
'
live upon. But !
patience, patience
" It was hardly then the time to make my profession of faith
on philosophical and political subjects, so I merely said, 'I
CHAPTER V.
assure you that I neither despise nor disdain anybody, even
the most obscure and humble. I mvist, however, admit that I
have sympathies and repugnances which result from education. '
"
Mademoiselle de Malpeire was 'From your prejudices," she subjoined in a low voice. I did
walking slowly under the
not choose to take exception to this phrase, which might have
led to an argument,
of what used to be called a pleached alley, a sort of long
if at
and I contented myself with answering, '
I
own that I am exclusively attached to the society in which I
have always lived, and I am convinced that you will share that
feeling when yoti have once taken your place in it, ai
the most lovely, the most admired, the respected of its
bers." She shook her head, and in an almost audible voioe
uttered the word '
Never. ' ' '
'
What ! I exclaimed, have yon
not the least desire to become acquainted with that refini
intellectual world which your education must have given you
already some idea of ? Would you not like to leave for a while
your solitary home, and visit that great city of Paris yon have
often heard of?" 'No, sir, "she replied; 'it would give me,
on the contrary, the greatest pain to leave our poor mom
I dread everything that could lead to my going away from
here."
" I was not altogether displeased with this reply, for it was
evident that if Mile, de Malpeire persisted in her resolution
never to leave the old fortress where she had been born, I had
every chance of becoming her husband, if only from the lack
of any other possible suitor. I also saw storms in the future
likely
to obscure the calm and brilliant existence which I
should otherwise have planned for her elsewhere; and tli
of living in retirement with so charming a companion in this
remote comer of the world was by no means distasteful to me.
'You may be right,' I said, after a short silence.
'
It is perhaps
true wisdom to prefer the peace and tranquillity yon en-
joy here to any other mode of existence Everywhere else your
life might be disturbed by events against which no human foresight
could secure you. If the Revolution does not stop, who
knows what will be the fate of that brilliant, refined, fashion-
able society I was speaking of just now ? It would be far bet-
ter to live in the most profound seclusion than to witness the
decay and destruction of that old French society to
new riyimt': has already dealt such terrible blows.
which tho
Its ranks
are already thinning; the nobility emigrates or withdraws into
the provinces,
f should probably find in Paris many xali.inx
shut up, n::
cumstauces,
raiic houses deserted. Under these ir-
1 could ke up my mind to give up the
world, and lead tho life of a simple country gentleman.'