Olga Rudge & Ezra Pound: "What Thou Lovest Well..."

3
Halcyon Days No More
24
1910–1918
Between the Turn of the Century and the Great War
Soon Julia decided it was time to send her daughter to the Paris Conservatoire
to perfect her technique under Maestro León Carambât, first violinist
of the Opéra Comique. She resigned her position at the Delle Sedie
School and, taking the two young brothers with her, signed a lease beginning
September 1910—renewable every two, four, or six years—on a
choice apartment in the Sixteenth Arrondissement.
‘‘Mother always insisted that we live in beautiful places,’’ Olga recalled.
The Rudges were tenants of the prémière étage of 2, rue Chamfort, a
graceful six-story building with iron balustrades designed by the contemporary
architect M. Blanche. A salon with four large windows faced the
quiet courtyard of an Ursuline convent across the way; the spacious dining
room and two bedrooms occupied the rest of the floor, with a maid’s
room above and storage below in the sous-sol. The monthly rent of thirtyeight
hundred francs (plus charges of six hundred francs) included steam
heat, rugs, a lift, and a concierge on duty from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m., amenities
quite rare in pre–World War I Paris. The apartment was furnished with
handsome old English pieces brought over from Hill Road, Julia’s desk
and a lacquered oriental cabinet that held bibelots and jewelry she later