CHAPTER V. THE FAIR AMERICANS
Formerly Paris belonged to the Parisians, and that at no very remoteperiod-thirty or forty years ago. At that epoch the French werethe masters of Paris, as the English are the masters of London, theSpaniards of Madrid, and the Russians of St. Petersburg. Those times areno more. Other countries still have their frontiers; there are nownone to France. Paris has become an immense Babel, a universal andinternational city. Foreigners do not only come to visit Paris; theycome there to live. At the present day we have in Paris a Russiancolony, a Spanish colony, a Levantine colony, an American colony.The foreigners have already conquered from us the greater part of theChamps-Elysees and the Boulevard Malesherbes; they advance, they extendtheir outworks; we retreat, pressed back by the invaders; we are obligedto expatriate ourselves. We have begun to found Parisian colonies inthe plains of Passy, in the plain of Monceau, in quarters which formerlywere not Paris at all, and which are not quite even now. Among theforeign colonies, the richest, the most populous, the most brilliant,is the American colony. There is a moment when an American feels himselfrich enough, a Frenchman never. The American then stops, draws breath,and while still husbanding the capital, no longer spares the income. Heknows how to spend, the Frenchman knows only how to save.
The Frenchman has only one real luxury--his revolutions. Prudently andwisely he reserves himself for them, knowing well that they willcost France dear, but that, at the same time, they will furnish theopportunity for advantageous investments. The Frenchman says to himself:
"Let us hoard! let us hoard! let us hoard! Some of these mornings therewill be a revolution, which will make the 5 per cents. fall 50 or 60francs. I will buy then. Since revolutions are inevitable, let us try atleast to make them profitable."
They are always talking about the people who are ruined by revolutions,but perhaps the number of those enriched by revolutions is stillgreater.
The Americans experience the attraction of Paris very strongly. Thereis no town in the world where it is easier or more agreeable to spenda great dial of money. For many reasons, both of race and origin, thisattraction exercised over Mrs. Scott and Miss Percival a very remarkablepower.
The most French of our colonies is Canada, which is no longer ours.The recollection of their first home has been preserved faithfully andtenderly in the hearts of the emigrants to Montreal and Quebec. SusiePercival had received from her mother an entirely French education, andshe had brought up her sister in the same love of our country. The twosisters felt themselves Frenchwomen; still better, Parisians. As soon asthe avalanche of dollars had descended upon them, the same desire seizedthem both--to come and live in Paris. They demanded France as if it hadbeen their fatherland. Mr. Scott made some opposition.
"If I go away from here," he said, "your incomes will suffer."
"What does that matter?" replied Susie. "We are rich--too rich. Do letus go. We shall be so happy, so delighted!"
Mr. Scott allowed himself to be persuaded, and, at the beginning ofJanuary, 1880, Susie wrote the following letter to her friend, KatieNorton, who had lived in Paris for some years:
"Victory! It is decided! Richard has consented. I shall arrive inApril, and become a Frenchwoman again. You offered to undertake all thepreparations for our settlement in Paris. I am horribly presuming--Iaccept! When I arrive in Paris, I should like to be able to enjoy Paris,and not be obliged to lose my first month in running after upholsterers,coach-builders, horse-dealers. I should like, on arriving at the railwaystation, to find awaiting me my carriage, my coachman, my horses. Thatvery day I should like you to dine with me at my home. Hire or buy amansion, engage the servants, choose the horses, the carriages, theliveries. I depend entirely upon you. As long as the liveries are blue,that is the only point. This line is added at the request of Bettina.
"We shall bring only seven persons with us. Richard will have his valet,Bettina and I two ladies' maids; then there are the two governesses forthe children, and, besides these, two boys, Toby and Bobby, who ride toperfection. We should never find in Paris such a perfect pair.
"Everything else, people and things, we shall leave in New York. No, notquite everything; I had for gotten four little ponies, four little gems,black as ink. We have not the heart to leave them; we shall drive themin a phaeton; it is delightful. Both Bettina and I drive four-in-handvery well. Ladies can drive four-in-hand in the Bois very early inthe morning; can't they? Here it is quite possible. Above all, my dearKatie, do not consider money. Be as extravagant as you like, that is allI ask." The same day that Mrs. Norton received this letter witnessed thefailure of a certain Garneville. He was a great speculator who had beenon a false scent. Stocks had fallen just when he had expected a rise.This Garneville had, six weeks before, installed himself in a brand-newhouse, which had no other fault than a too startling magnificence. Mrs.Norton signed an agreement--100,000 francs a year, with the optionof buying house and furniture for 2,000,000 during the first year ofpossession. A famous upholsterer undertook to correct and subdue theexaggerated splendor of a loud and gorgeous luxury. That done, Mrs.Scott's friend had the good fortune to lay her hand on two of thoseeminent artists without whom the routine of a great house can neither beestablished nor carried on. The first, a chef of the first rank, who hadjust left an ancient mansion of the Faubourg St. Germain, to his greatregret, for he had aristocratic inclinations.
"Never," said he to Mrs. Norton, "never would I have left the serviceof Madame la Duchesse if she had kept up her establishment on the samefooting as formerly; but Madame la Duchesse has four children--two sonswho have run through a good deal, and two daughters who will soon beof an age to marry; they must have their dowries. Therefore, Madamela Duchesse is obliged to draw in a little, and the house is no longerimportant enough for me."
This distinguished character, of course, made his conditions. Thoughexcessive, they did not alarm Mrs. Norton, who knew that he was a manof the most serious merit; but he, before deciding, asked permission totelegraph to New York. He wished to make certain inquiries. The replywas favorable; he accepted.
The second great artist was a stud-groom of the rarest and highestcapacity, who was just about to retire after having made his fortune.He consented, however, to organize the stables for Mrs. Scott. It wasthoroughly understood that he should have every liberty in purchasingthe horses, that he should wear no livery, that he should choose thecoachmen, the grooms, and everyone connected with the stables; thathe should never have less than fifteen horses in the stables, that nobargain should be made with the coach-builder or saddler without hisintervention, and that he should never mount the box, except early inthe morning, in plain clothes, to give lessons in driving to the ladiesand children, if necessary.
The cook took possession of his stores, and the stud-groom of hisstables. Everything else was only a question of money, and with regardto this Mrs. Norton made full use of her extensive powers. She acted inconformity with the instructions she had received. In the short space oftwo months she performed prodigies, and that is how, when, on the 15thof April, 1880, Mr. Scott, Susie, and Bettina alighted from the mailtrain from Havre, at half-past four in the afternoon, they found Mrs.Norton at the station of St. Lazare, who said:
"Your caleche is there in the yard; behind it is a landau for thechildren; and behind the landau is an omnibus for the servants. Thethree carriages bear your monogram, are driven by your coachman, anddrawn by your horses. Your address is 24 Rue Murillo, and here is themenu of your dinner to-night. You invited me two months ago; I accept,and will even take the liberty of bringing a dozen friends with me. Ishall furnish everything, even the guests. But do not be alarmed; youknow them all; they are mutual friends, and this evening we shall beable to judge of the merits of your cook."
The first Parisian who had the honor and pleasure of paying homage tothe beauty of Mrs. Scott and Miss Percival was a little Marmiton fifteenyears old, who stood there in his white clothes, his wicker basket onhis head, at the moment when Mrs. Scott's carriage, e
ntangled in themultitude of vehicles, slowly worked its way out of the station. Thelittle cook stopped short on the pavement, opened wide his eyes, lookedat the two sisters with amazement, and boldly cast full in their facesthe single word:
"Mazette!"
When Madame Recamier saw her first wrinkles, and first gray hairs, shesaid to a friend:
"Ah! my dear, there are no more illusions left for me! From the daywhen I saw that the little chimney-sweeps no longer turned round in thestreet to look at me, I understood that all was over."
The opinion of the confectioners' boys is, in similar cases, of equalvalue with the opinion of the little chimney-sweeps. All was not overfor Susie and Bettina; on the contrary, all was only beginning.
Five minutes later, Mrs. Scott's carriage was ascending the BoulevardHaussmann to the slow and measured trot of a pair of admirable horses.Paris counted two Parisians the more.
The success of Mrs. Scott and Miss Percival was immediate, decisive,like a flash of lightning. The beauties of Paris are not classed andcatalogued like the beauties of London; they do not publish theirportraits in the illustrated papers, or allow their photographs tobe sold at the stationers. However, there is always a little staff,consisting of a score of women, who represent the grace, and charm, andbeauty of Paris, which women, after ten or twelve years' service,pass into the reserve, just like the old generals. Susie and Bettinaimmediately became part of this little staff. It was an affair offour-and-twenty hours--of less than four-and-twenty hours, for allpassed between eight in the morning and midnight, the day after theirarrival in Paris.
Imagine a sort of little 'feerie', in three acts, of which the successincreases from tableau to tableau:
1st. A ride at ten in the morning in the Bois, with the two marvellousgrooms imported from America.
2d. A walk at six o'clock in the Allee des Acacias.
3d. An appearance at the opera at ten in the evening in Mrs. Norton'sbox.
The two novelties were immediately remarked, and appreciated as theydeserved to be, by the thirty or forty persons who constitute a sort ofmysterious tribunal, and who, in the name of all Paris, pass sentencebeyond appeal. These thirty or forty persons have, from time to time,the fancy to declare "delicious" some woman who is manifestly ugly. Thatis enough; she is "delicious" from that moment.
The beauty of the two sisters was unquestionable. In the morning, it wastheir grace, their elegance, their distinction that attracted universaladmiration; in the afternoon, it was declared that their walk had thefreedom and ease of two young goddesses; in the evening, there was butone cry of rapture at the ideal perfection of their shoulders. Fromthat moment, all Paris had for the two sisters the eyes of the littlepastry-cook of the Rue d'Amsterdam; all Paris repeated his 'Mazette',though naturally with the variations and developments imposed by theusages of the world.
Mrs. Scott's drawing-room immediately became the fashion. The habituesof three or four great American houses transferred themselves to theScotts, who had three hundred persons at their first Wednesday. Theircircle increased; there was a little of everything to be found in theirset--Americans, Spaniards, Italians, Hungarians, Russians, and evenParisians.
When she had related her history to the Abbe Constantin, Mrs. Scott hadnot told all--one never does tell all. In a word, she was a coquette.Mr. Scott had the most perfect confidence in his wife, and left herentire liberty. He appeared very little; he was an honorable man, whofelt a vague embarrassment at having made such a marriage, at havingmarried so much money.
Having a taste for business, he had great pleasure in devoting himselfentirely to the administering of the two immense fortunes which were inhis hands, in continually increasing them, and in saying every year tohis wife and sister in-law:
"You are still richer than you were last year!"
Not content with watching with much prudence and ability over theinterests which he had left in America, he launched in France into largespeculations, and was as successful in Paris as he had been in New York.In order to make money, the first thing is to have no need of it.
They made love to Mrs. Scott to an enormous extent; they made love toher in French, in Italian, in English, in Spanish; for she knew thosefour languages, and there is one advantage that foreigners have over ourpoor Parisians, who usually know only their mother tongue, and have notthe resource of international passions.
Naturally, Mrs. Scott did not drive her adorers from her presence. Shehad ten, twenty, thirty at a time.
No one could boast of any preference; to all she opposed the sameamiable, laughing, joyous resistance. It was clear to all that the gameamused her, and that she did not for a moment take it seriously. Mr.Scott never felt a moment's anxiety, and he was perfectly right. More,he enjoyed his wife's successes; he was happy in seeing her happy. Heloved her dearly--a little more than she loved him. She loved him verymuch, and that was all. There is a great difference between dearly andvery much when these two adverbs are placed after the verb to love.
As to Bettina, around her was a maddening whirl, an orgy of adulation.Such fortune! Such beauty! Miss Percival arrived in Paris on the 15th ofApril; a fortnight had not passed before the offers of marriage beganto pour upon her. In the course of that first year, she might, had shewished it, have been married thirty-four times, and to what a variety ofsuitors!
They asked her hand for a young exile, who, under certain circumstances,might be called to ascend a throne--a very small one, it is true, but athrone nevertheless.
They asked her hand for a young duke, who would make a great figure atCourt when France--as was inevitable--should recognize her errors, andbow down before her legitimate masters.
They asked her hand for a young prince, who would have a place on thesteps of the throne when France--as was inevitable--should again knittogether the chain of the Napoleonic traditions.
They asked her hand for a young Republican deputy, who had just made amost brilliant debut in the Chamber, and for whom the future reservedthe most splendid destiny, for the Republic was now established inFrance on the most indestructible basis.
They asked her hand for a young Spaniard of the purest lineage, and shewas given to understand that the 'contrat' would be signed in the palaceof a queen, who does not live far from the Arc de Triomphe. Besides, onecan find her address in the 'Almanach Bottin', for at the present day,there are queens who have their address in Bottin between an attorneyand a druggist; it is only the kings of France who no longer live inFrance.
They asked her hand for the son of a peer of England, and for the son ofa member of the highest Viennese aristocracy; for the son of a Parisianbanker, and for the son of a Russian ambassador; for a Hungarian count,and for an Italian prince; and also for various excellent young men whowere nothing and had nothing--neither name nor fortune; but Bettina hadgranted them a waltz, and, believing themselves irresistible, they hopedthat they had caused a flutter of that little heart.
But up to the present moment nothing had touched that little heart, andthe reply had been the same to all "No! no!" again "No!" always "No!"
Some days after that performance of Aida, the two sisters had a ratherlong conversation on this great, this eternal question of marriage. Acertain name had been pronounced by Mrs. Scott which had provoked on thepart of Miss Percival the most decided and most energetic refusal, andSusie had laughingly said to her sister:
"But, Bettina, you will be obliged to end by marrying."
"Yes, certainly, but I should be so sorry to marry without love. Itseems to me that before I could resolve to do such a thing I must be indanger of dying an old maid, and I am not yet that."
"No, not yet."
"Let us wait, let us wait."
"Let us wait. But among all these lovers whom you have been draggingafter you for the last year, there have been some very nice, veryamiable, and it is really a little strange if none of them--"
"None, my Susie, none, absolutely none. Why should I not tell you thetruth? Is it their fault? Have the
y gone unskilfully to work? Couldthey, in managing better, have found the way to my heart? or is thefault in me? Is it perhaps, that the way to my heart is a steep, rocky,inaccessible way, by which no one will ever pass? Am I a horrid littlecreature, and, cold, and condemned never to love?"
"I do not think so."
"Neither do I, but up to the present time that is my history. No, I havenever felt anything which resembled love. You are laughing, and Ican guess why. You are saying to yourself, 'A little girl like thatpretending to know what love is!' You are right; I do not know, butI have a pretty good idea. To love--is it not to prefer to all in theworld one certain person?"
"Yes; it is really that."
"Is it not never to weary of seeing that person, or of hearing him? Isit not to cease to live when he is not there, and to immediately beginto revive when he reappears?"
"Oh, but this is romantic love."
"Well, that is the love of which I dream, and that is the love whichdoes not come--not at all till now; and yet that person preferred by meto all and everything does exist. Do you know who it is?"
"No, I do not know; I do not know, but I have a little suspicion."
"Yes, it is you, my dearest, and it is perhaps you, naughty sister, whomakes me so insensible and cruel on this point. I love you too much; youfill my heart; you have occupied it entirely; there is no room for anyone else. Prefer any one to you! Love any one more than you! That willnever, never be!"
"Oh, yes, it will."
"Oh, no. Love differently, perhaps, but more--no. He must not count uponthat, this gentleman whom I expect, and who does not arrive."
"Do not be afraid, my Betty, there is room in your heart for all whomyou should love--for your husband, for your children, and that withoutyour old sister losing anything. The heart is very little, but it isalso very large."
Bettina tenderly embraced her sister; then, resting her head coaxinglyon Susie's shoulder, she said:
"If, however, you are tired of keeping me with you, if you are in ahurry to get rid of me, do you know what I will do? I will put the namesof two of these gentlemen in a basket, and draw lots. There are two whoat the last extremity would not be absolutely disagreeable."
"Which two?"
"Guess."
"Prince Romanelli."
"For one! And the other?"
"Monsieur de Montessan."
"Those are the two! It is just that. Those two would be acceptable, butonly acceptable, and that is not enough."
This is why Bettina awaited with extreme impatience the day when sheshould leave Paris, and take up their abode in Longueval. She was alittle tired of so much pleasure, so much success, so many offersof marriage. The whirlpool of Parisian gayety had seized her on herarrival, and would not let her go, not for one hour of halt or rest. Shefelt the need of being given up to herself for a few days, to herselfalone, to consult and question herself at her leisure, in the completesolitude of the country-in a word, to belong to herself again.
Was not Bettina all sprightly and joyous when, on the 14th of June, theytook the train for Longueval? As soon as she was alone in a coupe withher sister:
"Ah!" she cried, "how happy I am! Let us breathe a little, quite alone,you and me, for a few days. The Nortons and Turners do not come till the25th, do they?"
"No, not till the 25th."
"We will pass our lives riding or driving in the woods, in the fields.Ten days of liberty! And during those ten days no more lovers, no morelovers! And all those lovers, with what are they in love, with me or mymoney? That is the mystery, the unfathomable mystery."
The engine whistled; the train put itself slowly into motion. A wildidea entered Bettina's head. She leaned out of the window and cried,accompanying her words with a little wave of the hand:
"Good-by, my lovers, good-by."
Then she threw herself suddenly into a corner of the coupe with a heartyburst of laughter.
"Oh, Susie, Susie!"
"What is the matter?"
"A man with a red flag in his hand; he saw me, and he looked soastonished."
"You are so irrational!"
"Yes, it is true, to have called out of the window like that, but not tobe happy at thinking that we are going to live alone, 'en garcons'."
"Alone! alone! Not exactly that. To begin with, we shall have two peopleto dinner to-night."
"Ah! that is true. But those two people, I shall not be at all sorry tosee them again. Yes, I shall be well pleased to see the old Cure again,but especially the young officer."
"What! especially?"
"Certainly; because what the lawyer from Souvigny told us the other dayis so touching, and what that great artilleryman did when he was quitelittle was so good, so good, that this evening I shall seek for anopportunity of telling him what I think of it, and I shall find one."
Then Bettina, abruptly changing the course of the conversation,continued:
"Did they send the telegram yesterday to Edwards about the ponies?"
"Yes, yesterday before dinner."
"Oh, you will let me drive them up to the house. It will be such funto go through the town, and to drive up at full speed into the court infront of the entrance. Tell me, will you?"
"Yes, certainly, you shall drive the ponies."
"Oh, how nice of you, Susie!"
Edwards was the stud-groom. He had arrived at Longueval three daysbefore. He deigned to come himself--to meet Mrs. Scott and MissPercival. He brought the phaeton drawn by the four black ponies. He waswaiting at the station. The passage of the ponies through the principalstreet of the town had made a sensation. The population rushed out oftheir houses, and asked eagerly:
"What is it? What can it be?"
Some ventured the opinion:
"It is, perhaps, a travelling circus."
But exclamations arose on all sides:
"You did not notice the style of it--the carriage and the harnessshining like gold, and the little horses with their white rosettes oneach side of the head."
The crowd collected around the station, and those who were curiouslearned that they were going to witness the arrival of the new ownersof Longueval. They were slightly disenchanted when the two sistersappeared, very pretty, but in very simple travelling costumes.
These good people had almost expected the apparition of two princessesout of fairy tales, clad in silk and brocade, sparkling with rubies anddiamonds. But they opened wide their eyes when they saw Bettina walkslowly round the four ponies, caressing one after another lightly withher hand, and examining all the details of the team with the air of aconnoisseur.
Having made her inspection, Bettina, without the least hurry, drew offher long Swedish gloves, and replaced them by a pair of dog-skin whichshe took from the pocket of the carriage apron. Then she slipped on tothe box in the place of Edwards, receiving from him the reins and whipwith extreme dexterity, without allowing the already excited horses toperceive that they had changed hands.
Mrs. Scott seated herself beside her sister. The ponies pranced,curveted, and threatened to rear.
"Be very careful, miss," said Edwards; "the ponies are very freshto-day."
"Do not be afraid," replied Bettina. "I know them."
Miss Percival had a hand at once very firm, very light, and very just.She held in the ponies for a few moments, forcing them to keep their ownplaces; then, waving the long thong of her whip round the leaders, shestarted her little team at once, with incomparable skill, and leftthe station with an air of triumph, in the midst of a long murmur ofastonishment and admiration.
The trot of the black ponies rang on the little oval paving-stones ofSouvigny. Bettina held them well together until she had left thetown, but as soon as she saw before her a clear mile and a half ofhighroad-almost on a dead level-she let them gradually increase theirspeed, till they went like the wind.
"Oh! how happy I am, Susie!" cried she; "and we shall trot and gallopall alone on these roads. Susie, would you like to drive? It is such adelight when one can let
them go at full speed. They are so spirited andso gentle. Come, take the reins."
"No; keep them. It is a greater pleasure to me to see you happy."
"Oh, as to that, I am perfectly happy. I do like so much to drivefour-in-hand with plenty of space before me. At Paris, even in themorning, I did not dare to any longer. They looked at me so, it annoyedme. But here--no one! no one! no one!"
At the moment when Bettina, already a little intoxicated withthe bracing air and liberty, gave forth triumphantly these threeexclamations, "No one! no one! no one!" a rider appeared, walking hishorse in the direction of the carriage. It was Paul de Lavardens. Hehad been watching for more than an hour for the pleasure of seeing theAmericans pass.
"You are mistaken," said Susie to Bettina; "there is some one."
"A peasant; they don't count; they won't ask me to marry them."
"It is not a peasant at all. Look!"
Paul de Lavardens, while passing the carriage, made the two sisters ahighly correct bow, from which one at once scented the Parisian.
The ponies were going at such a rate that the meeting was over like aflash of lightning.
Bettina cried:
"Who is that gentleman who has just bowed to us?"
"I had scarcely time to see, but I seemed to recognize him."
"You recognized him?"
"Yes, and I would wager that I have seen him at our house this winter."
"Heavens! if it should be one of the thirty-four! Is all that going tobegin again?"