第4章 LOUISE DE CHAULIEU TO RENEE DE MAUCOMBE(3)

The Prince,her husband,is conspicuous by his absence.I like this frank negligence,untinged by hypocrisy--a characteristic touch which sums up her charming personality.Once when my grandmother was seriously ill,her confessor was urgent that the Prince,who was waiting in the drawing-room,should be admitted.

"He can come in with the doctor and his drugs,"was the reply.

The bed has a canopy and well-stuffed back,and the curtains are looped up with fine wide bands.The furniture is of gilded wood,upholstered in the same yellow damask with white flowers which drapes the windows,and which is lined there with a white silk that looks as though it were watered.The panels over the doors have been painted,by what artist I can't say,but they represent one a sunrise,the other a moonlight scene.

The fireplace is a very interesting feature in the room.It is easy to see that life in the last century centered largely round the hearth,where great events were enacted.The copper gilt grate is a marvel of workmanship,and the mantelpiece is most delicately finished;the fire-irons are beautifully chased;the bellows are a perfect gem.The tapestry of the screen comes from the Gobelins and is exquisitely mounted;charming fantastic figures run all over the frame,on the feet,the supporting bar,and the wings;the whole thing is wrought like a fan.

Dearly should I like to know who was the giver of this dainty work of art,which was such a favorite with her.How often have I seen the old lady,her feet upon the bar,reclining in the easy-chair,with her dress half raised in front,toying with the snuff-box,which lay upon the ledge between her box of pastilles and her silk mits.What a coquette she was!to the day of her death she took as much pains with her appearance as though the beautiful portrait had been painted only yesterday,and she were waiting to receive the throng of exquisites from the Court!How the armchair recalls to me the inimitable sweep of her skirts as she sank back in it!

These women of a past generation have carried off with them secrets which are very typical of their age.The Princess had a certain turn of the head,a way of dropping her glance and her remarks,a choice of words,which I look for in vain,even in my mother.There was subtlety in it all,and there was good-nature;the points were made without any affectation.Her talk was at once lengthy and concise;she told a good story,and could put her meaning in three words.Above all,she was extremely free-thinking,and this has undoubtedly had its effect on my way of looking at things.

From seven years old till I was ten,I never left her side;it pleased her to attract me as much as it pleased me to go.This preference was the cause of more than one passage at arms between her and my mother,and nothing intensifies feeling like the icy breath of persecution.

How charming was her greeting,"Here you are,little rogue!"when curiosity had taught me how to glide with stealthy snake-like movements to her room.She felt that I loved her,and this childish affection was welcome as a ray of sunshine in the winter of her life.

I don't know what went on in her rooms at night,but she had many visitors;and when I came on tiptoe in the morning to see if she were awake,I would find the drawing-room furniture disarranged,the card-tables set out,and patches of snuff scattered about.

This drawing-room is furnished in the same style as the bedroom.The chairs and tables are oddly shaped,with claw feet and hollow mouldings.Rich garlands of flowers,beautifully designed and carved,wind over the mirrors and hang down in festoons.On the consoles are fine china vases.The ground colors are scarlet and white.My grandmother was a high-spirited,striking brunette,as might be inferred from her choice of colors.I have found in the drawing-room a writing-table I remember well;the figures on it used to fascinate me;it is plaited in graven silver,and was a present from one of the Genoese Lomellini.Each side of the table represents the occupations of a different season;there are hundreds of figures in each picture,and all in relief.

I remained alone for two hours,while old memories rose before me,one after another,on this spot,hallowed by the death of a woman most remarkable even among the witty and beautiful Court ladies of Louis XV.'s day.

You know how abruptly I was parted from her,at a day's notice,in 1816.

"Go and bid good-bye to your grandmother,"said my mother.

The Princess received me as usual,without any display of feeling,and expressed no surprise at my departure.

"You are going to the convent,dear,"she said,"and will see your aunt there,who is an excellent woman.I shall take care,though,that they don't make a victim of you;you shall be independent,and able to marry whom you please."Six months later she died.Her will had been given into the keeping of the Prince de Talleyrand,the most devoted of all her old friends.He contrived,while paying a visit to Mlle.de Chargeboeuf,to intimate to me,through her,that my grandmother forbade me to take the vows.Ihope,sooner or later,to meet the Prince,and then I shall doubtless learn more from him.

Thus,sweetheart,if I have found no one in flesh and blood to meet me,I have comforted myself with the shade of the dear Princess,and have prepared myself for carrying out one of our pledges,which was,as you know,to keep each other informed of the smallest details in our homes and occupations.It makes such a difference to know where and how the life of one we love is passed.Send me a faithful picture of the veriest trifles around you,omitting nothing,not even the sunset lights among the tall trees.

October 19th.

It was three in the afternoon when I arrived.About half-past five,Rose came and told me that my mother had returned,so I went downstairs to pay my respects to her.