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royalty; true to religion and
true to the priesthood, but firmly resolved to bear in silence
the shocks of fate. Such an attitude cannot be considered that of
maintaining opinions, it becomes sheer obstinacy. Action is the essence
of party. Without intelligence, but loyal, miserly as a peasant yet
noble in demeanor, bold in his wishes but discreet in word and
action, turning all things to profit, willing even to be made mayor of
Cinq-Cygne, Monsieur d'Hauteserre was an admirable representative of
those honorable gentlemen on whose brow God Himself has written the
word
mites
,—Frenchmen who burrowed in their country homes and let the
storms of the Revolution pass above their heads; who came once more to
the surface under the Restoration, rich with their hidden savings,
proud of their discreet attachment to the monarchy, and who, after 1830,
recovered their estates.
Monsieur d'Hauteserre's costume, expressive envelope of his distinctive
character, described to the eye both the man and his period. He always
wore one of those nut-colored great-coats with small collars which the
Duc d'Orleans made the fashion after his return from England, and which
were, during the Revolution, a sort of compromise between the hideous
popular garments and the elegant surtouts of the aristocracy. His velvet
waistcoat with flowered stripes, the style of which recalled those of
Robespierre and Saint-Just, showed the upper part of a shirt-frill in
fine plaits. He still wore breeches; but his were of coarse blue cloth,
with burnished steel buckles. His stockings of black spun-silk defined
his deer-like legs, the feet of which were shod in thick shoes, held
in place by gaiters of black cloth. He retained the former fashion of
a muslin cravat in innumerable folds fastened by a gold buckle at the
throat. The worthy man had not intended an act of political eclecticism
in adopting this costume, which combined the styles of peasant,
revolutionist, and aristocrat; he simply and innocently obeyed the
dictates of circumstances.
Madame d'Hauteserre, forty years of age and wasted by emotions, had a
faded face which seemed to be always posing for its portrait. A lace
cap, trimmed with bows of white satin, contributed singularly to give
her a solemn air. She still wore powder, in spite of a white kerchief,
and a gown of puce-colored silk with tight sleeves and full skirt, the
sad last garments of Marie-Antoinette. Her nose was pinched, her chin
sharp, the whole face nearly triangular, the eyes worn-out with weeping;
but she now wore a touch of rouge which brightened their grayness. She
took snuff, and each time that she did so she employed all the pretty
precautions of the fashionable women of her early days; the details of
this snuff-taking constituted a ceremony which could be explained by one
fact—she had very pretty hands.
For the last two years the former tutor of the Simeuse twins, a friend
of the late Abbe d'Hauteserre, named Goujet, Abbe des Minimes, had
taken charge of the parish of Cinq-Cygne out of friendship for the
d'Hauteserres and the young countess. His sister, Mademoiselle Goujet,
who possessed a little income of seven hundred francs, added that sum to
the meagre salary of her brother and kept his house. Neither church nor
parsonage had been sold during the Revolution on account of their small
value. The abbe and his sister lived close to the chateau, for the wall
of the parsonage garden and that of the park were the same in places.
Twice a week the pair dined at the chateau, but they came every evening
to play boston with the d'Hauteserres; for Laurence, unable to play a
game, did not even know one card from another.
The Abbe Goujet, an old man with white hair and a face as white as that
of an old woman, endowed with a kindly smile and a gentle and persuasive
voice, redeemed the insipidity of his rather mincing face by a fine
intellectual brow and a pair of keen eyes. Of medium height, and
very well made, he still wore the old-fashioned
true to the priesthood, but firmly resolved to bear in silence
the shocks of fate. Such an attitude cannot be considered that of
maintaining opinions, it becomes sheer obstinacy. Action is the essence
of party. Without intelligence, but loyal, miserly as a peasant yet
noble in demeanor, bold in his wishes but discreet in word and
action, turning all things to profit, willing even to be made mayor of
Cinq-Cygne, Monsieur d'Hauteserre was an admirable representative of
those honorable gentlemen on whose brow God Himself has written the
word
mites
,—Frenchmen who burrowed in their country homes and let the
storms of the Revolution pass above their heads; who came once more to
the surface under the Restoration, rich with their hidden savings,
proud of their discreet attachment to the monarchy, and who, after 1830,
recovered their estates.
Monsieur d'Hauteserre's costume, expressive envelope of his distinctive
character, described to the eye both the man and his period. He always
wore one of those nut-colored great-coats with small collars which the
Duc d'Orleans made the fashion after his return from England, and which
were, during the Revolution, a sort of compromise between the hideous
popular garments and the elegant surtouts of the aristocracy. His velvet
waistcoat with flowered stripes, the style of which recalled those of
Robespierre and Saint-Just, showed the upper part of a shirt-frill in
fine plaits. He still wore breeches; but his were of coarse blue cloth,
with burnished steel buckles. His stockings of black spun-silk defined
his deer-like legs, the feet of which were shod in thick shoes, held
in place by gaiters of black cloth. He retained the former fashion of
a muslin cravat in innumerable folds fastened by a gold buckle at the
throat. The worthy man had not intended an act of political eclecticism
in adopting this costume, which combined the styles of peasant,
revolutionist, and aristocrat; he simply and innocently obeyed the
dictates of circumstances.
Madame d'Hauteserre, forty years of age and wasted by emotions, had a
faded face which seemed to be always posing for its portrait. A lace
cap, trimmed with bows of white satin, contributed singularly to give
her a solemn air. She still wore powder, in spite of a white kerchief,
and a gown of puce-colored silk with tight sleeves and full skirt, the
sad last garments of Marie-Antoinette. Her nose was pinched, her chin
sharp, the whole face nearly triangular, the eyes worn-out with weeping;
but she now wore a touch of rouge which brightened their grayness. She
took snuff, and each time that she did so she employed all the pretty
precautions of the fashionable women of her early days; the details of
this snuff-taking constituted a ceremony which could be explained by one
fact—she had very pretty hands.
For the last two years the former tutor of the Simeuse twins, a friend
of the late Abbe d'Hauteserre, named Goujet, Abbe des Minimes, had
taken charge of the parish of Cinq-Cygne out of friendship for the
d'Hauteserres and the young countess. His sister, Mademoiselle Goujet,
who possessed a little income of seven hundred francs, added that sum to
the meagre salary of her brother and kept his house. Neither church nor
parsonage had been sold during the Revolution on account of their small
value. The abbe and his sister lived close to the chateau, for the wall
of the parsonage garden and that of the park were the same in places.
Twice a week the pair dined at the chateau, but they came every evening
to play boston with the d'Hauteserres; for Laurence, unable to play a
game, did not even know one card from another.
The Abbe Goujet, an old man with white hair and a face as white as that
of an old woman, endowed with a kindly smile and a gentle and persuasive
voice, redeemed the insipidity of his rather mincing face by a fine
intellectual brow and a pair of keen eyes. Of medium height, and
very well made, he still wore the old-fashioned
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