The Wandering Jew — Complete
glorious youth. Her eyes were very large, and of a velvet softness. Now
they glanced, sparkling and shining with comic humor or intelligence
and wit; and now they widened and extended themselves, languishing and
swimming between their double fringes of long crisp eyelashes, of as
deep a black as her finely-drawn and exquisitely arched eyebrows; for,
by a delightful freak of nature, she had black eyebrows and eyelashes to
contrast with the golden red of her hair. Her forehead, small like those
of ancient Grecian statues, formed with the rest of her face a perfect
oval. Her nose, delicately curved, was slightly aquiline; the enamel of
her teeth glistened when the light fell upon them; and her vermeil
mouth voluptuously sensual, seemed to call for sweet kisses, and the
gay smiles and delectations of dainty and delicious pleasure. It is
impossible to behold or to conceive a carriage of the head freer, more
noble, or more elegant than hers; thanks to the great distance which
separated the neck and the ear from their attachment to her outspread
and dimpled shoulders. We have already said that Adrienne was
red-haired; but it was the redness of many of the admirable portraits
of women by Titian and Leonardo da Vinci,--that is to say, molten gold
presents not reflections more delightfully agreeable or more glittering,
than the naturally undulating mass of her very long hair, as soft and
fine as silk, so long, that, when let loose, it reached the floor; in
it, she could wholly envelop herself, like another Venus arising from
the sea. At the present moment, Adrienne's tresses were ravishing to
behold; Georgette, her arms bare, stood behind her mistress, and had
carefully collected into one of her small white hands, those splendid
threads whose naturally ardent brightness was doubled in the sunshine.
When the pretty lady's-maid pulled a comb of ivory into the midst of
the undulating and golden waves of that enormously magnificent skein of
silk, one might have said that a thousand sparks of fire darted forth
and coruscated away from it in all directions. The sunshine, too,
reflected not less golden and fiery rays from numerous clusters of
spiral ringlets, which, divided upon Adrienne's forehead, fell over her
cheeks, and in their elastic flexibility caressed the risings of her
snowy bosom, to whose charming undulations they adapted and applied
themselves. Whilst Georgette, standing, combed the beautiful locks of
her mistress, Hebe, with one knee upon the floor, and having upon
the other the sweet little foot of Miss Cardoville, busied herself in
fitting it with a remarkably small shoe of black satin, and crossed its
slender ties over a silk stocking of a pale yet rosy flesh color, which
imprisoned the smallest and finest ankle in the world. Florine, a little
farther back, presented to her mistress, in a jeweled box, a perfumed
paste, with which Adrienne slightly rubbed her dazzling hands
and outspread fingers, which seemed tinted with carmine to their
extremities. Let us not forget Frisky, who, couched in the lap of
her mistress, opened her great eyes with all her might, and seemed to
observe the different operations of Adrienne's toilette with grave and
reflective attention. A silver bell being sounded from without, Florine,
at a sign from her mistress, went out and presently returned, bearing
a letter upon a small silver-gilt salve. Adrienne, while her women
continued fitting on her shoes, dressing her hair, and arranging her in
her habiliments, took the letter, which was written by the steward of
the estate of Cardoville, and read aloud as follows:
"HONORED MADAME,
"Knowing your goodness of heart and generosity, I venture to address you
with respectful confidence. During twenty years I served the late Count
and Duke of Cardoville, your noble father, I believe I may truly say,
with probity and zeal. The castle is now sold; so that I and my wife, in
our old age, behold ourselves about to be dismissed, and left destitute
of all resources: which, alas! is very hard at our time of life."
"Poor creature!" said Adrienne, interrupting herself in reading: "my
father, certainly, always prided himself upon their devotion to him, and
their probity." She continued:
"There does, indeed, remain to us a means of retaining our place
here; but it would constrain us to be guilty of baseness; and, be the
consequences to us what they may, neither I nor my wife wish to purchase
our bread at such a price."
"Good, very good," said Adrienne, "always the same--dignity even in
poverty--it is the sweet perfume of a flower, not the less sweet because
it has bloomed in a meadow."
"In order to explain to you, honored madame, the unworthy task exacted
from us, it is necessary to inform you, in the first place, that M.
Rodin came here from Paris two days ago."
"Ah! M. Rodin!" said Mademoiselle de Cardoville, interrupting herself
anew; "the secretary of Abbe d'Aigrigny! I am not at all surprised at
him being engaged in a perfidious or black intrigue. But let us see."
"M. Rodin came from Paris to announce to us that the estate was sold,
and that he was sure of being able to obtain our continuance in our
place, if we would assist him in imposing a priest not of good character
upon the new proprietress as her future confessor; and if, the better
to attain this end, we would consent to calumniate another priest,
a deserving and excellent man, much loved and much respected in the
country. Even that is not all. I was required to write twice or thrice
a week to M. Rodin, and to relate to him everything that should occur in
the house. I ought to acknowledge, honored madame, that these infamous
proposals were as much as possible disguised and dissimulated under
sufficiently specious pretexts; but, notwithstanding the aspect which
with more or less skill it was attempted to give to the affair, it was
precisely and substantially what I have now had the honor of stating to
you."
"Corruption, calumny, and false and treacherous impeachment!" said
Adrienne, with disgust: "I cannot think of such wretches without
involuntarily feeling my mind shocked by dismal ideas of black,
venomous, and vile reptiles, of aspects most hideous indeed. How much
more do I love to dwell upon the consoling thought of honest Dupont and
his wife!" Adrienne proceeded:
"Believe me, we hesitated not an instant. We quit Cardoville, which
has been our home for the last twenty years;--but we shall quit it like
honest people, and with the consciousness of our integrity. And now,
honored madame, if, in the brilliant circle in which you move--you,
who are so benevolent and amiable--could find a place for us by your
recommendation, then, with endless gratitude to you, we shall escape
from a position of most cruel embarrassment."
"Surely, surely," said Adrienne, "they shall not in vain appeal to me.
To wrest excellent persons from the grip of M. Rodin, is not only a
duty but a pleasure: for it is at once a righteous and a dangerous
enterprise; and dearly do I love to brave powerful oppressors!" Adrienne
again went on reading:
"After having thus spoken to you of ourselves, honored madame, permit
us to implore your protection for other unfortunates; for it would be
wicked to think only of one's self. Three days ago, two shipwrecks took
place upon our ironbound coast. A few passengers only were saved, and
were conducted hither, where I and my wife gave them all necessary
attentions. All these passengers have departed for Paris, except one,
who still remains, his wounds having hitherto prevented him from leaving
the house, and, indeed, they will constrain him to remain for some days
to come. He is a young East Indian prince, of about twenty years of age,
and he appears to be as amiable and good as he is handsome, which is
not a little to say, though he has a tawny skin, like the rest of his
countrymen, as I understand."
"An Indian prince! twenty years of age! young, amiable, and handsome!"
exclaimed Adrienne, gayly; "this is quite delightful, and not at all
of an ordinary or vulgar nature! Oh! this Indian prince has already
awakened all my sympathies! But what can I do with this Adonis from
the banks of the Ganges, who has come to wreck himself upon the Picardy
coast?"
Adrienne's three women looked at her with much astonishment, though they
were accustomed to the singular eccentricities of her character.
Georgette and Hebe even indulged in discreet and restrained smiles.
Florine, the tall and beautiful pale brown girl, also smiled like her
pretty companions; but it was after a short pause of seeming reflection,
as if she had previously been entirely engrossed in listening to and
recollecting the minutest words of her mistress, who, though powerfully
interested by the situation of the "Adonis from Ganges banks," as she
had called him, continued to read Dupont's letter:
"One of the countrymen of the Indian prince, who has also remained to
attend upon him, has given me to understand that the youthful prince
has lost in the shipwreck all he possessed, and knows not how to get to
Paris, where his speedy presence is required by some affairs of the
very greatest importance. It is not from the prince himself that I have
obtained this information: no; he appears to be too dignified and
proud to proclaim of his fate: but his countryman, more communicative,
confidentially told me what I have stated, adding, that his young
compatriot has already been subjected to great calamities, and that his
father, who was the sovereign of an Indian kingdom, has been killed by
the English, who have also dispossessed his son of his crown."
"This is very singular," said Adrienne, thoughtfully. "These
circumstances recall to my mind that my father often mentioned that one
of our relations was espoused in India by a native monarch; and that
General Simon: (whom they have created a marshal) had entered into his
service." Then interrupting herself to indulge in a smile, she added,
"Gracious! this affair will be quite odd and fantastical! Such things
happen to nobody but me; and then people say that I am the uncommon
creature! But it seems to me that it is not I, but Providence, which, in
truth, sometimes shows itself very eccentric! But let us see if worthy
Dupont gives the name of this handsome prince?"
"We trust, honored madame, that you will pardon our boldness: but we
should have thought ourselves very selfish, if, while stating to you our
own griefs, we had not also informed you that there is with us a brave
and estimable prince involved in so much distress. In fine, lady, trust
to me; I am old; and I have had much experience of men; and it was
only necessary to see the nobleness of expression and the sweetness
of countenance of this young Indian, to enable me to judge that he is
worthy of the interest which I have taken the liberty to request in his
behalf. It would be sufficient to transmit to him a small sum of money
for the purchase of some European clothing; for he has lost all his
Indian vestments in the shipwreck."
"Good heavens! European clothing!" exclaimed Adrienne, gayly. "Poor
young prince! Heaven preserve him from that; and me also! Chance has
sent hither from the heart of India, a mortal so far favored as never
to have worn the abominable European costume--those hideous habits, and
frightful hats, which render the men so ridiculous, so ugly, that in
truth there is not a single good quality to be discovered in them, nor
one spark of what can either captivate or attract! There comes to me at
last a handsome young prince from the East, where the men are clothed
in silk and cashmere. Most assuredly I'll not miss this rare and
unique opportunity of exposing myself to a very serious and formidable
temptation! No, no! not a European dress for me, though poor Dupont