"A saint of my own making, madame. He was my uncle, and, though I am not a pope, I have ventured to canonise this admirable man as a reward for his long martyrdom and for the miracles he has wrought since his death."
"His long martyrdom! The miracles he wrought after his death!" Madame Zomaloff repeated, wonderingly. "You are jesting, monsieur, are you not?"
"Far from it, madame. My uncle imposed the severest privations upon himself during his life, for he was a confirmed miser. That was his martyrdom. I inherited his wealth; so the artistic achievements you so much admire really owe their origin indirectly to him. These are the miracles to which I alluded."
Madame Zomaloff, more and more impressed by Saint-Herem"s originality, was silent for a moment, but M. de Riancourt, who had been standing a little distance off, now approached Florestan, and said:
"There is a question I have been wanting to ask you ever since our arrival, my dear Saint-Herem. Who are these people? I have recognised three or four great painters and a celebrated architect among them, but who are the others? The princess and I have been trying in vain to solve the mystery."
"As M. Riancourt has ventured to ask this rather indiscreet question, I must confess that I share his curiosity, monsieur," added Madame Zomaloff.
"You have doubtless noticed, madame, that most of the persons I have taken such pleasure in welcoming this evening do not belong to the fashionable world."
"That is true."
"Still, you were much pleased just now, were you not, madame, to meet the great artist whose work you so greatly admired?"
"Yes, monsieur; I told you how much pleasure the opportunity to meet him afforded me."
"You must consequently approve, I think, of my having extended an invitation to him as well as to a number of his colleagues."
"It seems to me that such an invitation was almost obligatory upon you, monsieur."
"Ah, well, madame, I feel that it was likewise obligatory upon me to extend the same invitation to all who had a.s.sisted in any way in the construction of this house, from the famous artists to the humblest mechanic, so they are all here with their families enjoying the beauties they have created, as they, in my opinion, at least, have an undoubted right to do."
"What!" exclaimed M. de Riancourt, "do you mean to say that you have the carvers, and gilders, and locksmiths, and carpenters, and paper-hangers, and even the masons, here? Why, this pa.s.ses my comprehension."
"Do you know anything about the habits of bees, my dear duke?"
"Not much, I must admit."
"You might consider their habits exceedingly reprehensible, my dear duke, inasmuch as the insolent creatures insist upon occupying the cells they themselves have constructed; and, what is worse, they even a.s.sert their claim to the delicious honey they have acc.u.mulated with so much skill and labour for their winter"s need."
"And what conclusion do you draw from all this?"
"That we drones should give the poor and industrious human bees the innocent satisfaction of enjoying, at least for a day, the gilded cells they have constructed for us,--for us who subsist upon the honey gathered by others."
Madame Zomaloff had dropped Florestan"s arm a few moments before. She now took it again, and walking on a few steps, so as to leave her aunt and the duke a little way behind her, she said to Saint-Herem, with deep earnestness:
"Your idea is charming, monsieur, and I do not wonder at the expression of contentment I notice on the faces of your guests. Yes, the more I think of it, the more just and generous the idea seems to me. After all, as you say, this superb mansion represents the combined labour of artisans of every degree, high and low; hence, in your eyes, this house must be much more than a marvel of good taste and luxury, as the a.s.sociations connected with its construction will always be unspeakably precious to you. That being the case--"
"Go on, madame."
"I cannot understand how--"
"You hesitate, madame. Speak, I beg of you."
"M. de Riancourt has informed you of our intended marriage, monsieur,"
said Madame Zomaloff, with some embarra.s.sment, after a moment"s silence.
"A couple of days ago, while talking with him about the difficulty of securing as large and handsomely appointed house as I desired, M. de Riancourt happened to remember that some one had told him that you might be willing to dispose of the house you had just completed."
"Yes, madame, M. de Riancourt wrote, asking to be allowed to go through the house, and I advised him to wait until this evening, as I intended to give an entertainment, and he would consequently be much better able to judge of the arrangement and appearance of the reception-rooms, but I did not expect to have the honour of receiving you, madame."
"I have ventured to ask you several questions already, monsieur,"
remarked the young woman, with marked hesitation, "and I am going to hazard one more. How, monsieur, can you have the courage or the ingrat.i.tude to think of abandoning this home which you have created with so much interest and love, this home with which so many kind and generous memories are already a.s.sociated?"
"Good Heavens! madame," replied Saint-Herem, with the most cheerful air imaginable, "I am going to sell the house because I am ruined, utterly ruined! This is my last day as a man of wealth, and you must admit, madame, that, thanks to your presence here, the day could not have a happier or more brilliant ending."
CHAPTER XIX.
A CHANGE OF OWNERS.
Florestan de Saint-herem had uttered the words, "I am ruined, utterly ruined," with such unruffled good-humour and cheerfulness that Madame Zomaloff stared at him in amazement, unable to believe her ears; so after a moment, she exclaimed:
"What, monsieur, you are--"
"Ruined, madame, utterly ruined. Five years ago my sainted uncle left me a fortune of nearly or quite five millions. I have spent that and nearly eighteen hundred thousand francs more, but the sale of this house and its contents will pay what I owe and leave me about one hundred thousand francs, upon which I can live in comfort in some quiet retreat. I shall turn shepherd, perhaps. That existence would be such a charming contrast to my past life, when impossibilities and marvellous dreams were changed into realities for me and my friends by the vast wealth of which I had so unexpectedly become the possessor, and when all that was beautiful, elegant, sumptuous, and rare was blended in my dazzling career. Would you believe it, madame, I was famed for my liberality through all Europe? Europe? Why! did not a Chandernagor lapidary send me a sabre, the handle of which was encrusted with precious stones, with the following note: "This scimitar belonged to Tippoo-Sahib; it ought now to belong to M. de Saint-Herem. The price is twenty-five thousand francs, payable at the house of the Rothschilds in Paris." Yes, madame, the rarest and most costly objects of art were sent to me from every part of the world. The finest English horses were in my stables; the most costly wines filled my cellar; the finest cooks quarrelled for the honour of serving me, and the famous Doctor Gasterini--you know him, madame, do you not?"
"Who has not heard of the greatest gourmand in the known world?"
"Ah, well, madame, that famous man declared he dined quite as well at my table as at his own--and he did not speak in equally flattering terms of M. de Talleyrand"s cuisine, I a.s.sure you. Believe me, madame, I have the consoling consciousness of having spent my fortune generously, n.o.bly, and discriminately. I have no cause to reproach myself for a single foolish outlay or unworthy act. It is with a mind filled with delightful memories and a heart full of serenity that I see my wealth take flight."
Saint-Herem"s tone was so earnest, the sincerity of his sentiments and his words were so legibly imprinted upon his frank and handsome face, that Madame Zomaloff, convinced of the truth of what he said, replied:
"Really, monsieur, such a philosophical way of viewing the subject amazes me. To think of renouncing a life like that you have been leading without one word of bitterness!"
"Bitterness! when I have known so many joys. That would be ungrateful, indeed!"
"And you can leave this enchanted palace without one sigh of regret, and that, too, just as you were about to enjoy it?"
"I did not know that the hour of my ruin was so close at hand until my rascally steward showed me the state of my bank account hardly a week ago, so you see I have lost no time. Besides, in leaving this palace which I have taken so much pleasure in creating, I am like a poet who has written the last verse of his poem, like the artist who has just given the last touch to his picture, after which they have the imperishable glory of having achieved a masterpiece to console them. In my case, madame,--excuse my artistic vanity,--this temple of luxury, art, and pleasure will be a n.o.ble monument; so how ungrateful I should be to complain of my lot! And you, madame, will reign here as the divinity of this temple, for you will purchase the house, I am sure. It would suit you so well. Do not let the opportunity to secure it pa.s.s. M.
de Riancourt may or may not have told you, but he knows that Lord Wilmot has made me a handsome offer for it. I should be so sorry to be obliged to sell to him, for he is so ugly, and so is his wife and his five daughters as well. Think what presiding spirits they would be for this splendid temple, which seems somehow to have been built expressly for you. I have one favour to ask, though, madame. That large painting of my uncle is a fine work of art, and though the name and face of Saint-Ramon appear several times in the medallions that adorn the facade, it would be a pleasure to me to think that this worthy uncle of mine would gaze down for ages to come upon the pleasures which he denied himself all his life!"
The conversation between the countess and Saint-Herem was here interrupted by M. de Riancourt. The party had been making a tour of the reception apartments as they talked, and the duke now said to Florestan:
"The house is superb, and everything is in perfect taste, but eighteen hundred thousand francs is entirely too much to ask for it, even including furniture and silver."
[Ill.u.s.tration: _""My star has not deserted me.""_
Original etching by Adrian Marcel.]
"I have no personal interest in the matter, I a.s.sure you, my dear duke,"
replied Florestan, smiling. "The eighteen hundred thousand francs will all go to my creditors, so I must needs be unpleasantly tenacious in regard to price; besides, Lord Wilmot offers me that amount, and is urging me to accept it."