This seemed to stagger our friend, who evidently prided himself on knowing every family worth knowing. The Marquis de Gallifet, seeing his chance, hurried to tell the story of the d"Albe family, which the crestfallen Baron drank in with open mouth and swallowed whole. As the Duke d"Albe was there himself, listening attentively and smiling, the story must have been true! The Marquis de Gallifet said, when Noah was ready to depart in the ark he saw a man swimming for dear life toward the boat, waving something in the air. Noah called out to him:
"Don"t ask to be taken in. We can"t carry any more pa.s.sengers, we are already too full."
The man answered, "I don"t want to be taken in; I don"t care for myself; but, pray, save the papers of the family."
The Baron looked very grave, and turning to the Duke asked, in an extremely solemn tone, "Is this really true?"
"Perfectly," answered the Duke, without moving a muscle. "The saying, "Apres moi le deluge," originated in our family; but we say, "Nous d"abord, et _puis_ le deluge!""
"How interesting!" said the Baron.
Then Monsieur Due, not wishing to be outdone, said his family was as old (if not older), having taken the name of Due from the dove [in Swedish "due" means dove] which carried the olive-branch to the ark. By this time the poor Baron, utterly staggered and bewildered in presence of such a concourse of ancient n.o.bility, did not know on which leg to stand. How could he and his family ever hold up their heads again?
We returned to Compiegne by St. Perine, where there was a most enchanting view, and drove straight through a long avenue and entered _La cour d"honneur_. It was almost half-past five when we reached our rooms.
I thought I had had enough of fossils and ruins for one day, from breakfast onward, so when old General Changarnier came to offer me his arm for dinner I said to myself, "This is the climax!"
But, on the contrary (the unexpected always arrives), he was so delightful and genial that my heart was warmed through, which, indeed, it needed, after the ice-chest I had had for _dejeuner_. He did not try to raise me to his level, but simply let himself down to mine, and talked small talk so youthfully that I felt we were about the same age. He was a charming man.
Monsieur de Laferriere arranged a sort of ball for this evening. There was an unusual flutter, for everything was going to be extra fine, and we put on our prettiest dresses. Programmes with dangling pencils were lavished on us, on which regular dances were set down--quadrilles, waltzes, polkas, and lancers.
The usual _cercle_ was curtailed, in view of the ball.
The chamberlains, to facilitate matters, had arranged the boxes of music for the mechanical piano very methodically on a table, so there should be no mistakes or fumbling with the slides.
The ladies were so agitated, fearing they would not get any partners, that they made very transparent efforts to attract the attention of the gentlemen. One would have thought they had never been to a ball in all their lives. The gentlemen, just as agitated, rushed about to secure the ladies, whom they could have had _without_ the rushing on other evenings.
The Empress looked exquisitely beautiful. The Emperor stood in the doorway, smiling at this whirlwind of gaiety and animation. The Prince Imperial danced untiringly with all the ladies.
Flowers were distributed about, and, wonder of wonders! ices were served at intervals, as if it were a real ball. My old general was chivalry itself. He even engaged a partner for the lancers, and skipped about telling everybody he did not know how to dance them, which was unnecessary, as one could see for oneself later.
There are four kinds of people in society:
Those who know the lancers.
Those who don"t know the lancers.
Those who know the lancers and say they don"t.
Those who don"t know the lancers and say they do.
My old and venerable warrior belonged to cla.s.s number two, and really did not know the lancers, but tripped about pleasantly and let others guide him. When we came to the _grande chaine_ he was completely intoxicated with his success. Every eye was on him. Every one was occupied with his doings, and his alone. All the ladies were pulling him first one way and then the other, trying to confuse him by getting him into another set, until he found himself quite at the other end of the room, still being pulled about and twirled in every direction, never knowing where he was or when he was going to stop. At last, utterly exhausted and confused, he stopped short and placed himself in the middle of the ballroom, delighted to be the center of all eyes and to make this effective _finale._ But no one could compare with him when he made his Louis-Quinze reverence; the younger men had to acknowledge that he scored a point there, and he might well be proud of himself. All this made us very gay, and almost boisterous. Never before had the evening finished with such a burst of merriment, and we all retired, agreeing that the ball had been a great success, and that Monsieur de Laferriere could sleep on his laurels as soundly as we intended to sleep on our pillows.
_December 1st._
Count Niewekerke offered me his arm for _dejeuner_ this morning. He is a Dutchman (_Hollandais_ sounds better) by birth, but he lives in Paris. As he is the greatest authority on art there, the Emperor has made him Count and Director of the Galerie du Louvre. He is very handsome, tall, and commanding, and has, besides other enviable qualities, the reputation of being the great lady-killer _par excellence._
As we stood there together the Empress pa.s.sed by us. She held up her finger warningly, saying, "Take care! Beware! He is a very dangerous person, _un vrai mangeur de coeur!"_ "I know, your Majesty," I answered, "and I expect to be brought back on a litter."
She laughed and pa.s.sed on.
Monsieur Niewekerke looked pleasantly conscious and flattered as we walked to the dining-room, and I felt as if I was being led to the altar to be sacrificed like poor little Isaac. His English is very c.o.c.kney, and he got so mixed up with "heart" and "art" that I did not know half the time whether he was talking of the collection of the Louvre Gallery or of his lady victims. He did not hesitate to call my attention to the presence of some of them at the table, which I thought was very kind of him, in case I was unaware of it.
He is as keen about the good things of the table as he is about art; in fact, he is a great epicure. As he thought well of the menu, I will copy it for you:
_Consomme en ta.s.ses._ Oeufs au fromage a l"Italienne.
Pet.i.tes truites.
Cailles au riz.
Cotelettes de veau grillees.
Viande froide, salade.
Brioches a la vanille, fruits, dessert, cafe....
"Well," said the Empress, as she stopped in front of me after _dejeuner_, "are you alive?"
"I am, your Majesty, and, strange to say, my heart is intact."
"Wonderful!" she said, "you are an exception."
We had the choice between going to a _cha.s.se a tir_ (without the Emperor), and a drive to Pierrefonds.
I had enough of the _cha.s.se a tir_ last year, and I still see in my dreams those poor birds fluttering in their death-agony. Anything better than that!
I preferred Pierrefonds, with its gargoyles and its hard, carved chairs.
I was glad Monsieur de Niewekerke went with us, for he was more interesting and did not go into so many details as Viollet-le-Duc.
[Ill.u.s.tration: LA SALLE DES PREUX--CHaTEAU DE PIERREFONDS]
The restoration has progressed very much since the last time we were here, though far from being completed yet. In the huge hall Niewekerke told me the statues about the chimney were portraits of the wives of the _preux chevaliers_ of that time.
I thought the frescos of this hall were very crude in color; but Monsieur de Niewekerke said they were excellent copies of the ancient style of decoration.
The castle is such a magnificent ruin one almost wishes that it was not restored.
I would like to see it in summer, not in this season, when one perishes with cold and longs, in spite of its beauty, to be out of it and in a warmer place.
There was a dense fog on the lake and a mist in the forest when we left, and it was dreadfully damp and cold. The postilions took a shorter cut and carried us through La Breviere and St. Jean aux Bois.
I should think both must be charming in summer; but now--ugh!
What was my delight at the Empress"s tea this afternoon to see Auber, my dear old Auber! He had been invited for dinner, and had come with the artists who are to play to-night. He looked so well and young, in spite of his eighty-three years. Every one admires him and loves him. He is the essence of goodness, talent, and modesty. He is writing a new opera. Fancy writing an opera at eighty-three!
I asked what the name of it was. He answered: ""Le Reve d"Amour." The t.i.tle is too youthful and the composer is too old. I am making a mistake, but what of that? It is my last!"
I said I hoped he would live many more years and write many more operas.
He shook his head, saying, "Non, non, c"est vraiment mon dernier!"