"Yes, since some time," said Fleur-de-Marie, casting down her eyes.
"And you come, like me, to see some one in prison?"
"Yes--I came--I came to see some one," answered Fleur-de-Marie, stammering and blushing with shame.
"And you are returning home, far from Paris, without doubt. Dear little Goualeuse, always good, I recognize you there. Do you remember the poor woman to whom you gave your mattress, linen, and the small amount of money you had, which we were about to spend in the country?
for then you were crazy after the country, you little village girl!"
"And you did not like it much, Rigolette. How kind you were, for it was on my account you went."
"And for mine also; for you, who were always a little serious, became so contented, gay, and lively, once in the midst of the fields or woods; if it were only to see you there, it was pleasure to me. But let me look at you again! How this little round cap becomes you! how pretty you look. Decidedly, it was your vocation to wear a peasant"s cap, as it was mine to wear the grisette"s. Now you are according to your wishes, you must be happy, it does not surprise me. When I did not see you any more, I said to myself, "Good little Goualeuse is not made for Paris; she is a real flower of the forest, as the song says, and these flowers cannot live in the capital; the air is not good enough for them. La Goualeuse has got a place with some good people in the country." This is what you have done, is it not?"
"Yes," said Fleur-de-Marie, blushing.
"Only I have a reproach to make you."
"To me?"
"You should have advised me; one does not leave in this way, at least, without sending some word."
"I--I left Paris so quick," said Fleur-de-Marie, more and more confused, "that I could not."
"Oh! I did not wish it; I am too happy to see you again. In truth, you did right to leave Paris, it is so difficult to live here quietly, without reckoning that a poor girl, isolated as we are, might turn to evil without wishing it. When one has n.o.body to advise with, one has so few means of defense; the men make such fine promises; and then, sometimes poverty is so hard. Do you remember little Julie, who was so pretty? and Rosine, the blonde with black eyes?"
"Yes, I recollect them."
"Well! my poor Goualeuse, they have both been deceived, then abandoned, and, finally, from misfortune, to misfortune, they have fallen to be such wretched women as are shut up here."
"Oh!" cried Fleur-de-Marie, who held down her head and became purple with shame.
Rigolette, deceived in the sense of the exclamation of her friend, resumed: "Don"t be as sad as me, don"t cry."
"You have sorrows?"
"I? Oh, you know me, a regular Roger Bontemps. I am not changed, but, unfortunately, everybody is not like me; and as others have their troubles, that causes me to have some."
"Always kind!"
"Now just imagine, I came here for a poor girl--a neighbor--a very lamb, who is accused wrongfully, and much to be pitied; she is Louise Morel, daughter of an honest workman who has become crazy from his misfortunes." At the name of Louise Morel, one of the victims of the notary, Mrs. Seraphin shuddered and looked at Rigolette attentively.
The face of the grisette was absolutely unknown to her; nevertheless, from that moment she paid great attention to the conversation.
"Poor thing," replied the songstress, "how happy she must be at your not forgetting her in her trouble."
"This is not all--it is a fatality, just as you met me, I came a great distance--and from another prison--a prison for men."
"You?"
"Oh! yes, I have there another very sad friend. You see my basket"
(and she showed it) "is divided in two; each one has a side; to-day I bring Louise a little linen, and just now I carried something to poor Germain; my prisoner is called Germain. I cannot think of what has just pa.s.sed between us without having a desire to weep; it is foolish--I know it is of no use, but indeed, it is my nature."
"And why do you feel like weeping?"
"Only think, Germain is so unfortunate as to be a.s.sociated with all the prison rogues; it quite overcomes him; he has a taste for nothing, eats nothing, and is growing thinner every day. I saw that, and I said to myself, "He is not hungry; I will make him a nice little dainty bit, which he liked so much when he was my neighbor; that will give him an appet.i.te." When I say a dainty bit, just understand me, it was just some nice potatoes, mashed up with a little milk and sugar; I filled a pretty cup with it, and just now I took it to him in prison, telling him that I had prepared this myself, just as I used to do in our happy days--you understand; I thought, perhaps, I could thus induce him to eat, but it caused him to weep; when he saw the cup in which I had so often taken my milk before him, he burst into tears; and, more than the bargain, I finished by doing as he did, although I tried all I could to prevent it; you see my luck. I thought I was doing good--consoling him, and I made him more sad than before."
"Yes, but those tears must have been so sweet to him?"
"All the same, I should have preferred to console him differently; but I speak of him without telling you who he is; he was an old neighbor of mine, the most honest lad in the world, as gentle and timid as a young girl, and whom I loved as a companion, as a brother."
"Oh! then I can imagine how his sorrows are yours."
"But you will see what a good heart he has. When I left him, I asked him, as I always do, for his commissions, saying to him with a laugh, just to raise his spirits a little, that I was his little housekeeper, and that I should be very exact, very active, to keep his custom. Then he, trying to smile, asked me to bring him one of the romances of Walter Scott, which he used to read to me in the evenings when I worked. This romance is called "Ivan--Ivanhoe:" yes, that is the name.
I liked this book so much, that he read it to me twice. He begged me to go to the same library, not to hire, but to buy the volumes we used to read together--yes, to buy them--and you may judge it is a sacrifice for him, for he is as poor as we are."
"Excellent heart!" said Goualeuse, quite affected.
"There! you are as much moved as I was, when he gave me this commission, my good little Goualeuse; but you comprehend, the more I felt a desire to weep, the more I tried to laugh; for to weep twice in a visit made expressly to enliven him was too much. So to drive this gloom away, I recalled to his mind the comic story of a Jew, one of the characters of this romance, which formerly had so much amused us.
But the more I talked, the more he looked at me with the big, big tears in his eyes. It touched my heart. I had restrained my tears for a quarter of an hour; I ended by doing as he did. When I left him he was sobbing; and I said to myself, furious at my stupidity, "If this is the way I cheer and console him, it is hardly worth while to go and see him; I, who promised myself to make him laugh! It is astonishing how I have succeeded!""
At the name of Francois Germain, Mrs. Seraphin redoubled her attention.
"And what has this young man done to be in prison?" asked Fleur-de-Marie.
"He!" cried Rigolette, whose compa.s.sion gave place to indignation; "he is persecuted by an old monster of a notary, who is also the denouncer of Louise."
"Of Louise, whom you came here to see?"
"The same. She was the servant of the notary, and Germain was his cashier. It would be too long a story to tell you of what they unjustly accuse this poor boy. But what is quite sure is, that this bad man is very angry with these two unfortunates, who have never injured him. But patience--patience; every dog has his day."
Rigolette p.r.o.nounced these last words with an expression which made Mrs. Seraphin uneasy. Engaging in the conversation, instead of remaining quiet, she said to Fleur-de-Marie in a wheedling manner, "My dear child, it is late; we must go; we are waited for. I can well comprehend that what your friend says interests you, for I, who do not know this young girl and this young man, am much affected. Is it possible people can be so wicked! And what is the name of this bad notary of whom you speak, please?"
Rigolette had no reason to be suspicious of Mrs. Seraphin; nevertheless, remembering the recommendations of Rudolph, who had enjoined on her the greatest reserve on the subject of the secret protection which he extended to Germain and Louise, she regretted she had suffered herself to say, "Patience--every dog has his day."
"This bad man is one M. Ferrand, madame," answered Rigolette; adding very adroitly, to repair her slight indiscretion, "and it is so much the more wicked in him to persecute Louise and Germain thus, as they have no one to interest themselves in their behalf except me, who can be of no use to them."
"What a pity!" said Mrs. Seraphin. "I had hoped the contrary when you said "But patience." I thought that you reckoned on some protector to sustain these two unfortunates against this wicked notary."
"Alas! no, madame," answered Rigolette, in order to completely lull the suspicions of Mrs. Seraphin. "Who would be generous enough to take the part of these two poor young folks against a rich and powerful man like M. Ferrand?"
"Oh, there are hearts generous enough for that!" cried Fleur-de-Marie, after a moment"s reflection, and with constrained warmth.
"I know some one who makes it a duty to protect those who suffer, and defend them, for he of whom I speak is as charitable to honest people, as he is formidable to the wicked."
Rigolette looked at Goualeuse with astonishment, and was on the point of saying (thinking of Rudolph) that she also knew some one who courageously took the part of the weak against the strong; but, still faithful to the requests of her neighbor, she answered Fleur-de-Marie, "Really! you do know some one generous enough to come to the aid of the poor?"
"Yes. And although I have already implored his pity, his benevolence for other persons, I am sure if he knew the unmerited misfortunes of Louise and M. Germain, he would save them and punish their persecutor; for his justice and goodness are almost as inexhaustible as G.o.d"s."
Mrs. Seraphin looked at her victim with surprise.