Wandering Jew - Volume 03

Eugène Sue

Description

pubOne.info present you this new edition. During the preceding scenes which occurred in the Pompadour rotunda, occupied by Miss de Cardoville, other events took place in the residence of the Princess Saint-Dizier. The elegance and sumptuousness of the former dwelling presented a strong contrast to the gloomy interior of the latter, the first floor of which was inhabited by the princess, for the plan of the ground floor rendered it only fit for giving parties; and, for a long time past, Madame de Saint-Dizier had renounced all worldly splendors. The gravity of her domestics, all aged and dressed in black; the profound silence which reigned in her abode, where everything was spoken, if it could be called speaking, in an undertone; and the almost monastic regularity and order of this immense mansion, communicated to everything around the princess a sad and chilling character. A man of the world, who joined great courage to rare independence of spirit, speaking of the princess (to whom Adrienne de Cardoville went, according to her expression, to fight a pitched battle), said of her as follows: "In order to avoid having Madame de Saint-Dizier for an enemy, I, who am neither bashful nor cowardly, have, for the first time in my life, been both a noodle and a coward

Informations

• Publié par: Pub One Info
• Date de parution: 06 novembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782819947653
• Langue: English

Extrait

BOOK III.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
A FEMALE JESUIT.
During the preceding scenes which occurred in thePompadour rotunda, occupied by Miss de Cardoville, other eventstook place in the residence of the Princess Saint-Dizier. Theelegance and sumptuousness of the former dwelling presented astrong contrast to the gloomy interior of the latter, the firstfloor of which was inhabited by the princess, for the plan of theground floor rendered it only fit for giving parties; and, for along time past, Madame de Saint-Dizier had renounced all worldlysplendors. The gravity of her domestics, all aged and dressed inblack; the profound silence which reigned in her abode, whereeverything was spoken, if it could be called speaking, in anundertone; and the almost monastic regularity and order of thisimmense mansion, communicated to everything around the princess asad and chilling character. A man of the world, who joined greatcourage to rare independence of spirit, speaking of the princess(to whom Adrienne de Cardoville went, according to her expression,to fight a pitched battle), said of her as follows: “In order toavoid having Madame de Saint-Dizier for an enemy, I, who am neitherbashful nor cowardly, have, for the first time in my life, beenboth a noodle and a coward. ” This man spoke sincerely. But Madamede Saint-Dizier had not all at once arrived at this high degree ofimportance.
Some words are necessary for the purpose ofexhibiting distinctly some phases in the life of this dangerous andimplacable woman who, by her affiliation with the Order of Jesuits,had acquired an occult and formidable power. For there is somethingeven more menacing than a Jesuit: it is a Jesuits; and, when onehas seen certain circles, it becomes evident that there exist,unhappily, many of those affiliated, who, more or less, uniformlydress (for the lay members of the Order call themselves “Jesuits ofthe short robe”).
Madame de Saint-Dizier, once very beautiful, hadbeen, during the last years of the Empire, and the early years ofthe Restoration, one of the most fashionable women of Paris, of astirring, active, adventurous, and commanding spirit, of coldheart, but lively imagination. She was greatly given to amorousadventures, not from tenderness of heart, but from a passion forintrigue, which she loved as men love play— for the sake of theemotions it excites. Unhappily, such had always been the blindnessor the carelessness of her husband, the Prince of Saint-Dizier(eldest brother of the Count of Rennepont and Duke of Cardoville,father of Adrienne), that during his life he had never said oneword that could make it be thought that he suspected the actions ofhis wife. Attaching herself to Napoleon, to dig a mine under thefeet of the Colossus, that design at least afforded emotionssufficient to gratify the humor of the most insatiable. During sometime, all went well. The princess was beautiful and spirited,dexterous and false, perfidious and seductive. She was surroundedby fanatical adorers, upon whom she played off a kind of ferociouscoquetry, to induce them to run their heads into graveconspiracies. They hoped to resuscitate the Fonder party, andcarried on a very active secret correspondence with someinfluential personages abroad, well known for their hatred againstthe emperor and France. Hence arose her first epistolary relationswith the Marquis d'Aigrigny, then colonel in the Russian serviceand aide-de-camp to General Moreau. But one day all these pettyintrigues were discovered. Many knights of Madame de Saint-Dizierwere sent to Vincennes; but the emperor, who might have punishedher terribly, contented himself with exiling the princess to one ofher estates near Dunkirk.
Upon the Restoration, the persecutions which Madamede Saint-Dizier had suffered for the Good Cause were entered to hercredit, and she acquired even then very considerable influence, inspite of the lightness of her behavior. The Marquis d'Aigrigny,having entered the military service of France, remained there. Hewas handsome, and of fashionable manners and address. He hadcorresponded and conspired with the princess, without knowing her;and these circumstances necessarily led to a close connectionbetween them.
Excessive self-love, a taste for exciting pleasures,aspirations of hatred, pride, and lordliness, a species of evilsympathy, the perfidious attraction of which brings togetherperverse natures without mingling them, had made of the princessand the Marquis accomplices rather than lovers. This connection,based upon selfish and bitter feelings, and upon the support whichtwo characters of this dangerous temper could lend to each otheragainst a world in which their spirit of intrigue, of gallantry,and of contempt had made them many enemies, this connection enduredtill the moment when, after his duel with General Simon, theMarquis entered a religious house, without any one understandingthe cause of his unexpected and sudden resolution.
The princess, having not yet heard the hour of herconversion strike, continued to whirl round the vortex of the worldwith a greedy, jealous, and hateful ardor, for she saw that thelast years of her beauty were dying out.
An estimate of the character of this woman may beformed from the following fact:
Still very agreeable, she wished to close herworldly and volatile career with some brilliant and final triumph,as a great actress knows the proper time to withdraw from the stageso as to leave regrets behind. Desirous of offering up this finalincense to her own vanity, the princess skillfully selected hervictims. She spied out in the world a young couple who idolizedeach other; and, by dint of cunning and address, she succeeded intaking away the lover from his mistress, a charming woman ofeighteen, by whom he was adored. This triumph being achieved,Madame Saint-Dizier retired from the fashionable world in the fullblaze of her exploit. After many long conversations with the AbbeMarquis d'Aigrigny, who had become a renowned preacher, shedeparted suddenly from Paris, and spent two years upon her estatenear Dunkirk, to which she took only one of her female attendants,viz. , Mrs. Grivois.
When the princess afterwards returned to Paris, itwas impossible to recognize the frivolous, intriguing, anddissipated woman she had formerly been. The metamorphosis was ascomplete as it was extraordinary and even startling. Saint-DizierHouse, heretofore open to the banquets and festivals of every kindof pleasure, became gloomily silent and austere. Instead of theworld of elegance and fashion, the princess now received in hermansion only women of ostentatious piety, and men of consequence,who were remarkably exemplary by the extravagant rigor of theirreligious and monarchial principles. Above all, she drew around herseveral noted members of the higher orders of the clergy. She wasappointed patroness of a body of religious females. She had her ownconfessor, chaplin, almoner, and even spiritual director; but thislast performed his functions in partibus. The Marquis-Abbed'Aigrigny continued in reality to be her spiritual guide; and itis almost unnecessary to say that for a long time past their mutualrelations as to flirting had entirely ceased.
This sudden and complete conversion of a gay anddistinguished woman, especially as it was loudly trumpeted forth,struck the greater number of persons with wonder and respect.Others, more discerning, only smiled.
A single anecdote, from amongst a thousand, willsuffice to show the alarming influence and power which the princesshad acquired since her affiliation with the Jesuits. This anecdotewill also exhibit the deep, vindictive, and pitiless character ofthis woman, whom Adrienne de Cardoville had so imprudently madeherself ready to brave.
Amongst the persons who smiled more or less at theconversion of Madame de Saint-Dizier were the young and charmingcouple whom she had so cruelly disunited before she quitted foreverthe scenes of revelry in which she had lived. The young couplebecame more impassioned and devoted to each other than ever; theywere reconciled and married, after the passing storm which hadhurled them asunder; and they indulged in no other vengeanceagainst the author of their temporary infelicity than that ofmildly jesting at the pious conversion of the woman who had donethem so much injury.
Some time after, a terrible fatality overtook theloving pair. The husband, until then blindly unsuspicious, wassuddenly inflamed by anonymous communications. A dreadful ruptureensued, and the young wife perished.
As for the husband, certain vague rumors, far fromdistinct, yet pregnant with secret meanings, perfidiouslycontrived, and a thousand times more detestable than formalaccusations, which can, at least, be met and destroyed, were strewnabout him with so much perseverance, with a skill so diabolical,and by means and ways so very various, that his best friends, bylittle and little, withdrew themselves from him, thus yielding tothe slow, irresistible influence of that incessant whispering andbuzzing, confused as indistinct, amounting to some such results asthis-“Well! you know! ” says one.
“No! ” replies another.
“People say very vile things about him. ”
“Do they? really! What then? ”
“I don't know! Bad reports! Rumors grievouslyaffecting his honor! ”
“The deuce! That's very serious. It accounts for thecoldness with which he is now everywhere received! ”
“I shall avoid him in future! ”
“So will I, ” etc.
Such is the world, that very often nothing more thangroundless surmises are necessary to brand a man whose very,happiness may have incurred envy. So it was with the gentleman ofwhom we speak. The unfortunate man, seeing the void around himextending itself, — feeling (so to speak) the earth crumbling frombeneath his feet, knew not where to find or grasp the impalpableenemy whose blows he felt; for not once had the idea occurred tohim of suspecting the princess, whom he had not seen since hisadventure with her.