Mr. Claghorn's Daughter Part 25

"Do I not a.s.sure you he is an anchorite. You have yourself observed that he drinks no wine."

"A penance, doubtless. Pre Martin is also abstemious."

"As to _ordinaire_. In the presence of a flask of Leoville, I have noted a layman's thirst in _ce bon pre_."

"Do not ridicule Pre Martin, my infant. _Du reste_, it is not wine that I fear in the case of this beautiful Leonarr. Continue to be his guardian angel, my son."

Under this guardians.h.i.+p Leonard looked at Paris, enjoying his free sojourn in a great and brilliant city with hearty, but, on the whole, innocent fervor. The sunny skies, the genial good-humor, the eating and drinking, the frequent music, the lights, the dapper men, the bright-eyed women, the universal alertness--these impart a pleasant tingle to Puritan blood; and, if the novice to these delights be young, rosy, handsome, of exuberant health, and inclined to the pleasures befitting such conditions, he finds Paris grateful to the taste. In this congenial atmosphere Leonard basked in guileless rapture. A drive in the Bois with Natalie and the Marquise, brilliant equipages das.h.i.+ng by, brilliant eyes flas.h.i.+ng as they pa.s.sed, was a rare delight; a stroll on the Boulevard was even more enjoyable, for here were more flas.h.i.+ng eyes and smiling faces, less fleeting, and often coquettishly inviting an answering glance. Clothed in the results of the meditations of de Fleury's tailor, it became Leonard's frequent habit to haunt the Boulevards, indulging in a strut that would have astonished Hampton; and often was he inclined to envy the Marquis that lot which had made his abiding place among these joys. It would have been fine to be a soldier, fine to fight and win glory; to wear boots and spurs and a clanking sword, and to trail the same along the pavement as one to the manner born!

Of course, that was a day-dream, which he laughed at as easily as an older man might have done, though less scornfully. There was no great harm in day-dreams, however foolish. This whole existence had the character of a pleasant dream. Had he not felt it so, he often mentally averred, he would have accepted it more gravely.

"But it will soon be over," he said to Natalie. "It is my first holiday since I was a boy."

"Enjoy it all you can. I am glad that Adolphe has been able to make your stay pleasant."

"Really, a very amiable little fellow. French, you know, and rather lax in his views, I fear; but----"

"His views will not harm you," interrupted Natalie, smiling.

"Certainly not," he replied, a little stiffly. "It would be strange if I could not take care of myself. Meanwhile, M. de Fleury is really of great advantage to me in one respect."

"And that is?"

"I am improving wonderfully in French. That's a good thing, Natalie, a very good thing." He was quite solemn on this point.

"An excellent thing," she replied, somewhat surprised at the gravity with which he treated a matter of no great importance. "I wish, Leonard, that my affairs were concluded. I am sure you are being kept here against your wish."

"Whatever my wish, your affairs ought to come first. Let us be content that, if they do drag, I can employ the time in self-improvement."

Thus, in the praiseworthy pursuit of improvement Leonard spent much of his time. He was by no means neglectful of his wife, whose attendance, with the Marquise, was much in demand in official bureaus, and who encouraged his intimacy with the lieutenant, whom she no longer found unendurable, and whose amiable and forgiving conduct had won her heart.

"They are not rich, you know," she said. "Entertain the little man all you can; the Marquise was very kind to me." An injunction which afforded another reason why it was inc.u.mbent on Leonard to procure the Marquis the distractions that he loved, in so far as purse and principle permitted, and these were found elastic.

Because, as he was forced to admit when arguing with the Marquis, a reasonable elasticity is not only proper, but essential to culture.

"_Mon bon_," observed the lieutenant, "the view you advance is narrow.

The ballet, as a favorite spectacle of the people, should be studied by every student of morals. You, as a preacher----"

Leonard laughed. "I'm not a preacher; I'm an instructor in a college of divinity."

"_Eh bien!_ The greater reason. How shall one teach the good, knowing not the evil? _Du reste_, are they evil, _ces belles jambes_ of Coralie?

They are fine creations, of pure nature; there is no padding."

"You will be my guest, if we go?"

"Since you insist; also to a _pet.i.t souper, a parti carr_, with Aime and Louise. Coralie! _Sapristi_, no! Her maw is insatiable; the little ones are easily pleased."

And so Leonard studied unpadded nature, even going alone a second, and perhaps a third time. As to the _pet.i.t souper_, it had been decorous; and beyond the fact that Mesdemoiselles Aime and Louise were agreeable ladies with excellent appet.i.tes, his knowledge of these damsels did not extend.

Of course, there were pursuits of a different character to engage his attention, and those which occurred under the guidance of the lieutenant were exceptional. There were the usual sights to be seen; galleries, monuments, churches, all to be wondered at, criticised and admired.

Leonard approved generally, though, as to the churches, their tawdry interiors and the character of their embellishments offended his taste, as well as his religious sentiments. If, during these distractions, he was neglectful of the religious instruction which he knew his wife needed, circ.u.mstances were, to some extent, at fault. He could hardly expound doctrinal truths in a picture gallery, much less in a temple of Roman error. And, though not without qualms, he admitted to himself that he had little desire to discuss religion. There was, perhaps, no heinous sin in looking at the leg-gyrations of Mademoiselle Coralie, nor was Leonard the first wandering clergyman to embrace an offered opportunity to study ethics from the standpoint of that rigid moralist, the Marquis de Fleury; nevertheless, such studies had their effect in cooling religious fervor, and fervor is essential to him who would expound truth, with a view to compel conviction.

Finally, as bearing on this question of the doctrinal instruction of his wife, he doubted whether it was worth while. Knowledge of doctrine was no adornment in women; there was Paula, whose pretensions in this regard const.i.tuted almost her only defect. Since Natalie was probably saved, why trouble himself and her with the exposition of mysteries which she would be unable to comprehend, and concerning which the injunction was laid that they be "handled with especial care." If she had heard the call it would be effectual; if she had not been born to salvation, all the doctrine which had been taught since the days of the fathers would not--and here his self-communing stopped. d.a.m.nation, though inevitable, is not an alluring subject of contemplation when it affects one's family.

The complications attendant on Natalie's affairs prolonged the stay in Paris far beyond the period originally contemplated; but French method on one side of the Atlantic, and Mr. Winter on the other, were finally satisfied, after much pa.s.sing to and fro of doc.u.ments. Everybody interested was weary, and consular clerks had come to loathe the names of Natalie, Eugenie, Louise, Susan Beverley de Fleury Claghorn-Claghorn, _ne_ de Fleury-Claghorn. As Leonard said, to be enabled to give the Marquise a receipt in full was a harder job than to negotiate a treaty.

But it was done at last; Natalie had been resolute and Mr. Winter had protested in vain; the Marquise had her discharge and, relieved of many terrors, was duly grateful. "She has been charming, truly considerate,"

she observed to her son. "Alas, Adolphe; it was a great loss."

"There are others," replied the Marquis philosophically.

"Heaven send it so. You must no longer delay speaking seriously to this good Leonarr, who might have influenced his wife to be the ogress desired by the abominable Winter. Urge him to look out for a _partie_ as soon as he arrives in America. I will speak to Natalie. I have heard her mention two demoiselles, Achsah and Tabitha."

"_Ciel!_ The appellations."

"But if the bearers are rich?"

"_Tiens!_ mama. Madame Zho and _la belle_ Paula are in London. I might try there; it is not so far."

"But _ce gros_ Marc is with them. Paula is for him, as you know."

"He does not hurry himself, and truly I believe the little one would not be averse to me."

"Better depend upon Monsieur Leonarr."

And as a result of his mama's advice the lieutenant did, on that afternoon, broach the matter to Leonard, who, at first mystified, ended by roaring with laughter when he grasped the fact that the head of the House of de Fleury was making a provisional proposal for the hand and fortune of either Mademoiselle Tabitha, or Mademoiselle Achsah, as Leonard might advise.

"_Diable!_" exclaimed the gallant youth, when Leonard had explained the cause of his hilarity, "over seventy and rich! What a country where such opportunities are neglected! Decidedly I must make the voyage."

Leonard made no reply; the suggested picture of the n.o.ble Marquis as his guest in Hampton was not precisely alluring.

"And so there is not a single demoiselle among the Claghorns that desires a t.i.tle?"

"Not one."

"Alas!" sighed the Marquis. "I was too magnanimous. You know _la belle_ Paula, of course. Listen, _mon ami_, but let your lips be sealed. _Elle etait folle de moi!_"

"Paula! Crazy for you! You flatter----"

"_Parole d'honneur._ It was in her eyes, in the plaintive cadence of her tones----"

"But----"

"I know--_ce polisson de Marc, toujours Marc_. Ah, the luck of this Marc! He has a mine of gold; he will have the charming Paula. Only you, _mon bon_, have beaten him. After all, it is for Marc and me to mingle our tears."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Leonard sharply. "Why are you and Mark to mingle your tears?"

"For the reason, _mon cher_, that we love to weep," replied the hussar, with an odd glance at Leonard. "Adieu, I have an appointment," and he turned abruptly down a side street, leaving Leonard astonished at his quick retreat.

"Pshaw!" he exclaimed, after a moment. "It's absurd!" Then he pursued his way homeward.