第59章

I managed,however,to reach the third act without any mishap.The commissary of police was not compelled to interfere,and I did nothing to scandalize the house,wherefore I begin to believe in the influence of that "public and religious morality,"about which the Chamber of Deputies is so anxious,that any one might think there was no morality left in France.I even contrived to gather that a man was in love with two women who failed to return his affection,or else that two women were in love with a man who loved neither of them;the man did not love the Alcalde,or the Alcalde had no love for the man,who was nevertheless a gallant gentleman,and in love with somebody,with himself,perhaps,or with heaven,if the worst came to the worst,for he becomes a monk.And if you want to know any more,you can go to the Panorama-Dramatique.You are hereby given fair warning--you must go once to accustom yourself to those irresistible scarlet stockings with the green clocks,to little feet full of promises,to eyes with a ray of sunlight shining through them,to the subtle charm of a Parisienne disguised as an Andalusian girl,and of an Andalusian masquerading as a Parisienne.You must go a second time to enjoy the play,to shed tears over the love-distracted grandee,and die of laughing at the old Alcalde.The play is twice a success.The author,who writes it,it is said,in collaboration with one of the great poets of the day,was called before the curtain,and appeared with a love-distraught damsel on each arm,and fairly brought down the excited house.The two dancers seemed to have more wit in their legs than the author himself;but when once the fair rivals left the stage,the dialogue seemed witty at once,a triumphant proof of the excellence of the piece.The applause and calls for the author caused the architect some anxiety;but M.de Cursy,the author,being accustomed to volcanic eruptions of the reeling Vesuvius beneath the chandelier,felt no tremor.As for the actresses,they danced the famous bolero of Seville,which once found favor in the sight of a council of reverend fathers,and escaped ecclesiastical censure in spite of its wanton dangerous grace.The bolero in itself would be enough to attract old age while there is any lingering heat of youth in the veins,and out of charity I warn these persons to keep the lenses of their opera-glasses well polished.

While Lucien was writing a column which was to set a new fashion in journalism and reveal a fresh and original gift,Lousteau indited an article of the kind described as moeurs--a sketch of contemporary manners,entitled The Elderly Beau.

"The buck of the Empire,"he wrote,"is invariably long,slender,and well preserved.He wears a corset and the Cross of the Legion of Honor.His name was originally Potelet,or something very like it;but to stand well with the Court,he conferred a du upon himself,and du Potelet he is until another revolution.A baron of the Empire,a man of two ends,as his name (Potelet,a post)implies,he is paying his court to the Faubourg Saint-Germain,after a youth gloriously and usefully spent as the agreeable trainbearer of a sister of the man whom decency forbids me to mention by name.Du Potelet has forgotten that he was once in waiting upon Her Imperial Highness;but he still sings the songs composed for the benefactress who took such a tender interest in his career,"and so forth and so forth.It was a tissue of personalities,silly enough for the most part,such as they used to write in those days.Other papers,and notably the Figaro,have brought the art to a curious perfection since.Lousteau compared the Baron to a heron,and introduced Mme.de Bargeton,to whom he was paying his court,as a cuttlefish bone,a burlesque absurdity which amused readers who knew neither of the personages.A tale of the loves of the Heron,who tried in vain to swallow the Cuttlefish bone,which broke into three pieces when he dropped it,was irresistibly ludicrous.Everybody remembers the sensation which the pleasantry made in the Faubourg Saint-Germain;it was the first of a series of similar articles,and was one of the thousand and one causes which provoked the rigorous press legislation of Charles X.

An hour later,Blondet,Lousteau,and Lucien came back to the drawing-room,where the other guests were chatting.The Duke was there and the Minister,the four women,the three merchants,the manager,and Finot.

A printer's devil,with a paper cap on his head,was waiting even then for copy.

"The men are just going off,if I have nothing to take them,"he said.

"Stay a bit,here are ten francs,and tell them to wait,"said Finot.

"If I give them the money,sir,they would take to tippleography,and good-night to the newspaper.""That boy's common-sense is appalling to me,"remarked Finot;and the Minister was in the middle of a prediction of a brilliant future for the urchin,when the three came in.Blondet read aloud an extremely clever article against the Romantics;Lousteau's paragraph drew laughter,and by the Duc de Rhetore's advice an indirect eulogium of Mme.d'Espard was slipped in,lest the whole Faubourg Saint-Germain should take offence.

"What have YOU written?"asked Finot,turning to Lucien.

And Lucien read,quaking for fear,but the room rang with applause when he finished;the actresses embraced the neophyte;and the two merchants,following suit,half choked the breath out of him.There were tears in du Bruel's eyes as he grasped his critic's hand,and the manager invited him to dinner.

"There are no children nowadays,"said Blondet."Since M.de Chateaubriand called Victor Hugo a 'sublime child,'I can only tell you quite simply that you have spirit and taste,and write like a gentleman.""He is on the newspaper,"said Finot,as he thanked Etienne,and gave him a shrewd glance.

"What jokes have you made?"inquired Lousteau,turning to Blondet and du Bruel.

"Here are du Bruel's,"said Nathan.