St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-01
French of Theodore de Banville.

'Well, my GEAR niece, Sdiu tne hei-
duis d'Astarac to the Duchess deVlvlan.
''really, then, you do not intend to
marry off your son Pierre?'
"Oh," said the duchess, "be will
marry of his own accord when he gets
ready. A widow, not dependent upon
ANYBODY or anything, asking nothing oil
world of which l am not fond, and
rich besides, as BELTS my name, | wish
Pierre to be as free as a bird, and that
is my only real luxury. AS we do not
care at all about kings, being as noble
as they are, my son has well performed
his duty as a soldier. Now he is en-
gagged in scientific work, the results OF
which, l hope, will do honor to our
country. / ask of him nothing more,
and no matter what daughter-in-law he
may choose for me, shall welcome her
as she should be welcomed, since it is
not for me to choose"
but tell me-" said the marquis, show
would you choose your daughter if you
could?"
oh" said Nine. Paule de Vivian, 81
should be very hard to please, and be-
lieve that my sons ideas are like my
own. In word, should like a young
girl worthy to be a true duchess like
myself, and [ really do not know where
! could find her."
why" said the marquis, "undoubt-
edly in the Faubourg Saint-Germaln.
Eyes, said the duchess, there or
elsewhere. For it must not be forgot
ten, there are monsters to be found
there, like that Clotilde de GraDdlieu,
DOl yit,rr 70
Lucien de Rubempre. Ny son and
are more aristocratic than l can well
imagine. We are aristocratic in every
drop of our blood and to the marrow OF
our bones. A witty artist maintains
that the last nobleman died at Aim
court in 1415. The assertion is some
what excessive, but not so much so as
it may seem. To saw nothing of
the women's lack of virtue, note
simply that our kings have made nobil-
ity a strange kitchen, renewing an eX-
tinct family like the handle and the
blade of Jeannotts knife. And Louis
XIV, with his breveted dukes, began a
decline that has never stopped. In
short, there are manufacturers of no
bility and titles who will sell you at cost
price the blood OF Roland and of Charlie
magne."
But" said the marQis, Ito hear you.
my dear niece, one would think there
were no mobiles left"
Il beg your pardon" said the duchess.
"While the world shall last there will
be ariStocratS Nature, which does not
deceive herself and cannot be deceived,
perpetuateS them where. and as she
likes, paying no attention to impiouS
conventionalities, to the characters that
are so often falSiiied, and to old paper
titles. But that we may never go aStray,
she marks her elect with the decisive
sign that cannot be mistaken. She gives
to all, men and women, heroic beauty,
strength, courage and the appetite for
sacrifice. The absence of selfshness-
that is something that can never he imi-
tated by the man born to be a wretch,
though we'll authenticated witnesses had
seen him at his birth emerge from Jupi-
ter'S thigh"
II.
The Duchess de Vivian was right, for
we should always judge by appearance.
Beauty cannot be perfectly complete
and divine unless it is lighted by soul
burning with charity. and that is a char
aeteristic easily recognizable. Many
things can be initiated, but not gener
osity. and one cannot pretend to give all
that he possesses unless he really does
do it. The grace OF the good works that
one has done and still intends to do is
legibly inscribed upon the face land that
is why beauty is the only title of no
bility that is evident, and that cannot
be cOunterfeited by the caprice of kings.
the levity of women or the effrontery of
forgers. Consequently, the duchess did
not trouble herself about her future
daughter-in-law, persuaded that. deS
tined to become Duchess de Vivian, she
would have the absolute beauty ell
abling her to reign and to charm, and
that, if she should appear in such a
splendor of glory, it would be clearly
seen.
One day the duchess had gone to help
a family of sick old people, who lived
in the Rue st. Martin, very near st.
Nicolas DIES Champs. Having fulfilled
this duty, which she always performed
herself and intrusted to nobody, she en-
tered the old church to say prayer.
When she came out and was about to
get into her carriage, her attention was
compelled by what she saw in window.
1t contained mems and Women'S shoes,
so beautiful in shape, so perfect in
taste and so rarely elegant that it aston
ished one to find such jewels i'll dis
trict inhabited by common people. They
adorned q shop front on the ground floor
of veIy strange house, with promi
nent gable and visible beams, ornament
ed with delicate carvings, and dating
certainly from the middle ages. AS
Nine. de Vivian did not grow weary of
admirng the shoes and slippers, cut
from the most supple skins and richest
Stutfs, which seemed to have been cut
and sewed for princesses by some fairy,
the shoemaker, who had noticed this
attention, came out of his shop and very
humbly, with his cap in his hand. in
vited the duchess to come in and take
closer view of the articles which she
had noticed, and the great lady kindly
consented.
Indeed" said she, once seated. 81
was astoniShed to see such perfect
work, giving evidence of workman's
hand, in these days when there are no
workmen. But, monsieur, who devel-
oped in you taste so unfailing and so
pure, by which, for my part, l fully in
tend to prOlit?
Madam said the shoemaker jesse
lin, "here is my dear wife, Pernette,
who works with me, and in whose pres
ence all toll seems light. You have
deigned to bestow on me praise that
completely satisfies my ambition by
granting me the title of workman, the
only one to which l attach any value. l
learn my trade daily, and shall keep on
learning it until my death. If l know
something about it already it is because
] was workman in my fathers shop.
as my son will be workman in NINE
when he has finished the European tour
which he is making at the present time.
For, madam, since 200 years from father
to son, we have been shoemakers in this
house, and each of us has always tried
to do as good work as his father did,and
better if he could"
But" said the Duchess Paule, "with
this sequence and persistency of ideas,
your fathers and you must have amassed
some wealth."
Eyes, madam" said Josselin, cal
though there have been some very hard
times for the working people, struggles
and bloody battles, which left them
nothing except eyes for weeping. New
ertheless, madam, it is true that we are
u. l..