Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-01-02
An Artist 8 Honor


six centuries. 1t is that blood, my dea1
master, which will revolt, notwith-
standing us, when it is mixed with
blood that is younger, though possibly
purer. Mon Dieui | would not say the
contrary, which at least is not of the
same essence or of the same azure.
Consequently, it is no more the Gus
tom nowadays than it was before the
Revolution, for noble girl to marry
workingman-a savant, writer, ali
artist. Perhaps one does occasionally
see women of title marry poets Or art
lists, but they are foreign born prin-
cesses. In France such thing is al
most without parallel; but do not sup
pose, my dear Monsieur Fabrice,
that that exclusion is in the least III
eended to wound those who are The
object Of it-nobody in the world ap-
preciates or likes the poets and artists
better than we do. With the greatest
pleasure we take them to ornament
our hotels, and have them for the In
terest and attraction of our salons,
but we do not marry them. Pardon me
you were going to say, were you
not, that we are less careful about
the alliances of our sons, and that we
marry them most willingly to young
ladies not at all or but slightly high
born, provided that they are rich? |
would answer you first that it is not
because we do better; and in the sec
ond place, after the old custom, the
male ennobles "a principle, you will
make good not of, which rests upon u
very just conception of human nature;
for IN the women there is delicacy
of instinct, an ease of assimilation, a
placticity-if explain badly, my dear
Monsieur, recall me-there is, [ say,
in the women, the qualities of flexibil-
ity which bend them easily into agree
ment with any of the conditions of
social life. One can make a very &C
ceptabIe little duchess from the
daughter of a parvenu, but of one who
has himself come out from the com
mon people can make nothing. You
understand only too we'll, my dear
master, that the word parvenu in my
mouth signifies men of money and not
men of talent; for these, on the con
trary, have generally in their natures
something feminine which may class
them more or less among the most
delicate women. For you must not for
get Monsieur Fabr;ce-fOr here l
speak to you more than ever as
true friend-do not forget that in our
long family SUGGESTIONS and selections
that not only has the blood been re-
fined, as I said to you moment ago,
but also the education, the tastes, the
tact, the sayOiT-vivre, all the senses
and all the faculties. From that comes
that superior d stlnction which ell
chants you in MademOiselle. de Sar.
dome, and which will always be to
you a great charm and at the same
time a great uanger. For a nature so
effected and so exquisite is chilled
at a mere nothing, is disguised at
mere shadow. You will have to pay
much attention to that, Monsieur Fa-
brice, there are some details which to
you seem of the veriest insignificance,
which you yourself might never in the
least perceive, and which might seem
even monStrous to Mademoiselle de
Sardonne. For example only de
gression-you invariably call me Mad
anne, the Baroness. Well, be sure that
that singularly displeases Mademoi-
selle de Sardonne, for it is really in
correct to address ladies by their
titles, when one has occasion to speak
to them. That is done only in the
theaters and in the anti-chambers.
There is, my dear sir, crowd of such
little things, which might be like
shoals in your home life, and against
which l would put you on guard il
were not afraid of fatiguing you"
IF you yourself are not fatigued,
you may continue" said the painter,
coldly
But, notwithstanding that invitation,
Nine. de Montauron did not continue.
Though Fabrice preserved his calm
ness, she perhaps understood by the
pallOr of his face that she was wrong
in going thus far, and the truth IS
that she was obliged several times to
recall the face of Beatrice to not cut
short the sitting by cutting the port
trait of his insolent model with his
palette knife. When, a little later, he
told Mile de Sardonne of the inter
view, he did not give her single de
tail The Baroness, he told her simply,
had been as disagreeable as her posi-
ton would permit; but as, at bottom,
she confined herself to telling him
that he was unworthy of her, they
were truly of the same mind,
Nine. de Montauron had no other
end in view than that Of satisfying
her own rancorous hatred. She had
acted like those poisonous flies, whose
almost imperceptible bit leaves in
the organism a deep gnawing trouble,
which is sometimes mortal.
1t is not without embarrassment
nor even without anxiety, that Nile.
de Sardonne went, upon the morning
of the next day, to the house Of Vi
comtesse d,Aymaret, whom she wish,
ed personally to inform Of her en-,
gagement But Nine. d'AymaTet did
not seem to be chilled or even aston
ished, since the day upon which she
saw Beatrice refuse the hand Of the
Marquis de Pierrepont she had been
persuaded from her slightly equiyocal
language and the half-conidences OF
her friend that she bore some love IL
her heart. Upon rejecting upon it she
had seen among the guests at Genets
only Jacques FabTice, whose person,
talents and reputation could justify
the nassion that Nile. de Sardonne