huts the richest stuffs ofIndia. The fine dimity of Gondelore; the handkerchiefs of Pellicate andMussulapatan; the plain, striped, and embroidered muslins of Decca, clearas the day. Those merchants unrolled the gorgeous silks of China, whitesatin damasks, others of grass-green, and bright red; rose-colouredtaffetas, a profusion of satins, pelongs, and gauze of Tonquin, some plain,and some beautifully decorated with flowers; the soft pekins, downy likecloth; white and yellow nankeens, and the calicoes of Madagascar.
"Madame de la Tour wished her daughter to purchase every thing she liked;and Virginia made choice of whatever she believed would be agreeable to hermother, Margaret, and her son. 'This,' said she, 'will serve for furniture,and that will be useful to Mary and Domingo.' In short, the bag of piastreswas emptied before she had considered her own wants; and she was obliged toreceive a share of the presents which she had distributed to the familycircle.
"Paul, penetrated with sorrow at the sight of those gifts of fortune, whichhe felt were the presage of Virginia's departure, came a few days after tomy dwelling. With an air of despondency he said to me, 'My sister is going;they are already making preparations for her voyage. I conjure you to comeand exert your influence over her mother and mine, in order to detain herhere.' I could not refuse the young man's solicitations, although wellconvinced that my representations would be unavailing.
"If Virginia had appeared to me charming when clad in the blue cloth ofBengal, with a red handkerchief tied round her head, how much was herbeauty improved, when decorated with the graceful ornaments worn by theladies of this country! She was dressed in white muslin, lined withrose-coloured taffeta. Her small and elegant shape was displayed toadvantage by her corset, and the lavish profusion of her light tresses werecarelessly blended with her simple head-dress. Her fine blue eyes werefilled with an expression of melancholy: and the struggles of passion, withwhich her heart was agitated, flushed her cheek, and gave her voice a toneof emotion. The contrast between her pensive look and her gay habilimentsrendered her more interesting than ever, nor was it possible to see or hearher unmoved. Paul became more and more melancholy; at length Margaret,distressed by the situation of her son, took him aside, and said to him,'Why, my dear son, will you cherish vain hopes, which will only render yourdisappointment more bitter! It is time that I should make known to you thesecret of your life and of mine. Mademoiselle de la Tour belongs, by hermother, to a rich and noble family, while you are but the son of a poorpeasant girl; and, what is worse, you are a natural child.'
"Paul, who had never before heard this last expression, inquired witheagerness its meaning. His mother replied, 'You had no legitimate father.When I was a girl, seduced by love, I was guilty of a weakness of which youare the offspring. My fault deprived you of the protection of a father'sfamily, and my flight from home, of that of a mother's family. Unfortunatechild! you have no relation in the world but me!' And she shed a flood oftears. Paul, pressing her in his arms, exclaimed, 'Oh, my dear mother!since I have no relation in the world but you, I will love you still more!But what a secret have you disclosed to me! I now see the reason whyMademoiselle de la Tour has estranged herself from me for two months past,and why she has determined to go. Ah! I perceive too well that she despisesme!'
"'The hour of supper being arrived, we placed ourselves at table; but thedifferent sensations with which we were all agitated left us littleinclination to eat, and the meal passed in silence. Virginia first wentout, and seated herself on the very spot where we now are placed. Paulhastened after her, and seated himself by her side. It was one of thosedelicious nights which are so common between the tropics, and the beauty ofwhich no pencil can trace. The moon appeared in the midst of the firmament,curtained in clouds which her beams gradually dispelled. Her lightinsensibly spread itself over the mountains of the island, and their peaksglistened with a silvered green. The winds were perfectly still. We heardalong the woods, at the bottom of the valleys, and on the summits of therocks, the weak cry and the soft murmurs of the birds, exulting in thebrightness of the night, and the serenity of the atmosphere. The hum ofinsects was heard in the grass. The stars sparkled in the heavens, andtheir trembling and lucid orbs were reflected upon the bosom of the ocean.Virginia's eyes wandered over its vast and gloomy horizon, distinguishablefrom the bay of the island by the red fires in the fishing boat. Sheperceived at the entrance of the harbour a light and a shadow: these werethe watch-light and the body of the vessel in which she was to embark forEurope, and which, ready to set sail, lay at anchor, waiting for the wind.Affected at this sight, she turned away her head, in order to hide hertears from Paul.
"Madame de la Tour, Margaret, and myself were seated at a little distancebeneath the plantain trees; and amidst the stillness of the night wedistinctly heard their conversation, which I have not forgotten.
"Paul said to her, 'You are going, they tell me, in three days. You do notfear, then, to encounter the danger of the sea, at which you are so muchterrified!' 'I must fulfil my duty,' answered Virginia, 'by obeying myparent.' 'You leave us,' resumed Paul, 'for a distant relation, whom youhave never seen.' 'Alas!' cried Virginia, 'I would have remained my wholelife here, but my mother would not have it so. My confessor told me that itwas the will of God I should go, and that life was a trial!'
"'What,' exclaimed Paul, 'you have found so many reasons then for going,and not one for remaining here! Ah! there is one reason for your departure,which you have not mentioned. Riches have great attractions. You will soonfind in the new world, to which you are going, another to whom you willgive the name of brother, which you will bestow on me no more. You willchoose that brother from amongst persons who are worthy of you by theirbirth, and by a fortune which I have not to offer. But where will you go inorder to be happier? On what shore will you land which will be dearer toyou than the spot which gave you birth? Where will you find a society moreinteresting to you than this by which you are so beloved? How will you bearto live without your mother's caresses, to which you are so accustomed?What will become of her, already advanced in years, when she will no longersee you at her side at table, in the house, in the walks where she used tolean upon you? What will become of my mother who loves you with the sameaffection? What shall I say to comfort them when I see them weeping foryour absence! Cruel! I speak not to you of myself; but what will become ofme, when in the morning I shall no more see you: when the evening will comeand will not reunite us? When I shall gaze on the two palm trees, plantedat our birth, and so long the witnesses of our mutual friendship? Ah; sincea new destiny attracts you, since you seek in a country, distant from yourown, other possessions than those which were the fruits of my labour, letme accompany you in the vessel in which you are going to embark. I willanimate your courage in the midst of those tempests at which you are soterrified even on shore. I will lay your head on my bosom. I will warm yourheart upon my own; and in France, where you go in search of fortune and ofgrandeur, I will attend you as your slave. Happy only in your happiness,you will find me in those palaces where I shall see you cherished andadored, at least sufficiently noble to make for you the greatest of allsacrifices, by dying at your feet.'
"The violence of his emotion stifled his voice, and we then heard that ofVirginia, which, broken by sobs, uttered these words: 'It is for you I go:for you, whom I see every day bent beneath the labour of sustaining twoinfirm families. If I have accepted this opportunity of becoming rich, itis only to return you a thousandfold the good which you have done us. Isthere any fortune worthy of your friendship? Why do you talk to me of yourbirth? Ah! if it were again possible to give me a brother, should I makechoice of any other than you? Oh, Paul! Paul! you are far dearer to me thana brother! How much has it cost me to avoid you! Help me to tear myselffrom what I value more than existence, till Heaven can bless our union. ButI will stay or go: I will live or die; dispose of me as you will. Unhappy,that I am! I could resist your caresses, but I am unable to support youraffliction.'
"At these words Paul seized her in his arms, and, holding her pressed
fastto his bosom, cried, in a piercing tone, 'I will go with her; nothing shalldivide us.' We ran towards him, and Madame de la Tour said to him, 'My son,if you go, what will become of us?'
"He, trembling, repeated the words, 'My son:--My son'--You my mother,'cried he; 'you, who would separate the brother from the sister! We haveboth been nourished at your bosom; we have both been reared upon yourknees; we have learnt of you to love each other; we have said so a thousandtimes; and now you would separate her from me! You send her to Europe, thatbarbarous country which refused you an asylum, and to relations by whom youwere abandoned. You will tell me that I have no right over her, and thatshe is not my sister. She is everything to me, riches,
Paul and Virginia from the French of J.B.H. de Saint Pierre Page 12
