Chapter iii.
In the town of Inspruck, before entering Italy, Oswald heard a merchantat whose house he had stopped some time, relate the story of a Frenchemigre called the Count d'Erfeuil, which greatly interested him in hisfavour. This man had suffered the entire loss of a very large fortunewith the most perfect serenity; he had, by his talent for music,supported himself and an old uncle, whom he had taken care of until hisdeath; he had constantly refused to accept offers of pecuniaryassistance pressingly made to him; he had manifested the most brilliantvalour--a French valour--during the war, and the most invincible gaietyin the midst of reverses. He was desirous of going to Rome to see arelation, whose heir he was to be, and wished for a companion, or rathera friend, in order to render the journey more agreeable to both.
The most bitter recollections of Lord Nelville were connected withFrance; nevertheless he was exempt from those prejudices which dividethe two nations; for a Frenchman had been his intimate friend, and hehad found in this friend the most admirable union of all the qualitiesof the soul. He, therefore, offered to the merchant who related to himthe story of the Count d'Erfeuil, to take this noble and unfortunateyoung man to Italy; and at the end of an hour the merchant came toinform Lord Nelville that his proposition was accepted with gratitude.Oswald was happy in being able to perform this service, but it cost himmuch to renounce his solitude; and his timidity was wounded at findinghimself, all of a sudden, in an habitual relation with a man whom he didnot know.
The Count d'Erfeuil came to pay a visit to Lord Nelville, in order tothank him. He possessed elegant manners, an easy politeness, good taste,and appeared, from the very first introduction, perfectly at his ease.In his company one would feel astonished at all that he had suffered,for he supported his fate with a courage approaching to oblivion; andthere was in his conversation a facility truly admirable when he spokeof his own reverses; but less admirable, it must be confessed, when itextended to other subjects.
"I owe you infinite obligation, my lord," said the Count d'Erfeuil, "forrescuing me from this Germany, where I was perishing with _ennui_." "Youare here, nevertheless," replied Lord Nelville, "generally beloved andesteemed." "I have friends here," replied the Count d'Erfeuil, "whom Isincerely regret; for we meet in this country the best people in theworld; but I do not know a word of German, and you will agree with methat it would be too long and fatiguing a task for me to set aboutlearning it now. Since I have had the misfortune to lose my uncle I donot know what to do with my time, when I had the care of him it filledup my day, at present the twenty-four hours weigh heavily upon myhands." "The delicacy of your conduct towards your uncle," said LordNelville, "inspires everybody with the most profound esteem for yourcharacter, Count." "I have only done my duty," replied the Countd'Erfeuil; "the poor man had overwhelmed me with kindnesses during mychildhood; I should never have deserted him had he lived a hundredyears! But it is happy for him, however, that he is dead; it would be ahappy thing for me also were I to follow him," added he, laughing; "forI have not much hope in this world. I used my best endeavours, duringthe war, to get killed; but, since fate has spared me, I must only liveas well as I can." "I shall congratulate myself on my arrival here,"answered Lord Nelville, "if you find yourself comfortable at Rome, andif--" "Oh, _mon Dieu_," interrupted the Count d'Erfeuil, "I shall findmyself comfortable every where: when we are young and gay every thingaccommodates itself to us. It is not from books, nor from meditation,that I have derived the philosophy which I possess, but from knowledgeof the world, and trials of misfortune; and you see, my lord, that Ihave reason to reckon upon chance, since it has procured me the honourof travelling with you." In finishing these words the Count d'Erfeuilsaluted Lord Nelville with the best grace in the world, settled the hourof departure for the following day, and took his leave.
The Count d'Erfeuil and Lord Nelville set out on the morrow. Oswald,after some expressions of politeness had passed between them, wasseveral hours without saying a word; but perceiving that this silencewas disagreeable to his companion, he asked him if he anticipatedpleasure from a residence in Italy: "_Mon Dieu_," replied the Countd'Erfeuil, "I know what I have to expect from that country. I have nohope of any amusement there: a friend of mine, who had passed six monthsat Rome, has assured me there is not a province of France where one maynot find a better theatre and a more agreeable society than at Rome, butin that ancient capital of the world I shall surely find some Frenchmento chat with, and that is all I desire." "You have not attempted tolearn Italian?" interrupted Oswald. "Not at all," replied the Countd'Erfeuil; "that did not enter into my plan of study." And in sayingthis he assumed such a serious air that one would have believed it was aresolution founded upon grave motives.
"If I may speak my mind to you," continued the Count d'Erfeuil, "as anation, I love only the English and the French, one must either be proudlike them or brilliant like us; all the rest is only imitation." Oswaldwas silent; the Count d'Erfeuil some moments after resumed theconversation by the most lively sallies of wit and gaiety. He playedwith words and phrases in a very ingenious manner, but neither externalobjects nor intimate sentiments were the object of his discourse. Hisconversation proceeded, if it may be so expressed, neither from withoutnor within; it was neither reflective nor imaginative, and the barerelations of society were its subject.
He repeated twenty proper names to Lord Nelville, either in France, orin England, to know if he was acquainted with them, and related uponthis occasion highly seasoned anecdotes with a most graceful turn; butone would have said, in hearing him, that the only discourse suitable toa man of taste was, to use the expression, the gossip of good company.
Lord Nelville reflected some time on the character of Count d'Erfeuil;that singular mixture of courage and frivolity, that contempt ofmisfortune, so great if it had cost more efforts, so heroic if it didnot proceed from the same source that renders us incapable of deepaffections. "An Englishman," said Oswald to himself, "would be weigheddown with sadness under similar circumstances.--Whence proceeds theresolution of this Frenchman? Whence proceeds also his mobility? Doesthe Count d'Erfeuil then truly understand the art of living? Is it onlymy own disordered mind that whispers to me I am superior to him? Doeshis light existence accord better than mine with the rapidity of humanlife? And must we shun reflection as an enemy, instead of giving up ourwhole soul to it?" Vainly would Oswald have cleared up those doubts; noone can escape from the intellectual region allotted him; and qualitiesare still more difficult to subdue than defects.
The Count d'Erfeuil paid no attention to Italy, and rendered it almostimpossible for Lord Nelville to bestow a thought upon it; for heincessantly distracted him from that disposition of mind which excitesadmiration of a fine country, and gives a relish for its picturesquecharms. Oswald listened as much as he could to the noise of the wind andto the murmuring of the waves; for all the voices of nature conveyedmore gratification to his soul than he could possibly receive from thesocial conversation indulged in at the foot of the Alps, among theruins, and on the borders of the sea.
The sadness which consumed Oswald would have opposed fewer obstacles tothe pleasure which he could have derived from Italy than the gaiety ofCount d'Erfeuil, the sorrows of a sensitive mind will blend with thecontemplation of nature and the enjoyment of the fine arts; butfrivolity, in whatever form it presents itself, deprives attention ofits force, thought of its originality, and sentiment of its profundity.One of the singular effects of this frivolity was to inspire LordNelville with a great deal of timidity in his intercourse with Countd'Erfeuil: embarrassment is nearly always on the side of him whosecharacter is the more serious. Mental levity imposes upon the mindhabitually disposed to meditation, and he who proclaims himself happy,appears wiser than he who suffers.
The Count d'Erfeuil was mild, obliging, and easy in every thing; seriousonly in self love, and worthy of being regarded as he regarded others;that is to say, as a good companion of pleasures and of perils; but hehad no idea whatever of sharing sorrows: he was w
earied to death withthe melancholy of Oswald, and, as much from goodness of heart as fromtaste, was desirous of dissipating it.
"What is it you find wanting?" said he to him often; "are you not young,rich, and if you choose, in good health? for you are only ill becauseyou are sad. For my part I have lost my fortune, my existence: I knownot in fact what will become of me; nevertheless I enjoy life as if Ipossessed all the prosperity that earth can afford." "You are endowedwith a courage as rare as it is honourable," replied Lord Nelville; "butthe reverses which you have experienced are less injurious in theirconsequences than the grief which preys upon the heart." "The griefwhich preys upon the heart," cried the Count d'Erfeuil; "Oh! it is true,that is the most cruel of all;--but--but yet we should console ourselvesunder it; for a sensible man ought to drive away from his soul everything that can neither be useful to others nor to himself. Are we nothere below to be useful first and happy afterwards? My dear Nelville letus hold to that."
What the Count d'Erfeuil said was reasonable, according to the generalimport of the word, for it savoured a good deal of what is usuallycalled common sense: passionate characters are much more capable offolly than cool and superficial ones; but so far was the Countd'Erfeuil's mode of feeling from exciting the confidence of LordNelville that he would gladly have convinced him he was the most happyof men in order to avoid the pain which his consolation gave him.
However the Count became greatly attached to Lord Nelville: hisresignation and his simplicity, his modesty and his pride, inspired himwith an involuntary respect for his character. He was concerned at thecalm exterior of Oswald; he ransacked his head to bring to recollectionall the most grave sayings which, in his childhood, he had heard fromhis aged parents, in order to try their effect upon Lord Nelville; and,quite astonished at not overcoming his apparent coldness, he said tohimself: "Do I not possess courage, goodness, and openness ofdisposition? Am I not beloved in society? What is it then that I want tomake an impression upon this man? There surely must be somemisunderstanding between us which probably arises from his notunderstanding French sufficiently well."
Corinne, Volume 1 (of 2) Page 4
