by abbé Prévost
VIII
This Passion hath its floods in the very times of weakness, which aregreat prosperity, and great adversity; both which times kindle Love,and make it more fervent.--BACON.
"For several weeks I thus continued to think only of enjoying the fullluxury of my situation; and being restrained, by a sense of honour, aswell as a lurking apprehension of the police, from renewing my intimacywith my former companions at the hotel of Transylvania, I began to playin certain coteries less notorious, where my good luck rendered itunnecessary for me to have recourse to my former accomplishments. Ipassed a part of the afternoon in town, and returned always to supperat Chaillot, accompanied very often by M. de T----, whose intimacy andfriendship for us daily increased.
"Manon soon found resources against ennui. She became acquainted withsome young ladies, whom the spring brought into the neighbourhood.They occupied their leisure hours in walking, and the customaryamusements of persons of their sex and age. Their little gains at cards(always within innocent limits) were laid out in defraying the expenseof a coach, in which they took an airing occasionally in the Bois deBoulogne; and each night when I returned, I was sure of finding Manonmore beautiful--more contented--more affectionate than ever.
"There arose, however, certain clouds, which seemed to threaten thecontinuance of this blissful tranquillity, but they were soondispelled; and Manon's sprightliness made the affair so excessivelycomical in its termination, that it is even now pleasing to recur toit, as a proof of the tenderness as well as the cheerfulness of herdisposition.
"The only servant we had came to me one day, with great embarrassment,and taking me aside, told me that he had a secret of the utmostimportance to communicate to me. I urged him to explain himselfwithout reserve. After some hesitation, he gave me to understand thata foreigner of high rank had apparently fallen in love with Manon. Ifelt my blood boil at the announcement. 'Has she shown any penchantfor him?' I enquired, interrupting my informant with more impatiencethan was requisite, if I desired to have a full explanation.
"He was alarmed at my excitement; and replied in an undecided tone,that he had not made sufficiently minute observation to satisfy me; butthat, having noticed for several days together the regular arrival ofthe stranger at the Bois de Boulogne, where, quitting his carriage, hewalked by himself in the cross-avenues, appearing to seek opportunitiesof meeting Manon, it had occurred to him to form an acquaintance withthe servants, in order to discover the name of their master; that theyspoke of him as an Italian prince, and that they also suspected he wasupon some adventure of gallantry. He had not been able to learnanything further, he added, trembling as he spoke, because the prince,then on the point of leaving the wood, had approached him, and with themost condescending familiarity asked his name; upon which, as if he atonce knew that he was in our service, he congratulated him on having,for his mistress, the most enchanting person upon earth.
"I listened to this recital with the greatest impatience. He endedwith the most awkward excuses, which I attributed to the premature andimprudent display of my own agitation. In vain I implored him tocontinue his history. He protested that he knew nothing more, and thatwhat he had previously told me, having only happened the preceding day,he had not had a second opportunity of seeing the prince's servants. Iencouraged him, not only with praises, but with a substantialrecompense; and without betraying the slightest distrust of Manon, Irequested him, in the mildest manner, to keep strict watch upon all theforeigner's movements.
"In truth, the effect of his fright was to leave me in a state of thecruellest suspense. It was possible that she had ordered him tosuppress part of the truth. However, after a little reflection, Irecovered sufficiently from my fears to see the manner in which I hadexposed my weaknesses. I could hardly consider it a crime in Manon tobe loved. Judging from appearances, it was probable that she was noteven aware of her conquest. 'And what kind of life shall I in futurelead,' thought I, 'if I am capable of letting jealousy so easily takepossession of my mind?'
"I returned on the following day to Paris, with no other intention thanto hasten the improvement of my fortune, by playing deeper than ever,in order to be in a condition to quit Chaillot on the first realoccasion for uneasiness. That night I learned nothing at allcalculated to trouble my repose. The foreigner had, as usual, made hisappearance in the Bois de Boulogne; and venturing, from what had passedthe preceding day, to accost my servant more familiarly, he spoke tohim openly of his passion, but in such terms as not to lead to theslightest suspicion of Manon's being aware of it. He put a thousandquestions to him, and at last tried to bribe him with large promises;and taking a letter from his pocket, he in vain entreated him, with thepromise of some louis d'ors, to convey it to her.
"Two days passed without anything more occurring: the third was of adifferent character. I learned on my arrival, later than usual, fromParis, that Manon, while in the wood, had left her companions for amoment, and that the foreigner, who had followed her at a shortdistance, approached, upon her making him a sign, and that she handedhim a letter, which he took with a transport of joy. He had only timeto express his delight by kissing the billet-doux, for she was out ofsight in an instant. But she appeared in unusually high spirits theremainder of the day; and even after her return to our lodgings, hergaiety continued. I trembled at every word.
"'Are you perfectly sure,' said I, in an agony of fear, to my servant,'that your eyes have not deceived you?' He called Heaven to witnessthe truth of what he had told me.
"I know not to what excess the torments of my mind would have drivenme, if Manon, who heard me come in, had not met me with an air ofimpatience, and complained of my delay. Before I had time to reply,she loaded me with caresses; and when she found we were alone, shereproached me warmly with the habit I was contracting of staying out solate. My silence gave her an opportunity of continuing; and she thensaid that for the last three weeks I had never spent one entire day inher society; that she could not endure such prolonged absence; that sheshould at least expect me to give up a day to her from time to time,and that she particularly wished me to be with her on the following dayfrom morning till night.
"'You may be very certain I shall do that,' said I, in rather a sharptone. She did not appear to notice my annoyance; she seemed to me tohave more than her usual cheerfulness; and she described, with infinitepleasantry, the manner in which she had spent the day.
"'Incomprehensible girl!" said I to myself; 'what am I to expect aftersuch a prelude?' The adventures of my first separation occurred to me;nevertheless, I fancied I saw in her cheerfulness, and the affectionatereception she gave me, an air of truth that perfectly accorded with herprofessions.
"It was an easy matter at supper to account for the low spirits which Icould not conceal, by attributing them to a loss I had that daysustained at the gaming-table. I considered it most fortunate that theidea of my remaining all the next day at Chaillot was suggested byherself: I should thus have ample time for deliberation. My presencewould prevent any fears for at least the next day; and if nothingshould occur to compel me to disclose the discovery I had already made,I was determined on the following day to move my establishment intotown, and fix myself in a quarter where I should have nothing toapprehend from the interference of princes. This arrangement made mepass the night more tranquilly, but it by no means put an end to thealarm I felt at the prospect of a new infidelity.
"When I awoke in the morning, Manon said to me, that although we wereto pass the day at home, she did not at all wish that I should be lesscarefully dressed than on other occasions; and that she had aparticular fancy for doing the duties of my toilette that morning withher own hands. It was an amusement she often indulged in: but sheappeared to take more pains on this occasion than I had ever observedbefore. To gratify her, I was obliged to sit at her toilette table,and try all the different modes she imagined for dressing my hair. Inthe course of the operation, she made me often turn my head roundtowards her, and putting both
hands upon my shoulders, she wouldexamine me with most anxious curiosity: then, showing her approbationby one or two kisses, she would make me resume my position before theglass, in order to continue her occupation.
"This amatory trifling engaged us till dinner-time. The pleasure sheseemed to derive from it, and her more than usual gaiety, appeared tome so thoroughly natural, that I found it impossible any longer tosuspect the treason I had previously conjured up; and I was severaltimes on the point of candidly opening my mind to her, and throwing offa load that had begun to weigh heavily upon my heart: but I flatteredmyself with the hope that the explanation would every moment come fromherself, and I anticipated the delicious triumph this would afford me.
"We returned to her boudoir. She began again to put my hair in order,and I humoured all her whims; when they came to say that the Prince of---- was below, and wished to see her. The name alone almost threw meinto a rage.
"'What then,' exclaimed I, as I indignantly pushed her from me,'who?--what prince?'
"She made no answer to my enquiries.
"'Show him upstairs,' said she coolly to the servant; and then turningtowards me, 'Dearest love! you whom I so fervently adore,' she added inthe most bewitching tone, 'I only ask of you one moment's patience; onemoment, one single moment! I will love you ten thousand times morethan ever: your compliance now shall never, during my life, beforgotten.'
"Indignation and astonishment deprived me of the power of utterance.She renewed her entreaties, and I could not find adequate expressionsto convey my feelings of anger and contempt. But hearing the door ofthe ante-chamber open, she grasped with one hand my locks, which werefloating over my shoulders, while she took her toilette mirror in theother, and with all her strength led me in this manner to the door ofthe boudoir, which she opened with her knee, and presented to theforeigner, who had been prevented by the noise he heard inside fromadvancing beyond the middle of the ante-chamber, a spectacle that musthave indeed amazed him. I saw a man extremely well dressed, but with aparticularly ill-favoured countenance.
"Notwithstanding his embarrassment, he made her a profound bow. Manongave him no time for speech-making; she held up the mirror before him:'Look, sir,' said she to him, 'observe yourself minutely, and I onlyask you then to do me justice. You wish me to love you: this is theman whom I love, and whom I have sworn to love during my whole life:make the comparison yourself. If you think you can rival him in myaffections, tell me at least upon what pretensions; for I solemnlydeclare to you, that, in the estimation of your most obedient humbleservant, all the princes in Italy are not worth a single one of thehairs I now hold in my hand.'
"During this whimsical harangue, which she had apparently preparedbeforehand, I tried in vain to disengage myself, and feeling compassionfor a person of such consideration, I was desirous, by my politeness atleast, of making some reparation for this little outrage. Butrecovering his self-possession with the ease of a man accustomed to theworld, he put an end to my feelings of pity by his reply, which was, inmy opinion, rude enough.
"'Young lady! young lady!' said he to her, with a sardonic smile, 'myeyes in truth are opened, and I perceive that you are much less of anovice than I had pictured to myself.'
"He immediately retired without looking at her again, muttering tohimself that the French women were quite as bad as those of Italy. Ifelt little desire, on this occasion, to change his opinion of the fairsex.
"Manon let go my hand, threw herself into an armchair, and made theroom resound with her shouts of laughter. I candidly confess that Iwas touched most sensibly by this unexpected proof of her affection,and by the sacrifice of her own interest which I had just witnessed,and which she could only have been induced to make by her excessivelove for me. Still, however, I could not help thinking she had gonerather too far. I reproached her with what I called her indiscretion.She told me that my rival, after having besieged her for several daysin the Bois de Boulogne, and having made her comprehend his object bysigns and grimaces, had actually made an open declaration of love;informing her at the same time of his name and all his titles, by meansof a letter, which he had sent through the hands of the coachman whodrove her and her companions; that he had promised her, on the otherside of the Alps, a brilliant fortune and eternal adoration; that shereturned to Chaillot, with the intention of relating to me the wholeadventure, but that, fancying it might be made a source of amusement tous, she could not help gratifying her whim; that she accordinglyinvited the Italian prince, by a flattering note, to pay her a visit;and that it had afforded her equal delight to make me an accomplice,without giving me the least suspicion of her plan. I said not a wordof the information I had received through another channel; and theintoxication of triumphant love made me applaud all she had done."
