The Cardinal family ...

I. Roman Contemporain

LUDOVIC HALEVY

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THE CARD IN A L FA MIL Y TWENTY-SEVEN ETCHINGS lfiARa7l8?7

PHILADELPHIA PRINTED ONLY FOR SUBSCRIBERS BY GEORGE BARRIE & SON

‘ - 2 - 7

THIS EDITION OF THE

CARDINAL FAMILY

HAS BEEN COMPLETELY TRANSLATED

BY

GEORGE B. IVES

THE ETCHINGS ARE BY

LOUIS MULLER

AND DRAWINGS BY

CHARLES LUCIEN LEANDRE

THE

CARDINAL FAMILY

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In the evening of May 6 , 1870, a stout lady, carelessly dressed, with an old plaid shawl over her shoulders, and huge silver spectacles on her nose, was standing perfectly still, leaning against a

post in the wings at the Opera, with her great, wide-open, melting eyes fixed on the stage as if in a trance. They were playing Gounod’s Faust. The young women of the corps de ballet were dancing the waltz of the kermesse about Marguerite ; and the ladies of the chorus, drawn up in line against the scenery, with arms hanging at their sides, were singing with an air of listless resignation :

Valsons !

Je respire ^ peine !

Ah ! quel plaisir ! etc., etc.

I approached the stout lady and tapping her from behind upon the shoulder, I said :

“ Good-evening, Madame Cardinal, How goes everything ?”

“ Not so bad, not so bad, thank you.”

“ And your daughters ?”

“ The little ones are well, too.”

“ Do they dance to-night ?”

“ Pauline does, not Virginie. Don’t you see Pauline over yonder ? She has on a blue dress with white stripes.”

“ Pauline’s getting to be very pretty, do you know it?”

“ Yes, it’ll be the same way with her as with Virginie; an ugly little thing up to thirteen, Virginie was, and then, all of a sudden, she began to improve.”

“And improved mightily, too. She’s the prettiest girl at the Opera to-day.”

“ Oh ! no, not the prettiest. I haven’t any maternal blindness. Marie Fernot’s better looking than Virginie.”

“ And Pauline, how old is she now ?”

“ She’s close on fifteen.”

“ Fifteen ! how she does grow ! It seems to me I can see her still, no taller than that, among the little urchins in Guillaume Tell^ in the air, on the bridge and up above the torrent, during the ballet.”

“ Yes, she’s fifteen. She’s in the first quadrille and she’ll be a coryphee at the first examination, I’m almost sure. In the first place, the manager chucked her under the chin the other day as he passed, and he don’t chuck everybody under the chin, you know.”

“ Fifteen years old ! I can’t realize it — And there’s nobody as yet, I hope, is there, Madame Cardinal ?”

“ Oh ! no, nobody, nobody ! God knows it’s not for lack of proposals. There have been lots of ’em after her already. First and foremost, there’s that

Monsieur N , who’s hardly ever out of the

house, but the little one can’t endure him ; and then I haven’t the heart to be rough with her ; besides that isn’t the part for a mother to play.”

“You have a kind heart.”

“ Oh ! as to my heart ! At all events, what’s the use of being in a hurry, tell me that ? The little one will be even prettier next year than she is now.”

“ And what about Virginie ? Still Monsieur Paul?”

“ Monsieur Paul ? What, don’t you know ? Where have you been ?”

“I am just from Russia. I have been in St. Petersburg three months.”

“ Sure enough, it seems like a century since we had the pleasure of seeing you. I was saying as much day before yesterday to Monsieur Cardinal.

Well, much has happened within three months. It’s all over with Monsieur Paul !”

“ All over with him ! why, what has happened ?”

“ An accident, God knows ! nothing else.”

“ An accident ! Tell me about it !”

“ Gladly — but here’s the end of the act. We shall be in the way of the scene-shifters. Come over here in this little corner at the left.”

I docilely followed the respectable Madame Cardinal, and this is what she told me, in the little corner at the left :

“ Monsieur Paul, you know, had a mania for being always on the go ; he was always off somewhere or other, and one fine morning early in February, he said to me :

“ ‘ I’m going home to Bourgogne for three days to look after some business.’

**That same day — there’s a fatality about some things ! — lo and behold a young fellow who hadn’t been to my house for weeks and months, comes to call on us. His name is Crochard and he acts at the Porte-Saint-Martin. Do you know him ? No ? I’m not surprised at that. He only plays odds and lO ends, but he’s a boy with a good physique and some talent ; sooner or later he’ll certainly make his mark.

“ Well, he comes and he says to us :

“‘Will you come to the Porte-Saint- Martin to-night? I play one of the noblemen in Lucrece Borgia. I have brought you four seats.’

“ There was no performance at the Opera that night and no rehearsal, so we replied :

“ ‘ That will be first-rate.’

“ So we went to the play. Well ! Crochard had mighty little to say ; but for all that he made out to make a hit; fine voice and good delivery, and a handsome costume — all trickery, you know. For my own part, I was carried away with him :

“ ‘ Oh ! how handsome he is ! Oh ! how well he acts !’

“ Virginie never said a word. I ought to have mistrusted something, but I was stupid that night, I didn’t see anything, and yet, God knows ! I’m not overburdened with innocence.

“ The next day, at four o’clock, I was alone with Virginie and she was mending her dancing-pumps, when the bell rang ; I went to the door ; it was Crochard again.

I

“ He came in, and said :

“ ‘ Did you enjoy yourselves ?’

“ ‘ Did we enjoy ourselves !’

“ And then we talked.

“After a quarter of an hour or so, I was obliged to go out; we were going to have company to dinner and we must have a fish. I went out; I came back; Virginie was very red and so was Crochard. I didn’t remember that till later.

“ The next day but one Monsieur Paul returned from Bourgogne, and while he was in the house a letter came for Virginie. I, like a fool, went into the room with the letter in my hand.

“ There was • Monsieur Paul in an easy-chair and Virginie standing by the hearth.

“ ‘ Virginie,’ I said, * here’s a letter for you. I don’t know the writing.’

“I supposed it was some declaration or other and I knew Monsieur Paul liked to read that kind of letter ; there was no reason why we shouldn’t show them to him, for we had decided before that to refuse everybody else in favor of Monsieur Paul.

“ But Virginie took the letter, opened it and cried :

Ah ! it’s from him !’

“ What could you expect ? the child said that involuntarily; and then, when she saw Monsieur Paul get up out of his chair, she gave a little shriek and fainted. The letter fell to the floor, and Monsieur Paul pounced on it Oh ! I don’t blame him ; in his place Pd have done the same. He read the letter at a glance, and then I saw him tranquilly pick up his hat and gloves.

“I was busy looking after Virginie, who was lying out stiff in an easy-chair.

“ ‘ Well, what’s the matter ?’ I said to Monsieur Paul.

“ ‘ That’s the matter,’ he replied, handing me the letter, and he left the room. I ought to say that he sent Virginie ten thousand francs that night. Oh ! yes, one must be just, and Monsieur Paul acted like a gentleman.

“ You can imagine that I didn’t bother about the letter. I was looking after Virginie.

At last she opened her eyes.

“ ‘ Oh ! mamma ! mamma !’

^“Well, what is it?’

‘ Oh ! mamma ! that letter — ’

“ ‘ Well, what of the letter ?’

“ ‘ It’s from Crochard, mamma.’

“ ‘ Well, what about Crochard ?’

“ ‘ Oh ! if you knew, the other day — ’

“ ‘ What day ?’

“ ‘ While you had gone to buy the fish.’

“ ‘ Well, what happened while I went to buy the fish ? what ? what ? what ?’

“ ‘ Why, yes,' mamma, yes — What do you suppose ! He acted like a madman !’

“ And with that, lo and behold my imbecile fainted again.

‘ Come, come,’ said I, ' no nonsense ; it’s a pity, but health comes first of all. How came you to do such a foolish thing, and what does that wretched stroller write to you ?’

“ Ah ! my dear monsieur, he wrote things that showed that Virginie had been running after him since that crazy performance. He apologized for not coming again ; he had to rehearse during the day and act at night ; and he thee- and thoued her and called her ‘ his dove,’ and his ^ adored angel ’ — and he ended by saying that he would be alone at his rooms on Rue de Paris, Belleville, at four o’clock the next day. Outrageous, eh ? And Virginie would have had to take to bad courses for — Do you understand that ?

“ I gave Virginie the letter.

“ ‘ Here, read me this ; he’s making fun of you ; and you didn’t run away from him and the result is that Monsieur Paul’s gone.’

“ ‘ Oh ! I don’t care about Monsieur Paul’

“ ‘ More nonsense ! Come, get up and walk round the room ; you look like a corpse. Ah ! Pd have given you a couple of good whacks, and more too, if you hadn’t thought best to faint ; but, I say again, health before everything ! You feel better, don’t you ? Good. Well, now you must sit down and write to Monsieur Paul to ask his pardon.’

“ ‘ No ! no ! no !’

“ She wouldn’t give in. On the contrary, the next day she’d have liked to sneak out and go to her Crochard ; but Monsieur Cardinal and I kept a sharp lookout.

“ She undertook to rebel, but she got nothing by it except the two cuffs postponed from the day before ; and all Crochard had to amuse him at four o’clock was a fine letter from Monsieur Cardinal.

“ I can’t remember all of it, but I know it began like this : * Monsieur, an indignant father replies to your favor of the, — etc.’

“ At last Crochard subsided and Virginie seemed to have given up thinking of him. Meanwhile, not a word from Monsieur Paul except the ten thousand francs. That was something, you’ll say. From time to time I spoke to Virginie about writing to Monsieur Paul.

“ She always answered :

“ ‘ Yes, to send back the ten thousand francs.’

“ So I didn’t insist. Then I had an idea of writing to Monsieur Paul myself I consulted Monsieur Cardinal, and he said :

“ ‘ There’s something to be said on both sides ; but, all things considered, it isn’t a mother’s place to interfere. No, no, Pll write myself But don’t you be afraid : I won’t mention Virginie’s name ; it shall be a letter from man to man; Pll tell Monsieur i6

Paul I am very sorry that our relations should be broken off by an occurrence I had nothing to do with, etc., etc.’

“ So he wrote. No reply. A month passed like that, and we were very lonesome.

“You know how it is when you’re used to having company. Monsieur Cardinal was especially unhappy ; he kept saying from morning till night :

“ ‘ How gloomy the house is ! How much of the time we’re alone !’

“ He went to the cafe in the evening instead of staying at home with his family as he used to when Monsieur Paul used to come.

“ T^ey didn’t know about the Crochard affair at the Opera, but they saw it was all off with Monsieur Paul ; so, then, naturally enough — don’t you think so ? — a number of gentlemen began to hang around Virginie. The one who made himself most conspicuous in that way was the Marquis Cavalcanti. Do you know him ? He often speaks of you in the kindest terms.

“ Virginie had nothing to say either to the marquis or any of the others. She kept her sad looks all the time, she grew thin and pale and didn’t seem to have any strength at all ; she couldn’t stand half a minute on her toes at her morning lesson ; and you know what toes she used to have — why I think she could have stood on her toes all the time.

“‘Come, my child,’ I’d say to her, ‘you mustn’t go on like this, you must lead a different life.’

“ ‘ Oh 1 mamma, they bore me so, all, all of them !’

“ At last she received a letter from the marquis one day and passed it over to me :

“ ‘ Here, mamma, read this.’

“ It was magnificent ! it was too good to be true ! You’ll see why in a minute.

“ I said to Virginie :

“ ‘ He’s a man that knows what’s what ; that’s plain. But do you love him ?’

“ ‘ Oh ! mamma, love him ! How do you suppose I can love him ? But, on my word, he or somebody else, it’s all one to me. And, do you know, as long as I’ve got to take someone. I’d rather take someone I don’t love. It would be too hard with the others.’

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“And with that she began crying again like a fountain. Would you ever have believed that, monsieur? She was still thinking of that Crochard !

“ ‘ Come, my angel, pull yourself together,’ I said. ‘ There’s no hurry. Let’s not say any more about the marquis. We’ll talk it over to-morrow.’

“ ^ No, no, mamma, let’s get it over with at once. He’s ugly, he’s absurd. I’m sure I shall never love him. He’s the man for me !’

“ And, touch and go I she wrote to him and gave me the letter to send.

“ Faith ! I was embarrassed, and, as I do in all great emergencies, I went and consulted Monsieur Cardinal.

“ ‘ It isn’t proper for Virginie to write to this man whom she doesn’t know,’ he said ; ' no, that wouldn’t be proper. I’ll write myself’

“He began to write, and every now and then he’d stop and say to me :

“ ‘ This isn’t a very easy letter to write, Madame Cardinal, but I’ll write it all the same.’

“ And he did write it, and wrote it well, too.

“ Ah ! I tell you, Monsieur Cardinal has lots of tact in delicate places. He never mentioned Virginie, he always deals with things, as I told you, from man to man.

“ The next day the marquis arrived.

“It’s always hard to break the ice at the first interview ; but the marquis was very clever and very dignified and he found a roundabout way of leading up to what he had to say.

“ ' Well,’ said he, ‘ how are we going to arrange our little existence ?’

“ I answered him :

“ ‘Why, what are your plans. Monsieur le Marquis?’

“Then he began to tell us his plans. Horrors, downright horrors ! Just fancy, he wanted to pay Monsieur Cardinal and me a little pension and set up housekeeping with Virginie in his house on Boulevard de la Reine-Hortense.

“ Oh ! my word ! you ought to have seen Monsieur Cardinal ! he was superb ! A father’s dignity, I tell you what !

“ ‘ Monsieur le Marquis,’ said he, ‘ understand this : nothing can induce us to part from Virginie ; and rather than let her go from here without ourselves, Madame Cardinal and I would be reconciled for the rest of our lives to the most modest fare : soup and meat and not a grain of salt with it. Besides, what is Virginie’s desire ? To live with her parents. She’s a wise girl, and hasn’t any false ideas of grandeur.’

“He was fairly started and would have gone on like that for nobody knows how long, but Virginie cut him short :

“ ^ Papa is right, monsieur,’ said she, ‘ we’re used to living together and you mustn’t try to part us.’

“‘Why, just as you please, mademoiselle, just as you please, for my heart — ’

“ That was too much for Monsieur Cardinal ! He stood up, pale with rage :

“ ‘ None of that talk before me. Monsieur le Marquis, those things don’t concern me !’

“ ‘ But I must come to some understanding with mademoiselle your daughter,’ the marquis replied.

“ ‘ I don’t know what you mean ! Besides, I have an appointment at four o’clock and I am late now. I must go, I must leave you, but with the hope that I can properly say au revoir and not adieti.

‘‘ ‘ I most earnestly hope so, Monsieur Cardinal’

“ ‘ Au revoir, then, Monsieur le Marquis.’

“ And Monsieur Cardinal went away, without having compromised his dignity a single instant, as you see.

“ As soon as Monsieur Cardinal was out of the way, the marquis and I very soon came to terms.

As to Virginie, she never made a sound or showed any more interest than if we’d been talking about the discovery of America. It all seemed to be as indifferent to her as nothing at all ; to be sure we didn’t need her, for the moment.

“ So it was agreed, between the marquis and me, that he should hire a large apartment, large enough for the whole of us. At first the marquis proposed to take us all into his house, but I told him Monsieur Cardinal would never agree to that ; and I seized that opportunity to describe Monsieur Cardinal’s character; that he was a great stickler for honor and respect and consideration before everything; that we must save appearances at any cost ; that, to do that, two doors and two staircases were necessary, so that there shouldn’t be any disagreeable meetings at unseasonable hours.

“ The marquis understood it all as well as could be ; the very next morning he began his search for apartments, and by noon they were found. That’s where we’re living now — Rue Pigalle. Monsieur Cardinal likes the old quarters of Paris. We are very comfortable there, and you can come and see us. Salon and dining-room in the middle ; at the right, our rooms. Monsieur Cardinal’s and Pauline’s and mine ; at the left, Virginie’s and the marquis’s. Two doors and two staircases. The marquis did his best to induce Monsieur Cardinal and me to take the rooms on the main staircase side ; but Monsieur Cardinal refused, with his usual tact. Tact is his strong point, you know. We took the servants’ staircase.

“You see how well arranged it all is; and yet, my dear monsieur, we’re not as happy as you might think. There are moments when I regret Monsieur Paul. Ah ! Monsieur Paul was very fond of me ! He used to take me to the theatre all the time, and those nights he hired orchestra chairs for Monsieur Cardinal, who would never consent, you know, to show himself in the same box as — It’s all very different with the marquis. He’s forever trying to keep me away from Virginie.

“ That isn’t all, either. The marquis and Monsieur Cardinal don’t agree upon anything — literature, politics, religious intolerance or anything else ; and so they’re disputing all day long. Cavalcanti has on his card : ' Honorary Chamberlain to — to — ’ oh ! some one of the petty princes that lost their jobs after Solferino ; he’s against progress, and for the nobles and the priests ; you see he hasn’t much of a chance to agree with Monsieur Cardinal, who hasn’t any love for kings or Jesuits. That’s how it happens that we have such scenes, and sometimes we do have terrible ones.

'‘Take our dinner on Good Friday, a fortnight ago, for example — that was a drama, a real drama ! In the first place, I must tell you that Monsieur Cardinal said on Holy Thursday, just to tease the marquis :

“ ‘ I suppose you’ll give us a good saddle of mutton to-morrow, Madame Cardinal’

“ At that the marquis simply said to me :

“‘You know, Madame Cardinal, I don’t eat meat to-morrow.’

“ ‘ And I,’ Monsieur Cardinal retorted, for he’s always bound to have the last word, ‘propose to eat a good saddle of mutton to-morrow. Good Friday !’

“ The marquis didn’t say anything, and it ended there. Monsieur Cardinal was fuming internally. He had meant to get up a quarrel. He likes to have the last word, but he also likes to have somebody try to take it from him, for without that, where’s the pleasure ?

“ The next day was the famous dinner, half meat, half fish ; the saddle of mutton at one end, the codfish at the other. That was certain to breed trouble. To cap the climax, just as we were sitting down to the table, Alphonse must go and put his foot in it. Alphonse is our manservant. We have a manservant now ! And this is what he did. The marquis subscribes to the Gazette de France^ Monsieur Cardinal subscribes to the Marseillaise. Alphonse made a mistake and handed the Gazette de France to Monsieur Cardinal and the Marseillaise to the marquis !

“ ^ Monsieur le Marquis/ says Monsieur Cardinal, ‘ here’s your vile Gazette de France /’

“ ‘ Monsieur Cardinal,’ says the marquis with a smile, ‘ here’s your delightful Marseillaise F

''Delightful! That was sarcasm, you understand. There is nothing that irritates Monsieur Cardinal so much as sarcasm ; he often says it’s the Italian’s weapon, and that they have a way of their own of handling it.

“ After the newspapers were exchanged, there was a moment’s silence ; then we began to talk, and from one thing to another finally got to the Council. At that Monsieur Cardinal blazes up like tinder and declares that all these Jesuit intrigues are outrageous, that Rome belongs to the Italians, that France hasn’t any part in it, and down with the Pope, and down with the Jesuits, and long live United Italy, et cetera^ et cetera — in fact, a long harangue, ending with the words : ‘ All the priests are canaille ! ’

The marquis went on eating his codfish without a word. That was more sarcasm, his silence ! Then it occurs to me that it’s my duty as a wife to back up Monsieur Cardinal, so I begins :

‘ Answer Monsieur Cardinal at once, by something besides contempt No more sarcastic silence, do you hear ?’

“ At that the marquis loses patience, gets up out of his chair and says :

“ ‘ Monsieur Cardinal,’ says he, ‘ I beg you not to use such language, especially on such a day.’

“ ‘ Nobody can prevent my saying what I think and all I think,’ retorts Monsieur Cardinal ; ‘ they’re canaille y I say it again and I’ll back up what I say !’

“ ‘ Monsieur Cardinal, I forbid you to attack my religion ; I am a Catholic and there are two bishops in my family. I forbid you, do you hear ?’

“ What do you think of that ? I began to lose my temper.

“ ‘ You dare to say : “ I forbid you ” to Monsieur Cardinal ! when you’re in his house, at his fireside, sitting at his table ! This is too much ! Look you, you make me blush for you with your religion ! For God’s sake hunt up a few morals before you talk about your religion.’

^ Morals ? what do you mean by that, Madame Cardinal ?’

“ * What I mean is very soon told. Here you are, a married man, with a wife and three children, and you leave them all to vegetate in Italy to come and live at Paris with a ballet-dancer ! And then you talk about your religious sentiments ! No, ’pon my word, that spoils my appetite !’

“ ‘ Madame Cardinal, you go too far. I am married, that’s true, but I’ve told you a hundred times that the marchioness wronged me first ; I shouldn’t be here if the marchioness hadn’t wronged me first.’

“ ‘ Well, that’s very flattering to Virginie, isn’t it ? Do you hear, Virginie ? He says he wouldn’t be here if the marchioness hadn’t wronged him first. He insults you !’

“ ‘ I didn’t insult your daughter ; you did it yourself, you old lunatic !’

“ Here Monsieur Cardinal rose.

“ ‘ I forbid you/ says he, ‘ to call my wife an old lunatic.’

“ ^ Old witch, if you prefer.’

^ Nor that either !’

“‘Old witch ! And I gave the man my daughter!’

“ ‘ Your daughter ! she gave herself to me for love !’

“ ‘ For love ! My daughter Virginie, love such a man as you ! You don’t believe it! Why the fact is, that the very day before this bargain was made, Virginie consulted me, for she never does anything without consulting me; no, except Crochard, she never did anything without consulting her mother ! And I told her: ‘‘Take the marquis,” says I; “he’s only an Italian marquis, but still he’s a marquis.” And Virginie replied : “ That isn’t what decides me, mamma,” says she; “the thing that decides me is that I’m very sure I never shall love him, and so, if he leaves me some day, I shall be glad of it rather than sorry.” ’

“ ‘ Did you say that, Virginie ?’ cried the marquis.

“ ‘ Not just that, mamma has embellished it a little.’

“ ‘ No, I haven’t I Before God, who hears me, I haven’t changed it a bit !’

“ ‘ Don’t blaspheme, Madame Cardinal,’ cried the marquis.

“ ‘ I just will blaspheme if it amuses me, you old Italian wreck of a man !’

“At that the marquis calls me a strumpet; Monsieur Cardinal gets up and tries to throw a carafe at the marquis’s head ; Pauline rushes out of the room, weeping, and Virginie, half fainting, cries : ‘ Papa ! Mamma ! Edouard !’ — Edouard is the marquis’s name — and then bursts into tears, sobbing :

“ ‘ Ah ! I see that we must part !’

“ It was a pretty how-d’ye-do, I promise you. Luckily, Madame Person, the dressmaker on the second floor, came to play a game of loto. We all did our best to put a good face on the matter and the marquis went away ; as soon as he’d gone. Monsieur Cardinal and I tried to say a pleasant word or two to Madame Person, but she saw that something was wrong, and so, as she’s a woman of tact, she left us after fifteen minutes or so.

“ Virginie, who had a fit of the sulks, takes up the Petit Journal and begins to read. Thereupon Monsieur Cardinal leads me into a corner.

“ ‘ Did you hear what Virginie said ?’

“ ‘ About what ?’

“ ‘ That we must part.’

“ ‘ Yes, what of it ?’

“ ‘ Why, she meant that for us.’

“‘For us! You’re losing your wits, Monsieur Cardinal, she meant it for the marquis. Virginie, deny her father and mother I Nonsense ! However, I’ll show you. Dearie ?’

“ ‘ Mamma.’

“ ‘ What do you suppose Monsieur Cardinal says? That you spoke about leaving us.’

“ ‘ Yes, that you said we must part’

“ ‘ Oh, papa, oh ! mamma, can you believe it ? I was thinking of Edouard when I said that Is it possible for me to hesitate between you and him ? But, really, you did say too much to-night; why can’t you let him alone on politics and religion ?’

“ ‘ Because politics and religion include everything,’ said Monsieur Cardinal.

“ ‘ Why, you can talk about other things.’

“ ‘ Yes, but then the conversation always lags.’

“ ‘ Oh ! well, papa, have a little patience.’

“ ‘ I will, my girl, I will, but let’s make peace.’

“ We called Pauline back and embraced all round. My eyes were filled with tears. Then we sat down to a game of loto as cheerfully as you please.