Volume II Part 24 (2/2)
”Do you call this a bed, my child?”
”I have no other, sir”
”Then I do not want it, and you shall not have the crown”
”Did you intend undressing yourself?”
”Of course”
”What an idea! There are no sheets”
”Do you sleep with your clothes on?”
”Oh, no!”
”Well, then, go to bed as usual, and you shall have the crown”
”Why?”
”I want to see you undressed”
”But you won't do anything to ”
She undressed, laid herself on her miserable straw bed, and covered herself with an old curtain In that state, the impression made by her dirty tatters disappeared, and I only saw a perfect beauty But I wanted to see her entirely I tried to satisfy my wishes, she opposed some resistance, but a double crown of six francsthat her only fault was a coan to wash her with my own hands
You will allow me, dear reader, to suppose that you possess a sie, namely, that admiration under such circumstances is inseparable fro Morphi disposed to letfor which I did not care! She told , because in her sister's estimation it orth twenty-five louis I answered that ould bargain on that capital point another time, but that ould not touch it for the present
Satisfied hat I said, all the rest was at reat perfection in spite of her precocity
The young Helene faithfully handed to her sister the six francs I had given her, and she told her the way in which she had earned them Before I left the house she told me that, as she was in want of money, she felt disposed to make some abateh that I would see her about it the next day I related the whole affair to Patu, who accusedto prove to him that I was a real connoisseur of fe Helene as I had seen her He agreed withmore perfect As white as a lily, Helene possessed all the beauties which nature and the art of the painter can possibly combine The loveliness of her features was so heavenly that it carried to the soul an indefinable sentihtful calm She was fair, but her beautiful blue eyes equalled the finest black eyes in brilliance
I went to see her the next evening, and, not agreeing about the price, I ive her twelve francs every tireed that ould occupy her room until I should ular usury, but the Morphi came from a Greek race, and was above prejudices
I had no idea of giving such a large sum, because I felt no wish to obtain what it would have procured me; what I obtained was all I cared for
The elder sister thought I was duped, for in twodone anything, and she attributed my reserve to avarice Avarice, indeed! I took a fancy to possess a painting of that beautiful body, and a German artist painted it for me splendidly for six louis The position in which he painted it was delightful She was lying on her sto her head sideways as if she were partly on the back The clever and tasteful artist had painted her nether parts with so much skill and truth that no one could have wished for anything hted with that portrait; it was a speaking likeness, and I wrote under it, ”O-Morphi,” not a Ho beautiful
But who can anticipate the wonderful and secret decrees of destiny! My friend Patu wished to have a copy of that portrait; one cannot refuse such a slight service to a friend, and I gave an order for it to the sa been su with several others, and M de St Quentin found it so beautiful that he lost no tireat connoisseur in that line, wished to ascertain with his own eyes if the artist had inal should prove as beautiful as the copy, the son of St Louis knew very hat to do with it
M de St Quentin, the king's trusty friend, had the charge of that important affair; it was his province: He enquired froht to Versailles, and the artist, not supposing there would be any difficulty, promised to attend to it
He therefore called on htful, and I immediately told the sister, who ju and clothing the young beauty, and two or three days after they went to Versailles with the painter to see what could be done M de St Quentin's valet, having received his instructions from his master, took the two females to a pavilion in the park, and the painter went to the hotel to await the result of his negotiation Half an hour afterwards the king entered the pavilion alone, asked the young O-Morphi if she was a Greek woman, took the portrait out of his pocket, and after a careful examination exclaimed,
”I have never seen a better likeness”