Part 39 (1/2)
”You will take them from my private treasure” Colbert bowed ”And,” added Louis, ”as it see your economy, to defray, with so limited a sun an order for three ned an order immediately, then handed it to Colbert ”Be satisfied, M Colbert, the plan I have adopted is one worthy of a king,” said Louis XIV, who pronounced these words with all the majesty he kne to assume in such circu an audience to his tailors
The order issued by the king was known throughout the whole of Fontainebleau; it was already known, too, that the king was trying on his costu The news circulated with the rapidity of lightning; during its progress it kindled every variety of coquetry, desire, and wild ambition At the same moment, as if by enchantment, every one who kne to hold a needle, every one who could distinguish a coat from a pair of trousers, was summoned to the assistance of those who had received invitations The king had completed his toilette by nine o'clock; he appeared in an open carriage decorated with branches of trees and flowers The queens had taken their seats upon a nificent dias or platform, erected upon the borders of the lake, in a theater of wonderful elegance of construction In the space of five hours the carpenters had put together all the different parts connected with the building; the upholsterers had laid down the carpets, erected the seats; and, as if at the wave of an enchanter's wand, a thousand ar with each other, had constructed the building, amidst the sound of music; whilst, at the same time, other workmen illuminated the theater and the shores of the lake with an incalculable number of lamps As the heavens, set with stars, were perfectly unclouded, as not even a breath of air could be heard in the woods, and as if Nature itself had yielded co's fancies, the back of the theater had been left open; so that, behind the foreground of the scenes, could be seen as a background the beautiful sky, glittering with stars; the sheet of water, illuhts which were reflected in it; and the bluish outline of the grandmade his appearance, the theater was full, and presented to the view one vast group, dazzling with gold and precious stones; in which, however, at the first glance, no single face could be distinguished By degrees, as the sight became accustomed to so much brilliancy, the rarest beauties appeared to the view, as in the evening sky the stars appear one by one to hiain
The theater represented a grove of trees; a few fauns lifting up their cloven feet were ju about; a dryad made her appearance on the scene, and was iathered round her for her defense, and they quarrelled as they danced Suddenly, for the purpose of restoring peace and order, Spring, accompanied by his whole court, made his appearance The Eleether with their attributes, hastened to follow their gracious sovereign The Seasons, allies of Spring, followed him closely, to form a quadrille, which, afterimport, was the commencement of the dance The htfully descriptive of rural delights The king had already made his appearance, amid thunders of applause He was dressed in a tunic of flowers, which set off his graceful and well-fors, the best-shaped at court, were displayed to great advantage in flesh-colored silken hose, of silk so fine and so transparent that it seemed almost like flesh itself The most beautiful pale-lilac satin shoes, with bows of flowers and leaves, iure was in har hair floated on his shoulders, the freshness of his complexion was enhanced by the brilliancy of his beautiful blue eyes, which softly kindled all hearts; a ned to open in s styled ”The King of all the Loves” There was soe which resembled the buoyant movements of an i His entrance produced, therefore, the nan was observed endeavoring to approach either the king or Mada dress, diaphanous and light as the finest network tissue from the hands of skillful Mechlin workers, one knee occasionally revealed beneath the folds of the tunic, and her little feet encased in silken slippers decked with pearls-advanced radiant with beauty, accoe of Bacchantes, and had already reached the spot assigned to her in the dance The applause continued so long that the co
”What is thewhatever,” replied the courtier, as pale as death; ”but your ht of Fruits”
”Yes; it is suppressed”
”Far froiven no directions about it, the ,” said the king ”This figure cannot be performed, since M de Guiche is absent It must be suppressed”
”Ah, sire, a quarter of an hour'sas to ruin the success of the ballet”
”But, coreatest misfortune; for, after all, the orchestra could still just as well cut it out, if it were necessary; but-”
”But what?”
”Why, M de Guiche is here”
”Here?” replied the king, frowning, ”here? Are you sure?”
”Yes, sire; and ready dressed for the ballet”
The king felt himself color deeply, and said, ”You are probably mistaken”
”So little is that the case, sire, that if your ht, you will see that the co”
Louis turned hastily towards the side, and in fact, on his right, brilliant in his character of Autu should look at hiive an idea of the stupefaction of the king, and that of Monsieur, as itated e eht of her partner,-is a task wewith astonish lowly, approached Louis with the profoundest respect
”Sire,” he said, ”your majesty's most devoted servant approaches to perform a service on this occasion with similar zeal that he has already shown on the field of battle Yourthe most beautiful scene in the ballet I did not wish to be the substance of so dark a shadow to your raceful invention; and I have left my tenants in order to place my services at your majesty's commands”
Every word fell distinctly, in perfect harmony and eloquence, upon Louis XIV's ears Their flattery pleased, as e had astonished him, and he simply replied: ”I did not tell you to return, comte”
”Certainly not, sire; but yourperceived that tied it would cole cloud upon the picture would eventually spoil the whole Besides, the king's heart was filled with two or three new ideas; he had just derived fresh inspiration frolances of Madame Her look had said to him: ”Since they are jealous of you, divide their suspicions, for the man who distrusts two rivals does not object to either in particular” So that Mada smiled upon De Guiche, who did not coe, but he remarked that she pretended not to look at him, and he attributed the pardon which had been conferred upon hi seemed only pleased with every one present Monsieur was the only one who did not understand anything about the an; the effect was more than beautiful When the music, by its bursts of melody, carried away these illustrious dancers, when the simple, untutored pantomime of that period, only theof the august actors, had reached its cul point of triumph, the theater shook with tumultuous applause
De Guiche shone like a sun, but like a courtly sun, that is resigned to fill a subordinate part Disdainful of a success of which Mada but boldly regaining the marked preference of the princess She, however, did not bestow a single glance upon hirees all his happiness, all his brilliancy, subsided into regret and uneasiness; so that his li heavily by his sides, and his head drooped as though he was stupefied The king, who had from this moment become in reality the principal dancer in the quadrille, cast a look upon his vanquished rival De Guiche soon ceased to sustain even the character of the courtier; without applause, he danced indifferently, and very soon could not dance at all, by which accident the triu and of Madame was assured
Chapter XL: The Ny remained for a moment to enjoy a triumph as complete as it could possibly be He then turned towards Mada her also a little in her turn Young persons love with reater ardor and deeper passion, than others s are at the saor: so that vanity being with the, according to the laws of equipoise, never attains that degree of perfection which it acquires in e Louis thought of Madaht of hiht of herself, without bestowing a single thought upon the king The victim, however, of all these royal affections and affectations, was poor De Guiche Every one could observe his agitation and prostration-a prostration which was, indeed, the more remarkable since people were not accusto listlessly by his side, his head bewildered, and his eyes with all their bright intelligence bedimmed It rarely happened that any uneasiness was excited on his account, whenever a question of elegance or taste was under discussion; and De Guiche's defeat was accordingly attributed by the greater number present to his courtier-like tact and ability But there were others-keen-sighted observers are always to be met with at court-who remarked his paleness and his altered looks; which he could neither feign nor conceal, and their conclusion was that De Guiche was not acting the part of a flatterer All these sufferings, successes, and remarks were blended, confounded, and lost in the uproar of applause When, however, the queens expressed their satisfaction and the spectators their enthusiase his costuhted to be, was in his turn dancing about, De Guiche, who had now recovered himself, approached Mada for the second part, and had quitted the others for the purpose of creating a sort of solitude for herself in the midst of the crowd, to raphic effects; and it will be perfectly understood that, absorbed in deep meditation, she did not see, or rather pretended not to notice, anything that was passing around her De Guiche, observing that she was alone, near a thicket constructed of painted cloth, approached her Two of herDe Guiche advance, drew back out of respect, whereupon De Guiche proceeded towards the hness; but, whether she did or did not observe his salutations, the princess did not even turn her head A cold shi+ver passed through poor De Guiche; he was unprepared for such utter indifference, for he had neither seen nor been told of anything that had taken place, and consequently could guess nothing Re, therefore, that his obeisance obtained hiement, he advanced one step further, and in a voice which he tried, though vainly, to render calm, said: ”I have the honor to present hness”
Upon this Madaly towards the coood day!”
The comte's patience alhness danced just now ly”
”Do you think so?” she replied with indifference
”Yes; the character which your royal highness assuain turned round, and, looking De Guiche full in the face with a bright and steady gaze, said,-”Why so?”
”Oh! there can be no doubt of it”
”Explain yourself?”
”You represented a divinity, beautiful, disdainful, inconstant”
”You mean Pomona, comte?”
”I allude to the Goddess”
Madame remained silent for a moment, with her lips compressed, and then observed,-”But, comte, you, too, are an excellent dancer”
”Nay, Madame, I am only one of those who are never noticed, or who are soon forgotten if they ever happen to be noticed”
With this rehs which affect the re, his heart burdened with sorrow and throbbing fast, his head on fire, and his gaze wandering, he bowed breathlessly, and withdrew behind the thicket The only reply Mada her shoulders, and, as her ladies of honor had discreetly retired while the conversation lasted, she recalled them by a look The ladies were Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente and Mademoiselle de Montalais
”Did you hear what the Comte de Guiche said?” the princess inquired
”No”
”It really is very singular,” she continued, in a compassionate tone, ”how exile has affected poor M de Guiche's wit” And then, in a louder voice, fearful lest her unhappy victiht lose a syllable, she said,-”In the first place he danced badly, and afterwards his re the air to which she was presently going to dance De Guiche had overheard everything The arrow pierced his heart and wounded hiress of the fete by his annoyance, he fled fro his beautiful costu, the branches of vines, mulberry and almond trees, with all the other artificial attributes of his assumed divinity A quarter of an hour afterwards he returned to the theater; but it will be readily believed that it was only a powerful effort of reason over his great exciteo back; or perhaps, for love is thus strangely constituted, he found it ier separated from the presence of one who had broken his heart Madaure She saw, but did not look at De Guiche, who, irritated and revengeful, turned his back upon her as she passed him, escorted by her ny this ti woman was seated, with her eyes fixed upon one of the s of the theater, froht-thein question being that of the royal box As De Guiche quitted the theater for the purpose of getting into the fresh air he so ure and saluted her When she perceived the young man, she rose, like a woman surprised in thefronized her, and said hurriedly,-”Good evening, Made you”
”I, also, M de Guiche, airl, as she was about to withdraw
”Pray do not leaveout his hand towards her, ”for you would be contradicting the kind words you have just pronounced Re is most lovely You wish to escape from the merry tumult, and prefer your own society Well, I can understand it; all wo do, and one never finds theiddy vortex of these exciting amusements Oh! Heaven!” he exclaimed, suddenly
”What is the matter, monsieur le coitated”
”I! oh, no!”