XIII
THE HETMAN OF JITOMIR'S STORY
Count Casimir had reached that stage where drunkenness takes on a kindof gravity, of regretfulness.
He thought a little, then began his story. I regret that I cannotreproduce more perfectly its archaic flavor.
"When the grapes begin to color in Antinea's garden, I shall besixty-eight. It is very sad, my dear boy, to have sowed all your wildoats. It isn't true that life is always beginning over again. Howbitter, to have known the Tuileries in 1860, and to have reached thepoint where I am now!
"One evening, just before the war (I remember that Victor Black wasstill living), some charming women whose names I need not disclose (Iread the names of their sons from time to time in the society news ofthe _Gaulois_) expressed to me their desire to rub elbows with somereal _demi-mondaines_ of the artist quarter. I took them to a ball atthe _Grande Chaumiere_. There was a crowd of young painters, models,students. In the midst of the uproar, several couples danced the_cancan_ till the chandeliers shook with it. We noticed especially alittle, dark man, dressed in a miserable top-coat and checked trouserswhich assuredly knew the support of no suspenders. He was cross-eyed,with a wretched beard and hair as greasy as could be. He bounded andkicked extravagantly. The ladies called him Leon Gambetta.
"What an annoyance, when I realize that I need only have felled thiswretched lawyer with one pistol shot to have guaranteed perfecthappiness to myself and to my adopted country, for, my dear fellow, Iam French at heart, if not by birth.
"I was born in 1829, at Warsaw, of a Polish father and a Russianmother. It is from her that I hold my title of Hetman of Jitomir. Itwas restored to me by Czar Alexander II on a request made to him onhis visit to Paris, by my august master, the Emperor Napoleon III.
"For political reasons, which I cannot describe without retelling thehistory of unfortunate Poland, my father, Count Bielowsky, left Warsawin 1830, and went to live in London. After the death of my mother, hebegan to squander his immense fortune--from sorrow, he said. When, inhis time, he died at the period of the Prichard affair, he left mebarely a thousand pounds sterling of income, plus two or three systemsof gaming, the impracticability of which I learned later.
"I will never be able to think of my nineteenth and twentieth yearswithout emotion, for I then completely liquidated this smallinheritance. London was indeed an adorable spot in those days. I had ajolly bachelor's apartment in Piccadilly.
"'Picadilly! Shops, palaces, bustle and breeze, The whirling of wheels and the murmur of trees.'
"Fox hunting in a _briska_, driving a buggy in Hyde Park, the rout,not to mention the delightful little parties with the light Venuses ofDrury Lane, this took all my time. All? I am unjust. There was alsogaming, and a sentiment of filial piety forced me to verify thesystems of the late Count, my father. It was gaming which was thecause of the event I must describe to you, by which my life was to beso strangely changed.
"My friend, Lord Malmesbury, had said to me a hundred times, 'I musttake you to see an exquisite creature who lives in Oxford Street,number 277, Miss Howard.' One evening I went with him. It was thetwenty-second of February, 1848. The mistress of the house was reallymarvelously beautiful, and the guests were charming. BesidesMalmesbury, I observed several acquaintances: Lord Clebden, LordChesterfield, Sir Francis Mountjoye, Major in the Second Life Guards,and Count d'Orsay. They played cards and then began to talk politics.Events in France played the main part in the conversation and theydiscussed endlessly the consequences of the revolt that had broken outin Paris that same morning, in consequence of the interdiction of thebanquet in the 12th arrondissement, of which word had just beenreceived by telegram. Up to that time, I had never bothered myselfwith public affairs. So I don't know what moved me to affirm with theimpetuosity of my nineteen years that the news from France meant theRepublic next day and the Empire the day after....
"The company received my sally with a discreet laugh, and their lookswere centered on a guest who made the fifth at a _bouillotte_ tablewhere they had just stopped playing.
"The guest smiled, too. He rose and came towards me. I observed thathe was of middle height, perhaps even shorter, buttoned tightly into ablue frock coat, and that his eye had a far-off, dreamy look.
"All the players watched this scene with delighted amusement.
"'Whom have I the honor of addressing?' he asked in a very gentlevoice.
"'Count Bielowsky,' I answered coolly to show him that the differencein our ages was not sufficient to justify the interrogation.
"Well, my dear Count, may your prediction indeed be realized; and Ihope that you will not neglect the Tuileries,' said the guest in theblue coat, with a smile.
"And he added, finally consenting to present himself:
"'Prince Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte.'
"I played no active role in the _coup d'etat_, and I do not regret it.It is a principle with me that a stranger should not meddle with theinternal affairs of a country. The prince understood this discretion,and did not forget the young man who had been of such good omen tohim.
"I was one of the first whom he called to the Elysee. My fortune wasdefinitely established by a defamatory note on 'Napoleon the little.'The next year, when Mgr. Sibour was out of the way, I was madeGentleman of the Chamber, and the Emperor was even so kind as to haveme marry the daughter of the Marshal Repeto, Duke of Mondovi.
"I have no scruple in announcing that this union was not what itshould have been. The Countess, who was ten years older than I, wascrabbed and not particularly pretty. Moreover, her family had insistedresolutely on a marriage portion. Now I had nothing at this timeexcept the twenty-five thousand pounds for my appointment as Gentlemanof the Chamber. A sad lot for anyone on intimate terms with the Countd'Orsay and the Duke of Gramont-Caderousse! Without the kindness ofthe Emperor, where would I have been?
"One morning in the spring of 1852, I was in my study opening my mail.There was a letter from His Majesty, calling me to the Tuileries atfour o'clock; a letter from Clementine, informing me that she expectedme at five o'clock at her house. Clementine was the beautiful one forwhom, just then, I was ready to commit any folly. I was so proud ofher that, one evening at the _Maison Doree_, I flaunted her beforePrince Metternich, who was tremendously taken with her. All the courtenvied me that conquest; and I was morally obliged to continue toassume its expenses. And then Clementine was so pretty! The Emperorhimself.... The other letters, good lord, the other letters were thebills of the dressmakers of that young person, who, in spite of mydiscreet remonstrances, insisted on having them sent to my conjugaldwelling.
"There were bills for something over forty thousand francs: gowns andball dresses from Gagelin-Opigez, 23 Rue de Richelieu; hats andbonnets from Madame Alexandrine, 14 Rue d'Antin; lingerie and manypetticoats from Madame Pauline, 100 Rue de Clery; dress trimmings andgloves from the _Ville de Lyon_, 6 Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin;foulards from the _Malle des Indes_; handkerchiefs from the _CompagnieIrlandaise_; laces from Ferguson; cosmetics from _Candes_.... Thiswhitening cream of _Candes_, in particular, overwhelmed me withstupefaction. The bill showed fifty-one flasks. Six hundred andtwenty-seven francs and fifty centimes' worth of whitening cream from_Candes_.... Enough to soften the skin of a squadron of a hundredguards!
"'This can't keep on,' I said, putting the bills in my pocket.
"At ten minutes to four, I crossed the wicket by the Carrousel.
"In the Salon of the _aides de camp_ I happened on Bacciochi.
"'The Emperor has the grippe,' he said to me. 'He is keeping to hisroom. He has given orders to have you admitted as soon as you arrive.Come.'
"His Majesty, dressed in a braided vest and Cossack trousers, wasmeditating before a window. The pale green of the Tuileries showedluminously under a gentle warm shower.
"'Ah! Here he is,' said Napoleon. 'Here, have a cigarette. It seemsthat you had great doings, you and Gramont-Caderousse, last evening,at the _Chateau de Fleurs_.'
"I smiled with s
atisfaction.
"'So Your Majesty knows already....'
"'I know, I know vaguely.'
"'Do you know Gramont-Caderousse's last "mot"?'
"'No, but you are going to tell it to me.'
"'Here goes, then. We were five or six: myself, Viel-Castel, Gramont,Persigny....'
"'Persigny!' said the Emperor. 'He has no right to associate withGramont, after all that Paris says about his wife.'
"'Just so Sire. Well, Persigny was excited, no doubt about it. Hebegan telling us how troubled he was because of the Duchess'sconduct.'
"'This Fialin isn't over tactful,' muttered the Emperor.
"'Just so, Sire. Then, does Your Majesty know what Gramont hurled athim?'
"'What?'
"'He said to him, "_Monsieur le Duc_, I forbid you to speak ill of mymistress before me."
"'Gramont goes too far,' said Napoleon with a dreamy smile.
"'That is what we all thought, including Viel-Castel, who wasnevertheless delighted.'
"'Apropos of this,' said Napoleon after a silence, 'I have forgottento ask you for news of the Countess Bielowsky.'
"'She is very well, Sire, I thank Your Majesty,'
"'And Clementine? Still the same dear child?'
"'Always, Sire. But....'
"'It seems that M. Baroche is madly in love with her.'
"'I am very much honored, Sire. But this honor becomes tooburdensome.'
"I had drawn from my pocket that morning's bills and I spread them outunder the eyes of the Emperor.
"He looked at them with his distant smile.
"'Come, come. If that is all, I can fix that, since I have a favor toask of you.'
"'I am entirely at Your Majesty's service.'
"He struck a gong.
"'Send for M. Mocquard.'
"'I have the grippe,' he said. 'Mocquard will explain the affair toyou.'
"The Emperor's private secretary entered.
"'Here is Bielowsky, Mocquard,' said Napoleon. 'You know what I wanthim to do. Explain it to him.'
"And he began to tap on the window-panes against which the rain wasbeating furiously.
"'My dear Count,' said Mocquard, taking a chair, 'it is very simple.You have doubtless heard of a young explorer of promise, M. HenryDuveyrier.'
"I shook my head as a sign of negation, very much surprised at thisbeginning.
"'M. Duveyrier,' continued Mocquard, 'has returned to Paris after aparticularly daring trip to South Africa and the Sahara. M. Vivien deSaint Martin, whom I have seen recently has assured me that theGeographical Society intends to confer its great gold medal upon him,in recognition of these exploits. In the course of his trip, M.Duveyrier has entered into negotiations with the chief of the peoplewho always have been so rebellious to His Majesty's armies, theTuareg.'
"I looked at the Emperor. My bewilderment was such that he began tolaugh.
"'Listen,' he said.
"'M. Duveyrier,' continued Mocquard, 'was able to arrange to have adelegation of these chiefs come to Paris to present their respects toHis Majesty. Very important results may arise from this visit, and HisExcellency the Colonial Minister, does not despair of obtaining thesignature of a treaty of commerce, reserving special advantages to ourfellow countrymen. These chiefs, five of them, among them Sheik Otham,_Amenokol_ or Sultan of the Confederation of Adzjer, arrive to-morrowmorning at the _Gare de Lyon_. M. Duveyrier will meet them. But theEmperor has thought that besides....'
"'I thought,' said Napoleon III, delighted by my bewilderment, 'Ithought that it was correct to have some one of the Gentlemen of myChamber wait upon the arrival of these Mussulman dignitaries. That iswhy you are here, my poor Bielowsky. Don't be frightened,' he added,laughing harder. 'You will have M. Duveyrier with you. You are chargedonly with the special part of the reception: to accompany theseprinces to the lunch that I am giving them to-morrow at the Tuileries;then, in the evening, discreetly on account of their religiousscruples, to succeed in giving them a very high idea of Parisiancivilization, with nothing exaggerated: do not forget that in theSahara they are very high religious dignitaries. In that respect, Ihave confidence in your tact and give you _carte blanche_....Mocquard!'
"'Sire?'
"'You will apportion on the budget, half to Foreign Affairs, half tothe Colonies, the funds Count Bielowsky will need for the reception ofthe Tuareg delegation. It seems to me that a hundred thousand francs,to begin.... The Count has only to tell you if he is forced to exceedthat figure.'
"Clementine lived on the Rue Boccador, in a little Moorish pavilionthat I had bought for her from M. de Lesseps. I found her in bed. Whenshe saw me, she burst into tears.
"'Great fools that we are!' she murmured amidst her sobs, 'what havewe done!'
"'Clementine, tell me!'
"'What have we done, what have we done!' she repeated, and I feltagainst me, her floods of black hair, her warm cheek which wasfragrant with _eau de Nanon_.
"'What is it? What can it be?'
"'It is....' and she murmured something in my ear.
"'No!' I said, stupefied. 'Are you quite sure?'
"'Am I quite sure!'
"I was thunderstruck.
"'You don't seem much pleased,' she said sharply.
"'I did not say that.... Though, really, I am very much pleased, Iassure you.'
"'Prove it to me: let us spend the day together tomorrow.'
"'To-morrow!' I stammered. 'Impossible!'
"'Why?' she demanded suspiciously.
"'Because to-morrow, I have to pilot the Tuareg mission about Paris.The Emperor's orders.'
"'What bluff is this?' asked Clementine.
"'I admit that nothing so much resembles a lie as the truth.'
"I retold Mocquard's story to Clementine, as well as I could. Shelistened to me with an expression that said: 'you can't fool me thatway.'
"Finally, furious, I burst out:
"'You can see for yourself. I am dining with them, tomorrow; and Iinvite you.'
"'I shall be very pleased to come,' said Clementine with greatdignity.
"I admit that I lacked self-control at that minute. But think what aday it had been! Forty thousand francs of bills as soon as I woke up.The ordeal of escorting the savages around Paris all the next day.And, quite unexpectedly, the announcement of an approaching irregularpaternity....
"'After all,' I thought, as I returned to my house, 'these are theEmperor's orders. He has commanded me to give the Tuareg an idea ofParisian civilization. Clementine comports herself very well insociety and just now it would not do to aggravate her. I will engage aroom for to-morrow at the _Cafe de Paris_, and tell Gramont-Caderousseand Viel-Castel to bring their silly mistresses. It will be veryFrench to enjoy the attitude of these children of the desert in themidst of this little party.'
"The train from Marseilles arrived at 10:20. On the platform I foundM. Duveyrier, a young man of twenty-three with blue eyes and a littleblond beard. The Tuareg fell into his arms as they descended from thetrain. He had lived with them for two years, in their tents, the devilknows where. He presented me to their chief, Sheik Otham, and to fourothers, splendid fellows in their blue cotton draperies and theiramulets of red leather. Fortunately, they all spoke a kind of_sabir_[13] which helped things along.
[Footnote 13: Dialect spoken in Algeria and the Levant--a mixture ofArabian, French, Italian and Spanish.]
"I only mention in passing the lunch at the Tuileries, the visits inthe evening to the Museum, to the _Hotel de Ville_, to the ImperialPrinting Press. Each time, the Tuareg inscribed their names in theregistry of the place they were visiting. It was interminable. To giveyou an idea, here is the complete name of Sheik Otham alone:Otham-ben-el-Hadj-el-Bekri-ben-el-Hadj-el-Faqqi-ben-Mohammad-Bouya-ben-si-Ahmed-es-Souki-ben-Mahmoud.[14]
[Footnote 14: I have succeeded in finding on the registry of theImperial Printing Press the names of the Tuareg chiefs and those whoaccompanied them on their visit, M. Henry Duveyrier and the CountBielowsky. (Note by
M. Leroux.)]
"And there were five of them like that!
"I maintained my good humor, however, because on the boulevards,everywhere, our success was colossal. At the _Cafe de Paris_, atsix-thirty, it amounted to frenzy. The delegation, a little drunk,embraced me: '_Bono, Napoleon, bono, Eugenie; bono, Casimir; bono,Christians_.' Gramont-Caderousse and Viel-Castel were already in boothnumber eight, with Anna Grimaldi, of the _Folies Dramatiques_, andHortense Schneider, both beautiful enough to strike terror to theheart. But the palm was for my dear Clementine, when she entered. Imust tell you how she was dressed: a gown of white tulle, over Chinablue tarletan, with pleatings, and ruffles of tulle over thepleatings. The tulle skirt was caught up on each side by garlands ofgreen leaves mingled with rose clusters. Thus it formed a valencewhich allowed the tarletan skirt to show in front and on the sides.The garlands were caught up to the belt and, in the space betweentheir branches, were knots of rose satin with long ends. The pointedbodice was draped with tulle, the billowy bertha of tulle was edgedwith lace. By way of head-dress, she had placed upon her black locks adiadem crown of the same flowers. Two long leafy tendrils were twinedin her hair and fell on her neck. As cloak, she had a kind of scarf ofblue cashmere embroidered in gold and lined with blue satin.
"So much beauty and splendor immediately moved the Tuareg and,especially, Clementine's right-hand neighbor, El-Hadj-ben-Guemama,brother of Sheik Otham and Sultan of Ahaggar. By the time the souparrived, a bouillon of wild game, seasoned with Tokay, he was alreadymuch smitten. When they served the compote of fruits Martinique _a laliqueur de Mme. Amphoux_, he showed every indication of illimitablepassion. The Cyprian wine _de la Commanderie_ made him quite sure ofhis sentiments. Hortense kicked my foot under the table. Gramont,intending to do the same to Anna, made a mistake and aroused theindignant protests of one of the Tuareg. I can safely say that whenthe time came to go to Mabille, we were enlightened as to the mannerin which our visitors respected the prohibition decreed by the Prophetin respect to wine.
"At Mabille, while Clementine, Hortense, Anna, Ludovic and the threeTuareg gave themselves over to the wildest gallops, Sheik Otham tookme aside and confided to me, with visible emotion, a certaincommission with which he had just been charged by his brother, SheikAhmed.
"The next day, very early, I reached Clementine's house.
"'My dear,' I began, after having waked her, not without difficulty,'listen to me. I want to talk to you seriously.'
"She rubbed her eyes a bit crossly.
"'How did you like that young Arabian gentleman who was so taken withyou last night?'
"'Why, well enough,' she said, blushing.
"'Do you know that in his country, he is the sovereign prince andreigns over territories five or six times greater than those of ouraugust master, the Emperor Napoleon III?'
"'He murmured something of that kind to me,' she said, becominginterested.
"'Well, would it please you to mount on a throne, like our augustsovereign, the Empress Eugenie?'
"Clementine, looked startled.
"'His own brother, Sheik Otham, has charged me in his name to makethis offer.'
"Clementine, dumb with amazement, did not reply.
"'I, Empress!' she finally stammered.
"'The decision rests with you. They must have your answer beforemidday. If it is 'yes,' we lunch together at Voisin's, and the bargainis made.'
"I saw that she had already made up her mind, but she thought it wellto display a little sentiment.
"'And you, you!' she groaned. 'To leave you thus.... Never!'
"'No foolishness, dear child,' I said gently. 'You don't know perhapsthat I am ruined. Yes, completely: I don't even know how I am going topay for your complexion cream!'
"'Ah!' she sighed.
"She added, however, 'And ... the child?'
"'What child?'
"'Our child ... our child.'
"'Ah! That is so. Why, you will have to put it down to profit andloss. I am even convinced that Sheik Ahmed will find that it resembleshim.'
"'You can turn everything into a joke,' she said between laughing andcrying.
"The next morning, at the same hour, the Marseilles express carriedaway the five Tuareg and Clementine. The young woman, radiant, wasleaning on the arm of Sheik Ahmed, who was beside himself with joy.
"'Have you many shops in your capital?' she asked him languidly.
"And he, smiling broadly under his veil, replied:
"'_Besef, besef, bono, roumis, bono_.'
"At the last moment, Clementine had a pang of emotion.
"'Listen, Casimir, you have always been kind to me. I am going to be aqueen. If you weary of it here, promise me, swear to me....'
"The Sheik had understood. He took a ring from his finger and slippedit onto mine.
"'Sidi Casimir, comrade,' he affirmed. 'You come--find us. Take SidiAhmed's ring and show it. Everybody at Ahaggar comrades. _Bono_Ahaggar, _bono_.'
"When I came out of the _Gare de Lyon_, I had the feeling of havingperpetrated an excellent joke."
The Hetman of Jitomir was completely drunk. I had had the utmostdifficulty in understanding the end of his story, because heinterjected, every other moment, couplets from Jacques Offenbach'sbest score.
_Dans un bois passait un jeune homme, Un jeune homme frais et beau, Sa main tenait une pomme, Vous voyez d'ici le tableau_.
"Who was disagreeably surprised by the fall of Sedan? It was Casimir,poor old Casimir! Five thousand _louis_ to pay by the fifth ofSeptember, and not the first sou, no, not the first sou. I take my hatand my courage and go to the Tuileries. No more Emperor there, no! Butthe Empress was so kind. I found her alone--ah, people scatter quicklyunder such circumstances!--alone, with a senator, M. Merimee, the onlyliterary man I have ever known who was at the same time a man of theworld. 'Madame,' he was saying to her, 'you must give up all hope. M.Thiers, whom I just met on the _Pont Royal_, would listen to nothing.'
"'Madame,' I said in my turn, 'Your Majesty always will know where hertrue friends are.'
"And I kissed her hand.
"_Evohe, que les deesses Out de droles de facons Pour enjoler, pour enjoler, pour enjoler les gaaarcons_!
"I returned to my home in the Rue de Lille. On the way I encounteredthe rabble going from the _Corps Legislatif_ to the Hotel de Ville. Mymind was made up.
"'Madame,' I said to my wife, 'my pistols.'
"'What is the matter?' she asked, frightened.
"'All is lost. But there is still a chance to preserve my honor. I amgoing to be killed on the barricades.'
"'Ah! Casimir,' she sobbed, falling into my arms. 'I have misjudgedyou. Will you forgive me?'
"'I forgive you, Aurelie,' I said with dignified emotion. 'I have notalways been right myself.'
"I tore myself away from this mad scene. It was six o'clock. On theRue de Bac, I hailed a cab on its mad career.
"'Twenty francs tip,' I said to the coachman, 'if you get to the _Garede Lyon_ in time for the Marseilles train, six thirty-seven.'"
The Hetman of Jitomir could say no more. He had rolled over on thecushions and slept with clenched fists.
I walked unsteadily to the great window.
The sun was rising, pale yellow, behind the sharp blue mountains.