each floor. The dining-room occupied that part of the
ground floor nearest the street, and the kitchen lay on
the other side of a narrow passage almost wholly taken
up by the wooden staircase. Of the two first floor
rooms, one did duty as the magistrate's study, the other
as a bedroom, while the nursery and the servants'
bedroom stood above in the attics. There were no ceil-
ings in the house ; the cross-beams were simply white-
washed and the spaces plastered over. Both rooms on
the first floor and the dining-room below were wains-
coted and adorned with the labyrinthine designs which
taxed the patience of the eighteenth century joiner ; but
the carving had been painted a dingy grey most depres-
sing to behold.

The magistrate's study looked as though it belonged
to a provincial lawyer ; it contained a big bureau, a
mahogany armchair, a law student's books, and shabby
belongings transported from Paris. Mme. Camusot's
room was more of a native product ; it boasted a blue-
and-white scheme of decoration, a carpet, and that



The Jealousies of a Country Town 303

anomalous kind of furniture which appears to be in the
fashion, while it is simply some style that has failed in
Paris. As to the dining-room, it was nothing but an
ordinary provincial dining-room, bare and chilly, with a
damp, faded paper on the walls.

In this shabby room, with nothing to see but the
walnut tree, the dark leaves growing against the walls,
and the almost deserted road beyond them, a somewhat
lively and frivolous woman, accustomed to the amuse-
ments and stir of Paris, used to sit all day long, day
after day, and for the most part of the time alone,
though she received tiresome and inane visits which
led her to think her loneliness preferable to empty
tittle-tattle. If she permitted herself the slightest
gleam of intelligence, it gave rise to interminable
comment and embittered her condition. She occupied
herself a good deal with her children, not so much from
taste as for the sake of an interest in her almost solitary
life, and exercised her mind on the only subjects which
she could find ; to wit, the intrigues which went on
around her, the ways of provincials, and the ambitions shut
in by their narrow horizons. So she very soon fathomed
mysteries of which her husband had no idea. As she
sat at her window with a piece of intermittent em-
broidery work in her fingers, she did not see her wood-
shed full of faggots nor the servant busy at the wash
tub ; she was looking out upon Paris, Paris where every-
thing is pleasure, everything is full of life. She dreamed
of Paris gaieties, and shed tears because she must abide in
this dull prison of a country town. She was disconsolate
because she lived in a peaceful district, where no con-
spiracy, no great affair would ever occur. She saw
herself doomed to sit under the shadow of the walnut
tree for some time to come.

Mme. Camusot was a little, plump, fresh, fair-haired
woman, with a very prominent forehead, a mouth which
receded, and a turned-up chin, a type of countenance



304 The Jealousies of a Country Town

which is passable in youth, but looks old before the time.
Her bright, quick eyes expressed her innocent desire to
get on in the world, and the envy born of her present
inferior position, with rather too much candour j but
still they lighted up her commonplace face and set it off
with a certain energy of feeling, which success was
certain to extinguish in later life. At that time she
used to give a good deal of time and thought to her
dresses inventing trimmings and embroidering them; she
planned out her costumes with the maid whom she had
brought with her from Paris, and so maintained the
reputation of Parisiennes in the provinces. Her caustic
tongue was dreaded ; she was not beloved. In that keen,
investigating spirit peculiar to unoccupied women who
are driven to find some occupation for empty days, she
had pondered the President's private opinions, until at
length she discovered what he meant to do, and for some
time past she had advised Camusot to declare war. The
young Count's affair was an excellent opportunity.
Was "it not obviously Camusot's part to make a step-
ping-stone of this criminal case by favouring the
d'Esgrignons, a family with power of a very different
kind from the power of the du Croisier party ?

' Sauvager will never marry Mile. Duval. They are
dangling her before him, but he will be the dupe of
thos~e Machiavels in the Val-Noble to whom he is
going to sacrifice his position. Camusot, this affair,
so unfortunate as it is for the d'Esgrignons, so insidi-
ously brought on by the President for du Croisier's
benefit, will turn out well for nobody but youf she had
said, as they went in.

The shrewd Parisienne had likewise guessed the
President's underhand manoeuvres with the Blan-
dureaus, and his object in baffling old Blondet's efforts,
but she saw nothing to be gained by opening the eyes
of father or son to the perils of the situation ; she was
enjoying the beginning of the comedy ; she knew about



The Jealousies of a Country Town 305

the proposals made by Chesnel's successor on behalf of
Fabien du Ronceret, but she did not suspect how im-
portant that secret might be to her. If she or her hus-
band were threatened by the President, Mme. Camusot
could threaten too, in her turn, to call the amateur
gardener's attention to a scheme for carrying off the
flower which he meant to transplant into his home.

Chesnel had not penetrated, like Mme. Camusot, into
the means by which Sauvager had been won over ; but
by dint of looking into the various lives and interests of
the men grouped about the Lilies of the Tribunal, he
knew that he could count upon the public prosecutor,
upon Camusot, and M. Michu. Two judges for the
d'Esgrignons would paralyse the rest. And, finally,
Chesnel knew old Blondet well enough to feel sure that
if he ever swerved from impartiality, it would be for the
sake of the work of his whole lifetime, — to secure his
son's appointment. So Chesnel slept, full of confidence,
on the resolve to go to M. Blondet and offer to realise
his so long cherished hopes, while he opened his eyes to
President du Ronceret's treachery. Blondet won over,
he would take a peremptory tone with the examining
magistrate, to whom he hoped to prove that if Victur-
nien was not blameless, he had been merely imprudent ;
the whole thing should be shown in the light of a boy's
thoughtless escapade.

But Chesnel slept neither soundly nor for long.
Before dawn he was awakened by his housekeeper.
The most bewitching person in this history, the most
adorable youth on the face of the globe, Mme. la
Duchesse de Maufrigneuse herself, in man's attire, had
driven alone from Paris in a caleche, and was waiting to
see him.

l I have come to save him or to die with him,' said
she, addressing the notary, who thought that he was
dreaming. ' I have brought a hundred thousand francs,
given me by His Majestv out of his private purse, to

u



306 The Jealousies of a Country Town

buy Victurnien's innocence, if his adversary can be
bribed. If we fail utterly, I have brought poison to
snatch him away before anything takes place, before
even the indictment is drawn up. But we shall not
fail. I have sent word to the public prosecutor ; he is
on the road behind me ; he could not travel in my
caleche, because he wished to take the instructions of the
Keeper of the Seals.'

Chesnel rose to the occasion and played up to the
Duchess; he wrapped himself in his dressing-gown, fell
at her feet and kissed them, not without asking her
pardon for forgetting himself in his joy.

4 We are saved ! ' cried he ; and gave orders to Brigitte
to see that Mme. la Duchesse had all that she needed
after travelling post all night. He appealed to the fair
Diane's spirit, by making her see that it was absolutely
necessary that she should visit the examining magistrate
before daylight, lest any one should discover the secret,
or so much as imagine that the Duchesse de Maufri-
gneuse had come.

4 And have I not a passport in due form ? ' quoth she,
displaving a sheet of paper, wherein she was described as
M. le Vicomte Felix de Vandenesse, Master of Requests,
and His Majesty's private secretary. ' And do I not
play my man's part well ? ' she added, running her fingers
through her wig a la Titus, and twirling her riding
switch.

4 Oh ! Mme. la Duchesse, you are an angel ! ' cried
Chesnel, with tears in his eyes. (She was destined always
to be an angel, even in man's attire.) 4 Button up your
greatcoat, muffle yourself up to the eyes in your travel-
ling cloak, take my arm, and let us go as quickly as pos-
sible to Camusot's house before anybody can meet us.'

4 Then am I going to see a man called Camusot ? '
she asked.

4 With a nose to match his name,' 1 assented Chesnel.

1 Camus, flat-nosed.



The Jealousies of a Country Town 307

The old notary felt his heart dead within him, but
he thought it none the less necessary to humour the
Duchess, to laugh when she laughed, and shed tears
when she wept ; groaning in spirit, all the same, over the
feminine frivolity which could find matter for a jest
while setting about a matter so serious. What would
he not have done to save the Count ? While Chesnel
dressed, Mme. de Maufrigneuse sipped the cup of coffee
and cream which Brigitte brought her, and agreed with
herself that provincial women cooks are superior to the
Parisian chefs, who despise the little details which make
all the difference to an epicure. Thanks to Chesnel's
taste for delicate fare, Brigitte was found prepared to set
an excellent meal before the Duchess.

Chesnel and his charming companion set out for
M. and Mme. Camusot's house.

c Ah ! so there is a Mme. Camusot ? ' said the Duchess.
4 Then the affair may be managed.'

* And so much the more readily, because the lady is
visibly tired enough of living among us provincials ; she
comes from Paris,' said Chesnel.

4 Then we must have no secrets from her ? '

'You will judge how much to tell or to conceal,'
Chesnel replied humbly. C I am sure that she will be
greatly flattered to be the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse's
hostess ; you will be obliged to stay in her house until
nightfall, I expect, unless you find it inconvenient to
remain.'

' Is this Mme. Camusot a good-looking woman ? '
asked the Duchess, with a coxcomb's air.

4 She is a bit of a queen in her own house.'

* Then she is sure to meddle in court-house affairs,'
returned the Duchess. * Nowhere but in France, my
dear M. Chesnel, do you see women so much wedded
to their husbands that they are wedded to their husbands'
professions, work, or business as well. In Italy,
England, and Germany, women make it a point of



30 8 The Jealousies of a Country Town

honour to leave men to fight their own battles ; they
shut their eyes to their husbands' work as perseveringly
as our French citizens' wives do all that in them lies to
understand the position of their joint-stock partnership ;
is not that what you call it in your legal language ?
Frenchwomen are so incredibly jealous in the conduct
of their married life, that they insist on knowing
everything ; and that is how, in the least difficulty, you
feel the wife's hand in the business ; the Frenchwoman
advises, guides, and warns her husband. And, truth to
tell, the man is none the worse off. In England, if a
married man is put in prison for debt for twenty-four
hours, his wife will be jealous and make a scene when he
comes back.'

' Here we are, without meeting a soul on the way,'
said Chesnel. ' You are the more sure of complete
ascendency here, Mme. la Duchesse, since Mme.
Camusot's father is one Thirion, usher of the royal
cabinet.'

' And the King never thought of that!' exclaimed
the Duchess. ' He thinks of nothing ! Thirion intro-
duced us, the Prince de Cadignan, M. de Vandenesse,
and me ! We shall have it all our own way in this
house. Settle everything with M. Camusot while I talk
to his wife.'

The maid, who was washing and dressing the children,
showed the visitors into the little fireless dining-room.

' Take that card to your mistress,' said the Duchess,
lowering her voice for the woman's ear; 'nobody else is
to see it. If you are discreet, child, you shall not lose
by it.'

At the sound of a woman's voice, and the sight of the
handsome young man's face, the maid looked thunder-
struck.

'Wake M. Camusot,' said Chesnel, 'and tell him
that lam waiting to see him on important business,' and
she departed upstairs forthwith.



The Jealousies of a Country Town 309

A few minutes later Mme. Camusot, in her dressing-
gown, sprang downstairs and brought the handsome
stranger into her room. She had pushed Camusot out
of bed and into his study with all his clothes, bidding
him dress himself at once and wait there. The trans-
formation scene had been brought about by a bit of
pasteboard with the words Madame la Duchesse de
Maufrigneuse engraved upon it. A daughter of the
usher of the royal cabinet took in the whole situation
at once.

4 Well ! ' exclaimed the maid-servant, left with Chesnel
in the dining-room, l would not any one think that a
thunderbolt had dropped in among us ? The master
is dressing in his study ; you can go upstairs.'

1 Not a word of all this, mind,' said Chesnel.

Now that he was conscious of the support of a great
lady who had the King's consent (by word of mouth) to
the measures about to be taken for rescuing the Comte
d'Esgrignon, he spoke with an air of authority, which
served his cause much better with Camusot than the
humility with which he would otherwise have approached
him.

4 Sir,' said he, l the words let fall last evening may
have surprised you, but they are serious. The house of
d'Esgrignon counts upon you for the proper conduct of
investigations from which it must issue without a spot.'

'I shall pass over anything in your remarks, sir, which
must be offensive to me personally, and obnoxious to
justice ; for your position with regard to the d'Esgri-
gnons excuses you up to a certain point, but '

'Pardon me, sir, if I interrupt you,' said Chesnel.
' I have just spoken aloud the things which your
superiors are thinking and dare not avow ; though what
those things are any intelligent man can guess, and you are
an intelligent man. — Grant that the young man had acted
imprudently, can you suppose that the sight of a d'Esgri-
gnon dragged into an Assize Court can be gratifying to



310 The jealousies of a Country Town

the King, the Court, or the Ministry ? Is it to the
interest of the kingdom, or of the country, that historic
houses should fall ? Is not the existence of a great
aristocracy, consecrated by time, a guarantee of that
Equality which is the catchword of the Opposition at
this moment r Well and good ; now not only has there
not been the slightest imprudence, but we are innocent
victims caught in a trap.'

'I am curious to know how,' said the examining
magistrate.

'For the last two years, the Sieur du Croisier has
regularly allowed M. le Comte d'Esgrignon to draw
upon him for very large sums,' said Chesnel. 'We are
going to produce drafts for more than a hundred thou-
sand crowns, which he continually met ; the amounts
being remitted by me — bear that well in mind — either
before or after the bills fell due. M. le Comte d'Esgri-
gnon is in a position to produce a receipt for the sum
paid by him, before this bill, this alleged forgery, was
drawn. Can you fail to see in that case that this charge
is a piece of spite and party feeling ? And a charge
brought against the heir of a great house by one of the
most dangerous enemies of the Throne and Altar, what is
it but an odious slander ? There has been no more
forgery in this affair than there has been in my office.
Summon Mme. du Croisier, who knows nothing as yet
of the charge of forgery ; she will declare to you that
I brought the money and paid it over to her, so that in
her husband's absence she might remit the amount
for which he has not asked her. Examine du Croisier
on the point ; he will tell you that he knows nothing of
my payment to Mme. du Croisier.'

£ You may make such assertions as these, sir, in M.
d'Esgrignon's salon, or in any other house where people
know nothing of business, and they may be believed ;
but no examining magistrate, unless he is a drivelling
idiot, can imagine that a woman like Mme. du Croisier, so



The Jealousies of a Country Town 311

submissive as she is to her husband, has a hundred thou-
sand crowns lying in her desk at this moment, without
saying a word to him ; nor yet that an old notary would
not have advised M. du Croisier of the deposit on his
return to town.'

c The old notary, sir, had gone to Paris to put a stop
to the young man's extravagance.'

' I have not yet examined the Comte d'Esgrignon,'
Camusot began ; ' his answers will point out my
duty.'

* Is he in close custody ? '

< Yes.'

1 Sir,' said Chesnel, seeing danger ahead, c the examina-
tion can be made in our interests or against them. But
there are two courses open to you : you can establish the
fact on Mme. du Croisier's deposition that the amount
was deposited with her before the bill was drawn ; or
you can examine the unfortunate young man implicated
in this affair, and he in his confusion may remember
nothing and commit himself. You will decide which is
the more credible — a slip of memory on the part of a
woman in her ignorance of business, or a forgery com-
mitted by a d'Esgrignon.'

4 All this is beside the point,' began Camusot ; ' the
question is, whether M. le Comte d'Esgrignon has or
has not used the lower half of a letter addressed to him
by du Croisier as a bill of exchange.'

' Eh ! and so he might,' a voice cried suddenly, as
Mme. Camusot broke in, followed by the handsome
stranger, l so he might, when M. Chesnel had advanced
the money to meet the bill '

She leant over her husband.

1 You will have the first vacant appointment as
assistant judge at Paris, you are serving the King him-
self in this affair ; I have proof of it ; you will not be
forgotten,' she said, lowering her voice for his ear.
' This young man that you see here is the Duchesse de



312 The Jealousies of a -Country Town

Maufrigneuse ; you must never have seen her, and do
all that you can for the young Count boldly.'

4 Gentlemen,' said Camusot, ' even if the preliminary
examination is conducted to prove the young Count's
innocence, can I answer for the view the court may
take ? M. Chesnel, and you also, my sweet, know what
M. le President wants.'

* Tut, tut, tut ! ' said Mme. Camusot, l go yourself to
M. Michu this morning, and tell him that the Count
has been arrested ; you will be two against two in that
case, I will be bound. Michu comes from Paris, and
you know that he is devoted to the noblesse. Good
blood cannot lie.'

At that very moment Mile. Cadot's voice was heard
in the doorway. She had brought a note, and was
waiting for an answer. Camusot went out, and came
back again to read the note aloud : —

' M. le Vice-President begs M. Camusot to sit in
audience to-day and for the next few days, so that there
may be a quorum during M. le President's absence.'

'Then there is an end of the preliminary examina-
tion ! ' cried Mme. Camusot. ' Did I not tell you,
dear, that they would play you some ugly trick ? The
President has gone off to slander you to the public
prosecutor and the President of the Court-Royal. You
will be changed before you can make the examination.
Is that clear ? '

{ You will stay, monsieur,' said the Duchess. l The
public prosecutor is coming, I hope, in time.'

' When the public prosecutor arrives,' little Mme.
Camusot said, with some heat, c he must find all over. —
Yes, my dear, yes,' she added, looking full at her
amazed husband. — c Ah! old hypocrite of a President,
you are setting your wits against us ; you shall remember
it ! You have a mind to help us to a dish of your own
making, you shall have two served up to you by your



The Jealousies of a Country Town 313

humble servant Cecile Amelie Thirion ! — Poor old
Blonder. ! It is lucky for him that the President has
taken this journey to turn us out, for now that great
oaf of a Joseph Blondet will marry Mile. Blandureau.
I will let Father Blondet have some seeds in return. —
As for you, Camusot, go to M. Michu's, while Mme. la
Duchesse and I will go to find old Blondet. You must
expect to hear it said all over the town to-morrow that
I took a walk with a lover this morning.'

Mme. Camusot took the Duchess's arm, and they went
through the town by deserted streets to avoid any un-
pleasant adventure on the way to the old Vice-President's
house. Chesnel meanwhile conferred with the young
Count in prison ; Camusot had arranged a stolen inter-
view. Cook-maids, servants, and the other early risers
of a country town, seeing Mme. Camusot and the
Duchess taking their way through the back streets,
took the young gentleman for an adorer from Paris.
That evening, as Cecile Amelie had said, the news of
her behaviour was circulated about the town, and more
than one scandalous rumour was occasioned thereby.
Mme. Camusot and her supposed lover found old
Blondet in his greenhouse. He greeted his colleague's
wife and her companion, and gave the charming young
man a keen, uneasy glance.

4 1 have the honour to introduce one of my husband's
cousins,' said Mme. Camusot, bringing forward the
Duchess ; ' he is one of the most distinguished horti-
culturists in Paris; and as he cannot spend more than
the one day with us, on his way back from Brittany, and
has heard of your flowers and plants, I have taken the
liberty of coming early.'

4 Oh, the gentleman is a horticulturist, is he ? ' said
old Blondet.

The Duchess bowed.

1 This is my coffee-plant,' said Blondet, * and here is a
tea-plant.'

' What can have taken M. le President away from



314 The Jealousies of a Country Town

home ? ' put in Mme. Camusot. c I will wager that his
absence concerns M. Camusot.'

* Exactly. — This, monsieur, is the queerest of all
cactuses,' he continued, producing a flower-pot which
appeared to contain a piece of mildewed rattan j c it
comes from Australia. You are very young, sir, to be
a horticulturist.'

1 Dear M. Blondet, never mind your flowers,' said
Mme. Camusot. ' You are concerned, you and your hopes,
and your son's marriage with Mile. Blandureau. You
are duped by the President.'

c Bah ! ' said old Blondet, with an incredulous air.

c Yes,' retorted she. ' If you cultivated people a little
more and your flowers a little less, you would know
that the dowry and the hopes that you have sown, and
watered, and tilled, and weeded are on the point of
being gathered now by cunning hands.'

4 Madame ! '

£ Oh, nobody in the town will have the courage to fly
in the President's face and warn you. I, however, do
not belong to the town, and, thanks to this obliging
young man, I shall soon be going back to Paris ; so I
can inform you that Chesnel's successor has made formal
proposals for Mile. Claire Blandureau's hand on behalf of
young du Ronceret, who is to have fifty thousand crowns
from his parents. As for Fabien, he has made up his
mind to receive a call to the bar, so as to gain an
appointment as judge.'

Old Blondet dropped the flower-pot which he had
brought out for the Duchess to see.

4 Oh, my cactus ! Oh, my son ! and Mile. Blan-
dureau ! . . . Look here ! the cactus flower is broken
to pieces.'

1 No,' Mme. Camusot answered, laughing ; c every-
thing can be put right. If you have a mind to see your
son a judge in another month, we will tell you how you
must set to work '



The Jealousies of a Country Town 315

1 Step this way, sir, and you will see my pelargoniums,

an enchanting sight while they are in flower ' Then

he added to Mme. Camusot, ' Why did you speak of
these matters while your cousin was present ? '

4 All depends upon him,' riposted Mme. Camusot.
c Your son's appointment is lost for ever if you let fall a
word about this young man.'

« Bah ! '

* The young man is a flower '

4 Ah!'

4 He is the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, sent here by
His Majesty to save young d'Esgrignon, whom they
arrested yesterday on a charge of forgery brought against
him by du Croisier. Mme. la Duchesse has authority
from the Keeper of the Seals ; he will ratify any
promises that she makes to us '

c My cactus is all right ! ' exclaimed Blondet, peering
at his precious plant. — * Go on; I am listening.'

'Take counsel with Camusot and Michu to hush up