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[Illustration]

_THE REPENTANT HUSBAND_


_Jacques no longer had the strength to spurn him; Edouard approached
Adeline and threw himself at her feet, placing his head against the
ground, and sobbing piteously._




NOVELS

BY

Paul de Kock

VOLUME XVII

BROTHER JACQUES

[Illustration: PRINTED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH
GEORGE BARRIE'S SONS]

THE JEFFERSON PRESS

BOSTON NEW YORK




I

A WEDDING PARTY AT THE CADRAN-BLEU.--THE MURVILLE FAMILY


It is midnight; whence come these joyful shouts, these bursts of
laughter, these outcries, this music, this singing, this uproar? Pause a
moment on the boulevard, in front of the Cadran-Bleu; follow the example
of those folk who look on at all the wedding parties, all the banquets,
which take place at the restaurants on Boulevard du Temple, by walking
in front of the windows, or in the roadway, and who enjoy comfortably
the spectacle of a ladies' chain, a waltz, or a chocolate cream,--at the
risk, however, of being jostled by passers-by, splashed by carriages and
insulted by drivers. But at midnight the idlers, the loiterers, or the
loungers--whichever you may choose to call them--have returned home;
nothing remains in front of the door of the Cadran-Bleu except cabs or
private carriages, according as the guests choose to assume an air of
greater or less importance; but that is the hour at which the tableau
becomes more interesting, more varied, more animated; for not until then
do the guests begin to become really acquainted.

But, you will ask me, what is the occasion of this assemblage at the
Cadran-Bleu? Is it a birthday party, an anniversary, or a banquet of
some society? Better than any of these; it is a wedding party.

A wedding party! What a world of reflections those words arouse! To how
many thoughts, hopes, and memories they give rise! How fast they make
the young girl's heart beat, who sighs for the moment to come when she
will be the heroine of that great day, when she will carry that pretty
white bouquet, that wreath of orange blossoms, the symbols of modesty
and of maidenhood, which have unhappily lied to more than one husband
who has never boasted about it, and for a good reason! But how the
thought of that ceremony saddens the young wife, but a few years
married, who already has ceased to know happiness except in her memory!
She trembles for the lot of the poor child who is pledging herself! She
remembers the day of her own wedding, the ardor and zealous attentions
of her husband; she compares that day with those that have followed, and
realizes how much confidence can be placed in the vows of man.

But let us leave such reflections. Let us enter the Cadran-Bleu, and
make the acquaintance of the principal persons at this function, whom,
probably, we shall have occasion to see more than once in the course of
this narrative, unless it happens that this chapter has no connection
with the plot, which is quite possible; we read many chapters of that
sort.

Edouard Murville was twenty-five years of age; he was of medium stature
but well-proportioned; his face was attractive, his voice soft, his
manners distinguished. He had all the social talents, played moderately
well on the violin, sang with expression, and danced gracefully; his
language was well-chosen, he was accustomed to society, and he knew how
to enter and leave a salon, which, be it said in passing, is not so easy
as one might think. What! I hear my readers say, does this fellow
suppose that we do not know how to walk, to enter a room, and to bow
gracefully? God forbid that I should express such a judgment upon the
nation which dances best! But there are degrees in everything, and it is
upon those degrees that I base my judgment. A very clever, but slightly
sarcastic woman, beside whom I was sitting not long ago, in the salon of
a banker, favored me with some of her observations, which in general are
very just.

"Come," she said, "let us examine together the people who come into this
salon; I will wager that I can guess their dispositions, their humor, by
the way in which they enter.--See that tall lady passing through the
crowd, not deigning to notice anybody with even so much as a nod! Now
she is sitting down in front of the fireplace, she places her feet upon
the screen, and installs herself in the best place, without looking to
see whether she is in the way of the people behind her or not. What do
you think of that woman?"

"That she is very pretentious and desires to display her fine dress."

"That