Complete Works of Henryk Sienkiewicz

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  Svirski thought then to himself, that, since the affair had begun so long before, there was need to end it, and let that come which God permits. He felt at the moment like a man who closes his eyes and ears with his fingers; but he felt also that it was needful to act thus, and that there was no time for hesitation.

  “Perhaps it would be better for you to walk a little,” said he. “The carriage will follow, and, besides, we shall be able to speak more in freedom.”

  “Very well,” answered Pani Elzen, with a resigned voice.

  Svirski punched the driver with his cane; the carriage halted; and they stepped out. Romulus and Remus ran forward at once, and only stopped, when some tens of yards ahead, to look from above at the houses in Eze, and roll stones into the olive-groves growing below. Svirski and Pani Elzen were left alone; but that day some fatality seemed to weigh on them, for before they could use the moment they saw that a horseman, coming from the direction of Monaco, had stopped near Romulus and Remus. Behind him was a groom dressed in the English manner.

  “That is De Sinten,” said Pani Elzen, with impatience.

  “Yes, I recognize him.”

  In fact, they saw next moment before them a horse’s head, and above it the equine face of young De Sinten. He hesitated whether or not to salute and go on, but considering evidently that if they had wanted to be alone they would not have brought the boys, he sprang from the horse, and, beckoning to the groom, began to greet them.

  “Good-day,” answered Pani Elzen, somewhat dryly. “Is this your hour?”

  “It is. Mornings, I shoot at pigeons with Wilkis Bey, so I cannot ride lest I disturb my pulse. I am now seven pigeons ahead of him. Do you know that the ‘Formidable’ comes to Villa Franca to-day, and to-morrow the admiral will give a ball on deck?”

  “We saw it arrive.”

  “I was just going to Villa Franca to see one of the officers whom I know, but it is late. If you permit, I will go with you to Monte Carlo.”

  Pani Elzen nodded, and they went on together. De Sinten, since he was a horseman by nature, began at once to speak of the “hunter,” on which he had come.

  “I bought him from Waxdorf,” said he. “Waxdorf lost at trente et quarante, and needed money. He bet inverse, and hit on a lucky series, but afterward fortune changed.” Here he turned to the horse. “He is of pure Irish blood, and I will give my neck that there is not a better hunter on the whole Cornice; but it is difficult to mount him.”

  “Is he vicious?” inquired Svirski.

  “Once you are in the saddle, he is like a child. He is used to me; but you, for instance, could not mount him.”

  At this Svirski, who in matters of sport was childishly vain, asked at once, —

  “How is that?”

  “Do not try, especially here above the precipice!” cried Pani Elzen.

  But Svirski had his hand on the horse’s shoulder already, and a twinkle later was in the saddle, without the least resistance from the horse; perhaps the beast was not at all vicious, and understood, too, that on the edge of a cliff above a precipice it was better not to indulge in pranks.

  The rider and the horse disappeared at a slow gallop along the turn of the road.

  “He rides very well,” said De Sinten; “but he will spoil my horse’s feet. There is no road here for riding.”

  “The horse has turned out perfectly gentle,” said Pani Elzen.

  “I am greatly pleased at this, for here an accident happens easily — and I was a little afraid.”

  On his face, however, there was a certain concern; first, because what he had said about the horse’s stubbornness at mounting seemed like untruth, and, second, because there existed a secret dislike between him and Svirski. De Sinten had not, it is true, at any time serious designs touching Pani Elzen; but he would have preferred that no one should oppose him in such designs as he had. Besides, some weeks before, he and Svirski had engaged in a rather lively talk. De Sinten, who was an irrepressible aristocrat, had declared, during a dinner at Pani Elzen’s, that to his thinking man begins only at the baron. To this Svirski, in a moment of ill-humor, answered with an inquiry, —

  “In what direction?” (up or down).

  De Sinten took this reply so seriously that he sought advice of Vyadrovski and Councillor Kladzki as to how he ought to act, and learned, with genuine astonishment, that Svirski had a coronet on his shield. A knowledge of the artist’s uncommon strength, and his skill in shooting, had a soothing effect, perhaps, on the baron’s nerves; it suffices that the negotiation had no result, except to leave in the hearts of both men an indefinite dislike. From the time that Pani Elzen seemed to incline decidedly toward Svirski, the dislike had become quite Platonic.

  But this dislike was more decided in the artist than in De Sinten. No one had supposed that the affair of the widow and the artist could end in marriage; but among their acquaintances people had begun to speak of Svirski’s feelings toward Pani Elzen, and he had a suspicion that De Sinten and his party were ridiculing him as a man of simple mind. They, it is true, did not betray themselves by the slightest word on any occasion; but in Svirski the conviction was glimmering that his suspicion was justified, and this pained him, specially out of regard for Pani Elzen.

  He was glad, therefore, that on this occasion, thanks to the horse’s gentleness, De Sinten seemed a person who, without reason, told things which were untrue; hence he said, on returning, —

  “A good horse, and specially good because he is as tame as a sheep.”

  He dismounted, and they walked on together, three of them, and even five, for Romulus and Remus followed closely. Pani Elzen, to spite De Sinten, and perhaps from a wish to be rid of him, turned the conversation to pictures and art in general, of which the young sportsman had not the faintest idea. But he began to retail gossip from the Casino, and congratulated the young woman on her luck of yesterday; she listened with constraint, being ashamed, in presence of Svirski, of having taken part in play. Her vexation was increased when Romulus called out, —

  “Mamma, but did you not tell us that you never play; will you give us a louis d’or for that?”

  “I sought Councillor Kladzki, wishing to invite him to dinner to-day; when I found him he and I played a little,” answered she, as if speaking to no one in particular.

  “Give us a louis d’or apiece,” repeated Romulus.

  “Or buy us a little roulette table,” added Remus.

  “Do not annoy me! Let us go to the carriage,” said she, turning to Svirski. Then she took farewell of De Sinten.

  “At seven, did you say?” inquired he.

  “At seven.”

  They parted; and after a while Svirski found himself again at the side of the beautiful widow. This time they occupied the front seat, since they wished to look at the setting sun.

  “People say that Monte Carlo is more sheltered than Mentone,” remarked the widow; “but, oh, how it bores me at times! That endless noise, that movement, those acquaintances which one must make, willingly or unwillingly. Sometimes I wish to rush away and spend the rest of the winter in some quiet corner where I should see only those whom I see with pleasure — What place do you like best?”

  “I like San Raphael greatly; the pines there go down to the sea.”

  “True, but it is far from Nice,” answered she, in a low voice; “and your studio is in Nice.”

  A moment of silence followed, after which Pani Elzen inquired, —

  “But Antibes?”

  “True! I forgot Antibes.”

  “Besides, it is so near Nice. After dinner you will stop with me a little and talk of a place where one might escape from society.”

  “Do you wish really to flee from people?”

  “Let us talk sincerely; I detect doubt in your question. You suspect me of speaking as I do so as to appear better, or at least less shallow, than I am — And you have a right to your suspicion, since you see me always in the whirl of society. But my answer is this: We move frequently
with a force not our own, because once we were impelled in a given direction, and endure now in spite of us the results of previous life. As to me, it may be that this is because of the weakness of woman, who has not strength to free herself without the aid of another — I confess this — But that fact does not save one from yearning greatly and sincerely for some quiet corner and a calmer life. Let people say what they choose, we women are like climbing plants, which creep along the ground when they cannot grow upward. For this reason, people are often mistaken, thinking that we creep of our own choice. By creeping, I understand empty society life, without lofty thought. But how am I, for example, to defend myself against this! Some one begs permission to present an acquaintance; the man presented makes a visit, after that a second, a third, and a tenth — what am I to do? Not permit the presentation? Of course I permit it; even for this reason, that the more people I receive, the more indifferent I am to each, and the more each is prevented from occupying an exceptional position.”

  “You are right,” said Svirski.

  “But do you see that in this way is created that current of social life from which I cannot tear myself with my own strength, and which wearies and tortures me to such a degree that at times I could scream out from pain.”

  “I believe you.”

  “You ought to believe me; but believe also that I am better and less vain than I seem. When doubts come to you, or when people speak ill of me, think to yourself: She must have her good side. If you will not think thus, I shall be very unhappy.”

  “I give you my word, that I wish always to think the best of you.”

  “And you should think so,” said she, with a soft voice; “for though everything which is good in me were more stifled than it is, it would bloom out afresh were I near you, so much depends on those with whom one associates — I should like to say something; but I am afraid—”

  “Say it.”

  “You will not think me fanciful, or even worse? I am not fanciful; I talk like a sober-minded woman who states only that which is real, and looks at things coolly. At your side, for example, I should regain my former spirit, as calm and collected as when I was a girl; and now I am almost a grandmother — thirty-five years of age.”

  Svirski looked at her with a clear face, very nearly in love; then he raised her hand slowly to his lips, and said, —

  “Ah! In comparison with me you are really a child. Forty-eight is my age — and that is my picture!” said he, pointing to the setting sun.

  She began to gaze at that light which was reflected in her shining eyes, and said, in a low voice, as if to herself, “Great, marvellous, beloved sun!”

  Then silence followed. The calm ruddy light was falling on the faces of both. The sun was setting in genuine majesty and grandeur. Beneath it, slender clouds, recently blown asunder, took on the forms of palm lilies, and were gleaming like gold. The sea along the shore was sunk in shadow; farther out, in open spaces, lay a boundless light. In the valley, the motionless cypress-trees were outlined sharply on the lily-colored background of the sky.

  CHAPTER II.

  THE guests invited by Pani Elzen assembled at the Hôtel de Paris at seven o’clock. A separate room and also a smaller one adjoining, in which coffee was to be served, had been assigned for the dinner. The lady had issued invitations to a dinner “without ceremony;” but the gentlemen, knowing what to understand by this, came in dress-coats and white neckties. Pani Elzen appeared in a pale rose-colored, low-necked dress with a great fold in the back extending from the top of the bodice to the bottom of the skirt. She looked fresh and young. She had a finely cut face, and a small head, by which principally she had charmed Svirski at the beginning of their more intimate acquaintance. Her plump shoulders had, especially at the edge of the dress, the appearance and transparency of mother-of-pearl; but her arms from the elbow to the wrist were slightly reddened, seemingly rough; that, however, merely heightened the impression of their nakedness. In general, she was radiant with gladness, good-humor, and that brilliancy which women have when they are happy.

  Among the invited guests, besides Svirski and De Sinten, came the old councillor, Kladzki, with his nephew Sigismund, a young man of no great social experience, but forward, whose eyes gleamed at Pani Elzen too expressively, and who did not know how to conceal what he felt; next, was Prince Valerian Porzetski, a man forty years of age, bald, with a large head coming to a point at the top like that of an Aztec; Pan Vyadrovski, rich and sarcastic, the owner of oil wells in Galicia, a lover of art and a dilettante; finally, Kresovich, a student, the temporary tutor of Romulus and Remus, a man whom Pani Elzen invited because Svirski liked his fanatical face.

  The point with the lady was always, and more especially on that day, to have an “intellectual” salon, as she expressed it. She could not, however, turn the conversation at first from local gossip and the happenings of the Casino, which Vyadrovski called the “Slav world,” — more of Slav speech was heard there, he said, than any other. Vyadrovski’s life in Monte Carlo was spent generally in ridiculing his fellow-countrymen and the younger Slav brothers. That was a hobby which he mounted gladly, and galloped without rest. So he began at once to relate how, two days before, there remained in the “Cercle de la Méditerranée,” at six in the morning, seven persons, all of Slav blood.

  “We are born thus,” said he, turning to the hostess. “In other countries people count: Nine, ten, eleven, twelve, etc.; but every real Slav says, in spite of himself: Nine, ten, knave, queen, king — Yes; to the Cornice comes the cream of our society, and here they make cheese of it.”

  Prince Valerian, of peaked head, announced now, in the tone of a man who is discovering new truths, that every passion which exceeds the measure is ruinous, but that to the “Cercle de la Méditerranée” belonged many foreigners of distinction with whom it was useful and worth while to make acquaintance. It was possible to serve one’s country everywhere. For instance, he had met there three days before an Englishman, a friend of Chamberlain, who had inquired of him touching our country; and he described on a visiting-card the economic and political condition in general, and the social aspirations in particular. Beyond doubt, the card would go, if not to Chamberlain, who is not here, to Salisbury, and that would be better. Probably, also, he would meet Salisbury at the ball which the French admiral is to give, and during which the whole “Formidable” would be illuminated à giorno by electricity.

  Kresovich, who was not only a consumptive, but a man of another style of thought, a man who hated that society in which he was forced to appear as the tutor of Romulus and Remus, snorted ironically and as venomously as a hyena when he heard of this visiting-card. Pani Elzen, wishing to turn attention from him, said, —

  “But here people are putting forward the wonders of electricity. I have heard that the whole road from Nice to Marseilles will be lighted by electricity.”

  “An engineer, Ducloz, drew up such a plan,” said Svirski; “but he died two months ago. He was such a fanatical electrician that very likely he desired in his will to have his grave lighted by electricity.”

  “Then,” said Vyadrovski, “he should have on his tomb the inscription, O Lord, grant him eternal rest, and may electric light shine on him for the ages of ages. Amen!”

  But Kladzki, the old councillor, attacked Vyadrovski, and said that he was trifling with grave subjects which were beyond witticism; then he attacked the whole Riviera. “All,” said he, “from people to things, is simply a show and a jest. Everywhere they pretend to be ‘marquises, counts, and viscounts;’ but they are really on the watch to snatch away handkerchiefs. As to comfort, it is the same. In my office at Veprkoviski, five rooms could be put, each as large as the little den which they have given me in the hotel. The doctors have sent me to Nice for fresh air; but, as God lives, that Promenade des Anglais has the vile odor of a lodging-house in Cracow; my nephew Sigismund can testify to this.”

  But Sigismund’s eyes were crawling out of his head as he looked at Pani Elz
en’s arms; and he did not hear what his uncle was saying.

  “Remove to Bordighieri,” said Svirski. “Italian dirt is artistic at least; while French dirt is vile.”

  “Still you are living in Nice?”

  “I am, because I could not find a studio beyond Ventimiglia. Were I to move, I should prefer Antibes, on the other side.”

  When he had said this, he looked at Pani Elzen. At the corners of her mouth a faint smile appeared, and she dropped her eyes. Next moment, however, wishing, as it seemed, to turn conversation toward art, she spoke of Rumpelmayer’s exhibition, and of the new pictures which she had seen two days before, and which the French journalist, Krauss, called impressionist-decadent. At this Vyadrovski raised his fork, and inquired, in the tones of a Pyrrho, —

  “What are the decadents in general?”

  “From a certain point of view, they are people who ask of art itself the various sauces with which it is served,” answered Svirski.

  Prince Valerian, however, felt wounded by what old Kladzki had said of “marquises, counts, and viscounts.”

  “Even the adventurers who come here,” said he, “are high-class adventurers, and are not satisfied with snatching the handkerchief from your nose. Here one meets corsairs of grand style. But besides them come all who are richest, or most exquisite in the world. Here financial magnates meet people of high blood on equal footing; this is especially good, for let the world refine itself! Pan Kladzki should read such a book as the ‘Idylle Tragique,’ and be convinced that, in addition to suspected people, the highest social spheres come here also — precisely such as we shall meet on the ‘Formidable,’ which for that occasion is to be lighted à giorno by electricity.”

  Prince Valerian forgot evidently that he had given information already about the lighting of the “Formidable.” In fact, it was not the subject of conversation just then; and immediately they began to talk of the “Idylle Tragique.” Young Kladzki, mentioning the hero of that novel, said: “It was good enough for such a fellow, since he was dunce enough to give up a woman for a friend; he, Kladzki, would not do that for ten friends, he would not for his born brother, since that was his property, and his own.” But Vyadrovski interrupted him; for French novels, with which he was carried away, were another hobby of his on which he cultivated a higher school of galloping over authors and their productions.