"the ladies took it heavily."
the excitement produced by the arrival of the marquis de tricotrin and his daughter at the court of oneiria was only to be expected. it was perfectly understood that the king must marry within the year, and it would hardly describe the situation to say that the chances of mademoiselle de tricotrin were discussed with greater animation than those of any previous candidate for the "crown of kisses." for her case was regarded as a certainty. but that only made the excitement to see her more intense, and, perhaps, no royal ball in oneiria was ever so brilliantly attended as that at which the lady was to make her début the day following her arrival at the capital.
it was a scene that it is difficult for us even to imagine. costume in oneiria was as yet entirely untainted by revolutionary ideas. rumours of the new fashions had indeed reached the country, but they had been ignored as the ridiculous affectations[pg 39] of low-bred fanatics. the fantastic modes of the century were in the heyday of their glory, and indeed had reached a degree of extravagance which it was natural to look for in so advanced and elegant a court as that of kophetua xiii. in no other spot on earth perhaps could you have seen the vulgar handiwork of nature so completely effaced as in his ballroom to-night.
under mountains of powdered curls, and forests of ribbons, in which crouched large tropical birds, the women limped on tiny, high-heeled shoes, as though their exquisite refinement could not endure the comparatively crude ideas of their creator; every characteristic of their humanity was distorted or obliterated past all recognition with yard-long stomachers, high-peaked stays, and hoops that mocked at heaven; and the men pursued them in every extravagance, with patch and powder and paint, with stiff full skirts and grotesque headgear, as though refinement were only to be found in effeminacy. it was a living garden of artificial flowers, where the natural blossoms on figured satins seemed to deride the unnatural bloom on disfigured faces.
still it was a brilliant kaleidoscopic scene as the rooms filled up, and coteries fell into groups to chat till the king appeared. for there was an immense deal of gossip to be got through. on the question of the hour nobody knew anything, and every one had[pg 40] something to tell. general dolabella was completely invested the moment he entered the rooms, and a lisping fire was at once opened on him to compel him to surrender his authoritative information.
for of course the general knew all about it. he was a minister, uniting in his own person the offices of commander-in-chief and director of public worship. it was said to have been the last act of the founder to bring together these two portfolios. he looked upon the standing army and the church as the two great enemies of personal liberty, and it is supposed his idea was that no one man would ever be able to develop both to a dangerous degree of efficiency; or, as others conjectured, he hoped by drawing the two departments into close proximity to increase the chance of friction between them. in this the arrangement was very successful, though it certainly led to some extraordinary results.
general dolabella had held his place for many years, and was regarded successful administrator. he was a man of two sides, as he often said himself, and perhaps his success was due to that. it was undoubtedly this gift which had won him the confidence of the kallikagathist party and placed him at its head. it had procured him, besides, advantages such as few enjoy. though a married man, with a growing family, he was a professed misogynist. it was the tone which the king gave to the court, and the[pg 41] general was nothing if not fashionable. he spoke of his marriage as an imprudence of his youth. but it did not stand in his way. his wife, of whom it must be said he stood a little in awe, was so entirely deceived by the tone of his conversation, that she never interfered with his little flirtations, and it must be confessed he had not a few. there was hardly a woman at court whom he had not loved in his time. to an ordinary man it would have been difficult to reconcile such tastes with the character of a professed misogynist, but the dually constituted general was not an ordinary man. he from the first made it his mission to convert the women of the court to the creed professed by the men, beginning with the prettiest as being probably the most dangerous heretics. if he had not as yet made many converts, he had succeeded in vastly amusing himself and his little friends, and it was with the satisfied smile of a popular cavalier that the general received the broadside of questions his fair besiegers delivered.
"i protest, you should have declared war in proper form," said the gallant warrior, as he balanced himself on his tight satin shoes, with his elbows squeezed closely in to his pinched waist, and his white hands, half hidden in lace, toying mincingly before him with his cane. "this procedure is extremely uncanonical. had you sent me a trumpet to blow a formal citation i should have been[pg 42] prepared for you. but where was ever a woman," he added, with the sweetest smile, "who would not take a mean advantage if she could?"
"you are a vastly provoking man, general," said one of his oldest experiments. "you know all about them, and could tell us if you chose."
"may i die," answered the minister, "if i know more than yourselves."
"but we know nothing," they cried, in excited chorus.
"well, then," said dolabella, with an air of pity, "i suppose i must tell you what i have heard, or your poor little hearts will ache with curiosity."
"dear general!" they responded, like a choir.
"you must know then, to begin with," he said, "the marquis is an émigré. some two or three years past, having imbibed the principles without the practice of the revolution, he was obliged to leave his country. at first, it is said, he went to england, and then, on the advice of the doctors, he came to the canaries."
"but what about the daughter?" asked the ladies. "is she a girondist or a jacobin, or whatever they are?"
"i know no more," answered the general; "except that a long correspondence between the queen-mother and the spanish governor has resulted in an invitation."
[pg 43]
"then it is an agathist nomination," said the ladies, prepared to make up their minds accordingly.
"i really cannot say," replied the minister, "without breach of confidence. but see, here comes his majesty. how well he looks!"
everybody turned to see the king enter the ballroom with his mother. as they passed down the room people remarked that she seemed pale and weary, but that the king never looked better. it was always an excitement to both girls and mothers to try and get a bow all to themselves on these occasions. there was a saying amongst them in oneiria that where there is a bachelor there is hope. and, besides, whatever may have been his motives, turbo had been entirely successful in his education of the prince. he had grown to have a manner with women which, combined with his personal beauty and the additional advantage of a crown, was irresistible. in public it was one of extreme deference and courtesy, which, as he was never tired of hinting in the most delicately chosen phrases, arose from the duty he owed to himself, and not because the objects of his attentions in any way deserved them. but it was when alone with a woman that he shone the brightest. then his deferential manner was spiced with a charming effrontery. it never went as far as disrespect,[pg 44] and yet it was so unlike his ordinary demeanour, that each delighted victim thought he reserved it for herself alone. so it came about as turbo had promised himself, and many a girl looked eagerly that night for one kind glance before her new rival should appear.
it was the subject of considerable remark that the guests of the evening had not yet arrived. the women put it down to an elaborate toilet, and consoled themselves with the prospect of something really fine, and possibly new; though there was very little chance of that, seeing how advanced and instructed the court of oneiria considered itself. the men said it was a mere woman's trick to make a sensation.
it was not till the king had taken his seat on the da?s, and the chamberlain had cleared before him a wide space in the rustling throng for the opening dance, that a loud voice from the top of the broad oak steps, which descended to the ballroom, announced: "the marquis and mademoiselle de tricotrin."
every eye was turned to them in a moment as they came down the steps, and in another the whole assembly, oblivious of etiquette, was frankly staring at them. such a sensation had never been known at court before within the memory of the oldest chamberlain. they had looked for a woman like themselves, with hoops wider, waist longer,[pg 45] and head-dress more extravagant, perhaps, than their own. that would not have surprised them considering that she was fresh from europe, although they seriously doubted whether even a frenchwoman could go further than themselves. but for this they were quite unprepared. it took away their breath. above a beautiful face, unrouged, and without a single patch, they saw, instead of a powdered and feathered mountain, a soft mass of flowing, almost dishevelled, warm brown hair. but her dress! that was stranger still. whatever they might have thought of the rest, this was intolerable. it was nothing but a simple robe of the softest primrose silk, which clung about her perfect figure voluptuously, and frankly expressed every graceful movement of her limbs. close beneath her breast it was girdled by a golden cord, leaving her arms and shoulders bare. otherwise it was unconfined, and yet so fashioned as to drape her closely in simple, natural folds. it was, in a word, the beautiful but extravagantly classic costume of the revolution.
when she saw the ordeal before her, her colour heightened, and she shrank closer to her father's arm, but she recovered directly, and advanced down the lane they instinctively made for her, with the easy complacency of one who knows she is the best dressed woman in the room. her father looked as proud as his daughter to see their[pg 46] wonder. he was a tall, spare man, with an affectation of spartan austerity in his face and dress, and he smiled contemptuously on the rouged and bepatched men about him, as with his lovely daughter on his arm he advanced towards the king.
there was certainly a titter as they passed, for the wits were not to be easily cowed, and whispered smart things to their fair neighbours. the ladies, who had no wits to whisper to them, passed judgment for themselves, without, of course, forgetting that they were in the presence of a political event.
"la! what a ridiculous object," said a kallist lady, with a golden pheasant perching on her wig.
"i protest it is not decent," sniffed a widow of agathist views and a damaged reputation.
"it is vastly too pronounced to be either elegant or seemly," was the opinion of a superior person's lady, with a turn for aphorism, and a kallikagathist salon.
but the only question after all was, what would the king think? on tiptoe they watched her reach the da?s, and with a perfect grace salute his hand. a few words passed between them; the king smiled as though thoroughly amused; then, to the utter confusion of the cavillers, they saw him give her his hand to open the ball, and many a sinking heart was compelled to confess to itself that mademoiselle de tricotrin,[pg 47] in her first stride, had come nearer the throne than any previous candidate in her whole course.
the king was certainly delighted, and he still wore a smile of complete amusement as he took his place with her for the minuet. as the dance proceeded his delight only became more obvious. and no wonder. there are many beautiful sights under heaven, but none more beautiful than the vision which filled the eyes of the enchanted king. he had never seen a thing like that before. it was as though the very spirit of nature had taken shape before him. in her the formal bric-à-brac postures, to which he had been accustomed, became transformed with the grace of a poising bird. from one bewitching attitude to another she seemed to float like a soft bright feather playing in a summer wind. every movement was living with the freedom which her yielding costume allowed. with the grace of the wind-bent reeds her white arms moved in ever-flowing harmony. now it was to draw the soft silken folds across her daintily, as with one tiny foot advanced she paused in the fitful measures of the dance; and now to raise her little hand to meet the king's with a magic motion, which seemed to waft her towards him. with each new figure the enchantment increased. in the voluptuous movement and the throb of the tinkling music she grew excited, and seemed to [pg 48]forget herself like a child at play. her ripe lips were parted, her cheeks softly flushed, and her wide blue eyes were filled with an artless look of baby delight.
the whole patched and powdered throng crowded round to see, as close as the hoops would allow. soon each man and woman was as fascinated as the king. even the voice of envy was hushed, and some one said afterwards that more than one gentleman who was regarded as a likely nomination for the parliamentary chair was distinctly seen to smack his lips, a report perhaps which was quite unfounded, and arose merely out of the undisguised admiration depicted on every face.
yes, on every face, both of man and woman, except the one which the marquis de tricotrin alone in all the room was scanning narrowly. behind the king's empty chair turbo supported himself, watching the scene uneasily. the marquis marked with concern and quiet determination the horrible snarl he wore.
"she is dancing, step by step, step by step, right into his heart," said turbo to himself, his words falling unconsciously in time with the fiddlers, "and the fools made a lane for her to come to the throne—like a queen. it was ominous, but i hardly thought him so unstable. the simpleton is actually taking pains with his dancing."
his lips moved. m. de tricotrin could[pg 49] hear nothing, but somehow he smiled quietly to himself. it was at that moment that turbo looked up to see what the marquis thought of it. their eyes met, and with the readiness of old diplomatists they advanced frankly to each other.
"permit me, marquis," said turbo, smiling as nearly as he could, "to trespass so far on really sacred grounds as to observe that your daughter is charming."
"you must positively allow me, chancellor," said the marquis, "to tell her what you say, at the risk of turning her head. it will be of inestimable help to her. she really knows nothing, and is quite afraid of her gaucheries."
"indeed," answered turbo, "and she seemed so instructed! it only shows how rich an inheritance it is of itself to be the child of a man like you, who knows everything."
"nay, chancellor," said the marquis, with a bow, "you flatter me monstrously. my knowledge is not what you think, but since you so frankly declare yourself my friend, i will confess to a pretty trick of guessing many things i have no means of knowing."
the dance ended, and with it their conversation. it had not been long, but for those two it was enough to bring about a mutual understanding. each took it as a declaration of war, and began at once to look for vantage-points.
[pg 50]
before the end of the evening the king had danced another minuet with mademoiselle de tricotrin. she performed with even greater grace and abandon than before, and her success was complete. the ball of course was a failure. it had promised exceedingly well, but then a great misfortune had befallen it. there had been one woman present who far outshone the rest. nothing can be much more disastrous to a ball than that. the nice women could not help feeling humbled, the others were full of envy. as for the men, they were inattentive, preoccupied, and discontented. for them it was an evening of disillusionment. mademoiselle de tricotrin's radiance killed the prettiest face in the room. it was impossible for them to disguise, even by the most desperate attempts at gallantry, that the whole time they were thinking of the new beauty. the women were pardonably resentful. under these circumstances gallantry is apt to lose much of its flavour, and the number of silent couples was phenomenal.
mademoiselle de tricotrin left early, pleading fatigue. the king followed almost immediately, and then the ball collapsed. every one was glad to get away. for the women life was a blank till they had a gown like mademoiselle de tricotrin's. they had no interest in anything but how to procure one with the utmost speed. no one seemed[pg 51] to doubt for a moment that a complete change was to come over the court, and the de tricotrins were to lead the fashion. every man with any pretensions to style went away registering a determination to suborn the marquis's valet; and as the two strangers were carried to their lodging in the neighbourhood of the palace, perhaps there was no oneirian so happy as the queen-mother.
"well, my child?" said the marquis interrogatively to his daughter, as soon as they were alone.
"he is just the kind of man i expected to find," answered mademoiselle de tricotrin dreamily, as she leant back in her chair and clasped her hands behind her head.
"then you will manage it?"
"i cannot tell, sir."
"but why not? let me tell you, my child, i am pleased with you. you never looked prettier. i am certain we shall succeed. why, the king was simply fascinated."
"yes," she answered, a little wearily, "i know he was, but that goes a very little way with a man like him."
