"There! what do you think of him?" she cried; "ain't he fine? You'd like to be as fresh and plump as that, wouldn't you?--but I wish you may get it!"

The nurse's action restored general good-humor and peace between the servants of the house of Grandvilain. Turlurette did not tire of kissing her master's child. As for Jasmin, he took a huge pinch of snuff, then seated himself at a table, and said:

"Yes, yes, everything is all right; we have a superb scion. And now, let us taste your wine, foster-father."

Jacquinot made haste to fill the gla.s.ses, drink, and fill again; and Jasmin was as well pleased with the foster-father as with the nurse.

"But why did not monsieur le marquis and madame come themselves?" asked Nicole.

"Oh!" Turlurette replied with a sigh, "my poor mistress isn't very well; when she tried to nurse the child, she didn't get along well, and now that she's given it up, she's worse than ever!"

"But I offered to take our Cherubin's place, in order to relieve my excellent mistress!" murmured Jasmin, tossing off a great b.u.mper of sour wine.

"Mon Dieu! Monsieur Jasmin, you're forever saying stupid things," said Turlurette; "the idea of madame feeding you."

"Why not, when it was the doctor's orders? I once knew a lady who nursed several cats and two rabbits, because she had too much milk."

"Oh! we've had enough of your stories!--In short, my mistress is very weak; she can't leave her room, or else she'd have come long ago to see her dear child; she talks about him all the time."

"As for monsieur le marquis," said Jasmin, "he has the gout in his heels, which makes it very hard for him to walk. I suggested a way to do it, and that was to walk on his toes and not touch his heels to the ground; he tried it, but after taking a few steps that way, _patatras_!

he fell flat on the floor, and he has never been willing to try again.

But they sent us in their place, and never fear, we will make a good report of what we have seen. You have restored our son's life! You are excellent people! Here's your health, foster-father; your wine sc.r.a.pes the palate, but it isn't unpleasant, and it has a taste of claret."

While Jasmin drank and chattered, Turlurette went to the carriage to fetch what her mistress had sent to the nurse. There were presents of all sorts: sugar, coffee, clothes, and even toys for Cherubin's foster-brothers. The room in which the peasants usually sat would hardly hold all that came out of the carriage. The little Frimoussets jumped and shouted for joy, and rolled on the floor, at sight of all those presents, and Nicole said again and again:

"Madame la marquise is very kind! but she can be sure that her son will eat all these nice things; my _gas_ won't touch 'em! Besides, they prefer pork."

Jasmin enjoyed himself exceedingly with Jacquinot, and Turlurette was finally obliged to remind him that their masters were impatiently awaiting their return. The domestics bade the villagers farewell. They kissed little Cherubin again, but on the face this time, and returned to their master's carriage, which quickly took them back to Paris.

The marchioness awaited the return of her servants with the anxiety of a mother who fears for the life of the only child that Heaven has granted her. And despite his gout, Monsieur de Grandvilain dragged himself to the window from time to time, to see if he could discover his carriage in the distance.

Turlurette, who was young and active, ran ahead of Jasmin and entered the room with a radiant air; her face announced that she brought good news.

"Magnificent, madame! magnificent health! A superb child! Oh! no one would ever know him; he was so pale and thin when he went away, and now he's as fat and solid as a rock."

"Really, Turlurette," cried the marchioness; "you are not deceiving us?"

"Oh! just ask Jasmin, madame; here he comes."

Jasmin appeared, puffing like an ox, because he had tried to go upstairs as quickly as Turlurette. He walked forward, bowed gravely to his masters and said:

"Our young marquis is in a most flourishing condition; I had the honor to kiss his posterior; I ask your pardon for taking that liberty, but he is such a lovely child and so well kept! I a.s.sure you that the Frimousset family is worthy of our confidence, and that we have only praise to give the nurse and her husband."

These words filled the atmosphere of the hotel de Grandvilain with joy.

Cherubin's mamma promised herself that she would go to Gagny to see her son as soon as her health was restored, and Monsieur le Marquis de Grandvilain swore that he would do the same as soon as the gout should be obliging enough to leave his heels.

VI

TIME AND ITS EFFECTS

The old marquis and his wife were very happy when they knew that their son was in good health; they forgot that their own health was poor, and they made great plans for the future.

There is an old song that says:

"To-day belongs to us, To-morrow belongs to no one."

All of which is very true; and it means that we must never rely upon the morrow; but that does not prevent us from often making plans in which we stride over a great number of years, which is much more than a morrow!

And most of those same plans are destined never to be executed. We are wise to make them, however, for in them consists the better part of our happiness; what we actually have in hand never seems so sweet as what we expect; it is with that as with those landscapes which seem charming to us at a distance, but very commonplace when we come close to them.

A month after receiving the a.s.surance that her son was well, and that he had entirely recovered his health, Amenade, feeling somewhat better, determined to go out and take the air, in order that she might sooner be in a condition to go to Gagny. But whether it was that she went out too soon, or that a new disease declared itself, the marchioness was feeling wretched when she returned; she went back to bed, and a fortnight later little Cherubin's mother was laid in her grave. However, she had not realized that she was dying, and up to the last moment had retained the hope of going to embrace her son.

The old marquis was in despair at his loss; but at seventy years a man no longer loves as at thirty; as it grows old, the heart becomes less loving, and that is the effect of experience no less than of years; men are so deceived in their affections during the course of their lives, that they inevitably end by becoming selfish and by concentrating upon themselves the affection which they once offered to others.

Moreover, the marquis was not left alone on earth; had he not his son to comfort him? His faithful retainer said to him one day:

"My dear master, think of your little Cherubin; he has no mother now; you certainly ought to have died before her, for you were much older, but things don't always go as one expects! Madame la marquise is dead and you are alive; to be sure, you have the gout, but there are people whom it doesn't carry away at once; you are a proof of it. Be a man, monsieur le marquis, and remember your son, of whom you will make a l.u.s.ty blade, such as you used to be; for you were a famous young rake, monsieur, although no one would suspect it to look at you now."

"What do you mean, Jasmin? Am I very much changed? Do I look as if I were impotent now?"

"I don't say that, monsieur, but I do think that you would find it difficult to keep five or six appointments in the same day; and that is what often happened in the old days! Ah! what a lady-killer you were!

Well, I have an idea that your son will take after you, that he too will send me with billets-doux. Ha! ha! I will carry them with great pleasure; I know all about slipping notes into ladies' hands."

"In other words, my poor fellow, you were forever making mistakes and blunders, and it wasn't your fault that I wasn't surprised and murdered a hundred times by jealous husbands or rivals."

"Do you think so, monsieur? Oh! you are mistaken; it was so long ago that you have forgotten all about it."

"After all," rejoined Monsieur de Grandvilain, after a moment, "even if I should weep for the poor marchioness all the time, that would not bring her back to me. I must preserve myself for my son. Ah! only let me see him when he is twenty years old! That is all I ask."

"The deuce! I should say so! You are not modest!" said Jasmin; "twenty added to the seventy you are now, would make you ninety!"

"Well, Jasmin, don't men ever live to that age?"

"Oh! very seldom; but it may happen."

"How old are you, you rascal, to venture to make such remarks?"

"Why, monsieur, I am fifty," replied Jasmin, straightening himself up and putting out his leg.

"Hum! I believe that you take off something; you look much older than that. But no matter, I will bury ten like you!"

"Monsieur is at liberty to do so, certainly."

"And as soon as my gout has left me, I will go and embrace my heir. Of course I could send for the nurse to come here; but the doctor says that children mustn't have change of air; and I would rather deprive myself of seeing mine than expose him to the danger of being sick again."

"Besides, monsieur, whenever you want me to go to see our young man, you know that I am always ready; and there's no need of sending that fat Turlurette with me; I know how to tell whether the child is well. I will go to Gagny every day if you want; it doesn't tire me a bit."