Interest in French society has, however, diminished during this century, ceasing almost entirely6 with the Second Empire, when foreign women gave the tone to a parvenu7 court from which the older aristocracy held aloof8 in disgust behind the closed gates of their “hôtels” and historic châteaux.
With the exception of Balzac, few writers have drawn9 authentic10 pictures of nineteenth-century noblewomen in France; and his vivid portrayals11 are more the creations of genius than correct descriptions of a caste.
During the last fifty years French aristocrats12 have ceased to be factors even in matters social, the sceptre they once held having passed into alien hands, the daughters of Albion to a great extent replacing their French rivals in influencing the ways of the “world,”—a change, be it remarked in passing, that has not improved the tone of society or contributed to the spread of good manners.
People like the French nobles, engaged in sulking and attempting to overthrow14 or boycott15 each succeeding régime, must naturally lose their influence. They have held aloof so long—fearing to compromise themselves by any advances to the powers that be, and restrained by countless16 traditions from taking an active part in either the social or political strife—that little by little they have been passed by and ignored; which is a pity, for amid the ruin of many hopes and ambitions they have remained true to their caste and handed down from generation to generation the secret of that gracious urbanity and tact17 which distinguished18 the Gallic noblewoman in the last century from the rest of her kind and made her so deft19 in the difficult art of pleasing—and being pleased.
Within the last few years there have, however, been signs of a change. Young members of historic houses show an amusing inclination20 to escape from their austere21 surroundings and resume the place their grandparents abdicated22. If it is impossible to rule as formerly23, they at any rate intend to get some fun out of existence.
This joyous24 movement to the front is being made by the young matrons enlisted25 under the “Seven little duchesses’” banner. Oddly enough, a baker’s half-dozen of ducal coronets are worn at this moment, in France, by small and sprightly26 women, who have shaken the dust of centuries from those ornaments27 and sport them with a decidedly modern air!
It is the members of this clique28 who, in Paris during the spring, at their châteaux in the summer and autumn, and on the Riviera after Christmas, lead the amusements and strike the key for the modern French world.
No one of these light-hearted ladies takes any particular precedence over the others. All are young, and some are wonderfully nice to look at. The Duchesse d’Uzès is, perhaps, the handsomest, good looks being an inheritance from her mother, the beautiful and wayward Duchesse de Chaulme.
There is a vivid grace about the daughter, an intense vitality29 that suggests some beautiful being of the forest. As she moves and speaks one almost expects to hear the quick breath coming and going through her quivering nostrils30, and see foam31 on her full lips. Her mother’s tragic32 death has thrown a glamor33 of romance around the daughter’s life that heightens the witchery of her beauty.
Next in good looks comes an American, the Duchesse de la Rochefoucauld, although marriage (which, as de Maupassant remarked, is rarely becoming) has not been propitious34 to that gentle lady. By rights she should have been mentioned first, as her husband outranks, not only all the men of his age, but also his cousin, the old Duc de la Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville, to whom, however, a sort of brevet rank is accorded on account of his years, his wealth, and the high rank of his two wives. It might almost be asserted that our fair compatriot wears the oldest coronet in France. She certainly is mistress of three of the finest châteaux in that country, among which is Miromail, where the family live, and Liancourt, a superb Renaissance35 structure, a delight to the artist’s soul.
The young Duchesse de Brissac runs her two comrades close as regards looks. Brissac is the son of Mme. de Trédern, whom Newporters will remember two years ago, when she enjoyed some weeks of our summer season. Their château was built by the Brissac of Henri IV.’s time and is one of the few that escaped uninjured through the Revolution, its vast stone corridors and massive oak ceilings, its moat and battlements, standing36 to-day unimpaired amid a group of châteaux including Chaumont, Rochecotte, Azay-le-Rideau, Ussé, Chenonceau, within “dining” distance of each other, that form a centre of gayety next in importance to Paris and Cannes. In the autumn these spacious37 castles are filled with joyous bands and their ample stables with horses. A couple of years ago, when the king of Portugal and his suite38 were entertained at Chaumont for a week of stag-hunting, over three hundred people, servants, and guests, slept under its roof, and two hundred horses were housed in its stables.
The Duc de Luynes and his wife, who was Mlle. de Crussol (daughter of the brilliant Duchesse d’Uzès of Boulanger fame), live at Dampierre, another interesting pile filled with rare pictures, bric-à-brac, and statuary, first among which is Jean Goujon’s life-sized statue (in silver) of Louis XIII., presented by that monarch39 to his favorite, the founder40 of the house. This gem41 of the Renaissance stands in an octagonal chamber42 hung in dark velvet43, unique among statues. It has been shown but once in public, at the Loan Exhibition in 1872, when the patriotic44 nobility lent their treasures to collect a fund for the Alsace-Lorraine exiles.
The Duchesse de Noailles, née Mlle. de Luynes, is another of this coterie45 and one of the few French noblewomen who has travelled. Many Americans will remember the visit she made here with her mother some years ago, and the effect her girlish grace produced at that time. The de Noailles’ château of Maintenon is an inheritance from Louis XIV.’s prudish46 favorite, who founded and enriched the de Noailles family. The Duc and Duchesse d’Uzès live near by at Bonnelle with the old Duc de Doudeauville, her grandfather, who is also the grandfather of Mme. de Noailles, these two ladies being descended47 each from a wife of the old duke, the former from the Princesse de Polignac and the latter from the Princesse de Ligne.
The Duchesse de Bisaccia, née Princesse Radziwill, and the Duchesse d’Harcourt, who complete the circle of seven, also live in this vicinity, where another group of historic residences, including Eclimont and Rambouillet, the summer home of the president, rivals in gayety and hospitality the châteaux of the Loire.
No coterie in England or in this country corresponds at all to this French community. Much as they love to amuse themselves, the idea of meeting any but their own set has never passed through their well-dressed heads. They differ from their parents in that they have broken away from many antiquated48 habits. Their houses are no longer lay hermitages, and their opera boxes are regularly filled, but no foreigner is ever received, no ambitious parvenu accepted among them. Ostracism49 here means not a ten years’ exile, but lifelong banishment50.
The contrast is strong between this rigor51 and the enthusiasm with which wealthy new-comers are welcomed into London society or by our own upper crust, so full of unpalatable pieces of dough52. This exclusiveness of the titled French reminds me—incongruously enough—of a certain arrangement of graves in a Lenox cemetery53, where the members of an old New England family lie buried in a circle with their feet toward its centre. When I asked, many years ago, the reason for this arrangement, a wit of that day—a daughter, by the bye, of Mrs. Stowe—replied, “So that when they rise at the Last Day only members of their own family may face them!”
One is struck by another peculiarity54 of these French men and women—their astonishing proficiency55 in les arts d’agrément. Every Frenchwoman of any pretensions56 to fashion backs her beauty and grace with some art in which she is sure to be proficient57. The dowager Duchesse d’Uzés is a sculptor58 of mark, and when during the autumn Mme. de Trédern gives opera at Brissac, she finds little difficulty in recruiting her troupe59 from among the youths and maidens60 under her roof whose musical education has been thorough enough to enable them to sing difficult music in public.
Love of the fine arts is felt in their conversation, in the arrangement and decoration of their homes, and in the interest that an exhibition of pictures or old furniture will excite. Few of these people but are habitués of the Hôtel Drouot and conversant61 with the value and authenticity62 of the works of art daily sold there. Such elements combine to form an atmosphere that does not exist in any other country, and lends an interest to society in France which it is far from possessing elsewhere.
There is but one way that an outsider can enter this Gallic paradise. By marrying into it! Two of the seven ladies in question lack the quarterings of the rest. Miss Mitchell was only a charming American girl, and the mother of the Princesse Radziwill was Mlle. Blanc of Monte Carlo. However, as in most religions there are ceremonies that purify, so in this case the sacrament of marriage is supposed to have reconstructed these wives and made them genealogically whole.
There is something incongruous to most people in the idea of a young girl hardly out of the schoolroom bearing a ponderous63 title. The pomp and circumstance that surround historic names connect them (through our reading) with stately matrons playing the “heavy female” roles in life’s drama, much as Lady Macbeth’s name evokes64 the idea of a raw-boned mother-in-law sort of person, the reverse of attractive, and quite the last woman in the world to egg her husband on to a crime—unless it were wife murder!
Names like de Chevreuse, or de la Rochefoucauld, seem appropriate only to the warlike amazons of the Fronde, or corpulent kill-joys in powder and court trains of the Mme. Etiquette65 school; it comes as a shock, on being presented to a group of girlish figures in the latest cut of golfing skirts, who are chattering66 odds67 on the Grand Prix in faultless English, to realize that these light-hearted gamines are the present owners of sonorous68 titles. One shudders69 to think what would have been the effect on poor Marie Antoinette’s priggish mentor70 could she have foreseen her granddaughter, clad in knickerbockers, running a petroleum71 tricycle in the streets of Paris, or pedalling “tandem” across country behind some young cavalry72 officer of her connection.
Let no simple-minded American imagine, however, that these up-to-date women are waiting to welcome him and his family to their intimacy73. The world outside of France does not exist for a properly brought up French aristocrat13. Few have travelled; from their point of view, any man with money, born outside of France, is a “Rasta,” unless he come with diplomatic rank, in which case his position at home is carefully ferreted out before he is entertained. Wealthy foreigners may live for years in Paris, without meeting a single member of this coterie, who will, however, join any new club that promises to be amusing; but as soon as the “Rastas” get a footing, “the seven” and their following withdraw. Puteaux had its day, then the “Polo Club” in the Bois became their rendezvous74. But as every wealthy American and “smart” Englishwoman passing the spring in Paris rushed for that too open circle, like tacks75 toward a magnet, it was finally cut by the “Duchesses,” who, together with such attractive aides-de-camp as the Princesse de Poix, Mmes. de Murat, de Morny, and de Broglie, inaugurated last spring “The Ladies’ Club of the Acacias,” on a tiny island belonging to the “Tir aux Pigeons,” which, for the moment, is the fad76 of its founders77.
It must be a surprise to those who do not know French family pride to learn that exclusive as these women are there are cliques78 in France to-day whose members consider the ladies we have been speaking of as lacking in reserve. Men like Guy de Durfort, Duc de Lorges, or the Duc de Massa, and their womenkind, hold themselves aloof on an infinitely79 higher plane, associating with very few and scorning the vulgar herd80 of “smart” people!
It would seem as if such a vigorous weeding out of the unworthy would result in a rather restricted comradeship. Who the “elect” are must become each year more difficult to discern.
Their point of view in this case cannot differ materially from that of the old Methodist lady, who, while she was quite sure no one outside of her own sect81 could possibly be saved, had grave fears concerning the future of most of the congregation. She felt hopeful only of the clergyman and herself, adding: “There are days when I have me doubts about the minister!”
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1
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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memoirs
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| n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
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maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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parvenu
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| n.暴发户，新贵 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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portrayals
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| n.画像( portrayal的名词复数 )；描述；描写；描摹 | |
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aristocrats
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| n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 ) | |
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aristocrat
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| n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物 | |
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overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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boycott
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| n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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deft
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| adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手） | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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21
austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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abdicated
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| 放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 退位，逊位 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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sprightly
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| adj.愉快的，活泼的 | |
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ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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clique
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| n.朋党派系，小集团 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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glamor
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| n.魅力，吸引力 | |
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propitious
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| adj.吉利的；顺利的 | |
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renaissance
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| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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42
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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45
coterie
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| n.(有共同兴趣的)小团体，小圈子 | |
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46
prudish
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| adj.装淑女样子的，装规矩的，过分规矩的；adv.过分拘谨地 | |
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47
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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48
antiquated
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| adj.陈旧的，过时的 | |
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49
ostracism
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| n.放逐；排斥 | |
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50
banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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51
rigor
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| n.严酷，严格，严厉 | |
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52
dough
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| n.生面团；钱，现款 | |
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cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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55
proficiency
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| n.精通，熟练，精练 | |
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pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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proficient
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| adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家 | |
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58
sculptor
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| n.雕刻家，雕刻家 | |
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59
troupe
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| n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团 | |
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maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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61
conversant
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| adj.亲近的，有交情的，熟悉的 | |
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authenticity
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| n.真实性 | |
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ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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64
evokes
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| 产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 ) | |
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etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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67
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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69
shudders
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| n.颤动，打颤，战栗( shudder的名词复数 )v.战栗( shudder的第三人称单数 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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70
mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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71
petroleum
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| n.原油，石油 | |
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72
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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73
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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74
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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75
tacks
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| 大头钉( tack的名词复数 )； 平头钉； 航向； 方法 | |
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76
fad
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| n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好 | |
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77
founders
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| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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78
cliques
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| n.小集团，小圈子，派系( clique的名词复数 ) | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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