Chapter 4 - Page 2

to be put at a certain number of
napoleons, or one napoleon more. A good deal was said about Mad. la
Duchesse, and I found that it was expected that a certain lady of that
rank, one who had enjoyed the extraordinary luck of retaining her
fortune, being of an old and historical family, and who was at the head
of fashion in the faubourg, would become the purchaser. At all events, it
was determined no one should see us until this lady returned to town,
she being at the moment at Rosny, with madame, whence she was
expected to accompany that princess to Dieppe, to come back to her
hotel, in the rue de Bourbon, about the last of October. Here, then,
were we doomed to three months of total seclusion in the heart of the
gayest capital of Europe. It was useless to repine, and we determined
among ourselves to exercise patience in the best manner we could.

{faubourg = neighborhood ; Rosny = Chateau of Rosny, country estate
of the Dukes of Berry at Rosny-sur-Seine; Madame = title of Princess
Marie Therese Charlotte, wife of the Dauphin Louis Antoine, heir to
Charles X}

Accordingly, we were safely deposited in a particular drawer, along
with a few other favorite articles, that, like our family, were reserved for
the eyes of certain distinguished but absent customers. These specialites
in trade are of frequent occurrence in Paris, and form a pleasant bond
of union between the buyer and seller, which gives a particular zest to
this sort of commerce, and not unfrequently a particular value to goods.
To see that which no one else has seen, and to own that which no one
else can own, are equally agreeable, and delightfully exclusive. All minds
that do not possess the natural sources of exclusion, are fond of creating
them by means of a subordinate and more artificial character.

{specialites = specialties }

On the whole, I think we enjoyed our new situation, rather than
otherwise. The drawer was never opened, it is true, but that next it was
in constant use, and certain crevices beneath the counter enabled us to
see a little, and to hear more, of what passed in the magazin. We were
in a part of the shop most frequented by ladies, and we overheard a few
tete-a-tetes that were not without amusement. These generally related
to cancans. Paris is a town in which cancans do not usually flourish,
their proper theatre being provincial and trading places, beyond a
question; still there ARE cancans at Paris; for all sorts of persons
frequent that centre of civilization. The only difference is, that in the
social pictures offered by what are called cities, the cancans are in the
strongest light, and in the most conspicuous of the grouping, whereas in
Paris they are kept in shadow, and in the background. Still there are