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Read Ebook: Les mystères de Paris Tome II by Sue Eug Ne
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Ebook has 3496 lines and 111042 words, and 70 pages
FEMALE AFFECTION.
BY BASIL MONTAGU.
LONDON:
WILLIAM STEVENS, PRINTER, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR.
TO HIS DEAR EDITH, FROM HER AFFECTIONATE GRANDFATHER.--B. M.
PREFACE
There are certain properties of the female mind upon which doubt has existed, and may, possibly, long exist.
"Some men to business, some to pleasure take,"--
but the ruling passion of woman is not the love of business.
"Men have many faults, women have only two,--"
of which the want of foresight is one.
Women are fond of intellect, of courage, of virtue; and are capable of the most heroic acts.
Such are properties of the female mind, upon which doubt may be entertained; but there is one property upon which doubt cannot exist--it is the nature of woman to be affectionate.
B. M.
FEMALE AFFECTION.
THE PLEASURES OF AFFECTION.
The pleasures of the affections are Love, Friendship, Gratitude, and general Benevolence.
"For the pleasures of the affections," says Lord Bacon, "we must resort to the poets, for there affection is on her throne, there we may find her painted forth to the life."
Instead of referring us to the poets, he might, according to his own admonitions, have referred us to the certain mode of discovering truth, by observing facts around us, and particularly by observing the nature sought, where it is most conspicuous.
FEMALE AFFECTION IN GENERAL.
MUNGO PARK.
When stating the miseries to which he was exposed in Africa, Mungo Park says, "I never, when in distress and misery, applied for relief to a female, without finding pity,--and if she had the power, assistance." And he thus mentions one instance,--"I waited," he says, "more than two hours for an opportunity to cross that river, but one of the chief men informed me that I must not presume to cross without the King's permission; he therefore advised me to lodge at a distant village, to which he pointed, for the night. I found to my great mortification that no person would admit me into his house;--I was regarded with astonishment and fear, and was obliged to sit all day without victuals in the shade of a tree; and the night threatened to be very uncomfortable, for the wind rose, and there was great appearance of a heavy rain; and the wild beasts are so very numerous that I should have been under the necessity of climbing up the tree and resting among the branches. About sunset as I was preparing to pass the night in this manner, and had turned my horse loose that he might graze at liberty, a woman, returning from the labours of the field, stopped to observe me, and perceiving that I was weary and dejected, inquired into my situation, which I briefly explained to her; whereupon, with looks of great compassion, she took up my saddle and bridle, and told me to follow her. Having conducted me into her hut, she lighted a lamp, spread a mat on the floor, and told me I might remain there for the night. Finding that I was hungry, she gave me a very fine fish for my supper; and pointing to the mat, and telling me I might sleep there without apprehension, she called to the female part of her family, who had stood gazing on me all the while in fixed astonishment, to resume their task of spinning cotton, in which they continued to employ themselves great part of the night. They lightened their labour by songs; one of which was composed ex-tempore--for I was, myself, the subject of it: it was sung by one of the young women, the rest joining in a sort of chorus. The air was sweet and plaintive; and the words, literally translated, were these:--
GRIFFITH.
"On the northern side of the plain we had just entered, was a large encampment of these people. Being in absolute want of milk, I determined to solicit the assistance of these Turcomans. Approaching their tents, with gradual step, and apparent indifference, I passed several, without observing any probability of succeeding: children, only, were to be seen near the spot where I was, and men with their flocks, at a certain distance; advancing still farther, I saw a woman, at the entrance of a small tent, occupied in domestic employment. Convinced that an appeal to the feelings of the female sex, offered with decency, by a man distressed with hunger, would not be rejected, I held out my wooden bowl, and reversing it, made a salutation according to the forms of the country. The kind Turcomannee covered her face precipitately, and retired within the tent. I did not advance a step; she saw me unassuming,--my inverted bowl still explained my wants. The timidity of her sex, the usages of her country, and, even the fear of danger, gave way to the benevolence of her heart: she went to the tent again; returned speedily with a bowl of milk, and, advancing towards me with a glance more than half averted, filled my bowl to the brim, and vanished."
LEDYARD.
"I never addressed myself in the language of decency and friendship to a woman, whether civilized or savage, without receiving a decent and friendly answer. With man it has often been otherwise,--in wandering over the barren plains of inhospitable Denmark, through honest Sweden, frozen Lapland, rude and churlish Finland, unprincipled Russia, and the wide-spread regions of the wandering Tartar, if hungry, dry, cold, wet, or sick, woman has ever been friendly to me,--and uniformly so; and to add to this virtue, so worthy the appellation of benevolence, these actions have been performed in so kind a manner, that if I was dry, I drank the sweet draught,--and if hungry, ate the coarse morsel with a double relish."
PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER.
"And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said,--This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, 'Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?' And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Go.' And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, 'Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.' And the woman took the child, and nursed it."
DIFFERENT FORMS OF FEMALE AFFECTION.
The nature of female affection may be seen in a variety of forms,--in Infancy, in the sweet love of Youth, of a Wife, of a Mother, of a Daughter, of a Widow.
INFANCY.
When the Commissioners visited the Penitentiary at Lambeth, where the prisoners are punished by solitary confinement, they found in one cell a little girl, between eleven and twelve years of age. This child must have spent many hours every day in the dark; was poorly clad, and scantily fed, and her young limbs were deprived of all the joyous modes of playful exercise, so necessary and so pleasant to that age: she asked neither for food, nor clothes, nor light, nor liberty,--all she wished for was "a little doll, that she might dress and nurse it." Her innocent and child-like request put an end to this cruel punishment for children.
YOUTH.
Of the influence of love upon youth and inexperience, it can scarcely be necessary to adduce any instances. I must, however, mention one fact which occurred during the rebellion in '45.
"When I was a young boy, I had delicate health, and was somewhat of a pensive and contemplative turn of mind: it was my delight in the long summer evenings, to slip away from my companions, that I might walk in the shade of a venerable wood, my favourite haunt, and listen to the cawing of the old rooks, who seemed as fond of this retreat as I was.
"One evening I sat later than usual, though the distant sound of the cathedral clock had more than once warned me to my home. There was a stillness in all nature that I was unwilling to disturb by the least motion. From this reverie I was suddenly startled by the sight of a tall slender female who was standing by me, looking sorrowfully and steadily in my face. She was dressed in white, from head to foot, in a fashion I had never seen before; her garments were unusually long and flowing, and rustled as she glided through the low shrubs near me as if they were made of the richest silk. My heart beat as if I was dying, and I knew not that I could have stirred from the spot; but she seemed so very mild and beautiful, I did not attempt it. Her pale brown hair was braided round her head, but there were some locks that strayed upon her neck; altogether she looked like a lovely picture, but not like a living woman. I closed my eyes forcibly with my hands, and when I looked again she had vanished.
"I cannot exactly say why I did not on my return speak of this beautiful appearance, nor why, with a strange mixture of hope and fear, I went again and again to the same spot that I might see her. She always came, and often in the storm and plashing rain, that never seemed to touch or to a moi ce que Dieu seul aurait pu faire. J'?tais heureuse... heureuse comme quelqu'un qui a ?chapp? pour toujours ? un grand danger. Vous et Mme Georges, vous ?tiez si bons pour moi que je me croyais plus ? plaindre qu'? bl?mer.
Le cur? regarda la Goualeuse avec surprise; elle continua:
--Peu ? peu, je me suis habitu?e ? cette vie si douce: je n'avais plus peur, en me r?veillant, de me retrouver chez l'ogresse; je me sentais, pour ainsi dire, dormir avec s?curit?; toute ma joie ?tait d'aider Mme Georges dans ses travaux, de m'appliquer aux le?ons que vous me donniez, mon p?re... et aussi de profiter de vos exhortations. Sauf quelques moments de honte, quand je songeais au pass?, je me croyais l'?gale de tout le monde, parce que tout le monde ?tait bon pour moi, lorsqu'un jour...
Ici les sanglots interrompirent Fleur-de-Marie.
--Voyons, calmez-vous, pauvre enfant, courage! Et continuez.
La Goualeuse, essuyant ses yeux, reprit:
--Vous vous souvenez, mon p?re, que, lors des f?tes de la Toussaint, Mme Dubreuil, fermi?re de M. le duc de Lucenay ? Arnouville, est venue ici passer quelque temps avec sa fille.
--Sans doute, et je vous ai vue avec plaisir faire connaissance avec Clara Dubreuil; elle est dou?e des meilleures qualit?s.
--C'est un ange, mon p?re... un ange... Quand je sus qu'elle devait venir pendant quelques jours ? la ferme, mon bonheur fut bien grand, je ne songeais qu'au moment o? je verrais cette compagne si d?sir?e. Enfin elle arriva. J'?tais dans ma chambre; je devais la partager avec elle, je la parais de mon mieux; on m'envoya chercher. J'entrai dans le salon, mon coeur battait; Mme Georges, me montrant cette jolie jeune personne, qui avait l'air aussi doux que modeste et bon, me dit: <
--Mais, mon enfant...
--Ah! mon p?re, s'?cria Fleur-de-Marie en interrompant le cur? avec une exaltation douloureuse, lorsque M. Rodolphe m'a emmen?e de la Cit?, j'avais d?j? vaguement la conscience de ma d?gradation... Mais croyez-vous que l'?ducation, que les conseils, que les exemples que j'ai re?us de Mme Georges et de vous, en ?clairant tout ? coup mon esprit, ne m'aient pas, h?las! fait comprendre que j'avais ?t? encore plus coupable que malheureuse?... Avant l'arriv?e de Mlle Clara, lorsque ces pens?es me tourmentaient, je m'?tourdissais en t?chant de contenter Mme Georges et vous, mon p?re... Si je rougissais du pass?, c'?tait ? mes propres yeux... Mais la vue de cette jeune personne de mon ?ge, si charmante, si vertueuse, m'a fait songer ? la distance qui existerait ? jamais entre elle et moi... Pour la premi?re fois, j'ai senti qu'il est des fl?trissures que rien n'efface... Depuis ce jour, cette pens?e ne me quitte plus... Malgr? moi, je m'y appesantis sans cesse; depuis ce jour, enfin, je n'ai plus un moment de repos.
La Goualeuse essuya ses yeux remplis de larmes.
Apr?s l'avoir regard?e pendant quelques instants avec une tendre commis?ration, le cur? reprit:
--R?fl?chissez donc, mon enfant, que si Mme Georges voulait vous voir l'amie de Mlle Dubreuil, c'est qu'elle vous savait digne de cette liaison par votre bonne conduite. Les reproches que vous vous faites s'adressent presque ? votre seconde m?re.
--Je le sais, mon p?re, j'avais tort, sans doute; mais je ne pouvais surmonter ma honte et ma crainte... Ce n'est pas tout... il me faut du courage pour achever...
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