The Professor Page 10

  CHAPTER IX.

  M. PELET could not of course object to the proposal made by Mdlle.Reuter; permission to accept such additional employment, should itoffer, having formed an article of the terms on which he had engaged me.It was, therefore, arranged in the course of next day that I shouldbe at liberty to give lessons in Mdlle. Reuter's establishment fourafternoons in every week.

  When evening came I prepared to step over in order to seek a conferencewith Mademoiselle herself on the subject; I had not had time to pay thevisit before, having been all day closely occupied in class. I remembervery well that before quitting my chamber, I held a brief debate withmyself as to whether I should change my ordinary attire for somethingsmarter. At last I concluded it would be a waste of labour. "Doubtless,"thought I, "she is some stiff old maid; for though the daughter ofMadame Reuter, she may well number upwards of forty winters; besides, ifit were otherwise, if she be both young and pretty, I am not handsome,and no dressing can make me so, therefore I'll go as I am." And offI started, cursorily glancing sideways as I passed the toilet-table,surmounted by a looking-glass: a thin irregular face I saw, with sunk,dark eyes under a large, square forehead, complexion destitute of bloomor attraction something young, but not youthful, no object to win alady's love, no butt for the shafts of Cupid.

  I was soon at the entrance of the pensionnat, in a moment I had pulledthe bell; in another moment the door was opened, and within appeared apassage paved alternately with black and white marble; the walls werepainted in imitation of marble also; and at the far end opened a glassdoor, through which I saw shrubs and a grass-plat, looking pleasant inthe sunshine of the mild spring evening--for it was now the middle ofApril.

  This, then, was my first glimpse of the garden; but I had not time tolook long, the portress, after having answered in the affirmativemy question as to whether her mistress was at home, opened thefolding-doors of a room to the left, and having ushered me in, closedthem behind me. I found myself in a salon with a very well-painted,highly varnished floor; chairs and sofas covered with white draperies,a green porcelain stove, walls hung with pictures in gilt frames, a giltpendule and other ornaments on the mantelpiece, a large lustre pendentfrom the centre of the ceiling, mirrors, consoles, muslin curtains, anda handsome centre table completed the inventory of furniture. All lookedextremely clean and glittering, but the general effect would have beensomewhat chilling had not a second large pair of folding-doors, standingwide open, and disclosing another and smaller salon, more snuglyfurnished, offered some relief to the eye. This room was carpeted, andtherein was a piano, a couch, a chiffonniere--above all, it containeda lofty window with a crimson curtain, which, being undrawn, affordedanother glimpse of the garden, through the large, clear panes, roundwhich some leaves of ivy, some tendrils of vine were trained.

  "Monsieur Creemsvort, n'est ce pas?" said a voice behind me; and,starting involuntarily, I turned. I had been so taken up with thecontemplation of the pretty little salon that I had not noticed theentrance of a person into the larger room. It was, however, Mdlle.Reuter who now addressed me, and stood close beside me; and when I hadbowed with instantaneously recovered sang-froid--for I am not easilyembarrassed--I commenced the conversation by remarking on the pleasantaspect of her little cabinet, and the advantage she had over M. Pelet inpossessing a garden.

  "Yes," she said, "she often thought so;" and added, "it is my garden,monsieur, which makes me retain this house, otherwise I should probablyhave removed to larger and more commodious premises long since; but yousee I could not take my garden with me, and I should scarcely find oneso large and pleasant anywhere else in town."

  I approved her judgment.

  "But you have not seen it yet," said she, rising; "come to the windowand take a better view." I followed her; she opened the sash, andleaning out I saw in full the enclosed demesne which had hitherto beento me an unknown region. It was a long, not very broad strip of culturedground, with an alley bordered by enormous old fruit trees down themiddle; there was a sort of lawn, a parterre of rose-trees, someflower-borders, and, on the far side, a thickly planted copse of lilacs,laburnums, and acacias. It looked pleasant, to me--very pleasant, solong a time had elapsed since I had seen a garden of any sort. But itwas not only on Mdlle. Reuter's garden that my eyes dwelt; when I hadtaken a view of her well-trimmed beds and budding shrubberies, I allowedmy glance to come back to herself, nor did I hastily withdraw it.

  I had thought to see a tall, meagre, yellow, conventual image in black,with a close white cap, bandaged under the chin like a nun's head-gear;whereas, there stood by me a little and roundly formed woman, who mightindeed be older than I, but was still young; she could not, I thought,be more than six or seven and twenty; she was as fair as a fairEnglishwoman; she had no cap; her hair was nut-brown, and she wore itin curls; pretty her features were not, nor very soft, nor very regular,but neither were they in any degree plain, and I already saw causeto deem them expressive. What was their predominant cast? Was itsagacity?--sense? Yes, I thought so; but I could scarcely as yet besure. I discovered, however, that there was a certain serenity of eye,and freshness of complexion, most pleasing to behold. The colour on hercheek was like the bloom on a good apple, which is as sound at the coreas it is red on the rind.

  Mdlle. Reuter and I entered upon business. She said she was notabsolutely certain of the wisdom of the step she was about to take,because I was so young, and parents might possibly object to a professorlike me for their daughters: "But it is often well to act on one's ownjudgment," said she, "and to lead parents, rather than be led by them.The fitness of a professor is not a matter of age; and, from what I haveheard, and from what I observe myself, I would much rather trust youthan M. Ledru, the music-master, who is a married man of near fifty."

  I remarked that I hoped she would find me worthy of her good opinionthat if I knew myself, I was incapable of betraying any confidencereposed in me. "Du reste," said she, "the surveillance will be strictlyattended to." And then she proceeded to discuss the subject of terms.She was very cautious, quite on her guard; she did not absolutelybargain, but she warily sounded me to find out what my expectationsmight be; and when she could not get me to name a sum, she reasoned andreasoned with a fluent yet quiet circumlocution of speech, and at lastnailed me down to five hundred francs per annum--not too much, but Iagreed. Before the negotiation was completed, it began to grow a littledusk. I did not hasten it, for I liked well enough to sit and hearher talk; I was amused with the sort of business talent she displayed.Edward could not have shown himself more practical, though he might haveevinced more coarseness and urgency; and then she had so many reasons,so many explanations; and, after all, she succeeded in proving herselfquite disinterested and even liberal. At last she concluded, she couldsay no more, because, as I acquiesced in all things, there was nofurther ground for the exercise of her parts of speech. I was obliged torise. I would rather have sat a little longer; what had I to return tobut my small empty room? And my eyes had a pleasure in looking atMdlle. Reuter, especially now, when the twilight softened her features alittle, and, in the doubtful dusk, I could fancy her forehead as openas it was really elevated, her mouth touched with turns of sweetnessas well as defined in lines of sense. When I rose to go, I held outmy hand, on purpose, though I knew it was contrary to the etiquette offoreign habits; she smiled, and said--

  "Ah! c'est comme tous les Anglais," but gave me her hand very kindly.

  "It is the privilege of my country, Mademoiselle," said I; "and,remember, I shall always claim it."

  She laughed a little, quite good-naturedly, and with the sort oftranquillity obvious in all she did--a tranquillity which soothed andsuited me singularly, at least I thought so that evening. Brusselsseemed a very pleasant place to me when I got out again into the street,and it appeared as if some cheerful, eventful, upward-tending careerwere even then opening to me, on that selfsame mild, still April night.So impressionable a being is man, or at least such a man as I was inthose days.