Paris | Page 4

Costume of a Woman; Our Mutual
Felicity--I Meet Some Relatives of Mine, but Do not Discover Myself
The reader can easily guess that there was a change as sudden as a
transformation in a pantomime, and that the short but magic sentence,
"Come to Parma," proved a very fortunate catastrophe, thanks to which
I rapidly changed, passing from the tragic to the gentle mood, from the
serious to the tender tone. Sooth to say, I fell at her feet, and lovingly
pressing her knees I kissed them repeatedly with raptures of gratitude.
No more 'furore', no more bitter words; they do not suit the sweetest of
all human feelings! Loving, docile, grateful, I swear never to beg for
any favour, not even to kiss her hand, until I have shewn myself worthy
of her precious love! The heavenly creature, delighted to see me pass so
rapidly from despair to the most lively tenderness, tells me, with a
voice the tone of which breathes of love, to get up from my knees.
"I am sure that you love me," says she, "and be quite certain that I shall
leave nothing undone to secure the constancy of your feelings." Even if
she had said that she loved me as much as I adored her, she would not
have been more eloquent, for her words expressed all that can be felt.
My lips were pressed to her beautiful hands as the captain entered the
room. He complimented us with perfect good faith, and I told him, my
face beaming with happiness, that I was going to order the carriage. I

left them together, and in a short time we were on our road, cheerful,
pleased, and merry.
Before reaching Reggio the honest captain told me that in his opinion it
would be better for him to proceed to Parma alone, as, if we arrived in
that city all together, it might cause some remarks, and people would
talk about us much less if we were without him. We both thought him
quite right, and we immediately made up our minds to pass the night in
Reggio, while the captain would take a post-chaise and go alone to
Parma. According to that arrangement his trunk was transferred to the
vehicle which he hired in Reggio, he bade us farewell and went away,
after having promised to dine with us on the following day in Parma.
The decision taken by the worthy Hungarian was, doubtless, as
agreeable to my lovely friend as to me, for our delicacy would have
condemned us to a great reserve in his presence. And truly, under the
new circumstances, how were we to arrange for our lodgings in Reggio?
Henriette could not, of course, share the bed of the captain any more,
and she could not have slept with me as long as he was with us, without
being guilty of great immodesty. We should all three have laughed at
that compulsory reserve which we would have felt to be ridiculous, but
we should, for all that, have submitted to it. Love is the little impudent
god, the enemy of bashfulness, although he may very often enjoy
darkness and mystery, but if he gives way to it he feels disgraced; he
loses three-fourths of his dignity and the greatest portion of his charms.
Evidently there could be no happiness for Henriette or for me unless we
parted with the person and even with the remembrance of the excellent
captain.
We supped alone. I was intoxicated with a felicity which seemed too
immense, and yet I felt melancholy, but Henriette, who looked sad
likewise, had no reproach to address to me. Our sadness was in reality
nothing but shyness; we loved each other, but we had had no time to
become acquainted. We exchanged only a few words, there was
nothing witty, nothing interesting in our conversation, which struck us
both as insipid, and we found more pleasure in the thoughts which
filled our minds. We knew that we were going to pass the night

together, but we could not have spoken of it openly. What a night! what
a delightful creature was that Henriette whom I have loved so deeply,
who has made me so supremely happy!
It was only three or four days later that I ventured on asking her what
she would have done, without a groat in her possession, having not one
acquaintance in Parma, if I had been afraid to declare my love, and if I
had gone to Naples. She answered that she would doubtless have found
herself in very great difficulties, but that she had all along felt certain of
my love, and that she had foreseen what had happened. She added that,
being impatient to know what I thought of her, she had asked me