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Page 2
"From the time of the Valois till the reign of Richelieu, as it may be
called, the Rusticoli played a most illustrious part; under Louis XIV.
their glory waned somewhat, under Louis XV. it went out altogether. My
friend's grandfather wasted all that was left to the once brilliant
house with Mlle. Laguerre, whom he first discovered, and brought into
fashion before Bouret's time. Charles Edward's own father was an
officer without any fortune in 1789. The Revolution came to his
assistance; he had the sense to drop his title, and became plain
Rusticoli. Among other deeds, M. Rusticoli married a wife during the
war in Italy, a Capponi, a goddaughter of the Countess of Albany
(hence La Palferine's final names). Rusticoli was one of the best
colonels in the army. The Emperor made him a commander of the Legion
of Honor and a count. His spine was slightly curved, and his son was
wont to say of him laughingly that he was _un comte refait
(contrefait)_.
"General Count Rusticoli, for he became a brigadier-general at
Ratisbon and a general of the division on the field of Wagram, died at
Vienna almost immediately after his promotion, or his name and ability
would sooner or later have brought him the marshal's baton. Under the
Restoration he would certainly have repaired the fortunes of a great
and noble family so brilliant even as far back as 1100, centuries
before they took the French title--for the Rusticoli had given a pope
to the church and twice revolutionized the kingdom of Naples--so
illustrious again under the Valois; so dexterous in the days of the
Fronde, that obstinate Frondeurs though they were, they still existed
through the reign of Louis XIV. Mazarin favored them; there was the
Tuscan strain in them still, and he recognized it.
"Today, when Charles Edward de la Palferine's name is mentioned, not
three persons in a hundred know the history of his house. But the
Bourbons have actually left a Foix-Grailly to live by his easel.
"Ah, if you but knew how brilliantly Charles Edward accepts his
obscure position! how he scoffs at the bourgeois of 1830! What Attic
salt in his wit! He would be the king of Bohemia, if Bohemia would
endure a king. His _verve_ is inexhaustible. To him we owe a map of
the country and the names of the seven castles which Nodier could not
discover."
"The one thing wanting in one of the cleverest skits of our time,"
said the Marquise.
"You can form your own opinion of La Palferine from a few
characteristic touches," continued Nathan. "He once came upon a friend
of his, a fellow-Bohemian, involved in a dispute on the boulevard with
a bourgeois who chose to consider himself affronted. To the modern
powers that be, Bohemia is insolent in the extreme. There was talk of
calling one another out.
"'One moment,' interposed La Palferine, as much Lauzun for the
occasion as Lauzun himself could have been. 'One moment. Monsieur was
born, I suppose?'
"'What, sir?'
"'Yes, are you born? What is your name?'
"'Godin.'
"'Godin, eh!' exclaimed La Palferine's friend.
"'One moment, my dear fellow,' interrupted La Palferine. 'There are
the Trigaudins. Are you one of them?'
"Astonishment.
"'No? Then you are one of the new dukes of Gaeta, I suppose, of
imperial creation? No? Oh, well, how can you expect my friend to cross
swords with you when he will be secretary of an embassy and ambassador
_some day_, and you will owe him respect? _Godin!_ the thing is
non-existent! You are a nonentity, Godin. My friend cannot be expected
to beat the air! When one is somebody, one cannot fight with a nobody!
Come, my dear fellow--good-day.'
"'My respects to madame,' added the friend.
"Another day La Palferine was walking with a friend who flung his
cigar end in the face of a passer-by. The recipient had the bad taste
to resent this.
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