What man excepting him have I ever seen, who could put into successful
practice the teachings which I am endeavoring to give to husbands!
What charm could he impart to life by his delightful manners and
fascinating conversation!--His wife never knew until after his death
what she then learned from me, namely, that he had the gout. He had
wisely retired to a home in the hollow of a valley, close to a forest.
God only knows what rambles he used to take with his wife!--His good
star decreed that Mademoiselle de Pontivy should possess an excellent
heart and should manifest in a high degree that exquisite refinement,
that sensitive modesty which renders beautiful the plainest girl in
the world. All of a sudden, one of his nephews, a good-looking
military man, who had escaped from the disasters of Moscow, returned
to his uncle's house, as much for the sake of learning how far he had
to fear his cousins, as heirs, as in the hope of laying siege to his
aunt. His black hair, his moustache, the easy small-talk of the staff
officer, a certain freedom which was elegant as well as trifling, his
bright eyes, contrasted favorably with the faded graces of his uncle.
I arrived at the precise moment when the young countess was teaching
her newly found relation to play backgammon. The proverb says that
"women never learn this game excepting from their lovers, and vice
versa.
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