Page:Mauprat (Heinemann).djvu/223

 development of my character. She cast about for means to cure it. If there was never fiancée stronger-minded and more reserved than she, never was there mother more tender. After many discussions with the abbé she resolved to persuade her father to change the routine of our life somewhat, and to remove our establishment to Paris for the last weeks of the carnival. Our long stay in the country; the isolation which the position of Sainte-Sévère and the bad state of the roads had left us since the beginning of winter; the monotony of our daily life—all tended to foster our wearisome quibbling. My character was being more and more spoilt by it; and though it afforded my uncle even greater pleasure than myself, his health suffered as a result, and the childish passions daily aroused were no doubt hastening his decay. The abbé was suffering from ennui; Edmée was depressed. Whether in consequence of our mode of life or owing to causes unknown to the rest, it was her wish to go, and we went; for her father was uneasy about her melancholy, and sought only to do as she desired. I jumped for joy at the thought of seeing Paris; and while Edmée was flattering herself that intercourse with the world would refine the grossness of my pedantry, I was dreaming of a triumphal progress through that world which had been held up to such scorn by our philosophers. We started on our journey one fine morning in March; the chevalier with his daughter and Mademoiselle Leblanc in one post-chaise; myself in another with the abbé, who could ill conceal his delight at the thought of seeing the capital for the first time in his life; and my valet Saint-Jean, who, lest he should forget his customary politeness, made profound bows to every individual we passed.