[1] I have already spoken of her in connection with my literary beginnings with de Leuven. Castaing was accused of having poisoned her, but she really died from the effects of a fit of anger against Poirson, manager of the Gymnase, concerning the engagement by that theatre of Madame Théodore. The fit of anger brought on brain fever, which carried her off in forty-eight hours.
[CHAPTER VI]
Eugène Sue is ambitious enough to have a groom, horse and trap—He does business with the maison Ermingot, Godefroi et Cie which permits him to gratify that fancy—Triumph at the Champs-Élysées—A vexing encounter—Desforges and Eugène Sue separate—Desforges starts Le Kaléidoscope at Bordeaux—Ferdinand Langlé starts La Nouveauté at Paris—César and the negro Zoyo—Dossion and his dog
Time rolled on and Eugène Sue grew up, and Dr. Sue kept his purse-strings drawn tighter and tighter. Eugène wanted to have a groom, horse and trap; it was necessary to have recourse to expediency. He was put into communication with two worthy capitalists who sold wine to young persons of good family who felt a vocation for trading; their names were MM. Ermingot and Godefroi. We do not know whether these gentlemen still pursue the trade; but we will risk quoting their names, hoping they will not take the following words for an advertisement.
MM. Ermingot and Godefroi made inquiries, and they found that Eugène Sue was to inherit 100,000 francs from his maternal grandfather, and about 300,000 or 400,000 from his father. They concluded that they might risk somewhat. Eugène Sue received an invitation to lunch at Bercy with one or two of his friends. He decided to take Desforges, who was regarded as a society man in whom Dr. Sue had the greatest confidence. They were expected at the Grands or Gros Marroniers, I forget which. It was a splendid lunch; they made the two young men taste the wines they had on hand, and Eugène Sue, to whom wine was particularly seductive, was so pleased with them, that he bought some there and then for a sum of 15,000 francs, which he settled for at once by bills of exchange. The wine was deposited at the house of a third party, with power to Eugène Sue to let them be tasted and to sell them, and so make what profit he could out of them. That profit, at the lowest estimate, must have been at least from 5000 to 6000 francs. A week later, Eugène Sue sold back to a confederate of Ermingot & Godefroi Company his lot of wine for the sum of 1500 francs ready money. He lost 13,500 francs upon the speculation; but, nevertheless, he had 1500 francs of money in hand at once with which to realise his wish to possess a groom, horse and trap, an ambition which, for over a year, had disturbed the sleep of the two friends.
"How could he get a groom and horse and trap," the reader asks, "for 1500 francs?"
It is incredible what credit 1500 francs ready money will give, especially when one is a son of good family, and when one can apply to one's father's tradespeople. They bought the trap from Sailer, the doctor's carriage-dealer, and gave him 500 francs on account; they bought the horse from Kunsmann, where they took riding lessons, and gave him about 500 francs. They remained in possession of 500 francs: they engaged a groom, whom they clothed completely from head to foot. That was not ruinous, for they had credit at the tailor's, the bootmaker's and the hatter's. They had attained this magnificent result at the beginning of the winter of 1824-25. The trap was kept through the winter. In the spring, they decided to ride on horseback, to greet the appearance of the first leaves. One morning they set out; Desforges and Eugène Sue were on horseback, followed by their groom, also on horseback. The groom made awful grimaces, which the passers-by were at a loss to account for. Desforges and Eugène Sue alone knew the cause of the working of poor John's facial muscles: they had bought him which morning boots which were too tight, and it had taken the combined efforts of both masters to get their servant into them. Half-way to the Champs-Élysées, as they were scattering greetings to men and smiles to ladies, a green conveyance drew up and a head appeared and examined the two elegants with stupefaction. The head belonged to Dr. Sue; the green vehicle was what the family called the three-lamped carriage: it was a low conveyance, invented by the doctor, from which one could descend without a step—the ancestor of all the small coupés in vogue nowadays. The head struck the two young people as did the head of Medusa; only, instead of turning them to stone, it gave them wings. They flew at a gallop, but, unluckily, they had to return. They did not do so until the day but one after, but they did return. Justice lay in wait at the gate in the person of Dr. Sue. They saw they must confess everything, and it was even a great relief, to them; for the house of Ermingot & Godefroi was beginning to show its teeth and to send stamped papers, as the six months' bills drew near their end.