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he; in spite of such obvious disadvantages; to possess really

exquisite manners and a distinguished air? The problem is solved

partly by the care and elegance of his dress; and partly by the

training given him by his mother; a Radziwill。 His courage amounted to

daring; but his mind was not more than was needed for the ephemeral

talk and pleasantry of Parisian conversation。 And yet it would have

been difficult to find among the young men of fashion in Paris a

single one who was his superior。 Young men talk a great deal too much

in these days of horses; money; taxes; deputies; French CONVERSATION

is no longer what it was。 Brilliancy of mind needs leisure and certain

social inequalities to bring it out。 There is; probably; more real

conversation in Vienna or St。 Petersburg than in Paris。 Equals do not

need to employ delicacy or shrewdness in speech; they blurt out things

as they are。 Consequently the dandies of Paris did not discover the

great seigneur in the rather heedless young fellow who; in their

talks; would flit from one subject to another; all the more intent

upon amusement because he had just escaped from a great peril; and;

finding himself in a city where his family was unknown; felt at

liberty to lead a loose life without the risk of disgracing his name。



But one fine day in 1834 Adam suddenly bought a house in the rue de la

Pepiniere。 Six months later his style of living was second to none in

Paris。 About the time when he thus began to take himself seriously he

had seen Clementine du Rouvre at the Opera and had fallen in love with

her。 A year later the marriage took place。 The salon of Madame

d'Espard was the first to sound his praises。 Mothers of daughters then

learned too late that as far back as the year 900 the family of the

Laginski was among the most illustrious of the North。 By an act of

prudence which was very unPolish; the mother of the young count had

mortgaged her entire property on the breaking out of the insurrection

for an immense sum lent by two Jewish bankers in Paris。 Comte Adam was

now in possession of eighty thousand francs a year。 When this was

discovered society ceased to be surprised at the imprudence which had

been laid to the charge of Madame de Serizy; the Marquis de

Ronquerolles; and the Chevalier du Rouvre in yielding to the foolish

passion of their niece。 People jumped; as usual; from one extreme of

judgment to the other。



During the winter of 1836 Comte Adam was the fashion; and Clementine

Laginska one of the queens of Paris。 Madame Laginska is now a member

of that charming circle of young women represented by Mesdames de

Lestorade; de Portenduere; Marie de Vandenesse; du Guenic; and de

Maufrigneuse; the flowers of our present Paris; who live at such

immeasurable distance from the parvenus; the vulgarians; and the

speculators of the new regime。



This preamble is necessary to show the sphere in which was done one of

those noble actions; less rare than the calumniators of our time

admit;actions which; like pearls; the fruit of pain and suffering;

are hidden within rough shells; lost in the gulf; the sea; the tossing

waves of what we call society; the century; Paris; London; St。

Petersburg;or what you will。



If the axiom that architecture is the expression of manner and morals

was ever proved; it was certainly after the insurrection of 1830;

during the present reign of the house of Orleans。 As all the old

fortunes are diminishing in France; the majestic mansions of our

ancestors are constantly being demolished and replaced by species of

phalansteries; in which the peers of July occupy the third floor above

some newly enriched empirics on the lower floors。 A mixture of styles

is confusedly employed。 As there is no longer a real court or nobility

to give the tone; there is no harmony in the production of art。 Never;

on the other hand; has architecture discovered so many economical ways

of imitating the real and the solid; or displayed more resources; more

talent; in distributing them。 Propose to an architect to build upon

the garden at the back of an old mansion; and he will run you up a

little Louvre overloaded with ornament。 He will manage to get in a

courtyard; stables; and if you care for it; a garden。 Inside the house

he will accommodate a quantity of little rooms and passages。 He is so

clever in deceiving the eye that you think you will have plenty of

space; but it is only a nest of small rooms; after all; in which a

ducal family has to turn itself about in the space that its own

bakehouse formerly occupied。



The hotel of the Comtesse Laginska; rue de la Pepiniere; is one of

these creations; and stands between court and garden。 On the right; in

the court; are the kitchens and offices; to the left the coachhouse

and stables。 The porter's lodge is between two charming portes…

cocheres。 The chief luxury of the house is a delightful greenhouse

contrived at the end of a boudoir on the ground…floor which opens upon

an admirable suite of reception rooms。 An English philanthropist had

built this architectural bijou; designed the garden; added the

greenhouse; polished the doors; bricked the courtyard; painted the

window…frames green; and realized; in short; a dream which resembled

(proportions excepted) George the Fourth's Pavilion at Brighton。 The

inventive and industrious Parisian workmen had moulded the doors and

window…frames; the ceilings were imitated from the middle…ages or

those of a Venetian palace; marble veneering abounded on the outer

walls。 Steinbock and Francois Souchet had designed the mantel…pieces

and the panels above the doors; Schinner had painted the ceilings in

his masterly manner。 The beauties of the staircase; white as a woman's

arm; defied those of the hotel Rothschild。 On account of the riots and

the unsettled times; the cost of this folly was only about eleven

hundred thousand francs;to an Englishman a mere nothing。 All this

luxury; called princely by persons who do not know what real princes

are; was built in the garden of the house of a purveyor made a Croesus

by the Revolution; who had escaped to Brussels and died there after

going into bankruptcy。 The Englishman died in Paris; of Paris; for to

many persons Paris is a disease;sometimes several diseases。 His

widow; a Methodist; had a horror of the little nabob establishment;

and ordered it to be sold。 Comte Adam bought it at a bargain; and how

he came to do so shall presently be made known; for bargains were not

at all in his line as a grand seigneur。



Behind the house lay the verdant velvet of an English lawn shaded at

the lower end by a clump of exotic trees; in the midst of which stood

a Chinese pagoda with soundless belfries and motionless golden eggs。

The greenhouse concealed the garden wall on the northern side; the

opposite wall was covered with climbing plants trained upon poles

painted green and connected with crossway trellises。 This lawn; this

world of flowers; the gravelled paths; the simulated forest; the

verdant palisades; were contained within the space of five and twenty

square rods; which are worth to…day four hundred thousand francs;the

value of an actual forest。 Here; in this solitude in the middle of

Paris; the birds sang; thrushes; nightingales; warblers; bulfinches;

and sparrows。 The greenhouse was like an immense jardiniere; filling

the air with perfume in winter as in summer。 The means by which its

atmosphere was made to order; torrid as in China or temperate as in

Italy; were cleverly concealed。 Pipes in which hot water circulated;

or steam; were either hidden under ground or festooned with plants

overhead。 The boudoir was a large room。 The miracle of the modern

Parisian fairy named Architecture is to get all these many and great

things out of a limited bit of ground。



The boudoir of the young countess was arranged to suit the taste of

the artist to whom Comte Adam entrusted the decoration of the house。

It is too full of pretty nothings to be a place for repose; one scarce

knows where to sit down among carved Chinese work…tables with their

myriads of fantastic figures inlaid in ivory; cups of yellow topaz

mounted on filagree; mosaics which inspire theft; Dutch pictures in

the style which Schinner has adopted; angels such as Steinbock

conceived but often could not execute; statuettes modelled by genius

pursued by creditors (the real explanation of the Arabian myth);

superb sketches by our best artists; lids of chests made into panels

alternating with fluted draperies of Italian silk; portieres hanging

from rods of old oak in tapestried masses on which the figures of some

hunting scene are swarming; pieces of furniture worthy to have

belonged to Madame de Pompadour; Persian rugs; et cetera。 For a last

graceful touch; all these elegant things were subdued by the half…

light which filtered through embroidered curtains and added to their

charm。 On a table between the windows; among various curiosit

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