CHILDREN
On his return from the theatre Monsieur Octave de Camps declared that it would be long before they caught him at a fairy piece again.But Nais, on the contrary, still under the spell of its marvels gave a lively recital of the scene, which showed how much her imagination was capable of being stirred.
As Madame de Camps and her husband walked away together, the former remarked,--"That child is really very disquieting.Madame de l'Estorade develops her too much; I should not be surprised if she gave her a great deal of trouble in future years."It would be difficult to mark the precise moment in our contemporary habits and customs when a new species of religion, which might be called child-idolatry, appeared.Nor shall we find it easier to discover by what species of influence this worship has reached its present enormous development among us.But, although unexplained, the fact exists and ought to be recorded by every faithful historian of the great and the little movements of society.In the family of to-day children have taken the place of the household gods of the ancients, and whoever does not share this worship is not a morose and sour spirit, nor a captious and annoying reasoner,--he is simply an atheist.
Try to amuse one of these beloved adored ones, all puffed up, as they naturally are, by a sense of their importance, with dolls and toys and Punch-and-Judys, as in the days of our unsophisticated innocence!
Nonsense! Boys must have ponies and cigarettes, and the reading of novelettes; and girls, the delight of playing hostess, giving afternoon dances, and evening parties at which the real Guignol of the Champs Elysees and Robert Houdin appear,--the entertainment being announced on the invitation cards.Sometimes, as now in the case of Nais de l'Estorade, these little sovereigns obtain permission to give a ball in grown-up style,--so much so, that policemen are stationed about the doors, and Delisle, Nattier, and Prevost provide the toilets and the decorations.
With the character we have already seen in Nais, it may be said that no one was better fitted than she for the duties that devolved upon her by the abdication of her mother.This abdication took place before the evening of the ball itself, for it was Mademoiselle Nais de l'Estorade who, in her own name, invited her guests to do her the honor to pass the evening chez elle; and as Madame de l'Estorade would not allow the parody to go as far as printed cards, Nais spent several days writing her notes of invitation, taking care to put in the corner, in conspicuous letters, the sacramental word, "Dancing."Nothing could be more curious, or, as Madame de Camps might have said, more alarming, than the self-possession of this little girl of fourteen, behaving precisely as she had seen her mother do on like occasions; stationed, to receive her company, at the door of the salon, and marking by her manner the proper grades of welcome, from eager cordiality to a coldness that verged on disdain.To her best friends she gave her hand in truly English style; for the rest she had smiles, apportioned to the degrees of intimacy,--simple inclination of the head for unknown guests or those of less account; with little speeches now and then, and delicious mamma-like airs for the tiny children whom it is necessary to ask to these juvenile routs, however dangerous and difficult to manage that element may be.
With the fathers and mothers of her guests, as the ball was not given for them, Nais as a general thing reversed the nature of the Gospel invocation, Sinite parvulos venire ad me, and was careful not to pass the limit of cold though respectful politeness.But when Lucas, following the instructions he had received, reversed the natural order of things and announced, "Mesdemoiselles de la Roche-Hugon, Madame la Baronne de la Roche-Hugon, and Madame la Comtesse de Rastignac, the little strategist laid aside her reserve, and, running up to the wife of the minister, she took her hand and pressed it to her lips with charming grace.
