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Article MADELAINE. ← Page 7 of 12 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Madelaine.
At the sight of these toys , before Avhich fate or chance had draAvn him , the Chevalier suddenly remembered that he had practised the art of turning in AVOOC ! and ivory . Three months had scarcely elapsed before he Avas considered the very Benvenuto Cellini of Nuremberg . His cups and balls were beautiful ;
his Avhirligigs Avere beyond praise ; but Avhat can we say to give an idea of his nut-crackers ? They Avere perfect marA'els for delicacy of finish and elegant design . They became the rage in this old German city ; and before two years had passed , every one AA'ith the least pretension to gentility had their likenesses takenas a matter of coursebthe Marchionessand not a
, , y , filbert coidd be eaten without the assistance of the French emigrant . We need not say , that although happy in their success , our tyro friends did uot rate it very highly ; and hoAvever large a price they might put upon their Avorks in public , they made light enough of them amongst themselves . After working apart all daythey would spend the evenings
, together , recounting Avith the greatest glee , the one all the peculiarities of some large Nuremberger , Avho was then sitting for their portrait , and the other the different designs he had imagined for half a dozen nut-crackers , AA'hich he had made in the course of the morning . They laughed , —they joked , —never
once reflecting that it was to labour they OAved even then' merriment : to labour , Avhieh rendered them as truly happy now as they had ever been in the brightest clays of their prosperity . As to the Marquis , he considered it beneath a nobleman to earn his bread , and Avould have preferred dying at once to working like a beggar . He Avas ' out of humour Avith his wife
for doing so , and held the Chevalier in the most sovereign contempt . He Avas particularly exasperated by finding them at all times cheerful , while he suffered intensely from that dreadful ennui which mental and bodily inactivity necessarily brings Avith it . He partook without scruple of their gains , ate and drank largely , and Avas as childish , useless , and exacting ,
as he had formerly been at home , on the banks of the Vienne . It was always at meal-times that his ill-humour exploded . "Well , my good friend , " the Chevalier would often say , " oblige me by stating Avhat you AA'ould do were it not for these portraits ?" " Or Avithout the Chevalier's lovely nut-crackers ? " added the
Marchioness , smiling . The Marquis shrugging his shoulders , talked of the blot upon his coat of arms , of his ancestors , and finally fell into a grumbling complaint that he had no burgundy for dinner . Iu the course of time the Marchioness and the Chevalier con-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Madelaine.
At the sight of these toys , before Avhich fate or chance had draAvn him , the Chevalier suddenly remembered that he had practised the art of turning in AVOOC ! and ivory . Three months had scarcely elapsed before he Avas considered the very Benvenuto Cellini of Nuremberg . His cups and balls were beautiful ;
his Avhirligigs Avere beyond praise ; but Avhat can we say to give an idea of his nut-crackers ? They Avere perfect marA'els for delicacy of finish and elegant design . They became the rage in this old German city ; and before two years had passed , every one AA'ith the least pretension to gentility had their likenesses takenas a matter of coursebthe Marchionessand not a
, , y , filbert coidd be eaten without the assistance of the French emigrant . We need not say , that although happy in their success , our tyro friends did uot rate it very highly ; and hoAvever large a price they might put upon their Avorks in public , they made light enough of them amongst themselves . After working apart all daythey would spend the evenings
, together , recounting Avith the greatest glee , the one all the peculiarities of some large Nuremberger , Avho was then sitting for their portrait , and the other the different designs he had imagined for half a dozen nut-crackers , AA'hich he had made in the course of the morning . They laughed , —they joked , —never
once reflecting that it was to labour they OAved even then' merriment : to labour , Avhieh rendered them as truly happy now as they had ever been in the brightest clays of their prosperity . As to the Marquis , he considered it beneath a nobleman to earn his bread , and Avould have preferred dying at once to working like a beggar . He Avas ' out of humour Avith his wife
for doing so , and held the Chevalier in the most sovereign contempt . He Avas particularly exasperated by finding them at all times cheerful , while he suffered intensely from that dreadful ennui which mental and bodily inactivity necessarily brings Avith it . He partook without scruple of their gains , ate and drank largely , and Avas as childish , useless , and exacting ,
as he had formerly been at home , on the banks of the Vienne . It was always at meal-times that his ill-humour exploded . "Well , my good friend , " the Chevalier would often say , " oblige me by stating Avhat you AA'ould do were it not for these portraits ?" " Or Avithout the Chevalier's lovely nut-crackers ? " added the
Marchioness , smiling . The Marquis shrugging his shoulders , talked of the blot upon his coat of arms , of his ancestors , and finally fell into a grumbling complaint that he had no burgundy for dinner . Iu the course of time the Marchioness and the Chevalier con-