The lad stood taken by surprise for a moment, thinking that

Tithonus must have looked just like this, and skipped like this,

just as he became a grasshopper; then he recollected that this must

be the Chevalier de Ribaumont, and tried to make up for his want of

cordiality. The old man had, it appeared, come out of Picardy,

where he lived on soupe maigre in a corner of the ancestral

castle, while his son and daughter were at court, the one in

Monsieur's suite, the other in that of the Queen-mother. He had

come purely to meet his dear young cousin, and render him all the

assistance is his power, conduct him to Paris, and give him

introductions.

Berenger, who had begun to find six Englishmen a troublesome charge

in France, was rather relieved at not being the only French scholar

of the party, and the Chevalier also hinted to him that he spoke

with a dreadful Norman accent that would never be tolerated at

court, even if it were understood by the way. Moreover, the

Chevalier studied him all over, and talked of Paris tailors and

posture-masters, and, though the pink of politeness, made it

evident that there was immensely too much of him. 'It might be the

custom in England to be so tall; here no one was of anything like

such a height, but the Duke of Guise. He, in his position, with

his air, could carry it off, but we must adapt ourselves as best we

can.' And his shrug and look of concern made Berenger for a moment almost

ashamed of that superfluous height of which they were all so proud

at home. Then he recollected himself, and asked, 'And why should

not I be tall as well as M. de Guise?'

'We shall see, fair cousin,' he answered, with an odd satirical

bow; 'we are as Heaven made us. All lies in the management and if

you had the advantages of training, PERHAPS you could even turn

your height into a grace.'

'Am I such a great lubber?' wondered Berenger; 'they did not think

so at home. No; nor did the Queen. She said I was a proper

stripling! Well, it matters the less, as I shall not stay long to

need their favour; and I'll show them there is some use in my

inches in the tilt-yard. But if they think me such a lout, what

would they say to honest Philip?'

The Chevalier seemed willing to take on him the whole management of

his 'fair cousin.' He inquired into the amount of the rents and

dues which old Osbert had collected and held ready to meet the

young Baron's exigencies; and which would, it seemed, be all needed

to make his dress any way presentable at court. The pearls, too,

were inquired for, and handed over by Osbert to his young Lord's

keeping, with the significant intimation that they had been

demanded when the young Madame la Baronne went to court; but that

he had buried them in the orchard, and made answer that they were

not in the chateau. The contract of marriage, which Berenger could

just remember signing, and seeing signed by his father, the King,

and the Count, was not forthcoming; and the Chevalier explained

that it was in the hands of a notary at Paris. For this Berenger

was not sorry. His grandfather had desired him to master the

contents, and he thought he had thus escaped a very dry and useless

study.




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