Her treasuries were not the
millions whose revenues were rolling up; they were Charles's
dressing-case, the portraits hanging above her bed, the jewels
recovered from her father and proudly spread upon a bed of wool in a
drawer of the oaken cabinet, the thimble of her aunt, used for a while
by her mother, which she wore religiously as she worked at a piece of
embroidery,--a Penelope's web, begun for the sole purpose of putting
upon her finger that gold so rich in memories.
It seemed unlikely that Mademoiselle Grandet would marry during the
period of her mourning. Her genuine piety was well known. Consequently
the Cruchots, whose policy was sagely guided by the old abbe,
contented themselves for the time being with surrounding the great
heiress and paying her the most affectionate attentions. Every evening
the hall was filled with a party of devoted Cruchotines, who sang the
praises of its mistress in every key. She had her doctor in ordinary,
her grand almoner, her chamberlain, her first lady of honor, her prime
minister; above all, her chancellor, a chancellor who would fain have
said much to her. If the heiress had wished for a train-bearer, one
would instantly have been found. She was a queen, obsequiously
flattered. Flattery never emanates from noble souls; it is the gift of
little minds, who thus still further belittle themselves to worm their
way into the vital being of the persons around whom they crawl.
Flattery means self-interest.
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