Produced by Douglas Ethington
A TRANSLATION OF
ADOLPHE BELOT'S
"La Sultane parisienne"
BY
H. MAINWARING DUNSTAN.
A charming retreat, one of a luxurious suite of apartments in theBoulevard Malesherbes, the abode, evidently, of a woman both youngand of elegant tastes. One glance round the room sufficed toestablish the innate refinement of its owner—the couch covered withpearl-grey brocaded satin, the timepiece of Dresden china, theVenetian mirror, the crayons bearing the signature of Latour, thetasteful what-nots filled with miniature figures, the Smyrna carpet,the cushions adorned with antique lace, and the diminutive chairs, amodern creation, which the Parisians have invented to enable them, onthe first approach of frost, to creep as closely as possible to thegenial warmth of a winter fire—everything, in short, bore the impressof the owner's taste and refinement.
Nevertheless, however ardent might be the desire to meet the goddessof this charming sanctum, the sight of the various articles withwhich the furniture was laden could not fail to temper thateagerness, if indeed a decided chill did not result from theinspection. A feeling of astonishment, at all events, wouldinevitably succeed, as, on a closer examination, the room, which atfirst sight appeared to be a boudoir, was seen to be equally suitablefor the study of the most indefatigable of members of a modernGeographical Society.
As a matter of fact, the couch was lost to view, almost entirely,beneath a mass of books or pamphlets, published by Hachette, ArthurBertrand, Delegrave and Lassailly, bearing some such titles as: "Aucœur de l'Afrique," "l'Albert Nyanza," "le Fleuve Blanc," "Ismailia,""Les Grandes Entreprises Géographiques," &c., &c. The corners of theroom were littered with numbers of the "Annales des Voyages," and theslender frame of a gilded chair bent under the weight of Bouillet'sfamous "Atlas d'Histoire et de Géographie."
Even the satin-flock, with which the walls were covered, had not beenrespected, for, here and there, simply fastened by pins, appeared amap by Stieler of Gotha, another by Brué, a survey by Emile Lavasseurof the Institute, and sketches by Malte-Brun, Peterman and theViscount de Bizemont, all of them explanatory or illustrative of thediscoveries made by Burton, Speke, Grant, Livingstone and Dr. Cuny.
On a small ebony table, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and of exquisitedesign, was piled a perfect pyramid of the "Bulletin" of theGeographical Society, whose remaining numbers found a resting-placeat the foot of the couch, on the Smyrna carpet. A view of the AlbertNyanza, taken from the plans of Schweinfurth, the great Germantraveller, rested on the mantelpiece, between the time-piece and themirror.
In the midst of all this furniture, which science had, as it were,taken by assault and alienated from its original destiny, amid themany seats which wore an air of astonishment at having been covertedinto book-shelves, one tiny chair alone remained unoccupied,doubtless reserved for the particular use of the master or mistressof the abode.
As the clock struck eight, a lady made her appearance in the room.She might be from three and twenty to twenty-five years of age, andher figure, albeit considerably above the average height, wasadmirably proportioned. Her small, shapely head was gracefully poisedon a well-turned neck, and her drooping shoulders and full, thoughnot too full, bust prepared the beholder for the tiny foot whichpeeped beneath a dress of some dark m