Pichon & Sons, of the Croix Rousse Page #3

"Pichon & Sons, of the Croix Rousse" is a novel by Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu that delves into themes of family dynamics, betrayal, and the complexities of human relationships. Set against the backdrop of the Croix Rousse district in Lyon, France, the story follows the Pichon family, who run a successful business but grapple with internal strife and external pressures. Le Fanu's narrative explores the moral dilemmas faced by the characters, illuminating their struggles and aspirations while weaving a tale rich in psychological depth and social commentary. The book highlights the intricate interplay of personal and professional lives, ultimately revealing the fragility of trust and the enduring impact of choices made.

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republican perfection.

The communication announcing the project of the ci-devant Marquis for
the secure exportation of his nephew, and containing the skilful appeal
before mentioned, grievously disturbed the tranquillity of Prosper, and
was precisely one of those incidents which he would especially have
liked to conceal from his daughter. But he could not do so; the appeal
was too cleverly made; and utter indifference to it, utter neglect of
the letter, which naturally suggested itself as the easiest means of
getting rid of a difficulty, would have involved an act of direct and
uncompromising dishonesty to which Prosper, though of sufficiently
elastic conscience within the limit of professional gains, could not
contemplate. The Château de Sénanges was indeed his own lawful property;
his without prejudice to the former owners, dispossessed by no act of
his. But the ci-devant Marquis--confiding in him to an extent which
was quite astonishing, except on the pis-aller theory, which is so
unflattering as to be seldom accepted--announced to him the existence of
a certain packet, hidden in the château, acknowledging its value, and
urging the need of its safe transmission. This was not his property. He
heartily wished he had never learned its existence, but wishing that was
clearly of no use; then he wished the nephew of the ci-devant might
come soon, and take himself and the hidden wealth away with all possible
speed. This latter was a more realizable desire, and Prosper settled his
mind with it, communicated the interesting but decidedly dangerous
secret to Berthe, received her warm sanction, and transmitted to the
Marquis, by the appointed means, an assurance that his wishes should be
punctually carried out. The absence of an interdiction of his visit
before a certain date was to be the signal to M. Paul de Sénanges that
he was to proceed to act upon his uncle's instructions; he waited the
proper time, the reassuring silence was maintained unbroken, and he
ultimately set forth on his journey, and accomplished it in safety.

Preparations had been made at the Maison Alix for the reception of M.
Glaire, and his supposed occupation had been announced. The apartments
were decorated in a heavy, gloomy style, and those of the citoyenne in
particular (they had been occupied by a lady who had once been
designated as feue Madame la Marquise, but who was referred to now as
la mère du ci-devant) were much in need of renovation. The alcove, for
instance, was all that was least gay and most far from simple. The
citoyenne would have all that changed. On the morning of the day of
the expected arrival, Berthe said to her father:

"It would seem as if the Marquis did not know the exact spot in which
the packet is deposited. M. Paul's assumed character implies the
necessity for a search."

M. Henri Glaire arrived at the Maison Alix, was fraternally received,
and made acquainted with the sphere of his operations. The young man had
a good deal of both ability and taste in the line he had assumed, and
the part was not difficult to play. Some days were judiciously allowed
to pass before the real object of the masquerade was pursued, and during
that time cordial relations established themselves between the avocat
and his guest. The young man was handsome, elegant, engaging, with all
the external advantages, and devoid of the vices, errors, and hopeless
infatuated unscrupulousness, of his class; he had naturally quick
intelligence, and some real knowledge and comprehension of life had been
knocked into him by the hard-hitting blows of Fate. His face was like
his mother's, Prosper Alix thought, and his mind and tastes were of the
very pattern which, in theory, Berthe approved. Berthe, a very
unconventional French girl--who thought the new era of purity, love,
virtue, and disinterestedness ought to do away with marriage by barter
as one of its most notable reforms, and had been disenchanted by
discovering that the abolition of marriage altogether suited the taste
of the incorruptible Republic better--might like, might even love, this
young man. She saw so few men, and had no fancy for patriots; she would
certainly be obstinate about it if she did chance to love him. This
would be a nice state of affairs. This would be a pleasant consequence
of the confiding request of the ci-devant. Prosper wished with all his
heart for the arrival of the concerted signal, which should tell Henri
Glaire that he might fulfil the purpose of his sojourn at the Maison
Alix, and set forth for Marseilles.

But the signal did not come, and the days--long, beautiful, sunny,
soothing summer-days--went on. The painting of the panels of the
citoyenne's apartment, which she vacated for that purpose, progressed
slowly; and M. Paul de Sénanges, guided by the ground-plan, and aided by
Berthe, had discovered the spot in which the jewels of price, almost the
last remnants of the princely wealth of the Sénanges, had been hidden by
the femme-de-chambre who had perished with her mistress, having
confided a general statement of the fact to a priest, for transmission
to the Marquis. This spot had been ingeniously chosen. The
sleeping-apartment of the late Marquis was extensive, lofty, and
provided with an alcove of sufficiently large dimensions to have formed
in itself a handsome room. This space, containing a splendid but gloomy
bed, on an estrade, and hung with rich faded brocade, was divided from
the general extent of the apartment by a low railing of black oak,
elaborately carved, opening in the centre, and with a flat wide bar
along the top, covered with crimson velvet. The curtains were contrived
to hang from the ceiling, and, when let down inside the screen of
railing, they matched the draperies which closed before the great stone
balcony at the opposite end of the room. Since the avocat's daughter
had occupied this palatial chamber, the curtains of the alcove had never
been drawn, and she had substituted for them a high folding screen of
black-and-gold Japanese pattern, also a relic of the grand old times,
which stood about six feet on the outside of the rails that shut in her
bed. The floor was of shining oak, testifying to the conscientious and
successful labors of successive generations of frotteurs; and on the
spot where the railing of the alcove opened by a pretty quaint device
sundering the intertwined arms of a pair of very chubby cherubs, a
square space in the floor was also richly carved.

The seekers soon reached the end of their search. A little effort
removed the square of carved oak, and underneath they found a casket,
evidently of old workmanship, richly wrought in silver, much tarnished
but quite intact. It was agreed that this precious deposit should be
replaced, and the carved square laid down over it, until the signal for
his departure should reach Paul. The little baggage which under any
circumstances he could have ventured to allow himself in the dangerous
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