so incredible
that nothing but the solemn asseverations of the parties could have
gained belief; and in those days Sheridan had not obtained that
reputation for rodomontade which he afterwards enjoyed by universal
consent.

THE FAUBOURG ST. GERMAIN

The distinguishing characteristics of the residents of the "noble
Faubourg," as it was called at the time I am speaking of, were
indomitable pride and exclusiveness, with a narrow-minded ignorance of
all beyond the circle in which its members moved. In our day of
comparative equality and general civility, no one who has not arrived
at my age, and lived in Paris, can form any idea of the insolence and
hauteur of the higher classes of society in 1815. The glance of
unutterable disdain which the painted old duchesse of the Restoration
cast upon the youthful belles of the Chausse d'Antin, or the handsome
widows of Napoleon's army of heroes, defies description. Although often
responded to by a sarcastic sneer at the antediluvian charms of the
emigree, yet the look of contempt and disgust often sank deep into the
victim's heart, leaving there germs which showed themselves fifteen
years later in the revolution of 1830. In those days, this privileged
class was surrounded by a charmed circle, which no one could by any
means break through. Neither personal attractions nor mental
qualifications formed a passport into that exclusive society; to enter
which the small nobility of the provinces, or the nouveau riche, sighed
in vain. It would have been easier for a young Guardsman to make his
way into the Convent des Oiseaux--the fashionable convent in
Paris--than for any of these parvenus to force an entrance into the
Faubourg St. Germain.

One of the first acts which followed the Restoration of the Bourbons
was the grant of a pecuniary indemnity, amounting to a milliard, or
forty millions sterling, to be distributed amongst the emigres who had
lost fortunes or estates by their devotion to the royal family. They
had now, therefore, the means of receiving their friends, political
partisans, and foreigners, with more than usual splendour; and it must
be admitted that those who were thought worthy to be received were
treated like spoiled children, and petted and flattered to their
heart's content. In their own houses they were really des grands
seigneurs, and quite incapable of treating their invited guests with
the insolence that became the fashion among the Jewish parvenus d