egree of elegance and perfection to which they attained through good
breeding. I select one at random, a duel between two princes of the
blood, the Comte d'Artois and the Duc de Bourbon; the latter being
the offended party, the former, his superior, had to offer him a
meeting[2251], "As soon as the Comte d'Artois saw him he leaped to the
ground, and walking directly up to him, said to him smiling: 'Monsieur,
the public pretends that we are seeking each other.' The Duc de
Bourbon, removing his hat, replied, 'Monsieur, I am here to receive your
orders.'--'To execute your own,' returned the Comte d'Artois, 'but you
must allow me to return to my carriage.' He comes back with a sword, and
the duel begins. After a certain time they are separated, the seconds
deciding that honor is satisfied, 'It is not for me to express an
opinion,' says the Comte d'Artois, 'Monsieur le Duc de Bourbon is to
express his wishes; I am here only to receive his orders.'--'Monsieur,'
responds the Duc de Bourbon, addressing the Comte d'Artois, meanwhile
lowering the point of his sword, 'I am overcome with gratitude for
your kindness, and shall never be insensible to the honor you have
done me.'"--Could there be a more just and delicate sentiment of rank,
position, and circumstance, and could a duel be surrounded with more
graces? There is no situation, however thorny, which is not saved by
politeness. Through habit, and a suitable expression, even in the face
of the king, they conciliate resistance and respect. When Louis XV,
having exiled the Parliament, caused it to be proclaimed through Mme. Du
Barry that his mind was made up and that it would not be changed, "Ah,
Madame," replied the Duc de Nivernais, "when the king said that he
was looking at yourself."--"My dear Fontenelle," said one of his lady
friends to him, placing her hand on his heart, "the brain is there
likewise." Fontenelle smiled and made no reply. We see here, even
with an academician, how truths are forced down, a drop of acid in a
sugar-plum; the whole so thoroughly intermingled that the piquancy
of the flavor only enhances its sweetness. Night after night, in each
drawing-room, sugar-plums of this description are served up, two or
three along with the drop of acidity, all the rest not less exquisite,
but possessing only the sweetness and the perfume. Such is the art of
social worldliness, an ingenious and delightful art, which, entering
into all the details of speech and of action,