with the general look of
the house. The dining-room, hung with a yellow paper covered with little
green flowers, and floored with tiles that were not glazed, contained
nothing that was not strictly necessary,--namely, a table, two
sideboards, and six chairs, brought from the other _appartement_. The
salon was adorned with an Aubusson carpet given to Bridau when the
ministry of the interior was refurnished. To the furniture of this
room the widow added one of those commonplace mahogany sofas with the
Egyptian heads that Jacob Desmalter manufactured by the gross in 1806,
covering them with a silken green stuff bearing a design of white
geometric circles. Above this piece of furniture hung a portrait
of Bridau, done in pastel by the hand of an amateur, which at once
attracted the eye. Though art might have something to say against it,
no one could fail to recognize the firmness of the noble and obscure
citizen upon that brow. The serenity of the eyes, gentle, yet proud,
was well given; the sagacious mind, to which the prudent lips bore
testimony, the frank smile, the atmosphere of the man of whom the
Emperor had said, "Justum et tenacem," had all been caught, if not with
talent, at least with fidelity. Studying that face, an observer could
see that the man had done his duty. His countenance bore signs of
the incorruptibility which we attribute to several men who served the
Republic. On the opposite wall, over a card-table, flashed a picture
of the Emperor in brilliant colors, done by Vernet; Napoleon was riding
rapidly, attended by his escort.
Agathe had bestowed upon herself two large birdcages; one filled with
canaries, the other with Java sparrows. She had given herself up to this
juvenile fancy since the loss of her husband, irreparable to her, as,
in fact, it was to many others. By the end of three months, her widowed
chamber had become what it was destined to remain until the appointed
day when she left it forever,--a litter of confusion which words are
powerless to describe. Cats were domiciled on the sofa. The canaries,
occasionally let loose, left their commas on the furniture. The poor
dear woman scattered little heaps of millet and bits of chickweed about
the room, and put tidbits for the cats in broken saucers. Garments
lay everywhere. The room breathed of the provinces and of constancy.
Everything that once belonged to Bridau was scrupulously preserved.
Even the implements in his desk received the care which
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