Chapter 79
Section 78 of Complete Original Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Tatiana Chichilla, Columbus, Ohio. Section 78. The False Gems. Monsieur Linton had met the young girl at a reception at the house of the second head of his department
and had fallen head over heels in love with her. She was the daughter of a provincial tax collector who had been dead several years. She and her mother came to live in Paris, where the latter, who made the acquaintance of some of the families in her neighborhood, hoped to find a husband for her daughter. They had very moderate means, and were honorable, gentle, and quiet. The young girl was a perfect type of the virtuous woman, in whose hands every
sensible young man dreams of one day entrusting his happiness. Her simple beauty had the charm of angelic modesty, and the imperceptible smile, which constantly hovered about the lips, seemed to be the reflection of a pure and lovely soul. Her praises resounded on every side. People never tired of repeating, Happy the man who wins her love, he could not find a better wife. Monsieur Lantan, then chief clerk in the Department of the Interior, enjoyed a snug little salary of
3,500 francs, and he proposed to this model young girl, and was accepted. He was unspeakably happy with her. She governed his household with such clever economy that they seemed to live in luxury. She lavished the most delicate attentions on her husband, coaxed and fondled him, and so great was her charm that six years after their marriage, Monsieur Lantan discovered that he loved his wife even more than during the first days of their honeymoon. He found fault with only two of her
tastes, her love for the theatre and her taste for imitation jewellery. Her friends, the wives of some petty officials, frequently procured for her a box at the theatre, often for the first representations of the new plays, and her husband was obliged to accompany her, whether he wished it or not, to these entertainments which bored him excessively after his day's work at the office. After a time, Monsieur Lantam begged his wife to request some lady of her acquaintance to
accompany her, and to bring her home after the theater. She opposed this arrangement at first, but, after much persuasion, finally consented to the infinite delight of her husband. Now, with her love for the theater, came also the desire for ornaments. Her costumes remained as before, simple, in good taste, and always modest, but she soon began to adorn her ears with huge rhinestones, which glittered and sparkled like real diamonds. Around her neck she wore strings
of false pearls, on her arms bracelets of imitation gold, and combs set with glass jewels. Her husband frequently remonstrated with her, saying, My dear, as you can't afford to buy real jewelry, you want to appear adorned with your beauty and modesty alone, which are the rarest ornaments of your sex.
But she would smile sweetly and say, What can I do? I am so fond of jewelry. It is my only weakness. We cannot change our nature. Then she would wind the pearl necklace round her fingers, make the facets of the crystal gems sparkle, and say,
Look, are they not lovely? One would swear they were real. Monsieur Lenton would then answer, smilingly, You have bohemian tastes, my dear. Sometimes of an evening, when they were enjoying tete-a-tete by the fireside, she would place on the tea table the Morocco leather box containing the trash,
as Monsieur Lenton called it. She would examine the false gems with a passionate attention, as though they imparted some deep and secret joy, and she often persisted in passing a necklace around her husband's neck, and laughing heartily would exclaim,
How droll you look! Then she would throw herself into his arms, kissing him affectionately. one evening in winter she had been to the opera and returned home chilled through and through the next morning she coughed and eight days later she died of inflammation of the lungs m lantan's despair was so great that his hair became white in one month he wept unceasingly his heart was broken as he remembered her smile her voice every charm of his dead wife time did not assuage his grief often during office hours while his colleagues were discussing the topics of the day his eyes would suddenly fill with tears and he would give vent to his grief and heart-rending sobs everything in his wife's room remained as it was during her lifetime all her furniture even her clothing being left as it was on the day of her death here he was wont to seclude himself daily and think of her who had been his treasure the joy of his existence
but life soon became a struggle his income which in the hands of his wife covered all household expenses was now no longer sufficient for his own immediate wants he wondered how she could have managed to buy such excellent wine and the rare delicacies which he could no longer procure with his modest resources he incurred some debts and was soon reduced to absolute poverty one morning finding himself without a cent in his pocket he resolved to sell something and immediately the thought occurred to him of disposing of his wife's paste jewels for he cherished in his heart a sort of rancour against these deceptions which had always irritated him in the past the very sight of them spoiled somewhat the memory of his lost darling to the last days of her life she had continued to make purchases bringing home new gems almost every evening and he turned them over some time before finally deciding to sell the heavy necklace which she seemed to prefer and which he thought ought to be worth about six or seven francs for it was a very fine workmanship though only imitation he put it in his pocket and started out in search of what seemed a reliable jeweler's shop at length he found one and went in feeling a little ashamed to expose his misery and also to offer such a worthless article for sale
sir said he to the merchant i would like to know what this is worth the man took the necklace examined it and called his clerk and made some remarks in an undertone then he put the ornament back on the counter and looked at it from a distance to judge of the effect Monsieur Lantan, annoyed at all these ceremonies, was on the point of saying, Oh, I know well enough it is not worth anything, when the jeweler said, Sir, that necklace is worth from twelve to fifteen thousand francs, but I could not buy it unless you can tell me exactly where it came from. The widower opened his eyes wide and remained gaping, not comprehending the merchant's meaning.
Finally he stammered, You say, are you sure? The other replied dryly, You can try elsewhere and see if anyone will offer you more. I consider it worth fifteen thousand at the most. Come back here if you cannot do better.
Monsieur Lantan, beside himself with astonishment, took up the necklace and left the store. He wished time for reflection. Once outside, he felt inclined to laugh, and said to himself, The fool? Oh, the fool! Had I only taken him at his word. That jeweler cannot distinguish real diamonds from the invitation article. A few minutes later, he entered another store, in the Rue de la Paix. As soon as the proprietor glanced at the necklace, he cried out,
ah parbleu i know it well it was bought here m lantan greatly disturbed asked how much is it worth well i sold it for twenty thousand francs i am willing to take it back for eighteen thousand when you inform me according to our legal formality how it came to be in your possession this time m lantan was dumbfounded he replied but but examine it well until this moment i was under the impression that it was imitation. The jeweler asked, What is your name, sir? Lantan, I am the
employee of the Minister of the Interior. I live at No. 16, Rue de Martyrs. The merchant looked through his books, found the entry, and said, That necklace was sent to Madame Lantan's address, 16 Rue de Martyrs, July 20, 1876. The two men looked into each other's eyes. The widower was speechless with astonishment, the jeweler scenting a thief. The latter broke the silence. Will you leave this necklace here for twenty-four hours? said he. I will give you a receipt.
Monsieur Lantan answered hastily. Yes, certainly. Then, putting the ticket in his pocket, he left the store. He wandered aimlessly through the streets, his mind in a state of dreadful confusion. He tried to reason, to understand. His wife could not afford to purchase such a costly ornament, certainly not. But then it must have been a present. A present! A present from whom? Why was it given her? He stopped and remained standing still in the middle of the street.
A horrible doubt entered his mind. She? Then all the other jewels must have been presents, too. The earth seemed to tremble beneath him, the tree before him to be falling. He threw up his arms and fell to the ground unconscious.
He recovered his senses in a pharmacy into which the passersby had borne him. He asked to be taken home, and, when he reached the house, he shut himself up in his room and wept until nightfall. Finally, overcome with fatigue, he went to bed and fell into a heavy sleep. The sun awoke him next morning, and he began to dress slowly to go to the office.
It was hard work after such shocks. He sent a letter to his employer requesting to be excused. Then he remembered that he had to return to the jewelers. He did not like the idea, but he could not leave the necklace with that man. He dressed and went out. It was a lovely day. A clear blue sky smiled on the busy city below. Men of leisure were strolling about with their hands in their pockets.
Monsieur Lantan, observing them, said to himself, The rich indeed are happy. With money it is possible to forget even the deepest sorrow. one can go where one pleases, and in travel find that distraction is the surest cure for grief. Oh, if I were only rich. He perceived that he was hungry, but his pocket was empty. He again remembered the necklace. Eighteen thousand francs! Eighteen thousand francs! What a sum!
He soon arrived in the Rue de la Paix, opposite the jewelers. Eighteen thousand francs! Twenty times he resolved to go in, but shame kept him back. He was hungry, however, very hungry, and not a cent in his pocket. He decided quickly, ran across the street in order not to have time for reflection, and rushed into the store. The proprietor immediately came forward and politely offered him a chair. The clerks glanced at him knowingly. I have made inquiries, Monsieur Linton,
said the jeweler, and if you are still resolved to dispose of the gems, I am ready to pay you the price I offered. Certainly, sir, stammered Monsieur Linton, whereupon the proprietor took from a drawer eighteen large bills, counted, and handed them to Monsieur Linton, who signed a receipt, and with trembling hand put the money into his pocket. As he was about to leave the store, he turned toward the merchant, who still wore the same knowing smile, and lowering his
eyes, he said, I have, I have other gems which came from the same source. Will you buy them also? The merchant bowed, Certainly, sir. Monsieur Lantan said gravely, I will bring them to you. An hour later he returned with the gems. The large diamond earrings were worth twenty thousand francs, the bracelets 35,000, the rings 16,000, a set of emeralds and sapphires 14,000, a gold chain with solitaire pendant 40,000, making the sum of 143,000 francs. The jeweler remarked jokingly,
there was a person who invested all her savings in precious stones. Monsieur Linton replied seriously, it is only another way of investing one's money. That day he lunched at Voisin's and drank wine worth 20 francs a bottle, Then he hired a carriage and made a tour of the bois. He gazed at the various turnouts with a kind of disdain, and could hardly refrain from
crying out to the occupants, I, too, am rich. I am worth two hundred thousand francs. Suddenly he thought of his employer. He drove up to the bureau and entered gaily, saying,
Sir, I have come to resign my position. I have just inherited three hundred thousand francs. He shook hands with his former colleagues and confided to them some of his projects for the future. Then he went off to dine at the Café Anglais.
He seated himself beside a gentleman of aristocratic bearing and, during the meal, informed the latter confidentially that he had just inherited a fortune of 400,000 francs. For the first time in his life, he was not bored at the theater and spent the remainder of the night in a gay frolic. Six months afterward, he married again. His second wife was a very virtuous woman but had a violent temper. She caused him much sorrow.
End of section 79. Recording by Tatiana Chajilla, Columbus, Ohio.
