All the Year Round. a Weekly Journal

ay " THE STORY OF OUR LIVES FROM YEAR TO YEAR,»-SHAKESPEARB. ALL THE YEAR ROUND. A WEEKLY JOURNAL. CONDUCTED BY CHARLES DICKENS. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED HOUSEHOLD WORDS, N°- 9.] SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 1859, [PKICE 2d. Monseigneur had one truly noble idea of ge A TALE OF TWO CITIES. neral public busmess, which was, to let every Sn Wiyctt ôols. thing go on in its own way; of particular public BY CHARLES DICKENS. business, Menseigneur had the other truly noble idea that it must aU go his way—tend to his own power and pocket. Of his pleasures, gene BOOK THE SECOND. THE GOLDEN THREAD, ral and particular, Monseigneur had the ether CHAPTEB VII. MONSIETRB THE MABQUIS IN TOWN. truly noble idea, that the world was made for MoNSEiGNETJB, ouc of the great lords in power them. The text of his order (altered from the at the Court, held his fortnightly reception in original by only a pronoun, which is net much) his grand hotel in Paris. Menseigneur was in ran: "The earth and the fulness therof are his inner room, his sanctuary of sauctuaries, the mine, saith Monseigneur." Holiest of HeUests to the crowd of worshippers in Yet, Monseigneur had slowly found that vulgar the suite of rooms without. Monseigneur was embarrassments crept into his affairs, both about te take his chocolate. Monseigneur could private and pubUc; and he had, as to both classes swaUew a great many things with ease, and was of affairs, aUied himself per force with a Parmer- by sorae few suUen minds supposed te be rather General. As to finances pubUc, because Mon rapidly swaUowing Prance; but, his morning's seigneur could net make anything at all of them, chocolate could not so mnch as get into the and must consequently let them out to seme- throat of Monseigneur, without the aid of four body whe could; as to finances private, because strong men besides the Cook. Parmer-Generals were rich, and Monseigneur, Yes, It took four men, aU four a-blaze with after generations of great luxury and expense, gorgeous decoration, and the Chief of them was growing poor. Hence, Monseigneur had unable te exist with fewer than two gold watches taken his sister from a convent, while there was in his pocket, emulative of the noble and chaste yet time to ward off the impending veU, the fashion set by Monseigneur, to conduct the cheapest garment she could wear, and had happy chocolate to Monseigneur's lij)s. One bestowed her as a prize upon a very rich lacquey carried the chocolate - pot inte the Farmer-General, poor in famUy. Which Parmer- sacred presence; a second, miUed and frothed General, carrying an appropriate cane with a the chocolate with the Uttle instrument he bore golden apple on the top efît, was now among the for that function; a third, presented the favoured company in the outer rooms, much prostrated napkin; a fourth (he of the two gold watches) before by mankind—alwavs excepting superior poured the chocolate out. It was impossible mankind of the blood of Menseigneur, whe, his for Monseigneur to dispense with one of these own wife included, looked down upon him with attendants en the chocolate and hold his high the loftiest contempt. place under the admiring Heavens. Deep would A sumptuous man was the Farmer-General. have been the blot upon his escutcheon if his Thirty horses stood in his stables, twenty-four chocolate had been ignobly waited on by only male domestics sat in his haUs, six body-women three men; he must have (fied of two. waited on his wife. As one who pretended to Monseigneur had been out at a Uttle supper de nothing but plunder and forage where he last night, where the Comedy and the Grand could, the Farmer-General—^howsoever his ma Opera were charmingly represented, Mon trimonial relations conduced to social morality seigneur was out at a little supper most nights, —was at least the greatest reality among the with fascinating company, ^ polite and so personages whe attended at the hotel of Mon impressible was Monseigneur, that the Comedy seigneur that day. and the Grand Opera had far mere influence with Per, the rooms, though a beautiful scene to him in the tiresome articles of state affairs look a*, and adorned with every device of deco and state secrets, than the needs of aU Prance. ration that the taste and skiU of the time could A happy circumstance for Prance, as the like achieve, were, in truth, not a sound business; always is for aU countries similarly favoured! considered with any reference te the scarecrows ^-always was for England (by way of example), in the rags and nightcaps elsewhere (and not so in the regretted days of the merry Stuart who far off, either, but that the watching towers of sold it. Netre-Dame, almost equidistant from the two VOL. I. >9 CCcndMMI 194, [Jon. ii, 18W,3 ALL THE YEAR ROUND. extremes, could see them both), they would have up a highly inteUigible finger-pest to the Future, been an exceedmgly uncomfortable business—if for Monseigneur's guidance. Beside these Der that could have bean anvbpdj's bmingss, at the vishes, were o^her tkree who.- had rushed into house of Monseignenn iJUilaty ofl5c«ra destitute another sect, whioh mended maiters with a jargon of military knowledge^, naval ofBcers with ne about " the Centre of truth:" holding that Mau idea of a ship; civU officers without a notion of had got out of the Centre of truth—which did affairs; brazen ecclesiastics, of the worst world not need much demonstration—but had not got worldly, with sensual eyes, loose tongues, and. out of the CUrcumference, and that he was looser Uves; all totaUy unfit for their several te be kept from flying out of the Circumference, caUings, all lying horribly in pretending to belong and was even to be shoved back into the Centre, to them, but aU nearly or remotely of the order by fastmg and seeing of spuits, Amoi^ these, of Menseigneur, and therefore foisted en aU accordingly, much dScoursmg with spirits went pubUc employments from which anything was te on—and it did a world of good which never be got; tDMe were to be told off by the score became manifest. and the score. People not immediately cen,- But, the.comfort was,,1i^ftt aUê company nected with Monseigneur or the State, yet at the grand hotel of Monseigneur were equaUvunconneoted with anything that was real, perfectly dressed. If- the Day of Judgment or with Uves ,pa»ed in traveUing-by any straight nad only been asoertained to be a dress day, road to any true earthly, end, were ne lees everybody there would have been eternally abundant. Doctors.who made great fortunes correct. Such frizzling and powdering and out of dainty remedies for Unaginary disorders sticking up of hair, such deUcate com- that never existed, smUed upon their courtly plerions artifioiaUy preserved and mended, patients in the ante-chwjibers of Monseigneur. such gallant swords to look, at, andisuchdeli- Projectors who had discoveared every kmd of icaite honour to the sense of smeUj would i surely remedy for the little evUs with which the State keep anything going, for eivec and ever. The was touched, except the remedy of setting to exquisite gentlemen of the finest breeding wore work in earnest to root out a angle sin, poured little pendent trinkets that chinked as they their distacacting babble into any ears they could languidly, moved; tbrae golden fetters rang like 1^ hold of, at the reception of Monseigneur. precious Uttle bells; and whajt with that ringing, UnbeUeving PhUosophers who were remodelUng and with the rustle of' sUk and brocade and fine the world with words, and making card-towers linen, there was a flutter, in the air that fanned of Rabel to scale the skies witi^ talkiedwith Saint: Antoine and his devonrin^ hunger far Unbelieving Chemists who had an eye on the awayi transmutation of i»etals, at this wonderful Dress was the one, un&dling talisman and gathering accumulated by Monseignenri Ex charm used for keeping all things in their plaoes. quisite gentlemen of the nnest breeding, which Everybody was dressed for a PiSwy BaU that was was at thflit. remarkable time—and has been never to leave off. From the Palace of iks since—to be known by its fruits of indiffer TuUeries, through Monseigneur and the whole ence to every natural subject of human interest, Court, through the Chambers, the Tribmials were in the most exempwy state of exhaustion, of Justice, and, aU society (except' the scare at the hotel of Monseigneur, Such homes had crows), the Paoey BaU descended to the Common these various notabilities left behind them in the Executioner -. who, in pnrsuance of the charm, fine world of Paris^ that the Spies among the was required to officiate " frizzled, powdered, in assembled devotees of Moiaeigneur—forming a gold-laced coat, pumpsy and white sUk stock- a. goodly half of the poUte comjKny—would ings/"^ Ati thegallows' and the wheel—^the axe have found it hard to discover ainong the aagels a rarity^—Monsieur Paris, as it was the of that spherCi, one solitary wife, who, in her waejHSCopas l mode amoi^ his brother Professors of manners and appearance, owned to beings a tne provineeB, Monsk^ Orleans; and the rest, to Mother. Indeedf except for the mere aet of: «aU liim, presided in this dainty dress J And who bringing a troublesome creature into this world among the oonipany at Monseigneur^s reception —which does not go far towards the realisation in that seventeen hundred and eightieth year of of the name of mother—there was no such thing our Lord, could possibly doubt, that a system known to the fashion.

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