“Deceived by the representations of this ecclesiastic,
I was led——”
Then, having signed and sealed his letter, he turned
to his colleague and exclaimed:
“See here; my dear friend, let this be a warning
to you never to recommend any one again.”
“Bah!” exclaimed Karl Massouligny, “the
question of complaisant husbands is a difficult one.
I have seen many kinds, and yet I am unable to give
an opinion about any of them. I have often tried
to determine whether they are blind, weak or clairvoyant.
I believe that there are some which belong to each
of these categories.
“Let us quickly pass over the blind ones.
They cannot rightly be called complaisant, since they
do not know, but they are good creatures who cannot
see farther than their nose. It is a curious and
interesting thing to notice the ease with which men
and women can, be deceived. We are taken in by
the slightest trick of those who surround us, by our
children, our friends, our servants, our tradespeople.
Humanity is credulous, and in order to discover deceit
in others, we do not display one-tenth the shrewdness
which we use when we, in turn, wish to deceive some
one else.
“Clairvoyant husbands may be divided into three
classes: Those who have some interest, pecuniary,
ambitious or otherwise, in their wife’s having
love affairs. These ask only to safeguard appearances
as much as possible, and they are satisfied.
“Next come those who get angry. What a
beautiful novel one could write about them!
“Finally the weak ones! Those who are afraid
of scandal.
“There are also those who are powerless, or,
rather, tired, who flee from the duties of matrimony
through fear of ataxia or apoplexy, who are satisfied
to see a friend run these risks.
“But I once met a husband of a rare species,
who guarded against the common accident in a strange
and witty manner.
“In Paris I had made the acquaintance of an
elegant, fashionable couple. The woman, nervous,
tall, slender, courted, was supposed to have had many
love adventures. She pleased me with her wit,
and I believe that I pleased her also. I courted
her, a trial courting to which she answered with evident
provocations. Soon we got to tender glances, hand
pressures, all the little gallantries which precede
the final attack.
“Nevertheless, I hesitated. I consider
that, as a rule, the majority of society intrigues,
however short they may be, are not worth the trouble
which they give us and the difficulties which may arise.
I therefore mentally compared the advantages and disadvantages
which I might expect, and I thought I noticed that
the husband suspected me.
“One evening, at a ball, as I was saying tender
things to the young woman in a little parlor leading
from the big hall where the dancing was going on,
I noticed in a mirror the reflection of some one who
was watching me. It was he. Our looks met
and then I saw him turn his head and walk away.
