Moths by Ouida — page 220: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘ 316 MOTHS, serious and too stern for us; we have only fashion—a light thing that you crown one day and depose the next, a marsh-light born of bad gases that dances up to one one moment and dances away the next. Well, we have what we are worth, so much is certain.” ‘**Do you think we always have the fate we merit?” said Vere, in a low tone. | - Correze looked up, and she thought his soft eyes grew stern. ‘*T have usually thought so, princess—yes.” 7 ‘* Tt is a cruel doctrine.” ‘* And afalse one? Well—perhaps. So many side-winds blow; s0 many diseases are in the air; so many wandering insects, here to-day and gone to-morrow, sting the plant and canker it: that is what you mean? Tobesure. When the aphis eats the rose it is no fault of the rose.” ‘‘ Zouroff is the aphis, I suppose,” thought Jeanne deSonnaz as she looked at Vere. ‘‘ Do not speak in parables, Correze. It is detestable. A metaphor always halts somewhere, like an Amer- ican paper I read last week, which said, ‘ Memphis is sitting in the ashes of woe and desolation, and our stock of groceries is run- ning low! So Vere complains of fate and you of fame!—what ingratitude!” ‘¢Wame, duchess!” cried Correze. ‘‘ Pray do not use such a ros mot to me. Michael Angelo.has fame, and Cromwell, and fonsieur Edison, but a singer!—we are the most ephemeral of all ephmeride. We are at best only a sound—just a sound! When we have passed away into ‘the immemorable silences’ there is _ nothing left of us, no more than of tbe wind that blew through Corydon’s pipe.” ‘‘ Monsieur Edison will tell you that Corydon’s pipe will be heard a thousand years hence through the skill of science.” _ §* What horror!” said Correze. ‘‘I think I never should have courage to sing another note if I believed that I-should echo through all the ages in that way.” ‘¢ And yet you say that you want fame.” ‘¢T think I never said that, madame. I said that fame is not 2a ift of our times; and, if it were, a singer would have no title to ‘You have something very like it, at all events. When halfa eity drags your carriage like a chariot of victor % ‘‘ Caprice, madame; pure caprice,” said Correze. ‘‘I have hap- pened for the moment to please them.” , 3 ‘* And what do Ceesars, and Napoleons, and others rulers do?— happen for the moment to frighten them. ‘Yours is the prettier part to play.” ‘ ‘* A sugar-stick is prettier than a ramrod, but——” You do not deserve the Kaiserinn’s strawberries,” said pene de Sonnaz, tumbling the big berries nevertheless on to 8 e. **T never deserved anything, but I have had much,” said Cor- reze, ‘‘Kven Madame de Sonnaz, while she scolds, smiles on ‘me—like Fortune.” fia, / $ tf agrereg segs 8 ‘ G “s ts ¢@ a \ 4. tad z i alt % '. ’ \ ure Youd bod ow pot ly ’ - | b , : ; a es ai 4 . 4 ol fag ‘ x : wad i 7 i I > ‘ 7 ». eA ey 9 » 7 ; » hvs ‘ ae | ‘ - ~ WH : 4 a. '] ~ p3 : . . . 4 . 2 t a, ne he i an te PAP Aad ake aa Ah bi BOND eT ere Oe OAL -, Spee ai > ee So pee > 7 ' ») fl WP ae ae