the next morning, at half-past seven, denise was outside the ladies' paradise, wishing to call there before taking jean to his new place, which was a long way off, at the top of the faubourg du temple. but, accustomed to early hours, she had arrived too soon; the shop was hardly opened, and, afraid of looking ridiculous, full of timidity, she walked up and down the place gaillon for a moment.
the cold wind that blew had already dried the pavement. shopmen were hurriedly turning out of every street in the neighbourhood, their coat-collars turned up, and their hands in their pockets, taken unawares by this first chill of winter. most of them hurried along alone, and disappeared in the depths of the warehouse, without addressing a word or look to their colleagues marching along by their side. others were walking in twos and threes, talking fast, and taking up the whole of the pavement; while they all threw away with a similar gesture, their cigarette or cigar before crossing the threshold.
denise noticed that several of these gentlemen took stock of her in passing. this increased her timidity; she felt quite unable to follow them, and resolved to wait till they had all entered before going in, blushing at the idea of being elbowed at the door by all these men. but the stream continued, so to escape their looks, she took a walk round. when she returned to the principal entrance, she found a tall young man, pale and awkward, who appeared to be waiting as she was.
“i beg your pardon, mademoiselle,” he finished by stammering out, “but perhaps you belong to the establishment?”
she was so troubled at hearing a stranger address her in this way that she did not reply at first.
“the fact is,” he continued, getting more confused than ever, “i thought of asking them to engage me, and you might have given me a little information.”
he was as timid as she was, and had probably risked speaking to her because he felt she was trembling like himself.
“i would with pleasure, sir,” replied she at last “but i'm no better off than you are; i'm just going to apply myself.”
“ah, very good,” said he, quite out of countenance.
and they blushed violently, their two timidities remaining face to face for a moment, affected by the similarity of their positions, not daring, however, to wish each other success openly. then, as they said nothing further, and became more and more uncomfortable, they separated awkwardly, and recommenced their waiting, one on either side, a few steps apart.
the shopmen continued to arrive, and denise could now hear them joking as they passed, casting side glances towards her. her confusion increased at finding herself exposed to this unpleasant ordeal, and she had decided to take half an hour's walk in the neighbourhood, when the sight of a young man coming rapidly through the rue port-mahon, detained her for a moment. he was evidently the manager of a department, she thought, for the others raised their hats to him. he was tall, with a clear skin and carefully trimmed beard; and he had eyes the colour of old gold, of a velvety softness, which he fixed on her for a moment as he crossed the street. he already entered the shop, indifferent that she remained motionless, quite upset by his look, filled with a singular emotion, in which there was more uneasiness than pleasure. she began to feel really afraid, and, to give herself time to collect her courage somewhat, she walked slowly down the rue gaillon, and then along the rue saint-roch.
it was better than a manager of a department, it was octave mouret in person. he had not been to bed, for after having spent the evening at a stockbroker's, he had gone to supper with a friend and two women, picked up behind the scenes of a small theatre. his tightly buttoned overcoat concealed a dress suit and white tie. he quickly ran upstairs, performed his toilet, changed, and entered his office, quite ready for work, with beaming eyes, and complexion as fresh as if he had had ten hours' sleep. the spacious office, furnished in old oak and hung with green rep, had for sole ornament the portrait of that madame hédouin, who was still the talk of the neighbourhood. since her death octave thought of her with a tender regret, showing himself grateful to the memory of her, who, by marrying him, had made his fortune. and before commencing to sign the drafts laid on his desk, he bestowed the contented smile of a happy man on the portrait was it not always before her that he returned to work, after his young widower's escapades, every time he issued from the alcoves where his craving for amusement attracted him?
there was a knock, and without waiting, a young man entered, a tall, thin fellow, with thin lips and a sharp nose, very gentlemanly and correct in his appearance, with his smooth hair already showing signs of turning grey. mouret raised his eyes, then continuing to sign, said:
“i hope you slept well, bourdoncle?”
“very well, thanks,” replied the young man, walking about as if quite at home.
bourdoncle, the son of a poor farmer near limoges, had started at the ladies' paradise at the same time as mouret, when it only occupied the corner of the place gaillon. very intelligent, very active, it seemed as if he ought to have easily supplanted his comrade, who was not so steady, and who had, besides various other faults, a careless manner and too many intrigues with women; but he lacked that touch of genius possessed by the impassioned southerner, and had not his audacity, his winning grace. besides, by a wise instinct, he had always, from the first, bowed before him, obedient and without a struggle; and when mouret advised his people to put all their money into the business, bourdoncle was one of the first to respond, even investing the proceeds of an unexpected legacy left him by an aunt; and little by little, after passing through the various grades, salesman, second, and then first-hand in the silk department, he had become one of the governor's most cherished and influential lieutenants, one of the six persons who assisted mouret to govern the ladies' paradise—something like a privy council under an absolute king. each one watched over a department. bourdoncle exercised a general control.
“and you,” resumed he, familiarly, “have you slept well?” when mouret replied that he had not been to bed, he shook his head, murmuring: “bad habits.”
“why?” replied the other, gaily. “i'm not so tired as you are, my dear fellow. you are half asleep now, you lead too quiet a life. take a little amusement, that'll wake you up a bit.”
this was their constant friendly dispute. bourdoncle had, at the commencement, beaten his mistresses, because, said he, they prevented him sleeping. now he professed to hate women, having, no doubt, chance love affairs of which he said nothing, so small was the place they occupied in his life; he contented himself with encouraging the extravagance of his lady customers, feeling the greatest disdain for their frivolity, which led them to ruin themselves in stupid gewgaws. mouret, on the contrary, affected to worship them, remained before them delighted and cajoling, continually carried away by fresh love-affairs; and this served as an advertisement for his business. one would have said that he enveloped all the women in the same caress, the better to bewilder them and keep them at his mercy.
“i saw madame desforges last night,” said he; “she was looking delicious at the ball.”
“but it wasn't with her that you went to supper, was it?” asked the other.
mouret protested. “oh! no, she's very virtuous, my dear fellow. i went to supper with little héloïse, of the folly. stupid as a donkey, but so comical!”
he took another bundle of drafts and went on signing. bourdoncle continued to walk about. he went and took a look through the lofty plate-glass windows, into the rue neuve-saint-augustin, then returned, saying: “you know they'll have their revenge.”
“who?” asked mouret, who had lost the thread of the conversation.
“why, the women.”
at this, mouret became merrier still, displaying, beneath his sensual, adorative manner, his really brutal character. with a shrug of the shoulders he seemed to declare he would throw them all over, like so many empty sacks, when they had finished helping him to make his fortune. bourdoncle obstinately repeated, in his cold way: “they will have their revenge; there will be one who will avenge all the others. it's bound to be.”
“no fear,” cried mouret, exaggerating his southern accent. “that one isn't born yet, my boy. and if she comes, you know——”
he had raised his penholder, brandishing it and pointing it in the air, as if he would have liked to stab some invisible heart with a knife. bourdoncle resumed walking, bowing as usual before the superiority of the governor, whose genius, though faulty, had always got the better of him. he, so clear-headed, logical and passionless, incapable of falling, had yet to learn the feminine character of success, paris yielding herself with a kiss to the boldest.
a silence reigned, broken only by mouret's pen. then, in reply to his brief questions, bourdoncle gave him the particulars of the great sale of winter novelties, which was to commence the following monday. this was an important affair, and the house was risking its fortune in it; for the rumour had some foundation, mouret was throwing himself into speculation like a poet, with such ostentation, such a determination to attain the colossal, that everything seemed bound to give way under him. it was quite a new style of doing business, an apparent commercial recklessness which had formerly made madame hédouin anxious, and which even now, notwithstanding the first successes, quite dismayed those who had capital in the business. they blamed the governor in secret for going too quick; accused him of having enlarged the establishment to a dangerous extent, before making sure of a sufficient increase of custom; above all, they trembled on seeing him put all the capital into one venture, filling the place with a pile of goods without leaving a sou in the reserve fund. thus, for this sale, after the heavy sums paid to the builders, the whole capital was out, and it was once more a question of victory or death. and he, in the midst of all this excitement, preserved a triumphant gaiety, a certainty of gaining millions, like a man worshipped by the women, and who cannot be betrayed. when bourdoncle ventured to express certain fears with reference to the too great development given to several not very productive departments, he broke out into a laugh full of confidence, and exclaimed:
“no fear! my dear fellow, the place is too small!”
the other appeared dumbfounded, seized with a fear he no longer attempted to conceal. the house too small! a draper's shop having nineteen departments, and four hundred and three employees!
“of course,” resumed mouret, “we shall be obliged to enlarge our premises before another eighteen months. i'm seriously thinking about the matter. last night madame desforges promised to introduce me to some one. in short, we'll talk it over when the idea is ripe.”
and having finished signing his drafts, he got up, and tapped his lieutenant on the shoulder in a friendly manner, but the latter could not get over his astonishment. the fright felt by the prudent people around him amused mouret. in one of his fits of brusque frankness with which he sometimes overwhelmed his familiars, he declared he was at heart a bigger jew than all the jews in the world; he took after his father, whom he resembled physically and morally, a fellow who knew the value of money; and, if his mother had given him that particle of nervous fantasy, why it was, perhaps, the principal element of his luck, for he felt the invincible force of his daring reckless grace.
“you know very well that we'll stand by you to the last,” bourdoncle finished by saying.
before going down into the various departments to give their usual look round, they settled certain other details. they examined the specimen of a little book of account forms, which mouret had just invented for use at the counters. having remarked that the old-fashioned goods, the dead stock, went off all the more rapidly when the commission given to the employees was high, he had based on this observation a new system. in future he intended to interest his people in the sale of all goods, giving them a commission on the smallest piece of stuff, the slightest article sold: a system which had caused a revolution in the drapery trade, creating between the salespeople a struggle for existence of which the proprietor reaped the benefit. this struggle formed his favourite method, the principle of organisation he constantly applied. he excited his employees' passions, pitted one against the other, allowed the strongest to swallow up the weakest, fattening on this interested struggle. the specimen book was approved of; at the top of the two forms—the one retained, and the one torn off—were the particulars of the department and the salesman's number; then there were columns on both for the measurement, description of the articles sold, and the price; the salesman simply signed the bill before handing it to the cashier. in this way an easy account was kept, it sufficed to compare the bills delivered by the cashier's department to the clearing-house with the salesmen's counterfoils. every week the latter would receive their commission, and that without the least possibility of any error.
“we sha'n't be robbed so much,” remarked bourdoncle, with satisfaction. “a very good idea of yours.”
“and i thought of something else last night,” explained mouret. “yes, my dear fellow, at the supper. i should like to give the clearing-house clerks a trifle for every error found in checking. you can understand that we shall then be certain they won't pass any, for they would rather invent some.”
he began to laugh, whilst the other looked at him in admiration. this new application of the struggle for existence delighted mouret; he had a real genius for administrative business, and dreamed of organising the house, so as to play upon the selfish instincts of his employees, for the complete and quiet satisfaction of his own appetites. he often said that to make people do their best, and even to keep them fairly honest, it was necessary to excite their selfish desires first.
“well, let's go downstairs,” resumed mouret. “we must look after this sale. the silk arrived yesterday, i believe, and bouthemont must be getting it in now.”
bourdoncle followed him. the receiving office was on the basement floor, in the rue neuve-saint-augustin. there, on a level with the pavement, was a kind of glazed cage, where the vans discharged the goods. they were weighed, and then slipped down a rapid slide, its oak and iron work shining, brightened by the chafing of goods and cases. everything entered by this yawning trap; it was a continual swallowing up, a fall of goods, causing a roaring like that of a cataract. at the approach of big sale times especially, the slide carried down a perpetual stream of lyons silks, english woollens, flemish linens, alsatian calicoes, and rouen printed goods; and the vans were sometimes obliged to wait their turn along the street; the bales running down produced the peculiar noise made by a stone thrown into deep water.
mouret stopped a moment before the slide, which was in full activity. rows of cases were going down of themselves, falling like rain from some upper stream. then some huge bales appeared, toppling over in their descent like so many pebbles. mouret looked on, without saying a word. but this wealth of goods rushing in at the rate of thousands of francs a minute, made his eyes glisten. he had never before had such a clear, definite idea of the struggle he was engaged in. here was this mountain of goods that he had to launch to the four corners of paris. he did not open his mouth, continuing his inspection.
by the grey light penetrating the air-holes, a squad of men were receiving the goods, whilst others were undoing and opening the cases and bales in presence of the managers of different departments. a dockyard agitation filled this cellar, this basement, where wrought-iron pillars supported the arches, and the bare walls of which were cemented.
“have you got all there, bouthemont?” asked mouret, going up to a broad-shouldered young fellow who was checking the contents of a case.
“yes, everything seems all right,” replied he; “but the counting will take me all the morning.”
the manager was glancing at the invoice every now and then, standing up before a large counter on which one of his salesmen was laying, one by one, the pieces of silk he was taking from the case. behind them ran other counters, also encumbered with goods that a small army of shopmen were examining. it was a general unpacking, an apparent confusion of stuffs, examined, turned over, and marked, amidst a buzz of voices.
bouthemont, a celebrity in the trade, had a round, jolly face, a coal-black beard, and fine hazel eyes. born at montpellier, noisy, too fond of company, he was not much good for the sales, but for buying he had not his equal. sent to paris by his father, who kept a draper's shop in his native town, he had absolutely refused to return when the old fellow thought he ought to know enough to succeed him in his business; and from that moment a rivalry sprung up between father and son, the former, all for his little country business, shocked to see a simple shopman earning three times as much as he did himself, the latter joking at the old man's routine, chinking his money, and throwing the whole house into confusion at every flying visit he paid. like the other managers, bouthemont drew, besides his three thousand francs regular pay, a commission on the sales. montpellier, surprised and respectful, whispered that young bouthemont had made fifteen thousand francs the year before, and that that was only a beginning—people prophesied to the exasperated father that this figure would certainly increase.
bourdoncle had taken up one of the pieces of silk, and was examining the grain with the eye of a connoisseur. it was a faille with a blue and silver selvage, the famous paris paradise, with which mouret hoped to strike a decisive blow.
“it is really very good,” observed bourdoncle.
“and the effect it produces is better than its real quality,” said bouthemont. “dumonteil is the only one capable of manufacturing such stuff. last journey when i fell out with gaujean, the latter was willing to set a hundred looms to work on this pattern, but he asked five sous a yard more.”
nearly every month bouthemont went to lyons, staying there days together, living at the best hotels, with orders to treat the manufacturers with open purse. he enjoyed, moreover, a perfect liberty, and bought what he liked, provided that he increased the yearly business of his department in a certain proportion, settled beforehand; and it was on this proportion that his commission was based. in short, his position at the ladies' paradise, like that of all the managers, was that of a special tradesman, in a grouping of various businesses, a sort of vast trading city.
“so,” resumed he, “it's decided we mark it five francs twelve sous? it's barely the cost price, you know.”
“yes, yes, five francs twelve sous,” said mouret, quickly; “and if i were alone, i'd sell it at a loss.”
the manager laughed heartily. “oh! i don't mind, that will just suit me; it will treble the sale, and as my only interest is to attain heavy receipts——”
but bourdoncle remained very grave, biting his lips. he drew his commission on the total profits, and it did not suit him to lower the prices. part of his business was to exercise a control over the prices fixed upon, to prevent bouthemont selling at too small a profit in order to increase the sales. moreover, his former anxiety reappeared in the presence of these advertising combinations which he did not understand. he ventured to show his repugnance by saying:
“if we sell it at five francs twelve sous, it will be like selling it at a loss, as we must allow for our expenses, which are considerable. it would fetch seven francs anywhere.”
at this mouret got angry. he struck the silk with his open hand, crying out excitedly: “i know that, that's why i want to give it to our customers. really, my dear fellow, you'll never understand women's ways. don't you see they'll be crazy after this silk?”
“no doubt,” interrupted the other, obstinately, “and the more they buy, the more we shall lose.”
“we shall lose a few sous on the stuff, very likely. what matters, if in return we attract all the women here, and keep them at our mercy, excited by the sight of our goods, emptying their purses without thinking? the principal thing, my dear fellow, is to inflame them, and for that you must have one article which flatters them—which causes a sensation. afterwards, you can sell the other articles as dear as anywhere else, they'll still think yours the cheapest. for instance, our golden grain, that taffeta at seven francs and a half, sold everywhere at that price, will go down as an extraordinary bargain, and suffice to make up for the loss on the paris paradise. you'll see, you'll see!”
he became quite eloquent.
“don't you understand? in a week's time from to-day i want the paris paradise to make a revolution in the market. it's our master-stroke, which will save us, and get our name up. nothing else will be talked of; the blue and silver selvage will be known from one end of france to the other. and you'll hear the furious complaints of our competitors. the small traders will lose another wing by it; they'll be done for, all those rheumatic old brokers shivering in their cellars!”
the shopmen checking the goods round about were listening and smiling. he liked to talk in this way without contradiction. bourdoncle yielded once more. however, the case was empty, two men were opening another.
“it's the manufacturers who are not exactly pleased,” said bouthemont. “at lyons they are all furious with you, they pretend that your cheap trading is ruining them. you are aware that gaujean has positively declared war against me. yes, he has sworn to give the little houses longer credit, rather than accept my prices.”
mouret shrugged his shoulders. “if gaujean doesn't look sharp,” replied he, “gaujean will be floored. what do they complain of? we pay ready money and we take all they can make; it's strange if they can't work cheaper at that rate. besides, the public gets the benefit, and that's everything.”
the shopman was emptying the second case, whilst bouthemont was checking the pieces by the invoice. another shopman, at the end of the counter, was marking them in plain figures, and the checking finished, the invoice, signed by the manager, had to be sent to the chief cashier's office. mouret continued looking at this work for a moment, at all this activity round this unpacking of goods which threatened to drown the basement; then, without adding a word, with the air of a captain satisfied with his troops, he went away, followed by bourdoncle.
they slowly crossed the basement floor. the air-holes placed at intervals admitted a pale light; while in the dark corners, and along the narrow corridors, gas was constantly burning. in these corridors were situated the reserves, large vaults closed with iron railings, containing the surplus goods of each department. mouret glanced in passing at the heating apparatus, to be lighted on the monday for the first time, and at the post of firemen guarding a giant gas-meter enclosed in an iron cage. the kitchen and dining-rooms, old cellars turned into habitable apartments, were on the left at the corner of the place gaillon. at last he arrived at the delivery department, right at the other end of the basement floor. the parcels not taken away by the customers were sent down there, sorted on tables, placed in compartments each representing a district of paris; then sent up by a large staircase opening just opposite the old elbeuf, to the vans standing alongside the pavement. in the mechanical working of the ladies' paradise, this staircase in the rue de la michodière disgorged without ceasing the goods swallowed up by the slide in the rue neuve-saint-augustin, after they had passed through the mechanism of the counters up above.
“campion,” said mouret to the delivery manager, a retired sergeant with a thin face, “why weren't six pairs of sheets, bought by a lady yesterday about two o'clock, delivered in the evening?”
“where does the lady live?” asked the employee.
“in the rue de rivoli, at the corner of the rue d'alger—madame desforges.”
at this early hour the sorting tables were bare, the compartment only contained a few parcels left over night whilst campion was searching amongst these packets, after having consulted a list, bourdoncle was looking at mouret, thinking that this wonderful fellow knew everything, thought of everything, even when at the supper-tables of restaurants or in the alcoves of his mistresses. at last campion discovered the error; the cashier's department had given a wrong number, and the parcel had come back.
“what is the number of the pay-desk that debited that?” asked mouret: “no. 10, you say?” and turning towards his lieutenant, he added: “no. 10; that's albert, isn't it? we'll just say two words to him.”
but before starting on their tour round the shops, he wanted to go up to the postal order department, which occupied several rooms on the second floor. it was there that all the provincial and foreign orders arrived; and he went up every morning to see the correspondence. for two years this correspondence had been increasing daily. at first occupying only about ten clerks, it now required more than thirty. some opened the letters, others read them, seated at both sides of the same table; others again classed them, giving each one a running number, which was repeated on a pigeon-hole. then when the letters had been distributed to the different departments and the latter had delivered the articles, these articles were put in the pigeon-holes as they arrived, according to the running numbers. there was then nothing to do but to check and tie them up, which was done in a neighbouring room by a squad of workmen who were nailing and tying up from morning to night.
mouret put his usual question: “how many letters this morning, levasseur?”
“five hundred and thirty-four, sir,” replied the chief clerk. “after the commencement of monday's sale, i'm afraid we sha'n't have enough hands. yesterday we were driven very hard.”
bourdoncle expressed his satisfaction by a nod of the head. he had not reckoned on five hundred and thirty-four letters on a tuesday. round the table, the clerks continued opening and reading the letters amidst a noise of rustling paper, whilst the going and coming of the various articles commenced before the pigeon-holes. it was one of the most complicated and important departments of the establishment, one in which there was a continual rush, for, strictly speaking, all the orders received in the morning ought to be sent off the same evening.
“you shall have more hands if you want them,” replied mouret, who had seen at a glance that the work was well done. “you know that when there's work to be done we never refuse the men.”
up above, under the roof, were the small bedrooms for the saleswomen. but he went downstairs again and entered the chief cashier's office, which was near his own. it was a room with a glazed wicket, and contained an enormous safe, fixed in the wall. two cashiers there centralised the receipts which lhomme, the chief cashier at the counters, brought in every evening; they also settled the current expenses, paid the manufacturers, the staff, all the crowd of people who lived by the house. the cashiers' office communicated with another, full of green cardboard boxes, where ten clerks checked the invoices. then came another office, the clearing-house: six young men bending over black desks, having behind them quite a collection of registers, were getting up the discount accounts of the salesmen, by checking the debit notes. this work, which was new to them, did not get on very well.
mouret and bourdoncle had crossed the cashiers' office and the invoice room. when they passed through the other office the young men, who were laughing and joking, started up in surprise. mouret, without reprimanding them, explained the system of the little bonus he thought of giving them for each error discovered in the debit notes; and when he went out the clerks left off laughing, as if they had been whipped, and commenced working in earnest, looking up the errors.
on the ground-floor, occupied by the shops, mouret went straight to the pay-desk no. 10, where albert lhomme was cleaning his nails, waiting for customers. people regularly spoke of “the lhomme dynasty,” since madame aurélie, firsthand at the dress department, after having helped her husband on to the post of chief cashier, had managed to get a pay desk for her son, a tall fellow, pale and vicious, who couldn't stop anywhere, and who caused her an immense deal of anxiety. but on reaching the young man, mouret kept in the background, not wishing to render himself unpopular by performing a policeman's duty, and retaining from policy and taste his part of amiable god. he nudged bourdoncle gently with his elbow—bourdoncle, the infallible man, that model of exactitude, whom he generally charged with the work of reprimanding.
“monsieur albert,” said the latter, severely, “you have taken another address wrong; the parcel has come back. it's unbearable!”
the cashier, thinking it his duty to defend himself, called as a witness the messenger who had tied up the packet. this messenger, named joseph, also belonged to the lhomme dynasty, for he was albert's foster brother, and owed his place to madame aurelie's influence, as the young man wanted to make him say it was the customer's mistake, joseph stuttered, twisted the shaggy beard that ornamented his scarred face, struggling between his old soldier's conscience and gratitude towards his protectors.
“let joseph alone,” bourdoncle exclaimed at last, “and don't say any more. ah! it's a lucky thing for you that we are mindful of your mother's good services!”
but at this moment lhomme came running up. from his office near the door he could see his son's pay-desk, which was in the glove department. quite white-haired already, deadened by his sedentary life, he had a flabby, colourless face, as if worn out by the reflection of the money he was continually handling. his amputated arm did not at all incommode him in this work, and it was quite a curiosity to see him verify the receipts, so rapidly did the notes and coins slip through his left one, the only one he had. son of a tax-collector at chablis, he had come to paris as a clerk in the office of a merchant of the port-aux-vins. then, whilst lodging in the rue cuvier, he married the daughter of his doorkeeper, a small tailor, an alsatian; and from that day he had bowed submissively before his wife, whose commercial ability filled him with respect. she earned more than twelve thousand francs a year in the dress department, whilst he only drew a fixed salary of five thousand francs. and the deference he felt for a woman bringing such sums into the home was extended to the son, who also belonged to her.
“what's the matter?” murmured he; “is albert in fault?”
then, according to his custom, mouret appeared on the scene, to play the part of good-natured prince. when bourdoncle had made himself feared, he looked after his own popularity.
“nothing of consequence!” murmured he. “my dear lhomme, your son albert is a careless fellow, who should take an example from you.” then, changing the subject, showing himself more amiable than ever, he continued; “and that concert the other day—did you get a good seat?”
a blush overspread the white cheeks of the old cashier. music was his only vice, a vice which he indulged in solitarily, frequenting the theatres, the concerts, the rehearsals. notwithstanding the loss of his arm, he played on the french horn, thanks to an ingenious system of keys; and as madame lhomme detested noise, he wrapped up his instrument in cloth in the evening, delighted all the same, in the highest degree, with the strangely dull sounds he drew from it. in the forced irregularity of their domestic life he had made himself an oasis of this music—that and the cash-box, he knew of nothing else, beyond the admiration he felt for his wife.
“a very good seat,” replied he, with sparkling eyes. “you are really too kind, sir.”
mouret, who enjoyed a personal pleasure in satisfying other people's passions, sometimes gave lhomme the tickets forced on him by the lady patronesses of such entertainments, and he completed the old man's delight by saying:
“ah, beethoven! ah, mozart! what music!” and without waiting for a reply, he went off, rejoining bourdoncle, already on his tour of inspection through the departments.
in the central hall, an inner courtyard with a glass roof formed the silk department. both went along the rue neuve-saint-augustin, occupied by the linen department, from one end to the other. nothing unusual striking them, they passed on through the crowd of respectful assistants. they then turned into the cotton and hosiery departments, where the same order reigned. but in the department devoted to woollens, occupying the gallery which ran through to the rue de la michodière, bourdoncle resumed the character of executioner, on observing a young man, seated on the counter, looking knocked up after a night passed without sleep. and this young man, named liénard, son of a rich angers draper, bowed his head beneath the reprimand, fearing nothing in his idle, careless life of pleasure except to be recalled by his father. the reprimands now began to shower down, and the gallery of the rue de la michodière received the full force of the storm. in the drapery department a salesman, a fresh hand, who slept in the house, had come in after eleven o'clock; in the haberdashery department, the second counterman had just allowed himself to be caught downstairs smoking a cigarette. but the tempest burst with especial violence in the glove department, on the head of one of the rare parisians in the house, handsome mignot, as they called him, the illegitimate son of a music-mistress: his crime was having caused a scandal in the dining-room by complaining of the food. as there were three tables, one at half-past nine, one at half-past ten, and another at half-past eleven, he wished to explain that belonging to the third table, he always had the leavings, the worst of everything.
“what! the food not good?” asked mouret, naïvely, opening his mouth at last.
he only gave the head cook, a terrible auvergnat, a franc and a half a head per day, out of which this man still managed to make a good profit; and the food was really execrable. but bourdoncle shrugged his shoulders: a cook who had four hundred luncheons and four hundred dinners to serve, even in three series, had no time to waste on the refinements of his art.
“never mind,” said the governor, good-naturedly, “i wish all our employees to have good, abundant food. i'll speak to the cook.” and mignot's complaint was shelved.
then returning to their point of departure, standing up near the door, amidst the umbrellas and neckties, mouret and bourdoncle received the report of one of the four inspectors, charged with the superintendence of the establishment. old jouve, a retired captain, decorated at constantine, a fine-looking man still, with his big sensual nose and majestic baldness, having drawn their attention to a salesman, who, in reply to a simple remonstrance on his part, had called him “an old humbug,” the salesman was immediately discharged.
however, the shop was still without customers, except a few housewives of the neighbourhood who were going through the almost deserted galleries. at the door the time-keeper had just closed his book, and was making out a separate list of the late comers. the salesmen were taking possession of their departments, which had been swept and brushed by the messengers before their arrival. each young man hung up his hat and great-coat as he arrived, stifling a yawn, still half asleep. some exchanged a few words, gazed about the shop and seemed to be pulling themselves together ready for another day's work; others were leisurely removing the green baize with which they had covered the goods over night, after having folded them up; and the piles of stuffs appeared symmetrically arranged, the whole shop was in a clean and orderly state, brilliant in the morning gaiety, waiting for the rush of business to come and obstruct it, and, as it were, narrow it by the unpacking and display of linen, cloth, silk, and lace.
in the bright light of the central hall, two young men were talking in a low voice at the silk counter. one, short and charming, well set, and with a pink skin, was endeavouring to blend the colours of some silks for indoor show. his name was hutin, his father kept a café at yvetot, and he had managed after eighteen months' service to become one of the principal salesmen, thanks to a natural flexibility of character, a continual flow of caressing flattery, under which was concealed a furious rage for business, grasping everything, devouring everybody, even without hunger, just for the pleasure of the thing.
“look here, favier, i should have struck him if i had been in your place, honour bright!” said he to the other, a tall bilious fellow with a dry and yellow skin, who was born at besançon of a family of weavers, and who, without the least grace, concealed under a cold exterior a disquieting will.
“it does no good to strike people,” murmured he, phlegmatically; “better wait.”
they were both speaking of robineau, who was looking after the shopmen during the manager's absence downstairs. hutin was secretly undermining robineau, whose place he coveted. he had already, to wound him and make him leave, introduced bouthemont to fill the vacancy of manager which had been promised to robineau. however, the latter stood firm, and it was now an hourly battle. hutin dreamed of setting the whole department against him, to hound him out by means of ill-will and vexations. at the same time he went to work craftily, exciting favier especially, who stood next to him as salesman, and who appeared to allow himself to be led on, but with certain brusque reserves, in which could be felt quite a private campaign carried on in silence.
“hush! seventeen!” said he, quickly, to his colleague, to warn him by this peculiar cry of the approach of mouret and bourdoncle.
these latter were continuing their inspection by traversing the hall. they stopped to ask robineau for an explanation with regard to a stock of velvets of which the boxes were encumbering a table. and as the latter replied that there wasn't enough room:
“i told you so, bourdoncle,” cried out mouret, smiling; “the place is already too small. we shall soon have to knock down the walls as far as the rue de choiseul. you'll see what a crush there'll be next monday.”
and respecting the coming sale, for which they were preparing at every counter, he asked robineau further questions and gave him various orders. but for several minutes, and without having stopped talking, he had been watching hutin, who was contrasting the silks—blue, grey, and yellow—drawing back to judge of the harmony of the tones. suddenly he interfered:
“but why are you endeavouring to please the eyes? don't be afraid; blind them. look! red, green, yellow.”
he had taken the pieces, throwing them together, crushing them, producing an excessively fast effect. every one allowed the governor to be the best displayer in paris, of a regular revolutionary stamp, who had founded the brutal and colossal school in the science of displaying. he delighted in a tumbling of stuffs, as if they had fallen from the crowded shelves by chance, making them glow with the most ardent colours, lighting each other up by the contrast, declaring that the customers ought to have sore eyes on going out of the shop. hutin, who belonged, on the contrary, to the classic school, in which symmetry and harmony of colour were cherished, looked at him lighting up this fire of stuff on a table, not venturing on the least criticism, but biting his lip with the pout of an artist whose convictions are wounded by such a debauch.
“there!” exclaimed mouret when he had finished. “leave it; you'll see if it doesn't fetch the women on monday.”
just as he rejoined bourdoncle and robineau, there arrived a woman, who remained stock-still, suffocated before this show. it was denise, who, having waited for nearly an hour in the street, the prey to a violent attack of timidity, had at last decided to go in. but she was so beside herself with bashfulness that she mistook the clearest directions; and the shopmen, of whom she had stutteringly asked for madame aurélie, directed her in vain to the lower staircase; she thanked them, and turned to the left if they told her to turn to the right; so that for the last ten minutes she had been wandering about the ground-floor, going from department to department, amidst the ill-natured curiosity and ill-tempered indifference of the salesmen. she longed to run away, and was at the same time retained by a wish to stop and admire. she felt herself lost, she, so little, in this monster place, in this machine at rest, trembling for fear she should be caught in the movement with which the walls already began to shake. and the thought of the old elbeuf, black and narrow, increased the immensity of this vast establishment, presenting it to her as bathed in light, like a city with its monuments, squares, and streets, in which it seemed impossible that she should ever find her way.
however, she had not dared to risk herself in the silk hall, the high glass roof, luxurious counters, and cathedral-like air of which frightened her. then when she did venture in, to escape the shopmen in the linen department, who were grinning, she had stumbled right on to mouret's display; and, notwithstanding her fright, the woman was aroused within her, her cheeks suddenly became red, and she forgot everything in looking at the glow of these silks.
“hullo!” said hutin in favier's ear; “there's the girl we saw in the place gaillon.”
mouret, whilst affecting to listen to bourdoncle and robineau, was at heart flattered by the startled look of this poor girl, as a marchioness might be by the brutal desire of a passing drayman. but denise had raised her eyes, and her confusion increased at the sight of this young man, whom she took for a manager. she thought he was looking at her severely. then not knowing how to get away, quite lost, she applied to the nearest shopman, who happened to be favier.
“madame aurélie, please?”
but favier, who was disagreeable, contented himself with replying sharply: “first floor.”
and denise, longing to escape the looks of all these men, thanked him, and had again turned her back to the stairs she ought to have mounted, when hutin, yielding naturally to his instinct of gallantry, stopped her with his most amiable salesman's smile, “no—this way, mademoiselle; if you don't mind.”
and he even went with her a little way to the foot of the staircase on the left-hand side of the hall under the gallery. there he bowed, smiling tenderly, as he smiled at all women.
“when you get upstairs turn to the left. the dress department is straight in front.”
this caressing politeness affected denise deeply. it was like a brotherly hand extended to her; she raised her eyes and looked at hutin, and everything in him touched her—his handsome face, his looks which dissolved her fears, and his voice which seemed to her of a consoling softness. her heart swelled with gratitude, and she bestowed her friendship in the few disjointed words her emotion allowed her to utter.
“really, sir, you are too kind. pray don't trouble to come any further. thank you very much.”
hutin had already rejoined favier, to whom he coarsely whispered: “what a bag of bones—eh?”
upstairs the young girl suddenly found herself in the midst of the dress department. it was a vast room, with high carved oak cupboards all round, and clear glass windows looking on to the rue de la michodière. five or six women in silk dresses, looking very coquettish with their frizzed chignons and crinolines drawn back, were moving about, talking. one, tall and thin, with a long head, having a runaway-horse appearance, was leaning against a cupboard, as if already knocked up with fatigue.
“madame aurélie?” inquired denise.
the saleswoman looked at her without replying, with an air of disdain for her shabby dress, then turning to one of her friends, a short girl with a sickly white skin and an innocent and disgusted appearance, she asked: “mademoiselle vadon, do you know where madame aurélie is?”
the young girl, who was arranging some mantles according to their sizes, did not even take the trouble to raise her head. “no, mademoiselle prunaire, i don't know at all,” replied she in a mincing tone.
a silence ensued. denise stood still, and no one took any further notice of her. however, after waiting a moment, she ventured to put another question: “do you think madame aurélie will be back soon?”
the second-hand, a thin, ugly woman, whom she had not noticed before, a widow with a projecting jaw-bone and coarse hair, cried out from a cupboard, where she was checking some tickets: “you'd better wait if you want to speak to madame aurélie herself.” and, addressing another saleswoman, she added: “isn't she downstairs?”
“no, madame frédéric, i don't think so,” replied the young lady. “she said nothing before going, so she can't be far off.”
denise, thus instructed, remained standing. there were several chairs for the customers; but as they had not told her to sit down, she did not dare to take one, although she felt ready to drop with fatigue. all these ladies had evidently put her down as an applicant for the vacancy, and they were taking stock of her, pulling her to pieces ill-naturedly, with the secret hostility of people at table who do not like to close up to make room for hungry outsiders. her confusion increased; she crossed the room quietly and looked out of the window into the street, just for something to do. opposite, the old elbeuf, with its rusty front and lifeless windows, appeared to her so ugly, so miserable, seen thus from amidst the luxury and life of her present standpoint, that a sort of remorse filled her already swollen heart with grief.
“i say,” whispered tall prunaire to little vadon, “have you seen her boots?”
“and her dress!” murmured the other.
with her eyes still towards the street, denise felt herself being devoured. but she was not angry; she did not think them handsome, neither the tall one with her carroty chignon falling over her horse-like neck, nor the little one with her sour milk complexion, which gave her flat and, as it were, boneless face a flabby appearance. clara primaire, daughter of a clogmaker in the forest of vilet, debauched by the footmen at the château de mareuil, where the countess engaged her as needlewoman, had come later on from a shop at langres, and was avenging herself in paris on the men for the kicks with which her father had regaled her when at home. marguerite vadon, born at grenoble, where her parents kept a linen shop, had been obliged to come to the ladies' paradise to conceal an accident she had met with—a brat which had made its appearance one day. she was a well-conducted girl, and intended to return to grenoble to take charge of her parents' shop, and marry a cousin who was waiting for her.
“well,” resumed clara, in a low voice, “there's a girl who won't do much good here!”
but they stopped talking. a woman of about forty-five came in. it was madame aurélie, very stout, tightly laced in her black silk dress, the body of which, strained over her massive shoulders and full bust, shone like a piece of armour. she had, under very dark folds of hair, great fixed eyes, a severe mouth, and large and rather drooping cheeks; and in the majesty of her position as first-hand, her face assumed the bombast of a puffy mask of cæsar, “mademoiselle vadon,” said she, in an irritated voice, “you didn't return the pattern of that mantle to the workroom yesterday, it seems?”
“there was an alteration to make, madame,” replied the saleswoman, “so madame frédéric kept it.”
the second-hand then took the pattern out of a cupboard, and the explanation continued. every one gave way to madame aurélie, when she thought it necessary to assert her authority. very vain, even going so far as not to wish to be called by her real name, lhomme, which annoyed her, and to deny her father's humble position, always referring to him as a regularly established tailor, she was only gracious towards those young ladies who showed themselves flexible and caressing, bowing down in admiration before her. some time previously, whilst she was trying to establish herself in a shop of her own, her temper had become sour, continually thwarted by the worst of luck, exasperated to feel herself born to fortune and to encounter nothing but a series of catastrophes; and now, even after her success at the ladies' paradise, where she earned twelve thousand francs a year, it seemed that she still nourished a secret spite against every one, and she was very hard with beginners, as life had shown itself hard for her at first.
“that will do!” said she, sharply; “you are no more reasonable than the others, madame frédéric. let the alteration be made immediately.”
during this explanation, denise had ceased to look into the street she had no doubt this was madame aurélie; but, frightened at her sharp voice, she remained standing, still waiting. the two saleswomen, delighted to have set their two superiors at variance, had returned to their work with an air of profound indifference. a few minutes elapsed, nobody being charitable enough to draw the young girl from her uncomfortable position. at last, madame aurélie herself perceived her, and astonished to see her standing there without moving, asked her what she wanted.
“madame aurélie, please.”
“i am madame aurélie.”
denise's mouth became dry and parched, and her hands cold; she felt some such fear as when she was a child and trembled at the thought of being whipped. she stammered out her request, but was obliged to repeat it to make herself understood. madame aurélie looked at her with her great fixed eyes, not a line of her imperial mask deigning to relax, “how old are you?”
“twenty, madame.”
“what, twenty years old? you don't look sixteen!”
the saleswomen again raised their heads. denise hastened to add: “oh, i'm very strong!”
madame aurélie shrugged her broad shoulders, then coldly declared: “well! i don't mind entering your name. we enter the names of all those who apply. mademoiselle prunaire, give me the book.”
but the book could not be found; jouve, the inspector had probably got it. as tall clara was going to fetch it, mouret arrived, still followed by bourdoncle. they had made the tour of the other departments—the lace, the shawls, the furs, the furniture, the under-linen, and were winding up with the dresses. madame aurélie left denise a moment to speak to them about an order for some cloaks she thought of giving to one of the large paris houses; as a rule, she bought direct, and on her own responsibility; but, for important purchases, she preferred consulting the chiefs of the house. bourdoncle then related her son albert's latest act of carelessness, which seemed to fill her with despair. that boy would kill her; his father, although not a man of talent, was at least well-conducted, careful, and honest. all this dynasty of lhommes, of which she was the acknowledged head, very often caused her a great deal of trouble. however, mouret, surprised to see denise again, bent down to ask madame aurélie what the young lady was doing there; and, when the first-hand replied that she was applying for a saleswoman's situation, bourdoncle, with his disdain for women, seemed suffocated at this pretension.
“you don't mean it,” murmured he; “it must be a joke, she's too ugly!”
“the fact is, there's nothing handsome about her,” said mouret, not daring to defend her, although still moved by the rapture she had displayed downstairs before his arrangement of silks.
but the book having been brought in, madame aurélie returned to denise, who had certainly not made a favourable impression. she looked very clean in her thin black woollen dress; the question of shabbiness was of no importance, as the house furnished a uniform, the regulation silk dress; but she appeared rather weak and puny, and had a melancholy face. without insisting on handsome girls, one liked them to be of agreeable appearance for the sale rooms. and beneath the gaze of all these ladies and gentlemen who were studying her, weighing her like farmers would a horse at a fair, denise completely lost countenance.
“your name?” asked madame aurélie, at the end of a counter, pen in hand, ready to write.
“denise baudu, madame.”
“your age?”
“twenty years and four months.” and she repeated, risking a glance at mouret, at this supposed manager, whom she met everywhere and whose presence troubled her so: “i don't look like it, but i am really very strong.”
they smiled. bourdoncle showed evident signs of impatience; her remark fell, moreover, amidst a most discouraging silence.
“what house have you been in, in paris?” resumed madame aurélie.
“i've just arrived from valognes.”
this was a fresh disaster. as a rule, the ladies' paradise only took saleswomen with a year's experience in one of the small houses in paris. denise thought all was lost; and, had it not been for the children, had she not been obliged to work for them, she would have closed this useless interview and left the place. “where were you at valognes?”
“at cornaille's.”
“i know him—good house,” remarked mouret.
it was very rarely that he interfered in the engagement of the employees, the manager of each department being responsible for his staff. but with his delicate appreciation of women, he divined in this young girl a hidden charm, a wealth of grace, and tenderness of which she herself was ignorant. the good name enjoyed by the house in which the candidate had started was of great importance, often deciding the question in his or her favour. madame aurélie continued, in a kinder tone: “and why did you leave cornaille's?”
“for family reasons,” replied denise, turning scarlet “we have lost our parents, i have been obliged to follow my brothers. here is a certificate.”
it was excellent her hopes were reviving, when another question troubled her.
“have you any other references in paris? where do you live?”
“at my uncle's,” murmured she, hesitating about naming him, fearing they would never take the niece of a competitor. “at my uncle baudu's, opposite.”
at this, mouret interfered a second time. “what! are you baudu's niece? is it baudu who sent you here?”
“oh! no, sir!”
and she could not help laughing, the idea appeared to her so singular. it was a transfiguration; she became quite rosy, and the smile round her rather large mouth lighted up her whole face. her grey eyes sparkled with a tender flame, her cheeks filled with delicious dimples, and even her light hair seemed to partake of the frank and courageous gaiety that pervaded her whole being.
“why, she's really pretty,” whispered mouret to bourdoncle.
the partner refused to admit it, with a gesture of annoyance. clara bit her lips, and marguerite turned away; but madame aurélie seemed won over, and encouraged mouret with a nod when he resumed: “your uncle was wrong not to bring you; his recommendation sufficed. they say he has a grudge against us. we are people of more liberal minds, and if he can't find employment for his niece in his house, why we will show him that she has only to knock at our door to be received. just tell him i still like him very much, and that he must blame, not me, but the new style of business. tell him, too, that he will ruin himself if he insists on keeping to his ridiculous old-fashioned ways.”
denise turned quite white again. it was mouret; no one had mentioned his name, but he had revealed himself, and now she guessed who it was, she understood why this young man had caused her such emotion in the street, in the silk department, and again now. this emotion, which she could not analyse, pressed on her heart more and more, like a too-heavy weight. all the stories related by her uncle came back to her, increasing mouret's importance, surrounding him with a sort of halo, making of him the master of the terrible machine by whose wheels she had felt herself being seized all the morning. and, behind his handsome face, well-trimmed beard, and eyes of the colour of old gold, she beheld the dead woman, that madame hédouin, whose blood had helped to cement the stones of the house. the shiver she had felt the previous night again seized her; and she thought she was merely afraid of him.
meanwhile, madame aurélie had closed the book. she only wanted one saleswoman, and she already had ten applications. but she was too anxious to please the governor to hesitate for a moment. however, the application would follow its course, jouve, the inspector, would go and make enquiries, send in his report, and then she would come to a decision.
“very good, mademoiselle,” said she majestically, to preserve her authority; “we will write to you.”
denise stood there, unable to move for a moment, hardly knowing how to take her leave in the midst of all these people. at last she thanked madame aurélie, and on passing by mouret and bourdoncle, she bowed. these gentlemen, occupied in examining the pattern of a mantle with madame frédéric, did not take the slightest notice. clara looked in a vexed way towards marguerite, as if to predict that the new comer would not have a very pleasant time of it in the place. denise doubtless felt this indifference and rancour behind her, for she went downstairs with the same troubled feeling she had on going up, asking herself whether she ought to be sorry or glad to have come. could she count on having the situation? she did not even know that, her uncomfortable state having prevented her understanding clearly. of all her sensations, two remained and gradually effaced all the others—the emotion, almost the fear, inspired in her by mouret, and hutin's amiability, the only pleasure she had enjoyed the whole morning, a souvenir of charming sweetness which filled her with gratitude. when she crossed the shop to go out she looked for the young man, happy at the idea of thanking him again with her eyes; and she was very sorry not to see him.
“well, mademoiselle, have you succeeded?” asked a timid voice, as she at last stood on the pavement outside. she turned round and recognised the tall, awkward young fellow who had spoken to her in the morning. he also had just come out of the ladies' paradise, appearing more frightened than she did, still bewildered with the examination he had just passed through.
“i really don't know yet, sir,” replied she.
“you're like me, then. what a way of looking at and talking to you they have in there—eh? i'm applying for a place in the lace department i was at crèvecour's in the rue du mail.”
they were once more standing facing each other; and, not knowing how to take leave, they commenced to blush. then the young man, just for something to say in the excess of his timidity, ventured to ask in his good-natured, awkward way: “what is your name, mademoiselle?”
“denise baudu.”
“my name is henri deloche.”
now they smiled, and, yielding to the fraternity of their positions, shook each other by the hand.
“good luck!”
“yes, good luck!”
