past and the present De Mauleon, Duplessis had been prepared by the
conversation at the Maison Doree. And now, as the Vicomte, yielding his
place by the Duchesse to some new-comer, glided on, and, leaning against
a column, contemplated the gay scene before him with that expression of
countenance, half sarcastic, half mournful, with which men regard, after
long estrangement, the scenes of departed joys, Duplessis felt that no
change in that man had impaired the force of character which had made him
the hero of reckless coevals. Though wearing no beard, not even a
mustache, there was something emphatically masculine in the contour of
the close-shaven cheek and resolute jaw; in a forehead broad at the
temples, and protuberant in those organs over the eyebrows which are said
to be significant of quick perception and ready action; in the lips, when
in repose compressed, perhaps somewhat stern in their expression, but
pliant and mobile when speaking, and wonderfully fascinating when they
smiled. Altogether, about this Victor de Mauleon there was a nameless
distinction, apart from that of conventional elegance. You would have
said, "That is a man of some marked individuality, an eminence of some
kind in himself." You would not be surprised to hear that he was a
party-leader, a skilled diplomatist, a daring soldier, an adventurous
traveller; but you would not guess him to be a student, an author, an
artist.

While Duplessis thus observed the Vicomte de Mauleon, all the while
seeming to lend an attentive ear to the whispered voice of the Minister
by his side, Alain passed on into the ball-room. He was fresh enough to
feel the exhilaration of the dance. Enguerrand (who had survived that
excitement, and who habitually deserted any assembly at an early hour for
the cigar and whist of his club) had made his way to De Mauleon, and
there stationed himself. The lion of one generation has always a mixed
feeling of curiosity and respect for the lion of a generation before him,