Scarron was
particularly fond of her, and well knew that, portionless as she was,
the poor girl would have but little chance of making a match. His
kindness touched her, his wit charmed her; she pitied his infirmities,
and as his neighbour, frequently saw and tried to console him. On the
other hand the cripple, though forty years old, and in a state of health
which it is impossible to describe, fell positively in love with the
young girl, who alone of all the ladies who visited him combined wit
with perfect modesty. He pitied her destitution. There was mutual pity,
and we all know what passion that feeling is akin to.
Still, for a paralytic, utterly unfit for marriage in any point of view,
to offer to a beautiful young girl, would have seemed ridiculous, if not
unpardonable. But let us take into account the difference in ideas of
matrimony between ourselves and the French. We must remember that
marriage has always been regarded among our neighbours as a contract for
mutual benefit, into which the consideration of money of necessity
entered largely. It is true that some qualities are taken as equivalents
for actual cash: thus, if a young man has a straight and well-cut nose
he may sell himself at a higher price than a young man there with the
hideous pug; if a girl is beautiful, the marquis will be content with
some thousands of francs less for her dower than if her hair were red or
her complexion irreclaimably brown.
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