The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 146: what you’re looking at

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

ne... THE STEAM PACKET, 105 _ the priest’s old housekeeper, in the commencement of 1792, upon which occasion ‘a beautiful young woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six, and who was announced to be the archdeacon’s niece, ar- rived from Arras to take upon herself the domestic arrangements of his household. She was in sooth a most splendid creature: no other — terms can convey an adequate idea of her rich and voluptuous charms; —the dark and melting blue eyes, the small red mouth, and brilliant white teeth, the bust exquisitely modelled in the mould of a Hebe, and that faultless symmetry of figure, which, although inclining towards embonpoint, was adorned with all the gracefulness of a sylph ;—all these formed a combination of beauties which might have seduced an anchorite from the troth he had pledged to heaven. But such was the exalted character which Count St. Honoré enjoyed for virtue and sanctity,—so great was supposed to be his attachment towards the things of the other world, and ‘his. indifference to those of this, that the introduction of the beautiful Marie into his household failed to evoke a single invidious comment. Even after the execution of the King of France, when the archdeacon discharged all his dependants, retaining only Marie and an old female servant, the alleged excuse of the falling off of the revenues of his office was received as valid; and the pious, whose opinions were not merged in the political sentiments of the day, continued to regard ae “holy father” as a pattern of self-denial and sanctity, cae Meantime the embarrassments of the clergy increased ; and it was only in those towns that were very far distant from the metropolis, and therefore, as it were, somewhat beyond the reach of its influence, that the priests were allowed to remain in possession of their dwellings ; but ‘their authority had altogether disappeared. Hyacinth St. Honoré ‘was compelled to remain in the utmost tranquillity and privacy, for fear of exciting the suspicions of the republican agents: the church was shut up; and the religious duties of the priest aid his clergy were discontinued. The beautiful :Marie also refrained from appearing abroad; and in a short time the house seemed to be untenanted, save for a few moments only, to purchase necessaries at the nearest shops. This duty ‘now seemed to have devolved upon him; and months elapsed, during which Marie was never seen. by a single individual outside the door of the archdeaconry.. _ Every body was too busy at that momentous peta to trouble him- ‘self much with the affairs of his neighbours; and therefore the mode -of life practised by the archdeacon did not attract any particular at- tention. On all sides was.the society of France in a state of volcanic Gomicbooks -when at the dusk of the evening the count would leave his habitation — (E()