One day, a little boy, who was out with his governess, made her take a longer walk than he intended, for he could not tear himself from the little girl whose pure, sweet voice seemed to bind him to her.
They came to the shore of an inlet which is still called Trestraou, but which now, I believe, harbors a casino or something of the sort.
At that time, there was nothing but sky and sea and a stretch of golden beach.Only, there was also a high wind, which blew Christine's scarf out to sea.Christine gave a cry and put out her arms, but the scarf was already far on the waves.Then she heard a voice say:
"It's all right, I'll go and fetch your scarf out of the sea."And she saw a little boy running fast, in spite of the outcries and the indignant protests of a worthy lady in black.The little boy ran into the sea, dressed as he was, and brought her back her scarf.
Boy and scarf were both soaked through.The lady in black made a great fuss, but Christine laughed merrily and kissed the little boy, who was none other than the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, staying at Lannion with his aunt.
During the season, they saw each other and played together almost every day.At the aunt's request, seconded by Professor Valerius, Daae consented to give the young viscount some violin lessons.
In this way, Raoul learned to love the same airs that had charmed Christine's childhood.They also both had the same calm and dreamy little cast of mind.They delighted in stories, in old Breton legends;and their favorite sport was to go and ask for them at the cottage-doors, like beggars:
"Ma'am..." or, "Kind gentleman...have you a little story to tell us, please?"And it seldom happened that they did not have one "given" them;for nearly every old Breton grandame has, at least once in her life, seen the "korrigans" dance by moonlight on the heather.
But their great treat was, in the twilight, in the great silence of the evening, after the sun had set in the sea, when Daae came and sat down by them on the roadside and, in a low voice, as though fearing lest he should frighten the ghosts whom he evoked, told them the legends of the land of the North.And, the moment he stopped, the children would ask for more.
There was one story that began:
"A king sat in a little boat on one of those deep, still lakes that open like a bright eye in the midst of the Norwegian mountains..."And another:
"Little Lotte thought of everything and nothing.Her hair was golden as the sun's rays and her soul as clear and blue as her eyes.
She wheedled her mother, was kind to her doll, took great care of her frock and her little red shoes and her fiddle, but most of all loved, when she went to sleep, to hear the Angel of Music."While the old man told this story, Raoul looked at Christine's blue eyes and golden hair; and Christine thought that Lotte was very lucky to hear the Angel of Music when she went to sleep.
The Angel of Music played a part in all Daddy Daae's tales;and he maintained that every great musician, every great artist received a visit from the Angel at least once in his life.
Sometimes the Angel leans over their cradle, as happened to Lotte, and that is how there are little prodigies who play the fiddle at six better than men at fifty, which, you must admit, is very wonderful.Sometimes, the Angel comes much later, because the children are naughty and won't learn their lessons or practise their scales.And, sometimes, he does not come at all, because the children have a bad heart or a bad conscience.
No one ever sees the Angel; but he is heard by those who are meant to hear him.He often comes when they least expect him, when they are sad and disheartened.Then their ears suddenly perceive celestial harmonies, a divine voice, which they remember all their lives.
Persons who are visited by the Angel quiver with a thrill unknown to the rest of mankind.And they can not touch an instrument, or open their mouths to sing, without producing sounds that put all other human sounds to shame.Then people who do not know that the Angel has visited those persons say that they have genius.
Little Christine asked her father if he had heard the Angel of Music.
But Daddy Daae shook his head sadly; and then his eyes lit up, as he said:
"You will hear him one day, my child! When I am in Heaven, I will send him to you!"Daddy was beginning to cough at that time.
Three years later, Raoul and Christine met again at Perros.
Professor Valerius was dead, but his widow remained in France with Daddy Daae and his daughter, who continued to play the violin and sing, wrapping in their dream of harmony their kind patroness, who seemed henceforth to live on music alone.The young man, as he now was, had come to Perros on the chance of finding them and went straight to the house in which they used to stay.
He first saw the old man; and then Christine entered, carrying the tea-tray.She flushed at the sight of Raoul, who went up to her and kissed her.She asked him a few questions, performed her duties as hostess prettily, took up the tray again and left the room.
Then she ran into the garden and took refuge on a bench, a prey to feelings that stirred her young heart for the first time.
Raoul followed her and they talked till the evening, very shyly.
They were quite changed, cautious as two diplomatists, and told each other things that had nothing to do with their budding sentiments.
When they took leave of each other by the roadside, Raoul, pressing a kiss on Christine's trembling hand, said:
"Mademoiselle, I shall never forget you!"And he went away regretting his words, for he knew that Christine could not be the wife of the Vicomte de Chagny.
As for Christine, she tried not to think of him and devoted herself wholly to her art.She made wonderful progress and those who heard her prophesied that she would be the greatest singer in the world.
