One night, towards the end of the reign of Le Grand Monarque, no more lively party could have been found in the whole of gay Paris, than that which was assembled in the salon of the beautiful and fascinating courtesan, Violetta Valèry; for with her accustomed extravagant generosity, the fair hostess had provided an entertainment upon the most lavish scale, so that the guests, feasted thus royally, and freed from conventional restraint, found it an easy matter to be merry, and to exercise their wit for the benefit of one another.
It was a brilliant company, too, for Violetta numbered amongst her admirers many scions of the nobility, besides the devotees of art; and since all were bent on pleasure, a constant flow of sparkling humour and joyous mirth on every side made it impossible for anyone to be dull.
The beautiful Violetta herself was one of the merriest of all that merry throng; for pleasure was as the very breath of life to her, and such a scene as this was her delight. Yet, in spite of natural inclination, her gaiety was not without physical effort; for indulgence in pleasure had developed inherent seeds of consumption with alarming rapidity, and already her frail form showed signs of the advance of the dread disease. Every now and then a sudden faintness would seize her, and the effort of moving amongst her guests was almost more than she could bear; and so, for the most part, she was compelled to recline upon her couch, from whence, however she rallied her guests with all her accustomed light-heartedness, and around which they circled as the centre of attraction.
Amongst the guests present to-night was a handsome young man of noble family, Alfred Germont, who, although he had not yet confessed his passion, had given his whole heart to the lovely courtesan, and had adored her secretly for many months; and Violetta, who, though she had had many lovers, had never yet given her heart to anyone, had always felt a thrill of joy when Alfred approached her, and knew that it was love she felt at last. She had, however, tried to treat him with careless indifference and to conquer the passion that was slowly but surely enveloping her whole being; for though she had not exercised any such scruples with her former admirers, for his own sake she felt it better that he should not become her lover.
But Alfred was not to be discouraged by any such assumed coldness; and since he had determined to declare himself that very evening, it was not long before he found an opportunity to do so.
Violetta presently suggested to her guests that they should crown their carousal with dancing; and upon this suggestion being received with acclamation, she invited them to repair to the dancing salon beyond, and, springing from her couch, declared merrily that she would lead them. No sooner had she spoken, however, than a sudden faintness seized her, and she fell back upon her couch, pale and trembling; but though her friends crowded round in anxious sympathy, she would not allow them to interrupt their pleasure on her account, bidding them with laughing carelessness to begin the dance without her, and to allow her to rest alone for a few moments.
No sooner had they gone than Violetta rose slowly, and looked anxiously at herself in the nearest mirror, sighing deeply at the sight of her pale face; and at that moment, Alfred returned to the room, and, hurrying to her side, besought her to take more care of the life that was now so precious to him. He then went on to declare how passionately he loved her, and to entreat her to accept him as her lover; and though Violetta at first tried to treat the matter lightly and with gentle banter, she could not long struggle against the wild throbbing of her own heart, which told her only too plainly that she loved him in return. She therefore at last gave way to his pleading; and letting him now see that his love was returned, she determined to forego all her former scruples on his behalf, that they might both experience that deep wondrous happiness that only comes once in a life-time.
After this, the lovers met constantly, and at length became so enthralled in their passion that they could not bear to be separated; and at last, impatient of the society of their friends, they retired to a country house owned by Violetta some little distance out of Paris, where they could enjoy their bliss undisturbed.
Here they spent three months of perfect happiness, falling more deeply in love every day; and thus wrapped up in each other\'s sweet presence, they lived for one another alone, and seemed oblivious of the whole world.
But such absorbing joy could not last for ever, and at length the dream was broken.
One day, on returning to the house after a few hours\' absence spent in hunting, Alfred met Violetta\'s maid, Annina; and noticing that the girl appeared travel-stained and somewhat disturbed, he stopped to inquire the reason of her flustered state. Annina replied that she had just returned from Paris, whither she had been sent on business for her mistress; and upon being questioned further, she revealed the fact that she had been making arrangements for the sale of all Violetta\'s property and possessions, since the luxurious manner in which they had been living of late was expensive, and more means were needed to keep it up.
Filled with compunction that his own selfish enjoyment should have made him forgetful of such mundane but necessary matters, and horrified that Violetta should be about to make such a sacrifice on his behalf, Alfred declared that he would also go to Paris at once to settle the difficulty by paying over a large sum of money to prevent the sales; and, bidding Annina say nothing to her mistress about the matter, he set off for Paris immediately, saying that he would return in a few hours.
Violetta soon afterwards came from her room, and, entering a pretty salon that opened out on the garden, she began to look through a number of papers relating to her business affairs, and to read her letters; and amongst these latter she found a note from her most intimate friend, Flora Bervoix, requesting her presence at a masked ball that evening.
As the happy Violetta was reading this note, and laughingly reflecting that Flora would look in vain for her that evening, a stranger was ushered into the room; and upon turning to greet her visitor, she beheld a gentleman of advanced years, and of haughty, aristocratic appearance, who immediately announced that he was the father of Alfred Germont, her lover, whom, he added in the same breath, she was bringing to ruin.
Then as Violetta drew back indignantly at these words, Monsieur de Germont, though greatly impressed by her dazzling beauty and proud bearing, went on with the difficult task he had come to perform—that of persuading her to renounce his son, and leave him for ever; and in eloquent, but gentle tones, he declared that not only was she ruining Alfred\'s own social position as heir to one of the proudest names in France, but she was also the means of his sister\'s hand being refused in marriage, since her aristocratic suitor refused to enter their family whilst her brother was held in thrall by the lovely courtesan.
At first, Violetta hoped that her separation from Alfred was only desired to be a temporary one, in order that his sister\'s marriage might be arranged; but when she found it was required that they should never meet again, she was overcome with grief, and declared passionately that this could never be, since she could not bear to be parted from the only man she had ever loved.
Though truly grieving for the pain he was inflicting upon one so lovely, M. de Germont still continued his pleading; and he now implored Violetta to reflect upon the good deed she would be doing by renouncing a lover to whose worldly welfare she was a stumbling block, reminding her that in the years to come, when her beauty should have faded, it would be a consolation to her to remember that she had thus restored peace to one home.
By this time, Violetta was weeping bitterly, for she knew only too well that M. de Germont spoke the truth, and that Alfred\'s position was ruined by his connection with herself; and her love for him was so great that she determined fo............