Uneasy at their intimacy with Clerambault, some of his
friends did not wait to have it recalled, but met it halfway, writing
"open letters," to which the papers gave a conspicuous place. Some,
like Bertin, coupled their public censure with a demand that he should
confess himself in the wrong, and others, less considerate, cast him
off in the bitterest and most insulting terms. Clerambault was crushed
by all this animosity; it could not arise solely from his articles,
it must have been long dormant in the hearts of these men. And why so
much hidden hatred?--What had he done to them?... A successful artist
does not suspect that besides the smiles of those around there are
also teeth, only waiting for the opportunity to bite.
Clerambault did his best to conceal the insults in the papers from his
wife. Like a schoolboy trying to spirit away his bad marks he watched
for the post so as to suppress the obnoxious sheets, but at last their
venom seemed to poison the very air. Among their friends in society,
Madame Clerambault and Rosine had to bear many painful allusions,
small affronts, even insults. With the instinct of justice which
characterises the human beast, and especially the female, they were
held responsible for Clerambault's ideas, though his wife and daughter
knew little of them and disapproved what they knew.
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