Comte Édouard de Lambertye

Basic Information

Full name: Comte Édouard de Lambertye Title: Comte (Count) First name revealed: January 23, 1874 (015.0069: "il se nomme Edouard") Nationality: French Family: The Lambertye family (maison de Lambertie) is a subsisting family of ancient French nobility, originally from Périgord (Limousin) and later established in Lorraine. The family holds two hereditary titles: Comte de Lambertye (letters patent, June 1, 1644) and Marquis de Gerbéviller (letters patent, February 8, 1719). Notable family members include Antoine-François, marquis de Lambertye (diplomat under Louis XV), the botanist Léonce de Lambertye (1810--1877), and Joseph-Emmanuel-Auguste-François de Lambertye (deputy to the 1789 Estates-General). The family's properties include the Château de Cons-la-Grandville, the Château de Gerbéviller, and the Château de Lambertie in Mialet (Dordogne). Their alliances include the houses of La Trémoille, d'Arenberg, Rohan-Chabot, Choiseul, and La Rochefoucauld.

Physical description per Marie: Small, bald ("chauve et le crâne est en forme de clou" -- bald with a nail-shaped skull), curly-haired (possibly wigged or dyed), perfumed, oily, wrinkled, "ridiculous." His head barely reaches the shoulder of the tall women he accompanies. In later years, dyes his moustache and remaining hair. Marie's mother compares him to the gardener Martin-Bâton's poodle. Marie compares him unfavorably to Gulliver among the Brobdingnagians.

Relationship to the Marquis de Lambertye: Marie's diary reveals a separate Marquis de Lambertye who married a wealthy widow named Charonnet (née veuve Charonnet, "dix fois millionnaire"). The marquis abandoned her on their wedding day, declaring "nous avons marié nos capitaux et non pas nos cœurs" (we married our capitals and not our hearts). By the 1880s, the Marquise de Lambertye hosted Parisian salons and balls that Marie attended (carnets 094, 095, 096, 099). Marie's family dined at her estate in Viroflay (September 1882) and at her home in Paris (April 1883). The comte Édouard and the marquis appear to be from different branches of the same noble family.

Possible descendant: Manuel (or Marcel), Comte de Lambertye (born March 16, 1884, in Madrid; died November 27, 1938, in Vieux-lès-Asfeld, Ardennes), competed in trap shooting (team event) at the 1924 Paris Olympics for France. The sport evolved directly from the live pigeon shooting that Marie witnessed Lambertye compete in at Monaco in the 1870s.

Marie's Nicknames for Lambertye

Marie's inventive cruelty toward Lambertye produces a rich lexicon of insults:
- Fedus / Fédus -- From Latin foedus (ugly, foul). Marie's primary codename, used from spring 1874 onward. Her Latin tutor confused the spelling ("cette triple bête!" -- 019.0068). She also names a stray dog "Fedus" after him (019.0123).
- Parvus Fedus -- Latin for "small ugly one" (018.0004, 018.0005).
- le singe (the monkey) -- Used from January 1874 (015.0090, 015.0101).
- le petit chapeau (the little hat) -- Another diminutive nickname (018.0021).
- le regardeur (the starer) -- Marie's coinage (016.0077).
- pantalons de cuir (leather pants) -- Family nickname (017.0086).
- Lambertoun -- Marie's mother's Russian-inflected diminutive ("Et voilà Lambertoun" -- 020.0099).
- yeux de serpent (snake eyes) -- Describing his gaze (015.0056).
- Various animal comparisons: serpent, monkey, eel ("tête d'anguille"), poodle, "clou" (nail).

The Full Arc: From Starer to "Necessary Accessory" (1873--1883)

Phase 1: First Encounters -- Nice Spring 1873 (carnets 004--005)

Lambertye first appears on April 17, 1873 (004.0046), in a marginal note: "Mlle Collignon m'a grondée, parce que Lambertye m'a regardée avec un sourire" (Miss Collignon scolded me, because Lambertye looked at me with a smile). He is already a known figure -- Marie's governess considers his attention improper.

By May 5, 1873 (004.0083--0084), Marie calls him "Marquis de Lambertye" and sees him as a potential social stepping-stone: she prays fervently in English for God to arrange an introduction to the Duke of Hamilton through Lambertye, via the Pigeon Shooting club at Monaco. Marie's scheme: Lambertye leads to pigeon shooting leads to the Duke. On May 7 (004.0069), she prays again: "Oh! si Dieu lui inspirait le désir de nous connaître" (Oh! if God would inspire in him the desire to know us). On September 23, 1873 (010.0069), she recounts at dinner how Lambertye once asked about M. Randouin -- her father erupts in anger at the mention.

Phase 2: The Winter Season -- Nice 1873--1874 (carnets 014--018)

The winter social season of 1873--74 is the peak of Marie's obsession with Lambertye. He appears in nearly every entry from mid-December through April, haunting the same circuit: the Promenade des Anglais, the Cercle de la Méditerranée, the theater, Monaco pigeon shoots, and the Nice races.

December 1873 (carnet 014): Lambertye arrives for the season. Marie sees him at Monaco (Dec 18, 014.0036), at the theater with Gioia's son (Dec 21, 014.0065), and driving his spectacular carriage -- described as a monstrous "arche de Noé" (Noah's Ark) with two liveried servants and the count perched beside the coachman "tout pincé par le froid et courbé" (Dec 30, 014.0058). At the theater (Dec 23, 014.0096): "Le petit Lambertye ne cesse pas de me regarder" (the little Lambertye doesn't stop looking at me). Her aunt first notices the staring. On New Year's Eve (014.0058): "le comte de Lambertye qui pense que c'est son devoir de me regarder" (who thinks it is his duty to look at me).

January 1874 (carnets 015--016): The obsession intensifies. On Jan 1 (015.0090): "La manière dont le comte de Lambertye me regarde est très étrange; il a l'air de vouloir que je remarque absolument qu'il me regarde. C'est inexplicable." He is everywhere: at pigeon shoots in Monaco where he competes (losing to Galve on Dec 29, winning ten straight on Jan 28, 1875 -- 029.0085--0090), walking with different companions every few minutes (Jan 12, 015.0048: seen with five different people in one hour), and at races. Marie oscillates wildly: "il y a des jours où je ne puis pas le regarder tant je le déteste... et il y en a d'autres où je le supporte très bien" (Jan 18, 015.0053). On Jan 22 (015.0064--0100): "Je déteste Lambertye! Il me semble qu'il se moque de moi!" followed by thirteen exclamation marks of outrage. On Jan 23 (015.0048), she learns his first name is Edouard. On Jan 24 (015.0112): "Il faut que les sourires du comte de Lambertye cessent. C'est trop en vérité."

February 1874 (carnet 016): The emotional peak. On Feb 8 (016.0060), Lambertye reappears after absence, driving with Chimay; members of the Cercle de la Méditerranée including Lambertye are "étalés" (spread out) on the balcony watching passersby. On Feb 12 (016.0054), the most physically intense reaction: near the public garden, Marie thinks she sees Lambertye and nearly faints -- "j'ai presque rougi, la respiration me manqua et je devins essoufflée." She rages at her social position: "Si je vivais comme les autres je ne ferais même pas attention à la grossièreté de ce comte." She wants to have him, Lewin, Le Bec, and all of them beaten, and to watch them cry. On Feb 14--15 (016.0090--0112), at the theater, Lambertye sits next to l'Obélisque (a tall beauty associated with the Duchess de Mouchy); he looks like "un pygmée" beside her, "sa tête chauve arrivait à peine à la blanche et superbe épaule de l'immense pulchra." During intermissions, he surveys the whole hall and each time stops his gaze on Marie -- "sans sourire cette fois." On Feb 16 (016.0085--0100), Marie's mother praises the beauty of Soria and suggests Marie should fall in love with him instead. Marie retorts that she prefers "même Lambertye" to Soria. On Feb 17 (016.0068--0072), encountering him on foot during carnival: "J'étais contente d'avoir rencontré Lambertye car il est comme une connaissance" (he is like an acquaintance). On Feb 18 (016.0036--0080), the crucial confession: "mon but de sortie est en ce moment le comte de Lambertye. Le misérable but!" (my purpose for going out is at the moment the Comte de Lambertye. The miserable purpose!) She prays to stop blushing at his name. On Feb 19 (016.0047), Lambertye makes his boldest move: he approaches Marie's father in the garden and asks about the Villa Baquis, the "very fat lady" (Princess Souvoroff), and her divorce -- fishing for family information. The family mocks him at dinner: Papa describes him as "frisé comme Bijou" (curled like Bijou), very perfumed. On Feb 21 (016.0048--0078), at the charity sale, Lambertye glides behind the flower stalls "comme un serpent" -- Marie calls him "ce petit" with his eternal smile.

Late February--March 1874 (carnet 017): After Carnival, Nice empties. Feb 22 (017.0094): the pivotal declaration -- "Je cherchais Lambertye... il est devenu un accessoire nécessaire de toutes mes sorties et je m'ennuie si je ne le vois pas" (I was looking for Lambertye... he has become a necessary accessory of all my outings and I get bored if I don't see him). Feb 27 (017.0069): "Lambertye s'est caché sous terre" (has gone underground). March 5 (017.0075): he reappears with the Duke de Mouchy -- "tous les trois se retournèrent." March 7 (017.0074): "Je m'ennuie quand je sors si je ne vois pas sa face, il m'amuse" (I'm bored when I go out if I don't see his face, he amuses me). March 8 (017.0053): a reversal -- "Le comte de Lambertye ne me regarde plus... J'étais attrapée, je préparais la physionomie froide d'habitude pour souffrir les regards du petit et il ne m'a pas regardée. Je me sentais mal à l'aise." She had prepared her cold face for his stare, and when it didn't come, she felt ill at ease. March 17--18 (017.0049--0035): rumors that Lambertye will marry l'Obélisque; Marie observes acidly "il faut qu'il soit bien riche pour que l'Obélisque l'épouse." March 19 (017.0041--0060): l'Obélisque says something to the Duchess de Mouchy while looking at Marie and smiling, "comme si elle disait: Voilà cette enfant, n'est-ce pas qu'elle est gentille" -- Marie thinks she owes this to Fedus, "qui me trouve lui aussi une gentille enfant." In Russian, she confesses: "Fedus me plaît un peu... il est tout de même mieux qu'Emile d'Audiffret et je ne peux vivre sans quelque imaginaire bêtise." March 23 (017.0036): she protests to her mother: "je ne connais pas Lambertye" -- transparent denial. March 25 (017.0048): "Fedus est tellement petit à côté de cet Obélisque masculin" (Wittgenstein). March 26 (017.0045): Marie's mother says the gardener's poodle resembles Lambertye perfectly -- "la même expression, les mêmes yeux, le même sourire."

March 28--29, 1874 (carnet 018): The acrostic poems. Lambertye stares at Marie from the adjacent train compartment at the Monaco station, positioning himself so only she can see him -- "simplement une insulte, une grossièreté, une insolence que rien n'égale." Marie responds with two satirical acrostic poems spelling "COMTE DE LAMBERTIE" (deliberate misspelling): > C -- C'est un nouveau venu. > O -- Oubliez son crâne nu. > M -- Mais songez à son sourire > T -- Tous vous commencerez à rire > E -- Et sur vous perdrez l'empire. > d -- Devinez qui il est > e -- Et voici son portrait > L -- L'abominable créature > A -- A la tête d'anguille > M -- Misérable, stupide, souriant > B -- Bénit la nature > E -- Et content d'être anguille > R -- Rit toujours comme un enfant > T -- Tel est Fedus charmant > I -- Il a un nez séduisant > E -- Est chauve, petit, fané, pimpant. On March 29 (018.0059--0061), Marie formally complains to her mother and resolves "de le fixer d'un air impertinent la première fois qu'il osera me regarder."

Phase 3: Departure and Numerology -- April 1874 (carnet 018)

On April 1 (018.0056), Lambertye disappears with Maman's note. By April 7 (018.0062--0084), Marie uses Latin: "Fedus" appears alongside Hamilton in her meditations. On April 9 (018.0052--0056), Lambertye has left Nice -- "quel malheur!" (what a misfortune!), said with transparent irony. On April 10 (018.0060--0063), when asked if she'd marry Walzeff or Lambertye, Marie says yes to both: "tout le monde est égal pour moi... un seul me plaît et le reste est égal" (everyone is equal to me... only one pleases me and the rest are equal). On April 11 (018.0070--0075), she develops a roulette numerology: Hamilton is even red numbers (3, 36, 18, 32), Lambertye odd ones (25, 17, 31, 11).

Phase 4: Paris Encounters -- Spring/Summer 1874 (carnets 019--022)

In Paris, Lambertye becomes "Fedus" almost exclusively. On May 14 (019.0074): "je crains qu'il ne soit marié avec l'Obélisque." On May 26 (019.0095): "Comment n'ai-je pas encore vu Fedus?" On May 29 (019.0067), a radiant encounter at the Bois de Boulogne -- "il se tourna, ouvrit des grands yeux et fit une mine si radieuse et étonnée, que... j'éclatais de rire." She names a stray dog after him. On May 30 (020.0066--0071): "ce comte nu, ce Fedus charmant, cet Apollon fané" (this naked count, this charming Fedus, this faded Apollo). On June 4 (020.0097--0114): her mother says "Et voilà Lambertoun!" On June 23 (020.0055), leaving Paris, Marie lists Lambertye among her "amis" alongside Rothschild, Wittgenstein, and Chimay. At Spa on July 1 (020.0126), she describes the Nice social scene to Basilévitch: "le comte de Lambertye fait la cour à tout le monde" (the Comte de Lambertye courts everyone). On July 9 (021.0124), Dina teases: "Moussia, votre comte de Lambertye!" On July 27 (022.0158), in a self-aware dialogue, Marie dismisses the obsession: "c'est une vieille histoire, crois-tu que je crois à ton Lambertye?... Lambertye me plaisait comme me plaisait Galve, Chimay... comme me plaît Zurberin, Clark, Gericke." He was one of many who pleased her superficially; Hamilton remained the singular obsession.

Phase 5: Diminishing Returns -- 1874--1876 (carnets 024--064)

Lambertye fades but never quite disappears. On September 18, 1874 (024.0075), at the Bois: "ce petit Lambertye ne paraît pas, je l'avais oublié." On November 3, 1874 (025.0065), back in Nice: "Je suis toujours flattée quand on me regarde pas comme ce misérable de Lambertye par exemple!" On December 19, 1874 (027.0122): "je vis Lambertye; je ne fus même pas surprise et le regardais comme Saëtone" -- cool indifference. On December 20 (027.0137), she includes him in a satirical verse: "Jean Le Lambertye que je déteste / Et m'en vengerai je l'atteste." On January 24, 1875 (029.0070): Audiffret circles their carriage "tantôt avec Lambertye, tantôt avec Furstenberg." On January 28, 1875 (029.0085--0097), Lambertye wins a pigeon shoot, killing ten without a miss -- then on the way home, Galve overhears Marie calling him "un muso." On August 2, 1875 (038.0095): "Fedus! Nous nous regardons et je me mets à rire." On August 10, 1875 (038.0037--0042): Marie re-reads her diary and reflects -- "Je dis le 18 mars 1874 que je m'occupe de Fedus parce qu'il n'y a personne." On August 30, 1875 (040.0106): "ce charmant Lambertye s'est teint la moustache et le peu de cheveux qui lui restent" -- he has started dyeing his hair. On July 22, 1876 (064.0022), at the Bois de Boulogne: "nous avons vu Lambertye avec son éternel sourire; cependant, vu mon âge, il sourit un peu moins" -- a perfect line: his smile is inversely proportional to her growing up.

Phase 6: Later Encounters -- Dieppe and Paris, 1879--1883 (carnets 086--099)

On August 24, 1879 (086.0046), at Dieppe races, Marie spots him with old Nice acquaintances: "Lambertye vous vous rappelez bien du comte de Lambertye à Nice? de mes acrostiches?" -- she herself remembers the acrostic poems from five years earlier. On January 20, 1882 (094.0033), at a Kessler soirée in Paris, she encounters the Marquise de Lambertye, described as "une ancienne entrepreneuse en bâtiments richissime" who married the marquis and "reçoit très bien." On January 26, 1882 (094.0047), Marie attends a ball at the Marquise de Lambertye's. On June 10, 1882 (095.0031), Marie goes to the Salon and finds "Mmes de Lambertye" among the visitors. On September 22, 1882 (096.0087--0093), Marie dines at Viroflay at the marquise's estate and recounts the cruel marriage story: the marquis took his wife's money to restore his château, then abandoned her, saying "nous avons marié nos capitaux et non pas nos cœurs." Marie's acid observation: "la dame est dans l'impossibilité de déshonorer son mari vu sa laideur, sa grosseur et sa tenue commune." On April 24, 1883 (099.0042), "Les miens dînent chez Mme de Lambertye" -- the family dines at the marquise's while Marie stays home discussing Jules Bastien-Lepage.

Significance in Marie's Diary

Lambertye occupies a unique position in Marie's emotional landscape. He is emphatically not a love interest -- Marie insists on this repeatedly and the diary confirms it. Rather, he serves several intertwined functions:

1. Social barometer: His refusal to seek a formal introduction while staring persistently embodies Marie's deepest anxiety about her family's ambiguous social position. A genuine French nobleman "sees well the role we play even in Nice" (016.0054) and doesn't bother with protocol. Marie's violent reaction (wanting him beaten) reflects humiliation, not attraction.

2. Emotional placeholder: With Hamilton married and unreachable, Marie needs "au moins une imaginaire bêtise" (at least one imaginary foolishness) to structure her days. Lambertye provides a "but de promenade" (purpose for walking) -- someone to look for, blush at, rage about. Without him, she admits, "je m'ennuie" (I'm bored).

3. Comic foil: Marie's writing about Lambertye is among her most brilliantly inventive. The acrostic poems, the Latin nicknames, the comparison to a poodle, the Gulliver's Travels imagery, the roulette numerology -- all display the sardonic literary talent that makes her diary extraordinary.

4. Class anxiety lens: Through Lambertye, Marie explores the gap between the Bashkirtseffs (wealthy Ukrainian newcomers) and established French aristocracy. He moves effortlessly through the highest circles -- Duchess de Mouchy, Princess Souvoroff, the Galves -- while Marie watches from her carriage.

5. Physical reaction mystery: Marie's involuntary blushing at Lambertye's name, even at the name of a servant called "Brunet," torments her as evidence of her body's rebellion against her will. She prays to God to stop it. This is a recurring theme of the diary: the humiliation of involuntary physical responses.

Key Paragraph References

| Date | Carnet.Para | Event | |------|-------------|-------| | 1873-04-17 | 004.0046 | First appearance: Collignon scolds Marie for Lambertye's smile | | 1873-05-05 | 004.0083 | Marie prays for introduction through Lambertye to Hamilton | | 1873-12-18 | 014.0036 | Monaco station, beginning of winter season | | 1873-12-22 | 014.0043 | "J'ai rarement vu un petit homme plus laid" | | 1873-12-23 | 014.0096 | Theater: "ne cesse pas de me regarder" | | 1873-12-29 | 014.0040 | Pigeon shoot: "sympathique mais assez ridicule lorsqu'il tire" | | 1873-12-30 | 014.0058 | Noah's Ark carriage description | | 1874-01-01 | 015.0090 | "La manière dont il me regarde est très étrange" | | 1874-01-14 | 015.0057 | "yeux de serpent"; bald head "représente un clou" | | 1874-01-22 | 015.0064 | "Je déteste Lambertye!" with 13 exclamation marks | | 1874-01-23 | 015.0048 | First name revealed: Edouard | | 1874-01-24 | 015.0112 | "Il faut que les sourires cessent" | | 1874-02-12 | 016.0054 | Near-fainting; wanting to have them beaten | | 1874-02-14 | 016.0090 | Pygmy next to l'Obélisque at theater | | 1874-02-16 | 016.0085 | Mother suggests Soria instead; Marie prefers Lambertye | | 1874-02-18 | 016.0036 | Prays to stop blushing; "mon but de sortie" confession | | 1874-02-19 | 016.0047 | Approaches Papa; "frisé comme Bijou" | | 1874-02-21 | 016.0078 | Glides behind flowers "comme un serpent" | | 1874-02-22 | 017.0094 | "Un accessoire nécessaire de toutes mes sorties" | | 1874-03-07 | 017.0074 | "Il m'amuse" | | 1874-03-08 | 017.0053 | Stops looking; Marie feels "mal à l'aise" | | 1874-03-26 | 017.0045 | Poodle portrait comparison | | 1874-03-28 | 018.0004 | Acrostic poem: "COMTE DE LAMBERTIE" | | 1874-04-09 | 018.0052 | Leaves Nice: "quel malheur!" | | 1874-04-11 | 018.0075 | Roulette numerology | | 1874-05-29 | 019.0067 | Paris Bois: radiant expression, dog named Fedus | | 1874-06-23 | 020.0055 | Listed among "amis" leaving Paris | | 1874-07-27 | 022.0158 | Self-analysis: "une vieille histoire" | | 1875-01-28 | 029.0090 | Wins pigeon shoot: ten straight | | 1875-08-30 | 040.0106 | Dyes his moustache and remaining hair | | 1876-07-22 | 064.0022 | "Son éternel sourire; vu mon âge, il sourit un peu moins" | | 1879-08-24 | 086.0046 | Dieppe: "vous vous rappelez... de mes acrostiches?" | | 1882-01-20 | 094.0033 | Marquise de Lambertye at Kessler soirée | | 1882-09-22 | 096.0087 | Dinner at Viroflay; marriage of convenience story | | 1883-04-24 | 099.0042 | Family dines at Mme de Lambertye's |

Related Entries

People

- #Audiffret -- Fellow Nice society figure, often seen with Lambertye
- #Bijou -- Person with curly hair Lambertye is compared to
- #Chimay -- Drives with Lambertye
- #Clementine_Durand -- Mother's way of looking at her compared to Lambertye's gaze
- #Conquista -- Seen with Lambertye leaving Duchess de Mouchy's
- #Duke_of_Hamilton -- The true obsession; Lambertye was to be stepping-stone to Hamilton
- #Duchess_de_Mouchy -- Lambertye in her social circle
- #Galve -- Pigeon-shooting rival and social companion
- #Gavini -- Social connection in Paris
- #Martin_Baton -- Gardener whose poodle resembles Lambertye
- #Pavloucha -- Notices Marie's distress when Lambertye absent
- #Soria -- Mother's preferred alternative to Lambertye
- #Valsenter -- Example of tall women Lambertye admires ("les obélisques")
- #Walzeff -- Another marriage prospect mentioned alongside Lambertye

Places and Themes

- #Cercle_de_la_Mediterranee -- Members watch from balcony
- #Detroit_des_Mouches -- Lambertye stationed with Labanoff
- #Theater -- Theater as social observatory
- #Grande_Bretagne -- Carnival encounter location

External References

- Famille de Lambertye -- Wikipédia
- Antoine-François, marquis de Lambertye -- Wikipedia
- Manuel de Lambertye -- Wikipedia (possible descendant, 1924 Olympic trap shooter)
- Généalogie de la maison de Lambertie, abbé A. Lecler (1895) -- Gallica