SAINT-LOUP 301hint that the church might possess a beauty of its own, in-
dependent of the hot sunlight in the market-place, the townsfolk
in their Sunday clothes, and the sound of the bells. But he now
contributed something also of his own vision; for Ruskin would
have remained indifferent to the humble merits of the eleventh-
century romanesque door which matched that of the long-dead
Louis Proust's house in the Rue du Cheval Blanc, or the massive
roughstone walls, still encroached upon by the hatter's and other
shops, of the market-place front; and the Master would have
called down fire from heaven on the modern stained-glass and
purple panelling of Abbe Carre, or the floor-tiles and altar 'in
fifteenth-century style' of the good Canon Marquis, which seemed
natural and kindly to Proust, because they had already been
there in his childhood. The visit marks a further stage in Proust's
recovery of his past, and his growing ability to perceive in it the
truths of which his boyhood eyes had been only unconsciously
aware.
On the way back from Chartres Proust had a violent attack
of asthma, which prevented him from going to bed that night,
but not from lunching, still sleepless, with Antoine at Weber's
next morning: 'I've been longing for ages, I don't know why, to
see you in that place at midday, when the sun is shining.'
It was after the Chartres visit that he began to take a moderate
interest in Emmanuel Bibesco. At first he forbade Antoine to
bring him to 45 Rue de Courcelles: 'I've nothing against him, of
course, as he's charming, but I couldn't possibly see him, and
Mama would never allow it, when I'm in bed undressed and
wearing my untidy pullovers.' But soon he was writing: 'If your
brother wants to see me we could all three meet in the evening,
whenever he likes, or even in the daytime if he wants to visit
country churches, but it will have to be before my hay-fever
begins, that is, not later than 17 or 18 April.' This plan led to two
other memorable journeys, the first of which was a direct con-
sequence of Marie Nordlinger's example, and a logical sequel to
the visit to Chartres.
On a Friday, probably 21 March, they set out in a cavalcade
of two motor-cars: one of these, belonging to Emmanuel
Bibesco, was enclosed, enabling Proust to travel without fear of
draughts and asthma, while the other, Lucien Henraux's, was open
and suitable for fresh-air fiends. They visited Provins and Saint-