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the lesser bourgeoisie-第15节

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love a noble nature struggling against misfortune; Christian charity
enfolds both the strong and the weak; its treasure belongs to both。
Refined; graceful; elegant as you are; made to be an ornament of the
highest society; what man could see you without feeling an immense
compassion in his heartburied here among these odious bourgeois; who
know nothing of you; not even the aristocratic value of a single one
of your attitudes; or those enchanting inflections of your voice! Ah!
if I were only rich! if I had power! your husband; who is certainly a
good fellow; should be made receiver…general; and you yourself could
get him elected deputy。 But; alas! poor ambitious man; my first duty
is to silence my ambition。 Knowing myself at the bottom of the bag
like the last number in a family lottery; I can only offer you my arm
and not my heart。 I hope all from a good marriage; and; believe me; I
shall make my wife not only happy; but I shall make her one of the
first in the land; receiving from her the means of success。 It is so
fine a day; will you not take a turn in the Luxembourg?〃 he added; as
they reached the rue d'Enfer at the corner of Colleville's house;
opposite to which was a passage leading to the gardens by the stairway
of a little building; the last remains of the famous convent of the
Chartreux。

The soft yielding of the arm within his own; indicated a tacit consent
to this proposal; and as Flavie deserved the honor of a sort of
enthusiasm; he drew her vehemently along; exclaiming:

〃Come! we may never have so good a momentBut see!〃 he added; 〃there
is your husband at the window looking at us; let us walk slowly。〃

〃You have nothing to fear from Monsieur Colleville;〃 said Flavie;
smiling; 〃he leaves me mistress of my own actions。〃

〃Ah! here; indeed; is the woman I have dreamed of;〃 cried the
Provencal; with that ecstasy that inflames the soul only; and in tones
that issue only from Southern lips。 〃Pardon me; madame;〃 he said;
recovering himself; and returning from an upper sphere to the exiled
angel whom he looked at piously;〃pardon me; I abandon what I was
saying; but how can a man help feeling for the sorrows he has known
himself when he sees them the lot of a being to whom life should bring
only joy and happiness? Your sufferings are mine; I am no more in my
right place than you are in yours; the same misfortune has made us
brother and sister。 Ah! dear Flavie; the first day it was granted to
me to see youthe last Sunday in September; 1838you were very
beautiful; I shall often recall you to memory in that pretty little
gown of mousseline…de…laine of the color of some Scottish tartan! That
day I said to myself: 'Why is that woman so often at the Thuilliers';
above all; why did she ever have intimate relations with Thuillier
himself?'〃

〃Monsieur!〃 said Flavie; alarmed at the singular course la Peyrade was
giving to the conversation。

〃Eh! I know all;〃 he cried; accompanying the words with a shrug of his
shoulders。 〃I explain it all to my own mind; and I do not respect you
less。 You now have to gather the fruits of your sin; and I will help
you。 Celeste will be very rich; and in that lies your own future。 You
can have only one son…in…law; chose him wisely。 An ambitious man might
become a minister; but you would humble your daughter and make her
miserable; and if such a man lost his place and fortune he could never
recover it。 Yes; I love you;〃 he continued。 〃I love you with an
unlimited affection; you are far above the mass of petty
considerations in which silly women entangle themselves。 Let us
understand each other。〃

Flavie was bewildered; she was; however; awake to the extreme
frankness of such language; and she said to herself; 〃He is not a
secret manoeuvrer; certainly。〃 Moreover; she admitted to her own mind
that no one had ever so deeply stirred and excited her as this young
man。

〃Monsieur;〃 she said; 〃I do not know who could have put into your mind
so great an error as to my life; nor by what right you〃

〃Ah! pardon me; madame;〃 interrupted the Provencal with a coolness
that smacked of contempt。 〃I must have dreamed it。 I said to myself;
'She is all that!' But I see I was judging from the outside。 I know
now why you are living and will always live on a fourth floor in the
rue d'Enfer。〃

And he pointed his speech with an energetic gesture toward the
Colleville windows; which could be seen through the passage from the
alley of the Luxembourg; where they were walking alone; in that
immense tract trodden by so many and various young ambitions。

〃I have been frank; and I expected reciprocity;〃 resumed Theodose。 〃I
myself have had days without food; madame; I have managed to live;
pursue my studies; obtain my degree; with two thousand francs for my
sole dependence; and I entered Paris through the Barriere d'Italie;
with five hundred francs in my pocket; firmly resolved; like one of my
compatriots; to become; some day; one of the foremost men of our
country。 The man who has often picked his food from baskets of scraps
where the restaurateurs put their refuse; which are emptied at six
o'clock every morningthat man is not likely to recoil before any
means;avowable; of course。 Well; do you think me the friend of the
people?〃 he said; smiling。 〃One has to have a speaking…trumpet to
reach the ear of Fame; she doesn't listen if you speak with your lips;
and without fame of what use is talent? The poor man's advocate means
to be some day the advocate of the rich。 Is that plain speaking? Don't
I open my inmost being to you? Then open your heart to me。 Say to me;
'Let us be friends;' and the day will come when we shall both be
happy。〃

〃Good heavens! why did I ever come here? Why did I ever take your
arm?〃 cried Flavie。

〃Because it is in your destiny;〃 he replied。 〃Ah! my dear; beloved
Flavie;〃 he added; again pressing her arm upon his heart; 〃did you
expect to hear the vulgarities of love from me? We are brother and
sister; that is all。〃

And he led her towards the passage to return to the rue d'Enfer。

Flavie felt a sort of terror in the depths of the contentment which
all women find in violent emotions; and she took that terror for the
sort of fear which a new passion always excites; but for all that; she
felt she was fascinated; and she walked along in absolute silence。

〃What are you thinking of?〃 asked Theodose; when they reached the
middle of the passage。

〃Of what you have just said to me;〃 she answered。

〃At our age;〃 he said; 〃it is best to suppress preliminaries; we are
not children; we both belong to a sphere in which we should understand
each other。 Remember this;〃 he added; as they reached the rue d'Enfer。
〃I am wholly yours。〃

So saying; he bowed low to her。

〃The iron's in the fire now!〃 he thought to himself as he watched his
giddy prey on her way home。



CHAPTER VI

A KEYNOTE

When Theodose reached home he found; waiting for him on the landing; a
personage who is; as it were; the submarine current of this history;
he will be found within it like some buried church on which has risen
the facade of a palace。 The sight of this man; who; after vainly
ringing at la Peyrade's door; was now trying that of Dutocq; made the
Provencal barrister tremblebut secretly; within himself; not
betraying externally his inward emotion。 This man was Cerizet; whom
Dutocq had mentioned to Thuillier as his copying…clerk。

Cerizet was only thirty…eight years old; but he looked a man of fifty;
so aged had he become from causes which age all men。 His hairless head
had a yellow skull; ill…covered by a rusty; discolored wig; the mask
of his face; pale; flabby; and unnaturally rough; seemed the more
horrible because the nose was eaten away; though not sufficiently to
admit of its being replaced by a false one。 From the spring of this
nose at the forehead; down to the nostrils; it remained as nature had
made it; but disease; after gnawing away the sides near the
extremities; had left two holes of fantastic shape; which vitiated
pronunciation and hampered speech。 The eyes; originally handsome; but
weakened by misery of all kinds and by sleepless nights; were red
around the edges; and deeply sunken; the glance of those eyes; when
the soul sent into them an expression of malignancy; would have
frightened both judges and criminals; or any others whom nothing
usually affrights。

The mouth; toothless except for a few black fangs; was threatening;
the saliva made a foam within it; which did not; however; pass the
pale thin lips。 Cerizet; a short man; less spare than shrunken;
endeavored to remedy the defects of his person by his clothes; and
although his garments were not those of opulence; he kept them in a
condition of neatness which may even have increased his forlorn
appearance。 Everything about him seemed dubious; his age; his nose;
his glance inspired doubt。 It was impossible to know if he were
thirty…eight or sixty; if his faded blue trousers; which fitted him
well; were of a coming or a past fashion。 His boots; worn at the
heels; but scrupulously blacked; resoled for the third time; and very
choice; originally; may have trodden in their day a ministerial
carpet。 The frock coat; soake

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