I had received one of those unacknowledged shocks which startle us, when, fancying ourselves perfectly6 alone, we discover on a sudden that our antics have been watched by a spectator, almost at our elbow. In this case the effect was enhanced by the extreme repulsiveness7 of the face, and, I may add, its proximity8, for, as I think, it almost touched mine. The enigmatical harangue9 of this person, so full of hatred10 and implied denunciation, was still in my ears. Here at all events was new matter for the industrious11 fancy of a lover to work upon.
It was time now to go to the table-d’h?te. Who could tell what lights the gossip of the supper-table might throw upon the subject that interested me so powerfully!
I stepped into the room, my eyes searching the little assembly, about thirty people, for the persons who specially2 interested me. It was not easy to induce people, so hurried and overworked as those of the Belle12 étoile just now, to send meals up to one’s private apartments, in the midst of this unparalleled confusion; and, therefore, many people who did not like it might find themselves reduced to the alternative of supping at the table-d’h?te or starving.
The Count was not there, nor his beautiful companion; but the Marquis d’Harmonville, whom I hardly expected to see in so public a place, signed, with a significant smile, to a vacant chair beside himself. I secured it, and he seemed pleased, and almost immediately entered into conversation with me.
“This is, probably, your first visit to France?” he said.
I told him it was, and he said:
“You must not think me very curious and impertinent; but Paris is about the most dangerous capital a high-spirited and generous young gentleman could visit without a Mentor13. If you have not an experienced friend as a companion during your visit —.” He paused.
I told him I was not so provided, but that I had my wits about me; that I had seen a good deal of life in England, and that I fancied human nature was pretty much the same in all parts of the world. The Marquis shook his head, smiling.
“You will find very marked differences, notwithstanding,” he said. “Peculiarities15 of intellect and peculiarities of character, undoubtedly16, do pervade17 different nations; and this results, among the criminal classes, in a style of villainy no less peculiar14. In Paris the class who live by their wits is three or four times as great as in London; and they live much better; some of them even splendidly. They are more ingenious than the London rogues18; they have more animation19 and invention, and the dramatic faculty20, in which your countrymen are deficient21, is everywhere. These invaluable22 attributes place them upon a totally different level. They can affect the manners and enjoy the luxuries of people of distinction. They live, many of them, by play.”
“So do many of our London rogues.”
“Yes, but in a totally different way. They are the habitués of certain gaming-tables, billiard-rooms, and other places, including your races, where high play goes on; and by superior knowledge of chances, by masking their play, by means of confederates, by means of bribery23, and other artifices24, varying with the subject of their imposture25, they rob the unwary. But here it is more elaborately done, and with a really exquisite26 finesse27. There are people whose manners, style, conversation, are unexceptionable, living in handsome houses in the best situations, with everything about them in the most refined taste, and exquisitely28 luxurious29, who impose even upon the Parisian bourgeois30, who believe them to be, in good faith, people of rank and fashion, because their habits are expensive and refined, and their houses are frequented by foreigners of distinction, and, to a degree, by foolish young Frenchmen of rank. At all these houses play goes on. The ostensible31 host and hostess seldom join in it; they provide it simply to plunder32 their guests, by means of their accomplices33, and thus wealthy strangers are inveigled34 and robbed.”
“But I have heard of a young Englishman, a son of Lord Rooksbury, who broke two Parisian gaming tables only last year.”
“I see,” he said, laughing, “you are come here to do likewise. I, myself, at about your age, undertook the same spirited enterprise. I raised no less a sum than five hundred thousand francs to begin with; I expected to carry all before me by the simple expedient35 of going on doubling my stakes. I had heard of it, and I fancied that the sharpers, who kept the table, knew nothing of the matter. I found, however, that they not only knew all about it, but had provided against the possibility of any such experiments; and I was pulled up before I had well begun by a rule which forbids the doubling of an original stake more than four times consecutively36.”
“And is that rule in force still?” I inquired, chapfallen.
He laughed and shrugged37, “Of course it is, my young friend. People who live by an art always understand it better than an amateur. I see you had formed the same plan, and no doubt came provided.”
I confessed I had prepared for conquest upon a still grander scale. I had arrived with a purse of thirty thousand pounds sterling38.
“Any acquaintance of my very dear friend, Lord R— — interests me; and, besides ray regard for him, I am charmed with you; so you will pardon all my, perhaps, too officious questions and advice.”
I thanked him most earnestly for his valuable counsel, and begged that he would have the goodness to give me all the advice in his power.
“Then if you take my advice,” said he, “you will leave your money in the bank where it lies. Never risk a Napoleon in a gaming house. The night I went to break the bank I lost between seven and eight thousand pounds sterling of your English money; and my next adventure, I had obtained an introduction to one of those elegant gaming-houses which affect to be the private mansions39 of persons of distinction, and was saved from ruin by a gentleman whom, ever since, I have regarded with increasing respect and friendship. It oddly happens he is in this house at this moment. I recognized his servant, and made him a visit in his apartments here, and found him the same brave, kind, honorable man I always knew him. But that he is living so entirely40 out of the world, now, I should have made a point of introducing you. Fifteen years ago he would have been the man of all others to consult. The gentleman I speak of is the Comte de St. Alyre. He represents a very old family. He is the very soul of honor, and the most sensible man in the world, except in one particular.”
“And that particular?” I hesitated. I was now deeply interested.
“Is that he has married a charming creature, at least five-and-forty years younger than himself, and is, of course, although I believe absolutely without cause, horribly jealous.”
“And the lady?”
“The Countess is, I believe, in every way worthy41 of so good a man,” he answered, a little dryly. “I think I heard her sing this evening.”
“Yes, I daresay; she is very accomplished42.” After a few moments’ silence he continued.
“I must not lose sight of you, for I should be sorry, when next you meet my friend Lord R— — that you had to tell him you had been pigeoned in Paris. A rich Englishman as you are, with so large a sum at his Paris bankers, young, gay, generous, a thousand ghouls and harpies will be contending who shall be the first to seize and devour43 you.”
At this moment I received something like a jerk from the elbow of the gentleman at my right. It was an accidental jog, as he turned in his seat.
“On the honor of a soldier, there is no man’s flesh in this company heals so fast as mine.”
The tone in which this was spoken was harsh and stentorian44, and almost made me bounce. I looked round and recognized the officer whose large white face had half scared me in the inn-yard, wiping his mouth furiously, and then with a gulp45 of Magon, he went on:
“No one! It’s not blood; it is ichor! it’s miracle! Set aside stature46, thew, bone, and muscle — set aside courage, and by all the angels of death, I’d fight a lion naked, and dash his teeth down his jaws47 with my fist, and flog him to death with his own tail! Set aside, I say, all those attributes, which I am allowed to possess, and I am worth six men in any campaign, for that one quality of healing as I do — rip me up, punch me through, tear me to tatters with bomb-shells, and nature has me whole again, while your tailor would fine — draw an old coat. Parbleu! gentlemen, if you saw me naked, you would laugh! Look at my hand, a saber-cut across the palm, to the bone, to save my head, taken up with three stitches, and five days afterwards I was playing ball with an English general, a prisoner in Madrid, against the wall of the convent of the Santa Maria de la Castita! At Arcola, by the great devil himself! that was an action. Every man there, gentlemen, swallowed as much smoke in five minutes as would smother48 you all in this room! I received, at the same moment, two musket49 balls in the thighs50, a grape shot through the calf51 of my leg, a lance through my left shoulder, a piece of a shrapnel in the left deltoid, a bayonet through the cartilage of my right ribs52, a cut-cut that carried away a pound of flesh from my chest, and the better part of a congreve rocket on my forehead. Pretty well, ha, ha! and all while you’d say bah! and in eight days and a half I was making a forced march, without shoes, and only one gaiter, the life and soul of my company, and as sound as a roach!”
“Bravo! Bravissimo! Per Bacco! un gallant’ uomo!” exclaimed, in a martial53 ecstasy54, a fat little Italian, who manufactured toothpicks and wicker cradles on the island of Notre Dame55; “your exploits shall resound56 through Europe! and the history of those wars should be written in your blood!”
“Never mind! a trifle!” exclaimed the soldier. “At Ligny, the other day, where we smashed the Prussians into ten hundred thousand milliards of atoms, a bit of a shell cut me across the leg and opened an artery57. It was spouting58 as high as the chimney, and in half a minute I had lost enough to fill a pitcher59. I must have expired in another minute, if I had not whipped off my sash like a flash of lightning, tied it round my leg above the wound, whipt a bayonet out of the back of a dead Prussian, and passing it under, made a tourniquet60 of it with a couple of twists, and so stayed the haemorrhage and saved my life. But, sacrebleu! gentlemen, I lost so much blood, I have been as pale as the bottom of a plate ever since. No matter. A trifle. Blood well spent, gentlemen.” He applied61 himself now to his bottle of vin ordinaire.
The Marquis had closed his eyes, and looked resigned and disgusted, while all this was going on.
“Gar?on,” said the officer, for the first time speaking in a low tone over the back of his chair to the waiter; “who came in that traveling carriage, dark yellow and black, that stands in the middle of the yard, with arms and supporters emblazoned on the door, and a red stork62, as red as my facings?”
The waiter could not say.
The eye of the eccentric officer, who had suddenly grown grim and serious, and seemed to have abandoned the general conversation to other people, lighted, as it were accidentally, on me.
“Pardon me, Monsieur,” he said. “Did I not see you examining the panel of that carriage at the same time that I did so, this evening? Can you tell me who arrived in it?”
“I rather think the Count and Countess de St. Alyre.”
“And are they here, in the Belle étoile?” he asked.
“They have got apartments upstairs,” I answered.
He started up, and half pushed his chair from the table. He quickly sat down again, and I could hear him sacré-ing and muttering to himself, and grinning and scowling63. I could not tell whether he was alarmed or furious.
I turned to say a word or two to the Marquis, but he was gone. Several other people had dropped out also, and the supper party soon broke up. Two or three substantial pieces of wood smoldered64 on the hearth65, for the night had turned out chilly66. I sat down by the fire in a great armchair of carved oak, with a marvelously high back that looked as old as the days of Henry IV.
“Gar?on,” said I, “do you happen to know who that officer is?”
“That is Colonel Gaillarde, Monsieur.”
“Has he been often here?”
“Once before, Monsieur, for a week; it is a year since.”
“He is the palest man I ever saw.”
“That is true, Monsieur; he has been often taken for a revenant.”
“Can you give me a bottle of really good Burgundy?”
“The best in France, Monsieur.”
“Place it, and a glass by my side, on this table, if you please. I may sit here for half-an-hour.”
“Certainly, Monsieur.”
I was very comfortable, the wine excellent, and my thoughts glowing and serene67. “Beautiful Countess! Beautiful Countess! shall we ever be better acquainted?”
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1
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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3
scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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malevolence
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| n.恶意，狠毒 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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6
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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repulsiveness
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8
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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harangue
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| n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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14
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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16
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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pervade
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| v.弥漫，遍及，充满，渗透，漫延 | |
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18
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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19
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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20
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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21
deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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22
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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23
bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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24
artifices
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| n.灵巧( artifice的名词复数 )；诡计；巧妙办法；虚伪行为 | |
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25
imposture
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| n.冒名顶替，欺骗 | |
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26
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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finesse
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| n.精密技巧，灵巧，手腕 | |
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exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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29
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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bourgeois
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| adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子 | |
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31
ostensible
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| adj.(指理由)表面的，假装的 | |
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32
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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33
accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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inveigled
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| v.诱骗，引诱( inveigle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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consecutively
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| adv.连续地 | |
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37
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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38
sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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39
mansions
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| n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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40
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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41
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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42
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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43
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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44
stentorian
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| adj.大声的，响亮的 | |
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45
gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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46
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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47
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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48
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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49
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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50
thighs
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| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 | |
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51
calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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52
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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53
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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54
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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55
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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56
resound
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| v.回响 | |
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57
artery
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| n.干线，要道；动脉 | |
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58
spouting
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| n.水落管系统v.（指液体）喷出( spout的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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59
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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60
tourniquet
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| n.止血器，绞压器，驱血带 | |
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61
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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62
stork
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| n.鹳 | |
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63
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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64
smoldered
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| v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的过去式 ) | |
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65
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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66
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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67
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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