A few seconds later, and there was a head-splitting racket in the room, a storm of tomfoolery, a sort of cats' concert, with Vautrin as conductor of the orchestra, the latter keeping an eye the while on Eugene and Father Goriot. The wine seemed to have gone to their heads already. They leaned back in their chairs, looking at the general confusion with an air of gravity, and drank but little; both of them were absorbed in the thought of what lay before them to do that evening, and yet neither of them felt able to rise and go. Vautrin gave a side glance at them from time to time, and watched the change that came over their faces, choosing the moment when their eyes drooped1 and seemed about to close, to bend over Rastignac and to say in his ear:-
"My little lad, you are not quite shrewd enough to outwit Papa Vautrin yet, and he is too fond of you to let you make a mess of your affairs. When I have made up my mind to do a thing, no one short of Providence2 can put me off. Aha! we were for going round to warn old Taillefer, telling tales out of school! The oven is hot, the dough3 is kneaded, the bread is ready for the oven; tomorrow we will eat it up and whisk away the crumbs4; and we are not going to spoil the baking? . . . No, no, it is all as good as done! We may suffer from a few conscientious5 scruples6, but they will be digested along with the bread. While we are having our forty winks7, Colonel Count Franchessini will clear the way to Michel Taillefer's inheritance with the point of his sword. Victorine will come in for her brother's money, a snug8 fifteen thousand francs a year. I have made inquiries9 already, and I know that her late mother's property amounts to more than three hundred thousand----"
Eugene heard all this, and could not answer a word; his tongue seemed to be glued to the roof of his mouth, an irresistible10 drowsiness11 was creeping over him. He still saw the table and the faces round it, but it was through a bright mist. Soon the noise began to subside12, one by one the boarders went. At last, when their numbers had so dwindled13 that the party consisted of Mme. Vauquer, Mme. Couture, Mlle. Victorine, Vautrin, and Father Goriot, Rastignac watched as though in a dream how Mme. Vauquer busied herself by collecting the bottles, and drained the remainder of the wine out of each to fill others.
"Oh! how uproarious they are! what a thing it is to be young!" said the widow.
These were the last words that Eugene heard and understood.
"There is no one like M. Vautrin for a bit of fun like this," said Sylvie. "There, just hark at Christophe, he is snoring like a top."
"Good-bye, mamma," said Vautrin; "I am going to a theatre on the boulevard to see M. Marty in Le Mont Sauvage, a fine play taken from Le Solitaire. . . . If you like, I will take you and these two ladies----"
"Thank you; I must decline," said Mme. Couture.
"What! my good lady!" cried Mme. Vauquer, "decline to see a play founded on the Le Solitaire, a work by Atala de Chateaubriand? We were so fond of that book that we cried over it like Magdalens under the line-trees last summer, and then it is an improving work that might edify14 your young lady."
"We are forbidden to go to the play," answered Victorine.
"Just look, those two yonder have dropped off where they sit," said Vautrin, shaking the heads of the two sleepers15 in a comical way.
He altered the sleeping student's position, settled his head more comfortably on the back of his chair, kissed him warmly on the forehead, and began to sing:
"Sleep, little darlings; I watch while you slumber16."
"I am afraid he may be ill," said Victorine.
"Then stop and take care of him," returned Vautrin. " 'Tis your duty as a meek17 and obedient wife," he whispered in her ear. "the young fellow worships you, and you will be his little wife-there's your fortune for you. In short," he added aloud, "they lived happily ever afterwards, were much looked up to in all the countryside, and had a numerous family. That is how all the romances end.--Now, mamma," he went on, as he turned to Madame Vauquer and put his arm round her waist, "put on your bonnet19, your best flowered silk, and the countess' scarf, while I go out and call a cab--all my own self."
And he started out, singing as he went:
"Oh! sun! divine sun!
Ripening20 the pumpkins21 every one."
"My goodness! Well, I'm sure! Mme. Couture, I could live happily in a garret with a man like that.--There, now!" she added, looking round for the old vermicelli maker22, "there is that Father Goriot half seas over. HE never thought of taking me anywhere, the old skinflint. But he will measure his length somewhere. My word! it is disgraceful to lose his senses like that, at his age! You will be telling me that he couldn't lose what he hadn't got-Sylvie, just take him up to his room!"
Sylvie took him by the arm, supported him upstairs, and flung him just as he was, like a package, across the bed.
"Poor young fellow!" said Mme. Couture, putting back Eugene's hair that had fallen over his eyes; "he is like a young girl, he does not know what dissipation is."
"Well, I can tell you this, I know," said Mme. Vauquer, "I have taken lodgers24 these thirty years, and a good many have passed through my hands, as the saying is, but I have never seen a nicer nor a more aristocratic looking young man than M. Eugene. How handsome he looks sleeping! Just let his head rest on your shoulder, Mme. Couture. Pshaw! he falls over towards Mlle. Victorine. There's a special providence for young things. A little more, and he would have broken his head against the knob of the chair. They'd make a pretty pair those two would!"
"Hush25, my good neighbor," cried Mme. Couture, "you are saying such things----"
"Pooh!" put in Mme. Vauquer, "he does not hear.--Here, Sylvie! come and help me to dress. I shall put on my best stays."
"What! your best stays just after dinner, madame?" said Sylvie. "No, you can get some one else to lace you. I am not going to be your murderer. It's a rash thing to do, and might cost you your life."
"I don't care, I must do honor to M. Vautrin."
"Are you so fond of your heirs as all that?"
"Come, Sylvie, don't argue," said the widow, as she left the room.
"At her age, too!" said the cook to Victorine, pointing to her mistress as she spoke26.
Mme. Couture and her ward18 were left in the dining-room, and Eugene slept on Victorine's shoulder. The sound of Christophe's snoring echoed through the silent house; Eugene's quiet breathing seemed all the quieter by force of contrast, he was sleeping as peacefully as a child. Victorine was very happy; she was free to perform one of those acts of charity which form an innocent outlet27 for all the overflowing28 sentiments of a woman's nature; he was so close to her that she could feel the throbbing29 of his heart; there was a look of almost maternal30 protection and conscious pride in Victorine's face. Among the countless31 thoughts that crowded up in her young innocent heart, there was a wild flutter of joy at this close contact.
"Poor, dear child!" said Mme. Couture, squeezing her hand.
The old lady looked at the girl. Victorine's innocent, pathetic face, so radiant with the new happiness that had befallen her, called to mind some naive32 work of mediaeval art, when the painter neglected the accessories, reserving all the magic of his brush for the quiet, austere33 outlines and ivory tints34 of the face, which seems to have caught something of the golden glory of heaven.
"After all, he only took two glasses, mamma," said Victorine, passing her fingers through Eugene's hair.
"Indeed, if he had been a dissipated young man, child, he would have carried his wine like the rest of them. His drowsiness does him credit."
There was a sound of wheels outside in the street.
"There is M. Vautrin, mamma," said the girl. "Just take M. Eugene. I would rather not have that man see me like this; there are some ways of looking at you that seem to sully your soul and make you feel as though you had nothing on."
"Oh, no, you are wrong!" said Mme. Couture. "M. Vautrin is a worthy35 man; he reminds me a little of my late husband, poor dear M. Couture, rough but kind-hearted; his bark is worse than his bite."
Vautrin came in while she was speaking; he did not make a sound, but looked for a while at the picture of the two young faces--the lamplight falling full upon them seemed to caress36 them.
"Well," he remarked, folding his arms, "here is a picture! It would have suggested some pleasing pages to Bernardin de SaintPierre (good soul), who wrote Paul et Virginie. Youth is very charming, Mme. Couture!--Sleep on, poor boy," he added, looking at Eugene, "luck sometimes comes while you are sleeping.--There is something touching37 and attractive to me about this young man, madame," he continued; "I know that his nature is in harmony with his face. Just look, the head of a cherub38 on an angel's shoulder! He deserves to be loved. If I were a woman, I would die (no--not such a fool), I would live for him." He bent39 lower and spoke in the widow's ear. "When I see those two together, madame, I cannot help thinking that Providence meant them for each other; He works by secret ways, and tries the reins40 and the heart," he said in a loud voice. "And when I see you, my children, thus united by a like purity and by all human affections, I say to myself that it is quite impossible that the future should separate you. God is just."--He turned to Victorine. "It seems to me," he said, "that I have seen the line of success in your hand. Let me look at it, Mlle. Victorine; I am well up in palmistry, and I have told fortunes many a time. Come, now, don't be frightened. Ah! what do I see? Upon my word, you will be one of the richest heiresses in Paris before very long. You will heap riches on the man who loves you. Your father will want you to go and live with him. You will marry a young and handsome man with a title, and he will idolize you."
The heavy footsteps of the coquettish widow, who was coming down the stairs, interrupted Vautrin's fortune-telling. "Here is Mamma Vauquerre, fair as a starr-r-r, dressed within an inch of her life.--Aren't we a trifle pinched for room?" he inquired, with his arm round the lady; "we are screwed up very tightly about the bust41, mamma! If we are much agitated42, there may be an explosion; but I will pick up the fragments with all the care of an antiquary."
"There is a man who can talk the language of French gallantry!" said the widow, bending to speak in Mme. Couture's ear.
"Good-bye, little ones!" said Vautrin, turning to Eugene and Victorine. "Bless you both!" and he laid a hand on either head. "Take my word for it, young lady, an honest man's prayers are worth something; they should bring you happiness, for God hears them."
"Good-bye, dear," said Mme. Vauquer to her lodger23. "Do you think that M. Vautrin means to run away with me?" she added, lowering her voice.
"Lack-a-day!" said the widow.
"Oh! mamma dear, suppose it should really happen as that kind M. Vautrin said!" said Victorine with a sigh as she looked at her hands. The two women were alone together.
"Why, it wouldn't take much to bring it to pass," said the elderly lady; "just a fall from his horse, and your monster of a brother----"
"Oh! mamma."
"Good Lord! Well, perhaps it is a sin to wish bad luck to an enemy," the widow remarked. "I will do penance43 for it. Still, I would strew44 flowers on his grave with the greatest pleasure, and that is the truth. Black-hearted, that he is! The coward couldn't speak up for his own mother, and cheats you out of your share by deceit and trickery. My cousin had a pretty fortune of her own, but unluckily for you, nothing was said in the marriage-contract about anything that she might come in for."
"It would be very hard if my fortune is to cost some one else his life," said Victorine. "If I cannot be happy unless my brother is to be taken out of the world, I would rather stay here all my life."
"MON DIEU! it is just as that good M. Vautrin says, and he is full of piety45, you see," Mme. Couture remarked. "I am very glad to find that he is not an unbeliever like the rest of them that talk of the Almighty46 with less respect than they do of the Devil. Well, as he was saying, who can know the ways by which it may please Providence to lead us?"
With Sylvie's help the two women at last succeeded in getting Eugene up to his room; they laid him on the bed, and the cook unfastened his clothes to make him more comfortable. Before they left the room, Victorine snatched an opportunity when her guardian's back was turned, and pressed a kiss on Eugene's forehead, feeling all the joy that this stolen pleasure could give her. Then she looked round the room, and gathering47 up, as it were, into one single thought all the untold48 bliss49 of that day, she made a picture of her memories, and dwelt upon it until she slept, the happiest creature in Paris.
That evening's merry-making, in the course of which Vautrin had given the drugged wine to Eugene and Father Goriot, was his own ruin. Bianchon, flustered50 with wine, forgot to open the subject of Trompe-la-Mort with Mlle. Michonneau. The mere51 mention of the name would have set Vautrin on his guard; for Vautrin, or, to give him his real name, Jacques Collin, was in fact the notorious escaped convict.
But it was the joke about the Venus of Pere-Lachaise that finally decided52 his fate. Mlle. Michonneau had very nearly made up her mind to warn the convict and to throw herself on his generosity53, with the idea of making a better bargain for herself by helping54 him to escape that night; but as it was, she went out escorted by Poiret in search of the famous chief of detectives in the Petite Rue55 Saint-Anne, still thinking that it was the district superintendent--one Gondureau--with whom she had to do. The head of the department received his visitors courteously56. There was a little talk, and the details were definitely arranged. Mlle. Michonneau asked for the draught57 that she was to administer in order to set about her investigation58. But the great man's evident satisfaction set Mlle. Michonneau thinking; and she began to see that this business involved something more than the mere capture of a runaway59 convict. She racked her brains while he looked in a drawer in his desk for the little phial, and it dawned upon her that in consequence of treacherous60 revelations made by the prisoners the police were hoping to lay their hands on a considerable sum of money. But on hinting her suspicions to the old fox of the Petite Rue Saint-Anne, that officer began to smile, and tried to put her off the scent61.
"A delusion," he said. "Collin's sorbonne is the most dangerous that has yet been found among the dangerous classes. That is all, and the rascals62 are quite aware of it. They rally round him; he is the backbone63 of the federation64, its Bonaparte, in short; he is very popular with them all. The rogue65 will never leave his chump in the Place de Greve."
As Mlle. Michonneau seemed mystified, Gondureau explained the two slang words for her benefit. Sorbonne and chump are two forcible expressions borrowed from thieves' Latin, thieves, of all people, being compelled to consider the human head in its two aspects. A sorbonne is the head of a living man, his faculty66 of thinking-his council; a chump is a contemptuous epithet67 that implies how little a human head is worth after the axe68 has done its work.
"Collin is playing us off," he continued. "When we come across a man like a bar of steel tempered in the English fashion, there is always one resource left--we can kill him if he takes it into his head to make the least resistance. We are reckoning on several methods of killing69 Collin to-morrow morning. It saves a trial, and society is rid of him without all the expense of guarding and feeding him. What with getting up the case, summoning witnesses, paying their expenses, and carrying out the sentence, it costs a lot to go through all the proper formalities before you can get quit of one of these good-for-nothings, over and above the three thousand francs that you are going to have. There is a saving in time as well. One good thrust of the bayonet into Trompe-laMort's paunch will prevent scores of crimes, and save fifty scoundrels from following his example; they will be very careful to keep themselves out of the police courts. That is doing the work of the police thoroughly70, and true philanthropists will tell you that it is better to prevent crime than to punish it."
"And you do a service to our country," said Poiret.
"Really, you are talking in a very sensible manner tonight, that you are," said the head of the department. "Yes, of course, we are serving our country, and we are very hardly used too. We do society very great services that are not recognized. In fact, a superior man must rise above vulgar prejudices, and a Christian71 must resign himself to the mishaps72 that doing right entails73, when right is done in an out-of-the-way style. Paris is Paris, you see! That is the explanation of my life.--I have the honor to wish you a good-evening, mademoiselle. I shall bring my men to the Jardin du Roi in the morning. Send Christophe to the Rue du Buffon, tell him to ask for M. Gondureau in the house where you saw me before.--Your servant, sir. If you should ever have anything stolen from you, come to me, and I will do my best to get it back for you."
"Well, now," Poiret remarked to Mlle. Michonneau, "there are idiots who are scared out of their wits by the word police. That was a very pleasant-spoken gentleman, and what he wants you to do is as easy as saying 'Good-day.' "
收听单词发音 |
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drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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dough
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| n.生面团；钱，现款 | |
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crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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drowsiness
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| n.睡意；嗜睡 | |
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subside
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| vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降 | |
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dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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edify
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| v.陶冶；教化；启发 | |
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sleepers
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| n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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meek
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| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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pumpkins
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| n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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lodger
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| n.寄宿人，房客 | |
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lodgers
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| n.房客，租住者( lodger的名词复数 ) | |
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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naive
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| adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的 | |
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austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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cherub
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| n.小天使，胖娃娃 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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penance
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| n.（赎罪的）惩罪 | |
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strew
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| vt.撒；使散落；撒在…上，散布于 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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47
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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50
flustered
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| adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词) | |
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51
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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52
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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53
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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54
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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55
rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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57
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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59
runaway
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| n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的 | |
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60
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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61
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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federation
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| n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会 | |
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rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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66
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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epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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68
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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69
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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mishaps
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| n.轻微的事故，小的意外( mishap的名词复数 ) | |
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entails
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| 使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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