During the days of the removal Riquet roamed sadly through the devastated2 rooms. He regarded Zoe and Pauline with suspicion, as their arrival had been closely followed by the complete upheaval3 of his formerly4 peaceful home. The tears of old Angélique, who wept all day long in her kitchen, increased his depression. His most cherished habits were set at naught5; the strange, ill-clad, fierce and insulting men troubled his repose6; they even went so far as to enter the kitchen and kick away his plate of food and bowl of fresh water. Chairs were taken from him as soon as he lay upon them, and carpets were abruptly7 dragged from beneath his persecuted9 body, so that in his own home he no longer knew where to lay his head.
To his honour be it said that at first he had sought to resist. When the water-tank was removed he had barked furiously at the enemy, but no one heeded10 the alarm. No one gave him any encouragement; nay11, he was, indeed, actually opposed. “Be quiet,” rapped out Mademoiselle Zoe, and Pauline had added, “Riquet, you are perfectly12 absurd!”
Thenceforth he decided13 not to waste his time in giving warnings that fell on deaf ears or to labour unaided for the common good, and he grieved silently over the ruined house, and wandered from room to room vainly seeking a little peace. When the pantechnicon men entered the room in which he had taken refuge he would prudently14 hide beneath some table or sideboard which had not yet been taken away. But this precaution was more harmful than helpful to him, for presently the piece of furniture tottered15 above him, rose, and fell again, creaking ominously17 and threatening to crush him. With bristling18 coat and haggard features he took to his heels only to seek another place of refuge as precarious19 as the last.
But these material inconveniences, nay, these perils20, were trifling21 matters in comparison with the pain that filled his heart. It was his moral, so to speak, that was most affected22.
To him the articles of furniture were not inanimate objects but living and kindly23 beings, favourable24 genii whose departure was a presage25 of dire26 misfortune. Dishes and frying-pans, saucepans and sugar-basins, all the divinities of the kitchen; arm-chairs, carpets, cushions, all the fetishes of the fireside, his Lares and his household gods, had disappeared. He did not believe that so great a disaster could ever be made good, and his little soul grieved over it to the very limit of its capacity. Happily, like the human soul, it was easily distracted and quick to forget its woes27. During the lengthy28 absences of the thirsty removers, when old Angélique’s broom stirred up the ancient dust upon the floor, Riquet scented29 the smell of mice, or watched a scurrying30 spider, and his fickle31 fancy was diverted awhile; but he soon relapsed into melancholy32.
On the day of departure, seeing that matters were growing worse from hour to hour, he was utterly33 miserable34. It seemed to him a peculiarly ominous16 thing that they should thrust the linen35 into dismal36-looking chests. Pauline was packing her own boxes with joyful37 eagerness. He turned from her as though she were doing an evil thing, and huddled38 against the wall. “The worst has come,” he thought. “This is the end of all things!”
Whether he believed that things ceased to exist when he saw them no longer, or whether he was only anxious to avoid a painful spectacle, he was careful not to look in Pauline’s direction. As she went to and fro she chanced to notice Riquet’s attitude, and its melancholy struck her as comical. Laughing, she called him: “Here, Riquet, here!” But he would neither stir from his corner nor turn his head. He hadn’t at that moment the heart to caress39 his young mistress, and a secret instinct, a kind of foreboding, warned him not to go too near to the gaping40 trunk. Pauline called him several times, and as he did not respond she went over to him and picked him up in her arms.
“How miserable we are!” she said. “How much to be pitied!”
Her tone was ironical41; Riquet did not understand irony42. He lay motionless and dejected in her arms, feigning43 to see nothing, to hear nothing.
“Look at me, Riquet!” she demanded. Three times she bade him look at her, but in vain. Then, simulating violent anger, she threw him into the trunk, crying, “In you go, stupid!” and banged the lid on him. At that moment her aunt called her, and she went out of the room, leaving Riquet in the trunk.
He felt exceedingly uneasy, for it never entered his head that Pauline had put him there for fun, and merely to tease him. Judging that his position was quite bad enough already, he endeavoured not to aggravate44 it by thoughtless behaviour. For some moments, therefore, he remained motionless without even drawing a breath. Then, feeling that no fresh disaster threatened him, he thought he had better explore his gloomy prison. He pawed the petticoats and chemises upon which he had been so cruelly precipitated45, seeking some outlet46 by which he might escape. He had been busy for two or three minutes when Monsieur Bergeret, who was getting ready to go out, called him:
“Riquet! Riquet! Here! we’re going to the bookshop to say good-bye to Paillot! Here! Where are you?”
Monsieur Bergeret’s voice comforted Riquet greatly. He replied to it by a desperate scratching at the wicker sides of the trunk.
“Where is the dog?” inquired Monsieur Bergeret of Pauline, who at that moment returned, carrying a pile of linen.
“In my trunk, papa.”
“Why in the trunk?”
“Because I put him there.”
Monsieur Bergeret went up to the trunk, and remarked:
“It was thus that the child Comatas, who played upon the flute47 as he kept his master’s goats, was imprisoned48 in a chest, where he was fed on honey by the bees of the Muses49. But not so with you, Riquet; you would have died of hunger in this trunk, for you are not dear to the immortal50 Muses.”
Having spoken, Monsieur Bergeret freed his little friend, who with wagging tail followed him as far as the hall. Then a thought appeared to strike him. He returned to Pauline’s room, ran to her and jumped up against her skirt, and only when he had riotously51 embraced her as a sign of his adoration52 did he rejoin his master on the stairs. He would have felt that he was lacking in wisdom and piety53 had he failed to bestow54 these tokens of affection on a being whose power had plunged55 him into the depths of a trunk.
Monsieur Bergeret thought Paillot’s shop a dismal, ugly place. Paillot and his assistant were busy “calling over” the list of goods supplied to the Communal56 School. This task prevented him from prolonging his farewell to the professor. He had never had very much to say for himself and as he grew older he was gradually losing the habit of speech. He was weary of selling books; he saw that it was all over with the trade and was longing57 for the time to come when he could give up his business and retire to his place in the country, where he always spent his Sundays.
As was his wont58, Monsieur Bergeret made for the corner where the old books were kept and took down volume XXXVIII of The World’s Explorers. The book opened as usual at pages 212 and 213, and once more he perused59 these uninspiring lines:
“... towards a northerly passage. ‘It was owing to this check,’ said he, ‘that we were able to revisit the Sandwich Islands and enrich our voyage by a discovery which, although the last, seems in many respects to be the most important which has yet been made by Europeans in the whole extent of the Pacific Ocean.’ The happy anticipations60 which these words appeared to announce were, unhappily, not realized....”
These lines, which he was reading for the hundredth time, and which reminded him of so many hours of his commonplace and laborious61 existence, which was embellished62, nevertheless, by the fruitful labours of the mind; these lines, for whose meaning he had never sought, filled him, on this occasion, with melancholy and discouragement, as though they contained a symbol of the emptiness of all human hopes, an expression of the universal void. He closed the book, which he had opened so often and was never to open again, and dejectedly left the shop.
In the Place Saint-Exupère he cast a last glance at the house of Queen Marguerite. The rays of the setting sun gleamed upon its historic beams, and in the violent contrast of light and shade the escutcheon of Philippe Tricouillard proudly displayed the outlines of its gorgeous coat of arms, placed there as an eloquent63 example and a reproach to the barren city.
Having re-entered the empty house, Riquet pawed his master’s legs, looking up at him with his beautiful sorrowing eyes, that said: “You, formerly so rich and powerful, have you, O master, become poor? Have you grown powerless? You suffer men clad in filthy64 rags to invade your study, your bedroom and your dining-room, to fall upon your furniture and drag it out of doors. They drag your deep arm-chair down the stairs, your chair and mine, in which we sat to rest every evening, and often in the morning, side by side. In the clutch of these ragged8 men I heard it groan65, that chair which is so great a fetish and so benevolent66 a spirit. And you never resisted these invaders67. If you have lost all the genii that used to fill your house, even to the little divinities, that you used to put on your feet every morning when you got out of bed, those slippers68 which I used to worry in my play, if you are poor and miserable, O my master, what will become of me?”
“Lucien, we have no time to lose,” said Zoe. “The train goes at eight and we have had no dinner. Let us go and dine at the station.”
“To-morrow you will be in Paris,” said Monsieur Bergeret to Riquet. “Paris is a famous and a generous city. To be honest, however, I must point out that this generosity69 is not vouchsafed70 alike to all its inhabitants. On the contrary, it is confined to a very small number of its citizens. But a whole city, a whole nation resides in the few who think more forcefully and more justly than the rest. The others do not count. What we call the spirit of a race attains71 consciousness only in imperceptible minorities. Minds which are sufficiently72 free to rid themselves of vulgar terrors and discover for themselves the veiled truths are rare in any place!”
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1
supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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devastated
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| v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的 | |
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upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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13
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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14
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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15
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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16
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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18
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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presage
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| n.预感，不祥感；v.预示 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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lengthy
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| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
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29
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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30
scurrying
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 ) | |
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31
fickle
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| adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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33
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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38
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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39
caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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40
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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41
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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42
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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43
feigning
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| 假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
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44
aggravate
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| vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火 | |
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45
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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46
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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47
flute
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| n.长笛；v.吹笛 | |
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48
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
muses
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的第三人称单数 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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50
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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51
riotously
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| adv.骚动地，暴乱地 | |
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52
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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53
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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54
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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55
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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56
communal
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| adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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59
perused
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| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
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60
anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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61
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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62
embellished
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| v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
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63
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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65
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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66
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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67
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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68
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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69
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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70
vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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71
attains
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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72
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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