Looking from right to left as you went in, you would first of all notice a little blue silk settee the arms of which, shaped like a swan’s neck, reminded one of the time when Bonaparte in Paris, like Tiberius of old in Rome, was bent8 on improving the manners and customs of society. Then came another rather bigger couch upholstered in Beauvais cloth with tapestry9-covered ends; then a settee in three divisions, covered in silk; then a little wooden settee à la capucine with a covering of Turkish tapestry; then a large sofa of gilded10 wood upholstered in crimson11 figured velvet12 with cushions of the same, which had belonged to Mademoiselle Damours; then a broad, low, luxuriously13 stuffed divan7 of flame-coloured silk; and finally a tottering14 mass of soft cushions on a very low Oriental divan which, bathed in a dim rose-coloured light, stood on the left near the Baudouin room.
As she entered the room, each charming visitor could thus take in with a glance the varied15 seats and choose the one that best suited her moral character and her present state of mind. Panneton, from the first, observed his new friends, noticed their expressions, took some trouble to discover their tastes, and was careful to ensure that they should sit only where they wished to sit. The more chaste16 of his lady friends went straight to the little blue settee, placing a gloved hand on the swan’s neck. There was also a high straight-backed arm-chair of gilded wood and Genoa velvet, the former throne of a Duchess of Modena and Parma; that was for the haughty17 beauties. The Parisian ladies seated themselves calmly on the Beauvais couch; the foreign princesses generally preferred one of the two sofas. Thanks to the judicious18 arrangement of these aids to conversation, Panneton knew at a glance what he had to do. He was in a position to observe all the conventions, careful not to attempt too sudden a transition in the necessary succession of his attitudes, and was able to spare both his visitor and himself those long and useless pauses between the preliminary courtesies and the inspection20 of the Baudouins. His proceedings21 thereby22 gained a certainty and a mastery which did him honour.
Madame de Gromance gave immediate23 proof of a tact24 for which Panneton was grateful. Without so much as a glance at the throne of Parma and Modena, and leaving on the right the Napoleonic swan’s neck, she sat on the flowered Beauvais sofa like a Parisienne. Clotilde had languished25 among the smaller landed gentry26 of the department and had had attentions paid to her by some rather under-bred young men; but the meaning of life was dawning upon her. She had racked her brains over money matters and was beginning to understand what social duty entailed27. She did not dislike Panneton excessively. Partially28 bald, with very black hair brushed smoothly29 over his temples, and large prominent eyes, he looked like a lovesick apoplectic30, and made her feel rather inclined to laugh, satisfying that craving31 for the comic element in love of which she had always been conscious. No doubt she would have preferred a magnificent young man, but she was inclined to facile gaiety and the sort of amusement which a man derives32 from jokes of a rather highly salted nature and a certain kind of ugliness. After a moment of very natural shyness she felt that it would not be so terrible, nor even very tedious.
Everything went well. The transit19 from the Beauvais to the settee and from the settee to the big sofa took place with all due decorum. They judged it needless to linger on the Oriental cushions and went straight into the Baudouin room.
When Clotilde thought of looking at it the room, like the erotic painter’s pictures, was strewn with women’s garments and fine linen33.
“Ah, there are the Baudouins, you have two of them.”
“Just so.”
He had the Jardinier galant and the Carquois épuisé, two little water-colours for which he had paid 60,000 francs apiece at the Godard sale, and which cost him considerably34 more than that because of the use to which he put them. Calm once more, and a little melancholy35 even, he gazed with the eye of a connoisseur36 at the slender, graceful37, supple38 figure of the woman before him, and, finding her beautiful, was conscious of a little feeling of pride, which grew as she gradually reassumed her social characteristics together with her garments.
She demanded the list of candidates.
“Panneton, manufacturer; Dieudonné de Gromance, landed proprietor39; Dr. Fornerol; Mulot, explorer.”
“Mulot?”
“Young Mulot. He was running up bills in Paris, so his father sent him round the world. Désiré Mulot, explorer. That sounds well, an explorer candidate! The electors hope he will open up new fields for their goods. Above all, they feel flattered.”
Madame de Gromance was becoming serious. She wanted to hear the address to the senatorial electors. He outlined it and repeated some parts which he knew by heart.
“First, we promise general pacification40. Brécé and the pure Nationalists have not sufficiently41 insisted on pacification. Then we absolutely demolish42 the nameless party.”
She asked what the nameless party was.
“For us it’s the party of our adversaries43; for our adversaries it is ourselves. There can be no mistake about that. We demolish the traitors44, the creatures who have sold themselves. We fight against the power of gold—that is useful for the poor ruined aristocracy. Enemies of all reaction, we repudiate45 political adventure. France is resolved on peace, but the day when she draws the sword from the scabbard, etc. The country that regards with pride and affection her admirable national Army— I shall have to alter that sentence a little.”
“Why?”
“Because it is in both the other addresses, word for word; the Nationalists have it and so have the enemies of the Army.”
“And you promise me that Dieudonné will get in.”
“Dieudonné or Goby.”
“What! Dieudonné or Goby? If you were not any surer than that you ought to have told me. Dieudonné or Goby! To hear you one would think it was all one which got in.”
“It isn’t all one, but in either case Brécé goes under.”
“Brécé is one of our friends, you know.”
“And one of mine! In either case, as I said before, Brécé and his list will go under, and having contributed to his downfall the prefect and the Government will be under obligations to Monsieur de Gromance. After the elections, no matter how they result, you will come and see my Baudouins again and I will make of your husband—whatever you will.”
“An ambassador.”
At the scrutiny46 of the 28th of January, the list of Nationalist candidates, Comte de Brécé, Colonel Despautères, Lerond, ex-magistrate, Lafolie, butcher, obtained an average of about a hundred votes. The Progressive Republicans, Felix Panneton, manufacturer, Dieudonné de Gromance, landed proprietor, Mulot, explorer, and Dr. Fornerol, obtained an average of a hundred and thirty votes. Laprat-Teulet, implicated47 in the Panama affair, only succeeded in obtaining a hundred and twenty votes. The other three retiring Senators obtained an average of two hundred votes.
At the second scrutiny Laprat-Teulet’s votes fell to sixty.
At the third scrutiny Goby, Mannequin and Ledru, the three retiring Radical48 Senators, and Felix Panneton, Republican Progressive, were elected.
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1
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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inmate
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| n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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artistically
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| adv.艺术性地 | |
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6
divans
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| n.（可作床用的）矮沙发( divan的名词复数 )；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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8
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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9
tapestry
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| n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面 | |
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gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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13
luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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14
tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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15
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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judicious
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| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
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transit
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| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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25
languished
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| 长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐 | |
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gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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apoplectic
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| adj.中风的；愤怒的；n.中风患者 | |
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craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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32
derives
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| v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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33
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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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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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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connoisseur
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| n.鉴赏家，行家，内行 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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40
pacification
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| n. 讲和，绥靖，平定 | |
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41
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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42
demolish
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| v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等) | |
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43
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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44
traitors
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| 卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人 | |
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45
repudiate
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| v.拒绝，拒付，拒绝履行 | |
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46
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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47
implicated
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| adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的 | |
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48
radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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