èRE GUINARDON (as Zéphyrine had faithfully reported to Monsieur Sariette) smuggled4 out the pictures, furniture, and curios stored in his attic5 in the rue6 Princesse—his studio he called it—and used them to stock a shop he had taken in the rue de Courcelles. Thither7 he went to take up his abode8, leaving Zéphyrine, with whom he had lived for fifty years, without a bed or a saucepan or a penny to call her own, except eighteenpence the poor creature had in her purse. Père Guinardon opened an old picture and curiosity shop, and in it he installed the fair Octavie.
The shop-front presented an attractive appearance: there were Flemish angels in green copes, after the manner of Gérard David, a Salomé of the Luini school, a Saint Barbara in painted wood of French workmanship, Limoges enamel-work, Bohemian and Venetian glass, dishes from Urbino. There were[217] specimens9 of English point-lace which, if her tale was true, had been presented to Zéphyrine, in the days of her radiant girlhood, by the Emperor Napoleon III. Within, there were golden articles that glinted in the shadows, while pictures of Christ, the Apostles, high-bred dames11, and nymphs also presented themselves to the gaze. There was one canvas that was turned face to the wall so that it should only be looked at by connoisseurs12; and connoisseurs are scarce. It was a replica14 of Fragonard's Gimblette, a brilliant painting that looked as if it had barely had time to dry. Papa Guinardon himself remarked on the fact. At the far end of the shop was a king-wood cabinet, the drawers of which were full of all manner of treasures: water-colours by Baudouin, eighteenth-century books of illustrations, miniatures, and so forth15.
But the real masterpiece, the marvel16, the gem17, the pearl of great price, stood upon an easel veiled from public view. It was a Coronation of the Virgin18 by Fra Angelico, an exquisitely19 delicate thing in gold and blue and pink. Père Guinardon was asking a hundred thousand francs for it. Upon a Louis XV chair beside an Empire work-table on which stood a vase of flowers, sat the fair Octavie, broidery in hand. She, having left her glistering rags behind her in the garret in the rue Princesse, no longer presented the appearance of a touched-up Rembrandt, but shone, rather, with the soft radiance and[218] limpidity20 of a Vermeer of Delft, for the delectation of the connoisseurs who frequented the shop of Papa Guinardon. Tranquil21 and demure22, she remained alone in the shop all day, while the old fellow himself was up aloft working away at the deuce knows what picture. About five o'clock he used to come downstairs and have a chat with the habitués of the establishment.
The most regular caller was the Comte Desmaisons, a thin, cadaverous man. A strand23 of hair issued from the deep hollow under each cheek-bone, and, broadening as it descended24, shed upon his chin and chest torrents25 of snow in which he was for ever trailing his long, fleshless, gold-ringed fingers. For twenty years he had been mourning the loss of his wife, who had been carried off by consumption in the flower of her youth and beauty. Since then he had spent his whole life in endeavouring to hold converse26 with the dead and in filling his lonely mansion27 with second-rate paintings. His confidence in Guinardon knew no bounds. Another client who was a scarcely less frequent visitor to the shop was Monsieur Blancmesnil, a director of a large financial establishment. He was a florid, prosperous-looking man of fifty. He took no great interest in matters of art, and was perhaps an indifferent connoisseur13, but, in his case, it was the fair Octavie, seated in the middle of the shop, like a song-bird in its cage, that offered the attraction.[219]
Monsieur Blancmesnil soon established relations with her, a fact which Père Guinardon alone failed to perceive, for the old fellow was still young in his love-affair with Octavie. Monsieur Gaétan d'Esparvieu used to pay occasional visits to Père Guinardon's shop out of mere29 curiosity, for he strongly suspected the old man of being a first-rate "faker."
And then that doughty30 swordsman, Monsieur Le Truc de Ruffec, also came to see the old antiquary on one occasion, and acquainted him with a plan he had on foot. Monsieur Le Truc de Ruffec was getting up a little historical exhibition of small arms at the Petit Palais in aid of the fund for the education of the native children in Morocco and wanted Père Guinardon to lend him a few of the most valuable articles in his collection.
"Our first idea," he said, "was to organise31 an exhibition to be called 'The Cross and the Sword.' The juxtaposition32 of the two words will make the idea which has prompted our undertaking33 sufficiently34 clear to you. It was an idea pre-eminently patriotic35 and Christian36 which led us to associate the Sword, which is the symbol of Honour, with the Cross, which is the symbol of Salvation37. It was hoped that our work would be graced by the distinguished38 patronage39 of the Minister of War and Monseigneur Cachepot. Unfortunately there were difficulties in the way, and the full realisation of the project had to be[220] deferred40. In the meantime we are limiting our exhibition to 'The Sword.' I have drawn41 up an explanatory note indicating the significance of the demonstration42."
Having delivered himself of these remarks, Monsieur Le Truc de Ruffec produced a pocket-case stuffed full of papers. Picking out from a medley44 of judgment45 summonses and other odds46 and ends a little piece of very crumpled47 paper, he exclaimed, "Ah, here it is," and proceeded to read as follows: "'The Sword is a fierce Virgin; it is par28 excellence48 the Frenchman's weapon. And now, when patriotic sentiment, after suffering an all too protracted49 eclipse, is beginning to shine forth again more ardently50 than ever ...' and so forth; you see?"
And he repeated his request for some really fine specimen10 to be placed in the most conspicuous51 position in the exhibition to be held on behalf of the little native children of Morocco, of which General d'Esparvieu was to be honorary President.
Arms and armour52 were by no means Père Guinardon's strong point. He dealt principally in pictures, drawings, and books. But he was never to be taken unawares. He took down a rapier with a gilt53 colander-shaped hilt, a highly typical piece of workmanship of the Louis XIII-Napoleon III period, and presented it to the exhibition pro[221]moter, who, while contemplating54 it with respect, maintained a diplomatic silence.
"I have something better still in here," said the antiquary, and he produced from his inner shop—where it had been lying among the walking-sticks and umbrellas—a real demon43 of a sword, adorned55 with fleurs-de-lys, a genuine royal relic56. It was the sword of Philippe-Auguste as worn by an actor at the Odéon when Agnès de Méranie was being performed in 1846. Guinardon held it point downwards57, as though it were a cross, clasping his hands piously58 on the cross-bar. He looked as loyal as the sword itself.
"Have her for your exhibition," said he. "The damsel is well worth it. Bouvines is her name."
"If I find a buyer for it," said Monsieur Le True de Ruffec, twirling his enormous moustachios, "I suppose you will allow me a little commission?"
Some days later, Père Guinardon was mysteriously displaying a picture to the Comte Desmaisons and Monsieur Blancmesnil. It was a newly discovered work of El Greco, an amazingly fine example of the Master's later style. It represented a Saint Francis of Assisi standing59 erect60 upon Mont Alverno. He was mounting heavenward like a column of smoke, and was plunging61 into the regions of the clouds a monstrously62 narrow head that the distance rendered smaller still. In fine it was a real, very real, nay63, too real El Greco. The two collectors[222] were attentively64 scrutinizing65 the work, while Père Guinardon was belauding the depth of the shadows and the sublimity66 of the expression. He was raising his arms aloft to convey an idea of the greatness of Theotocopuli, who derived67 from Tintoretto, whom, however, he surpassed in loftiness by a hundred cubits.
Comte Desmaisons declared that El Greco was his favourite painter. In his inmost heart Blancmesnil was not so entirely69 struck with it.
The door opened, and Monsieur Gaétan quite unexpectedly appeared on the scene.
He gave a glance at the Saint Francis, and said:
"Bless my soul!"
Monsieur Blancmesnil, anxious to improve his knowledge, asked him what he thought of this artist who was now so much in vogue70. Gaétan replied, glibly71 enough, that he did not regard El Greco as the eccentric, the madman that people used to take him for. It was rather his opinion that a defect of vision from which Theotocopuli suffered compelled him to deform72 his figures.
"Being afflicted73 with astigmatism74 and strabismus," Gaétan went on, "he painted the things he saw exactly as he used to see them."
Comte Desmaisons was not readily disposed to accept so natural an explanation, which, however,[223] by its very simplicity75, highly commended itself to Monsieur Blancmesnil.
Père Guinardon, quite beside himself, exclaimed:
"Are you going to tell me, Monsieur d'Esparvieu, that Saint John was astigmatic76 because he beheld77 a woman clothed with the sun, crowned with stars, with the moon about her feet; the Beast with seven heads and ten horns, and the seven angels robed in white linen78 that bore the seven cups filled with the wrath79 of the Living God?"
"After all," said Monsieur Gaétan, by way of conclusion, "people are right in admiring El Greco if he had genius enough to impose his morbidity80 of vision upon them. By the same token, the contortions82 to which he subjects the human countenance83 may give satisfaction to those who love suffering,—a class more numerous than is generally supposed."
"Monsieur," replied the Comte Desmaisons, stroking his luxuriant beard with his long, thin hand, "we must love those that love us. Suffering loves us and attaches itself to us. We must love it if life is to be supportable to us. In the knowledge of this truth lies the strength and value of Christianity. Alas84! I do not possess the gift of Faith. It is that which drives me to despair."
The old man thought of her for whom he had been mourning twenty years, and forthwith his reason left him, and his thoughts abandoned them[224]selves unresistingly to the morbid81 imaginings of gentle and melancholy85 madness.
Having, he said, made a study of psychic86 matters, and having, with the co-operation of a favourable87 medium, carried out experiments concerning the nature and duration of the soul, he had obtained some remarkable88 results, which, however, did not afford him complete satisfaction. He had succeeded in viewing the soul of his dead wife under the appearance of a transparent89 and gelatinous mass which bore not the slightest resemblance to his adored one. The most painful part about the whole experiment—which he had repeated over and over again—was that the gelatinous mass, which was furnished with a number of extremely slender tentacles90, maintained them in constant motion in time to a rhythm apparently91 intended to make certain signs, but of what these movements were supposed to convey there was not the slightest clue.
During the whole of this narrative92 Monsieur Blancmesnil had been whispering in a corner with the youthful Octavie, who sat mute and still, with her eyes on the ground.
Now Zéphyrine had by no means made up her mind to resign her lover into the hands of an unworthy rival. She would often go round of a morning, with her shopping-basket on her arm, and prowl about outside the curio shop. Torn betwixt[225] grief and rage, tormented94 by warring ideas, she sometimes thought she would empty a saucepanful of vitriol on the head of the faithless one; at others that she would fling herself at his feet, and shower tears and kisses on his precious hands. One day, as she was thus eyeing her Michel—her beloved but guilty Michel—she noticed through the window the fair and youthful Octavie, who was sitting with her embroidery95 at a table upon which, in a vase of crystal, a rose was swooning to death. Zéphyrine, in a transport of fury, brought down her umbrella on her rival's fair head, and called her a bitch and a trollop. Octavie fled in terror, and ran for the police, while Zéphyrine, beside herself with grief and love, kept digging away with her old gamp at the Gimblette of Fragonard, the fuliginous Saint Francis of El Greco, the virgins96, the nymphs, and the apostles, and knocked the gilt off the Fra Angelico, shrieking97 all the while:
"All those pictures there, the El Greco, the Beato Angelico, the Fragonard, the Gérard David, and the Baudouins—Guinardon painted the whole lot of them himself, the wretch98, the scoundrel! That Fra Angelico there, why I saw him painting it on my ironing-board, and that Gérard David he executed on an old midwife's sign-board. You and that bitch of yours, why, I'll do for the pair of you just as I'm doing for these pictures."
And tugging99 away at the coat of an aged100 collector[226] who, trembling all over, had hidden himself in the darkest corner of the shop, she called him to witness to the crimes of Guinardon, perjurer101 and impostor. The police had simply to tear her out of the ruined shop. As she was being taken off to the station, followed by a great crowd of people, she raised her fiery102 eyes to Heaven, crying in a voice choked with sobs103:
"But don't you know Michel? If you knew him, you would understand that it is impossible to live without him. Michel! He is handsome and good and charming. He is a very god. He is Love itself. I love him! I love him! I love him! I have known men high up in the world—Dukes, Ministers of State, and higher still. Not one of them was worthy93 to clean the mud off Michel's boots. My good, kind sirs, give him back to me again."
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1
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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dame
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| n.女士 | |
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smuggled
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| 水货 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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dames
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| n.（在英国）夫人（一种封号），夫人（爵士妻子的称号）( dame的名词复数 )；女人 | |
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connoisseurs
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| n.鉴赏家，鉴定家，行家( connoisseur的名词复数 ) | |
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connoisseur
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| n.鉴赏家，行家，内行 | |
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replica
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| n.复制品 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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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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limpidity
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| n.清澈，透明 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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demure
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| adj.严肃的；端庄的 | |
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strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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doughty
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| adj.勇猛的，坚强的 | |
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organise
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| vt.组织，安排，筹办 | |
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juxtaposition
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| n.毗邻，并置，并列 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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medley
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| n.混合 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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52
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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54
contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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55
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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piously
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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59
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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61
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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monstrously
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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scrutinizing
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| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 ) | |
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sublimity
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| 崇高，庄严，气质高尚 | |
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67
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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68
chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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70
Vogue
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| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
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71
glibly
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| adv.流利地，流畅地；满口 | |
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72
deform
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| vt.损坏…的形状；使变形，使变丑；vi.变形 | |
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afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
astigmatism
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| n.散光，乱视眼 | |
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75
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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76
astigmatic
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| a.散光的，乱视的 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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78
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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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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80
morbidity
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| n.病态；不健全；发病；发病率 | |
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81
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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82
contortions
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| n.扭歪，弯曲；扭曲，弄歪，歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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83
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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84
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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85
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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86
psychic
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| n.对超自然力敏感的人；adj.有超自然力的 | |
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87
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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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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89
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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90
tentacles
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| n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛 | |
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91
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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92
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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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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tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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95
embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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96
virgins
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| 处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母） | |
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97
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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98
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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99
tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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101
perjurer
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| n.伪誓者，伪证者 | |
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102
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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103
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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