On this occasion, as in the past, M. Le Génil, who was a tall, stout9 man, smacked10 his great hand down on Guitrel’s flinching11 shoulder, and rumbling12 out a good-day in his deep organ note, instantly challenged him in his usual jolly style:
“Well, old miser13, have you brought me twelve dozen masses at a crown each, or are you, as usual, going to keep to yourself the gold that your pious14 provincials15 swamp you with?”
Being a poor man, and knowing that Guitrel was as poor as himself, he regarded this sort of talk as a good jest.
Guitrel went so far as to understand a joke, though, being of a gloomy temperament17, he never jested himself. He had, he explained, been obliged to come to Paris to carry out several commissions with which he had been charged, more especially the purchase of books. Would his friend, then, put him up for a day or two, three at the most?
“Now do tell the truth for once in your life!” answered M. Le Génil. “You have just come up to smell out a mitre, you old fox! To-morrow39 morning you will be showing yourself to the nuncio with a sanctimonious18 expression. Guitrel, you are going to be a bishop19!”
Hereupon the chaplain of the Convent of the Seven Wounds, the preacher at the church of Sainte-Louise, made a bow to the future bishop. Mingled20 with his ironic21 courtesy there was, perhaps, a certain strain of instinctive22 deference23. Then once more his face fell into the harsh lines that revealed the temperament of a second Olivier Maillard.[1]
[1] An eccentric priest of the fifteenth century. His sermons were full of denunciations against his enemies. He once attacked Louis XI, who threatened to throw him into the Seine. Maillard replied: “The King is master, but tell him that I shall get to heaven by water sooner than he will by his post-horses.”
“Come in, then! Will you take some refreshment24?”
M. Guitrel was a reserved man, whose compressed lips showed his determination not to be pumped. As a matter of fact, it was quite true that he had come up to enlist25 powerful influence in support of his candidature, but he had no wish to explain all his wily courses to this naturally frank friend of his. For M. Le Génil made, not only a virtue26 of his natural frankness, but even a policy.
“Don’t imagine ... dismiss this notion that ...”
Then, conducting his friend to his bedroom, he sat down once more beneath the light of his lamp and resumed his interrupted task, which was that of mending his breeches.
M. Le Génil, popular preacher as he was both in Paris and Versailles, did his own mending, partly to save his old servant the trouble and partly because he was fond of handling a needle, a taste he had acquired during the years of grinding poverty that he had endured when he first entered the Church. And now this giant with lungs of brass29, who fulminated against atheists from the elevation30 of a pulpit, was meekly31 sitting on a rush-bottomed chair, occupied in drawing a needle in and out with his huge red hands. In the midst of his task he raised his head and glancing shyly towards Guitrel with his big, kindly32 eyes, exclaimed:
“We’ll have a game of manille to-night, you old trickster.”
But Guitrel, hesitating, yet firm, stammered out that he would be obliged to go out after dinner. He was full of plans, and after pushing on the preparations for a meal, he gobbled down his food, to the great disgust of his host, who was not only a great eater, but a great talker. He refused to wait41 for dessert, but, retiring to another room, shut himself in, drew a layman33’s suit from his portmanteau and put it on.
When he appeared again, his friend saw that he was dressed in a long, severe, black frock-coat, which seemed to have the drollery34 of a disguise. With his head crowned by a rusty35 opera-hat of prodigious36 height, he hastily gulped37 down his coffee, mumbled38 a grace and slipped out. Leaning over the stair-rail, Abbé Le Génil shouted to him:
“Don’t ring when you come in, or you’ll wake Nanette. You’ll find the key under the mat. One moment, Guitrel, I know where you’re going. You old Quintilian, you, you’re just going to take an elocution lesson.”
Through the damp fog, Abbé Guitrel followed the quays39 along by the river, passed the bridge of Saint-Pères, crossed the Place du Carrousel, unnoticed by the indifferent passers-by, who scarcely took the trouble even to glance at his huge hat. Finally he halted under the Tuscan porch of the Comédie-Fran?aise. He carefully read the playbill in order to make sure that the arrangements had not been changed, and that Andromaque and the Malade Imaginaire would be presented. Then he asked at the second pay-box for a pit ticket.
The narrow seats behind the empty stalls were already almost filled when he sat down and opened42 an old newspaper, not to read, but to keep himself in countenance40, while he listened to the talk going on around him. He had a quick ear, and it was always by the ear that he observed, just as M. Worms-Clavelin listened with his mouth. His neighbours were shop-hands and artists’ assistants who had obtained seats through friendship with a scene-shifter or a dresser. It is a little world of simple-minded folk, keenly bent41 on sight-seeing, very well satisfied with themselves, and busied with bets and bicycles. The younger members are peaceful enough in reality, although they assume a jaunty42 military air, being automatically democratic and republican, but conservative in their jokes about the President of the Republic. As Abbé Guitrel caught the words that flew hither and thither43 all round him, words which revealed this frame of mind, he thought of the fancies cherished by Abbé Lantaigne, who still dreamt, in his hermit-like seclusion44, of bringing such a class as this back to obedience45 to monarchy46 and priestcraft. Behind his paper Abbé Guitrel chuckled47 at the idea.
“These Parisians,” thought he, “are the most adaptable48 people in the world. To the provincial16 mind they are quite incomprehensible, but would to God that the republicans and freethinkers of the diocese of Tourcoing were cut out on the same model! But the spirit of Northern France is as43 bitter as the wild hops49 of its plains. And in my diocese I shall find myself placed with violent Socialists50 on one side and fervid51 Catholics on the other.”
He foresaw the trials that awaited him in the see once held by the blessed Loup, and so far was he from shrinking at the contemplation of them, that he invoked52 them on himself, with an accompaniment of such loud sighs that his neighbour looked at him to see if he were ill. Thus Abbé Guitrel’s head seethed53 with fancies of his bishopric amid the murmur54 of frivolous55 chatter56, the banging of doors and the restless movements of the work-girls.
But when at the signal the curtain slowly rose, he instantly became absorbed in the play. It was the delivery and the gestures of the actors on which his attention was riveted57. He studied the notes of their voices, their gait, the play of their features, with all the intent interest of an experienced preacher who would fain learn the secret of noble gesture and pathetic intonation58. Whenever a long speech echoed through the theatre, he redoubled his attention and only longed to be listening to Corneille, whose speeches are longer, who is more fond of oratorical59 effects and more skilful60 in emphasising the separate points of a speech.
44 At the moment when the actor who played Orestes was reciting the great classic harangue61 “Avant que tous les Grecs ...” the professor of sacred elocution set himself to store up in his mind every attitude and intonation. Abbé Le Génil knew his old friend well; he was perfectly62 aware that the crafty63 preacher was in the habit of going to the theatre to learn the tricks of oratory64.
To the actresses M. Guitrel paid far less attention. He held women in contempt, which fact by no means implies that his thoughts had always been chaste65. Priest as he was, he had in his time known the promptings of the flesh. Heaven only knows how often he had dodged66, evaded67 or transgressed68 the seventh commandment! And one had better ask no questions as to the kind of women who also knew this about him. Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine, Domine quis sustinebit? But he was a priest, and had the priestly horror of the woman’s body. Even the perfume of long hair was abhorrent69 to him, and when his neighbour, a young shop-assistant, began to extol70 the beautiful arms of a famous actress, he replied by a contemptuous sneer71 that was by no means hypocritical.
However, he remained full of interest right up to the final fall of the curtain, as he saw himself in fancy transferring the passion of Orestes, as rendered by an expert interpreter, into some45 sermon on the torments72 of the damned or the miserable73 end of the sinner. He was troubled by a provincial accent which spoilt his delivery, and between the acts he sat busily trying to correct it in his mind, modelling his correction on what he had just heard. “The voice of a bishop of Tourcoing,” thought he, “ought not to savour of the roughness of the cheap wines of our hills of the Midlands.”
He was immensely tickled74 by the play of Molière with which the performance concluded. Incapable75 of seeing the humorous side of things for himself, he was very pleased when anyone else pointed76 them out to him. An absurd physical mishap77 filled him with infinite joy and he laughed heartily78 at the grosser scenes.
In the middle of the last act he drew a roll of bread from his pocket and swallowed it morsel79 by morsel, keeping his hand over his mouth as he ate, and watching carefully lest he should be caught in this light repast by the stroke of midnight; for next morning he was to say Mass in the chapel80 of the Convent of the Seven Wounds.
He returned home after the play by way of the deserted81 quays, which he crossed with his short, tapping steps. The hollow moan of the river alone filled the silence, as M. Guitrel walked along through the midst of a reddish fog which doubled the size of everything and made his hat look an46 absurd height in the dimness. As he stole by, close to the dripping walls of the ancient H?tel-Dieu, a bare-headed woman came limping forward to meet him. She was a fat, ugly creature, no longer young, and her white chemise barely covered her bosom82. Coming abreast83 of him, she seized the tail of his coat and made proposals to him. Then suddenly, even before he had time to free himself, she rushed away, crying:
“A priest! What ill luck! Plague take it! What misfortune is coming to me?”
M. Guitrel was aware that some ignorant women still cherish the superstition84 that it is unlucky to meet a priest; but he was surprised that this woman should have recognised his profession even in the dress of a layman.
“That’s the penalty of the unfrocked,” thought he. “The priest, which still lives in him, will always peep out. Tu es sacerdos in ?ternum, Guitrel.”
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收听单词发音
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1
murky
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| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
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2
rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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3
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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tardy
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| adj.缓慢的，迟缓的 | |
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5
buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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6
discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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7
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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8
yarns
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| n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事 | |
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10
smacked
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| 拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
flinching
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的现在分词 ) | |
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12
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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13
miser
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| n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly) | |
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14
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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15
provincials
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| n.首都以外的人，地区居民( provincial的名词复数 ) | |
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16
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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17
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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18
sanctimonious
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| adj.假装神圣的，假装虔诚的，假装诚实的 | |
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19
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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20
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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21
ironic
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| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
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22
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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23
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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24
refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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25
enlist
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| vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍 | |
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26
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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27
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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29
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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30
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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31
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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32
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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33
layman
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| n.俗人，门外汉，凡人 | |
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34
drollery
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| n.开玩笑，说笑话；滑稽可笑的图画（或故事、小戏等） | |
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35
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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36
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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37
gulped
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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38
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
quays
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| 码头( quay的名词复数 ) | |
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40
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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41
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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42
jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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43
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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44
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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45
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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46
monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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47
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
adaptable
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| adj.能适应的，适应性强的，可改编的 | |
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49
hops
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| 跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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50
socialists
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| 社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 ) | |
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51
fervid
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| adj.热情的；炽热的 | |
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52
invoked
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| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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53
seethed
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| （液体）沸腾( seethe的过去式和过去分词 )； 激动，大怒； 强压怒火； 生闷气(~with sth|~ at sth) | |
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54
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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55
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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56
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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57
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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58
intonation
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| n.语调，声调；发声 | |
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59
oratorical
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| adj.演说的，雄辩的 | |
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60
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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61
harangue
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| n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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62
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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63
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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64
oratory
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| n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞 | |
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65
chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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66
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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67
evaded
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| 逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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68
transgressed
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| v.超越( transgress的过去式和过去分词 )；越过；违反；违背 | |
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69
abhorrent
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| adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的 | |
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70
extol
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| v.赞美，颂扬 | |
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71
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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72
torments
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| （肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人] | |
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73
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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74
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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75
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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76
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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77
mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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78
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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79
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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80
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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81
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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82
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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83
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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84
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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