Part 2 Chapter 30

A Box at the BouffesAs the blackest sky Foretells¹ the heaviest tempest.

　　Don Juan, I. 73In the thick of all this great commotion², Julien was more bewilderedthan happy. Mathilde's abuse of him showed him how wise the Russianpolicy had been. 'Say little, do little, that is my one way of salvation³.'

　　He lifted up Mathilde and without a word laid her down again on thedivan. Gradually she gave way to tears.

　　To keep herself in countenance⁵, she took Madame de Fervaques's letters in her hands; she broke the seals slowly. She gave a nervous start onrecognising the Marechale's handwriting. She turned over the sheets ofthese letters without reading them; the majority of them covered sixpages.

　　'Answer me this, at least,' said Mathilde at length in the most supplicating⁶ tone, but without venturing to look at Julien. 'You know very wellthat I am proud; it is the misfortune of my position, and indeed of mynature, I must admit; so Madame de Fervaques has stolen your heartfrom me … Has she offered you all the sacrifices to which that fatal passion led me?'

　　A grim silence was Julien's only answer. 'By what right,' he thought,'does she ask of me an indiscretion unworthy of an honourable⁷ man?'

　　Mathilde endeavoured to read the letters; the tears that filled her eyesmade it impossible for her to do so.

　　For a month past she had been miserable⁸, but that proud spirit was farfrom confessing its feelings to itself. Chance alone had brought aboutthis explosion. For an instant jealousy⁹ and love had overcome pride. Shewas seated upon the divan⁴ and in close proximity¹⁰ to him. He saw herhair and her throat of alabaster¹¹; for a moment he forgot all that he owed to himself; he slipped his arm round her waist, and almost hugged her tohis bosom¹².

　　She turned her head towards him slowly: he was astonished at the intense grief that was visible in her eyes, and made them quite unrecognisable as hers.

　　Julien felt his strength begin to fail him, so colossal¹³ was the effort involved in the act of courage which he was imposing¹⁴ on himself.

　　'Those eyes will soon express nothing but the coldest disdain,' he saidto himself, 'if I allow myself to be carried away by the joy of loving her.'

　　Meanwhile, in a faint voice and in words which she had barely thestrength to utter, she was repeating to him at that moment her assuranceof all her regret for the action which an excessive pride might have counselled her to take.

　　'I too, have my pride,' Julien said to her in a voice that was barely articulate, and his features indicated the extreme limit of physical exhaustion¹⁵.

　　Mathilde turned sharply towards him. The sound of his voice was apleasure the hope of which she had almost abandoned. At that momentshe recalled her pride only to curse it, she would fain have discoveredsome unusual, incredible act to prove to him how greatly she adoredhim and detested¹⁶ herself.

　　'It is probably because of that pride,' Julien went on, 'that you havesingled me out for an instant; it is certainly because of that courageousfirmness, becoming in a man, that you respect me at this moment. I maybe in love with the Marechale … '

　　Mathilde shuddered¹⁷; her eyes assumed a strange expression. She wasabout to hear her sentence uttered. This movement did not pass unobserved by Julien; he felt his courage weaken.

　　'Ah!' he said to himself, listening to the sound of the vain words thatcame from his lips, as he might have listened to a noise from without; 'if Icould only cover those pale cheeks with kisses, and you not feel them!

　　'I may be in love with the Marechale,' he continued … and his voicegrew fainter and fainter; 'but certainly, of her interest in myself I have nodecisive proof… '

　　Mathilde gazed at him; he met her gaze, at least he hoped that his features had not betrayed him. He felt himself penetrated¹⁸ by love to the innermost recesses¹⁹ of his heart. Never had he adored her so intensely; hewas scarcely less mad than Mathilde. Could she have found sufficientself-control and courage to manoeuvre²⁰, he would have fallen at her feet, forswearing all idle play-acting. He had strength enough to be able tocontinue to speak. 'Ah! Korasoff,' he exclaimed inwardly, 'why are notyou here? How I need a word of advice to direct my conduct!' Meanwhile his voice was saying:

　　'Failing any other sentiment, gratitude²¹ would suffice to attach me tothe Marechale; she has shown me indulgence, she has comforted mewhen others scorned me … I may perhaps not repose²² an unboundedfaith in certain signs which are extremely flattering, no doubt, but also,perhaps, are of very brief duration.'

　　'Ah! Great God!' cried Mathilde.

　　'Very well! What guarantee will you give me?' Julien went on in sharp,firm accents, seeming to abandon for an instant the prudent²³ forms ofdiplomacy. 'What guarantee, what god will assure me that the positionwhich you seem disposed to restore to me at this moment will last formore than two days?'

　　'The intensity²⁴ of my love and of my misery²⁵ if you no longer love me,'

　　she said, clasping his hands and turning her face towards him.

　　The violent movement which she thus made had slightly displaced herpelerine: Julien caught a glimpse of her charming shoulders. Her hair,slightly disordered, recalled to him an exquisite²⁶ memory …He was about to yield. 'An imprudent word,' he told himself, 'and I begin once more that long succession of days passed in despair. Madamede Renal used to find reasons for obeying the dictates²⁷ of her heart: thisyoung girl of high society allows her heart to be moved only when shehas proved to herself with good reasons that it ought to be moved.'

　　He perceived this truth in a flash, and in a flash also regained²⁸ hiscourage.

　　He freed his hands which Mathilde was clasping in her own, and withmarked respect withdrew a little way from her. Human courage can gono farther. He then busied himself in gathering²⁹ together all Madame deFervaques's letters which were scattered³⁰ over the divan, and it was witha show of extreme politeness, so cruel at that moment, that he added:

　　'Mademoiselle de La Mole³¹ will deign³² to permit me to think over allthis.' He withdrew rapidly and left the library; she heard him shut all thedoors in turn.

　　'The monster is not in the least perturbed,' she said to herself…'But what am I saying, a monster! He is wise, prudent, good; it is I whohave done more wrong than could be imagined.'

　　 This point of view persisted. Mathilde was almost happy that day, forshe was altogether in love; you would have said that never had thatheart been stirred by pride—and such pride!

　　She shuddered with horror when, that evening in the drawing-room, afootman announced Madame de Fervaques; the man's voice seemed toher to have a sinister³³ sound. She could not endure the sight of the Marechale, and quickly left the room. Julien, with little pride in his hard-wonvictory, had been afraid lest his own eyes should betray him, and hadnot dined at the Hotel de La Mole.

　　His love and his happiness increased rapidly as the hour of battle receded³⁴; he had already begun to find fault with himself. 'How could I resist her?' he asked himself; 'if she was going to cease to love me! A singlemoment may alter that proud spirit, and I must confess that I havetreated her scandalously.'

　　In the evening, he felt that he absolutely must appear at the Bouffes inMadame de Fervaques's box. She had given him an express invitation:

　　Mathilde would not fail to hear of his presence there or of his discourteous³⁵ absence. Despite the self-evidence of this argument, he had not thestrength, early in the evening, to plunge³⁶ into society. If he talked, hewould forfeit³⁷ half his happiness.

　　Ten o'clock struck: he must absolutely show his face.

　　Fortunately he found the Marechale's box filled with women, and wasrelegated to a place by the door, and entirely³⁸ concealed³⁹ by their hats.

　　This position saved him from making a fool of himself; the divine accents of despair of Carolina in Il matrimonio segreto made him burst intotears. Madame de Fervaques saw these tears; they were in so marked acontrast to the manly⁴⁰ firmness of his usual appearance, that this spirit ofa great lady long saturated⁴¹ in all the most corrosive⁴² elements of the prideof an upstart was touched by them. What little she had left of a woman'sheart led her to speak. She wished to enjoy the sound of her own voice atthat moment.

　　'Have you seen the ladies de La Mole,' she said to him, 'they are in thethird tier.' Instantly Julien bent⁴³ forward into the house, leaning somewhat rudely upon the ledge⁴⁴ of the box: he saw Mathilde; her eyes werebright with tears.

　　'And yet it is not their day for the Opera,' thought Julien; 'whateagerness!'

　　 Mathilde had made her mother come to the Bouffes, despite the inferior position of the box which a sycophant⁴⁵ of their circle had made haste tooffer them. She wished to see whether Julien would spend that eveningwith the Marechale.

1 foretells   

v.预言，预示( foretell的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important. 它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。 来自互联网
• What the Old Testament foretells the New Testament fulfils, in part. 旧约圣经的预言在新约圣经中部分实现了。 来自互联网

2 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

3 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

4 divan   

n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集

参考例句：

• Lord Henry stretched himself out on the divan and laughed.亨利勋爵伸手摊脚地躺在沙发椅上，笑着。
• She noticed that Muffat was sitting resignedly on a narrow divan-bed.她看见莫法正垂头丧气地坐在一张不宽的坐床上。

5 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

6 supplicating   

v.祈求，哀求，恳求( supplicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She stammered a few supplicating words. 她吞吞吐吐说了一些求情的话。 来自互联网

7 honourable   

adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的

参考例句：

• I don't think I am worthy of such an honourable title.这样的光荣称号，我可担当不起。
• I hope to find an honourable way of settling difficulties.我希望设法找到一个体面的办法以摆脱困境。

8 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

9 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

10 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

11 alabaster   

adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石

参考例句：

• The floor was marble tile,and the columns alabaster.地板是由大理石铺成的，柱子则是雪花石膏打造而成。
• Her skin was like alabaster.她的皮肤光洁雪白。

12 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

13 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

14 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

15 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

16 detested   

v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They detested each other on sight. 他们互相看着就不顺眼。
• The freethinker hated the formalist; the lover of liberty detested the disciplinarian. 自由思想者总是不喜欢拘泥形式者，爱好自由者总是憎恶清规戒律者。 来自辞典例句

17 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

19 recesses   

n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭

参考例句：

• I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 manoeuvre   

n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动

参考例句：

• Her withdrawal from the contest was a tactical manoeuvre.她退出比赛是一个战术策略。
• The clutter of ships had little room to manoeuvre.船只橫七竖八地挤在一起，几乎没有多少移动的空间。

21 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

22 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

23 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

24 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

25 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

26 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

27 dictates   

n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• Convention dictates that a minister should resign in such a situation. 依照常规部长在这种情况下应该辞职。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He always follows the dictates of common sense. 他总是按常识行事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

29 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

30 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

31 mole   

n.胎块；痣；克分子

参考例句：

• She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
• The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。

32 deign   

v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事)

参考例句：

• He doesn't deign to talk to unimportant people like me. 他不肯屈尊和像我这样不重要的人说话。
• I would not deign to comment on such behaviour. 这种行为不屑我置评。

33 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

34 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

35 discourteous   

adj.不恭的，不敬的

参考例句：

• I was offended by his discourteous reply.他无礼的回答使我很生气。
• It was discourteous of you to arrive late.你迟到了，真没礼貌。

36 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

37 forfeit   

vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物

参考例句：

• If you continue to tell lies,you will forfeit the good opinion of everyone.你如果继续撒谎，就会失掉大家对你的好感。
• Please pay for the forfeit before you borrow book.在你借书之前请先付清罚款。

38 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

39 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

40 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

41 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

42 corrosive   

adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的

参考例句：

• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。
• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。

43 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

44 ledge   

n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁

参考例句：

• They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
• Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上，摔倒了。

45 sycophant   

n.马屁精

参考例句：

• The dictator is surrounded by sycophants who are frightened to tell him what he may not like.独裁者被一群不敢谏言的佞臣簇拥着。
• Bestowing favor on a dubious sycophant often leads to the downfall of dynasties.宠用奸佞是历代王朝亡国的重要原因。