CHAPTER XXIX THE SAILING OF LA BELLE ARLéSIENNE

At three o’clock on the fateful Friday morning Gaspard was awakened¹ from sleep by a knock at his door.

It was his landlady², Man’m Faly. She had promised to wake him at three, for La Belle³ Arlésienne would cast her moorings and be away at four, if there was wind enough. Mistrusting herself, the old lady had not gone to bed.

When he was dressed she returned with a cup of coffee and a plate with a corrossole on it. She had known many lodgers⁴: mates, engineers from the French steamers, men of all nationality, but she had never known one to please her better than Gaspard. He never grumbled⁵ and he had always a kind word. Besides, she knew, as half St. Pierre knew, that Marie of Morne Rouge⁶ had found her man at last, and that the man was Gaspard. The oldest woman on earth is not too old to take interest in a love-affair, and Man’m Faly was only sixty.

She stood by whilst he drank his coffee. He had paid her the night before, and his few belongings⁷ were packed in a canvas bag which she had found for him.

“Ah! well, the Bon Dié knows best, but we would none of us have you go. But you will return, that is certain.”

“Oh, yes, I will return—one does not find such a city every day, or such people. But there are storms and chances—”

He took a packet from his pocket. It contained all the199 money he had left from the payment he had received at the shipping-office and the dollars Sagesse had paid him for the gold coins. Though he had remembered the prayers for Yves and paid for them, he had quite a respectable sum left, for living at St. Pierre was very cheap, and Marie had saved him from the vices⁸ on which foolish shipmen squander⁹ their money.

“—and one never knows what may happen. See here; there is some money in this packet. It is for the little one, should anything happen to me. For Marie, she whom you saw with me yesterday.”

“I will keep it,” said Man’m Faly.

She took the packet and he took up his bag. He cast his eyes round the room. It was bare and poorly furnished, but he had been happy there; in all his wandering life he had never known such happiness; the pure, simple, clean happiness of childhood.

A minute later, he was in the street.

The Rue¹⁰ du Morne framed with its houses a glimpse of the sea, and the upper half of a great moon just sinking beyond the sea-line.

He had said good-bye to Marie on the evening before. His heart was heavy in him; it seemed to him now, as he came down the steep street to the harbour side, that he was leaving Paradise and leaving it forever. The coloured city of St. Pierre, the pleasant people, the easy life—where would he find a city like that in the whole wide world?

And Marie—

He was standing¹¹ now on the quay-side by the steps. This was the steps where he had told the boat to meet him at daybreak. It was almost due, for the moon had sunk now completely, and in a moment Pelée would be drawing his silhouette¹² against the ice-blue sky of dawn. The wind200 was faint, just a breathing of air. Out there, beyond the shelter of the island, the southeast trades would be blowing, but here there was scarcely wind enough to move a vessel¹³ through the water.

As he listened to the wash of the waves against the sea-steps, he heard the steady creaking of oars¹⁴. It was the boat from La Belle Arlésienne.
* * * * *

At four o’clock Marie left the house in the street of the Precipice¹⁵. This was not a working day with her. To-morrow, the day after, the day after that—all time lay before her to work in. To-day, the saddest day in her life, would be a holiday.

As she passed slowly uphill through the awakening¹⁶ city, she could hear the heavy shutters¹⁷ being flung open, voices, the crowing of a cock from far away somewhere towards the Rue Buonaparte.

This morning, away in the blue sky of dawn, the crest¹⁸ of Mont Pelée, touched already by sun-rays, was an extraordinary sight. The cloud turban, tormented¹⁹ by some wind of the higher air, was streaming upwards²⁰ in tongues of misty²¹ light; the great mountain seemed to fume—one might have fancied it topped by a burning cresset, some signal-fire lit by giants or gods.

She reached the Rue Vauclin. It was already nearly day, and the road was filled with people going to work. From the Rue Victor Hugo below the Creole cries of the street-vendors were already sounding; people gave her good-day as she passed them, and she answered them, and kept on.

Five minutes more brought her to the road to Morne Rouge. Here she paused and, leaning on the wall on the seaward side of the road, looked down.

201 She was looking at a sight that many people would have crossed the world to see—the bay of St. Pierre unfolding to the most lovely morning that ever came from heaven. She saw nothing but La Belle Arlésienne.

The old barquentine had shaken out her canvas and on the strengthening breeze was stealing out to sea like a thief. The bay was still in half twilight²², though beyond the bay the sea was alive with the sun.

One might have thought for a moment that La Belle Arlésienne was not moving; a moment more, and you would have seen the distance widening between her and the steamer anchored to starboard of her.

The girl shaded her eyes with both her hands; then she cast her arms out as if to clutch back some figure in the air that was leaving her; then, leaning on the wall, she looked.

As the day grew stronger, the vision of La Belle Arlésienne grew more remote.

Infinite distance seemed drawing her away, slowly, almost imperceptibly; now a ship, now a tiny boat, now a speck²³ vanishing in the sun-dazzle above the azure²⁴.

1 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 landlady   

n.女房东，女地主

参考例句：

• I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
• The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。

3 belle   

n.靓女

参考例句：

• She was the belle of her Sunday School class.在主日学校她是她们班的班花。
• She was the belle of the ball.她是那个舞会中的美女。

4 lodgers   

n.房客，租住者( lodger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He takes in lodgers. 他招收房客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A good proportion of my lodgers is connected with the theaters. 住客里面有不少人是跟戏院子有往来的。 来自辞典例句

5 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

6 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

7 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

8 vices   

缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳

参考例句：

• In spite of his vices, he was loved by all. 尽管他有缺点，还是受到大家的爱戴。
• He vituperated from the pulpit the vices of the court. 他在教堂的讲坛上责骂宫廷的罪恶。

9 squander   

v.浪费，挥霍

参考例句：

• Don't squander your time in reading those dime novels.不要把你的时间浪费在读那些胡编乱造的廉价小说上。
• Every chance is precious，so don't squander any chance away!每次机会都很宝贵，所以不要将任何一个白白放走。

10 rue   

n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔

参考例句：

• You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。
• You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 silhouette   

n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓

参考例句：

• I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。
• I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。

13 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

14 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 precipice   

n.悬崖，危急的处境

参考例句：

• The hut hung half over the edge of the precipice.那间小屋有一半悬在峭壁边上。
• A slight carelessness on this precipice could cost a man his life.在这悬崖上稍一疏忽就会使人丧生。

16 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

17 shutters   

百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门

参考例句：

• The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
• The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

18 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

19 tormented   

饱受折磨的

参考例句：

• The knowledge of his guilt tormented him. 知道了自己的罪责使他非常痛苦。
• He had lain awake all night, tormented by jealousy. 他彻夜未眠，深受嫉妒的折磨。

20 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

21 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

22 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

23 speck   

n.微粒，小污点，小斑点

参考例句：

• I have not a speck of interest in it.我对它没有任何兴趣。
• The sky is clear and bright without a speck of cloud.天空晴朗，一星星云彩也没有。

24 azure   

adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的

参考例句：

• His eyes are azure.他的眼睛是天蓝色的。
• The sun shone out of a clear azure sky.清朗蔚蓝的天空中阳光明媚。