“Nonsense, nonsense,” cries a cheery voice from the balcony where Frederick von Waldberg has been enjoying his after-dinner weed. With a light-hearted laugh he flings his half-burnt cigar into the street and steps into the room. Approaching his wife he encircles her slender waist with his arm and draws her curly head upon his shoulder.
“Dare to repeat, now, you perverse6 little woman, that you are sad. What ails7 you? Have you not all you can wish for, including a devoted8 slave of a husband who has given up everything for you, and is only governed by your sweet will?”
“Yes, dear, yes, dear,” murmurs9 Rose, gently disengaging herself from his embrace, “but you can't think how it pains me to know that it is I who have been the cause of your quarrel with your father—and then the future is so uncertain. We have not very much money left, and how we shall manage to keep up this establishment is more than I can tell.”
“Never mind; leave that to me. I will find the means somehow or other; only don't fret,” replies Frederick, in a low voice. “As long as you continue to love me everything will be all right. You are not yet tired of me, Weibchen, are you?”
She laughs saucily10, but there is a queer light in her dark-blue eyes as she seats herself again at the piano and runs her fingers dreamily over the keys.
Three months have elapsed since the burglary at Gen. von Waldberg's Neapolitan residence, and some eight or ten weeks since Count and Countess Frederick von Waldberg have taken up their quarters in Paris. They live recklessly [Pg 36] and extravagantly11, like children who are intent on sipping12 all the sweets of the cup of life without giving a moment's thought to the dregs at the bottom thereof, and which they are bound to reach sooner or later.
Frederick's careless and easy-going nature had enabled him to forget in an incredibly short space of time all the tragic13 scenes through which he passed at Biala and Naples. He is still passionately14 in love with his wife, whose beauty is the talk of Paris. He has not attempted to enter society, but when the young couple drive in the “Bois” in their well-appointed victoria, or enter a box at one of the fashionable theaters, they are the cynosure15 of all eyes. Moreover Frederick has picked up many male acquaintances, and the choice fare and exquisite16 wines which are always to be found at his hospitable17 board prove nearly as great an attraction as the lovely eyes and matchless elegance18 of the mistress of the house.
Rose has, outwardly at least, become a perfect femme du monde. She has picked up all the ways and mannerisms of the higher classes with a quickness that astonishes and delights her husband. But it is fortunate that he is unable to fathom19 the depths of her heart. For it is just as hard, as mercenary and corrupt20 as of yore, and she often involuntarily yearns21 for the gutter22 from which her husband has raised her.
Toward 9 o'clock Frederick called for his coat and hat, and, kissing his wife tenderly, exclaimed:
“Do not wait up for me, little woman, as I shall not be home from the club till about 2 o'clock.”
With that he left the house and strolled down the avenue to one of the well-known cercles de jeu (gambling clubs) of the Boulevards.
Luck, however, was against him for once, and shortly after 11 o'clock, having sustained heavy losses, he left the club and walked rapidly home, in a very bad temper.
[Pg 37]
Letting himself in with his latch-key he walks softly up stairs and enters the drawing-room where a light is still dimly burning. His footsteps fall noiselessly on the thick carpet, and wishing to surprise Rose, who could hardly have retired23 for the night at this comparatively early hour, he pulls aside the heavy drapery of tawny24 plush which screens the door of her “boudoir,” and peeps in. Hardly has he done so than he springs forward with a yell of rage, for there on a low oriental divan25 he beholds26 his wife, his beloved Rose, in the arms of his butler.
The terrified servant makes a dash for the nearest door and escapes through the adjoining conservatory27. Frederick, scorning to pursue him, turns his attention to Rose. Brutally28 grasping her arm, he raises her from the ground where she has flung herself on her knees at his feet, and without a word he drags her down stairs, stopping for a moment in the hall below to throw a gorgeous red-brocaded opera-cloak, which hangs there, on the speechless woman's shoulders. Opening the front door, he thrusts her into the street, exclaiming hoarsely30 as he bangs it behind her:
“That is where you belong.”
For a few minutes Rose stood on the pavement, dazed and trembling, but suddenly recalling to mind the expression of her infuriated husband's eyes as he pushed her down stairs she was seized with terror and fled down the avenue.
She had not gone very far when two men, springing from a dark side street, arrested her wild flight by clutching her arms.
“Where is your police permit?” exclaimed the taller of the two.
Rose stared helplessly at them without replying.
“Why don't you answer?” yelled the other, shaking her violently. “Don't you hear me talking to you? Are you drunk?”
The unfortunate woman draws herself up, and, shaking [Pg 38] off the dirty hand of the “Agents-des-M?urs” (police charged with the control of the women of ill-repute,) replied:
“I do not know what you mean. There is some mistake. I am the Countesse de Waldberg; let me go!”
“Countess indeed! Is that all? We know all about such countesses. They belong in the St. Lazarre Prison when they run round without their ‘livret’(police permit.) Allons! come along! Enough of these airs and graces! A decent woman does not pace the streets at midnight in a ball-dress.”
ROSE ARRESTED BY THE PARIS POLICE.
[Pg 39]
With a shriek32 of horror Rose made a sudden dart33 forward, but has not got far before she is seized by the hair with such force as to throw her on the pavement. Picking her up again, the Agents-des-M?urs call a passing night cab, and, bundling the now fainting woman into it, order the coachman to drive to the police station.
On arriving at the police station Rose was roughly dragged from the cab by the two Agents des M?urs and thrust into the “Violon”—a filthy34 cell which was already crowded with a score or two of drunk and disorderly women. The atmosphere which reigned35 in the place was indescribably horrible and nauseating36; and the shrieks37, the yells, and the disgusting songs and discordant38 cries of its occupants were only interrupted from time to time when the door was opened to give admittance to some fresh samples of the feminine scum of the Paris streets. Such was the pandemonium39 in which the Countess von Waldberg passed the first night after being driven out of her luxuriously40 appointed home in the Avenue Friedland.
When at length day began to dawn through the iron grating of the solitary41 window of the cell, she breathed a sigh of relief. The scene around her was one fit to figure in “Dante's Inferno42.” Every imaginable type of woman seemed to be assembled within the circumscribed43 limits of those four grimy walls, from the demi-mondaine in silks and satins who had been run in for creating a disturbance44 at Mabille, down to the old and tattered45 ragpicker who had been arrested for drunkenness; from the bourgeoise who had been discovered in the act of betraying her husband, down to the ordinary street-walker, who had been caught abroad without her police livret. Here and there, too, were a shoplifter, a bonne who had assaulted her mistress, and a market woman who, in a moment of fury, had [Pg 40] chewed off her antagonist's nose. Dressed in the most motley of costumes, they lay about on the wooden bench which ran round the cell, or were stretched prostrate46 on the damp and dirty brick floor.
Amid these surroundings Rose presented a truly strange appearance as she stood up in the cold morning light, with her costly47 white velvet gown all stained with mud, from which the superb lace flounces had been partly torn by the brutal29 hands of the men who had arrested her. Her beautiful golden hair lay in tangled48 masses on her bare shoulders, from which the red opera-cloak had fallen as she rose to her feet. She was very pale and there was a hard and stony49 look in her sunken eyes.
She had had time to reflect on the events of the previous evening, and thoroughly50 realized the fact that after what had happened Frederick would refuse to acknowledge her as his wife. It would be, therefore, more than useless to appeal to him to substantiate51 the statements which she had at first made as to her rank and condition; indeed, matters might be only aggravated52 by such a course, and she determined53 to maintain the strictest silence concerning her former life. Her heart, however, was filled to overflowing54 with bitterness against her husband, to whose conduct she attributed her present horrible predicament. Intense hatred55 had taken the place of any feelings of affection which she might formerly56 have possessed57 for him, and she then and there registered a solemn oath that she would never rest until she had wreaked58 a terrible vengeance59 for all she had suffered on his account.
At eight o'clock she was brought into court and charged with having been found plying31 an immoral60 trade in the public streets, without having previously61 obtained the required license62 from the “Prefecture de Police.” For this offense63 the magistrate64, without much questioning, sentenced her to three months' imprisonment65 at St. Lazarre. Shortly [Pg 41] afterward66 the police-van, which in French bears the euphonic67 name of “Panier a Salade” (Salad Basket), drew up at the door of the station-house, and Rose, with most of the women who had spent the night in the same cell with her, was bundled into the dismal68 conveyance69. The latter then rattled70 off through the streets along which she had last driven reclining lazily on the soft cushions of her victoria, to the well-known prison in the Faubourg St. Denis, within the walls of which even an hour's sojourn71 is sufficient to brand a woman with infamy72 for the remainder of her days.
On alighting in the court-yard of St. Lazarre, Rose was taken to the clerk's office, where her name, age, and origin were entered on the prison register. She gave her name as Rose Hartmann, her age as twenty-five, and declared, in response to the inquiries73 on the subject, that she had no profession and was of German extraction. From thence she was passed on to the hands of “Madame la Fouilleuse,” as the searcher is nicknamed, who made her strip, and, after having searched her clothes and even her hair, bade her put on the prison dress, consisting of coarse linen74 under-clothes, blue cotton hose, thick shoes, a brown stuff dress, brown woolen75 cap, and large blue cotton cloth apron76.
The prison regulations at St. Lazarre were then and are still very severe. The prisoners have to get up at five o'clock in the morning. They sleep four together in one room, and have no other toilet utensils77 than small pitchers78 of water and basins no bigger than a moderate-sized soup plate. This makes their morning bath a rather difficult operation. Their meals, except when they are allowed meat on Sundays, consist of a dish of thin vegetable broth79, a piece of brown bread, and fricasseed vegetables. While they are at table, a Sister of the religious order of Marie-Joseph reads aloud to them extracts from some pious80 book. Ten hours of the long, weary day are spent in doing plain needlework, and they have to be in bed for the night at [Pg 42] 7:30 o'clock. At eight o'clock all lights are extinguished throughout the prison, and during the long night no sound is heard in the big pile of buildings but the steps of the Sisters of Marie-Joseph, who are on guard, and who pace [Pg 43] the long corridors at fixed81 intervals82 to see that there is no talking going on.
It must be acknowledged that all this was a cruel change to Rose, who, at any rate during the previous twelve months, had been accustomed to a life of elegance, refinement83, and cruelty.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
velvet
|
|
| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
gardenias
|
|
| n.栀子属植物，栀子花( gardenia的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
bosom
|
|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
bust
|
|
| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
perverse
|
|
| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
ails
|
|
| v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
murmurs
|
|
| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
saucily
|
|
| adv.傲慢地，莽撞地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
extravagantly
|
|
| adv.挥霍无度地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
sipping
|
|
| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
tragic
|
|
| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
passionately
|
|
| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
cynosure
|
|
| n.焦点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
hospitable
|
|
| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
elegance
|
|
| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
fathom
|
|
| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
corrupt
|
|
| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
yearns
|
|
| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
gutter
|
|
| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
tawny
|
|
| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
divan
|
|
| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
beholds
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的第三人称单数 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
conservatory
|
|
| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
brutally
|
|
| adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
brutal
|
|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
hoarsely
|
|
| adv.嘶哑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
plying
|
|
| v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
shriek
|
|
| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
dart
|
|
| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
filthy
|
|
| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
reigned
|
|
| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
nauseating
|
|
| adj.令人恶心的，使人厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
shrieks
|
|
| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
discordant
|
|
| adj.不调和的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
pandemonium
|
|
| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
luxuriously
|
|
| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
inferno
|
|
| n.火海；地狱般的场所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
circumscribed
|
|
| adj.[医]局限的：受限制或限于有限空间的v.在…周围划线( circumscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；划定…范围；限制；限定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
disturbance
|
|
| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
tattered
|
|
| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
prostrate
|
|
| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
costly
|
|
| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
tangled
|
|
| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
stony
|
|
| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
substantiate
|
|
| v.证实；证明...有根据 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
aggravated
|
|
| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
overflowing
|
|
| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
hatred
|
|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
wreaked
|
|
| 诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
immoral
|
|
| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
previously
|
|
| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
license
|
|
| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
offense
|
|
| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
magistrate
|
|
| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
imprisonment
|
|
| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
euphonic
|
|
| adj.语调好的，音调上的，好听的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
dismal
|
|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
conveyance
|
|
| n.(不动产等的)转让，让与；转让证书；传送；运送；表达；（正）运输工具 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
rattled
|
|
| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
sojourn
|
|
| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
infamy
|
|
| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
inquiries
|
|
| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
linen
|
|
| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
woolen
|
|
| adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
apron
|
|
| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
utensils
|
|
| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
pitchers
|
|
| 大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
broth
|
|
| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
pious
|
|
| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
refinement
|
|
| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |