CHAPTER II.

 I SLOWLY ascended¹ the steps and entered the house, and at a corner of the corridor I found myself face to face with a tall lady dressed in black.

 

I understood at once that this lady of thirty-eight or forty years of age, and still beautiful, was the mistress of the house.

 

“Madame,” said I, bowing deeply, “I am afraid you will think me intrusive², but the custom of the country may be my excuse, and your servant’s invitation my authority to enter.”

 

“You are welcome to the mother,” replied Madame de Franchi, “and you will almost immediately be welcomed by the son. From this moment, sir, the house belongs to you; use it as if it were your own.”

 

“I come but to beg hospitality for one night, madame,” I answered; “to-morrow morning, at daybreak, I will take my departure.”

 

“You are free to do as you please, sir; but I hope that you will change your mind, and that we shall have the honour of your company for a longer period.”

 

I bowed again, and Madame continued—

 

“Maria, show this gentleman to my son Louis’ chamber³; light the fire at once, and carry up some hot water. You will excuse me,” she said, turning again to me as the servant departed, “but I always fancy that the first wants of a tired traveller are warm water and a fire. Will you please to follow my maid, sir; and you need have no hesitation⁴ in asking her for anything you may require. We shall sup in an hour, and my son, who will be home by that time, will have the honour to wait upon you.”

 

“I trust you will excuse my travelling dress, madame.”

 

“Yes, sir,” she replied smiling; “but on condition that you, on your part, will excuse the rusticity⁵ of your reception.”

 

I bowed my thanks, and followed the servant upstairs.

 

The room was situated⁶ on the first floor, and looked out towards the rear of the house, upon a pretty and extensive garden, well planted with various trees, and watered by a charming little stream, which fell into the Tavaro.

 

At the further end the prospect⁷ was bounded by a hedge, so thick as to appear like a wall. As is the case in almost all Italian houses, the walls of the rooms were white-washed and frescoed⁸.

 

I understood immediately that Madame de Franchi had given me this, her absent son’s chamber, because it was the most comfortable one in the house.

 

While Maria was lighting⁹ the fire and fetching the hot water, I took it into my head to make an inventory¹⁰ of the room, and try to arrive at an estimation of the character of its usual occupant by those means.

 

I immediately put this idea into execution, and beginning with the left hand, I took mental notes of the various objects by which I was surrounded.

 

 

The furniture all appeared to be modern, a circumstance which in that part of the island, where civilization had not then taken deep root, appeared to indicate no inconsiderable degree of luxury. It was composed of an iron bedstead and bedding, a sofa, four arm-chairs, six other occasional chairs, a wardrobe, half book case and half bureau, all of mahogany, from the first cabinet maker¹¹ in Ajaccio.

 

The sofas and chairs were covered with chintz, and curtains of similar material fell before the windows, and hung round the bed.

 

I had got so far with my inventory when Maria left the room, and I was enabled to push my investigation¹² a little closer.

 

I opened the book-case, and found within a collection of the works of our greatest poets. I noticed Corneille, Racine, Molière, La Fontaine, Ronsard, Victor Hugo, and Lamartine.

 

Our moralists—Montaigne, Pascal, Labruyère.

 

Our historians—Mezeray, Chateaubriand, Augustin Thierry.

 

Our philosophers—Cuvier, Beudant, Elie de Beaumont.

 

Besides these there were several volumes of romances and other books, amongst which I recognized, with a certain pride, my own “Impression of Travel.”

 

The keys were in the drawer of the bureau. I opened one of them.

 

Here I found fragments of a history of Corsica, a work upon the best means of abolishing the Vendetta¹³, some French verses, and some Italian sonnets¹⁴, all in manuscript. This was more than I expected, and I had the presumption¹⁵ to conclude that I need not seek much farther to form my opinion of the character of Monsieur Louis de Franchi.

 

He appeared to be a quiet, studious young man, a partizan of the French reformers, and then I understood why he had gone to Paris to become an advocate.

 

There was, without doubt, a great future for him in this course. I made all these reflections as I was dressing¹⁶. My toilette, as I had hinted to Madame de Franchi, although not wanting in a certain picturesqueness¹⁷, demanded that some allowance should be made for it.

 

It was composed of a vest of black velvet¹⁸, open at seams of the sleeves, so as to keep me cooler during the heat of the day, and slashed¹⁹ à l’Espagnole, permitting a silken chemise to appear underneath²⁰. My legs were encased in velvet breeches to the knee, and thence protected by Spanish gaiters, embroidered²¹ in Spanish silk. A felt hat, warranted to take any shape, but particularly that of a sombrero, completed my costume.

 

I recommend this dress to all travellers as being the most convenient I am acquainted with, and I was in the act of dressing, when the same man who had introduced me appeared at the door.

 

He came to announce that his young master, Monsieur Lucien de Franchi, had that instant arrived, and who desired to pay his respects to me if I were ready to receive him.

 

I replied that I was at the disposal of Monsieur Lucien de Franchi if he would do me the honour to come up.

 

An instant afterwards I heard a rapid step approaching my room, and almost immediately afterwards I was face to face with my host.

1 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 intrusive   

adj.打搅的；侵扰的

参考例句：

• The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。
• Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

3 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

4 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

5 rusticity   

n.乡村的特点、风格或气息

参考例句：

• He was ashamed of his own rusticity in that distinguished company. 在那伙人当中他因自己粗俗而惭愧。 来自辞典例句
• There is an important difference between rusticity and urbanity. 朴实和文雅之间有很大的差别。 来自互联网

6 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

7 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

8 frescoed   

壁画( fresco的名词复数 )； 温壁画技法，湿壁画

参考例句：

• The Dunhuang frescoes are gems of ancient Chinese art. 敦煌壁画是我国古代艺术中的瑰宝。
• The frescoes in these churches are magnificent. 这些教堂里的壁画富丽堂皇。

9 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

10 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

11 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 vendetta   

n.世仇，宿怨

参考例句：

• For years he pursued a vendetta against the Morris family.多年来他一直在寻求向莫里斯家族报世仇。
• She conducted a personal vendetta against me.她对我有宿仇。

14 sonnets   

n.十四行诗( sonnet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Keats' reputation as a great poet rests largely upon the odes and the later sonnets. 作为一个伟大的诗人，济慈的声誉大部分建立在他写的长诗和后期的十四行诗上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He referred to the manuscript circulation of the sonnets. 他谈到了十四行诗手稿的流行情况。 来自辞典例句

15 presumption   

n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定

参考例句：

• Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。
• I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。

16 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

17 picturesqueness   

参考例句：

• The picturesqueness of the engineer's life was always attractive to Presley. 这司机的丰富多彩的生活，始终叫普瑞斯莱醉心。
• Philip liked the daring picturesqueness of the Americans'costume. 菲利浦喜欢美国人装束的那种粗犷的美。

18 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

19 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

21 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。