How am I glutted1 with conceit2 of this!
Shall I make spirits fetch me what I please,
Resolve me of all ambiguities3,
Perform what desperate enterprise I will?
DOCTOR FAUSTUS.
Octave was so much in the habit of leaving Andilly to visit Madame d’Aumale in Paris, that one day a slight feeling of jealousy4 began to quench5 Armance’s gaiety. On her cousin’s return, that evening, she exercised her authority. “Do you wish to oblige your mother in a matter which she will never mention to you?” “Of course.” “Very well, for the next three months, that is to say for ninety days, do not refuse any invitation to a ball, and do not come away from a ball until you have danced.”
“I should prefer a fortnight’s imprisonment6.” “You are easily satisfied,” Armance went on, “but do you promise me, or do you not?” “I promise anything except to keep my promise for three months. Since you all tyrannise over me here,” said Octave with a laugh, “I shall run away. There is an old idea of mine which quite spontaneously kept coming into my mind throughout the evening yesterday, at M. de ———‘s sumptuous7 party, at which I danced as though I had guessed your orders. If I were to leave Andilly for six months I have two plans more amusing than that of going to England.
“One is to assume the name of M. Lenoir; under that fine name, I should go into the country and give lessons in arithmetic, in geometry applied9 to the arts, anything they want to leam. I should make my way by Bourges, Aurillac, Cahors; I should easily procure10 letters from any number of Peers who are Members of the Institute, recommending to the Prefects the learned royalist Lenoir, and so forth11.
“But the other plan is better still. In my capacity as a teacher, I should see only a lot of enthusiastic and volatile12 young fellows who would soon bore me, and various intrigues13 by the Congregation .
“I hesitate to reveal to you the better plan of the two; I should assume the name of Pierre Gerlat, I should start at Geneva or Lyons by becoming valet to some young man who is destined14 to play a part more or less identical with my own in society. Pierre Gerlat would be provided with excellent testimonials from the young Vicomte de Malivert, whose faithful servant he had been for six years. In a word, I should assume the name and identity of that poor Pierre whom I once threw out of the window. Two or three men of my acquaintance will oblige me with testimonials. They will seal these with their arms upon huge lumps of wax, and in that way I hope to find a place with some young Englishman, either very rich or the son of a Peer. I shall take care to stain my hands with an acid solution. I have learned how to clean boots from the servant I have now, the gallant15 Corporal Voreppe. In the last three months I have stolen all his talents.”
“One evening your roaster, when he comes home tipsy, will start kicking Pierre Gerlat.”
“Were he to throw me out of the window, I am prepared for that. I shall defend myself, and give him notice the next day, and bear him no grudge16 whatever.”
“You would be guilty of an abuse of confidence which would be very wrong indeed; A man exposes the defects of his nature to a young peasant who is incapable17 of understanding his most salient eccentricities18, but he would take good care, I am sure, not to act thus before a man of his own class.” “I shall never repeat what I have seen or heard. Anyhow, a master, to talk like Pierre Gerlat, always runs the risk of hitting upon a rascal19, mine will only find curiosity. Realise what I am suffering,” Octave went on. “My imagination is so foolish at certain moments, and so far exaggerates what I owe to my position, that, without being a Sovereign Prince, I long for an incognito20. I am supreme21 in misery22, in absurdity23, in the extreme importance that I attach to certain things. I feel a compelling need to see another Vicomte de Malivert in my place. Since, unfortunately, I have embarked24 on this career, since, to my great and sincere regret, I cannot be the son of the chief foreman of M. de Lian-court’s carding mill, I require six months of domestic service to cure the Vicomte de Malivert of various weaknesses.
“This is the only way; my pride raises a wall of adamant25 between myself and my fellow men. Your presence, my dear cousin, makes this unsurmountable wall disappear. In conversation with you, I should take nothing in ill part, such serenity26 does your presence give to my soul, but unfortunately I have not the magic carpet to take you everywhere with me. I cannot see you as a third person when I go riding in the Bois de Boulogne with one of my friends . Soon after our first meeting, there is none of them who is not estranged27 by my talk. When, after a year, and in spite of anything I can do, they understand me thoroughly28, they wrap themselves up in the closest reserve, and would rather (I really believe) that their secret thoughts and actions were known to the devil than to me. I would not swear that many of them do not take me for Lucifer himself (as M. de Soubirane says, in fact, it is one of his favourite remarks) brought into the world on purpose to torment29 them .”
Octave imparted these strange ideas to his cousin as they strolled in the woods of Moulignon, in the wake of Mesdames de Bonnivet and de Malivert. These oddities distressed30 Armance deeply. Next day, after her cousin had left for Paris, her free and lively air which often became quite unrestrained gave way to that fixed31 and tender gaze from which Octave, when he was present, could not tear his own.
Madame de Bonnivet invited a number of guests, and Octave no longer had such frequent reasons for going to Paris, for Madame d’Aumale came to stay at An-dilly. With her there arrived seven or eight women at the height of the fashion, and mostly remarkable32 for the brilliance33 of their wit or for the influence that they had obtained in society. But their affability only enhanced the triumph of the charming Comtesse; her mere34 presence in a drawing-room aged35 her rivals.
Octave was too intelligent not to feel this, and Armance’s spells of musing8 became more frequent. “Of whom have I the right to complain?” she asked herself. “Of no one, and of Octave least of all. Have I not told him that I prefer another man? And there is too much pride in his nature to be content with the second place in a heart. He is attached to Madame d’Aumale; she is a brilliant beauty, spoken of everywhere, and I am not even pretty. Anything that I can say to Octave can be but faintly interesting, I am certain that often I bore him, or am interesting only as a sister. Madame d’Aumale’s life is gay, unusual; things never flag where she is to be found, and it seems to me that I should often be bored in my aunt’s drawing-room if I listened to what people say there.” Armance wept, but her noble soul did not so far debase itself as to feel hatred36 for Madame d’Aumale. She observed every action of that charming lady with a profound attention which ended often in moments of keen admiration37. But each act of admiration was like a dagger38 thrust in her heart. Her peaceful happiness vanished, Armance was a prey39 to all the anguish40 of the passions. Finally, Madame d’Aumale’s presence disturbed her more than that of Octave himself. The torture of jealousy is most unbearable41 when it is rending42 hearts to which their natural inclination43 as well as their social position forbid every way of appeal that is at all dangerous.
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1
glutted
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| v.吃得过多( glut的过去式和过去分词 )；（对胃口、欲望等）纵情满足；使厌腻；塞满 | |
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conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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ambiguities
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| n.歧义( ambiguity的名词复数 )；意义不明确；模棱两可的意思；模棱两可的话 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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volatile
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| adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质 | |
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intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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18
eccentricities
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| n.古怪行为( eccentricity的名词复数 )；反常；怪癖 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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incognito
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| adv.匿名地；n.隐姓埋名；adj.化装的，用假名的，隐匿姓名身份的 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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adamant
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| adj.坚硬的，固执的 | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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estranged
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| adj.疏远的，分离的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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36
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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40
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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41
unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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42
rending
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| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
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43
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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