The Reche, literally1 translated the “Waste,” where Marie-Anne had promised to meet Maurice, owed its name to the rebellious2 and sterile3 character of the soil.
Nature seemed to have laid her curse upon it. Nothing would grow there. The ground was covered with stones, and the sandy soil defied all attempts to enrich it.
A few stunted4 oaks rose here and there above the thorns and broom-plant.
But on the lowlands of the Reche is a flourishing grove5. The firs are straight and strong, for the floods of winter have deposited in some of the clefts6 of the rock sufficient soil to sustain them and the wild clematis and honeysuckle that cling to their branches.
On reaching this grove, Maurice consulted his watch. It marked the hour of mid-day. He had supposed that he was late, but he was more than an hour in advance of the appointed time.
He seated himself upon a high rock, from which he could survey the entire Reche, and waited.
The day was magnificent; the air intensely hot. The rays of the August sun fell with scorching7 violence upon the sandy soil, and withered8 the few plants which had sprung up since the last rain.
The stillness was profound, almost terrible. Not a sound broke the silence, not even the buzzing of an insect, nor a whisper of breeze in the trees. All nature seemed sleeping. And on no side was there anything to remind one of life, motion, or mankind.
This repose9 of nature, which contrasted so vividly10 with the tumult11 raging in his own heart, exerted a beneficial effect upon Maurice. These few moments of solitude12 afforded him an opportunity to regain13 his composure, to collect his thoughts scattered14 by the storm of passion which had swept over his soul, as leaves are scattered by the fierce November gale15.
With sorrow comes experience, and that cruel knowledge of life which teaches one to guard one’s self against one’s hopes.
It was not until he heard the conversation of these peasants that Maurice fully16 realized the horror of Lacheneur’s position. Suddenly precipitated17 from the social eminence18 which he had attained19, he found, in the valley of humiliations into which he was cast, only hatred20, distrust, and scorn. Both factions21 despised and denied him. Traitor22, cried one; thief, cried the other. He no longer held any social status. He was the fallen man, the man who had been, and who was no more.
Was not the excessive misery23 of such a position a sufficient explanation of the strangest and wildest resolutions?
This thought made Maurice tremble. Connecting the stories of the peasants with the words addressed to Chanlouineau at Escorval by M. Lacheneur on the preceding evening, he arrived at the conclusion that this report of Marie-Anne’s approaching marriage to the young fanner was not so improbable as he had at first supposed.
But why should M. Lacheneur give his daughter to an uncultured peasant? From mercenary motives24? Certainly not, since he had just refused an alliance of which he had been proud in his days of prosperity. Could it be in order to satisfy his wounded pride, then? Perhaps he did not wish it to be said that he owed anything to a son-in-law.
Maurice was exhausting all his ingenuity25 and penetration26 in endeavoring to solve this mystery, when at last, on a foot-path which crosses the waste, a woman appeared — Marie-Anne.
He rose, but fearing observation, did not venture to leave the shelter of the grove.
Marie-Anne must have felt a similar fear, for she hurried on, casting anxious glances on every side as she ran. Maurice remarked, not without surprise, that she was bare-headed, and that she had neither shawl nor scarf about her shoulders.
As she reached the edge of the wood, he sprang toward her, and catching27 her hand raised it to his lips.
But this hand, which she had so often yielded to him, was now gently withdrawn28, with so sad a gesture that he could not help feeling there was no hope.
“I came, Maurice,” she began, “because I could not endure the thought of your anxiety. By doing so I have betrayed my father’s confidence — he was obliged to leave home. I hastened here. And yet I promised him, only two hours ago, that I would never see you again. You hear me — never!”
She spoke29 hurriedly, but Maurice was appalled30 by the firmness of her accent.
Had he been less agitated31, he would have seen what a terrible effort this semblance32 of calmness cost the young girl. He would have understood it from her pallor, from the contraction33 of her lips, from the redness of the eyelids34 which she had vainly bathed with fresh water, and which betrayed the tears that had fallen during the night.
“If I have come,” she continued, “it is only to tell you that, for your own sake, as well as for mine, there must not remain in the secret recesses35 of your heart even the slightest shadow of a hope. All is over; we are separated forever! Only weak natures revolt against a destiny which they cannot alter. Let us accept our fate uncomplainingly. I wished to see you once more, and to say this: Have courage, Maurice. Go away — leave Escorval — forget me!”
“Forget you, Marie-Anne!” exclaimed the wretched young man, “forget you!”
His eyes met hers, and in a husky voice he added:
“Will you then forget me?”
“I am a woman, Maurice —”
But he interrupted her:
“Ah! I did not expect this,” he said, despondently36. “Poor fool that I was! I believed that you would find a way to touch your father’s heart.”
She blushed slightly, hesitated, and said:
“I have thrown myself at my father’s feet; he repulsed37 me.”
Maurice was thunderstruck, but recovering himself:
“It was because you did not know how to speak to him!” he exclaimed in a passion of fury; “but I shall know — I will present such arguments that he will be forced to yield. What right has he to ruin my happiness with his caprices? I love you —-by right of this love, you are mine — mine rather than his! I will make him understand this, you shall see. Where is he? Where can I find him?”
Already he was starting to go, he knew not where. Marie-Anne caught him by the arm.
“Remain,” she commanded, “remain! So you have failed to understand me, Maurice. Ah, well! you must know the truth. I am acquainted now with the reasons of my father’s refusal; and though his decision should cost me my life, I approve it. Do not go to find my father. If, moved by your prayers, he gave his consent, I should have the courage to refuse mine!”
Maurice was so beside himself that this reply did not enlighten him. Crazed with anger and despair, and with no remorse38 for the insult he addressed to this woman whom he loved so deeply, he exclaimed:
“Is it for Chanlouineau, then, that you are reserving your consent? He believes so since he goes about everywhere saying that you will soon be his wife.”
Marie-Anne shuddered39 as if a knife had entered her very heart; and yet there was more sorrow than anger in the glance she cast upon Maurice.
“Must I stoop so low as to defend myself from such an imputation40?” she asked, sadly. “Must I declare that if even I suspect such an arrangement between Chanlouineau and my father, I have not been consulted? Must I tell you that there are some sacrifices which are beyond the strength of poor human nature? Understand this: I have found strength to renounce41 the man I love — I shall never be able to accept another in his place!”
Maurice hung his head, abashed42 by her earnest words, dazzled by the sublime43 expression of her face.
Reason returned; he realized the enormity of his suspicions, and was horrified44 with himself for having dared to give utterance45 to them.
“Oh! pardon!” he faltered46, “pardon!”
What did the mysterious causes of all these events which had so rapidly succeeded each other, or M. Lacheneur’s secrets, or Marie-Anne’s reticence47, matter to him now?
He was seeking some chance of salvation48; he believed that he had found it.
“We must fly!” he exclaimed: “fly at once without pausing to look back. Before night we shall have passed the frontier.”
He sprang toward her with outstretched arms, as if to seize her and bear her away; but she checked him by a single look.
“Fly!” said she, reproachfully; “fly! and is it you, Maurice, who counsel me thus? What! while misfortune is crushing my poor father to the earth, shall I add despair and shame to his sorrows? His friends have deserted49 him; shall I, his daughter, also abandon him? Ah! if I did that, I should be the vilest50, the most cowardly of creatures! If my father, yesterday, when I believed him the owner of Sairmeuse, had demanded the sacrifice to which I consented last evening, I might, perhaps, have resolved upon the extreme measure you have counselled. In broad daylight I might have left Sairmeuse on the arm of my lover. It is not the world that I fear! But if one might consent to fly from the chateau51 of a rich and happy father, one cannot consent to desert the poor abode52 of a despairing and penniless parent. Leave me, Maurice, where honor holds me. It will not be difficult for me, who am the daughter of generations of peasants, to become a peasant. Go! I cannot endure more! Go! and remember that one cannot be utterly53 wretched if one’s conscience is clean, and one’s duty fulfilled!”
Maurice was about to reply, when a crackling of dry branches made him turn his head.
Scarcely ten paces off, Martial54 de Sairmeuse was standing55 motionless, leaning upon his gun.
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1
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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sterile
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| adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的 | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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clefts
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| n.裂缝( cleft的名词复数 )；裂口；cleave的过去式和过去分词；进退维谷 | |
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scorching
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| adj. 灼热的 | |
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withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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factions
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| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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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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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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28
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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30
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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34
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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recesses
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| 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 | |
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despondently
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| adv.沮丧地，意志消沉地 | |
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37
repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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39
shuddered
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| 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 | |
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40
imputation
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| n.归罪，责难 | |
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41
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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42
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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46
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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47
reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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48
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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49
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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50
vilest
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| adj.卑鄙的( vile的最高级 )；可耻的；极坏的；非常讨厌的 | |
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51
chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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52
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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53
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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54
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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