When the Princess had heard my verses and overwhelmed the writer of them with praise, Grandmamma softened1 to her a little. She began to address her in French and to cease calling her "my dear." Likewise she invited her to return that evening with her children. This invitation having been accepted, the Princess took her leave. After that, so many other callers came to congratulate Grandmamma that the courtyard was crowded all day long with carriages.
"Good morning, my dear cousin," was the greeting of one guest in particular as he entered the room and kissed Grandmamma's hand, He was a man of seventy, with a stately figure clad in a military uniform and adorned2 with large epaulettes, an embroidered3 collar, and a white cross round the neck. His face, with its quiet and open expression, as well as the simplicity4 and ease of his manners, greatly pleased me, for, in spite of the thin half-circle of hair which was all that was now left to him, and the want of teeth disclosed by the set of his upper lip, his face was a remarkably6 handsome one.
Thanks to his fine character, handsome exterior7, remarkable8 valour, influential9 relatives, and, above all, good fortune, Prince, Ivan Ivanovitch had early made himself a career. As that career progressed, his ambition had met with a success which left nothing more to be sought for in that direction. From his earliest youth upward he had prepared himself to fill the exalted10 station in the world to which fate actually called him later; wherefore, although in his prosperous life (as in the lives of all) there had been failures, misfortunes, and cares, he had never lost his quietness of character, his elevated tone of thought, or his peculiarly moral, religious bent12 of mind. Consequently, though he had won the universal esteem13 of his fellows, he had done so less through his important position than through his perseverance14 and integrity. While not of specially15 distinguished16 intellect, the eminence17 of his station (whence he could afford to look down upon all petty questions) had caused him to adopt high points of view. Though in reality he was kind and sympathetic, in manner he appeared cold and haughty--probably for the reason that he had forever to be on his guard against the endless claims and petitions of people who wished to profit through his influence. Yet even then his coldness was mitigated18 by the polite condescension19 of a man well accustomed to move in the highest circles of society. Well-educated, his culture was that of a youth of the end of the last century. He had read everything, whether philosophy or belles20 lettres, which that age had produced in France, and loved to quote from Racine, Corneille, Boileau, Moliere, Montaigne, and Fenelon. Likewise he had gleaned21 much history from Segur, and much of the old classics from French translations of them; but for mathematics, natural philosophy, or contemporary literature he cared nothing whatever. However, he knew how to be silent in conversation, as well as when to make general remarks on authors whom he had never read-- such as Goethe, Schiller, and Byron. Moreover, despite his exclusively French education, he was simple in speech and hated originality22 (which he called the mark of an untutored nature). Wherever he lived, society was a necessity to him, and, both in Moscow and the country he had his reception days, on which practically "all the town" called upon him. An introduction from him was a passport to every drawing-room; few young and pretty ladies in society objected to offering him their rosy23 cheeks for a paternal24 salute25; and people even in the highest positions felt flattered by invitations to his parties.
The Prince had few friends left now like Grandmamma--that is to say, few friends who were of the same standing26 as himself, who had had the same sort of education, and who saw things from the same point of view: wherefore he greatly valued his intimate, long-standing friendship with her, and always showed her the highest respect.
I hardly dared to look at the Prince, since the honour paid him on all sides, the huge epaulettes, the peculiar11 pleasure with which Grandmamma received him, and the fact that he alone, seemed in no way afraid of her, but addressed her with perfect freedom (even being so daring as to call her "cousin"), awakened27 in me a feeling of reverence28 for his person almost equal to that which I felt for Grandmamma herself.
On being shown my verses, he called me to his side, and said:
"Who knows, my cousin, but that he may prove to be a second Derzhavin?" Nevertheless he pinched my cheek so hard that I was only prevented from crying by the thought that it must be meant for a caress29.
Gradually the other guests dispersed30, and with them Papa and Woloda. Thus only Grandmamma, the Prince, and myself were left in the drawing-room.
"Why has our dear Natalia Nicolaevna not come to-day" asked the Prince after a silence.
"Ah, my friend," replied Grandmamma, lowering her voice and laying a hand upon the sleeve of his uniform, "she would certainly have come if she had been at liberty to do what she likes. She wrote to me that Peter had proposed bringing her with him to town, but that she had refused, since their income had not been good this year, and she could see no real reason why the whole family need come to Moscow, seeing that Lubotshka was as yet very young and that the boys were living with me--a fact, she said, which made her feel as safe about them as though she had been living with them herself."
"True, it is good for the boys to be here," went on Grandmamma, yet in a tone which showed clearly that she did not think it was so very good, "since it was more than time that they should be sent to Moscow to study, as well as to learn how to comport31 themselves in society. What sort of an education could they have got in the country? The eldest32 boy will soon be thirteen, and the second one eleven. As yet, my cousin, they are quite untaught, and do not know even how to enter a room."
"Nevertheless" said the Prince, "I cannot understand these complaints of ruined fortunes. He has a very handsome income, and Natalia has Chabarovska, where we used to act plays, and which I know as well as I do my own hand. It is a splendid property, and ought to bring in an excellent return."
"Well," said Grandmamma with a sad expression on her face, "I do not mind telling you, as my most intimate friend, that all this seems to me a mere33 pretext34 on his part for living alone, for strolling about from club to club, for attending dinner-parties, and for resorting to--well, who knows what? She suspects nothing; you know her angelic sweetness and her implicit5 trust of him in everything. He had only to tell her that the children must go to Moscow and that she must be left behind in the country with a stupid governess for company, for her to believe him! I almost think that if he were to say that the children must be whipped just as the Princess Barbara whips hers, she would believe even that!" and Grandmamma leant back in her arm-chair with an expression of contempt. Then, after a moment of silence, during which she took her handkerchief out of her pocket to wipe away a few tears which had stolen down her cheeks, she went, on:
"Yes, my friend, I often think that he cannot value and understand her properly, and that, for all her goodness and love of him and her endeavours to conceal35 her grief (which, however as I know only too well, exists). She cannot really he happy with him. Mark my words if he does not--" Here Grandmamma buried her face in the handkerchief.
"Ah, my dear old friend," said the Prince reproachfully. "I think you are unreasonable36. Why grieve and weep over imagined evils? That is not right. I have known him a long time, and feel sure that he is an attentive37, kind, and excellent husband, as well as (which is the chief thing of all) a perfectly38 honourable39 man."
At this point, having been an involuntary auditor40 of a conversation not meant for my ears, I stole on tiptoe out of the room, in a state of great distress41.
当公爵夫人听了那首诗，对作者大加赞扬的时候，外祖母的脸色变得温和了，开始同她说法国话，不再称她您，我的亲爱的，而且请她晚上把所有的孩子都带到我们家来。公爵夫人表示同意，又坐了一会儿，就坐车走了。
那天真是宾客盈门，院子里，大门口，整个上午总有几辆马车同时停在那里。
“Bonjour，chere cousine ① ，”有一个客人走进屋，吻着外祖母的手说。
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①Bonjour，chere cousine：法语“您好，亲爱的表妹”。
这是个七十来岁的人，身材高大，穿着军装，佩着大肩章，领口下面露出一只很大的白色十字架，神色平静而坦然。他那种豪爽随便的举动使我很惊异。虽然他的后脑勺上只剩下稀稀拉拉的半圈头发，虽然他的上嘴唇的样子已经清楚地说明他掉了牙，但是他的相貌依旧漂亮极了。
上世纪末叶，伊凡·伊凡内奇由于他的高尚的性格、漂亮的仪表、过人的勇气、权贵的亲戚，特别是由于他的好运气，使他在还很年轻的时候就飞黄腾达起来。他继续服务，不久他就名利双收，在这方面不再有什么希求了。从小他的举止就仿佛他已准备在社会交界占有后来命运给他安排的显赫的地位；因此，虽然在他那显赫的、有些讲究虚荣的一生中，象所有别人一样，也有过不幸、失望和悔恨，但是他从来没有改变过他那始终非常泰然自若的风度、他那崇高的思想方式、他那基本的宗教和道德原则。他赢得普遍的尊敬，并不是由于他的显赫地位，而是由干他那始终如一的言行和不屈不挠的精神。他并不太聪明，但是由于他的地位使他能看不起人生的一切虚荣，因而他的思想是崇高的。他心地善良，富于感情，但是待人接物却那么冷淡，而且有几分傲慢。这是由于他处的地位可以对许多人都有所帮助，因此他极力用冷淡的态度来自卫，来抵挡那种净想依仗他的势力的人们的不住的纠缠和花言巧语。然而，这种冷淡却由于上流社会人物的彬彬有礼的风度而冲淡了。他很有教养，博学多识；但是他的教养只是在年青时，也就是上世纪末得到的。他读过十八世纪法国哲学和修辞学方面所有的好作品，熟谙法国文学中所有的优秀作品，因此他常常能够而且喜欢引用拉辛 ① 、高乃依、布瓦洛、莫里哀、蒙泰涅和费纳龙的词句；他通晓神话学，而且根据法文译本研究过古代著名史诗，颇有心得；对历史有充分的知识，这是他从塞格尔那里得来的；但是除了算术而外，他对数学一无所知，对物理和现代文学更是一窍不通。在谈话中他知道怎样沉默寡言，或者对歌德、席勒和拜伦泛泛地评论几句，但是他从来没有读过他的作品。尽管他受过这种古典的法国教育（这种类型的人现在已经如凤毛麟角了），但是他的谈吐总是平易近人的，这种单纯既掩饰了他对某些事物的无知，也表现了他的良好风度和宽容。他非常仇恨一切别出心裁的见解，说别出心裁是没有教养的人的狡猾手段。社交对于他是不可缺少的，无论他住在哪儿，在莫斯科或者在国外，他总是非常好客，在一定的日子招待全城。他在城里交游极广，人们甚至可以拿他的请贴当作进入任何客厅的出入证。许多年轻美貌的妇女心甘情愿地把红润的脸颊献给他，而他就仿佛慈父一样地吻一吻；有些显然十分重要和体面的人物在被准许参加公爵的招待会时，那份高兴是难以形容的。
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①拉辛（1639-1690）：和下面所说的高乃依（1606-1684）、布瓦洛（1636-1711）、莫里哀（1622-1673）、蒙泰涅（1533-1692）。费纳龙（1651一1715）、塞格尔（1780-1873）均为法国作家。塞格尔也是外交家和历史学家。
象外祖母这样，和他属于同一圈子里，受过同样教育，见解相同，年龄相仿的人，对公爵来说已经寥寥无几了；因此他特别重视他同她的老交情，总是向她表示很大的敬意。
我目不转睛地望着公爵：大家对他表示的敬意、他的大肩章、外祖母看见他时流露出来的特别的喜悦，以及显然只有他一个人不怕她，同她相处十分随便，甚至胆敢称呼她ma cousine，这一切使我对他怀着与对外祖母同样的敬意，如果不是更多的话。让他看我的诗的时候，他把我叫到跟前，说：
“怎么能知道呢，ma cousine，也许他会是杰尔查文第二呀！”
说着，他狠狠地捏了我的脸蛋一把，如果说我没有大叫起来，那只是因为我猜想这是爱抚的表示。
客人们散去了。爸爸和沃洛佳走出屋去；客厅里只剩下公爵、外祖母和我。
“为什么我们那可爱的娜达丽雅·尼古拉耶芙娜没有来？”停顿了片刻以后，伊凡·伊凡内奇公爵突然问道。
“Ah！mon cher， ① ”外祖母压低了声音回答说，把手放在他的制服袖口上，“要是她能随心所欲的话，她一定会来的。她给我的信上说：‘彼埃尔劝她来，但是她自己不肯来，因为他们今年一年一点没有进项；’她又说：‘况且，我今年用不着带着全家到莫斯科来。柳博奇卡还太小，至于男孩子们，可以住在您那里，那比他们跟我在一起，我还放心哩。’“这一切自然很好罗！”外祖母接下去说，她的口气清清楚楚表现出她觉得这一点也不好。“男孩子们早就应该送到这儿来，好让他们能够学点东西，习惯社交界的情况；要不然，在乡下他们能受到什么教育？……要知道，大的快十三岁，另一个十一岁了……您看看， mon cousin，他们在这里完全象野孩子……连怎么进客厅都不会。”
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①“Ah！mon cher”：法语“唉！我的亲爱的。”
“不过，我不明白，”公爵回答说，“为什么老抱怨家境不好？他有一份很大的家业，对于娜达丽雅的哈巴洛夫卡（过去你我曾在那儿演过戏），我是了若指掌的，那份领地好极了，一向有可观的收入。”
“我把您当作知己，对您讲讲吧，”外祖母带着忧伤的神情，打断他的话头说，“我觉得，这只是借口，让他可以单身住在这儿，常去俱乐部、赴宴会和干些天晓得的勾当；而她却丝毫也不怀疑。您知道她那天使一般的善良，她一切都相信他。他使她相信，孩子们应当带到莫斯科，她应当跟那个愚蠢的家庭女教师留在乡下—— 而她也就相信了。如果他对她讲，孩子们应当象瓦尔瓦拉·伊里尼契娜打她的孩子们一样挨打，我想连这个她也会同意的，”外祖母说，带着十分轻蔑的神色在安乐椅上转动着。“是的，我的朋友，”她停顿了一会儿，又接下去说，拿起她那两块手帕中的一块，来擦流出来的一滴眼泪，“我时常想，他既不重视她，也不了解她，尽管她心地善良，她爱他，她极力掩饰自己的悲哀，这一点我知道得很清楚，她跟他在一起是不会幸福的。记住我的话，如果他不……”
外祖母用手帕捂住脸。
“Eh！ma bonne amie， ① ”公爵用责备的口吻说，“我看，您一点也没有变得更明智，您总是自寻烦恼，为了想像出来的伤心事哭泣。哦，您不难为情吗？我早就认识他了，晓得他是个殷勤周到、善于体贴的、出色的丈夫，主要的是——一个非常高尚的人，un parfait honnete homme ② 。”
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①“Eh！ma bonne amie”：法语“唉！我的好朋友。”
②un barfaie nonnete homme：法语“一个非常正派的人”。
无意中听到一场我不该听的话以后，我就踮着脚从屋里溜出去，心情非常激动。
收听单词发音 |
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softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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implicit
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| a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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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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influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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mitigated
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| v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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condescension
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| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
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belles
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| n.美女( belle的名词复数 )；最美的美女 | |
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gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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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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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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comport
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| vi.相称，适合 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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auditor
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| n.审计员，旁听着 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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