Their relations were permanently1 changed. For several days they did not meet at all; and when at the end of the week Chirac was obliged at last to face Sophia in order to pay his bill, he had a most grievous expression. It was obvious that he considered himself a criminal without any defence to offer for his crime. He seemed to make no attempt to hide his state of mind. But he said nothing. As for Sophia, she preserved a mien2 of amiable3 cheerfulness. She exerted herself to convince him by her attitude that she bore no resentment4, that she had determined5 to forget the incident, that in short she was the forgiving angel of his dreams. She did not, however, succeed entirely6 in being quite natural. Confronted by his misery7, it would have been impossible for her to be quite natural, and at the same time quite cheerful!
A little later the social atmosphere of the flat began to grow querulous, disputatious and perverse8. The nerves of everybody were seriously strained. This applied9 to the whole city. Days of heavy rains followed the sharp frosts, and the town was, as it were, sodden10 with woe11. The gates were closed. And though nine-tenths of the inhabitants never went outside the gates, the definite and absolute closing of them demoralized all hearts. Gas was no longer supplied. Rats, cats, and thorough-bred horses were being eaten and pronounced 'not bad.' The siege had ceased to be a novelty. Friends did not invite one another to a 'siege-dinner' as to a picnic. Sophia, fatigued12 by regular overwork, became weary of the situation. She was angry with the Prussians for dilatoriness13, and with the French for inaction, and she poured out her English spleen on her boarders. The boarders told each other in secret that the patronne was growing formidable. Chiefly she bore a grudge14 against the shopkeepers; and when, upon a rumour15 of peace, the shop-windows one day suddenly blossomed with prodigious16 quantities of all edibles17, at highest prices, thus proving that the famine was artificially created, Sophia was furious. M. Niepce in particular, though he sold goods to her at a special discount, suffered indignities18. A few days later that benign19 and fatherly man put himself lamentably20 in the wrong by attempting to introduce into his room a charming young creature who knew how to be sympathetic. Sophia, by an accident unfortunate for the grocer, caught them in the corridor. She was beside herself, but the only outward symptoms were a white face and a cold steely voice that grated like a rasp on the susceptibilities of the adherents21 of Aphrodite. At this period Sophia had certainly developed into a termagant--without knowing it!
She would often insist now on talking about the siege, and hearing everything that the men could tell her. Her comments, made without the least regard for the justifiable22 delicacy23 of their feelings as Frenchmen, sometimes led to heated exchanges. When all Montmartre and the Quartier Breda was impassioned by the appearance from outside of the Thirty-second battalion24, she took the side of the populace, and would not credit the solemn statement of the journalists, proved by documents, that these maltreated soldiers were not cowards in flight. She supported the women who had spit in the faces of the Thirty-second. She actually said that if she had met them, she would have spit too. Really, she was convinced of the innocence25 of the Thirty-second, but something prevented her from admitting it. The dispute ended with high words between herself and Chirac.
The next day Chirac came home at an unusual hour, knocked at the kitchen door, and said:
"I must give notice to leave you."
She was kneading flour and water for a potato-cake. Her potato- cakes were the joy of the household.
"My paper has stopped!" said Chirac.
"Oh!" she added thoughtfully, but not looking at him. "That is no reason why you should leave."
"Yes," he said. "This place is beyond my means. I do not need to tell you that in ceasing to appear the paper has omitted to pay its debts. The house owes me a month's salary. So I must leave."
"No!" said Sophia. "You can pay me when you have money."
He shook his head. "I have no intention of accepting your kindness."
"Haven't you got any money?" she abruptly27 asked.
"None," said he. "It is the disaster--quite simply!"
"Then you will be forced to get into debt somewhere."
"Yes, but not here! Not to you!"
"Truly, Chirac," she exclaimed, with a cajoling voice, "you are not reasonable."
"Nevertheless it is like that!" he said with decision.
"Eh, well!" she turned on him menacingly. "It will not be like that! You understand me? You will stay. And you will pay me when you can. Otherwise we shall quarrel. Do you imagine I shall tolerate your childishness? Just because you were angry last night----"
"It is not that," he protested." You ought to know it is not that."(She did.)" It is solely28 that I cannot permit myself to----"
"Enough!" she cried peremptorily29, stopping him. And then in a quieter tone, "And what about Carlier? Is he also in the ditch?"
"Ah! he has money," said Chirac, with sad envy.
"You also, one day," said she. "You stop--in any case until after Christmas, or we quarrel. Is it agreed?" Her accent had softened30.
"You are too good!" he yielded. "I cannot quarrel with you. But it pains me to accept--"
"Oh!" she snapped, dropping into the vulgar idiom, "you make me sweat with your stupid pride. Is it that that you call friendship? Go away now. How do you wish that I should succeed with this cake while you station yourself there to distract me?"
1 permanently | |
adv.永恒地,永久地,固定不变地 | |
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2 mien | |
n.风采;态度 | |
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3 amiable | |
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的 | |
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4 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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5 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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6 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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7 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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8 perverse | |
adj.刚愎的;坚持错误的,行为反常的 | |
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9 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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10 sodden | |
adj.浑身湿透的;v.使浸透;使呆头呆脑 | |
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11 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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12 fatigued | |
adj. 疲乏的 | |
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13 dilatoriness | |
n.迟缓,拖延 | |
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14 grudge | |
n.不满,怨恨,妒嫉;vt.勉强给,不情愿做 | |
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15 rumour | |
n.谣言,谣传,传闻 | |
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16 prodigious | |
adj.惊人的,奇妙的;异常的;巨大的;庞大的 | |
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17 edibles | |
可以吃的,可食用的( edible的名词复数 ); 食物 | |
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18 indignities | |
n.侮辱,轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 ) | |
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19 benign | |
adj.善良的,慈祥的;良性的,无危险的 | |
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20 lamentably | |
adv.哀伤地,拙劣地 | |
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21 adherents | |
n.支持者,拥护者( adherent的名词复数 );党羽;徒子徒孙 | |
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22 justifiable | |
adj.有理由的,无可非议的 | |
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23 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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24 battalion | |
n.营;部队;大队(的人) | |
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25 innocence | |
n.无罪;天真;无害 | |
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26 curtly | |
adv.简短地 | |
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27 abruptly | |
adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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28 solely | |
adv.仅仅,唯一地 | |
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29 peremptorily | |
adv.紧急地,不容分说地,专横地 | |
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30 softened | |
(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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