ThepyrotechnicpiecessenttoMonsieurTuvachehad,throughanexcessofcaution,beenshutupinhiscellar,andsothedamppowderwouldnotlight,andtheprincipalsetpiece,thatwastorepresentadragonbitinghistail,failedcompletely。NowandthenameagreRoman-candlewentoff;thenthegapingcrowdsentupashoutthatmingledwiththecryofthewomen,whosewaistswerebeingsqueezedinthedarkness。EmmasilentlynestledagainstCharles’sshoulder;then,raisingherchin,shewatchedtheluminousraysoftherocketsagainstthedarksky。Rodolphegazedatherinthelightoftheburninglanterns。
Theywentoutonebyone。Thestarsshoneout。Afewcropsofrainbegantofall。Sheknottedherfichuroundherbarehead。
Atthismomentthecouncillor’scarriagecameoutfromtheinn。
Hiscoachman,whowasdrunk,suddenlydozedoff,andonecouldseefromthedistance,abovethehood,betweenthetwolanterns,themassofhisbody,thatswayedfromrighttoleftwiththegivingofthetraces。
“Truly,“saidthedruggist,“oneoughttoproceedmostrigorouslyagainstdrunkenness!Ishouldliketoseewrittenupweeklyatthedoorofthetownhallonaboardadhoc*thenamesofallthosewhoduringtheweekgotintoxicatedonalcohol。Besides,withregardtostatistics,onewouldthushave,asitwere,publicrecordsthatonecouldrefertoincaseofneed。Butexcuseme!“
*Specificallyforthat。
Andheoncemoreranofftothecaptain。Thelatterwasgoingbacktoseehislatheagain。
“Perhapsyouwouldnotdoill,“Homaissaidtohim,“tosendoneofyourmen,ortogoyourself——“
“Leavemealone!“answeredthetax-collector。“It’sallright!“
“Donotbeuneasy,“saidthedruggist,whenhereturnedtohisfriends。“MonsieurBinethasassuredmethatallprecautionshavebeentaken。Nosparkshavefallen;thepumpsarefull。Letusgotorest。“
“Mafoi!Iwantit,“saidMadameHomais,yawningatlarge。“Butnevermind;we’vehadabeautifuldayforourfete。“
Rodolpherepeatedinalowvoice,andwithatenderlook,“Oh,yes!verybeautiful!“
Andhavingbowedtooneanother,theyseparated。
Twodayslater,inthe“FinaldeRouen,“therewasalongarticleontheshow。Homaishadcomposeditwithvervetheverynextmorning。
“Whythesefestoons,theseflowers,thesegarlands?Whitherhurriesthiscrowdlikethewavesofafuriousseaunderthetorrentsofatropicalsunpouringitsheatuponourheads?“
Thenhespokeoftheconditionofthepeasants。CertainlytheGovernmentwasdoingmuch,butnotenough。“Courage!“hecriedtoit;“athousandreformsareindispensable;letusaccomplishthem!“Thentouchingontheentryofthecouncillor,hedidnotforget“themartialairofourmilitia;“nor“ourmostmerryvillagemaidens;“northe“bald-headedoldmenlikepatriarchswhowerethere,andofwhomsome,theremnantsofourphalanxes,stillfelttheirheartsbeatatthemanlysoundofthedrums。“Hecitedhimselfamongthefirstofthemembersofthejury,andheevencalledattentioninanotetothefactthatMonsieurHomais,chemist,hadsentamemoironcidertotheagriculturalsociety。
Whenhecametothedistributionoftheprizes,hepaintedthejoyoftheprize-winnersindithyrambicstrophes。“Thefatherembracedtheson,thebrotherthebrother,thehusbandhisconsort。Morethanoneshowedhishumblemedalwithpride;andnodoubtwhenhegothometohisgoodhousewife,hehungitupweepingonthemodestwallsofhiscot。
“Aboutsixo’clockabanquetpreparedinthemeadowofMonsieurLeigeardbroughttogethertheprincipalpersonagesofthefete。
Thegreatestcordialityreignedhere。Diverstoastswereproposed:MonsieurLieuvain,theKing;MonsieurTuvache,thePrefect;MonsieurDerozerays,Agriculture;MonsieurHomais,IndustryandtheFineArts,thosetwinsisters;MonsieurLeplichey,Progress。Intheeveningsomebrilliantfireworksonasuddenilluminedtheair。Onewouldhavecalleditaveritablekaleidoscope,arealoperaticscene;andforamomentourlittlelocalitymighthavethoughtitselftransportedintothemidstofadreamofthe’ThousandandOneNights。’“Letusstatethatnountowardeventdisturbedthisfamilymeeting。“Andheadded“Onlytheabsenceoftheclergywasremarked。Nodoubtthepriestsunderstandprogressinanotherfashion。Justasyouplease,messieursthefollowersofLoyola!“
ChapterNineSixweekspassed。Rodolphedidnotcomeagain。Atlastoneeveningheappeared。
Thedayaftertheshowhehadsaidtohimself——“Wemustn’tgobacktoosoon;thatwouldbeamistake。“
Andattheendofaweekhehadgoneoffhunting。Afterthehuntinghehadthoughtitwastoolate,andthenhereasonedthus——
“Iffromthefirstdayshelovedme,shemustfromimpatiencetoseemeagainlovememore。Let’sgoonwithit!“
Andheknewthathiscalculationhadbeenrightwhen,onenteringtheroom,hesawEmmaturnpale。
Shewasalone。Thedaywasdrawingin。Thesmallmuslincurtainalongthewindowsdeepenedthetwilight,andthegildingofthebarometer,onwhichtheraysofthesunfell,shoneinthelooking-glassbetweenthemeshesofthecoral。
Rodolpheremainedstanding,andEmmahardlyansweredhisfirstconventionalphrases。
“I,“hesaid,“havebeenbusy。Ihavebeenill。“
“Seriously?“shecried。
“Well,“saidRodolphe,sittingdownathersideonafootstool,“no;itwasbecauseIdidnotwanttocomeback。“
“Why?“
“Canyounotguess?“
Helookedatheragain,butsohardthatsheloweredherhead,blushing。Hewenton——
“Emma!“
“Sir,“shesaid,drawingbackalittle。
“Ah!yousee,“repliedheinamelancholyvoice,“thatIwasrightnottocomeback;forthisname,thisnamethatfillsmywholesoul,andthatescapedme,youforbidmetouse!MadameBovary!whyalltheworldcallsyouthus!Besides,itisnotyourname;itisthenameofanother!“
Herepeated,“ofanother!“Andhehidhisfaceinhishands。
“Yes,Ithinkofyouconstantly。Thememoryofyoudrivesmetodespair。Ah!forgiveme!Iwillleaveyou!Farewell!Iwillgofaraway,sofarthatyouwillneverhearofmeagain;andyet——
to-day——Iknownotwhatforceimpelledmetowardsyou。ForonedoesnotstruggleagainstHeaven;onecannotresistthesmileofangels;oneiscarriedawaybythatwhichisbeautiful,charming,adorable。“
ItwasthefirsttimethatEmmahadheardsuchwordsspokentoherself,andherpride,likeonewhoreposesbathedinwarmth,expandedsoftlyandfullyatthisglowinglanguage。
“ButifIdidnotcome,“hecontinued,“ifIcouldnotseeyou,atleastIhavegazedlongonallthatsurroundsyou。Atnight-everynight-Iarose;Icamehither;Iwatchedyourhouse,itsglimmeringinthemoon,thetreesinthegardenswayingbeforeyourwindow,andthelittlelamp,agleamshiningthroughthewindow-panesinthedarkness。Ah!youneverknewthatthere,sonearyou,sofarfromyou,wasapoorwretch!“
Sheturnedtowardshimwithasob。
“Oh,youaregood!“shesaid。
“No,Iloveyou,thatisall!Youdonotdoubtthat!Tellme——oneword——onlyoneword!“
AndRodolpheimperceptiblyglidedfromthefootstooltotheground;butasoundofwoodenshoeswasheardinthekitchen,andhenoticedthedooroftheroomwasnotclosed。
“Howkinditwouldbeofyou,“hewenton,rising,“ifyouwouldhumourawhimofmine。“Itwastogooverherhouse;hewantedtoknowit;andMadameBovaryseeingnoobjectiontothis,theybothrose,whenCharlescamein。
“Goodmorning,doctor,“Rodolphesaidtohim。
Thedoctor,flatteredatthisunexpectedtitle,launchedoutintoobsequiousphrases。Ofthistheothertookadvantagetopullhimselftogetheralittle。
“Madamewasspeakingtome,“hethensaid,“aboutherhealth。“
Charlesinterruptedhim;hehadindeedathousandanxieties;hiswife’spalpitationsoftheheartwerebeginningagain。ThenRodolpheaskedifridingwouldnotbegood。
“Certainly!excellent!justthething!There’sanidea!Yououghttofollowitup。“
Andassheobjectedthatshehadnohorse,MonsieurRodolpheofferedone。Sherefusedhisoffer;hedidnotinsist。Thentoexplainhisvisithesaidthathisploughman,themanoftheblood-letting,stillsufferedfromgiddiness。
“I’llcallaround,“saidBovary。
“No,no!I’llsendhimtoyou;we’llcome;thatwillbemoreconvenientforyou。“
第28章