首页 >出版文学> Madame Bovary>第39章

第39章

  “Whotoldme!“hereplied,ratherastonishedatherabrupttone。
  “Why,Girard,whomImetjustnowatthedooroftheCafeFrancais。Hehasgoneonajourney,oristogo。“
  Shegaveasob。
  “Whatsurprisesyouinthat?Heabsentshimselflikethatfromtimetotimeforachange,and,mafoi,Ithinkhe’sright,whenonehasafortuneandisabachelor。Besides,hehasjollytimes,hasourfriend。He’sabitofarake。MonsieurLangloistoldme——“
  Hestoppedforpropriety’ssakebecausetheservantcamein。Sheputbackintothebaskettheapricotsscatteredonthesideboard。
  Charles,withoutnoticinghiswife’scolour,hadthembroughttohim,tookone,andbitintoit。
  “Ah!perfect!“saidhe;“justtaste!“
  Andhehandedherthebasket,whichsheputawayfromhergently。
  “Dojustsmell!Whatanodour!“heremarked,passingitunderhernoseseveraltimes。
  “Iamchoking,“shecried,leapingup。Butbyaneffortofwillthespasmpassed;then——
  “Itisnothing,“shesaid,“itisnothing!Itisnervousness。Sitdownandgooneating。“Forshedreadedlestheshouldbeginquestioningher,attendingtoher,thatsheshouldnotbeleftalone。
  Charles,toobeyher,satdownagain,andhespatthestonesoftheapricotsintohishands,afterwardsputtingthemonhisplate。
  Suddenlyabluetilburypassedacrossthesquareatarapidtrot。
  Emmautteredacryandfellbackrigidtotheground。
  Infact,Rodolphe,aftermanyreflections,haddecidedtosetoutforRouen。Now,asfromLaHuchettetoBuchythereisnootherwaythanbyYonville,hehadtogothroughthevillage,andEmmahadrecognisedhimbytheraysofthelanterns,whichlikelightningflashedthroughthetwilight。
  Thechemist,atthetumultwhichbrokeoutinthehouseranthither。Thetablewithalltheplateswasupset;sauce,meat,knives,thesalt,andcruet-standwerestrewnovertheroom;
  Charleswascallingforhelp;Berthe,scared,wascrying;andFelicite,whosehandstrembled,wasunlacinghermistress,whosewholebodyshiveredconvulsively。
  “I’llruntomylaboratoryforsomearomaticvinegar,“saidthedruggist。
  Thenassheopenedhereyesonsmellingthebottle——
  “Iwassureofit,“heremarked;“thatwouldwakeanydeadpersonforyou!“
  “Speaktous,“saidCharles;“collectyourself;itisyourCharles,wholovesyou。Doyouknowme?See!hereisyourlittlegirl!Oh,kissher!“
  Thechildstretchedoutherarmstohermothertoclingtoherneck。Butturningawayherhead,Emmasaidinabrokenvoice“No,no!noone!“
  Shefaintedagain。Theycarriedhertoherbed。Shelaytherestretchedatfulllength,herlipsapart,hereyelidsclosed,herhandsopen,motionless,andwhiteasawaxenimage。Twostreamsoftearsflowedfromhereyesandfellslowlyuponthepillow。
  Charles,standingup,wasatthebackofthealcove,andthechemist,nearhim,maintainedthatmeditativesilencethatisbecomingontheseriousoccasionsoflife。
  “Donotbeuneasy,“hesaid,touchinghiselbow;“Ithinktheparoxysmispast。“
  “Yes,sheisrestingalittlenow,“answeredCharles,watchinghersleep。“Poorgirl!poorgirl!Shehadgoneoffnow!“
  ThenHomaisaskedhowtheaccidenthadcomeabout。Charlesansweredthatshehadbeentakenillsuddenlywhileshewaseatingsomeapricots。
  “Extraordinary!“continuedthechemist。“Butitmightbethattheapricotshadbroughtonthesyncope。Somenaturesaresosensitivetocertainsmells;anditwouldevenbeaveryfinequestiontostudybothinitspathologicalandphysiologicalrelation。Thepriestsknowtheimportanceofit,theywhohaveintroducedaromaticsintoalltheirceremonies。Itistostupefythesensesandtobringonecstasies——athing,moreover,veryeasyinpersonsoftheweakersex,whoaremoredelicatethantheother。Somearecitedwhofaintatthesmellofburnthartshorn,ofnewbread——“
  “Takecare;you’llwakeher!“saidBovaryinalowvoice。
  “Andnotonly,“thedruggistwenton,“arehumanbeingssubjecttosuchanomalies,butanimalsalso。ThusyouarenotignorantofthesingularlyaphrodisiaceffectproducedbytheNepetacataria,vulgarlycalledcatmint,onthefelinerace;and,ontheotherhand,toquoteanexamplewhoseauthenticityIcananswerfor。
  Bridauxoneofmyoldcomrades,atpresentestablishedintheRueMalpalupossessesadogthatfallsintoconvulsionsassoonasyouholdoutasnuff-boxtohim。Heoftenevenmakestheexperimentbeforehisfriendsathissummer-houseatGuillaumeWood。Wouldanyonebelievethatasimplesternutationcouldproducesuchravagesonaquadrupedalorganism?Itisextremelycurious,isitnot?“
  “Yes,“saidCharles,whowasnotlisteningtohim。
  “Thisshowsus,“wentontheother,smilingwithbenignself-sufficiency,“theinnumerableirregularitiesofthenervoussystem。Withregardtomadame,shehasalwaysseemedtome,I
  confess,verysusceptible。AndsoIshouldbynomeansrecommendtoyou,mydearfriend,anyofthoseso-calledremediesthat,underthepretenceofattackingthesymptoms,attacktheconstitution。No;nouselessphysicking!Diet,thatisall;
  sedatives,emollients,dulcification。Then,don’tyouthinkthatperhapsherimaginationshouldbeworkedupon?“
  “Inwhatway?How?“saidBovary。
  “Ah!thatisit。Suchisindeedthequestion。’Thatisthequestion,’asIlatelyreadinanewspaper。“
  ButEmma,awaking,criedout——
  “Theletter!theletter!“
  Theythoughtshewasdelirious;andshewasbymidnight。
  Brain-feverhadsetin。
  Forforty-threedaysCharlesdidnotleaveher。Hegaveupallhispatients;henolongerwenttobed;hewasconstantlyfeelingherpulse,puttingonsinapismsandcold-watercompresses。HesentJustinasfarasNeufchatelforice;theicemeltedontheway;hesenthimbackagain。HecalledMonsieurCanivetintoconsultation;hesentforDr。Lariviere,hisoldmaster,fromRouen;hewasindespair。WhatalarmedhimmostwasEmma’sprostration,forshedidnotspeak,didnotlisten,didnotevenseemtosuffer,asifherbodyandsoulwerebothrestingtogetherafteralltheirtroubles。
  AboutthemiddleofOctobershecouldsitupinbedsupportedbypillows。Charlesweptwhenhesawhereatherfirstbread-and-jelly。Herstrengthreturnedtoher;shegotupforafewhoursofanafternoon,andoneday,whenshefeltbetter,hetriedtotakeher,leaningonhisarm,forawalkroundthegarden。Thesandofthepathswasdisappearingbeneaththedeadleaves;shewalkedslowly,draggingalongherslippers,andleaningagainstCharles’sshoulder。Shesmiledallthetime。
  Theywentthustothebottomofthegardenneartheterrace。Shedrewherselfupslowly,shadinghereyeswithherhandtolook。
  Shelookedfaroff,asfarasshecould,butonthehorizonwereonlygreatbonfiresofgrasssmokingonthehills。
  “Youwilltireyourself,mydarling!“saidBovary。And,pushinghergentlytomakehergointothearbour,“Sitdownonthisseat;you’llbecomfortable。“
  “Oh!no;notthere!“shesaidinafalteringvoice。
  Shewasseizedwithgiddiness,andfromthateveningherillnessrecommenced,withamoreuncertaincharacter,itistrue,andmorecomplexsymptoms。Nowshesufferedinherheart,theninthechest,thehead,thelimbs;shehadvomitings,inwhichCharlesthoughthesawthefirstsignsofcancer。
  Andbesidesthis,thepoorfellowwasworriedaboutmoneymatters。
  ChapterFourteenTobeginwith,hedidnotknowhowhecouldpayMonsieurHomaisforallthephysicsuppliedbyhim,andthough,asamedicalman,hewasnotobligedtopayforit,heneverthelessblushedalittleatsuchanobligation。Thentheexpensesofthehousehold,nowthattheservantwasmistress,becameterrible。Billsrainedinuponthehouse;thetradesmengrumbled;MonsieurLheureuxespeciallyharassedhim。Infact,attheheightofEmma’sillness,thelatter,takingadvantageofthecircumstancestomakehisbilllarger,hadhurriedlybroughtthecloak,thetravelling-bag,twotrunksinsteadofone,andanumberofotherthings。ItwasverywellforCharlestosayhedidnotwantthem。
  Thetradesmanansweredarrogantlythatthesearticleshadbeenordered,andthathewouldnottakethemback;besides,itwouldvexmadameinherconvalescence;thedoctorhadbetterthinkitover;inshort,hewasresolvedtosuehimratherthangiveuphisrightsandtakebackhisgoods。Charlessubsequentlyorderedthemtobesentbacktotheshop。Feliciteforgot;hehadotherthingstoattendto;thenthoughtnomoreaboutthem。MonsieurLheureuxreturnedtothecharge,and,byturnsthreateningandwhining,somanagedthatBovaryendedbysigningabillatsixmonths。Buthardlyhadhesignedthisbillthanaboldideaoccurredtohim:itwastoborrowathousandfrancsfromLheureux。So,withanembarrassedair,heaskedifitwerepossibletogetthem,addingthatitwouldbeforayear,atanyinteresthewished。Lheureuxranofftohisshop,broughtbackthemoney,anddictatedanotherbill,bywhichBovaryundertooktopaytohisorderonthe1stofSeptembernextthesumofonethousandandseventyfrancs,which,withthehundredandeightyalreadyagreedto,madejusttwelvehundredandfifty,thuslendingatsixpercentinadditiontoone-fourthforcommission: