itisimpossible。Ifyoushould——listentome。Thenyouhavenotunderstoodme;youhavenotguessed——“
“Yetyouspeakplainly,“saidEmma。
“Ah!youcanjest。Enough!enough!Oh,forpity’ssake,letmeseeyouonce——onlyonce!“
“Well——“Shestopped;then,asifthinkingbetterofit,“Oh,nothere!“
“Whereyouwill。“
“Willyou——“Sheseemedtoreflect;thenabruptly,“To-morrowateleveno’clockinthecathedral。“
“Ishallbethere,“hecried,seizingherhands,whichshedisengaged。
Andastheywerebothstandingup,hebehindher,andEmmawithherheadbent,hestoopedoverherandpressedlongkissesonherneck。
“Youaremad!Ah!youaremad!“shesaid,withsoundinglittlelaughs,whilethekissesmultiplied。
Thenbendinghisheadoverhershoulder,heseemedtobegtheconsentofhereyes。Theyfelluponhimfullofanicydignity。
Leonsteppedbacktogoout。Hestoppedonthethreshold;thenhewhisperedwithatremblingvoice,“Tomorrow!“
Sheansweredwithanod,anddisappearedlikeabirdintothenextroom。
IntheeveningEmmawrotetheclerkaninterminableletter,inwhichshecancelledtherendezvous;allwasover;theymustnot,forthesakeoftheirhappiness,meetagain。Butwhentheletterwasfinished,asshedidnotknowLeon’saddress,shewaspuzzled。
“I’llgiveittohimmyself,“shesaid;“hewillcome。“
Thenextmorning,attheopenwindow,andhummingonhisbalcony,Leonhimselfvarnishedhispumpswithseveralcoatings。Heputonwhitetrousers,finesocks,agreencoat,emptiedallthescenthehadintohishandkerchief,thenhavinghadhishaircurled,heuncurleditagain,inordertogiveitamorenaturalelegance。
“Itisstilltooearly,“hethought,lookingatthehairdresser’scuckoo-clock,thatpointedtothehourofnine。Hereadanoldfashionjournal,wentout,smokedacigar,walkedupthreestreets,thoughtitwastime,andwentslowlytowardstheporchofNotreDame。
Itwasabeautifulsummermorning。Silverplatesparkledinthejeweller’swindows,andthelightfallingobliquelyonthecathedralmademirrorsofthecornersofthegreystones;aflockofbirdsflutteredinthegreyskyroundthetrefoilbell-turrets;thesquare,resoundingwithcries,wasfragrantwiththeflowersthatbordereditspavement,roses,jasmines,pinks,narcissi,andtube-roses,unevenlyspacedoutbetweenmoistgrasses,catmint,andchickweedforthebirds;thefountainsgurgledinthecentre,andunderlargeumbrellas,amidstmelons,piledupinheaps,flower-women,bare-headed,weretwistingpaperroundbunchesofviolets。
Theyoungmantookone。Itwasthefirsttimethathehadboughtflowersforawoman,andhisbreast,ashesmeltthem,swelledwithpride,asifthishomagethathemeantforanotherhadrecoileduponhimself。
Buthewasafraidofbeingseen;heresolutelyenteredthechurch。Thebeadle,whowasjustthenstandingonthethresholdinthemiddleoftheleftdoorway,underthe“DancingMarianne,“
withfeathercap,andrapierdanglingagainsthiscalves,camein,moremajesticthanacardinal,andasshiningasasaintonaholypyx。
HecametowardsLeon,and,withthatsmileofwheedlingbenignityassumedbyecclesiasticswhentheyquestionchildren——
“Thegentleman,nodoubt,doesnotbelongtotheseparts?Thegentlemanwouldliketoseethecuriositiesofthechurch?“
“No!“saidtheother。
Andhefirstwentroundtheloweraisles。ThenhewentouttolookatthePlace。Emmawasnotcomingyet。Hewentupagaintothechoir。
Thenavewasreflectedinthefullfontswiththebeginningofthearchesandsomeportionsoftheglasswindows。Butthereflectionsofthepaintings,brokenbythemarblerim,werecontinuedfartheronupontheflag-stones,likeamany-colouredcarpet。Thebroaddaylightfromwithoutstreamedintothechurchinthreeenormousraysfromthethreeopenedportals。Fromtimetotimeattheupperendasacristanpassed,makingtheobliquegenuflexionofdevoutpersonsinahurry。Thecrystallustreshungmotionless。Inthechoirasilverlampwasburning,andfromthesidechapelsanddarkplacesofthechurchsometimesrosesoundslikesighs,withtheclangofaclosinggrating,itsechoreverberatingundertheloftyvault。
Leonwithsolemnstepswalkedalongbythewalls。Lifehadneverseemedsogoodtohim。Shewouldcomedirectly,charming,agitated,lookingbackattheglancesthatfollowedher,andwithherflounceddress,hergoldeyeglass,herthinshoes,withallsortsofeleganttriflesthathehadneverenjoyed,andwiththeineffableseductionofyieldingvirtue。Thechurchlikeahugeboudoirspreadaroundher;thearchesbentdowntogatherintheshadetheconfessionofherlove;thewindowsshoneresplendenttoillumineherface,andthecenserswouldburnthatshemightappearlikeanangelamidthefumesofthesweet-smellingodours。
Butshedidnotcome。Hesatdownonachair,andhiseyesfelluponabluestainedwindowrepresentingboatmencarryingbaskets。
Helookedatitlong,attentively,andhecountedthescalesofthefishesandthebutton-holesofthedoublets,whilehisthoughtswanderedofftowardsEmma。
Thebeadle,standingaloof,wasinwardlyangryatthisindividualwhotookthelibertyofadmiringthecathedralbyhimself。Heseemedtohimtobeconductinghimselfinamonstrousfashion,toberobbinghiminasort,andalmostcommittingsacrilege。
Butarustleofsilkontheflags,thetipofabonnet,alinedcloak——itwasshe!Leonroseandrantomeether。
Emmawaspale。Shewalkedfast。
“Read!“shesaid,holdingoutapapertohim。“Oh,no!“
AndsheabruptlywithdrewherhandtoenterthechapeloftheVirgin,where,kneelingonachair,shebegantopray。
Theyoungmanwasirritatedatthisbigotfancy;thenheneverthelessexperiencedacertaincharminseeingher,inthemiddleofarendezvous,thuslostinherdevotions,likeanAndalusianmarchioness;thenhegrewbored,forsheseemednevercomingtoanend。
Emmaprayed,orratherstrovetopray,hopingthatsomesuddenresolutionmightdescendtoherfromheaven;andtodrawdowndivineaidshefilledfullhereyeswiththesplendoursofthetabernacle。Shebreathedintheperfumesofthefull-blownflowersinthelargevases,andlistenedtothestillnessofthechurch,thatonlyheightenedthetumultofherheart。
Sherose,andtheywereabouttoleave,whenthebeadlecameforward,hurriedlysaying——
“Madame,nodoubt,doesnotbelongtotheseparts?Madamewouldliketoseethecuriositiesofthechurch?“
“Oh,no!“criedtheclerk。
“Whynot?“saidshe。ForsheclungwithherexpiringvirtuetotheVirgin,thesculptures,thetombs——anything。
Then,inordertoproceed“byrule,“thebeadleconductedthemrighttotheentrancenearthesquare,where,pointingoutwithhiscanealargecircleofblock-stoneswithoutinscriptionorcarving——
“This,“hesaidmajestically,“isthecircumferenceofthebeautifulbellofAmbroise。Itweighedfortythousandpounds。
TherewasnotitsequalinallEurope。Theworkmanwhocastitdiedofthejoy——“
“Letusgoon,“saidLeon。
Theoldfellowstartedoffagain;then,havinggotbacktothechapeloftheVirgin,hestretchedforthhisarmwithanall-embracinggestureofdemonstration,and,prouderthanacountrysquireshowingyouhisespaliers,wenton——
“ThissimplestonecoversPierredeBreze,lordofVarenneandofBrissac,grandmarshalofPoitou,andgovernorofNormandy,whodiedatthebattleofMontlheryonthe16thofJuly,1465。“
Leonbithislips,fuming。
“Andontheright,thisgentlemanallencasediniron,ontheprancinghorse,ishisgrandson,LouisdeBreze,lordofBrevalandofMontchauvet,CountdeMaulevrier,BarondeMauny,chamberlaintotheking,KnightoftheOrder,andalsogovernorofNormandy;diedonthe23rdofJuly,1531——aSunday,astheinscriptionspecifies;andbelow,thisfigure,abouttodescendintothetomb,portraysthesameperson。Itisnotpossible,isit,toseeamoreperfectrepresentationofannihilation?“
MadameBovaryputuphereyeglasses。Leon,motionless,lookedather,nolongerevenattemptingtospeakasingleword,tomakeagesture,sodiscouragedwasheatthistwo-foldobstinacyofgossipandindifference。
Theeverlastingguidewenton——
“Nearhim,thiskneelingwomanwhoweepsishisspouse,DianedePoitiers,CountessdeBreze,DuchessdeValentinois,bornin1499,diedin1566,andtotheleft,theonewiththechildistheHolyVirgin。Nowturntothisside;herearethetombsoftheAmbroise。TheywerebothcardinalsandarchbishopsofRouen。ThatonewasministerunderLouisXII。Hedidagreatdealforthecathedral。Inhiswillheleftthirtythousandgoldcrownsforthepoor。“
Andwithoutstopping,stilltalking,hepushedthemintoachapelfullofbalustrades,someputaway,anddisclosedakindofblockthatcertainlymightoncehavebeenanill-madestatue。
第45章