首页 >出版文学> Madame Bovary>第49章

第49章

  “PerhapsitbelongstothepartyItookouttheotherday。Alotofjollyfolk,gentlemenandladies,withcakes,champagne,cornets——everythinginstyle!Therewasoneespecially,atallhandsomemanwithsmallmoustaches,whowasthatfunny!Andtheyallkeptsaying,’Nowtellussomething,Adolphe——Dolpe,’I
  think。“
  Sheshivered。
  “Youareinpain?“askedLeon,comingclosertoher。
  “Oh,it’snothing!Nodoubt,itisonlythenightair。“
  “Andwhodoesn’twantforwomen,either,“softlyaddedthesailor,thinkinghewaspayingthestrangeracompliment。
  Then,spittingonhishands,hetooktheoarsagain。
  Yettheyhadtopart。Theadieuxweresad。HewastosendhisletterstoMereRollet,andshegavehimsuchpreciseinstructionsaboutadoubleenvelopethatheadmiredgreatlyheramorousastuteness。
  “Soyoucanassuremeitisallright?“shesaidwithherlastkiss。
  “Yes,certainly。“
  “Butwhy,“hethoughtafterwardsashecamebackthroughthestreetsalone,“isshesoveryanxioustogetthispowerofattorney?“
  ChapterFourLeonsoonputonanairofsuperioritybeforehiscomrades,avoidedtheircompany,andcompletelyneglectedhiswork。
  Hewaitedforherletters;here-readthem;hewrotetoher。Hecalledhertomindwithallthestrengthofhisdesiresandofhismemories。Insteadoflesseningwithabsence,thislongingtoseeheragaingrew,sothatatlastonSaturdaymorningheescapedfromhisoffice。
  When,fromthesummitofthehill,hesawinthevalleybelowthechurch-spirewithitstinflagswinginginthewind,hefeltthatdelightmingledwithtriumphantvanityandegoistictendernessthatmillionairesmustexperiencewhentheycomebacktotheirnativevillage。
  Hewentramblingroundherhouse。Alightwasburninginthekitchen。Hewatchedforhershadowbehindthecurtains,butnothingappeared。
  MereLefrancois,whenshesawhim,utteredmanyexclamations。Shethoughthe“hadgrownandwasthinner,“whileArtemise,onthecontrary,thoughthimstouteranddarker。
  Hedinedinthelittleroomasofyore,butalone,withoutthetax-gatherer;forBinet,tiredofwaitingforthe“Hirondelle,“
  haddefinitelyputforwardhismealonehour,andnowhedinedpunctuallyatfive,andyethedeclaredusuallythericketyoldconcern“waslate。“
  Leon,however,madeuphismind,andknockedatthedoctor’sdoor。Madamewasinherroom,anddidnotcomedownforaquarterofanhour。Thedoctorseemeddelightedtoseehim,butheneverstirredoutthatevening,norallthenextday。
  Hesawheraloneintheevening,verylate,behindthegardeninthelane;inthelane,asshehadtheotherone!Itwasastormynight,andtheytalkedunderanumbrellabylightningflashes。
  Theirseparationwasbecomingintolerable。“Iwouldratherdie!“
  saidEmma。Shewaswrithinginhisarms,weeping。“Adieu!adieu!
  WhenshallIseeyouagain?“
  Theycamebackagaintoembraceoncemore,anditwasthenthatshepromisedhimtofindsoon,bynomatterwhatmeans,aregularopportunityforseeingoneanotherinfreedomatleastonceaweek。Emmaneverdoubtedsheshouldbeabletodothis。Besides,shewasfullofhope。Somemoneywascomingtoher。
  Onthestrengthofitsheboughtapairofyellowcurtainswithlargestripesforherroom,whosecheapnessMonsieurLheureuxhadcommended;shedreamedofgettingacarpet,andLheureux,declaringthatitwasn’t“drinkingthesea,“politelyundertooktosupplyherwithone。Shecouldnolongerdowithouthisservices。Twentytimesadayshesentforhim,andheatonceputbyhisbusinesswithoutamurmur。PeoplecouldnotunderstandeitherwhyMereRolletbreakfastedwithhereveryday,andevenpaidherprivatevisits。
  Itwasaboutthistime,thatistosay,thebeginningofwinter,thatsheseemedseizedwithgreatmusicalfervour。
  OneeveningwhenCharleswaslisteningtoher,shebeganthesamepiecefourtimesover,eachtimewithmuchvexation,whilehe,notnoticinganydifference,cried——
  “Bravo!verygoodlYouarewrongtostop。Goon!“
  “Oh,no;itisexecrable!Myfingersarequiterusty。“
  Thenextdayhebeggedhertoplayhimsomethingagain。
  “Verywell;topleaseyou!“
  AndCharlesconfessedshehadgoneoffalittle。Sheplayedwrongnotesandblundered;then,stoppingshort——
  “Ah!itisnouse。Ioughttotakesomelessons;but——“Shebitherlipsandadded,“Twentyfrancsalesson,that’stoodear!“
  “Yes,soitis——rather,“saidCharles,gigglingstupidly。“Butitseemstomethatonemightbeabletodoitforless;forthereareartistsofnoreputation,andwhoareoftenbetterthanthecelebrities。“
  “Findthem!“saidEmma。
  Thenextdaywhenhecamehomehelookedathershyly,andatlastcouldnolongerkeepbackthewords。
  “Howobstinateyouaresometimes!IwenttoBarfucheresto-day。
  Well,MadameLiegardassuredmethatherthreeyoungladieswhoareatLaMisericordehavelessonsatfiftysousapiece,andthatfromanexcellentmistress!“
  Sheshruggedhershouldersanddidnotopenherpianoagain。ButwhenshepassedbyitifBovarywerethere,shesighed——
  “Ah!mypoorpiano!“
  Andwhenanyonecametoseeher,shedidnotfailtoinformthemshehadgivenupmusic,andcouldnotbeginagainnowforimportantreasons。Thenpeoplecommiseratedher——
  “Whatapity!shehadsomuchtalent!“
  TheyevenspoketoBovaryaboutit。Theyputhimtoshame,andespeciallythechemist。
  “Youarewrong。Oneshouldneverletanyofthefacultiesofnatureliefallow。Besides,justthink,mygoodfriend,thatbyinducingmadametostudy;youareeconomisingonthesubsequentmusicaleducationofyourchild。Formyownpart,Ithinkthatmothersoughtthemselvestoinstructtheirchildren。ThatisanideaofRousseau’s,stillrathernewperhaps,butthatwillendbytriumphing,Iamcertainofit,likemothersnursingtheirownchildrenandvaccination。“
  SoCharlesreturnedoncemoretothisquestionofthepiano。Emmarepliedbitterlythatitwouldbebettertosellit。Thispoorpiano,thathadgivenhervanitysomuchsatisfaction——toseeitgowastoBovaryliketheindefinablesuicideofapartofherself。
  “Ifyouliked,“hesaid,“alessonfromtimetotime,thatwouldn’tafterallbeveryruinous。“
  “Butlessons,“shereplied,“areonlyofusewhenfollowedup。“
  Andthusitwasshesetaboutobtainingherhusband’spermissiontogototownonceaweektoseeherlover。Attheendofamonthshewasevenconsideredtohavemadeconsiderableprogress。
  ChapterFiveShewentonThursdays。Shegotupanddressedsilently,inordernottoawakenCharles,whowouldhavemaderemarksabouthergettingreadytooearly。Nextshewalkedupanddown,wenttothewindows,andlookedoutatthePlace。Theearlydawnwasbroadeningbetweenthepillarsofthemarket,andthechemist’sshop,withtheshuttersstillup,showedinthepalelightofthedawnthelargelettersofhissignboard。
  Whentheclockpointedtoaquarterpastseven,shewentofftothe“Liond’Or,“whosedoorArtemiseopenedyawning。Thegirlthenmadeupthecoalscoveredbythecinders,andEmmaremainedaloneinthekitchen。Nowandagainshewentout。Hivertwasleisurelyharnessinghishorses,listening,moreover,toMereLefrancois,who,passingherheadandnightcapthroughagrating,wascharginghimwithcommissionsandgivinghimexplanationsthatwouldhaveconfusedanyoneelse。Emmakeptbeatingthesolesofherbootsagainstthepavementoftheyard。
  Atlast,whenhehadeatenhissoup,putonhiscloak,lightedhispipe,andgraspedhiswhip,hecalmlyinstalledhimselfonhisseat。
  The“Hirondelle“startedataslowtrot,andforaboutamilestoppedhereandtheretopickuppassengerswhowaitedforit,standingattheborderoftheroad,infrontoftheiryardgates。
  Thosewhohadsecuredseatstheeveningbeforekeptitwaiting;
  someevenwerestillinbedintheirhouses。Hivertcalled,shouted,swore;thenhegotdownfromhisseatandwentandknockedloudlyatthedoors。Thewindblewthroughthecrackedwindows。
  Thefourseats,however,filledup。Thecarriagerolledoff;rowsofapple-treesfollowedoneuponanother,andtheroadbetweenitstwolongditches,fullofyellowwater,rose,constantlynarrowingtowardsthehorizon。
  Emmaknewitfromendtoend;sheknewthatafterameadowtherewasasign-post,nextanelm,abarn,orthehutofalime-kilntender。Sometimeseven,inthehopeofgettingsomesurprise,sheshuthereyes,butsheneverlosttheclearperceptionofthedistancetobetraversed。