On the way from the Rue de Normandie to the Rue de Richelieu, Pons drew from the abstracted Schmucke the details of the story of the modern prodigal son, for whom Death had killed the fatted innkeeper. Pons, but newly reconciled with his nearest relatives, was immediately smitten with a desire to make a match between Fritz Brunner and Cecile de Marville. Chance ordained that the notary was none other than Berthier, old Cardot's son-in-law and successor, the sometime second clerk with whom Pons had been wont to dine.
Ah! M. Berthier, you here! he said, holding out a hand to his host of former days.
We have not had the pleasure of seeing you at dinner lately; how is it? returned the notary. "My wife has been anxious about you. We saw you at the first performance of The Devil's Betrothed, and our anxiety became curiosity?"
Old folk are sensitive, replied the worthy musician; "they make the mistake of being a century behind the times, but how can it be helped? It is quite enough to represent one century—they cannot entirely belong to the century which sees them die."
Ah! said the notary, with a shrewd look, "one cannot run two centuries at once."
By the by, continued Pons, drawing the young lawyer into a corner, "why do you not find some one for my cousin Cecile de Marville—"
Ah! why—? answered Berthier. "In this century, when luxury has filtered down to our very porters' lodges, a young fellow hesitates before uniting his lot with the daughter of a President of the Court of Appeal in Paris if she brings him only a hundred thousand francs. In the rank of life in which Mlle. de Marville's husband would take, the wife was never yet known that did not cost her husband three thousand francs a year;the interest on a hundred thousand francs would scarcely find her in pin-money. A bachelor with an income of fifteen or twenty thousand francs can live on an entre-sol; he is not expected to cut any figure; he need not keep more than one servant, and all his surplus income he can spend on his amusements; he puts himself in the hands of a good tailor, and need not trouble any further about keeping up appearances. Far-sighted mothers make much of him; he is one of the kings of fashion in Paris. But a wife changes everything. A wife means a properly furnished house," continued the lawyer; "she wants the carriage for herself; if she goes to the play, she wants a box, while the bachelor has only a stall to pay for; in short, a wife represents the whole of the income which the bachelor used to spend on himself. Suppose that husband and wife have thirty thousand francs a year between them—practically, the sometime bachelor is a poor devil who thinks twice before he drives out to Chantilly. Bring children on the scene—he is pinched for money at once. Now, as M. and Mme. de Marville are scarcely turned fifty, Cecile's expectations are bills that will not fall due for fifteen or twenty years to come; and no young fellow cares to keep them so long in his portfolio. The young featherheads who are dancing the polka with lorettes at the Jardin Mabille, are so cankered with self-interest, that they don't stand in need of us to explain both sides of the problem to them. Between ourselves, I may say that Mlle. de Marville scarcely sets hearts throbbing so fast but that their owners can perfectly keep their heads, and they are full of these anti-matrimonial reflections. If any eligible young man, in full possession of his senses and an income of twenty thousand francs, happens to be sketching out a programme of marriage that will satisfy his ambitions, Mlle. de Marville does not altogether answer the description—"
And why not? asked the bewildered musician.
Oh!— said the notary, "well—a young man nowadays may be as ugly as you and I, my dear Pons, but he is almost sure to have the impertinence to want six hundred thousand francs, a girl of good family, with wit and good looks and good breeding—flawless perfection in short."
Then it will not be easy to marry her?
She will not be married so long as M. and Mme. de Marville cannot make up their minds to settle Marville on her when she marries; if they had chosen, she might have been the Vicomtesse Popinot by now. But here comes M. Brunner.—We are about to read the deed of partnership and the marriage contract.
Greetings and introductions over, the relations made Pons promise to sign the contract. He listened to the reading of the documents, and towards half-past five the party went into the dining-room. The dinner was magnificent, as a city merchant's dinner can be, when he allows himself a respite from money-making. Graff of the Hotel du Rhin was acquainted with the first provision dealers in Paris; never had Pons nor Schmucke fared so sumptuously. The dishes were a rapture to think of! Italian paste, delicate of flavor, unknown to the public; smelts fried as never smelts were fried before; fish from Lake Leman, with a real Genevese sauce, and a cream for plum-pudding which would have astonished the London doctor who is said to have invented it. It was nearly ten o'clock before they rose from table. The amount of wine, German and French, consumed at that dinner would amaze the contemporary dandy; nobody knows the amount of liquor that a German can imbibe and yet keep calm and quiet; to have even an idea of the quantity, you must dine in Germany and watch bottle succeed to bottle, like wave rippling after wave along the sunny shores of the Mediterranean, and disappear as if the Teuton possessed the absorbing power of sponges or sea sand. Perfect harmony prevails meanwhile; there is none of the racket that there would be over the liquor in France; the talk is as sober as a money-lender's extempore speech; countenances flush, like the faces of the brides in frescoes by Cornelius or Schnorr (imperceptibly, that is to say), and reminiscences are poured out slowly while the smoke puffs from the pipes.
About half-past ten that evening Pons and Schmucke found themselves sitting on a bench out in the garden, with the ex-flute between them; they were explaining their characters, opinions, and misfortunes, with no very clear idea as to why or how they had come to this point. In the thick of a potpourri of confidences, Wilhelm spoke of his strong desire to see Fritz married, expressing himself with vehement and vinous eloquence.
What do you say to this programme for your friend Brunner? cried Pons in confidential tones. "A charming and sensible young lady of twenty-four, belonging to a family of the highest distinction. The father holds a very high position as a judge; there will be a hundred thousand francs paid down and a million to come."
Wait! answered Schwab; "I will speak to Fritz this instant."
The pair watched Brunner and his friend as they walked round and round the garden; again and again they passed the bench, sometimes one spoke, sometimes the other. Pons was not exactly intoxicated; his head was a little heavy, but his thoughts, on the contrary, seemed all the lighter; he watched Fritz Brunner's face through the rainbow mist of fumes of wine, and tried to read auguries favorable to his family. Before very long Schwab introduced his friend and partner to M. Pons; Fritz Brunner expressed his thanks for the trouble which Pons had been so good as to take. In the conversation which followed, the two old bachelors Schmucke and Pons extolled the estate of matrimony, going so far as to say, without any malicious intent, "that marriage was the end of man." Tea and ices, punches and cakes, were served in the future home of the betrothed couple. The wine had begun to tell upon the honest merchants, and the general hilarity reached its height when it was announced that Schwab's partner thought of following his example.
At two o'clock that morning, Schmucke and Pons walked home along the boulevards, philosophizing a perte de raison as they went on the harmony pervading the arrangements of this our world below.
從諾曼底街到黎塞留街的路上,邦斯向心不在焉的許模克打聽出浪子的故事,知道旅館主人那塊肥肉竟給死神送到了浪子嘴里。邦斯才跟他的至親言歸于好,立刻想替弗列茲·勃羅納跟賽西爾·特·瑪維爾做媒。碰巧葛拉夫家的公證人又是加陶以前的書記,后來盤下他的事務(wù)所又做了他的女婿,邦斯過去常在他家吃飯的。
“哦,原來是你,貝蒂哀先生?!崩弦魳芳蚁蛩f日的居停主人伸出手去。
“哎,你怎么不賞光上我們家吃飯啦?”公證人問,“內(nèi)人正在掛念你呢?!赌Ч淼奈椿槠蕖烦醮紊涎菽且煌?,我們在戲院里看見你,所以我們非常掛念,并且奇怪了?!?/p>
“老年人是很會多心的,”邦斯回答,“我們錯就錯在落后一個世紀;可是有什么法兒?……代表一個世紀已經(jīng)夠受了,再要跟上那個看到我們老死的時代是辦不到的了?!?/p>
“對!”公證人很俏皮地搶著說,“咱們不能一箭雙雕趕上兩個世紀?!?/p>
“哎喂!”老人把年輕的公證人拉在一旁問,“你干嗎不替我的外孫女賽西爾做媒呢?”
“你問我干嗎?……這年月連門房都在講究奢侈了;巴黎高等法院庭長的小姐,只有十萬法郎陪嫁,你想年輕人敢請教嗎?在瑪維爾小姐那個社會里,一年只花丈夫三千法郎的妻子還沒聽見過。十萬法郎的利息,給太太做開銷還并不怎么足夠。一個單身漢,有著一萬五到兩萬的進款,住著一個精致的小公寓,用不著鋪張,只消雇一個男當(dāng)差,全部收入都可以拿去尋歡作樂,除了要裁縫把他裝扮得體體面面之外,不需要別的場面。有遠見的母親們都對他另眼相看,他在巴黎交際場中是一等紅人。反之,娶了太太就得撐一個家,她要一輛自己獨用的車,上戲院就得要個包廂,不比單身漢只消正廳的散座就行了;總而言之,從前年輕人自個兒享受的錢,現(xiàn)在都得拿給太太去花。假定一對夫妻有三萬進款,在眼前這個社會上,有錢的單身漢馬上會變作窮小子,連上香蒂伊去玩一次也得計算車錢了。再加上孩子……那就窘相畢露了?,斁S爾先生跟瑪維爾太太不過五十開外,他們的遺產(chǎn)還要等十五年二十年;沒有一個男人愿意把遺產(chǎn)放在皮包里擱上這么些年的;這樣計算之下,那些在瑪皮伊舞場跟妓女跳著包爾加舞的胡天胡地的小伙子,心里就長了疙瘩,所有未婚的青年都會研究一下這個問題的兩面,也用不著我們提醒他們。并且,咱們之間說句老實話,瑪維爾小姐長得并不教人動心,也就不會教人糊涂,候選人見了她只打著不結(jié)婚的主意。倘若一個頭腦清楚,有兩萬法郎收入的年輕人,想攀一門能滿足他野心的親事,那么瑪維爾小姐還不夠資格……”
“為什么?”邦斯很詫異地問。
“噯!……如今的男人,哪怕像你我一樣的丑吧,親愛的邦斯,都癡心妄想地要六萬法郎陪嫁,高門大族的小姐,長得非常漂亮,人要非常風(fēng)雅,非常有教養(yǎng),總之要沒有一點疤瘢的完璧?!?/p>
“那么我的小外孫女是不容易嫁掉的了?”
“只要她父親舍不得把瑪維爾的田產(chǎn)給她做陪嫁,賽西爾就無人問津;要是她父母肯那么辦,她早已做了包比諾子爵夫人……,勃羅納先生來啦,我們要宣讀勃羅納公司的合同和希華勃的婚約了?!?/p>
邦斯被介紹過了,彼此客氣了一番,家長們請他在婚書上也署個名,做個證人。他聽人家把合同的條款都念完了,然后到五點光景,大家走進餐廳。酒席的豐腴,就像大腹賈們擱下買賣預(yù)備享受一下的那種盛宴,同時證明萊茵旅館的主人葛拉夫,跟巴黎第一流的伙食商多么夠交情。邦斯和許模克從來沒有見識過這樣講究的吃喝。有的是教你神魂顛倒的名菜!……面條的細凈是破天荒的,香鲇魚給炸得沒有話說,真正的萊芒湖魚,配上真正的日內(nèi)瓦沙司,葡萄干布丁上的乳脂之美,連傳說發(fā)明布丁的那個倫敦名醫(yī)都要為之叫絕。酒席到晚上十點才散。喝的萊茵酒和法國酒的數(shù)量,使公子哥兒都要吃驚,因為德國人能夠聲色不動地灌下多少酒精,簡直沒有人說得出。你必須在德國吃過飯,眼看多少酒瓶連續(xù)不斷地給端上來,像地中海浴場上的潮水,前波逐著后波,又眼看多少酒瓶給撤下去,仿佛德國人吸收的能力就跟沙灘和海綿一樣;而他們又吸收得多么文雅,沒有法國人的喧鬧:談話照常很幽靜,像放印子錢的人的閑談,脫盡火氣;臉上的紅暈,有如高乃呂斯或舒奈壁畫上的未婚夫妻的,若有若無;而往事的回憶,也像煙斗里飄起來的煙,來得慢騰騰的。
十點半,邦斯和許??俗诨▓@里一條凳上,把希華勃夾在中間,也不知是誰把談話引到了訴說彼此的性情、見解和不幸的遭遇上去。在一大堆炒什錦似的心腹話中間,威廉講起他想要弗列茲結(jié)婚的愿望,乘著酒意把話說得慷慨激昂。
“為你的朋友,我有個計劃在這里,你看怎樣?”邦斯湊著威廉的耳朵說,“有個可愛的、懂事的姑娘,二十四歲,門第很高,父親是司法界的一個大官兒,十萬法郎陪嫁,將來還有一百萬法郎家產(chǎn)的希望?!?/p>
“你等著!”希華勃回答,“我馬上跟弗列茲說去?!?/p>
于是兩位音樂家看著勃羅納和他的朋友在花園里繞圈子,在他的面前走過好幾回,一忽兒這個聽著那個說,一忽兒那個聽著這個講。邦斯腦袋沉甸甸的,雖沒有完全喝醉,可是覺得身子越沉重,思想越輕靈;透過酒精遮在他面前的云霧,他打量著弗列茲·勃羅納,想在他臉上找出一點想過家庭生活的愿望。不久希華勃把他的朋友兼合伙人給邦斯介紹了。弗列茲對老人的關(guān)切再三道謝,然后彼此談起話來。許??伺c邦斯一對單身漢,盡量歌頌結(jié)婚的好處,毫無俏皮意味地提到那句雙關(guān)語,說結(jié)婚是人生的終極。等到在未來的洞房里飲冰、喝茶、呷著雜合酒、吃著甜點心的時候,那些差不多全醉了的富商聽到銀行的大股東也要結(jié)婚的話,頓時叫叫嚷嚷,熱鬧到了極點。
清早兩點,許模克和邦斯打大街上走回家,一路大發(fā)議論,覺得塵世的一切都配得像音樂一樣和諧,他們拿這個當(dāng)作題目,說得連自己都忘其所以了。
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