登陆注册
15387500000067

第67章

I know perfectly well that he is only making his little financial statements in order to persuade me that he is comfortably circumstanced, steady, fond of home, comparatively independent--or, to put the matter in the fewest words possible, able to marry.

Quod erat demonstrandum,--as the geometricians say.

He has got up and sat down just twenty times.He now rises for the twenty-first time; and, as he has not been able to see Jeanne, he goes away feeling as unhappy as possible.

The moment he has gone, Jeanne comes into the City of Books, under the pretext of looking for Hannibal.She is also quite unhappy;and her voice becomes singularly plaintive as she calls her pet to give him some milk.Look at that sad little face, Bonnard! Tyrant, gaze upon thy work! Thou hast been able to keep them from seeing each other; but they have now both of them the same expression of countenance, and thou mayest discern from that similarity of expression that in spite of thee they are united in thought.

Cassandra, be happy! Bartholo, rejoice! This is what it means to be a guardian! Just see her kneeling down there on the carpet with Hannibal's head between her hands!

Yes, caress the stupid animal!--pity him!--moan over him!--we know very well, you little rogue, the real cause of all these sighs and plaints! Nevertheless, it makes a very pretty picture.I look at it for a long time; then, throwing a glance around my library, Iexclaim, "Jeanne, I am tired of all those books; we must sell them."September 20.

It is done!--they are betrothed.Gelis, who is an orphan, as Jeanne is, did not make his proposal to me in person.He got one of his professors, an old colleague of mine, highly esteemed for his learning and character, to come to me on his behalf.But what a love messenger! Great Heavens! A bear--neat a bear of the Pyrenees, but a literary bear, and this latter variety of bear is much more ferocious than the former.

"Right or wrong (in my opinion wrong) Gelis says that he does not want any dowry; he takes your ward with nothing but her chemise.

Say yes, and the thing is settled! Make haste about it! I want to show you two or three very curious old tokens from Lorraine which I am sure you never saw before."That is literally what he said to me.I answered him that I would consult Jeanne, and I found no small pleasure in telling him that my ward had a dowry.

Her dowry--there it is in front of me! It is my library.Henri and Jeanne have not even the faintest suspicion about it; and the fact is I am commonly believed to be much richer than I am.I have the face of an old miser.It is certainly a lying face; but its untruthfulness has often won for me a great deal of consideration.

There is nobody so much respected in this world as a stingy rich man.

I have consulted Jeanne,--but what was the need of listening for her answer? It is done! They are betrothed.

It would ill become my character as well as my face to watch these young people any longer for the mere purpose of noting down their words and gestures.Noli me tangere:--that is the maxim for all charming love affairs.I know my duty.It is to respect all the little secrets of that innocent soul intrusted to me.Let these children love each other all they can! Never a word of their fervent outpouring of mutual confidences, never a hint of their artless self-betrayals, will be set down in this diary by the old guardian whose authority was so gentle and so brief.

At all events, I am not going to remain with my arms folded; and if they have their business to attend to, I have mine also.I am preparing a catalogue of my books, with a view to having them all sold at auction.It is a task which saddens and amuses me at the same time.I linger over it, perhaps a good deal longer than Iought to do; turning the leaves of all those works which have become so familiar to my thought, to my touch, to my sight--even out of all necessity and reason.But it is a farewell; and it has ever been in the nature of man to prolong a farewell.

This ponderous volume here, which has served me so much for thirty long years, how can I leave it without according it every kindness that a faithful servant deserves? And this one again, which has so often consoled me by its wholesome doctrines, must I not bow down before it for the last time, as to a Master? But each time that Imeet with a volume which led me into error, which ever afflicted me with false dates, omissions, lies, and other plagues of the archaeologist, I say to it with bitter joy: "Go! imposter, traitor, false-witness! flee thou far away from me for ever;--vade retro!

all absurdly covered with gold as thou art! and I pray it may befall thee--thanks to thy usurped reputation and thy comely morocco attire--to take thy place in the cabinet of some banker-bibliomaniac, whom thou wilt never be able to seduce as thou has seduced me, because he will never read one single line of thee."I laid aside some books I must always keep--those books which were given to me as souvenirs.As I placed among them the manuscript of the "Golden Legend," I could not but kiss it in memory of Madame Trepof, who remained grateful to me in spite of her high position and all her wealth, and who became my benefactress merely to prove to me that she felt I had once done her a kindness....Thus I had made a reserve.It was then that, for the first time, I felt myself inclined to commit a deliberate crime.All through that night Iwas strongly tempted; by morning the temptation had become irresistible.Everybody else in the house was still asleep.I got out of bed and stole softly from my room.

同类推荐
  • 四明它山水利备览

    四明它山水利备览

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • An Essay on the East-India Trade

    An Essay on the East-India Trade

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 放翁词

    放翁词

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 禅林宝训拈颂

    禅林宝训拈颂

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 四念处

    四念处

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 天赐良缘:穿越王妃好威武

    天赐良缘:穿越王妃好威武

    看现代刑侦大队长,叱咤异界古代!战神王爷?不还是乖乖在她唐雪的石榴裙下!傲骨的新兵?不听话的,十公里蛙跳!西北雨林,若灵一族?千年因缘,赤血凝寒?层层谜团接踵而至。无妨,她应付的过来。谁说女子不如男?自古以来,巾帼不让须眉!男子只觉得丹田之处有一团邪火在不停的涌动紧接着就是头脑的眩晕、迷离眼神一凛,男子骂道,“你居然给我吃这种药!”她要干什么?!若是没错的话,那可是...“是的,就是健-胃-消-食-片-。”冷静的声音徘徊在男子的脑海。天哪,她是想要他死么!?--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 相思谋:妃常难娶

    相思谋:妃常难娶

    某日某王府张灯结彩,婚礼进行时,突然不知从哪冒出来一个小孩,对着新郎道:“爹爹,今天您的大婚之喜,娘亲让我来还一样东西。”说完提着手中的玉佩在新郎面前晃悠。此话一出,一府宾客哗然,然当大家看清这小孩与新郎如一个模子刻出来的面容时,顿时石化。此时某屋顶,一个绝色女子不耐烦的声音响起:“儿子,事情办完了我们走,别在那磨矶,耽误时间。”新郎一看屋顶上的女子,当下怒火攻心,扔下新娘就往女子所在的方向扑去,吼道:“女人,你给本王站住。”一场爱与被爱的追逐正式开始、、、、、、、
  • 爆宠萌妻:总裁,我宣你!

    爆宠萌妻:总裁,我宣你!

    相错亲,认错人,领错证,就这样同居了。约定好,只是契约婚姻,彼此没有身体的接触,不干预对方的私生活,可是……他为何夜夜来她房间里?他为何越来越不老实…?他为何不让她跟别的男人见面?他为什么会无缘无故的生气?他说:因为我宣你啊!可是她拒绝了!他心疼的离开,终于摆脱他的控制,可她却发现,原来总裁大人:我宣你很久了!可是他能随随便便和好么?不,你这个磨人的小妖精,看我怎么整你?【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 孙悟空之爱你一万年

    孙悟空之爱你一万年

    是人?是魔?是神?种族意识形态下却是仇恨,杀戮!三界千年一个劫数,千年已到,魔主重生,末世已近,会是神魔轮回吗?难道就没有一丝仁爱和正义的曙光吗?恩怨情仇,悲欢离合,爱过,就不想错过,若必须有个期限,希望是一万年!一边是战火践踏,暴力奴役,失去自由的三界,等着救世英雄出现!一边是倾尽深情,倾尽心血,共度生死的爱情,一别就是不再相见!孙悟空被迫作出残酷的抉择,是向左?是向右?幸运遇到你,却不幸生在这乱世!他最后选择……
  • 似君踏月来

    似君踏月来

    年少的爱情,总是有许多在一起的原因,也有许多我们不要了的原因。可是即便分开了,也总是梦绕在心头,不愿割舍。明明直到分开了就不要再思念,可是我们就是做不到。千方百计想要再回到过去,回到还拥有那个人的时候。江楼月就是如此,是她要和阮君似分开,可是也是她一直不愿意离开过去。在以后的人生,她还会碰到更多爱她的人,阮君似,却只有一个。
  • 古画品录

    古画品录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 世界欠我一个梦

    世界欠我一个梦

    追梦者孤独却不寂寞。萧云,赵小毅,张雍,三个农村孩子的追梦之旅,从九零后的小伙成长为新一代的社会接班人。红日初升,其道大光;河出伏流,一泻汪洋。天戴其苍,地履其黄;纵有千古;横有八荒。美哉,我少年中国;壮哉,我中国少年。这就是本书以二十一世纪为生活背景而描写的三个少年的成长经历。也是大多数九零后的成长史。
  • 重生轮回不喝汤

    重生轮回不喝汤

    主人公死后经历地府在从新轮回自已的一生不喝孟婆汤后续的精彩故事
  • 拽千金被他收

    拽千金被他收

    她,是郁氏的千金,从小就爱跆拳道,虽然学的不咋地,但却爱打抱不平……他,被父母从小丢弃,在孤儿院长大,但他品学兼优,帅气迷人,他性格冰冷,武功特别好,可以说是至尊……他们会发生什么故事呢?请看文章内容。
  • 倒霉鬼道士

    倒霉鬼道士

    听老人说,我从小就让鬼上过身。刚开始小,不知道。等时间长了,这个鬼也就在我这里住下了。想赶也赶不走了,最可气的是这个鬼居然是个倒霉鬼,哎~可怜的我~呜呜呜!居然还阴差阳错的成了捉鬼的道士!且看我倒霉鬼道士火爆来袭!