登陆注册
15698300000006

第6章

He brought her his clothes to mend, and she accepted the task gladly, because it meant another visit from him.

In August, his father took him on a coasting-vessel.

It was vacation time and the arrival of the children consoled Felicite. But Paul was capricious, and Virginia was growing too old to be thee-and-thou'd, a fact which seemed to produce a sort of embarrassment in their relations.

Victor went successively to Morlaix, to Dunkirk, and to Brighton;whenever he returned from a trip he would bring her a present. The first time it was a box of shells; the second, a coffee-cup; the third, a big doll of ginger-bread. He was growing handsome, had a good figure, a tiny moustache, kind eyes, and a little leather cap that sat jauntily on the back of his head. He amused his aunt by telling her stories mingled with nautical expressions.

One Monday, the 14th of July, 1819 (she never forgot the date), Victor announced that he had been engaged on a merchant-vessel and that in two days he would take the steamer at Honfleur and join his sailer, which was going to start from Havre very soon. Perhaps he might be away two years.

The prospect of his departure filled Felicite with despair, and in order to bid him farewell, on Wednesday night, after Madame's dinner, she put on her pattens and trudged the four miles that separated Pont-l'Eveque from Honfleur.

When she reached the Calvary, instead of turning to the right, she turned to the left and lost herself in coal-yards; she had to retrace her steps; some people she spoke to advised her to hasten. She walked helplessly around the harbour filled with vessels, and knocked against hawsers. Presently the ground sloped abruptly, lights flitted to and fro, and she thought all at once that she had gone mad when she saw some horses in the sky.

Others, on the edge of the dock, neighed at the sight of the ocean. Aderrick pulled them up in the air, and dumped them into a boat, where passengers were bustling about among barrels of cider, baskets of cheese and bags of meal; chickens cackled, the captain swore and a cabin-boy rested on the railing, apparently indifferent to his surroundings. Felicite, who did not recognise him, kept shouting:

"Victor!" He suddenly raised his eyes, but while she was preparing to rush up to him, they withdrew the gangplank.

The packet, towed by singing women, glided out of the harbour. Her hull squeaked and the heavy waves beat up against her sides. The sail had turned and nobody was visible;--and on the ocean, silvered by the light of the moon, the vessel formed a black spot that grew dimmer and dimmer, and finally disappeared.

When Felicite passed the Calvary again, she felt as if she must entrust that which was dearest to her to the Lord; and for a long while she prayed, with uplifted eyes and a face wet with tears. The city was sleeping; some customs officials were taking the air; and the water kept pouring through the holes of the dam with a deafening roar.

The town clock struck two.

The parlour of the convent would not open until morning, and surely a delay would annoy Madame, so, in spite of her desire to see the other child, she went home. The maids of the inn were just arising when she reached Pont-l'Eveque.

So the poor boy would be on the ocean for months! His previous trips had not alarmed her. One can come back from England and Brittany; but America, the colonies, the islands, were all lost in an uncertain region at the very end of the world.

From that time on, Felicite thought solely of her nephew. On warm days she feared he would suffer from thirst, and when it stormed, she was afraid he would be struck by lightning. When she harkened to the wind that rattled in the chimney and dislodged the tiles on the roof, she imagined that he was being buffeted by the same storm, perched on top of a shattered mast, with his whole body bend backward and covered with sea-foam; or,--these were recollections of the engraved geography --he was being devoured by savages, or captured in a forest by apes, or dying on some lonely coast. She never mentioned her anxieties, however.

Madame Aubain worried about her daughter.

The sisters thought that Virginia was affectionate but delicate. The slightest emotion enervated her. She had to give up her piano lessons.

Her mother insisted upon regular letters from the convent. One morning, when the postman failed to come, she grew impatient and began to pace to and fro, from her chair to the window. It was really extraordinary! No news since four days!

In order to console her mistress by her own example, Felicite said:

"Why, Madame, I haven't had any news since six months!--""From whom?--"

The servant replied gently:

"Why--from my nephew."

"Oh, yes, your nephew!" And shrugging her shoulders, Madame Aubain continued to pace the floor as if to say: "I did not think of it.--Besides, I do not care, a cabin-boy, a pauper!--but my daughter--what a difference! just think of it!--"Felicite, although she had been reared roughly, was very indignant.

Then she forgot about it.

It appeared quite natural to her that one should lose one's head about Virginia.

The two children were of equal importance; they were united in her heart and their fate was to be the same.

The chemist informed her that Victor's vessel had reached Havana. He had read the information in a newspaper.

Felicite imagined that Havana was a place where people did nothing but smoke, and that Victor walked around among negroes in a cloud of tobacco. Could a person, in case of need, return by land? How far was it from Pont-l'Eveque? In order to learn these things, she questioned Monsieur Bourais. He reached for his map and began some explanations concerning longitudes, and smiled with superiority at Felicite's bewilderment. At last, he took a pencil and pointed out an imperceptible black point in the scallops of an oval blotch, adding:

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 中国大舆情(2013-2014)

    中国大舆情(2013-2014)

    本书设有趋势报告、政策报告、案例报告、舆情报告、数据报告五个部分,具体内容包括:中国梦:新一代中央领导集体的政治宣言在群众路线教育实践活动中强化共产党人精神之“钙”建设法治中国的江苏样本等。
  • 死亡神簿

    死亡神簿

    众生試我为魔,我便为魔,魔也罢,神也罢,本心不变,天下任我游。
  • 八荒血域

    八荒血域

    龙泉镇走出了一个身世并不简单的孤儿,遇见一个一见钟情的女子,遇见一个断臂的师傅,然后便走向了一条不归路。什么天道圣兵,大荒镇魔碑,八荒血域,一个个秘密,一个个被封印的邪魔被层出不穷神秘势力解封,该死的,究竟需要多久?需要多长?化凡尘出天南,战青龙海,乱中州,灭西域,荡气回肠,到头来世界崩碎,众神仍然陨落在虚空……究竟是宿命还是轮回,八荒血域,跳跃性很大,慎重点击。
  • 战神之陆

    战神之陆

    这是一个穿越时光隧道的故事,这是一个拥有新生的故事,这更是一个普通人,成为王者的故事。读吧,真正的筑梦之路上正在为你敞开。
  • 汉家衣裳

    汉家衣裳

    华夏复兴,衣冠先行;始于衣冠,达于博远。你可知,在中国有一套衣裳名叫汉服?它是属于华夏民族自己的传统服饰,其来历源远流长,起于黄帝,盛于汉唐,止于满清,然而它却从未消亡。时至今日,一场名为“汉服复兴运动”的民间社团活动正在中华大地之上悄然兴起,他们燃烧着满腔的热情,为了“着我汉家衣裳,兴我礼仪之邦”的梦想而无私的付出,默默的努力。
  • 子苏云初

    子苏云初

    “姐姐,等等我!”莫熙蓝在古南希身后跑着。一路上有不少的路人看他们,谁让她们是双胞胎姐妹呢……
  • 山道纪元

    山道纪元

    山,静默无言,一国,一城,一州皆是一山,山承载大道,山纹承载至理。不同类型的人有不同的类型的山纹,种植类,御兽类,治疗类,培养类,五行。还有种种稀有但却威力强大的类别,大多数人一生中只有一种,好点的称为天才有俩种,三种就能称作绝世之才,异世东方…一把剑,一只小兽,一种天赋,却有着无数山纹,遨游三千大道,称霸寰宇,关于他的传说不断流传,因为他开辟了一个纪元,一个独属于他的山道纪元······
  • 狍鸮酒馆

    狍鸮酒馆

    这里是位于浩瀚大陆中心区上的一个酒馆。酒馆的主人是一位年龄未知的女孩,或许有人认识她,很多年前,她还活跃在这个大陆上,那时人们称她为屠糜,很多年后,她在这个地方开了个酒馆,至于原因,无人而知。
  • 逆时之武

    逆时之武

    经历过了第四次工业革命之后科技和医学的大幅度发展让人类有了突破极限的条件人体机械化改造已经趋于流行世界进入崇拜领托扩张的尚武时代随着身体机能的提升冷兵器和武学功夫再度进入人的视线中那些经历过了兴衰起落过后的武侠门派,纷纷卷土归来!在凶猛刚毅的外家拳盛行的武林唯有一个人使用着忤逆时代发展趋势的特殊内家武学而且成为人人闻风丧胆的顶级杀手,人们谓之——逆时之武!
  • 九龙魄天剑

    九龙魄天剑

    前世,他乃天纵之才,振臂一挥,武林各宗门都要称他为王。结果却惨遭陷害,落得个尸骨无存的下场。今世,他无心称霸,却遭遇家门被屠,兄弟背后捅刀,死后进入四方世界轮回十八狱。他一次次在魂飞魄散的边缘中垂死挣扎,只为了复仇。天不让我活,我偏要活,人若要我死,我便让你先死。感谢腾讯文学书评团提供书评支持。