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第10章

modeste mignon-第10章

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continued to work; without seeming to be surprised at her mother's

silence。 Madame Mignon's handkerchief slipped from her lap to the

floor; Butscha precipitated himself upon it; picked it up; and as he

returned it whispered in Modeste's ear; 〃Take care!〃 Modeste raised a

pair of wondering eyes; whose puzzled glance filled the poor cripple

with joy unspeakable。 〃She is not in love!〃 he whispered to himself;

rubbing his hands till the skin was nearly peeled off。 At this moment

Exupere tore through the garden and the house; plunged into the salon

like an avalanche; and said to Dumay in an audible whisper; 〃The young

man is here!〃 Dumay sprang for his pistols and rushed out。



〃Good God! suppose he kills him!〃 cried Madame Dumay; bursting into

tears。



〃What is the matter?〃 asked Modeste; looking innocently at her friends

and not betraying the slightest fear。



〃It is all about a young man who is hanging round the house;〃 cried

Madame Latournelle。



〃Well!〃 said Modeste; 〃why should Dumay kill him?〃



〃Sancta simplicita!〃 ejaculated Butscha; looking at his master as

proudly as Alexander is made to contemplate Babylon in Lebrun's great

picture。



〃Where are you going; Modeste?〃 asked the mother as her daughter rose

to leave the room。



〃To get ready for your bedtime; mamma;〃 answered Modeste; in a voice

as pure as the tones of an instrument。



〃You haven't paid your expenses;〃 said the dwarf to Dumay when he

returned。



〃Modeste is as pure as the Virgin on our altar;〃 cried Madame

Latournelle。



〃Good God! such excitements wear me out;〃 said Dumay; 〃and yet I'm a

strong man。〃



〃May I lose that twenty…five sous if I have the slightest idea what

you are about;〃 remarked Gobenheim。 〃You seem to me to be crazy。〃



〃And yet it is all about a treasure;〃 said Butscha; standing on tiptoe

to whisper in Gobenheim's ear。



〃Dumay; I am sorry to say that I am still almost certain of what I

told you;〃 persisted Madame Mignon。



〃The burden of proof is now on you; madame;〃 said Dumay; calmly; 〃it

is for you to prove that we are mistaken。〃



Discovering that the matter in question was only Modeste's honor;

Gobenheim took his hat; made his bow; and walked off; carrying his ten

sous with him;there being evidently no hope of another rubber。



〃Exupere; and you too; Butscha; may leave us;〃 said Madame

Latournelle。 〃Go back to Havre; you will get there in time for the

last piece at the theatre。 I'll pay for your tickets。〃



When the four friends were alone with Madame Mignon; Madame

Latournelle; after looking at Dumay; who being a Breton understood the

mother's obstinacy; and at her husband who was fingering the cards;

felt herself authorized to speak up。



〃Madame Mignon; come now; tell us what decisive thing has struck your

mind。〃



〃Ah; my good friend; if you were a musician you would have heard; as I

have; the language of love that Modeste speaks。〃



The piano of the demoiselles Mignon was among the few articles of

furniture which had been moved from the town…house to the Chalet。

Modeste often conjured away her troubles by practising; without a

master。 Born a musician; she played to enliven her mother。 She sang by

nature; and loved the German airs which her mother taught her。 From

these lessons and these attempts at self…instruction came a phenomenon

not uncommon to natures with a musical vocation; Modeste composed; as

far as a person ignorant of the laws of harmony can be said to

compose; tender little lyric melodies。 Melody is to music what imagery

and sentiment are to poetry; a flower that blossoms spontaneously。

Consequently; nations have had melodies before harmony;botany comes

later than the flower。 In like manner; Modeste; who knew nothing of

the painter's art except what she had seen her sister do in the way of

water…color; would have stood subdued and fascinated before the

pictures of Raphael; Titian; Rubens; Murillo; Rembrandt; Albert Durer;

Holbein;in other words; before the great ideals of many lands。

Lately; for at least a month; Modeste had warbled the songs of

nightingales; musical rhapsodies whose poetry and meaning had roused

the attention of her mother; already surprised by her sudden eagerness

for composition and her fancy for putting airs into certain verses。



〃If your suspicions have no other foundation;〃 said Latournelle to

Madame Mignon; 〃I pity your susceptibilities。〃



〃When a Breton girl sings;〃 said Dumay gloomily; 〃the lover is not far

off。〃



〃I will let you hear Modeste when she is improvising;〃 said the

mother; 〃and you shall judge for yourselves〃



〃Poor girl!〃 said Madame Dumay; 〃If she only knew our anxiety she

would be deeply distressed; she would tell us the truth;especially

if she thought it would save Dumay。〃



〃My friends; I will question my daughter to…morrow;〃 said Madame

Mignon; 〃perhaps I shall obtain more by tenderness than you have

discovered by trickery。〃



Was the comedy of the 〃Fille mal Gardee〃 being played here;as it is

everywhere and forever;under the noses of these faithful spies;

these honest Bartholos; these Pyrenean hounds; without their being

able to ferret out; detect; nor even surmise the lover; the love…

affair; or the smoke of the fire? At any rate it was certainly not the

result of a struggle between the jailers and the prisoner; between the

despotism of a dungeon and the liberty of a victim;it was simply the

never…ending repetition of the first scene played by man when the

curtain of the Creation rose; it was Eve in Paradise。



And now; which of the two; the mother or the watch…dog; had the right

of it?



None of the persons who were about Modeste could understand that

maiden heartfor the soul and the face we have described were in

harmony。 The girl had transported her existence into another world; as

much denied and disbelieved in in these days of ours as the new world

of Christopher Columbus in the sixteenth century。 Happily; she kept

her own counsel; or they would have thought her crazy。 But first we

must explain the influence of the past upon her nature。



Two events had formed the soul and developed the mind of this young

girl。 Monsieur and Madame Mignon; warned by the fate that overtook

Bettina; had resolved; just before the failure; to marry Modeste。 They

chose the son of a rich banker; formerly of Hamburg; but established

in Havre since 1815;a man; moreover; who was under obligations to

them。 The young man; whose name was Francois Althor; the dandy of

Havre; blessed with a certain vulgar beauty in which the middle

classes delight; well…made; well…fleshed; and with a fine complexion;

abandoned his betrothed so hastily on the day of her father's failure

that neither Modeste nor her mother nor either of the Dumays had seen

him since。 Latournelle ventured a question on the subject to Jacob

Althor; the father; but he only shrugged his shoulders and replied; 〃I

really don't know what you mean。〃



This answer; told to Modeste to give her some experience of life; was

a lesson which she learned all the more readily because Latournelle

and Dumay made many and long comments on the cowardly desertion。 The

daughters of Charles Mignon; like spoiled children; had all their

wishes gratified; they rode on horseback; kept their own horses and

grooms; and otherwise enjoyed a perilous liberty。 Seeing herself in

possession of an official lover; Modeste had allowed Francisque to

kiss her hand; and take her by the waist to mount her。 She accepted

his flowers and all the little proofs of tenderness with which it is

proper to surround the lady of our choice; she even worked him a

purse; believing in such ties;strong indeed to noble souls; but

cobwebs for the Gobenheims; the Vilquins; and the Althors。



Some time during the spring which followed the removal of Madame

Mignon and her daughter to the Chalet; Francisque Althor came to dine

with the Vilquins。 Happening to 

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