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屋顶间的哲学家_梭维斯特-第8部分
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ctme。
〃forgivemeifidonotmakeyouabow;〃saidhe;merrily;〃butiwantbothmyhandsforthenosegaymonsieurcharleshasgivenme。〃
〃youare;then;beegreatfriends?〃saidi。
〃oh!ishouldthinkso;〃saidthechild;〃andnowmyfatherisrichtoo!〃
〃howsthat?〃
〃monsieurduvallenthimsomemoney;hehastakenashop;whereheworksonhisownaccount;and;asforme;igotoschool。〃
〃yes;〃repliedi;remarkingforthefirsttimethecrossthatdecoratedhislittlecoat;〃andiseethatyouarehead…boy!〃
〃monsieurcharleshelpsmetolearn;andsoiametobethefirstintheclass。〃
〃areyounowgoingtoyourlessons?〃
〃yes;andhehasgivenmesomelilacs;forhehasagardenwhereweplaytogether;andwheremymothercanalwayshaveflowers。〃
〃thenitisthesameasifitwerepartlyyourown。〃
〃soitis!ah!theyaregoodneighborsindeed。buthereiam;good…by;sir。〃
henoddedtomewithasmile;anddisappeared。
iwentonwithmywalk;stillpensive;butwithafeelingofrelief。
ifihadelsewherewitnessedthepainfulcontrastbetweenaffluenceandwant;hereihadfoundthetrueunionofrichesandpoverty。heartygood…willhadsmootheddownthemoreruggedinequalitiesonbothsides;andhadopenedaroadoftrueneighborhoodandfellowshipbetweenthehumbleworkshopandthestatelymansion。insteadofhearkeningtothevoiceofinterest;theyhadbothlistenedtothatofself…sacrifice;andtherewasnoplaceleftforcontemptorenvy。thus;insteadofthebeggarinrags;thatihadseenattheotherdoorcursingtherichman;ihadfoundherethehappychildofthelaborerloadedwithflowersandblessinghim!theproblem;sodifficultandsodangeroustoexamineintowithnoregardbutfortherightsofit;ihadjustseensolvedbylove。
CHAPTER V
pensation
sunday;may27th
capitalcitieshaveonethingpeculiartothem:theirdaysofrestseemtobethesignalforageneraldispersionandflight。likebirdsthatarejustrestoredtoliberty;thepeopleeoutoftheirstonecages;andjoyfullyflytowardthecountry。itiswhoshallfindagreenhillockforaseat;ortheshadeofawoodforashelter;theygathermayflowers;theyrunaboutthefields;thetownisforgottenuntiltheevening;whentheyreturnwithsprigsofbloominghawthornintheirhats;andtheirheartsgladdenedbypleasantthoughtsandrecollectionsofthepastday;thenextdaytheyreturnagaintotheirharnessandtowork。
theseruraladventuresaremostremarkableatparis。whenthefineweatheres;clerks;shopkeepers;andworkingmenlookforwardimpatientlyforthesundayasthedayfortryingafewhoursofthispastorallife;theywalkthroughsixmilesofgrocersshopsandpublic…housesinthefaubourgs;inthesolehopeoffindingarealturnip…field。
thefatherofafamilybeginsthepracticaleducationofhissonbyshowinghimwheatwhichhasnottakentheformofaloaf;andcabbage〃initswildstate。〃heavenonlyknowstheencounters;thediscoveries;theadventuresthataremetwith!whatparisianhasnothadhisodysseyinanexcursionthroughthesuburbs;andwouldnotbeabletowriteapaniontothefamoustravelsbylandandbyseafromparistost。
cloud?
wedonotnowspeakofthatfloatingpopulationfromallparts;forwhomourfrenchbabylonisthecaravansaryofeurope:aphalanxofthinkers;artists;menofbusiness;andtravellers;who;likehomershero;havearrivedintheirintellectualcountryafterbeholding〃manypeoplesandcities;〃butofthesettledparisian;whokeepshisappointedplace;andlivesonhisownfloorliketheoysteronhisrock;acuriousvestigeofthecredulity;theslowness;andthesimplicityofbygoneages。
foroneofthesingularitiesofparisis;thatitunitestwentypopulationspletelydifferentincharacterandmanners。bythesideofthegypsiesofmerceandofart;whowanderthroughalltheseveralstagesoffortuneorfancy;liveaquietraceofpeoplewithanindependence;orwithregularwork;whoseexistenceresemblesthedialofaclock;onwhichthesamehandpointsbyturnstothesamehours。
ifnoothercitycanshowmorebrilliantandmorestirringformsoflife;noothercontainsmoreobscureandmoretranquilones。greatcitiesarelikethesea:stormsagitateonlythesurface;ifyougotothebottom;youfindaregioninaccessibletothetumultandthenoise。
formypart;ihavesettledonthevergeofthisregion;butdonotactuallyliveinit。iamremovedfromtheturmoiloftheworld;andliveintheshelterofsolitude;butwithoutbeingabletodisconnectmythoughtsfromthestrugglegoingon。ifollowatadistanceallitseventsofhappinessorgrief;ijointhefeastsandthefunerals;forhowcanhewholookson;andknowswhatpasses;dootherthantakepart?
ignorancealonecankeepusstrangerstothelifearoundus:selfishnessitselfwillnotsufficeforthat。
thesereflectionsimadetomyselfinmyattic;intheintervalsofthevarioushouseholdworkstowhichabachelorisforcedwhenhehasnootherservantthanhisownreadywill。whileiwaspursuingmydeductions;ihadblackedmyboots;brushedmycoat;andtiedmycravat;ihadatlastarrivedattheimportantmomentwhenwepronounceplacentlythatallisfinished;andthatwell。
agrandresolvehadjustdecidedmetodepartfrommyusualhabits。
theeveningbefore;ihadseenbytheadvertisementsthatthenextdaywasaholidayatsevres;andthatthechinamanufactorywouldbeopentothepublic。iwastemptedbythebeautyofthemorning;andsuddenlydecidedtogothere。
onmyarrivalatthestationontheleftbank;inoticedthecrowdhurryingoninthefearofbeinglate。railroads;besidesmanyotheradvantages;possessthatofteachingthefrenchpunctuality。theywillsubmittotheclockwhentheyareconvincedthatitistheirmaster;theywilllearntowaitwhentheyfindtheywillnotbewaitedfor。
socialvirtues;are;inagreatdegree;goodhabits。howmanygreatqualitiesaregraftedintonationsbytheirgeographicalposition;bypoliticalnecessity;andbyinstitutions!avaricewasdestroyedforatimeamongthelacedaemoniansbythecreationofanironcoinage;tooheavyandtoobulkytobeconvenientlyhoarded。
ifoundmyselfinacarriagewithtwomiddle…agedwomenbelongingtothedomesticandretiredclassofparisiansihavespokenofabove。afewcivilitiesweresufficienttogainmetheirconfidence;andaftersomeminutesiwasacquaintedwiththeirwholehistory。
theyweretwopoorsisters;leftorphansatfifteen;andhadlivedeversince;asthosewhoworkfortheirlivelihoodmustlive;byeconomyandprivation。forthelasttwentyorthirtyyearstheyhadworkedinjewelryinthesamehouse;theyhadseentenmasterssucceedoneanother;andmaketheirfortunesinit;withoutanychangeintheirownlot。theyhadalwayslivedinthesameroom;attheendofoneofthepassagesintheruest。denis;wheretheairandthesunareunknown。theybegantheirworkbeforedaylight;wentonwithittillafternightfall;andsawyearsucceedtoyearwithouttheirlivesbeingmarkedbyanyothereventsthanthesundayservice;awalk;oranillness。
theyoungeroftheseworthywork…womenwasforty;andobeyedhersisterasshedidwhenachild。theelderlookedafterher;tookcareofher;andscoldedherwithamotherstenderness。atfirstitwasamusing;afterwardonecouldnothelpseeingsomethingaffectinginthesetwogray…hairedchildren;oneunabletoleaveoffthehabitofobeying;theotherthatofprotecting。
anditwasnotinthatalonethatmytwopanionsseemedyoungerthantheiryears;theyknewsolittlethattheirwonderneverceased。wehadhardlyarrivedatclamartbeforetheyinvoluntarilyexclaimed;likethekinginthechildrensgame;thatthey〃didnotthinktheworldwassogreat〃!
itwasthefirsttimetheyhadtrustedthemselvesonarailroad;anditwasamusingtoseetheirsuddenshocks;theiralarms;andtheircourageousdeterminations:everythingwasamarveltothem!theyhadremainsofyouthwithinthem;whichmadethemsensibletothingswhichusuallyonlystrikeusinchildhood。poorcreatures!theyhadstillthefeelingsofanotherage;thoughtheyhadlostitscharms。
butwastherenotsomethingholyinthissimplicity;whichhadbeenpreservedtothembyabstinencefromallthejoysoflife?ah!accursedbehewhofirsthadthehadcouragetoattachridiculetothatnameof〃oldmaid;〃whichrecallssomanyimagesofgrievousdeception;ofdreariness;andofabandonment!accursedbehewhocanfindasubjectforsarcasmininvoluntarymisfortune;andwhocancrowngrayhairswiththorns!
thetwosisterswerecalledfrancesandmadeleine。thisdaysjourneywasafeatofcouragewithoutexampleintheirlives。thefeverofthetimeshadinfectedthemunawares。yesterdaymadeleinehadsuddenlyproposedtheideaoftheexpedition;andfranceshadaccepteditimmediately。perhapsitwouldhavebeenbetternottoyieldtothegreattemptationofferedbyheryoungersister;but〃wehaveourfolliesatallages;〃astheprudentfrancesphilosophicallyremarked。asformadeleine;therearenoregretsordoubtsforher;sheisthelife…guardsmanoftheestablishment。
〃wereallymustamuseourselves;〃saidshe;〃welivebutonce。〃
andtheeldersistersmiledatthisepicureanmaxim。itwasevidentthatthefeverofindependencewasatitscrisisinbothofthem。
andintruthitwouldhavebeenagreatpityifanyscruplehadinterferedwiththeirhappiness;itwassofrankandgenial!thesightofthetrees;whichseemedtoflyo
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