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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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