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雙語(yǔ)·邦斯舅舅 二十二、邦斯送了庭長(zhǎng)太太一件比蓬巴杜夫人的扇子更名貴的藝術(shù)品

所屬教程:譯林版·邦斯舅舅

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2022年06月08日

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XXII

On the morrow of the banquet, Cousin Pons betook himself to his fair cousin the Presidente, overjoyed—poor dear noble soul!—to return good for evil. Surely he had attained to a sublime height, as every one will allow, for we live in an age when the Montyon prize is given to those who do their duty by carrying out the precepts of the Gospel.

Ah! said Pons to himself, as he turned the corner of the Rue de Choiseul, "they will lie under immense obligations to their parasite."

Any man less absorbed in his contentment, any man of the world, any distrustful nature would have watched the President's wife and daughter very narrowly on this first return to the house. But the poor musician was a child, he had all the simplicity of an artist, believing in goodness as he believed in beauty; so he was delighted when Cecile and her mother made much of him. After all the vaudevilles, tragedies, and comedies which had been played under the worthy man's eyes for twelve long years, he could not detect the insincerity and grimaces of social comedy, no doubt because he had seen too much of it. Any one who goes into society in Paris, and knows the type of woman, dried up, body and soul, by a burning thirst for social position, and a fierce desire to be thought virtuous, any one familiar with the sham piety and the domineering character of a woman whose word is law in her own house, may imagine the lurking hatred she bore this husband's cousin whom she had wronged. All the demonstrative friendliness of mother and daughter was lined with a formidable longing for revenge, evidently postponed. For the first time in Amelie de Marville's life she had been put in the wrong, and that in the sight of the husband over whom she tyrannized; and not only so—she was obliged to be amiable to the author of her defeat! You can scarcely find a match for this position save in the hypocritical dramas which are sometimes kept up for years in the sacred college of cardinals, or in chapters of certain religious orders.

At three o'clock, when the President came back from the law-courts, Pons had scarcely made an end of the marvelous history of his acquaintance, M. Frederic Brunner. Cecile had gone straight to the point. She wanted to know how Frederic Brunner was dressed, how he looked, his height and figure, the color of his hair and eyes; and when she had conjectured a distinguished air for Frederic, she admired his generosity of character.

Think of his giving five hundred thousand francs to his companion in misfortune! Oh! mamma, I shall have a carriage and a box at the Italiens——

Cecile grew almost pretty as she thought that all her mother's ambitions for her were about to be realized, that the hopes which had almost left her were to come to something after all.

As for the Presidente, all that she said was, "My dear little girl, you may perhaps be married within the fortnight."

All mothers with daughters of three-and-twenty address them as "little girl."

Still, added the President, "in any case, we must have time to make inquiries; never will I give my daughter to just anybody—"

As to inquiries, said Pons, "Berthier is drawing up the deeds. As to the young man himself, my dear cousin, you remember what you told me? Well, he is quite forty years old; he is bald. He wishes to find in family life a haven after a storm; I did not dissuade him; every man has his tastes—"

One reason the more for a personal interview, returned the President. "I am not going to give my daughter to a valetudinarian."

Very good, cousin, you shall see my suitor in five days if you like; for, with your views, a single interview would be enough—

Cecile and her mother signified their rapture—

Frederic is decidedly a distinguished amateur; he begged me to allow him to see my little collection at his leisure. You have never seen my pictures and curiosities; come and see them, he continued, looking at his relatives. "You can come simply as two ladies, brought by my friend Schmucke, and make M. Brunner's acquaintance without betraying yourselves. Frederic need not in the least know who you are."

Admirable! cried the President.

The attention they paid to the once scorned parasite may be left to the imagination! Poor Pons that day became the Presidente's cousin. The happy mother drowned her dislike in floods of joy; her looks, her smiles, her words sent the old man into ecstasies over the good that he had done, over the future that he saw by glimpses. Was he not sure to find dinners such as yesterday's banquet over the signing of the contract, multiplied indefinitely by three, in the houses of Brunner, Schwab, and Graff? He saw before him a land of plenty—a vie de cocagne, a miraculous succession of plats couverts, of delicate surprise dishes, of exquisite wines.

If Cousin Pons brings this through, said the President, addressing his wife after Pons had departed, "we ought to settle an income upon him equal to his salary at the theatre."

Certainly, said the lady; and Cecile was informed that if the proposed suitor found favor in her eyes, she must undertake to induce the old musician to accept a munificence in such bad taste.

Next day the President went to Berthier. He was anxious to make sure of M. Frederic Brunner's financial position. Berthier, forewarned by Mme. de Marville, had asked his new client Schwab to come. Schwab the banker was dazzled by the prospect of such a match for his friend (everybody knows how deeply a German venerates social distinctions, so much so, that in Germany a wife takes her husband's (official) title, and is the Frau General, the Frau Rath, and so forth)—Schwab therefore was as accommodating as a collector who imagines that he is cheating a dealer.

In the first place, said Cecile's father, "as I shall make over my estate of Marville to my daughter, I should wish the contract to be drawn up on the dotal system. In that case, M. Brunner would invest a million francs in land to increase the estate, and by settling the land on his wife he would secure her and his children from any share in the liabilities of the bank."

Berthier stroked his chin. "He is coming on well, is M. le President," thought he.

When the dotal system had been explained to Schwab, he seemed much inclined that way for his friend. He had heard Fritz say that he wished to find some way of insuring himself against another lapse into poverty.

There is a farm and pasture land worth twelve hundred thousand francs in the market at this moment, remarked the President.

If we take up shares in the Bank of France to the amount of a million francs, that will be quite enough to guarantee our account, said Schwab. "Fritz does not want to invest more than two million francs in business; he will do as you wish, I am sure, M. le President."

The President's wife and daughter were almost wild with joy when he brought home this news. Never, surely, did so rich a capture swim so complacently into the nets of matrimony.

You will be Mme. Brunner de Marville, said the parent, addressing his child; "I will obtain permission for your husband to add the name to his, and afterwards he can take out letters of naturalization. If I should be a peer of France some day, he will succeed me!"

The five days were spent by Mme. de Marville in preparations. On the great day she dressed Cecile herself, taking as much pains as the admiral of the British fleet takes over the dressing of the pleasure yacht for Her Majesty of England when she takes a trip to Germany.

Pons and Schmucke, on their side, cleaned, swept, and dusted Pons' museum rooms and furniture with the agility of sailors cleaning down a man-of-war. There was not a speck of dust on the carved wood; not an inch of brass but it glistened. The glasses over the pastels obscured nothing of the work of Latour, Greuze, and Liotard (illustrious painter of The Chocolate Girl), miracles of an art, alas! so fugitive. The inimitable lustre of Florentine bronze took all the varying hues of the light; the painted glass glowed with color. Every line shone out brilliantly, every object threw in its phrase in a harmony of masterpieces arranged by two musicians—both of whom alike had attained to be poets.

二十二、邦斯送了庭長(zhǎng)太太一件比蓬巴杜夫人的扇子更名貴的藝術(shù)品

第二天,邦斯上他外甥媳婦庭長(zhǎng)太太家里去了,他因?yàn)槟軌蛞缘聢?bào)怨而滿心歡喜。可憐這心胸高尚的好人!……沒(méi)有問(wèn)題,他是到了超凡入圣的境界?,F(xiàn)在大家對(duì)一般盡本分的、照著福音書(shū)行事的人,尚且在分發(fā)蒙底翁道德獎(jiǎng)金,那么上面那句關(guān)于邦斯的話一定不會(huì)有人反對(duì)的了。

“嘿!他們要欠吃白食的一個(gè)大大的情分呢!”他在旭阿梭街上拐彎的時(shí)候這么想著。

一個(gè)不像邦斯那么得意忘形的人,一個(gè)懂世故的、知道提防的人,回到這份人家去一定會(huì)留神庭長(zhǎng)太太和她女兒的態(tài)度的;但可憐的音樂(lè)家是個(gè)孩子,是個(gè)天真的藝術(shù)家,他只相信道德的善,猶如他只相信藝術(shù)的美;賽西爾和庭長(zhǎng)太太的殷勤使他快活之極。這老實(shí)人,十二年來(lái)盡看著雜劇、喜劇、悲劇在眼前搬演,竟看不透人生舞臺(tái)上牛鬼蛇神的嘴臉,其實(shí)他是早該看飽了的。庭長(zhǎng)夫人的心跟身子一樣的干枯,可是非常熱衷,拼命要顯出賢德,裝作虔誠(chéng),因?yàn)樵诩依镏鋺T了,格外老氣橫秋。凡是在巴黎社會(huì)上混慣而懂得這一類(lèi)女子的人,自會(huì)想象得到,自從庭長(zhǎng)夫人向丈夫認(rèn)錯(cuò)以后,她心中對(duì)舅舅抱著多深的仇恨。母女倆面上是笑臉相迎,內(nèi)里都打著此仇必報(bào)的主意,不過(guò)暫時(shí)把敵愾之心壓在那里罷了。阿曼麗·加繆索生平第一次向丈夫低頭,而丈夫是她一向當(dāng)作孩子看待的;可是現(xiàn)在她還得對(duì)那個(gè)使她吃敗仗的人表示親熱!……這個(gè)情形,只有紅衣主教之間或教會(huì)宗派的領(lǐng)袖之間,那種年深月久、口是心非的親善可以相比。

三點(diǎn)鐘,庭長(zhǎng)從法院里回來(lái),邦斯還沒(méi)有把故事講完。他說(shuō)出認(rèn)識(shí)弗列茲·勃羅納的那番奇妙的經(jīng)過(guò),從昨天吃到今天清早的酒席,以及一切有關(guān)勃羅納的細(xì)節(jié)。賽西爾直截了當(dāng)?shù)靥岬秸?,打?tīng)勃羅納衣著的款式如何,身腰如何,舉動(dòng)如何,頭發(fā)什么顏色,眼睛什么顏色;等到她揣摩出弗列茲是個(gè)漂亮人物之后,便稱贊他的豪爽了。

“對(duì)一個(gè)患難朋友一出手就是五十萬(wàn)!噢,媽媽?zhuān)业能?chē)子跟意大利劇院的包廂都不成問(wèn)題啦……”

母親為她所抱的野心,她自己唯恐成為泡影的希望,一下子都要實(shí)現(xiàn)了:賽西爾想到這里,人也差不多變得好看了。

至于庭長(zhǎng)夫人,她只說(shuō)一句話:“親愛(ài)的小妞子,你十五天之內(nèi)就可以結(jié)婚了。”

所有的母親都把二十三歲的女兒叫作小妞子的。

“可是,”庭長(zhǎng)說(shuō),“要打聽(tīng)對(duì)方的底細(xì)總還得有些時(shí)間;我決不肯把女兒隨便給一個(gè)陌生人……”

“你要打聽(tīng),只消問(wèn)貝蒂哀,他們的合同和婚書(shū)都是他經(jīng)手的,”老藝術(shù)家回答,“至于那小伙子,我的甥少奶,你該記得你和我說(shuō)過(guò)的話!他已經(jīng)過(guò)了四十歲,頭發(fā)只剩一半了。他想成了家有個(gè)避風(fēng)的港口,我自然不去勸阻他;這也是人的天性……”

“那就更需要打聽(tīng)勃羅納先生的情形了,”庭長(zhǎng)搶著說(shuō),“我不愿意給女兒招個(gè)病病歪歪的女婿。”

“甥少奶,要是你愿意,五天之內(nèi)就可以看到那個(gè)男的,你自己去判斷吧;照你的意思,似乎只要見(jiàn)一次面就行了……”

賽西爾和母親做了一個(gè)極高興的姿勢(shì)。邦斯舅舅接著又道:

“弗列茲是個(gè)很高明的鑒賞家,他想仔細(xì)瞧瞧我的小收藏。你們從來(lái)沒(méi)見(jiàn)過(guò)我的畫(huà)我的古董;就來(lái)看看吧,”他對(duì)兩位女主人說(shuō),“你們裝作是我的朋友許模克陪來(lái)的,盡可不露痕跡地跟對(duì)方認(rèn)識(shí)。弗列茲絕對(duì)不會(huì)知道你們是誰(shuí)?!?/p>

“妙極了!”庭長(zhǎng)叫著。

從前被人瞧不起的食客現(xiàn)在受到怎樣的敬重,是不難想象的了。那天可憐的人才真是庭長(zhǎng)夫人的舅舅。快活的母親,心中的仇恨給歡樂(lè)的巨潮淹沒(méi)了,竟裝出那種眼神,堆起那種笑容,想出那種說(shuō)話,教老實(shí)人喜歡得魂都沒(méi)有了;他覺(jué)得自己不但做了樁好事,而且還有個(gè)美麗的遠(yuǎn)景。將來(lái)在勃羅納家、希華勃家、葛拉夫家,不是都有像訂婚那天一樣的酒席等他嗎?他眼見(jiàn)酒醉飯飽的日子到了:一連串蓋著碟子端出來(lái)的菜,意想不到的異味,妙不可言的陳年佳釀!

邦斯走了以后,庭長(zhǎng)對(duì)太太說(shuō):“倘若邦斯舅舅做媒做成了,就得送他一筆年金,相當(dāng)于他樂(lè)隊(duì)指揮的薪水。”

“那當(dāng)然嘍。”庭長(zhǎng)太太回答。他們決定,要是賽西爾看得中那個(gè)男的,就由她去教老音樂(lè)家收下這筆不登大雅的津貼。

為了對(duì)弗列茲·勃羅納的家私找些真憑實(shí)據(jù),庭長(zhǎng)下一天就去看貝蒂哀。貝蒂哀預(yù)先得到庭長(zhǎng)夫人的通知,把他的新主顧、笛師出身的銀行家希華勃約了來(lái)。希華勃一聽(tīng)朋友可能攀上這樣一門(mén)親,不由得驚喜交集(大家知道德國(guó)人是多么看重頭銜的,在德國(guó),一位太太不是元帥夫人,便是參議夫人,或是律師夫人),他對(duì)談判處處遷就,仿佛一個(gè)收藏家自以為教古董商上了當(dāng),占了便宜似的。

“第一,”賽西爾的父親對(duì)希華勃說(shuō),“因?yàn)槲蚁朐诨闀?shū)上把瑪維爾的產(chǎn)業(yè)給女兒,我要采取奩贈(zèng)制度。勃羅納先生得拿出一百萬(wàn)來(lái)擴(kuò)充瑪維爾莊田,湊成一份奩贈(zèng)產(chǎn)業(yè),使我女兒和她的孩子們將來(lái)不至于受到銀行的風(fēng)波?!?/p>

貝蒂哀摸著下巴頦兒想道:“庭長(zhǎng)先生倒真有一招!”

希華勃問(wèn)明了什么叫作奩贈(zèng)制度[1],立刻代朋友一口承應(yīng)。這項(xiàng)條件正好符合朋友的愿望,因?yàn)楦チ衅澰?jīng)表示,希望成家的時(shí)候能有個(gè)辦法,使他不致重蹈覆轍。

“眼前就有一百二十萬(wàn)法郎的農(nóng)場(chǎng)跟草原預(yù)備出讓?!蓖ラL(zhǎng)又說(shuō)。

“法蘭西銀行的一百萬(wàn)股票,作我們往來(lái)的保證金是盡夠的了,”希華勃回答,“弗列茲也不愿意在生意上的投資超過(guò)二百萬(wàn);庭長(zhǎng)的條件,他一定會(huì)接受的?!?/p>

聽(tīng)到庭長(zhǎng)回家報(bào)告這些消息,兩位婦女簡(jiǎn)直樂(lè)死了。在捕婿的網(wǎng)里,從來(lái)沒(méi)有這樣的一條大魚(yú)肯這樣聽(tīng)人擺布的。

“你將來(lái)可以叫作勃羅納·特·瑪維爾太太,”父親對(duì)女兒說(shuō),“我要替你丈夫正式申請(qǐng)用這個(gè)姓;以后他還能獲得法國(guó)籍。要是我當(dāng)了貴族院議員,他可以承繼我!”

庭長(zhǎng)夫人花了五天工夫裝扮女兒。相親那天,她親自替賽西爾穿衣,在化妝上細(xì)磨細(xì)琢所費(fèi)的心血,不下于英國(guó)艦隊(duì)的司令官的裝配那艘游艇,讓英國(guó)女王坐了上德國(guó)去訪問(wèn)。

另一方面,邦斯和許???,把邦斯的美術(shù)館、屋子、家具,撣塵抹灰的那股勁兒,好比水手擦洗海軍司令的戰(zhàn)艦。雕花的木器連一星灰都沒(méi)有。所有的銅器都閃閃發(fā)光。粉筆畫(huà)外面的玻璃,教人把拉都、格勒茲、李?yuàn)W太(他是那張不能經(jīng)久的名畫(huà)[2]《巧克力女郎》的作者)的作品看得格外分明。佛羅倫薩銅雕上神妙的琺瑯,毫光四射,變化無(wú)窮。彩色玻璃上細(xì)膩的顏色,絢爛奪目。在兩個(gè)詩(shī)人一般的音樂(lè)家布置之下,那些杰作都放出異彩,發(fā)出聲音,直叩你的心,使這個(gè)展覽會(huì)同時(shí)也成為一個(gè)音樂(lè)會(huì)。

注解:

[1] 奩贈(zèng)制度乃由夫妻雙方各撥一部分動(dòng)產(chǎn)或不動(dòng)產(chǎn),在婚約上訂明為奩贈(zèng)產(chǎn)業(yè),由丈夫執(zhí)管,收益歸夫婦共有;但不能出賣(mài),公家亦不得沒(méi)收。即丈夫破產(chǎn),此項(xiàng)產(chǎn)業(yè)仍可保留,不受牽累。

[2] 粉筆畫(huà)的顏色極易脫落,故不能經(jīng)久。

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