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第8节

the red inn-第8节

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Monsieur Brousson; who is now his physician; has forbidden that

remedy; declaring that the trouble is a nervous affection; an

inflammation of the nerves; for which leeches should be applied to the

neck; and opium to the head。 As a result; the attacks are not so

frequent; they appear now only about once a year; and always late in

the autumn。 When he recovers; Taillefer says repeatedly that he would

far rather die than endure such torture。〃



〃Then he must suffer terribly!〃 said a broker; considered a wit; who

was present。



〃Oh;〃 continued the mistress of the house; 〃last year he nearly died

in one of these attacks。 He had gone alone to his country…house on

pressing business。 For want; perhaps; of immediate help; he lay

twenty…two hours stiff and stark as though he were dead。 A very hot

bath was all that saved him。〃



〃It must be a species of lockjaw;〃 said one of the guests。



〃I don't know;〃 she answered。 〃He got the disease in the army nearly

thirty years ago。 He says it was caused by a splinter of wood entering

his head from a shot on board a boat。 Brousson hopes to cure him。 They

say the English have discovered a mode of treating the disease with

prussic acid〃



At that instant a still more piercing cry echoed through the house;

and froze us with horror。



〃There! that is what I listened to all day long last year;〃 said the

banker's wife。 〃It made me jump in my chair and rasped my nerves

dreadfully。 But; strange to say; poor Taillefer; though he suffers

untold agony; is in no danger of dying。 He eats and drinks as well as

ever during even short cessations of the painnature is so queer! A

German doctor told him it was a form of gout in the head; and that

agrees with Brousson's opinion。〃



I left the group around the mistress of the house and went away。 On

the staircase I met Mademoiselle Taillefer; whom a footman had come to

fetch。



〃Oh!〃 she said to me; weeping; 〃what has my poor father ever done to

deserve such suffering?so kind as he is!〃



I accompanied her downstairs and assisted her in getting into the

carriage; and there I saw her father bent almost double。



Mademoiselle Taillefer tried to stifle his moans by putting her

handkerchief to his mouth; unhappily he saw me; his face became even

more distorted; a convulsive cry rent the air; and he gave me a

dreadful look as the carriage rolled away。



That dinner; that evening exercised a cruel influence on my life and

on my feelings。 I loved Mademoiselle Taillefer; precisely; perhaps;

because honor and decency forbade me to marry the daughter of a

murderer; however good a husband and father he might be。 A curious

fatality impelled me to visit those houses where I knew I could meet

Victorine; often; after giving myself my word of honor to renounce the

happiness of seeing her; I found myself that same evening beside her。

My struggles were great。 Legitimate love; full of chimerical remorse;

assumed the color of a criminal passion。 I despised myself for bowing

to Taillefer when; by chance; he accompanied his daughter; but I bowed

to him all the same。



Alas! for my misfortune Victorine is not only a pretty girl; she is

also educated; intelligent; full of talent and of charm; without the

slightest pedantry or the faintest tinge of assumption。 She converses

with reserve; and her nature has a melancholy grace which no one can

resist。 She loves me; or at least she lets me think so; she has a

certain smile which she keeps for me alone; for me; her voice grows

softer still。 Oh; yes! she loves me! But she adores her father; she

tells me of his kindness; his gentleness; his excellent qualities。

Those praises are so many dagger…thrusts with which she stabs me to

the heart。



One day I came near making myself the accomplice; as it were; of the

crime which led to the opulence of the Taillefer family。 I was on the

point of asking the father for Victorine's hand。 But I fled; I

travelled; I went to Germany; to Andernach; and thenI returned! I

found Victorine pale; and thinner; if I had seen her well in health

and gay; I should certainly have been saved。 Instead of which my love

burst out again with untold violence。 Fearing that my scruples might

degenerate into monomania; I resolved to convoke a sanhedrim of sound

consciences; and obtain from them some light on this problem of high

morality and philosophy;a problem which had been; as we shall see;

still further complicated since my return。



Two days ago; therefore; I collected those of my friends to whom I

attribute most delicacy; probity; and honor。 I invited two Englishmen;

the secretary of an embassy; and a puritan; a former minister; now a

mature statesman; a priest; an old man; also my former guardian; a

simple…hearted being who rendered so loyal a guardianship account that

the memory of it is still green at the Palais; besides these; there

were present a judge; a lawyer; and a notary;in short; all social

opinions; and all practical virtues。



We began by dining well; talking well; and making some noise; then; at

dessert; I related my history candidly; and asked for advice;

concealing; of course; the Taillefer name。



A profound silence suddenly fell upon the company。 Then the notary

took leave。 He had; he said; a deed to draw。



The wine and the good dinner had reduced my former guardian to

silence; in fact I was obliged later in the evening to put him under

guardianship; to make sure of no mishap to him on his way home。



〃I understand!〃 I cried。 〃By not giving an opinion you tell me

energetically enough what I ought to do。〃



On this there came a stir throughout the assembly。



A capitalist who had subscribed for the children and tomb of General

Foy exclaimed:



〃Like Virtue's self; a crime has its degrees。〃



〃Rash tongue!〃 said the former minister; in a low voice; nudging me

with his elbow。



〃Where's your difficulty?〃 asked a duke whose fortune is derived from

the estates of stubborn Protestants; confiscated on the revocation of

the Edict of Nantes。



The lawyer rose; and said:



〃In law; the case submitted to us presents no difficulty。 Monsieur le

duc is right!〃 cried the legal organ。 〃There are time limitations。

Where should we all be if we had to search into the origin of

fortunes? This is simply an affair of conscience。 If you must

absolutely carry the case before some tribunal; go to that of the

confessional。〃



The Code incarnate ceased speaking; sat down; and drank a glass of

champagne。 The man charged with the duty of explaining the gospel; the

good priest; rose。



〃God has made us all frail beings;〃 he said firmly。 〃If you love the

heiress of that crime; marry her; but content yourself with the

property she derives from her mother; give that of the father to the

poor。〃



〃But;〃 cried one of those pitiless hair…splitters who are often to be

met with in the world; 〃perhaps the father could make a rich marriage

only because he was rich himself; consequently; the marriage was the

fruit of the crime。〃



〃This discussion is; in itself; a verdict。 There are some things on

which a man does not deliberate;〃 said my former guardian; who thought

to enlighten the assembly with a flash of inebriety。



〃Yes!〃 said the secretary of an embassy。



〃Yes!〃 said the priest。



But the two men did not mean the same thing。



A 〃doctrinaire;〃 who had missed his election to the Chamber by one

hundred and fifty votes out of one hundred and fifty…five; here rose。



〃Messieurs;〃 he said; 〃this phenomenal incident of intellectual nature

is one of those which stand out vividly from the normal condition to

which sobriety is subjected。 Consequently the decision to be made

ought to be the spontaneous act of our consciences; a sudden

conception; a prompt inward verdict; a fugitive shadow of our mental

apprehension; much like the flashes of sentiment which constitute

taste。 Let us vote。〃



〃Let us vote!〃 cried all my guests。



I have each two balls; one white; one red。 The white; symbol of

virginity; was to forbid the marriage; the red ball sanctioned it。 I

myself abstained from voting; out of delicacy。



My friends were seventeen in number; nine was therefore the majority。

Each man put his ball into the wicker basket with a narrow throat;

used to hold the numbered balls when card…players draw for their

places at pool。 We were all roused to a more or less keen curiosity;

for this balloting to clarify morality was certainly original。

Inspection of the ballot…box showed the presence of nine white balls!

The result did not surprise me; but it came into my heard to count the

young men of my own age whom I had brought to sit in judgment。 These

casuists were precisely nine in number; they all had the same thought。



〃Oh; oh!〃 I said to myself; 〃here is secret unanimity to forbid the

marriage; and secret unanimity to sanction it! How shall I solve that

problem?

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