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The Merry Men-Part28_ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON(1850-1894)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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garden, let alone adopting a stable-boy, rather than permit the

question of return to be discussed.



About four of the afternoon, the mountebank rendered up his ghost;

he had never been conscious since his seizure. Doctor Desprez was



present at his last passage, and declared the farce over. Then he

took Jean-Marie by the shoulder and led him out into the inn garden



where there was a convenient bench beside the river. Here he sat

him down and made the boy place himself on his left.



'Jean-Marie,' he said very gravely, 'this world is exceedingly

vast; and even France, which is only a small corner of it, is a



great place for a little lad like you. Unfortunately it is full of

eager, shouldering people moving on; and there are very few bakers'



shops for so many eaters. Your master is dead; you are not fit to

gain a living by yourself; you do not wish to steal? No. Your



situation then is undesirable; it is, for the moment, critical. On

the other hand, you behold in me a man not old, though elderly,



still enjoying the youth of the heart and the intelligence; a man

of instruction; easily situated in this world's affairs; keeping a



good table:- a man, neither as friend nor host, to be despised. I

offer you your food and clothes, and to teach you lessons in the



evening, which will be infinitely more to the purpose for a lad of

your stamp than those of all the priests in Europe. I propose no



wages, but if ever you take a thought to leave me, the door shall

be open, and I will give you a hundred francs to start the world



upon. In return, I have an old horse and chaise, which you would

very speedily learn to clean and keep in order. Do not hurry



yourself to answer, and take it or leave it as you judge aright.

Only remember this, that I am no sentimentalist or charitable



person, but a man who lives rigorously to himself; and that if I

make the proposal, it is for my own ends - it is because I perceive



clearly an advantage to myself. And now, reflect.'

'I shall be very glad. I do not see what else I can do. I thank



you, sir, most kindly, and I will try to be useful,' said the boy.

'Thank you,' said the Doctor warmly, rising at the same time and



wiping his brow, for he had suffered agonies while the thing hung

in the wind. A refusal, after the scene at noon, would have placed



him in a ridiculous light before Anastasie. 'How hot and heavy is

the evening, to be sure! I have always had a fancy to be a fish in



summer, Jean-Marie, here in the Loing beside Gretz. I should lie

under a water-lily and listen to the bells, which must sound most



delicately down below. That would be a life - do you not think so

too?'



'Yes,' said Jean-Marie.

'Thank God you have imagination!' cried the Doctor, embracing the



boy with his usual effusive warmth, though it was a proceeding that

seemed to disconcert the sufferer almost as much as if he had been



an English schoolboy of the same age. 'And now,' he added, 'I will

take you to my wife.'



Madame Desprez sat in the dining-room in a cool wrapper. All the

blinds were down, and the tile floor had been recently sprinkled



with water; her eyes were half shut, but she affected to be reading

a novel as the they entered. Though she was a bustling woman, she



enjoyed repose between whiles and had a remarkableappetite for

sleep.



The Doctor went through a solemn form of introduction, adding, for

the benefit of both parties, 'You must try to like each other for



my sake.'

'He is very pretty,' said Anastasie. 'Will you kiss me, my pretty



little fellow?'

The Doctor was furious, and dragged her into the passage. 'Are you



a fool, Anastasie?' he said. 'What is all this I hear about the

tact of women? Heaven knows, I have not met with it in my



experience. You address my little philosopher as if he were an

infant. He must be spoken to with more respect, I tell you; he



must not be kissed and Georgy-porgy'd like an ordinary child.'

'I only did it to please you, I am sure,' replied Anastasie; 'but I



will try to do better.'

The Doctor apologised for his warmth. 'But I do wish him,' he



continued, 'to feel at home among us. And really your conduct was

so idiotic, my cherished one, and so utterly and distantly out of



place, that a saint might have been pardoned a little vehemence in

disapproval. Do, do try - if it is possible for a woman to



understand young people - but of course it is not, and I waste my




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