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Adieu-Part7_Honore de Balzac(1799-1850)_Translated Works(翻译文学)-第2页

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or slavery by their own folly.



At the cry, at the shot, the countesssprang from the carriage, and

ran, with delirious emotion, over the snow to the banks of the river;



she saw the burned bivouacs and the charred remains of the bridge, and

the fatal raft, which the men were launching into the icy waters of



the Beresina. The major, Philippe, was there, striking back the crowd

with his sabre. Madame de Vandieres gave a cry, which went to all



hearts, and threw herself before the colonel, whose heart beat wildly.

She seemed to gather herself together, and, at first, looked vaguely



at the singular scene. For an instant, as rapid as the lightning's

flash, her eyes had that lucidity, devoid of mind, which we admire in



the eye of birds; then passing her hand across her brow with the keen

expression of one who meditates, she contemplated the living memory of



a past scene spread before her, and, turning quickly to Philippe, she

SAW HIM. An awful silence reigned in the crowd. The colonel gasped,



but dared not speak; the doctor wept. Stephanie's sweet face colored

faintly; then, from tint to tint, it returned to the brightness of



youth, till it glowed with a beautiful crimson. Life and happiness,

lighted by intelligence, came nearer and nearer like a conflagration.



Convulsive trembling rose from her feet to her heart. Then these

phenomena seemed to blend in one as Stephanie's eyes cast forth a



celestial ray, the flame of a living soul. She lived, she thought! She

shuddered, with fear perhaps, for God himself unloosed that silent



tongue, and cast anew His fires into that long-extinguished soul.

Human will came with its full electric torrent, and vivified the body



from which it had been driven.

"Stephanie!" cried the colonel.



"Oh! it is Philippe," said the poor countess.

She threw herself into the trembling arms that the colonel held out to



her, and the clasp of the lovers frightened the spectators. Stephanie

burst into tears. Suddenly her tears stopped, she stiffened as though



the lightning had touched her, and said in a feeble voice,--

"Adieu, Philippe; I love thee, adieu!"



"Oh! she is dead," cried the colonel, opening his arms.

The old doctor received the inanimate body of his niece, kissed it as



though he were a young man, and carrying it aside, sat down with it

still in his arms on a pile of wood. He looked at the countess and



placed his feeble trembling hand upon her heart. That heart no longer

beat.



"It is true," he said, looking up at the colonel, who stood

motionless, and then at Stephanie, on whom death was placing that



resplendent beauty, that fugitive halo, which is, perhaps, a pledge of

the glorious future--"Yes, she is dead."



"Ah! that smile," cried Philippe, "do you see that smile? Can it be

true?"



"She is turning cold," replied Monsieur Fanjat.

Monsieur de Sucy made a few steps to tear himself away from the sight;



but he stopped, whistled the air that Stephanie had known, and when

she did not come to him, went on with staggering steps like a drunken



man, still whistling, but never turning back.

General Philippe de Sucy was thought in the social world to be a very



agreeable man, and above all a very gay one. A few days ago, a lady

complimented him on his good humor, and the charming equability of his



nature.

"Ah! madame," he said, "I pay dear for my liveliness in my lonely



evenings."

"Are you ever alone?" she said.



"No," he replied smiling.

If a judiciousobserver of human nature could have seen at that moment



the expression on the Comte de Sucy's face, he would perhaps have

shuddered.



"Why don't you marry?" said the lady, who had several daughters at

school. "You are rich, titled, and of ancient lineage; you have



talents, and a great future before you; all things smile upon you."

"Yes," he said, "but a smile kills me."



The next day the lady heard with great astonishment that Monsieur de

Sucy had blown his brains out during the night. The upper ranks of






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