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Father Goriot-Part21_Honore de Balzac(1799-1850)_Translated Works(翻译文学)-第2页

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known, to the highest degree, and M. de Beauseant, like many



jaded men of the world, had few pleasures left but those of good

cheer; in this matter, in fact, he was a gourmand of the schools



of Louis XVIII. and of the Duc d'Escars, and luxury was

supplemented by splendor. Eugene, dining for the first time in a



house where the traditions of grandeur had descended through many

generations, had never seen any spectacle like this that now met



his eyes. In the time of the Empire, balls had always ended with

a supper, because the officers who took part in them must be



fortified for immediate service, and even in Paris might be

called upon to leave the ballroom for the battlefield. This



arrangement had gone out of fashion under the Monarchy, and

Eugene had so far only been asked to dances. The self-possession



which pre-eminently distinguished him in later life already stood

him in good stead, and he did not betray his amazement. Yet as he



saw for the first time the finelywrought silver plate, the

completeness of every detail, the sumptuous dinner, noiselessly



served, it was difficult for such an ardentimagination not to

prefer this life of studied and refinedluxury to the hardships



of the life which he had chosen only that morning.

His thoughts went back for a moment to the lodging-house, and



with a feeling of profound loathing, he vowed to himself that at

New Year he would go; prompted at least as much by a desire to



live among cleaner surroundings as by a wish to shake off

Vautrin, whose huge hand he seemed to feel on his shoulder at



that moment. When you consider the numberless forms, clamorous or

mute, that corruption takes in Paris, common-sense begins to



wonder what mental aberration prompted the State to establish

great colleges and schools there, and assemble young men in the



capital; how it is that pretty women are respected, or that the

gold coin displayed in the money-changer's wooden saucers does



not take to itself wings in the twinkling of an eye; and when you

come to think further, how comparatively few cases of crime there



are, and to count up the misdemeanors committed by youth, is

there not a certain amount of respect due to these patient



Tantaluses who wrestle with themselves and nearly always come off

victorious? The struggles of the poor student in Paris, if



skilfully drawn, would furnish a most dramatic picture of modern

civilization.



In vain Mme. de Beauseant looked at Eugene as if asking him to

speak; the student was tongue-tied in the Vicomte's presence.



"Are you going to take me to the Italiens this evening?" the

Vicomtesse asked her husband.



"You cannot doubt that I should obey you with pleasure," he

answered, and there was a sarcastic tinge in his politeness which



Eugene did not detect, "but I ought to go to meet some one at the

Varietes."



"His mistress," said she to herself.

"Then, is not Ajuda coming for you this evening?" inquired the



Vicomte.

"No," she answered, petulantly.



"Very well, then, if you really must have an arm, take that of M.

de Rastignac."



The Vicomtess turned to Eugene with a smile.

"That would be a very compromising step for you," she said.



" 'A Frenchman loves danger, because in danger there is glory,'

to quote M. de Chateaubriand," said Rastignac, with a bow.



A few moments later he was sitting beside Mme. de Beauseant in a

brougham, that whirled them through the streets of Paris to a



fashionable theatre. It seemed to him that some fairy magic had

suddenly transported him into a box facing the stage. All the



lorgnettes of the house were pointed at him as he entered, and at

the Vicomtesse in her charming toilette. He went from enchantment



to enchantment.

"You must talk to me, you know," said Mme. de Beauseant. "Ah!



look! There is Mme. de Nucingen in the third box from ours. Her

sister and M. de Trailles are on the other side."



The Vicomtesse glanced as she spoke at the box where Mlle. de

Rochefide should have been; M. d'Ajuda was not there, and Mme. de



Beauseant's face lighted up in a marvelous way.

"She is charming," said Eugene, after looking at Mme. de






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