"Gillette!" he cried; "let us go."



At this cry, with its accent of love, his mistress raised her eyes

joyfully and looked at him; then she ran into his arms.



"Ah! you love me still?" she whispered, bursting into tears.

Though she had had strength to hide her suffering, she had none to



hide her joy.

"Let me have her for one moment," exclaimed the old master, "and you



shall compare her with my Catherine. Yes, yes; I consent!"

There was love in the cry of Frenhofer as in that of Poussin, mingled



with jealous coquetry on behalf of his semblance of a woman; he seemed

to revel in the triumph which the beauty of his virgin was about to



win over the beauty of the living woman.

"Do not let him retract," cried Porbus, striking Poussin on the



shoulder. "The fruits of love wither in a day; those of art are

immortal."



"Can it be," said Gillette, looking steadily at Poussin and at Porbus,

"that I am nothing more than a woman to him?"



She raised her head proudly; and as she glanced at Frenhofer with

flashing eyes she saw her lover gazing once more at the picture he had



formerly taken for a Giorgione.

"Ah!" she cried, "let us go in; he never looked at me like that!"



"Old man!" said Poussin, roused from his meditation by Gillette's

voice, "see this sword. I will plunge it into your heart at the first



cry of that young girl. I will set fire to your house, and no one

shall escape from it. Do you understand me?"



His look was gloomy and the tones of his voice were terrible. His

attitude, and above all the gesture with which he laid his hand upon



the weapon, comforted the poor girl, who half forgave him for thus

sacrificing her to his art and to his hopes of a glorious future.



Porbus and Poussin remained outside the closed door of the atelier,

looking at one another in silence. At first the painter of the



Egyptian Mary uttered a few exclamations: "Ah, she unclothes herself!"

--"He tells her to stand in the light!"--"He compares them!" but he



grew silent as he watched the mournful face of the young man; for

though old painters have none of such petty scruples in presence of



their art, yet they admire them in others, when they are fresh and

pleasing. The young man held his hand on his sword, and his ear seemed



glued to the panel of the door. Both men, standingdarkly in the

shadow, looked like conspirators waiting the hour to strike a tyrant.



"Come in! come in!" cried the old man, beaming with happiness. "My

work is perfect; I can show it now with pride. Never shall painter,



brushes, colors, canvas, light, produce the rival of Catherine

Lescaut, the Beautiful Nut-girl."



Porbus and Poussin, seized with wild curiosity, rushed into the middle

of a vast atelier filled with dust, where everything lay in disorder,



and where they saw a few paintings hanging here and there upon the

walls. They stopped before the figure of a woman, life-sized and half



nude, which filled them with eager admiration.

"Do not look at that," said Frenhofer, "it is only a daub which I made



to study a pose; it is worth nothing. Those are my errors," he added,

waving his hand towards the enchanting compositions on the walls



around them.

At these words Porbus and Poussin, amazed at the disdain which the



master showed for such marvels of art, looked about them for the

secret treasure, but could see it nowhere.



"There it is!" said the old man, whose hair fell in disorder about his

face, which was scarlet with supernatural excitement. His eyes



sparkled, and his breast heaved like that of a young man beside

himself with love.



"Ah!" he cried, "did you not expect such perfection? You stand before

a woman, and you are looking for a picture! There are such depths on



that canvas, the air within it is so true, that you are unable to

distinguish it from the air you breathe. Where is art? Departed,



vanished! Here is the form itself of a young girl. Have I not caught

the color, the very life of the line which seems to terminate the



body? The same phenomenon which we notice around fishes in the water

is also about objects which float in air. See how these outlines



spring forth from the background. Do you not feel that you could pass

your hand behind those shoulders? For seven years have I studied these



effects of light coupled with form. That hair,--is it not bathed in

• consult [kən´sʌlt] v.商量；磋商；请教 (初中英语单词)


• suspicion [sə´spiʃən] n.怀(猜)疑；嫌疑 (初中英语单词)


• worthy [´wə:ði] a.有价值的；值得的 (初中英语单词)


• mysterious [mi´stiəriəs] a.神秘的；难以理解的 (初中英语单词)


• absolute [´æbsəlu:t] a.绝对的 n.绝对 (初中英语单词)


• unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)


• turkey [´tə:ki] n.火鸡 (初中英语单词)


• greece [gri:s] n.希腊 (初中英语单词)


• satisfaction [,sætis´fækʃən] n.满意；满足 (初中英语单词)


• beloved [bi´lʌvd] a.为….所爱的 n.爱人 (初中英语单词)


• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)


• painting [´peintiŋ] n.绘画；(油)画；着色 (初中英语单词)


• sentiment [´sentimənt] n.情绪；多愁善感 (初中英语单词)


• hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• exception [ik´sepʃən] n.例外；反对，异议 (初中英语单词)


• canvas [´kænvəs] n.帆布；油画(布) (初中英语单词)


• resign [ri´zain] v.辞职；放弃；委托 (初中英语单词)


• creation [kri´eiʃən] n.创作；作品；创造 (初中英语单词)


• endure [in´djuə] vt.忍耐，忍受；坚持 (初中英语单词)


• submit [səb´mit] vt.使服从；使忍受 (初中英语单词)


• stupid [´stju:pid] a.愚蠢的；糊涂的 (初中英语单词)


• violence [´vaiələns] n.猛烈；暴力(行) (初中英语单词)


• mistress [´mistris] n.女主人；情妇；女能手 (初中英语单词)


• betray [bi´trei] vt.背叛；辜负；暴露 (初中英语单词)


• velvet [´velvit] n.&a.天鹅绒(般的) (初中英语单词)


• movement [´mu:vmənt] n.活动；运动；动作 (初中英语单词)


• hastily [´heistili] ad.急速地；草率地 (初中英语单词)


• overcome [,əuvə´kʌm] vt.战胜，克服 (初中英语单词)


• conscience [´kɔnʃəns] n.良心；道德心 (初中英语单词)


• violent [´vaiələnt] a.强暴的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)


• innocent [´inəsənt] a.无罪的；单纯的 (初中英语单词)


• modest [´mɔdist] a.谦虚的；朴素的 (初中英语单词)


• peaceful [´pi:sfəl] a.和平的；平静的 (初中英语单词)


• painter [´peintə] n.画家；(油)漆工 (初中英语单词)


• jealous [´dʒeləs] a.妒忌的 (初中英语单词)


• accent [´æksənt, æk´sent] n.重音；口音 vt.重读 (初中英语单词)


• suffering [´sʌfəriŋ] n.痛苦；灾害 (初中英语单词)


• triumph [´traiəmf] n.胜利 vi.得胜，战胜 (初中英语单词)


• striking [´straikiŋ] a.显著的，明显的 (初中英语单词)


• steadily [´stedili] ad.坚定地；不断地 (初中英语单词)


• proudly [´praudli] ad.骄傲地；傲慢地 (初中英语单词)


• plunge [plʌndʒ] v.插进 n.投入；冲击 (初中英语单词)


• gesture [´dʒestʃə] n.手势 v.打手势 (初中英语单词)


• weapon [´wepən] n.武器；斗争手段 (初中英语单词)


• glorious [´glɔ:riəs] a.光荣的；辉煌的 (初中英语单词)


• waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)


• curiosity [,kjuəri´ɔsiti] n.好奇；奇事；珍品 (初中英语单词)


• scarlet [´skɑ:lit] n.猩红色 a.猩红的 (初中英语单词)


• excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋；骚动；煽动 (初中英语单词)


• background [´bækgraund] n.背景；经历；幕后 (初中英语单词)


• vainly [´veinli] ad.虚荣地；自负地 (高中英语单词)


• melancholy [´melənkəli] n.忧郁 a.忧郁的 (高中英语单词)


• worthless [´wə:θləs] a.无价值的 (高中英语单词)


• flicker [´flikə] n.&v.闪烁；忽隐忽现 (高中英语单词)


• motionless [´məuʃənləs] a.静止的；固定的 (高中英语单词)


• passionate [´pæʃənit] a.易动情的；易怒的 (高中英语单词)


• obedience [ə´bi:djəns] n.服从；顺从 (高中英语单词)


• regain [ri´gein] vt.收回；恢复 (高中英语单词)


• behalf [bi´hɑ:f] n.利益 (高中英语单词)


• virgin [´və:dʒin] a.处女(般)的 n.处女 (高中英语单词)


• wither [´wiðə] v.(使)枯萎(衰弱) (高中英语单词)


• gloomy [´glu:mi] a.昏暗的；忧郁的 (高中英语单词)


• hanging [´hæŋiŋ] n.绞刑 a.悬挂着的 (高中英语单词)


• disdain [dis´dein] vt.&n.藐视，轻视 (高中英语单词)


• disorder [dis´ɔ:də] n.杂乱 vt.扰乱 (高中英语单词)


• perfection [pə´fekʃən] n.完美；极致；熟练 (高中英语单词)


• phenomenon [fi´nɔminən] n.现象；奇迹；珍品 (高中英语单词)


• studied [´stʌdid] a.故意的；有计划的 (高中英语单词)


• dagger [´dægə] n.短剑，匕首 (英语四级单词)


• digestion [di´dʒestʃən] n.消化(力) (英语四级单词)


• brussels [´brʌslz] n.布鲁塞尔 (英语四级单词)


• dishonor [dis´ɔnə] n.耻辱 vt.凌辱 (英语四级单词)


• semblance [´sembləns] n.外表；伪装；相似 (英语四级单词)


• morrow [´mɔrəu] n.翌日 (英语四级单词)


• seeming [´si:miŋ] a.表面上的 n.外观 (英语四级单词)


• garret [´gærit] n.阁楼，顶楼 (英语四级单词)


• frenzy [´frenzi] n.&vt.(使)狂乱 (英语四级单词)


• meditation [,medi´teiʃən] n.熟虑；默想 (英语四级单词)


• mournful [´mɔ:nful] a.令人沮丧的 (英语四级单词)


• terminate [´tə:mineit] v.终止，结束 (英语四级单词)


• incomparable [in´kɔmpərəbəl] a.无可比拟的 (英语六级单词)


• doublet [´dʌblit] n.一对中之一 (英语六级单词)


• unspeakable [ʌn´spi:kəbl] a.不能以言语表达的 (英语六级单词)


• beauteous [´bju:tiəs] a.美的，美丽的 (英语六级单词)


• darkly [´dɑ:kli] adv.暗，黑；暗中 (英语六级单词)


• beaming [´bi:miŋ] a.笑吟吟的 (英语六级单词)