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The Magic Skin-Part23_Honore de Balzac(1799-1850)_Translated Works(翻译文学)-第2页

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"The countess, in her blue cashmere gown, was reclining on a sofa,

with her feet on a cushion. She wore an Oriental turban such as



painters assign to early Hebrews; its strangeness added an

indescribable coquettish grace to her attractions. A transitory charm



seemed to have laid its spell on her face; it might have furnished the

argument that at every instant we become new and unparalleled beings,



without any resemblance to the US of the future or of the past. I had

never yet seen her so radiant.



" 'Do you know that you have piqued my curiosity?' she said, laughing.

" 'I will not disappoint it,' I said quietly, as I seated myself near



to her and took the hand that she surrendered to me. 'You have a very

beautiful voice!'



" 'You have never heard me sing!' she exclaimed, starting

involuntarily with surprise.



" 'I will prove that it is quite otherwise, whenever it is necessary.

Is your delightful singing still to remain a mystery? Have no fear, I



do not wish to penetrate it.'

"We spent about an hour in familiar talk. While I adopted the attitude



and manner of a man to whom Foedora must refuse nothing, I showed her

all a lover's deference. Acting in this way, I received a favor--I was



allowed to kiss her hand. She daintily drew off the glove, and my

whole soul was dissolved and poured forth in that kiss. I was steeped



in the bliss of an illusion in which I tried to believe.

"Foedora lent herself most unexpectedly to my caress and my



flatteries. Do not accuse me of faint-heartedness; if I had gone a

step beyond these fraternal compliments, the claws would have been out



of the sheath and into me. We remained perfectly silent for nearly ten

minutes. I was admiring her, investing her with the charms she had



not. She was mine just then, and mine only,--this enchanting being was

mine, as was permissible, in my imagination; my longing wrapped her



round and held her close; in my soul I wedded her. The countess was

subdued and fascinated by my magnetic influence. Ever since I have



regretted that this subjugation was not absolute; but just then I

yearned for her soul, her heart alone, and for nothing else. I longed



for an ideal and perfect happiness, a fair illusion that cannot last

for very long. At last I spoke, feeling that the last hours of my



frenzy were at hand.

" 'Hear me, madame. I love you, and you know it; I have said so a



hundred times; you must have understood me. I would not take upon me

the airs of a coxcomb, nor would I flatter you, nor urge myself upon



you like a fool; I would not owe your love to such arts as these! so I

have been misunderstood. What sufferings have I not endured for your



sake! For these, however, you were not to blame; but in a few minutes

you shall decide for yourself. There are two kinds of poverty, madame.



One kind openly walks the street in rags, an unconscious imitator of

Diogenes, on a scanty diet, reducing life to its simplest terms; he is



happier, maybe, than the rich; he has fewer cares at any rate, and

accepts such portions of the world as stronger spirits refuse. Then



there is poverty in splendor, a Spanish pauper, concealing the life of

a beggar by his title, his bravery, and his pride; poverty that wears



a white waistcoat and yellow kid gloves, a beggar with a carriage,

whose whole career will be wrecked for lack of a halfpenny. Poverty of



the first kind belongs to the populace; the second kind is that of

blacklegs, of kings, and of men of talent. I am neither a man of the



people, nor a king, nor a swindler; possibly I have no talent either,

I am an exception. With the name I bear I must die sooner than beg.



Set your mind at rest, madame,' I said; 'to-day I have abundance, I

possess sufficient of the clay for my needs'; for the hard look passed



over her face which we wear whenever a well-dressed beggar takes us by

surprise. 'Do you remember the day when you wished to go to the



Gymnase without me, never believing that I should be there?' I went

on.



"She nodded.

" 'I had laid out my last five-franc piece that I might see you there.






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