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The Red Inn-Part2_Honore de Balzac(1799-1850)_Translated Works(翻译文学)-第2页

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Prosper courteously proposed that the merchant should share their

supper, and Wahlenfer accepted the offer without ceremony, like a man



who feels himself able to return a civility. He placed his valise on

the floor and put his feet on it, took off his hat and gloves and



removed a pair of pistols from his belt; the landlord having by this

time set a knife and fork for him, the three guests began to satisfy



their appetites in silence. The atmosphere of this room was hot and

the flies were so numerous that Prosper requested the landlord to open



the window looking toward the outer gate, so as to change the air.

This window was barricaded by an iron bar, the two ends of which were



inserted into holes made in the window casings. For greater security,

two bolts were screwed to each shutter. Prosper accidentally noticed



the manner in which the landlord managed these obstacles and opened

the window.



As I am now speaking of localities, this is the place to describe to

you the interior arrangements of the inn; for, on an accurate



knowledge of the premises depends an understanding of my tale. The

public room in which the three persons I have named to you were



sitting, had two outer doors. One opened on the main road to

Andernach, which skirts the Rhine. In front of the inn was a little



wharf, to which the boat hired by the merchant for his journey was

moored. The other door opened upon the courtyard of the inn. This



courtyard was surrounded by very high walls and was full, for the time

being, of cattle and horses, the stables being occupied by human



beings. The great gate leading into this courtyard had been so

carefully barricaded that to save time the landlord had brought the



merchant and sailors into the public room through the door opening on

the roadway. After having opened the window, as requested by Prosper



Magnan, he closed this door, slipped the iron bars into their places

and ran the bolts. The landlord's room, where the two young surgeons



were to sleep, adjoined the public room, and was separated by a

somewhat thin partition from the kitchen, where the landlord and his



wife intended, probably, to pass the night. The servant-woman had left

the premises to find a lodging in some crib or hayloft. It is



therefore easy to see that the kitchen, the landlord's chamber, and

the public room were, to some extent, isolated from the rest of the



house. In the courtyard were two large dogs, whose deep-toned barking

showed vigilant and easily roused guardians.



"What silence! and what a beautiful night!" said Wilhelm, looking at

the sky through the window, as the landlord was fastening the door.



The lapping of the river against the wharf was the only sound to be

heard.



"Messieurs," said the merchant, "permit me to offer you a few bottles

of wine to wash down the carp. We'll ease the fatigues of the day by



drinking. From your manner and the state of your clothes, I judge that

you have made, like me, a good bit of a journey to-day."



The two friends accepted, and the landlord went out by a door through

the kitchen to his cellar, situated, no doubt, under this portion of



the building. When five venerable bottles which he presently brought

back with him appeared on the table, the wife brought in the rest of



the supper. She gave to the dishes and to the room generally the

glance of a mistress, and then, sure of having attended to all the



wants of the travellers, she returned to the kitchen.

The four men, for the landlord was invited to drink, did not hear her



go to bed, but later, during the intervals of silence which came into

their talk, certain strongly accentuated snores, made the more



sonorous by the thin planks of the loft in which she had ensconced

herself, made the guests laugh and also the husband. Towards midnight,



when nothing remained on the table but biscuits, cheese, dried fruit,

and good wine, the guests, chiefly the young Frenchmen, became



communicative. The latter talked of their homes, their studies, and of

the war. The conversation grew lively. Prosper Magnan brought a few



tears to the merchant's eyes, when with the frankness and naivete of a

good and tender nature, he talked of what his mother must be doing at



that hour, while he was sitting drinking on the banks of the Rhine.

"I can see her," he said, "reading her prayers before she goes to bed.



She won't forget me; she is certain to say to herself, 'My poor

Prosper; I wonder where he is now!' If she has won a few sous from her



neighbors--your mother, perhaps," he added, nudging Wilhelm's elbow--




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