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The Two Brothers-Part42_Honore de Balzac(1799-1850)_Translated Works(翻译文学)-第2页

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"Well, Captain Renard," said one of the townsfolk to Max's friend.

"They say wolves don't devour each other, but it seems that Max is



going to set his teeth in Colonel Bridau. That's pretty serious among

you gentlemen of the Old Guard."



"You make fun of it, do you? Because the poor fellow amused himself a

little at night, you are all against him," said Potel. "But Gilet is a



man who couldn't stay in a hole like Issoudun without finding

something to do."



"Well, gentlemen," remarked another, "Max and the colonel must play

out their game. Bridau had to avenge his brother. Don't you remember



Max's treachery to the poor lad?"

"Bah! nothing but an artist," said Renard.



"But the real question is about the old man's property," said a third.

"They say Monsieur Gilet was laying hands on fifty thousand francs a



year, when the colonel turned him out of his uncle's house."

"Gilet rob a man! Come, don't say that to any one but me, Monsieur



Canivet," cried Potel. "If you do, I'll make you swallow your tongue,

--and without any sauce."



Every household in town offered prayers for the honorable Colonel

Bridau.



CHAPTER XVI

Towards four o'clock the following day, the officers of the old army



who were at Issoudun or its environs, were sauntering about the place

du Marche, in front of an eating-house kept by a man named Lacroix,



and waiting the arrival of Colonel Philippe Bridau. The banquet in

honor of the coronation was to take place with military punctuality at



five o'clock. Various groups of persons were talking of Max's

discomfiture, and his dismissal from old Rouget's house; for not only



were the officers to dine at Lacroix's, but the common soldiers had

determined on a meeting at a neighboring wine-shop. Among the



officers, Potel and Renard were the only ones who attempted to defend

Max.



"Is it any of our business what takes place among the old man's

heirs?" said Renard.



"Max is weak with women," remarked the cynical Potel.

"There'll be sabres unsheathed before long," said an old sub-



lieutenant, who cultivated a kitchen-garden in the upper Baltan. "If

Monsieur Maxence Gilet committed the folly of going to live under old



Rouget's roof, he would he a coward if he allowed himself to be turned

off like a valet without asking why."



"Of course," said Mignonnet dryly. "A folly that doesn't succeed

becomes a crime."



At this moment Max joined the old soldiers of Napoleon, and was

received in significant silence. Potel and Renard each took an arm of



their friend, and walked about with him, conversing. Presently

Philippe was seen approaching in full dress; he trailed his cane after



him with an imperturbable air which contrasted with the forced

attention Max was paying to the remarks of his two supporters.



Bridau's hand was grasped by Mignonnet, Carpentier, and several

others. This welcome, so different from that accorded to Max,



dispelled the last feeling of cowardice, or, if you prefer it, wisdom,

which Flore's entreaties, and above all, her tendernesses, had



awakened in the latter's mind.

"We shall fight," he said to Renard, "and to the death. Therefore



don't talk to me any more; let me play my part well."

After these words, spoken in a feverish tone, the three Bonapartists



returned to the group of officers and mixed among them. Max bowed

first to Bridau, who returned his bow, and the two exchanged a frigid



glance.

"Come, gentlemen, let us take our seats," said Potel.



"And drink to the health of the Little Corporal, who is now in the

paradise of heroes," cried Renard.



The company poured into the long, low dining-hall of the restaurant

Lacroix, the windows of which opened on the market-place. Each guest



took his seat at the table, where, in compliance with Philippe's

request, the two adversaries were placed directly opposite to each



other. Some young men of the town, among them several Knights of

Idleness, anxious to know what might happen at the banquet, were



walking about the street and discussing the critical position into

which Philippe had contrived to force Max. They all deplored the



crisis, though each considered the duel to be inevitable.

Everything went off well until the dessert, though the two antagonists



displayed, in spite of the apparent joviality of the dinner, a certain

vigilance that resembled disquietude. While waiting for the quarrel



that both were planning, Philippe showed admirablecoolness, and Max a

distracting gayety; but to an observer, each was playing a part.



When the desert was served Philippe rose and said: "Fill your glasses,




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