章节正文
Her eyesight grew dim. She did not open the shutters after that. Many
years passed. But the house did not sell or rent. Fearing that she
would be put out, Felicite did not ask for repairs. The laths of the
roof were rotting away, and during one whole winter her bolster was
wet. After Easter she spit blood.
Then Mother Simon went for a doctor. Felicite wished to know what her
complaint was. But, being too deaf to hear, she caught only one word:
"Pneumonia." She was familiar with it and gently answered:--"Ah! like
Madame," thinking it quite natural that she should follow her
mistress.
The time for the altars in the street drew near.
The first one was always erected at the foot of the hill, the second
in front of the post-office, and the third in the middle of the
street. This position occasioned some rivalry among the women and they
finally decided upon Madame Aubain's yard.
Felicite's fever grew worse. She was sorry that she could not do
anything for the altar. If she could, at least, have contributed
something towards it! Then she thought of the parrot. Her neighbours
objected that it would not be proper. But the cure gave his consent
and she was so grateful for it that she begged him to accept after her
death, her only treasure, Loulou. From Tuesday until Saturday, the day
before the event, she coughed more frequently. In the evening her face
was contracted, her lips stuck to her gums and she began to vomit; and
on the following day, she felt so low that she called for a priest.
Three neighbours surrounded her when the dominie administered the
Extreme Unction. Afterwards she said that she wished to speak to Fabu.
He arrived in his Sunday clothes, very ill at ease among the funereal
surroundings.
"Forgive me," she said, making an effort to extend her arm, "I
believed it was you who killed him!"
What did such accusations mean? Suspect a man like him of murder! And
Fabu became excited and was about to make trouble.
"Don't you see she is not in her right mind?"
From time to time Felicite spoke to shadows. The women left her and
Mother Simon sat down to breakfast.
A little later, she took Loulou and holding him up to Felicite:
"Say good-bye to him, now!" she commanded.
Although he was not a corpse, he was eaten up by worms; one of his
wings was broken and the wadding was coming out of his body. But
Felicite was blind now, and she took him and laid him against her
cheek. Then Mother Simon removed him in order to set him on the altar.
CHAPTER V
The grass exhaled an odour of summer; flies buzzed in the air, the sun
shone on the river and warmed the slated roof. Old Mother Simon had
returned to Felicite and was peacefully falling asleep.
The ringing of bells woke her; the people were coming out of church.
Felicite's delirium subsided. By thinking of the procession, she was
able to see it as if she had taken part in it. All the school-
children, the singers and the firemen walked on the sidewalks, while
in the middle of the street came first the custodian of the church
with his halberd, then the beadle with a large cross, the teacher in
charge of the boys and a sister escorting the little girls; three of
the smallest ones, with curly heads, threw rose leaves into the air;
the deacon with outstretched arms conducted the music; and two
incense-bearers turned with each step they took toward the Holy
Sacrament, which was carried by M. le Cure, attired in his handsome
chasuble and walking under a canopy of red velvet supported by four
men. A crowd of people followed, jammed between the walls of the
houses hung with white sheets; at last the procession arrived at the
foot of the hill.
A cold sweat broke out on Felicite's forehead. Mother Simon wiped it
away with a cloth, sayinginwardly that some day she would have to go
through the same thing herself.
The murmur of the crowd grew louder, was very distinct for a moment
and then died away. A volley of musketry shook the window-panes. It
was the postilions saluting the Sacrament. Felicite rolled her eyes,
and said as loudly as she could:
"Is he all right?" meaning the parrot.
Her death agony began. A rattle that grew more and more rapid shook
her body. Froth appeared at the corners of her mouth, and her whole
frame trembled. In a little while could be heard the music of the bass
horns, the clear voices of the children and the men's deeper notes. At
intervals all was still, and their shoes sounded like a herd of cattle
passing over the grass.
The clergy appeared in the yard. Mother Simon climbed on a chair to
reach the bull's-eye, and in this manner could see the altar. It was
covered with a lace cloth and draped with green wreaths. In the middle
stood a little frame containing relics; at the corners were two little
orange-trees, and all along the edge were silver candlesticks,
porcelain vases containing sun-flowers, lilies, peonies, and tufts of
hydrangeas. This mount of bright colours descended diagonally from the
first floor to the carpet that covered the sidewalk. Rare objects
arrested one's eye. A golden sugar-bowl was crowned with violets,
earrings set with Alencon stones were displayed on green moss, and two
Chinese screens with their bright landscapes were near by. Loulou,
hidden beneath roses, showed nothing but his blue head which looked
like a piece of lapis-lazuli.
The singers, the canopy-bearers and the children lined up against the
sides of the yard. Slowly the priest ascended the steps and placed his
shining sun on the lace cloth. Everybody knelt. There was deep
silence; and the censers slipping on their chains were swung high in
the air. A blue vapour rose in Felicite's room. She opened her
nostrils and inhaled with a mystic sensuousness; then she closed her
lids. Her lips smiled. The beats of her heart grew fainter and
fainter, and vaguer, like a fountain giving out, like an echo dying
away;--and when she exhaled her last breath, she thought she saw in
the half-opened heavens a giganticparrot hovering above her head.
End
years passed. But the house did not sell or rent. Fearing that she
would be put out, Felicite did not ask for repairs. The laths of the
roof were rotting away, and during one whole winter her bolster was
wet. After Easter she spit blood.
Then Mother Simon went for a doctor. Felicite wished to know what her
complaint was. But, being too deaf to hear, she caught only one word:
"Pneumonia." She was familiar with it and gently answered:--"Ah! like
Madame," thinking it quite natural that she should follow her
mistress.
The time for the altars in the street drew near.
The first one was always erected at the foot of the hill, the second
in front of the post-office, and the third in the middle of the
street. This position occasioned some rivalry among the women and they
finally decided upon Madame Aubain's yard.
Felicite's fever grew worse. She was sorry that she could not do
anything for the altar. If she could, at least, have contributed
something towards it! Then she thought of the parrot. Her neighbours
objected that it would not be proper. But the cure gave his consent
and she was so grateful for it that she begged him to accept after her
death, her only treasure, Loulou. From Tuesday until Saturday, the day
before the event, she coughed more frequently. In the evening her face
was contracted, her lips stuck to her gums and she began to vomit; and
on the following day, she felt so low that she called for a priest.
Three neighbours surrounded her when the dominie administered the
Extreme Unction. Afterwards she said that she wished to speak to Fabu.
He arrived in his Sunday clothes, very ill at ease among the funereal
surroundings.
"Forgive me," she said, making an effort to extend her arm, "I
believed it was you who killed him!"
What did such accusations mean? Suspect a man like him of murder! And
Fabu became excited and was about to make trouble.
"Don't you see she is not in her right mind?"
From time to time Felicite spoke to shadows. The women left her and
Mother Simon sat down to breakfast.
A little later, she took Loulou and holding him up to Felicite:
"Say good-bye to him, now!" she commanded.
Although he was not a corpse, he was eaten up by worms; one of his
wings was broken and the wadding was coming out of his body. But
Felicite was blind now, and she took him and laid him against her
cheek. Then Mother Simon removed him in order to set him on the altar.
CHAPTER V
The grass exhaled an odour of summer; flies buzzed in the air, the sun
shone on the river and warmed the slated roof. Old Mother Simon had
returned to Felicite and was peacefully falling asleep.
The ringing of bells woke her; the people were coming out of church.
Felicite's delirium subsided. By thinking of the procession, she was
able to see it as if she had taken part in it. All the school-
children, the singers and the firemen walked on the sidewalks, while
in the middle of the street came first the custodian of the church
with his halberd, then the beadle with a large cross, the teacher in
charge of the boys and a sister escorting the little girls; three of
the smallest ones, with curly heads, threw rose leaves into the air;
the deacon with outstretched arms conducted the music; and two
incense-bearers turned with each step they took toward the Holy
Sacrament, which was carried by M. le Cure, attired in his handsome
chasuble and walking under a canopy of red velvet supported by four
men. A crowd of people followed, jammed between the walls of the
houses hung with white sheets; at last the procession arrived at the
foot of the hill.
A cold sweat broke out on Felicite's forehead. Mother Simon wiped it
away with a cloth, sayinginwardly that some day she would have to go
through the same thing herself.
The murmur of the crowd grew louder, was very distinct for a moment
and then died away. A volley of musketry shook the window-panes. It
was the postilions saluting the Sacrament. Felicite rolled her eyes,
and said as loudly as she could:
"Is he all right?" meaning the parrot.
Her death agony began. A rattle that grew more and more rapid shook
her body. Froth appeared at the corners of her mouth, and her whole
frame trembled. In a little while could be heard the music of the bass
horns, the clear voices of the children and the men's deeper notes. At
intervals all was still, and their shoes sounded like a herd of cattle
passing over the grass.
The clergy appeared in the yard. Mother Simon climbed on a chair to
reach the bull's-eye, and in this manner could see the altar. It was
covered with a lace cloth and draped with green wreaths. In the middle
stood a little frame containing relics; at the corners were two little
orange-trees, and all along the edge were silver candlesticks,
porcelain vases containing sun-flowers, lilies, peonies, and tufts of
hydrangeas. This mount of bright colours descended diagonally from the
first floor to the carpet that covered the sidewalk. Rare objects
arrested one's eye. A golden sugar-bowl was crowned with violets,
earrings set with Alencon stones were displayed on green moss, and two
Chinese screens with their bright landscapes were near by. Loulou,
hidden beneath roses, showed nothing but his blue head which looked
like a piece of lapis-lazuli.
The singers, the canopy-bearers and the children lined up against the
sides of the yard. Slowly the priest ascended the steps and placed his
shining sun on the lace cloth. Everybody knelt. There was deep
silence; and the censers slipping on their chains were swung high in
the air. A blue vapour rose in Felicite's room. She opened her
nostrils and inhaled with a mystic sensuousness; then she closed her
lids. Her lips smiled. The beats of her heart grew fainter and
fainter, and vaguer, like a fountain giving out, like an echo dying
away;--and when she exhaled her last breath, she thought she saw in
the half-opened heavens a giganticparrot hovering above her head.
End
- gently [´dʒentli]
ad.温和地；静静地 (初中英语单词) - grateful [´greitful] a.感谢的；令人愉快的 (初中英语单词)
- suspect [´sʌspekt, sə´spekt] v.怀疑；觉得 n.嫌疑犯 (初中英语单词)
- procession [prə´seʃən] n.队伍 v.列队行进 (初中英语单词)
- velvet [´velvit] n.&a.天鹅绒(般的) (初中英语单词)
- forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)
- distinct [di´stiŋkt] a.清楚的；独特的 (初中英语单词)
- rattle [´rætl] n.嘎吱声 (初中英语单词)
- carpet [´kɑ:pit] n.地毯 vt.铺地毯 (初中英语单词)
- priest [pri:st] n.教士；牧师；神父 (初中英语单词)
- fountain [´fauntin] n.泉水；源泉；根源 (初中英语单词)
- breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
- easter [´i:stə] n.(耶稣)复活节 (高中英语单词)
- post-office [´pəust-´ɔfis] a.邮政的 (高中英语单词)
- decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- sidewalk [´saidwɔ:k] n.人行道 (高中英语单词)
- gigantic [dʒai´gæntik] a.巨大的 (高中英语单词)
- parrot [´pærət] n.鹦鹉；应声虫 (英语四级单词)
- corpse [kɔ:ps] n.尸体 (英语四级单词)
- canopy [´kænəpi] n.(床上的)罩篷；天篷 (英语四级单词)
- volley [´vɔli] n.&v.齐射；(话)迸发 (英语四级单词)
- clergy [´klə:dʒi] n.牧师；教士 (英语四级单词)
- rivalry [´raivəlri] n.竞争；竞赛；敌对 (英语六级单词)
- contracted [kən´træktid] a.收缩了的；缩略的 (英语六级单词)
- holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)
- peacefully [´pisfuli] ad.平静地；安宁地 (英语六级单词)
- deacon [´di:kən] n.(教会的)执事 (英语六级单词)
- outstretched [,aut´stretʃt] a.扩张的；伸长的 (英语六级单词)
- inwardly [´inwədli] ad.内向；独自地 (英语六级单词)
- mystic [´mistik] a.神秘的；难以理解的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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