登陆注册
4611400000004

第4章

her opera-glass, a bag of sweets, and a bouquet of camellias.

For twenty-five days of the month the camellias were white, and for five they were red; no one ever knew the reason of this change of colour, which I mention though I can not explain it; it was noticed both by her friends and by the habitue's of the theatres to which she most often went. She was never seen with any flowers but camellias. At the florist's, Madame Barjon's, she had come to be called "the Lady of the Camellias," and the name stuck to her.

Like all those who move in a certain set in Paris, I knew that Marguerite had lived with some of the most fashionable young men in society, that she spoke of it openly, and that they themselves boasted of it; so that all seemed equally pleased with one another. Nevertheless, for about three years, after a visit to Bagnees, she was said to be living with an old duke, a foreigner, enormously rich, who had tried to remove her as far as possible from her former life, and, as it seemed, entirely to her own satisfaction.

This is what I was told on the subject. In the spring of 1847Marguerite was so ill that the doctors ordered her to take the waters, and she went to Bagneres. Among the invalids was the daughter of this duke; she was not only suffering from the same complaint, but she was so like Marguerite in appearance that they might have been taken for sisters; the young duchess was in the last stage of consumption, and a few days after Marguerite's arrival she died. One morning, the duke, who had remained at Bagneres to be near the soil that had buried a part of his heart, caught sight of Marguerite at a turn of the road. He seemed to see the shadow of his child, and going up to her, he took her hands, embraced and wept over her, and without even asking her who she was, begged her to let him love in her the living image of his dead child. Marguerite, alone at Bagneres with her maid, and not being in any fear of compromising herself, granted the duke's request. Some people who knew her, happening to be at Bagneres, took upon themselves to explain Mademoiselle Gautier's true position to the duke. It was a blow to the old man, for the resemblance with his daughter was ended in one direction, but it was too late. She had become a necessity to his heart, his only pretext, his only excuse, for living. He made no reproaches, he had indeed no right to do so, but he asked her if she felt herself capable of changing her mode of life, offering her in return for the sacrifice every compensation that she could desire. She consented.

It must be said that Marguerite was just then very ill. The past seemed to her sensitive nature as if it were one of the main causes of her illness, and a sort of superstition led her to hope that God would restore to her both health and beauty in return for her repentance and conversion. By the end of the summer, the waters, sleep, the natural fatigue of long walks, had indeed more or less restored her health. The duke accompanied her to Paris, where he continued to see her as he had done at Bagneres.

This liaison, whose motive and origin were quite unknown, caused a great sensation, for the duke, already known for his immense fortune, now became known for his prodigality. All this was set down to the debauchery of a rich old man, and everything was believed except the truth. The father's sentiment for Marguerite had, in truth, so pure a cause that anything but a communion of hearts would have seemed to him a kind of incest, and he had never spoken to her a word which his daughter might not have heard.

Far be it from me to make out our heroine to be anything but what she was. As long as she remained at Bagneres, the promise she had made to the duke had not been hard to keep, and she had kept it;but, once back in Paris, it seemed to her, accustomed to a life of dissipation, of balls, of orgies, as if the solitude, only interrupted by the duke's stated visits, would kill her with boredom, and the hot breath of her old life came back across her head and heart.

We must add that Marguerite had returned more beautiful than she had ever been; she was but twenty, and her malady, sleeping but not subdued, continued to give her those feverish desires which are almost always the result of diseases of the chest.

It was a great grief to the duke when his friends, always on the lookout for some scandal on the part of the woman with whom, it seemed to them, he was compromising himself, came to tell him, indeed to prove to him, that at times when she was sure of not seeing him she received other visits, and that these visits were often prolonged till the following day. On being questioned, Marguerite admitted everything to the duke, and advised him, without arriere-pensee, to concern himself with her no longer, for she felt incapable of carrying out what she had undertaken, and she did not wish to go on accepting benefits from a man whom she was deceiving. The duke did not return for a week; it was all he could do, and on the eighth day he came to beg Marguerite to let him still visit her, promising that he would take her as she was, so long as he might see her, and swearing that he would never utter a reproach against her, not though he were to die of it.

This, then, was the state of things three months after Marguerite's return; that is to say, in November or December, 1842.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 围观历史之政变

    围观历史之政变

    在中国古代历史上,政变之举,不绝如缕。先秦汉唐,俯拾皆是;宋元明清,代代皆有;魏晋南北朝,“禅让”相替;五代十国,兵变迭兴……为了皇位,上演了多少互相残杀的惨剧。在权力的漩涡里,一切,从来就没有常理。本书以风趣的语言将自夏商至明清各朝的大小政变娓娓道来,引领读者回到那些阴谋与颠覆的年代,静静围观嗜血皇冠导演的一场场血腥的权力演变,让读者在一幕幕惊心动魄的政变之中,看清权力、利益与生命的关系,于风趣、有味之中体悟更加真实的人生。
  • 破局

    破局

    1970年代早春的盐阜大地与中国许多地方一样正从沉睡中慢慢苏醒过来,经历了一个个漫长的冬季,许多人已经习惯了一种生活方式,那就是工作听从个人安排,生活画地为牢,不敢越雷池一步,阶级论,成分论,向贫下中农学习论等等,现在看来无法想象的奇思怪论都已经结为同盟,成为一种司空见惯的约束机制。本书为长篇报告文学,小说以主人公殷广平为线索,讲述了主人公从一个知青到最后在教育事业上有所成就的故事,体现了当时的时代背景和国家的教育事业发展。
  • 兔子必须死

    兔子必须死

    自从一只贱兔子来了天庭后,天庭各大神仙居住地就拉起了横幅:防火防盗防兔子。同时,食神的兔子烹饪大全也开始热卖。经常能看到一群神仙挥舞着各种法宝,追着一只兔子漫山跑,喊着:“群殴无所谓,脸皮可以不要,兔子必须死!”路人甲:那只兔子为什么那么屌?几乎所有神仙都知道他,因为萌么?路人乙:不!因为贱!也不对,是很贱!一梦黄粱继《老衲要还俗》《万界直播之大土豪》之后又一新作,将开心带给大家!普通群:47097449VIP群【需要3000粉丝值】:387645012
  • 帝焰神尊

    帝焰神尊

    大世界的开辟者,沧溟大帝陨落后,落下蕴藏神力的七颗神之泪晶!七神泪晶化身七彩神焰,遗落世间,传闻,得七神泪晶者,可获不朽传承,俾睨天下!这是一个火的世界,掌火者遍天下,掌神焰者统御天下!边城少年凌宇,执掌神焰走向大世界;平天下,定乾坤,统万界,御神尊!……
  • 奈格里之魂

    奈格里之魂

    聆听我的召唤吧!永罪之龙、进取之灾、先行者、永宁之乡、灼魂之焰、深居魂所者、根源之音、万物第一因、圆环之理、……伟大的奈格里啊,您的仆人召唤着您!黑暗之中,某人在低声吟唱,他露出笑容,他知道他终将和神融为一体。而所有的一切,都源自于一个被骗到异界,丢失了主角光环的残魂。新书《永续之镜》已发布,请大家多多支持!!!!!!ps1:虚鸣已有150万字完本作品《旧日篇章》,请放心阅读ps2:本文无女主ps3:书友群:578342111
  • E021

    E021

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 30年文学典藏报告文学

    30年文学典藏报告文学

    为了纪念《百花洲》创刊三十周年,隆重推出《30年文学典藏》四卷本,众多名家倾力打造,三十年的沉淀,三十年的精粹,凸显出《百花洲》的流变轨迹,也折射出三十年社会生活和文化的变迁。这些让人熟知和亲近的文字在当下与历史间建立了一种恒久的联系,对于今天的文学阅读与写作而言,无疑是心灵不可复制的参照。
  • 中国电子商务之都互联网经济发展报告(2010年)

    中国电子商务之都互联网经济发展报告(2010年)

    本书分10个领域,对杭州2009年度互联网经济的发展环境、资源和应用状况进行全面总结,既有对2009年我国以及国际互联网产业发展情况的宏观分析和综述,更着重于对杭州互联网细分业务和典型应用发展状况的关注和研究。该报告内容客观、资料丰富、数据翔实,为互联网行业管理部门、从业企业和有关专业人士以及有志于互联网经济的社会各界人士,提供了可资借鉴参考的重要文献。
  • 伊江集载

    伊江集载

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 苍穹神变

    苍穹神变

    无尽玄域,浩渺空间,无数位面交汇,强者如林,高手如云。南宫家族遗子南宫炎为报族仇,浴血修炼,身具神罚,天地威严,谁人能挡?神罚出,天地威严,四方风云异动。神罚降,万恶俱灭,八方妖邪诛灭。谁是谁生命中的过客?谁是谁生命的转轮?前世的尘,今世的风,无穷无尽哀伤的精魂,掩藏不住那心灵深处的沧桑。待你白发苍苍,我会依然如此,执子之手,倾世温柔……