登陆注册
5388600000001

第1章

For half a century the housewives of Pont-l'Eveque had envied Madame Aubain her servant Felicite.

For a hundred francs a year, she cooked and did the housework, washed, ironed, mended, harnessed the horse, fattened the poultry, made the butter and remained faithful to her mistress--although the latter was by no means an agreeable person.

Madame Aubain had married a comely youth without any money, who died in the beginning of 1809, leaving her with two young children and a number of debts. She sold all her property excepting the farm of Toucques and the farm of Geffosses, the income of which barely amounted to 5,000 francs; then she left her house in Saint-Melaine, and moved into a less pretentious one which had belonged to her ancestors and stood back of the market-place. This house, with its slate-covered roof, was built between a passage-way and a narrow street that led to the river. The interior was so unevenly graded that it caused people to stumble. A narrow hall separated the kitchen from the parlour, where Madame Aubain sat all day in a straw armchair near the window. Eight mahogany chairs stood in a row against the white wainscoting. An old piano, standing beneath a barometer, was covered with a pyramid of old books and boxes. On either side of the yellow marble mantelpiece, in Louis XV. style, stood a tapestry armchair. The clock represented a temple of Vesta; and the whole room smelled musty, as it was on a lower level than the garden.

On the first floor was Madame's bed-chamber, a large room papered in a flowered design and containing the portrait of Monsieur dressed in the costume of a dandy. It communicated with a smaller room, in which there were two little cribs, without any mattresses. Next, came the parlour (always closed), filled with furniture covered with sheets.

Then a hall, which led to the study, where books and papers were piled on the shelves of a book-case that enclosed three quarters of the big black desk. Two panels were entirely hidden under pen-and-ink sketches, Gouache landscapes and Audran engravings, relics of better times and vanished luxury. On the second floor, a garret-window lighted Felicite's room, which looked out upon the meadows.

She arose at daybreak, in order to attend mass, and she worked without interruption until night; then, when dinner was over, the dishes cleared away and the door securely locked, she would bury the log under the ashes and fall asleep in front of the hearth with a rosary in her hand. Nobody could bargain with greater obstinacy, and as for cleanliness, the lustre on her brass sauce-pans was the envy and despair of other servants. She was most economical, and when she ate she would gather up crumbs with the tip of her finger, so that nothing should be wasted of the loaf of bread weighing twelve pounds which was baked especially for her and lasted three weeks.

Summer and winter she wore a dimity kerchief fastened in the back with a pin, a cap which concealed her hair, a red skirt, grey stockings, and an apron with a bib like those worn by hospital nurses.

Her face was thin and her voice shrill. When she was twenty-five, she looked forty. After she had passed fifty, nobody could tell her age;erect and silent always, she resembled a wooden figure working automatically.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 双廊:我的客栈我的爱

    双廊:我的客栈我的爱

    相爱七年,到最后却要面对一百万买断爱情,夏安在愤怒之下跑到双廊,没想到心中对这个地方出满了渴望,怜惜夏安的上帝还安排了王子到她身边守护,这一切让夏安感觉被幸福紧紧的抱住了。
  • 古董局中局(大全集)(夏雨、魏晨主演)

    古董局中局(大全集)(夏雨、魏晨主演)

    由夏雨、魏晨、阿丽亚主演的《古董局中局2》正在热播。这是一部关于古董鉴定、收藏、造假、设局的百科全书式小说!了解古董的一切,必读《古董局中局》! 字画、青铜、金石、瓷器……每一件古董背后,都是深厚的历史积淀和文化传承;而每一件仿冒品背后,都是机关算尽的机巧和匪夷所思的圈套。一个突然到来的访客,把平凡的古董店店主许愿带进了一个做梦都想不到的阴谋中,一件坊间传说的稀世珍宝,竟然和自己有着千丝万缕的联系,一个几十年前做的局,竟然已经编排进自己的命运。
  • 王妃是个扫把星

    王妃是个扫把星

    叶萧寒很郁闷,身边的这位兄弟,你能不害我吗?我来算算,害我差点淹死,差点摔死,差点被蜜蜂遮死,我都数不过来了,求求老天爷,快点让我甩开这个坑爹的拖油瓶吧!可算到地方了,小兄弟,咱们江湖再见吧!过两日,咦,你怎么变女的了,又过两日,咦,你怎么变成大将军府的小姐了,又过两日,咦,你怎么又换身份了?啊,求求你,告诉我,你到底是谁?且看总在变换身份的柳念依与不变换身份的叶萧寒的爱恨情仇。
  • 王小波全集(第七卷)

    王小波全集(第七卷)

    王小波无疑是当代深受读者喜爱的作家之一。1997年4月11日,正值他创作巅峰之时却因心脏病突发英年早逝,留给读者无尽的惋惜和怀念。然而,他提供的文本的价值不仅没有因他的离去而失色,反而随着时间的推移愈亦显现。他创造的文学与美,像一束强光,透过时间的阻隔,启迪了广大青年的心灵。第七卷收入原《白银时代》中的《白银时代》、《未来世界》、《2015》和原《黑铁时代》中的《2010》等四部。
  • 哈佛学生最喜欢的猜谜游戏

    哈佛学生最喜欢的猜谜游戏

    谜语主要指暗射事物或文字等供人猜测的隐语,也可引申为蕴涵奥秘的事物。由于是通过谜面所提供的信息说出谜底,在猜谜的过程中需要对谜面进行判断、分析,采取创造性的思维,因此,对青少年来说,谜语不但是一种较好的益智游戏,而且还可以帮助青少年了解历史、丰富课余生活。本书所选的谜语都是青少年常见的事物,内容贴切、生动活泼,读来琅琅上口。阅读本书,能够帮助青少年们在猜谜的乐趣中增长对知识的了解,提高对事物的观察和认知能力。
  • 三国之帝霸无双

    三国之帝霸无双

    金戈铁马战场杀,猛将谋士何其多,烽火连天,群雄并起,看男主楚羽出世,谁与争锋,在这风起云涌,诡计阳谋层出不穷的三国时代,征战天下,收名将,纳美人,崛起于微末,成就帝王霸业。
  • 芦苇花(中国好小说)

    芦苇花(中国好小说)

    二代人二段交织并行的爱情,一段是父辈福保和玉香在艰难抗战时期的爱情,生离死别,命运播弄,却阻隔不了人间最纯真的爱情,给人希望和力量。一段是袁明清自己的情感危机,有贤淑的妻子,却填补不了他内心的空虚,在情人与妻子之间走着钢丝,迷失中找不到自己的灵魂。
  • 岂料大神太偏执

    岂料大神太偏执

    身为刚毕业的大学生,意外成为某大牌明星的经纪人,不料这大牌竟然是外冷内热,霸道腹黑?当苏瑾满心欢喜地说:“阿时,我把那群记者搞定了!”某大牌嘴角上扬:“但是由于你的嘴笨,现在我来教教你怎么说话。”某大牌身为“房东”,还要管吃管穿管睡觉真的妥吗?问:房东大大你真的只是房东吗?确定不是猴子请来的逗比?某人微微挑眉,将她拥在怀里,勾起嘴角:“你不知道我还兼职未来老公吗?”猝!
  • 杂艺

    杂艺

    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。
  • 佛说预修十王生七经

    佛说预修十王生七经

    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。