old man goriot

Chapter 27
"One more bed," said Rastignac.

"Yes, sir," she said, blushing, and squeezed his hand.

Eugene looked at Danfina, although he was young, he also knew that when a woman fell in love, he would really feel ashamed in his heart.

"A person like you deserves to be loved for a lifetime," he whispered in Danfina's ear, "yes, I dare to say this, because we understand each other very well: the more passionate and sincere the love, the more it should be hidden. Very mysterious. Our secrets must not be revealed to outsiders."

"Oh! I'm not an outsider." Old Man Gao muttered.

"You know you are us..."

"Yes! I've always hoped so. You don't mind me, do you? I walk about like a kind spirit, everywhere, and you only know him, but you can't see him! Oh, little Danfina, Nana, Dandan! Wasn't I right when I told you, 'There's a beautiful house in the Rue d'Artois, let's furnish it!' You didn't want to. Ah! I gave you your life, and I will give you your happiness. If a father wants to be happy, he must give it forever. Giving forever, this is the reason why a father becomes a father.”

"What is it?" Eugene asked.

"Yes, she was reluctant at first, because she was afraid that people would gossip, as if they were worth her own happiness! All women want to be like her in their dreams..."

Old Man Goriot was talking there alone, and Madame de Nucingen had already led Rastignac into the study, and there was the sound of a kiss, however lightly it was.The study was as elegant as the whole house; it really had it all.

"Did we guess your mind correctly?" She asked as she walked back to the living room, ready to eat.

"Yes," he said, "that's quite right. However, I have fully experienced the luxury, the dream come true, the poetry of youthful life, and I am not unworthy of it. But I cannot accept all this from you, I Still too poor to..."

"Haha! You don't appreciate my favor anymore." She pouted in a half-serious, half-joking manner as she spoke.When women dismiss other people's concerns, they often use this method to eliminate them.

On this day Eugene had asked himself very seriously; the arrest of Vautrin had shown him how deep the ravine he had almost fallen into, and so the noble sentiments and the integrity of the culture raised their heads again, even if the other party was pregnant with him. He was not moved by such a generous heart and such a coquettish rebuke.A sadness seized him deep within.

"Why!" said Madame de Nucingen, "you refuse to accept it? Do you know what such a refusal means? You have no confidence in your future and dare not have anything to do with me. Perhaps you are afraid that one day you will fail me. If you love me, and I... love you too, why do you hold back at such a small thing? If you knew how happy I was when I took care of this single place for you, you wouldn't hesitate Yu, instead you have to make amends to me. At that time I had your money here, and I spent it well, that’s all. You thought you were noble, but in fact it was the opposite. Your demands are far more than that... (Oh! When she said this, she caught Eugene's blazing eyes.) But she was coy about trivial things. If you don't love me, well, don't accept it. My fate depends on a word. You say Ah!" She paused for a while, then turned to her father and said, "Father, please enlighten him well. Does he think that he cares about fame and I don't?"

The old man Gao watched and listened to this interesting bickering, as if he was smoking opium, the smile on his face froze.

"What a child! You have come to the gate of life," said Finer, taking Eugene's hand. "You have come across a gate that many men cannot break, and now a woman has opened it for you, but you shrink back." Yes! But you will be successful, and you will be successful; you are open and bright, and the word success is clearly written. If you owe me today, can you pay me back at that time? Didn’t the ancient aristocratic women provide armor, swords, and horses? Their knights, let them go to fights, and honor themselves? Yes, Eugene, what I give you is a modern weapon, an indispensable tool for a man with ambition. What kind of garret you live in, if It looks like Dad's house, it's so beautiful. Hey, don't we have dinner? You want me to be upset, don't you? Talk to me!" She shook the other party's hand vigorously while talking. "My God! Dad, let him make up his mind, or I will go away and never see him again."

"Let me ask him to make up his mind," said old man Goriot, waking up from his intoxication. "My dear Monsieur Eugene, don't you want to borrow money from the Jews?"

"It was a last resort," he said.

"Okay, that's all I want," said the old man, taking out a worn-out wallet, "then I'll be a Jew. I've paid all my bills, and here's the invoice. Here's the Everything is settled. It's not a big sum, at most five thousand francs; let me lend it to you! You won't refuse, and I'm not a woman. You can write me a note as a proof, and you will pay me back later. .”

Several tears swirled in Eugene's and Danfina's eyes at the same time, and the two looked at each other, stunned.Rastignac went over and shook the old man's hand.

"Ouch! What! Aren't you my children?" said Goriot.

"But, poor father," said Madame de Nucingen, "how did you manage it?"

"Oh! We're talking about that," he answered. "When you listened to me and decided to move him to your side and buy things like a dowry, I thought: 'She's going to be in trouble! ' said the attorney, the lawsuit to recover the property from your husband requires More than half a year. Alright! I sold the principal of the long-term annuity of 350 francs; took out the life annuity of 150 and saved [-] francs, the kind with high interest rates; the remaining principal was paid to you Well, boys. Me, here's a room upstairs that costs [-] francs a year. For two francs a day, you can live like a prince and have extra. I save everything and don't use it. What clothes to make. For half a month, I smiled in my stomach and thought: 'They are going to be happy!' How about it, aren't you happy?"

"Oh! Papa, papa!" said Madame de Nucingen, throwing herself on her father's lap and letting him hold her.She kissed the old man desperately, stroking the golden hair on his cheek, and dripping tears on the old smiling face with beaming eyebrows. "Dear father, you are a father! There is no other father like you in the world! Eugene loved you very much in the past, let alone now!"

"Oh, children," said old man Goriot, who had not felt his daughter's heart beat against his for ten years, "oh, little Danfina, you make me so happy! My poor heart The joy blossomed. Hey, Monsieur Eugene, we're done!" After that, the old man held his daughter in his arms, and made her cry out with mad force: "Oh! You hurt me." "You hurt me." It hurts!" He said, his face turning pale.He looked at his daughter with a look of extreme pain.If the face of this Father Christ is to be faithfully depicted, one has to look at the images of the Savior suffering for mankind created by the master painters.Old Man Goriot gently kissed his daughter's waist, where his fingers were too heavy just now. "No, no, I didn't hurt you," he asked her with a smile, and continued, "It's the fact that you shouted like that made me uncomfortable." He leaned closer to his daughter's ear, kissed carefully, and said, "Qianhua It’s more than that, but keep it from him, or he’ll be angry.”

The selfless devotion of the old man was almost endless, and Eugene was stunned, and could only look at him in rapt attention, showing that kind of innocent admiration, which was completely sincere at his age.

"I must be worthy of all this." He said loudly.

"Oh, my Eugene, you speak very well," said Madame de Nucingen, kissing the student on the forehead.

"He rejected Miss Tayfan and her millions for you," said old man Goriot. "Yes, the little girl loved you; and now, when her brother is dead, she will be with Croesus." Same money."

"Hey! What's the point?" cried Rastignac.

"Eugene," Danfina whispered in his ear, "now I feel a little sorry tonight. Ah! I will love you very much! I will always love you."

"Since you two got married, today is the happiest day for me." Old Man Gao said loudly. "Good God will make me suffer as much as you want, if you don't make me suffer. I will think later: I had a happiness in February this year that no one else has in a lifetime. Look at me, Phoebe." !” he said to his daughter. "She's beautiful, isn't she? So tell me, are there many women you've met with a pretty face and dimples like hers? Not many, are they? Hey, this beauty is my flesh and blood Well, from now on, you have given her happiness, and she will be infinitely more beautiful. Eugene," he said, "if you want my share of heaven, I will give it to you; I can go to hell. Eat. Come, let's eat," he cried, not knowing what he was going to say. "Everything is ours."

"Poor father!"

"My daughter," he said, standing up, went to hold her head in his hands, and kissed her hair, "you don't know how easy it is to make me happy! You come to see me now and then, and I will live thereafter. Upstairs, you'll be there in two steps. Promise me, just say it!"

"Yes, dear father."

"Say it again."

"Yes, my dear father."

"Okay, okay, because of my temper, I will ask you to say it a hundred times. Let's eat."

The whole evening passed like a child's play, and old man Goriot was no less crazy than the two of them.He lay at his daughter's feet, kissed her feet, stared into her eyes for a long time, and rubbed his head on her long skirt; in short, he was crazy, like a very young and tender lover.

"Did you see?" Danfina said to Eugene, "we are with our father, and we have to belong to him entirely. Sometimes it makes people uncomfortable."

This sentence is the root of all ingratitude, but Eugene could not say anything, because jealousy had already arisen in his heart several times.

"When will the house be tidied up?" asked Eugene, looking around the room. "Are we going to break up tonight?"

"Yes, but come and dine with me tomorrow," she said slyly. "Tomorrow is the day of the Italian theater."

"Then I'll go to the seat downstairs." Old Man Gao said.

It was midnight.Madame de Nucingen's carriage was already waiting.The old man Goriot and the college student went back to Vauguet's apartment, talking about Danfina all the way, the more they talked, the more excited they became, and they even got into a strange competition, vying to express their strong feelings.Eugene could not deny that paternal love, which is never tainted by personal interests, was more constant and boundless than his own.In my father's mind, idols are always pure and beautiful, and everything in the past and future prospects can enhance admiration.They came home to find Madame Vauquer by the stove, between Sylvie and Christophe.The old landlord was there as Marius was on the ruins of Carthage.[80]She complained to Sylvie while she waited for the two remaining lodgers.Although Byron's description of Tasso's lament is beautiful[81], in terms of truth and depth, it is far less than Madame Vauquer's lament.

"Just three cups of coffee to-morrow morning, Sylvie. Oh! How is it not sad to be empty in the apartment? What's life like without guests! Empty. The people in the apartment are gone at once; life It depends on those food and bread. What god did I commit to bring about such a disaster? Our beans and potatoes are for twenty people to eat. My apartment is implicated in the case! We can only eat potatoes! We can only fire Christopher!"

Christophe the Savoy was dozing off, but he woke up suddenly and asked, "What do you want madam?"

(End of this chapter)