old man goriot

Chapter 8 Civilian Apartments (7)
At last he reached Elder Street and begged Mrs. de Resto.People saw him walking across the yard without the sound of a carriage at the door, and they looked at him contemptuously; he suppressed his anger calmly, convinced that one day he would be proud.This kind of staring made him uncomfortable, because when he walked into the yard, he already knew that he was inferior; no, there was a handsome horse in the yard, kicking proudly, and the two-wheeled carriage behind it was extraordinarily gorgeous, It shows the luxurious life of spending money like water, suggesting all kinds of Parisian pleasures that have been practiced for a long time.He suddenly lost his mind.I thought my brain was opened up, and my thoughts were springing up, but suddenly it was blocked again, and people became confused.The servant went to inform the countess of the visitor's name, and Eugene waited for an answer; he stood at the window of the anteroom with one foot motionless, his elbow resting on the window latch, and stared blankly at the courtyard.He felt that he had been waiting for a long time; if he hadn't been born with the persistence of a southerner, and persistence would produce miracles, he would have left long ago.

"Sir," said the servant, "madame was too busy in the little drawing-room to show me; but sir, you can go into the drawing-room; someone is already there."

This kind of person exposes and judges his master with a few words. While admiring this terrible ability, Rastignac resolutely pushed open the door through which the servants came out. Perhaps he wanted these arrogant servants to understand that he knew the house but bewildered, he entered a room containing an oil lamp, a cupboard, and apparatus for drying bath towels; the room opened on to a dark corridor and a secret staircase.He heard a snicker from the waiting hall, and he was extremely flustered.

"Sir, the living room is this way." The servant said to him, the hypocritical respect seemed to be another mockery.

Eugene turned back in a hurry and bumped into the bathtub. Fortunately, he caught his hat in time to prevent it from falling into the bathtub.At this moment, a door opened at the end of the corridor, and a small lamp illuminated it.Rastignac heard the voices of Madame de Restaud and old Goriot talking, and a kiss.He came to the dining room, crossed it, followed the servants to the first drawing room, found the window facing the courtyard, and stood there motionless.He wanted to see if this old man Gao was really the old man Gao he knew.His heart beat strangely fast, and he recalled Vautrin's terrible words.The servant was waiting for him at the door of the living room, when suddenly a well-dressed young man walked out and said impatiently: "I'm leaving, Maurice. Tell the countess that I have been waiting for her for more than half an hour." This arrogant person, he may He has the right to be arrogant, hummed an Italian coloratura, and at the same time walked towards the window where Eugene was standing. He wanted to see the appearance of the college student, and he also wanted to look at the courtyard.

"However, Mr. Earl, it's better to wait for a while? The lady's business is over." Morris said and returned to the waiting room.

At this time, Old Man Goriot appeared near the gate through the small staircase.The old man drew out his umbrella and was about to open it, but he didn't pay attention to the opening of the gate, and let a carriage into a carriage driven by a young man wearing a medal.Old Man Gao stepped back in a hurry to avoid being caught.Startled by the taffeta canopy, the horse veered slightly as it charged toward the steps.The young man turned his head angrily, looked at Old Man Gao, and nodded to him before he went out. The reluctant respect he expressed was like treating a kind of indispensable moneylender, or treating a villain who had to He was polite to his face, but he blushed behind his back.Old Man Gao returned the salute shallowly, his friendliness and generosity were beyond words.These episodes happen one after another, as fast as lightning.Eugene was so focused that he didn't feel that there was anyone around him, when he suddenly heard the voice of the countess.

"Oh! Maxim, you are leaving." She said angrily.

The countess hadn't noticed the carriage coming in just now.Rastignac turned his head suddenly, and saw the countess wearing a white cashmere dressing gown with pink flowers on it, and her hair was combed casually, just like a Parisian woman in the morning.There was a burst of fragrance from her body. She must have taken a bath just now. It can be said that her beauty has added a feminine element, which seems to be more sexy; her two eyes are watery.Young people have sharp eyes and see nothing; their minds are bathed in the brilliance of women, just like plants absorb nourishment suitable for themselves in the air.Eugene could feel the tenderness of this lady's hands without touching them.Through the slightly open cashmere dressing gown, he caught a glimpse of her pink breasts that appeared and disappeared, and his eyes lingered on them.The countess did not need anything to hold up her dress, the plain belt was enough to outline the soft waist; her neck was lovely, and her feet in slippers were very beautiful.Maxim took her hand to kiss, when Eugene saw Maxim, and the countess saw Eugene.

"Ah! it is you, Monsieur de Rastignac, it is a pleasure to see you." She spoke with a manner in which a wise man would be impressed.

Maxim looked at Eugene, then at the countess, and so on several times, with an attitude that clearly told the uninvited guest to go away. "Hey, my dear, I think you'd better throw this clown out!" The young man, whom Countess Anastasia called Maxim, was arrogant and conceited, and this sentence was clearly expressed by his eyes come out.The countess guessed Maxim's face, that submissive intention unintentionally revealed all the secrets in a woman's heart.

Rastignac hated the young man.First of all, Maxim's beautiful golden curls made him feel how ugly his own hair was.Secondly, Maxim wore exquisite and clean boots, but his was covered with a light mud color, although he walked carefully.In the end, Maxime wears an elegant and well-fitting dress that makes him a beauty; Eugene has already put on a black coat at 02:30 in the afternoon.Naturally, the Charente wit felt that this slender, bright-eyed, fair-skinned dandy would make every parentless man desperate, and rely on his clothes to gain the upper hand.Without waiting for Eugene's answer, Madame de Restaud floated into the other drawing room like a bird on wings, the hem of her dressing gown fluttered up and down, and she looked like a butterfly.Maxime followed her, followed by the enraged Eugene and the countess.The three came together in the middle of the large living room, near the fireplace.The college student knew that he would hinder that annoying Maxime, but he didn't care whether Madame de Restaud would be unhappy, and wanted to make trouble with this young man.He suddenly remembered that he had seen this young man at Madame de Beauseant's ball, so he guessed the relationship between Maxime and Madame de Restaut."This is my rival, and I must beat him," he thought, with the boldness of a young man who either makes a big fool of himself or wins a big victory. Daredevil!He didn't know that Comte Maxime de Trail would deliberately let people provoke him, and then shoot first and kill people.Although Eugene was an expert at hunting, he did not hit twenty of the twenty-two humanoid targets in one shot.The young count sank heavily into the easy-chair by the fireplace, took the pokers, and stirred the hearth with such roughness and fretfulness that a dark cloud suddenly appeared on Anastasia's pretty face.The young woman turned her head and cast a cold look at Eugene, intending to ask: "Why don't you leave?" A well-educated person will immediately understand that this is an order to evict the guest.

Eugene put on a contented look and said, "Madame, I am anxious to see you because of..."

He stopped abruptly.Then the door opened.The gentleman driving the buggy appeared suddenly, without his hat on, and without greeting the countess, he looked at Eugene with a bottomless look, held out his hand to Maxim, and said "Hello" in a brotherly way. The tone surprised Eugene.Young people from other provinces don't know how warm the triangle life is.

"This is M. de Resto," said the countess to the student, pointing to her husband.

Eugene bowed deeply.

"This one," she said, and presenting Eugene to the Count de Restaut, "is Monsieur de Rastignac, who is related to the Vicomtesse de Beauseant, on account of the Marciacs. Relatives, whom I had the pleasure of acquainting at the last dance at her house."

Because of the relationship of the Marciac family, he is related to the Viscountess de Beauseant!When the countess said this sentence, she was almost emphasizing it on purpose. It was a result of the housewife's pride, so as to prove that all the guests in her house were distinguished guests; this sentence had a magical effect, and the count changed his indifference With a reserved look, he greeted the college students.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Even Count Maxime de Trail gave Eugene an uneasy look, and his arrogance disappeared immediately.The power of a surname is like a magic stick, which made this southerner suddenly enlightened, and all the ideas that were brewing at the beginning were restored.The atmosphere of high society in Paris, his eyes were darkened, but at this moment, a sudden light from the sky allowed him to see it all.What Vauga apartment, what old man Gao, have been thrown into the sky.

"I thought the Marciac family was gone." Count de Resto said to Eugene.

"Yes, sir," he answered, "my grandfather, the Chevalier Jude Rastignac, married the only daughter of the Marciac family; he had only one daughter, and he married the Marshal de Clarembeau, who was Grandfather of Mrs. de Beauseant. Our house is a young branch; my great-uncle is a rear admiral. In order to be loyal to the royal family, he lost everything; our house is therefore in ruins. The revolutionary government liquidated the Indian company When it was time, he refused to recognize our debt."

"Uncle Ling commanded the Avenger before [-]?"

"Exactly."

"Then he knew the Patriarch; the Patriarch commanded the Warwick then."

Maxime looked at Mrs. de Resto and shrugged his shoulders slightly, as if to say to her: "He talked to this guy about the navy, and now we are finished." Anastasia understood that de Tracy The meaning in Mr. Yi's eyes, using a woman's coup, said with a smile: "Come here, Maxim, I have something to see you. You two will sail together on the Warwick and the Avenger. We will not accompany you." " She stood up and gave Maxim a playful wink, and Maxim followed her to the small living room.These two men were a strange couple, according to the German witty expression, which we do not have in French; and the count broke off his conversation with Eugene as soon as they reached the door.

"Anastasi! Don't go, my dear," he cried unhappily, "it's not that you don't know . . . "

"I'll come, I'll come," she rushed to say, "I want to do something with Maxim, I have to talk to him, and it will be over in a while."

She came back quickly.Any woman who wants to move freely must pay attention to her husband's character, know how to do it, and will not lose her husband's precious trust, and never oppose him in the trivial matters of life.Just like these women, the countess could hear from her husband's strange tone that staying in the small living room would never be peaceful.This incident was caused by Eugene.Therefore the countess, full of resentment, pointed at the student to Maxime; Maxime said to the countess and Eugene sarcastically: "I say, you are talking about business, and I don't want to interrupt; good-bye. "After speaking, he left.

"Don't go, Maxime!" cried the count.

"Come and eat later." The countess finished, leaving Eugene and the count again, followed Maxim into the first living room, and stayed together for a while, thinking that Mr. de Restor would send Ouye away. Take it.

Rastignac heard them both laughing, chatting, and silent; the clever student played a funny role in front of M. de Restaut, either to compliment him or to lead him to discuss, so that he could see the countess again. , Find out what is the relationship between her and old man Gao.This woman is obviously in love with Maxim, and she can control her husband and have a private relationship with the old noodle merchant; Eugene thinks this is a mystery.He wanted to unravel the mystery, in the hope of being able to control this standard Parisian woman.

"Anastasi," the count called to his wife again.

"Come on, poor Maxim," she said to the young man, "that's all I can do, see you tonight..."

"I hope you, Naxi," he whispered in her ear, "will keep this kid shut in the future. When your dressing gown was opened just now, his eyes glowed like coals. He will speak sweet words to you , will smear your face, and you will force me to put him to death."

"Are you crazy, Maxime?" she said. "Aren't these uneducated college students good lightning rods? Of course, I'll tell Restor to annoy him."

Maxim laughed and went out; then the countess went to the window to watch him get into the carriage and whip his horse; she did not come back until the gate was closed.

"Well, my dear," cried the count, seeing her enter, "this gentleman's family is not far from Verteuil on the banks of the Charente. His great-uncle and my grandfather knew each other. "

"Well, we are all acquaintances," said the countess absently.

"There's something you didn't expect." Eugene said in a low voice.

"What?" she asked quickly.

"Just now," the student went on, "I saw a gentleman coming out of the house, who lives in the same apartment as me, and next door, old Goriot."

The word "old man" was added after the surname. When the earl who was stoking the fire heard this, he felt as if his hands were scalded. He threw the tongs into the stove and straightened up.

"Monsieur, you can always say Monsieur Goriot!" he exclaimed.

Seeing her husband getting impatient, the countess's face turned pale first, and then turned red from white. The embarrassment was obvious; she pretended to be relaxed, and said in a forced and natural tone: "How did you know someone we love..." She stopped talking, looked at the piano, and said, as if thinking of something on a whim:

"Do you like music, sir?"

"I like it very much." Eugene replied, his face flushed, and he vaguely felt that he had caused a catastrophe and had become a fool.

"Can you sing?" She said loudly, walked to the front of the piano, and quickly pressed all the keys, crackling from the low do to the high fa, making a sound!
"No, ma'am."

Count de Resto paced up and down.

"What a pity! You're missing one of the great things that lead to success. Ca-a-ro, Ca-a-ro, Ca-aaa-ro, non dubita-re," sang the Countess.

When Eugene said the old man's name just now, it was like waving a magic wand, but it had the opposite effect from the "relative to Madame de Beauseant".What he was doing now was like walking into a collector's house, being tended to get in, accidentally touching a cabinet full of statuettes, and knocking off three or four loosely glued heads.He wished there was a hole in the ground to get into.Madame de Resto had a cold face, her indifferent eyes deliberately avoiding the gaze of the unfortunate college student.

"Madame," said the student, "you have something to discuss with M. de Resto, please accept my respect and allow me..."

"Every time you come here," the Countess interrupted Eugene with a quick gesture, "I can firmly believe that Mr. de Restore and I will feel extremely honored."

Eugene bowed deeply to the couple. Although he thanked them repeatedly when he came out, he was sent to the waiting room by M. de Resto.

"From now on, every time this gentleman comes," the earl instructed Morris, "he will say that the lady and I are not here."

Eugene went up the steps and noticed that it was raining.

(End of this chapter)