Ball of Suet: Selected Short Stories by Maupassant

Chapter 6 Balls of Suet (5)
Once at the table, they attack.First of all, it starts with dedication.Some examples from antiquity were given: the stories of Judith and Holofernes in the Bible.Judith is a Jewish heroine.The king of Assyria sent Holofernes to attack the city of Betulia, the stronghold of Judea. Judith sneaked into the enemy's camp late at night, outsmarted Holofernes, and gave the Jewish army and people a big victory. , and then mentioned Lucrece and Sykes for no reason. They were both noble ladies of ancient Rome, who were reigned from 534 BC to 509 BC by Tarquin Supebu, the seventh king of ancient Rome.The son of Sykes raped and committed suicide, which is said to have led to the collapse of the Roman monarchy.And sleep with all the enemy generals successively.Cleopatra, who made them obedient like slaves, refers to Cleopatra VII (69 BC to 30 BC.) The last queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty in ancient Egypt. Conquer Roman commander Caesar and general Antony.So a whimsical history imagined by these ignorant millionaires unfolded: the female citizens of Rome ran to Capua, and Hannibal and his lieutenants, as well as the officers and soldiers of the mercenary army sleep in my arms.They enumerate all the women who have used their flesh as a weapon, as a means of control, to hold back the conquerors, who have defeated with tragic caresses, ugly or hateful, sacrificed their chastity to vengeance and fidelity.

They even spoke in obscure terms of how an English lady of the upper class had infected herself with a dreadful contagion to pass on to Bonaparte.In a potentially fatal time, date Bonaparte.Bonaparte suddenly became weak, but perhaps he survived by divine help.

All this is told in a proper and subtle way, with occasional bursts of admiration, designed to encourage learning in their spirit.

In the final analysis, people believe that the only task of women in the world is to sacrifice their bodies at critical moments and let the soldiers play with them at will.

Ball-of-Fat remained silent.The two nuns seemed deaf and lost in deep thought.

Everyone had been hammering her into this all afternoon, and instead of calling her "Mrs." as hitherto, they called her just "Miss."No one knew why, but it seemed to be downgrading the respect she had earned so hard to make her feel the shameful position she was in.

M. Franvie came again at supper, repeating what he had said the previous evening: "The Prussian officer asked me to ask Mademoiselle Elisabeth Roussey if she had changed her mind."

Ball-of-Fat replied coldly: "No, sir."

Their plot did not reach a tacit understanding over dinner.Loiseau said something very inappropriate.Everyone is trying to find some new example, but in vain, never finding the right one.The countess, perhaps not having thought it through beforehand, and feeling vaguely the need to turn to the congregation, asked the older nun what great feats the saints had in their lives.In fact, what many saints have done can be regarded as serious crimes in our eyes, but as long as they are for the glory of God or the happiness of mankind, the Catholic Church will not punish them but forgive them. of evil.This was a strong argument, and the countess made use of it.In this way, whether it was due to the tacit understanding and unscrupulous ingratiation that any monk is good at, or just because she just happened to be mentally inflexible, or there was a kind of helpful stupidity, the behavior of the old nun strongly supported this. gang conspiracy.People always thought that she was timid and afraid of getting into trouble, but she was resolute and tenacious, and she spoke plausibly.Nothing interfered with her, her teachings were firm, her faith never wavered, her conscience had no scruples.She believes that the first ancestor of the Jews in the story of Abraham in the Bible once wanted to kill his son to sacrifice to heaven, but was stopped by an angel.Her sacrifice is very simple, as long as God orders, she can kill her father and mother.In her view, as long as the purpose is good, no matter what you do, you will not make God angry.This accidental accomplice is cloaked in divine authority, and the countess exaggerates this point, and makes full use of the moral principle of "as long as the purpose is good, the process can be ignored".

She asked the old nun: "Nam, do you think that as long as you have a pure motive, no matter what path you take, whatever you do, God will approve of it?"

"Who would doubt that, ma'am? An act which should be blamed is often praised for its good motives."

In this way, they discussed the true meaning of God with questions and answers, predicted his various decisions, and connected him with many things that really didn't have much to do with him.

Their dialogue is subtle, subtle and careful.But every word of the holy nun in the hat broke through the angry resistance of Ball-of-Fat.The conversation that followed went a bit off topic, and the nun with the rosary spoke of the various monasteries of her order, of the abbot of hers, of herself, and of her lovely little companion, St. Nicephor .They were sent to the hospital in Le Havre to care for hundreds of smallpox-stricken soldiers.She described those poor people and described their condition.But the Prussians had their way, and they stayed here, and the poor Frenchmen might have died in the meantime, and they might have revived them.Caring for soldiers is her specialty and she has been to Crimea, Italy and Austria.When talking about the battles she has participated in, she is like those nuns with great fanfare. It seems that she was born to follow the barracks and rescue the wounded in the smoke of war. Disciplined, tall uneducated soldiers.She is a good nun who grew up amidst the sound of war drums. Her pockmarked face with numerous scars seems to be a portrait showing the ravages of war.

After she finished speaking, no one said anything more, and the effect looked good.

After eating, everyone immediately went back to their respective rooms.

The next morning, everyone came down very late.

Lunch was surprisingly peaceful.They waited for the seeds planted last night to germinate, bloom, and bear fruit.

The countess proposed to go out for a walk in the afternoon.The count, as agreed in advance, took Ball-of-Fat's arm and fell behind the others with her.

Like all dignified men treat a woman of the world, the earl spoke to her in a kindly, affectionate, slightly contemptuous tone, called her "my dear child", and treated her with his high social status and unquestionable reputation. The poor girl.He cut right to the heart of the matter, saying, "You'd rather have us all stay here with you and face all the atrocities that the Prussian army would commit if they failed, than to be flexible and do something you've done countless times in your life ?"

Ball-of-Fat just said nothing.

The count persuaded Ball-of-Fat with a graceful manner, theoretical deliberation, and emotional offensive.He is good at maintaining the status of "Count", but when necessary, he will show courteousness and flattery to women.He said he thought she'd do them a favor, said they'd be very grateful, and then broke into a somewhat profligate "you": "You know, honey, he'll be able to brag like that in the future, he's had a taste of a pretty girl , there are not many beautiful women like you in his country."

Ball-of-Fat didn't answer, and quickly caught up with those who were walking in front.

After returning to the hotel, she went into her room and never came out again.Everyone is extremely anxious.What will she do?If she resists, then I really don't know what to do!

The bell rang for supper, and everyone sat still, waiting for Ball-of-Fat.At this moment M. Franview came in and announced that Miss Roussey was not very well, and that they should eat first.Everyone listened carefully to what he said.The count approached the fat boss and asked in a low voice, "Okay?"

"okay!"

The Count remained politely silent, but nodded slightly to his companions.Everyone let out a sigh of relief at once, and the joy on their faces couldn't be concealed.Loiseau shouted: "Damn! If there is champagne in this hotel, I will invite everyone." When the fat boss came over with four bottles of wine, Mrs. Loiseau was startled.Everyone has become emotionally exposed and likes to be noisy. It turns out that the excitement in my heart can't be hidden.The count finds Madame Carré-Lamadon fascinating, and the mill owner is courteous to the countess.The conversation was lively and full of joy.

All of a sudden, Loiseau raised his arms and shouted with anxiety, "Silence!" Everyone stopped in surprise, not knowing what had happened.

I saw him squinting his ears, motioning with both hands to keep silent, looking at the ceiling, listening, and then said in a calm voice: "Don't worry, it will be all right."

Everyone didn't understand what kind of medicine he sold in the gourd, but they immediately understood and laughed secretly.

A quarter of an hour later he repeated the prank, and repeated it throughout the evening.He pretended to be asking someone upstairs, offering that person some pun-like advice that just popped out of his traveling salesman's head.Sometimes he sighed with mock misery: "Poor woman!" and sometimes he muttered with rage: "Bastard Prussian!" Several times it was even forgotten, but he exclaimed in an excited voice: " Enough! Enough!" Then, as if to himself, "I wish we'd see her again, and he won't kill her, you rascal!"

The jokes, though crude, were exciting, and they did no one any harm, for wrath was always dependent on circumstances, and the atmosphere that had built up around them was imbued with sensuality.

(End of this chapter)