Chapter 48 Thirty-nine pennies

Lucien went back, fortunately Coralie had already gone to bed and fell asleep.She improvised a little play, and was applauded by the crowd, and she let out a sigh of relief, because the applause was not bought with money, but with her art.The performance that night was not expected by the enemy; seeing the results, the manager decided to let Coralie play the leading role in Camille Maupin's play; the manager also figured out why Coralie failed to appear on stage on the first day.He was very annoyed at the fact that Florina and Nathan were secretly trying to bring down an actress he valued, and promised to support Coralie from now on.

At five o'clock in the morning, Rastignac came to accompany Lucien to set off. "My dear, is this the right street for you to live in," Rastignac replaced the greeting with this sentence. "We'd better get there first, on the road leading to the citadel of Clinan-Court; it's a good idea to arrive early, and we should set a good example." When the hired streetcar passed the gate of Saint-Denis, De Marsay said: "Let me tell you the program. You two duel with pistols; the distance is twenty-five paces, each of you can go forward as you like, until you are fifteen paces apart. Each walks five paces, fires three shots, and can't go any further." Much. Whatever the outcome, it's over. The other side's pistols are loaded by us, and his witnesses do yours. The weapons were chosen by four witnesses in an arms shop. I assure you, we did try to make you By luck, I picked up a cavalry pistol."

①Alluding to the meaning of Moon Street, see note ① on page 459 of this book. For Lucien, life had become a nightmare; whether he lived or died, it didn't matter to him.The courage of suicide made him a hero in the eyes of those who witnessed the duel.He stood motionless in his place.This nonchalant attitude seems to have a well-thought-out plan, and everyone thinks this poet is very powerful.Michel Cristian took five steps forward.They both fired at the same time, because both were equally insulted.On the first shot, Cristian's bullet grazed Lucien's jaw, and Lucien's bullet was ten feet above the opponent's head.In the second shot, Michel's bullet hit the collar of the poet's coat. Fortunately, the collar was stitched tightly and lined with a layer of hard linen.

On the third shot, Lucien was shot in the chest and fell. "Dead?" Michelle asked. "No," replied the surgeon, "he will not die." ① A surgeon is usually present during a duel. "Oops," Michelle said. "Oh! yes, bad," replied Lucien, tears streaming down his face. At noon the poor child was carried into the bedroom, and laid on the bed; and it took five hours and much trouble to bring him home.Although minor, the injury must be handled with care, as the heat could cause dangerous complications.Coralie swallowed her grief and anxiety.During the time of her friend's crisis, she stayed with Berenice all night long, reading her lines.Lucien's dangerous period lasted two months.The poor girl sometimes played the gay part, thinking: "My dear Lucien may die at this hour!"

At that time Lucien was nursed by Bianchon, and his life was saved by this zealous friend.Although Bianchon had been seriously injured by Lucien, Artesz told him about Lucien's visit to cleanse the unfortunate poet.Suspicious of the magnanimity of Arthez, Bianchon questioned Lucien while he was sane, because he had once suffered a severe nervous fever; Criticism, and no other manuscripts have been written to attack Artez. At the end of the first month, Fang Dang and Cavalier's joint bookstore declared bankruptcy.This terrible blow, Bi Anxun ordered Coralie not to let Lucien know. The famous novel "The Archer of Charles IX," published under a curious title, did not sell at all.Before cleaning up, Fang Dang wanted to get a sum of cash, and sold the works in bulk to the grocer without telling Cavalier, and the grocer resold them to the shopkeeper for three cents worth nothing.Lucien's books were then placed on the stone railings of the bridgeheads and riverside avenues in Paris.The book business on the Augustin Riverside Road received a lot of batches, and the market price plummeted, causing huge losses: four volumes of twelve-format novels were purchased for four francs and fifty centimes, but sold for only two and a half francs.The bookseller shouted anxiously, but the newspaper never mentioned it.Barbey didn't expect this downturn. He believed in Lucien's literary talent, and contrary to his usual habits, he entered two hundred books. Seeing that he was about to lose money, he became furious and cursed Lucien.Although his peers sold them at a reduced price, he became ruthless, showed the stubborn temper of a miser, and sent two hundred books to the warehouse for storage.Later, in 1824, thanks to the wonderful preface by Arteze, the merits of the novel itself, and the two reviews by Léon Giraud, the value of the work was revealed; Sell ​​it for ten francs apiece.Despite their precautions, Berenice and Coralie could not prevent Hector Manlan from seeing his friend who was dying; Manlan gave Lucien to drink drop by drop the bowl of bitter broth.Like Fangant and Cavalier, the bad business of printing a book by a budding author is called broth in the jargon of the book industry.The only friend loyal to Lucien was Madanville, who wrote an excellent review of Lucien's works; but both the Government and the Liberal Party hated the "Critic", "Royal Banner" and "Bai Banner". ", so although Madanville is a brave general, if the Liberal Party scolds him, he retaliates with ten sentences, but his help is not good for Lucien.However ferocious the attack of the heroic Royalists was, not a single newspaper rose to meet it.Coralie, Berenice, and Bianchon, keep all the so-called friends of Lucien at bay, and let them shout and get angry; but the bailiff is not easy to stop.Fang Dang and Cavalier went bankrupt, and their bills needed to be cashed immediately. This provision in the commercial law is the most harmful to third parties, depriving them of the right not to be responsible for the bills that are not due.Lucien was accused by Camusot and pressed hard.When Coralie saw the plaintiff's name, she realized what a terrible and humiliating thing she thought the innocent poet had done; she loved Lucien all the more for it, but she was not yet willing to beg Camusot.The commercial police came to arrest him. Seeing the defendant sick in bed, he dared not take him away. He told Camusot before asking the judge to designate a sanatorium and send the debtor to custody.Camuso immediately rushed to Moon Street.Coralie went downstairs to meet him and returned with a court order in her hand, which established Lucien as a merchant on the basis of Lucien's endorsement.How did Coralie get these documents from Camuso?What wish did you make?She was sullen and said nothing, and went back upstairs like a dead person.She acted in Camille Maupin, a famous half-male, half-female writer, and the success of that time is mostly due to Coralie.Playing this role is also the star's last glory.After the twentieth performance, just as Lucien was recovering, began to walk, eat, and said he was going to work again, Coralie couldn't bear the secret pain and fell ill.Berenice always believed that because Coralie wanted to save Lucien, she promised Camusot to return to him in the future.Seeing her role being taken away by Florina, Coralie felt ashamed and hated.Nathan threatens to open fire on the Hippodrome unless Florina fills in.Coralie struggled to resist until the last moment, and was greatly injured.She had advanced money from the theater during Lucien's illness, and she could not ask for it now; Lucien, despite his determination, could not work, and at the same time he had to serve Coralie and relieve Berenice's burden.It can be seen that the life of this family has come to an end. Fortunately, there is such a brilliant and enthusiastic doctor as Bianchon, who intercedes with the pharmacy for them and allows them to pay on credit.The situation of Coralie and Lucien soon reached the landlord and the small merchants in the neighborhood, and the furniture was seized.The male and female tailors were no longer afraid of the journalists, and asked the court to strictly pursue the debts owed by the two poor artists.In the end it was only the chemist and the butcher's who had credit to the two poor boys.Lucien, Berenice, and the patient ate pork for a week, and the boss exhausted the supply.Pork got angry, and the actress became more and more ill.Lucien was so poor that he could only go to his friend Lousteau who had betrayed him and ask for a thousand francs back.During his continuous suffering, that run was the most embarrassing.Lustow could no longer go back to Harp Street, and slept at a friend's house at night, being searched and followed like a hare.The damned introducer who brought Lucien into the literary world, Lucien can only be found in Frigodo's shop.Sure enough, Lousteau sat in his old position, the same as on the day when Lucien had the misfortune to meet him and left Arteze.Lustow invited Lucien to dinner, and Lucien accepted it!

① The third party refers to the original drawee.When the drawee discounts the undue promissory note to someone, he must sign on the note, which is called an endorsement; when the original drawer fails to pay when it is due, the drawee shall pay off.If the drawer is declared bankrupt, the discounter can order immediate payment from the drawee even if the bill has not yet matured. ②As mentioned above, when Lucien discounted money to Camusot, the endorsement stated that he paid the silk account, so Lucien became a merchant. ③Camier Maupin in Balzac's novels is an allusion to George Sand. George Sand has a strong personality and is independent and uninhibited, so he is called a half-male, half-female writer.

Claude Vignon was also eating at Frygudeau's that day, and that wonderful stranger who had pledged his clothes to Sammanon.Lousteau and Lucien walked out of the hotel with them, thinking of going to the Café Voltaire for coffee, they all took out all the change that clanged in their pockets, and there was still less than thirty coppers.The four wandered around the Luxembourg Gardens, hoping to run into a bookstore owner; they bumped into one of the most famous printers at the time, and Lousteau borrowed forty francs from him, and divided it into four shares on average. one serving.Lucien was poor and short-sighted, without any arrogance at all. He wiped his eyes and told the three artists what happened to him; who knew that these companions had told him a painful experience; Among them, Lucien was the least hit.So they all need to unlearn the pain, unlearn the thoughts that add to their misery.Lousteau ran to the Royal Palace Market and took the remaining nine francs as a bet.The great stranger, with an angelic mistress, has gone to a low place for dangerous pleasures.Vignon went to the Little Oyster Rock, intending to drink a couple of bottles of Bordeaux to incapacitate reason and memory.Lucien did not want to participate in the midnight snack, and said goodbye to Vignon at the door of the hotel.This is the only reporter who has never opposed Lucien. The provincial dignitaries felt sad and shook his hand and asked:

"How to do it?" The great critic replied: "Only resignation. Your book is wonderful, but if you are envied, your struggle must be long and hard. Genius is a terrible disease. All writers have a monster in their hearts. Said Overcome the tapeworm in the stomach, and swallow your feelings while developing. Which one will win in the future? Is the disease over the person or the person over the disease? Of course, genius must be balanced with character, and only great people can do it. Only by growing up day by day , the heart is withering day by day. Unless you are a giant, unless you have Hercules ① shoulders, a person is either without heart or talent. Your body is thin and delicate, I think you can't support it," Vignon Walk into the restaurant to add a sentence.

①Hercules, the Hercules in Roman mythology, that is, Hercules in Greek mythology. Lucien thought of this painful argument all the way home, and some of the true truths in it made him see his literary career clearly. "I want money!" A voice whispered in his ear. Lucien issued three promissory notes, one for one month, two for two months, and three for three months, each with a face value of one thousand francs, in his own order, signed David Secha, I learned handwriting very well, and I also added endorsements.The next day he took the note to Metivier, a paper merchant on Serpent Street, and Metivier cashed him in cash without any difficulty.Lucien wrote a letter to inform his brother-in-law that he was given the burden, and Lucien promised to pay the paper shop the money due in accordance with business rules.Coralie and Lucien paid off their debts, leaving three hundred francs, which the poet handed over to Berenice, telling her that if he asked for money, she would not give him a penny, because he was afraid that he would have a sexual attack.