Chapter 95 Volume Two (3)

Mrs. de Saint-Felter managed to transform a leprosy-like salon into a lady's salon--the latest fashion, and it looks very beautiful-but one may wonder that this person died the next day. To hold the most eye-catching event of this season, is it necessary for her to come on the eve to issue the highest order to her troops?The reason was that the prominence of the Salon de Sant-Defelte was recognized only by a group of people who never attended any parties and whose only social life consisted of reading the articles of the day or evening published in the "Gauls" or "Le Figaro". Reports of the party.For these upper-class people who only see the world through the newspapers, as long as the newspapers mention the ambassadors of England, Austria, etc., mention Yuses, the Duchess of La Tremoye, etc., they will think it holy. The De Felt salon is the best salon in Paris, but in fact it is only a low-end salon.This is not because the newspapers publish deceptive statements.Indeed, most of those listed above were present at the meeting.However, they all came to the party after repeated begging, goodwill, and convenience. Everyone felt that their presence would add infinite glory to Mrs. de Saint-Felter.This kind of salon, not to mention visiting the door actively, even hiding before it's too late, so to speak, people have to do a favor, they can only deceive the female readers of the "Social News Column" and give them a false appearance.But a real elegant party slipped under their noses. The hostess could have invited all the duchesses, and they wished they could be "chosen", but the hostess only chose to invite two or three.What's more, such hostesses do not understand or simply despise today's advertising power, and do not publish the names of guests in the newspapers. Therefore, they are elegant in the eyes of the Queen of Spain, but they are little known to everyone, because the Queen of Spain Know their identities, but the public does not know their details.

Madame de Saint-Felter was not one of these hostesses, as an experienced honey-picker, she came to gather and snare guests for the next day's party.Mr. de Charlus was not included in the collection, and he always refused to enter her house.However, he had fallen out with countless people, and Madame de Saint-Felter could attribute his refusal to a disagreement of character. Of course, if Oriane was concerned, Madame de Saint-Felter would probably not have acted in person, because the invitation was so strong and the recipient was so ostentatious that, in such performances, the best Those academicians are the first to be promoted, and the candidates are always grateful when they walk out of their residences, convinced that they can get their votes.It wasn't just her that was involved.Will Prince Agrigent come?And Madame de Dufoe?In case of unexpected events, Madame de Saint-Felter felt that it would be safer to go there herself.To some people, she is soft and persuasive, and to others she is firm and forceful, but to everyone else, she tells them in secret that what awaits them will be unimaginable fun, There is no time to miss, and it is guaranteed that everyone will meet the characters they desire or urgently need to meet in her home.This office which she exercised once a year—like some judges in ancient society—had approached successively the ears of each guest as the drawing-room of a person who would hold the most remarkable garden party of the season the next day. , and poured in a sentence: "Don't forget me tomorrow." At the same time, if she caught a glimpse of some ugly or squire who had to be avoided, she would turn her head away arrogantly, but continued to smile all over her face. Often someone let them enter "Hilbe"'s mansion out of the love of classmates, but it didn't add any luster to her garden party.She likes to ignore such people for a while, so that she can explain afterwards: "I invited guests verbally, but unfortunately I didn't meet you." His eyes "picked three and picked four" among the members who attended the Prince's Madam's Gala.She thought that in this way, she became a veritable Duchess of Gelmont.

It must be confessed that the Duchess of Gelmont is not as people think, greeting people easily, always smiling.For some people, when she refuses to greet and smile, it may be on purpose: "She annoys me," she often said, "does it have to be a waste of an hour talking to her about her party?"① But in the eyes of many, it was because she was timid by nature, afraid of angering her husband, because he really didn't want her to receive artists (Marie-Hilbert protected many artists, and she must be careful not to let someone a famous German diva); also because she fears nationalism, which, like Monsieur de Charlus, is full of Guermantes and, from an upper-class point of view, scoffs at nationalism. (In order to flatter the General Staff, people now let a general of commoner origin walk ahead of some dukes), but because she knows that her thinking is not orthodox, and she often makes great concessions to nationalist ideas, she makes it difficult in this reaction. In Jewish circles there was a fear of having to extend a hand of greeting to Swann.However, she was soon relieved when she learned that the Prince had had "some sort of dispute" with Swann by not letting him in.She had no need to risk talking to "poor Charlie" against her will in public, but to express her attachment to him in private.

-------- ① I saw a duchess passing by, dark, ugly and stupid, not so good in character, although she was not kicked out of the upper class, she was excluded from the social circle by a few refined people. "Ah! This kind of thing is accepted here!" Mrs. de Guermantes whispered, her eyes were like an expert, and she saw through the jewelry she had seen at a glance that it was a counterfeit.Seeing that the lady was half-crippled, with black hairs all over her face, Mrs. de Gelmont concluded that the party was not very decent.She used to be polite to this lady, but she broke off all contact with her; she only nodded when he greeted her, and she couldn't be more indifferent. "I don't understand," she said to me, as if apologetically, "Why did Mary Hilbert invite us to stay with these scumbags? It can be said that there are three religions and nine streams, all of them. Melanie Budales's family is much better arranged. If she wants, she can call the Orthodox Church. Supreme Council, opening a Ratorean church, but at least she won't let us come on a day like this." - Author's note

"Who is this woman?" Madame de Guermantes asked in a voice, seeing a small lady and her husband greet her politely.This lady looks a little strange, wearing a black dress, and looks like a poor person.Mrs. de Gelmont did not recognize the other party, raised her head arrogantly, as if offended, stared at her eyes, and refused to reply: "Who is this woman, Bazin?" asked.At this time, Mr. de Gelmont, in order to make up for Oriana's impolite behavior, hurriedly saluted the lady, shook hands with her husband, and said to his wife: "But this is Mrs. de Chauspierre. , you are too rude." "I don't know what Shawspierre is." "It's the nephew of old Mrs. Chancellor." "I don't know that at all. Who is this lady, and why does she greet me?" "You know how to ask , this is Madame de Charleval's daughter, Henrielle Montmorency." "Oh! I know her mother a long time ago, she is charming and witty. How did she marry this gang?" Someone I don't know at all? You said her name was Madame de Chauspierre?" She said the surname with an inquiring air, as if afraid of making a mistake.The Duke gave her a hard look. "It's called Chauspierre, there's nothing funny about that, look at the fuss you're making! Old Man Chauxpierre is the Madame de Charleval, Madame de Senacourt, and Melero I just mentioned. Brothers of the Viscountess. They are respectable men." "Oh, that's enough," cried the Duchess, like a tamer girl, who never wanted to look frightened, as if frightened by the ferocious eyes of wild animals. guts. "Bazain, you make me so happy. I don't know where you got these surnames, but I have to congratulate you. I don't know Chauspierre, but I have read Balzac. You are not the only one in the world who has read Rabeche. I admire Jean-Life, and I don't hate Charleval, but I admit that Du Mellereau is louder. Besides, we have to admit that Shaw Spierre is not a bad name either. It is incredible how many names you have collected. If you want to write a book," she said to me, "you have to remember Charleval and du Merleval. .You couldn't have found a better one." "Then he's guaranteed to be sued and jailed for giving him such a bad idea, Oriana." "If he wants someone to help him with a bad idea, Esp wants to act on bad ideas, and I wish he had a bunch of younger men on his staff. But he wants nothing more than to write a book!" A fair distance away from us, a wonderful, proud young woman was caught off guard. Standing out from the crowd, I saw her wearing a white dress with jewels and gauze.Madame de Guermantes watched her speak, surrounded by a crowd, attracted by her magnetic elegance.

"Your sister is the most beautiful wherever she goes. She is really charming tonight." The young woman said to Prince Ximei who was walking by while sitting on a chair.Colonel de Vroberville (the general of the same surname was his uncle) and M. de Bréaudé came and sat down beside us, while M. de Vougoubert staggered (he was so polite that he even hid The same is true in tennis, where the consent of the noble opponent is always sought before hitting the ball, so it is inevitable to lose), and then turned to M. de Charlus of all the women to whom he openly expressed his admiration) And just at this moment, many members of yet another diplomatic corps in Paris came to pay their respects to the Baron.Mr. de Vogube caught a glimpse of a young secretary with a particularly shrewd appearance, and grinned at Mr. de Charlus, which obviously contained the only question in his smile.M. de Charlus, who might have intended to offend someone, suddenly felt himself offended by that smile, which could have only one meaning, and made him angry with embarrassment. "I don't know anything, please keep your curiosity to yourself. You are so curious that I shudder. Besides, if there are special circumstances, you will not do the number one stupid thing. I think this That lad is definitely not that kind of guy." There was no truth in what M. de Charlus, annoyed at being read by a fool, said.If the baron was telling the truth, the secretary must have been unique in this embassy.Indeed, the embassy is composed of all kinds of people, many of whom are so vulgar, that when one asks why this group of vulgar people was chosen, one cannot fail to find the factor of homosexuality.It was this small diplomatic kingdom of Sodom that appointed an ambassador at the head. He just didn't like men and women, and bluffed like a live newspaper drama. The slippery things happened right under his nose, but he I don't believe in homosexuality.He quickly tested it and married his own sister to a charge d'affaires, who he mistakenly thought was a good chasing woman.As a result, he got in the way a little and was soon replaced by a new His Excellency the Ambassador, who ensured consistency throughout the embassy.Other embassies tried to compete with it, but they couldn't win the crown (just like in the middle school honors examination, the winner is always a certain middle school), until more than ten years later, some attachés with different tastes entered the embassy. A cohesive whole before another embassy finally took the medal of disrepute from it and came out on top.

The stone in Mrs. de Gelmont's heart fell to the ground, knowing that she no longer had to worry about talking to Swann, she became curious about the dispute between Swann and the host. "Do you know what it is for?" the duke asked de Bréaude. "I heard it was for the writer Bergotte to have a one-act play performed at their house," replied de Bréaude. Mr. Gott really wanted to show Hilbert." "Hey, how interesting it would be to see Hilbert's completely deformed appearance." The Duchess smiled and said imaginatively, " It was precisely because of this performance that Hilbert asked Swann to explain." De Bryaude stuck out his pointed rodent chin and continued, "Swann didn't explain much, and everyone felt that when he answered Very funny: 'But it's not like you at all, you're far more funny than that!' Besides, it's rumored that the little play was really good. Madame Morley went to see it, and it was a great pleasure." "What? Mrs. Morley also went?" The Duchess asked in amazement, "Ah! It must have been planned by Meme. He is always indispensable when things like this happen. There will always be a day when everyone will go, but I will stick to my principles , willing to be lonely, and stay alone in my own world.” From the time Mr. de Bryaude talked to them about this matter, the Duchess of Gelmont obviously had a new view (if it wasn’t for Swann at least to the idea of ​​waiting to meet Swann for a while). "All that you have told us is pure fiction," said Colonel de Vroberville to de Bréaudé; "I know the circumstances, and I will not tell you why. It is not an exaggeration that the Prince did utter an outrage. Swann stopped, in the words of our fathers, and warned him not to come to his house again, it was purely because of Swann's stubbornness. In my opinion, my uncle Hiber was right, not only scolded justly , and should have parted ways with the dead-hearted Dreyfus six months ago."

Poor Mr. de Vougoube this time was not only a tennis player who was always half-timed, but also a weak tennis player, who was hit mercilessly and was thrown in front of the Duchess of Gelmont. show respect.Instead, he was treated rather disrespectfully, because Oriana was so opinionated that she always thought all the diplomats—or politicians—in her circle were idiots. M. de Vroberville has no doubt enjoyed a certain fondness for soldiers which society has shown in recent times.Unfortunately, although the wife he married was indeed a relative of the Gelmont family, she was so poor that he could not be any poorer, and his own family was in decline and had no one to rely on. It is often not possible to enter the elegant hall, and is left out in the cold.They were thus reduced to the level of ordinary believers in high society, like nominal Catholics, who only approached the communion table once a year.If Mrs. de Sainte-Felter had not, as always, done her best to help the couple by giving their two young daughters clothes and playthings for the sake of the late General de Froberville. , the material life of the couple is miserable.Although the colonel was considered a good boy, he had no grateful heart.He envied his benefactor's glory and wealth, and was jealous of her extravagance and ostentation.The annual garden party is a wonderful joy for his wife and their children. It is hard to buy, and he would not miss it anyway. Complacent about his profit, his face suddenly turned sour and stinky.Various newspapers and magazines competed to announce the news of the garden party. After tirelessly introducing the garden party, they often sold their joints and added a sentence: "We will report on this wonderful event one after another." To make a supplementary introduction, all this was unbearable for the Froberville family, who had no fun, and knew that they could have a lot of fun at the garden party, but at this time of year, they hoped that the weather would not be good, and the garden party would be ruined. Now, sticking to the barometer, gloating, wishing that the storm would come sooner, so that the grand event would blow the stage.

"I don't discuss politics with you, Froberville," said M. de Guermantes, "but as to Swann, I can say frankly that what he has done to us is base. Society depends on us, the protection of the Duke of Chartres, who I hear now is an open Dreyfus. I never thought he was such a villain, I always thought he was a shrewd gourmand, A practical man, a collector, a fan of ancient books, as a member of the Jockey Club, and a man of high morals, who knows the place, sent us a good Porto wine, we can drink it to our heart's content, and thought he was a literary scholar. I am a fan, the head of the family. Ah! I have been deceived a lot. I am not talking about myself. I am old anyway. It doesn’t matter what others talk about. For Oriana's sake, he should not have acted like that, but should have publicly denounced the Jews and the true followers of the criminal."

"Yes, my wife has been kind to him," went on the duke, evidently thinking that, whatever people might think about Drebeforth's guilt or innocence, it would be a great inconvenience to them on Holy Day to convict him of treason. The hospitality that the Herman District received was rewarding. "He should have been at odds with them. If you don't believe me, just ask Oriana, she is really friendly to him." The Duchess felt that the innocent and calm tone would add a bit of tragedy and real effect to her words, So he spoke in the tone of a primary school student, as if the words that came out of his mouth were true, but his eyes showed a little sadness: "But it is true, I have no reason to hide my true feelings for Charlie!" "See, I didn't make her say it. That's all, he's so ungrateful that he's a Dreyfus!"

"Speaking of the Dreyfuses," I said, "it is said that Prince Feng is one." "Ah! You mentioned him to me, just right." M. de Guermantes said loudly, "I almost forgot He invited me to dinner on Monday. But it doesn't matter to me whether he is a Dreyfus or not, because he is a foreigner. I don't care about that. But as a Frenchman , that's another matter. Swann is a Jew, that's true. But until now—forgive me, Froberville—I still have the old habit of thinking that a Jew can be a Frenchman, I mean a respectable Jew, a man of the upper class. And Swann deserved it. Alas! Now he makes me admit that I was wrong, because he has openly supported that Dreyfus (whether he Whether he is guilty or not, he is not in Swann's circle at all, and Swann may not even have acquaintance with him), that guy repays his kindness, and even opposes the society that adopted him and treated him like a relative. Don't mention it, we used to belong to Swann The protector can even vouch for his patriotism, as much as he vouches for his own patriotism. Ah! It's abominable that he should give us this in return. I admit I didn't expect him to be so virtuous. I flatter him. He has a lot of wit (of course his kind of wit). I know in my heart that when he insisted on that unseemly marriage, he has actually lost his reason. Oh, do you know who was most saddened by Swann's marriage? Let my wife, Oliana, as I said, although she often appears indifferent on the surface, but in her heart, she feels very strong." Mrs. de Gelmont was delighted that her character had been dissected in this way, Listening attentively and not interjecting a word, on the one hand, it is because of being ashamed of the praise, but more importantly, it is afraid of interrupting his words.Even if Mr. de Guermantes talked about it for an hour, she would listen patiently, and she would not be so motionless even if someone else played music for her. "Oh, I still remember that when she learned of Swann's marriage, she was angry; she felt that we were so friendly to him, but this man was too shameless. She loved Swann very much, and she was very sad. Oriane, isn't it?" The husband was straightforward and straightforward, allowing Mrs. de Guermantes to confirm her feelings quietly, and her husband's compliments had been exhausted, and she felt obliged to answer.She tried her best to put on a "sincere" appearance, so she appeared more educated, her voice was shy and simple, and there was a bit of solemnity in her gentleness, and said: "Yes, Bazin is right." "However, this It's not the same thing. What can you do? Love is love, although I think love should have a limit. If the other party is a young man, an ignorant child, I can forgive him for being so whimsical and whimsical Ke Swann is a smart man, experienced, sensitive, very expert in the art of painting, and he is a frequent visitor to the Duke of Chartres and Hiber himself!" When he said this, Mr. de Gelmont's tone was very friendly, without the slightest There is no vulgarity that he usually shows.He speaks pathetically and slightly bitterly, at the same time kindly and solemnly, reminiscent of Rembrandt's characters.For example, Mayor Sikes has a big personality and a charming charm.It was felt that the question for the Duke was not at all whether Swann's conduct in this matter was moral or not, because there was no doubt about that; He worked hard to cultivate him, deliberately destroyed the bright future created for him, committed absurd acts that cannot be tolerated by family rules and customs, and ruined the reputation of the respected family.When he learned that Saint Lou was a Dreyfus, Mr. de Gelmont did not show such shock and pain as he does now.First of all, because he saw clearly that his nephew was a young man who had gone astray, and it would not be surprising to do anything bad unless he reformed, while Swann, in the words of M. de Gelmont, was a "serious man." people occupy the first-class position".Secondly, quite a long period of time has passed since the launch of the development. During this period, if the occurrence of events seems to have partially proved the correctness of the Dreyfus elements from a historical point of view, then the anti-Dreyfus forces have also Doubly ferocious, and developed from a purely political force in its infancy to a social force.Now, it is already a struggle between militarism and patriotism, and the raging waves in society are gradually bursting out with a powerful force that the storm did not have when it first broke out. "You see," M. de Guermantes went on, "even according to the views of his lovely Jews, and he absolutely supports them, Swann has done a foolish thing with endless consequences. He has proved them They are all clandestinely united, almost involuntarily forced to support people of their own race, even if they have never met them before. It is a social nuisance. We are obviously overly tolerant, just because Swann is respected and even generally accepted , is almost the only Jew known to all, so the repercussions of his follies are all the greater. They will think to themselves: Abunodisceomnes." To find a phrase so fitting in memory at the right time, the resulting self-satisfaction overwhelmed the grieving lord. A proud smile flashed across his face, and all the worries on his face disappeared instantly. -------- ①Latin, meaning "know one and know a hundred". I am very eager to know what happened between the prince and Swann. If Swann has not left, I really want to see him at the party.I confided my thoughts to the Duchess, who replied: "I tell you, I don't particularly want to see him, because I was just told at Madame de Saint-Felter's that he died before he died. There seems to be a wish to be fulfilled, and that is, that he wish me to know his wife and daughter. My Lord, how I should suffer if he should be ill by it. But first of all, I hope that the matter will not be so serious. Besides, this is no reason at all, because it can be done easily. Can a writer without talent say: 'Vote me for the Academy, because my wife is dying and I Hoping to give her this last joy.' If it were necessary to know all the dying, there would be no more salons. My groom might come and beg me: 'My daughter is very ill, please help As soon as I do, let Princess Palma receive me.' I love Charlie, and I would be very sorry if I refused him, and it is for this reason that I would prefer to avoid him making this request to me. I sincerely hope that he Not as close to death as he himself said, but if he was dead, it would never be the time for me to meet those two women who deprived me of my dearest friends for fifteen years , and he probably left them in my care, but I can't see him because he's probably dead!" M. de Briaudet, bitter at Colonel de Froberville's exposure of his old ways, had been thinking of retaliation. "I do not doubt the truth of all that you say, my dear friend," said he, "but my information comes from a reliable source. It was told me by the Prince de la Tour de Auvergne." "I am surprised that a man of your erudition should speak of Ladoux de Auvergne," M. de Guermantes interrupted, "you know he is nothing at all." Prince. There is only one member left in this family, and that is Oriana's uncle, the Duke of Bouillon." "The brother of Mrs. de Villebalisis?" I asked, remembering that this lady was also named de Bouillon when she was a girl. "Exactly. Oriane, Madame de Lambersac sends you greetings." Sure enough, the Duchess de Lamboursac smiled from time to time to greet an acquaintance she recognized, but then the smile disappeared like a meteor.This smile does not express a certain kind of confirmation, nor does it crystallize into some silent but intelligible language, but it is almost fleeting, caught in a kind of ecstatic ideal, specious and noncommittal; at the same time, She nodded her head lightly, as if she was blessing someone contentedly, reminiscent of the slight nod of a somewhat weak bishop to the crowd receiving Holy Communion.But Madame de Lambersac could never be a bishop.However, I have learned a bit about this special salutation that has long been outdated.In Combray and Paris, my grandmother's girlfriends are all accustomed to this greeting, even in social occasions, just like in a church or a funeral ceremony, meeting acquaintances is like an angel With a solemn demeanor, he said good day weakly, and the ending turned into a prayer.At this time, M. de Guermantes spoke and fully confirmed my question just now. "But you have already met the Duke of Bouillon." Mr. de Gelmont said to me, "when you entered my study this afternoon, he happened to go out. It was the short, white gentleman." , is the one I regarded as the little citizen of Combray. Now that I think about it carefully, I find that he is indeed similar to Mrs. de Villebalisis.Madame de Lambersac greeted me in the same way as my grandmother's girlfriends, and although it was dying out, I became interested in it, because it showed me that in narrow, closed circles, no matter whether it is a small bourgeoisie Still in the aristocratic circle, the old rules stubbornly exist, allowing us to discover, like archaeologists, the educational conditions of Vicomte Arangu and de Loisa Bichet and the spiritual outlook they reflect.Especially now, the Duke of Bouillon is very similar in appearance to a small townsman of the same age in Combray (I remember seeing Saint-Loup's grandfather, the Duke of La Rochefoucauld, in a photo of Dagre, I was surprised, how could he The clothes, demeanor and demeanor are exactly the same as my great-uncle’s), which made me realize that social and even personal differences are caused by the same era and different periods.In fact, the appearance of fashion and the expression of the spirit of the times occupy an extremely important position in a person's mind, even surpassing one's own hierarchical status. The hierarchical status is only important in the self-esteem of the person concerned and the imagination of others. The gallery of the Louvre shows that the difference between the nobility in the time of Louis Philippe and the bourgeois of the same age is greater than the difference between the nobility and the nobility in the time of Louis Philippe and that of Louis XV. It's just a little bit of a big deal. -------- ① Photographs taken according to the early Dagray photography method. At this time, a Bavarian long-haired musician under the protection of Mrs. Prince de Gelmont greeted Oriana.Oriana nodded, as a gesture of reciprocity. This person was described as weird. The Duke didn't know him, so he believed that this person was notorious. However, his wife greeted this kind of person, and couldn't help being furious, and suddenly turned to his wife body, with a suspicious expression, as if asking: "Who is this savage?" Poor Mrs. de Guermantes was in a very awkward situation. Should have left as soon as possible.However, among the old friends of the duke's small circle around him, perhaps it was their presence that prompted him to nod silently. Mrs. Te is not a stranger, and it is reasonable to pay her respects; or at this moment when reason should be obeyed, he is driven by an irresistible and indescribable force of ignorance in his heart, and he acts meticulously according to etiquette. Mrs. Gelmont got closer and said to her: "Duchess, I ask for the honor to introduce me to the Duke." Mrs. de Gelmont felt ashamed.However, although she was a cheated wife, she was still Mrs. de Gelmont after all, and she could not reveal that she had been deprived of the right to introduce acquaintances to her husband. "Bazin," she said, "permit me to introduce you to M. de Ewick." "I am not asking you whether you will come to Madame de Saint-Felter's house tomorrow," Colonel de Vroberville said to Madame de Guermantes, in order to dispel M. de Evic's untimely request. The embarrassing atmosphere created. "However, all the big names in Paris will be there." However, the Duke of Gelmont turned rigidly to the ignorant musician, facing him face to face, like a giant, silent and angry, like Jupiter who thundered and thundered, just like that He stood motionless for several seconds, his eyes shot out flames of anger and astonishment, and the anger erupted like a volcano, burning and curling his hair.This defiant posture seemed to indicate to all present that he did not know the Bavarian musician, but after a moment, he seemed to have a sudden impulse in his heart, which gave him enough strength to perform the polite gesture proposed to him. With his hands in white gloves cut behind his back, he leaned forward and bowed abruptly to the musician. His waist was bent so deeply, and he was filled with astonishment and resentment. His movements were so sudden and violent that the musician was frightened. Trembling all over, he bent over and backed away, lest the opponent's head hit his belly fiercely. "But I happen to be away from Paris to-morrow," the Duchess replied to Froberville, "I shouldn't have said it, but I must tell you the truth that I have not seen Montfort-- The large stained glass of La Moli Church, then this art visit does not have the urgency of "first aid" action. Since it can be postponed for 25 years, it can be postponed for another 24 hours without any worries. , there will be no danger. Hasn't this plan adopted by the Duchess publicly announced in the manner of the Guermantes family that the Salon de Saint-Felter is by no means a serious palace, and you are invited only to take advantage of you. When reporting on the "Gauls", it seems to have lifted the seal of "elegance" pasted on the door of each or at least this temple (if only this one), how can people look there? To such a "elegant" hall. Mr. de Briaudt felt wonderfully happy, and like all high society people, seeing Mrs. de Guermantes make their not very prominent position Things that they are not allowed to imitate, in any case, add poetic joy, just like peasants who are bound to their own land, they can't help laughing when they see people who are freer and wealthier than themselves stepping over their heads. However, Germany This unspeakable joy in M. Briaudt's heart had nothing to do with the natural joy of de Froberville, which, although it also concealed it, reached the point of ecstasy. 德·弗罗贝维尔先生强压住自己的笑声，以免让人听见，结果憋得满脸通红，活象只公鸡，即便如此，他也没止住咯咯的嘻笑声，同时故作怜悯的口吻，断断续续地大声道：“啊！可怜的圣德费尔特婶母，她准会伤心得病倒！不！可悲的妇人明天见不到公爵夫人，该是多大的打击啊！这不是要她的命嘛！”他笑得直不起腰来。在狂喜之中，他情不自禁地又跺脚又搓手。德·盖尔芒特夫人欣赏的是德·弗罗贝维尔和善的用心，而不是他那令人生厌的烦扰，她动用了一只眼睛和一只嘴角，朝他淡然一笑，最后决定立即离他而去。“听我说，我只好祝您晚安告辞了。”她一副迫不得已的忧郁神情，站起身子对他说道，仿佛这对她来说是件不幸的事。她那双蓝色的眼睛似乎念念有辞，她那嗓音犹如音乐般甜美，令人想起哪位仙女诗一般的哀怨泣诉。“巴赞要我去看看玛丽。” 实际上，她已经听够了弗罗贝维尔的唠叨，他不厌其烦地怂恿她去蒙福尔－拉莫利，而她心里明白，他是第一次听说那儿的彩绘大玻璃，而且他无论如何也不会放弃圣德费尔特的游园会。“再会，可我才刚刚跟您谈了几句，上流社会就是这样，相互间谁也看不透谁，想说的不说；再说，生活中处处如此。但愿死后能安排得好一些。至少再也用不着去袒胸露肩了。可谁知道呢？也许有人会在盛宴上炫耀自己的骨肉和肠虫。为什么就不行呢？噢，瞧瞧朗比荣老太太，您觉得她这副样子与那具套着开口裙的骨架有什么大的区别吗？她拥有各种各样的权利，这不假，因为她至少已过百岁。我刚刚涉足上流社会的时候，她就已经老得象个丑八怪，令人恶心，我拒绝向这种人鞠躬。我以为她早就死了呢。她来这里，简直是让我们看她的热闹，不然，就没有别的解释了。真是壮观，简直象做礼拜。好一派'圣地景象'！”公爵夫人离开了弗罗贝维尔，他又挨了过去：“我想最后跟您说一句话。”她有些气恼，傲慢地问道：“还有什么话？”他担心她临行前突然改变主意，不去蒙福尔－拉莫利：“由于德·圣德费尔特的缘故，也为了不让她伤心，我才没有斗胆跟您提这件事，可既然您已经准备不去她府上，那我可以告诉您，我为您感到高兴，因她府上流行麻疹！”“啊！我的主啊！”奥丽阿娜大声道，她平时就害怕得病，“可对我来说，这病根本没有关系，我已经得过一次了。一个人一生不可能出两次麻疹。”“那是医生的话，可我见过有人甚至得过四次麻疹。反正，您现在已经知道内情。”至于他自己，别说这麻疹纯系捏造，就是真的染上此病，卧床不起，他也决不甘心错过等待已久的圣德费尔特盛会。他将为在盛会上看到众多风雅之士而欣喜！但更大的乐趣是亲眼看看游园会办糟的景况，尤其痛快的，是可以大大自我炫耀一番，吹嘘自己如何与上流雅士交往，同时又夸大其辞或者凭空捏造，悲叹游园会办得糟糕不堪。 我利用公爵夫人换座的机会，站起身子，想去吸烟室打听斯万的消息。“拔拔尔跟我讲的这些话，您一句也不要信。”她对我说，“小莫莱决不会去那儿凑热闹的。他们跟我们扯这些事，只不过是为了吸引我们。他们不接待任何来访，也从没有得到哪方邀请。连他自己也承认：'我们俩孤单地呆在自己家中。'他老爱说'我们'①，不象国王称孤道寡，而是包括他的妻子，我不用多问。可我了解得一清二楚。”公爵夫人添了一句。我和她迎面遇到了两位年轻人，他们相貌英俊，但又不完全相像，可继承的却是同一位妇人的美。这是盖尔芒特公爵的新欢德·絮希夫人的两个儿子。他们身上都闪烁着母亲绝伦之美的光辉，但每个人继承的美却不相同。德·絮希夫人把自己庄重的丰姿遗传给了其中一位，富有男性气概的躯体，配以优美的线条，母子俩都长着大理石般光洁的双颊，白里透红的肌肤近乎橙红色，富有珍珠的光泽；而另一个则继承了希腊人的天庭、线条优美的鼻子、雕像般的脖颈和秋波无际的眼睛。就这样，由女神平分两份的礼物造成了他们俩迥异的堂堂仪表，发人深思畅想，究其美貌的原因，却在他们身外，据说是他们母亲的主要表征化成了两具不同的躯体：一具是她的身段和肤色，另一具是她的目光，就象玛尔斯和维纳斯只不过是朱庇特力量和美貌的化身。他们兄弟俩对德·盖尔芒特先生无比敬重，称他“是我们父母的一位好友”，不过，长兄还是认为不向公爵夫人致意为妥，他知道公爵夫人对他母亲抱有敌意，至于何种原因，也许并不清楚，因此一见我们，他便轻轻把头扭了过去。做弟弟的总是效法长兄的举止，因他生来愚笨，而且眼睛近视，不敢有个人主见，于是按照哥哥的扭头角度，纤毫不差地歪过头去，兄弟俩一前一后，悄然无声地向娱乐室溜去，活脱脱两个寓意画中的人物。 -------- ①法语“nous”为第一人称复数，但表示谦称时则可取代第一人称单数。 我刚走到娱乐室，便被西特里侯爵夫人拦住，她虽然风韵犹存，但已差不多是启齿露沫的人了。她出身相当高贵，东寻西觅终于如愿以偿，与德·西特里先生结成了引人注目的姻缘，西特里的曾祖母就是奥马尔－洛林。可是她生就一副容不得人的性格，心满意足没有多久，便讨厌起上流社会的人来，但又不绝对排斥交际生活。在晚会上，她不仅对所有人都冷嘲热讽，而且一奚落起人来总是那么粗野，连高声大笑也不足以解嘲，往往免不了从嗓子眼里发出嘘叫：“啊！”她指着德·盖尔芒特夫人对我说，德·盖尔芒特夫人刚刚离开我，但走得已经相当远：“她竟然会过着这种生活，令我感到震惊。”说这话的是位为异教徒不能自觉服从真理而震惊、愤慨的女圣人，还是一位巴不得杀人的无政府主义分子？反正这种斥责横竖都不在理。首先，德·盖尔芒特夫人“过的生活”与德·西特里夫人相差无几（除愤怒之外）。德·西特里夫人惊诧的是公爵夫人竟然能作出如此牺牲：参加玛丽－希尔贝的晚会。必须承认，在特殊场合，德·西特里夫人十分喜欢亲王夫人，再说亲王夫人也确实善良，她也善于讨亲王夫人的欢心，参加她的晚会。为了参加今天的晚会，她取消了一位女舞蹈演员的约会，她认为这位演员富有天赋，本来约好来向她传授俄罗斯舞蹈的奥秘的。德·西特里夫人看见奥丽阿娜向这位或那位宾客道安，肺都快气炸了，她这样并无道理，其另一原因是德·盖尔芒特夫人身上显出了同样摧残着德·西特里夫人的疾病的征兆，尽管病情要轻得多。再说，大家都知道她生来就落下了这种病根。最后，德·盖尔芒特夫人比德·西特里夫人更聪慧，本来更有权利表现这种不容他人的虚无主义（不仅仅限于上流社会），然而确实不假，人的有些品质往往有助于容忍他人的缺点，而不自视甚高，拿他人的缺陷作笑柄；一个真正大智大勇的人通常比一个傻瓜还更不注意他人蠢不蠢。对公爵夫人的才智，我们已经作了相当详细的描绘，大家足以相信，即使谈不上聪明过人，但至少可以说不乏才智，能灵活运用（象个翻译家）不同的句法形式。然而，德·西特里夫人似乎一无这方面的长处，毫无资格去鄙视与她素养相差无几的人们。她总觉得他人都蠢，但在她的言谈和书信中，与那些被她如此藐视的人相比，她反而显得才智低下了。此外，她具有无比强烈的破坏欲，在她几乎断绝与上流社会交往的那段时间，她自己寻觅的那种种乐趣无一例外地遭受到她那可怕力量的摧残，离开了晚会去参加音乐会，她马上就会说：“您喜爱听这种玩艺儿，所这种音乐？啊！我的主，这要因时而论。可这该是多么烦人！啊！贝多芬，讨厌的老胡子！”对瓦格纳，弗朗克，德彪西，她甚至都不屑说一声“老胡子”，而只是象剃须匠，轻蔑地用手往脸上一刮，不屑一顾。顿时，讨厌一事成了讨厌一切。“漂亮的东西都是那么讨厌！啊！那些油画，简直让您发疯……您说的在理，写信是多么烦人啊！”末了，她会向您宣称，生活本身就是象刮胡子一样烦人的玩艺儿，真弄不清她从哪儿找来这种比喻。 娱乐室或吸烟室里，地面饰有彩色图案，摆着三脚座椅，神像和动物像凝视着您，司芬克斯静蹲在座椅扶手上，尤其是那张大理石或瓷釉桌面的大桌子饰满富有象征意义的符号，多少有点模仿伊特鲁立亚和埃及艺术的风格，我第一次去德·盖尔芒特公爵夫人府上用晚餐时，公爵夫人曾跟我谈起这间屋子，不知是否她那番话起了作用，反正这间屋子给我造成了巫术室的印象。靠近那张光芒闪烁的占卜桌旁的一把座椅上，端坐着德·夏吕斯先生，他不触摸任何牌，对周围发生的一切无动于衷，自然也没有发现我刚刚进了屋，看他那副神态，恰似一位巫师，正集中所有意志力量和一切推理能力在占卜。他不仅酷似阿波罗神殿里高坐在三脚座椅上的女祭司，两只眼睛几乎从脸上鼓了出来，而且他的神机妙算工程要求他停止一切最简单的动作，为了不受任何干扰，他（如同一位不解开难题誓不罢休的计算家）把刚刚叼在嘴上的雪茄烟搁在身旁，再也没有多余的心思去抽一口。看到他对面座椅扶手上静蹲着的两位神衹，人们也许会以为男爵正在试图解开司芬克斯之谜，要不就是在解一位年轻的奥狄浦之谜，这位活着的奥狄浦正坐在那把座椅上玩牌。不过，德·夏吕斯先生如此聚精会神试图解开的，实际上并不是人们平常钻研的摩尔几何图形，而是由年轻的絮希侯爵的脸部线条组合而成的图案。德·夏吕斯先生面对这个图案是多么专心致志，它简直象个菱形词，象个谜语，抑或象道代数难题，而他禅精竭虚，极力争取解开谜底或列出公式。在他面前，雕刻在十戒板上的那些难解的符号和图案犹如一部巫书，即刻就要给老巫师以灵感，占卜出那位年轻人的命运向何方向发展。突然，他发现我正打量着他，便抬起脑袋仿佛从梦中醒来，对我微微一笑，满脸涨得通红。这时，德·絮希夫人的另一个儿子来到那位正在玩牌的兄弟身旁，看他打牌。当德·夏吕斯先生从我嘴里得知他俩是亲兄弟时，他对同一家庭却创造了如此辉煌、迥然而异的杰作赞叹不已，喜形于色，难以掩饰。倘若男爵获悉德·絮希－勒迪克夫人的这对儿子不仅同母，而且同父，他准会欣喜若狂。朱庇特的子女各不相似，这是因为他最先娶了墨提斯为妻，本该与她生育智子贤童，然而先后又与忒弥斯，欧律诺墨，涅摩辛涅和勒托结为夫妻，最后又与朱诺成婚。可是，德·絮希夫人的两个儿子却是同一位生父，又继承了母亲的美貌，但两人的美却各不相同。 我终于看到斯万走进了屋子，心中一阵高兴，屋子很大，所以他一开始并没有发现我。我欣喜中又交织着忧伤，也许别的宾客感受不到这种忧伤的滋味，但是在他们的内心深处一种类似惊愕的感觉油然而生，因死亡逼近而造成的种种料想不到的古怪模样把他们吓呆了，拿俗话说，死神已经在斯万的脸上出现。在场的人们惊惧得几乎到了失礼的地步，惊愕中又掺杂着好奇和残酷，既坦然又不安地反躬自省（同时含着Suavemarimagna。①与mementoquiapulvis②，罗贝尔也许会这么说），就这样，所有目光嚯地全都投向他的那张脸，只见他两颊被病魔折磨、摧残得深深凹陷下去，好似正在亏损的下弦月，除了某一角度——无疑是斯万自我审视的那一角度——之外，无论从哪个角度看，他的面颊都瘦得皮包骨头，唯因视觉之误才给人造成丰实的假象。也许是因为他双颊消失，再也不能缩小鼻子的比例，或许是因为动脉硬化症这一毒蛇象酗酒一样造成他鼻子通红，或象服吗啡后使之扭曲变形，反正斯万那只丑陋的鼻子在过去那张讨人喜欢的脸上还不怎么显眼，如今却显得奇大，鼓鼓的，红红的，看那鼻子，与其说是位好奇的瓦鲁尔人，毋宁说是个希伯莱老人。再说，也许在这弥留人世的最后日子里，种族的因素使他身上出现了更为明显的种族生理特征，同时也增强了与其他犹太人团结一致的道德感，斯万似乎在自己整整的一生中，忘却了这一团结精神，但是，致命的痼疾，德雷福斯事件，反犹太人宣传，接二连三的打击，最终唤醒了他的团结精神。有不少犹太人，虽然都很精明，而且也都是上流社会的贵人，但在他们身上却同时潜藏着两个人，一位是蛮者，一位是先知，如同生活在剧中，等待着适应自己生活的某一特定时刻，适时亮相。斯万已经迈入先知之年。诚然，由于备受病魔的折磨，他脸上已经失去了整块整块的组织，好似一块正在溶化的冰团，大块大块的碎冰跌落下来，他整个儿模样已经“大变”。但是，与我相比，他的变化确实太大了，令我不胜惊讶。这位堂堂的男子汉，不同凡响，且又素有教养，我过去与他相逢，绝对没有产生过丝毫的厌恶感，如今我怎么也不明白，当初为何会把他看得如些神秘，以致他在香榭丽舍大街一露面，我便紧张得心脏怦怦乱跳，不好意思挨近他那件丝绸内里的披风；每次来到他这位大人物生活的房间门口，举手叩门时，我内心都不可避免地感到极度混乱与恐惧。然而，所有这一切不仅从他的住所，而且也从他身上统统消失了，与他交谈的念头也许会令我欢悦或使我感到厌恶，但无论如何再也影响不了我的神经系统。 -------- ①拉丁语。意为“即使你在风平浪静的海上”。 ②拉丁语，意为“别忘了你不过是尘埃”。 从这天下午——总共才过了几个钟头——我在盖尔芒特公爵的书房见到他之后，他的变化多么大啊！他莫非真的与亲王发生了争执，受了惊？这种疑问大可不必。对一个病情极为严重的病人来说，只要让他稍出点力，就会给他造成过分劳累。他本来就浑身无力，一遇到晚会上这么个闷热劲，他的面孔便变得不成样子，宛如熟透的梨子或开始变质的牛奶，用不了一天，颜色便发青。此外，斯万的头发已经稀落，拿德·盖尔芒特夫人的话说，该请皮毛加工师傅来整修一番，那头发看上去象用樟脑油浸过一般，而且浸得糟糕极了，我正要穿过吸烟室找斯万说话，可不巧，一只手恰在这时在我肩头拍了一下：“你好，我的小宝贝，我在巴黎逗留了四十八小时。我上你家去了，他们告诉我你在这儿，我舅母有幸看到我参加她的晚会，还多亏你呢。”原来是圣卢。我向他大大赞美了一番这座宫邸如何如何漂亮。“对，堪称历史名胜，可我觉得呆在这里让人心烦。我们不要到我舅父帕拉墨得斯身旁去，不然，我们会被缠住的。莫莱夫人（眼下正得宠）刚刚走了，他现在肯定心神不宁。听说简直是一出好戏，他寸步不离，一直把她送上车，才与她分手。我并不埋怨我舅父，只不过觉得可笑，我的那帮子家庭监护顾问，平时对我严加管教，可恰最能制造爆炸性新闻，首屈一指的是我舅父夏吕斯，他是我的监督监护人，可他玩起女人来可与唐璜比高低，到了这把年纪，还不罢休。有段时间他们议论要给我指定一位司法顾问。我寻思要是所有这帮老色鬼凑到一起讨论我的问题，让我聆听他们对我进行道德教育，责备我伤了母亲的心，那他们非相视而笑不可。你仔细注意一下这些当顾问的都是些什么人，好象专门挑了一群最会撩女人石榴裙的色鬼。” 德·夏吕斯先生如何，这暂且不论，不过在我看来，我朋友对他大惊小怪并没有更多的道理，但由于其他的原因，罗贝尔认为让过去荒唐，现在仍旧愚蠢的亲戚来给年轻后辈上道德课未免离奇，他这样想实在是大错特错了，况且我觉得那些原因以后准会不断变化。只要与返祖现象和家族遗传相关，那负责教训外甥的舅父十有八九与外甥有同样的毛病。舅父在这一点上实际上也并不虚伪，他和大家一样都犯有认识错误，一旦环境发生了新的变化，便认为“不是一回事了”，因而导致他们屡犯艺术、政治等错误，他们对某一绘画流派大加谴责，或自恃有理，对某一政治事件厌恶至极，可哪曾想到，十年前他们对这一画派或这一事件所持的观点被自己奉为真理，虽然一时改变了主张，但只要再稍加掩饰，他们便又认识不清，重又表示赞同。此外，即使舅父的毛病与外甥有别，遗传规律也仍然在一定程度上起到作用，殊不知后果未必都与前因一致，就象复制品并不都酷似原件，更有甚者，哪怕舅父的毛病更坏，他也有可能自认为没那么严重。 不久前，德·夏吕斯先生怒斥罗贝尔，那时，罗贝尔并不了解舅父的真正癖好，但即使当时男爵痛斥的也正是自己的恶癖，他教训罗贝尔也完全可能是诚心诚意的，并坚持上流社会人士的观点，认定罗贝尔比他自己要有罪得多。他舅父受命教训他时，罗贝尔不是险些被逐出他所在的圈子吗？他不是差一点被赶出赛马俱乐部吗？他不是因为挥霍无度，把钱花在一位下贱女人身上，因为与作家、演员、犹太人等那帮不属于上流社会的人交上朋友，因为他的观点与卖国贼的观点毫无二致，因为他造成了所有亲人的痛苦而成了众人的笑柄吗？他过的是这等可耻的生活，在哪方面与德·夏吕斯的生活能有相比之处呢？迄此，德·夏吕斯先生不仅善于维护，而且善于提高他在盖尔芒特家族的地位，在上流社会中绝对享有特权地位，深受欢迎，为最杰出的上流社会人士所称颂；他娶了一位金枝玉叶、波旁王族的公主为妻，善于使她幸福，在她的脑子里造成一种更虔诚、更一丝不苟的崇拜，这在上流社会里一般是做不到的，因而赢得了贤夫良子的好名声。 “可你肯定德·夏吕斯先生有过那么多情妇？”我问道，这并非因为我居心不良，想把我无意中发现的秘密透露给罗贝尔，而是因为听他如此肯定而自信地坚持错误说法，我感到气恼。他准以为我的提问未免幼稚，只耸了耸肩，表示回答。 “不过，我并不谴责他的此种行为，我觉得他完全在理。”接着，他向我吹起一套理论来，若在巴尔贝克，这套理论连他自己也会感到厌恶（在巴尔贝克，他痛斥诱色者还不足解心头之恨，在他看来，只有死刑才是对这种罪恶唯一合适的惩罚）。原因嘛，是他那时候自作多情，而且好嫉妒。他竟然向我颂扬起妓院来：“只有在那里，才能找到合脚的鞋，我们当兵那阵子，都管叫合尺寸的鞋。”他再也不象过去在巴尔贝克，只要我暗示这种场所，他便感到反感，可现在听他这么一说，我便告诉他布洛克曾领我去那种地方开过眼界，没想到他回答我说，布洛克去的地方肯定“十分洁净，是穷人的天堂。” “这不一定，不管怎么说，那是什么场所？”我含糊其辞，因为我回想起罗贝尔倾心相爱的拉谢尔正是在那里卖身，一次一枚金路易。 “我无论如何要让你去见识一下更高级的地方，那地方连美貌惊人的佳丽也常去。”我渴望他尽快领我去他熟悉的那些场所，那儿准比布洛克给我指点的妓院高级得多，听我口气如此迫切，他为这次不能满足我的欲望深表歉意，因为他第二天就要走。 “下次我来，一定办到。”他说，“你到时瞧吧，甚至还有二八佳丽。”他神色诡秘地添了一句，“有一位可爱的姑娘，我记得姓德·奥士维尔，确切的名字，到时再告诉你，这姑娘的父母都很体面，她母亲多少有点贵族血统，反正都是上等人家，如果没错的话，甚至与我舅母奥丽阿娜还沾点亲呢。再说，只要见了那位姑娘，就可感觉到是位体面人家的闺女（我感到随着罗贝尔的话声，一时展现了德·盖尔芒特家族精灵的影子，宛若一团云彩在高空飘过，没有滞留）。我觉得是桩美事。她父母一直患病，无法照管她，天哪，那姑娘在找开心，我就指望你了，设法给这孩子排忧解闷吧。”“啊！你什么时候再来？”不知道。如果你不是非要公爵夫人不可（对贵族来说，公爵夫人这一称号是代表极为显赫的地位的唯一称呼，就象平民百姓所说的公主），那倒有另一类型的女子，就是普特布斯太太的贴身女仆。 " 这时，德·絮希夫人走进娱乐室找她儿子。一见她，德·夏吕斯先生便亲热地迎上前去，侯爵夫人原以为男爵对她一定冷若冰霜，这下更是受宠若惊了。男爵向来以奥丽阿娜的保护人自居，全家唯有他铁面无私，把兄弟的情妇拒之门外——由于遗产的继承问题，也出于对公爵夫人的嫉妒，他家往往对公爵的苛求过分迁就。男爵即使对她态度粗暴，德·絮希夫人也完全可以理解个中的原因，但她始料未及，相反受到了欢迎，对方到底是出于什么意图，她没有多加怀疑。男爵赞不绝口地跟她谈起了雅盖过去为她画的肖像。他愈说愈激动，最后竟到了狂热崇拜的地步，尽管他有几分意思，不让侯爵夫人离开他，以便“牵制她”，但或许是出于诚意，那样子就象罗贝尔谈及敌军时所说，要迫使敌军在某一据点继续交战。既然谁都兴味盎然，对她两个儿子身上表现出的王后般的丰姿和酷似母亲的那双眼睛赞不绝口，那么男爵便可以反其道而行之，为发现集中在儿子的母亲身上的种种魅力而欣喜，那种种魅力仿佛集中在一幅肖像上，肖像本身并不激起人们的欲望，但它所产生的美感，却孕育、激发起人们的种种欲念。这种种欲念又反过来赋予了雅盖亲自作的肖像一种富于肉感的诱惑力，此时此刻，男爵恨不得把这幅肖像弄到手，通过它对絮希家那两位公子的生理系谱进行一番研究。 “你看见了吧，我并没有夸大其辞。”罗贝尔对我说，“瞧瞧我舅父在德·絮希夫人身旁的那个殷勤劲儿。我真感到奇怪。要是奥丽阿娜知道了，准会恼羞成怒。说句实话，女人多着哩，何必只冲这么一位女人呢。”他又添了一句。世上的人并非都多情，所以他总以为别人都是经过深思熟虑，根据各种不同的品质与礼仪挑选各自的心上人。此外，罗贝尔不仅误以为舅父沉湎于女色，而且由于对德·夏吕斯先生耿耿于怀，谈起他来，出言往往过分轻率。当人家的外甥，不可能永远不受到影响。一种遗传性的习性迟早会通过中介因素遗传下来。人们完全可以建造一个人物画廊就以德国的一部喜剧的名字为名：《舅父与外甥》，里面那位舅父虽然并不心甘情愿，但却小心看管，唯恐外甥最后不象自己。窃以为倘若不列上那些与外甥并无真正血统关系的舅父，即那些外甥媳妇的舅父，那么这一人物画廊就不完全。确实，德·夏吕斯这类先生自信至极，自以为是世上独一无二的真正的好丈夫，也唯对他们女人才不嫉妒，以致在通常情况下，他们出于对外甥女的爱，也让她嫁给一位夏吕斯式的人物。有时，对外甥女的爱也掺杂着对她未婚夫的爱。此类婚姻并不罕见，而且往往被人称之为美满姻缘。 “我们刚才讲什么来着？噢！说的是那位身材高大的金发女郎，普特布斯太太的贴身女仆。她也爱女人，可我想这对你没关系；我对你可以实话实说，我可从来没有见过那么漂亮的造物。”“我想她像乔尔乔涅①画中人吧？”“与乔尔外涅画中美人像极了！啊！要是我有闲暇在巴黎逗留，有多少美妙的事情可以做呀！然后再换一个。你知道，爱情这玩艺儿简直是开玩笑的事，我算是彻底醒悟了。” -------- ①乔尔乔涅（约1477—1510），威尼斯画派的主要画家，擅长宗教画，描绘神话的画幅《入睡的维纳斯》是其典雅的理想美风格的代表作。