Chapter 6 Mina de Wangel-1

(Translated by Li Xiong) Mina de Wanger was born in Königsberg, the land of philosophy and fantasy. In 1999, when the French campaign was coming to an end, the Prussian general Count de Wanger suddenly left the court and withdrew from the army.One night, in Crannay, Champagne, he commanded the troops to fight bloody battles and won a battle with heavy casualties. A question suddenly arose in his mind: When a nation arranges its material and spiritual life, it follows A reasonable inner way, this way, does another people have the right to change?Troubled by this great question, he made up his mind to sheath his sword and not use it until he could find an answer.So he bid farewell to the army and returned to the territory of Königsberg.

Count de Wanger was under the watchful eye of the Berlin police.So he only thinks about philosophical issues wholeheartedly, and raises his only daughter Mina.A few years later, before he was too old, he went away, leaving to his daughter a large fortune, a sickly mother, and disfavor at court.Falling out of favor at court is no small matter in proud Germania.Fortunately, Mina de Wanger has the most noble surname in East Germany, which acts like a lightning rod to block the misfortune of falling out of favor.Though Mina was only sixteen at the time, the affection she aroused in the young officers with whom his father was associated had reached the point of admiration and ecstasy.They like romantic and sad characters.Sometimes there was that look in her eyes.

A year has passed.The mourning period is over.But the grief caused by his father's death has not diminished in the slightest.Mrs. de Wanger's friends had mentioned the dreadful word of consumption in their conversations.But when the mourning period was over, Mina was to go to the king's court.She had the good fortune to be a little intimate with this monarch.On the way to Kyoto City C in the Grand Park, Mrs. de Wanger was terrified by her daughter's romantic thoughts and deep worries, so she hoped to find a suitable marriage with maybe a little love, so that her daughter's thoughts could return. to her age.

"How I wish to see you married in this country!" she said to her daughter. "In this ungrateful country?!" The daughter replied after pondering for a moment, "Father died, blooded and sweated, and served him for twenty years, but what he got was the most despicable and shameless police surveillance ever! No, I would rather change my beliefs, Go to a Catholic monastery and be a nun for the rest of your life, and you don't want to stay in this country." Mina knew a little about court life only through the novels of her compatriot Auguste La Fontaine.In those Albany-like frames, it was often the love of some wealthy heiress.She always fell in love at first sight with a kind-hearted and simple-minded young colonel, the king's bodyguard, on some occasional occasion.This kind of love born of money made Mina deeply disgusted.

"Such a couple," she said to her mother, "after a year of marriage, the man became the head of the bodyguard by virtue of his marriage, and the woman became the concubine of the crown prince and concubine. What could be more dull than their life?" ? Once bankrupt, what will happen to their happiness?" ①②Italian painter (—).He is good at painting love themes in mythology. German writer (-). The Grand Duke of C, who did not expect such an obstacle from Auguste La Fontaine's novel, wanted to keep Mina's vast fortune at his palace.To make matters worse, one of his bodyguards, perhaps "with the permission of his superiors," began to surround Mina with courtesies.These two events further prompted Mina to make the decision to flee Germany.

Escaping, however, was no easy task. "Mom," she said to her mother one day, "I want to get out of here and live in a foreign country." "I'm afraid of what you say. Your eyes remind me of your poor father," replied Madame de Wangere. "Well! I'm noncommittal, and I don't exercise my power, but, Travel abroad must be approved by the Grand Duke's courtiers. Don't expect me to ask them." Mina was very unhappy.The people in the palace knew that she did not agree with His Royal Highness, so the success brought by her extremely gentle blue eyes and that kind of elegant demeanor was quickly lost.More than a year passed like this.

Mina had no hope of getting approval.She came up with a plan to disguise herself as a man and escape to England, where she planned to sell diamond jewelry to support herself.Madame de Wanger was horrified to discover that Mina was performing some strange experiments to change the color of her skin.Soon, she learned that Mina ordered men's clothing.Mina noticed that every time she rode for a ride, she always met the Grand Duke's gendarme.But she had inherited German fantasies from her father, and these difficulties, far from deterring her, intensified her fascination. Mina did not expect that she would endear herself to Countess D.She was the Grand Duke's mistress, a wonderful romantic woman.One day, Mina was riding with her when she saw a gendarme following at a distance. In a fit of anger, she told her her plan of escape.Within a few hours, Mrs. de Wanger received a text message written by the Grand Duke, allowing her to live in Banières Spa in France for half a year.It was nine o'clock in the evening, and at ten o'clock the mother and daughter were already on the road.Fortunately, the next day, before the Grand Duke's courtiers were awakened, they were out of the country.

Madame de Wanger, mother and daughter, came to Paris in the early winter of ×. Mina stole the show at a ball in diplomatic circles.It is claimed that the gentlemen of the German embassy were secretly instructed to prevent this multimillion-dollar fortune from becoming the spoils of some French seducer.In Germany, it is also believed that young men in Paris are most interested in women. Mina was eighteen, and for all her German fantasies she was beginning to have some gleams of reason.She found that she could never form a friendship with any French woman.In every Frenchwoman she came across nothing but excessive politeness.After a month and a half of acquaintance, her friendship with them was not as deep as the first day.Mina was very distressed.She guessed that there must be something impolite and unpleasant in her manner, which discouraged the French from a more intimate acquaintance.

Her status is so noble, but she is so humble, it is really unprecedented.Her face is innocent and lovely, full of childishness, but she is resolute and decisive in making decisions, which is in sharp contrast to her appearance.There was never a sensible and serious look on her childish face.Truth be told, sanity has never been a distinguishing character trait of hers. Mina liked the city very much, although the inhabitants of Paris were polite to the point of shutting people out.In her hometown, she hated people greeting her on the street, and hated seeing her entourage recognized by others; In the republic that people called Paris, seclusion was very tempting to a person of her own character.It's just that she still has a bit of German in her heart, and she is still reluctant to part with the joy of getting along with close friends.

She found, however, that in Paris, where there were no such pleasures, there were dances every evening, and interesting performances.Her father had lived in Paris in 1990, and he had often talked to her about the house afterwards.She found it and, with great difficulty, had the tenants evicted.Living in this house, Paris was no longer a foreign city to her.She is familiar with even the smallest room here. Comte de Wangere, though his chest is covered with medals and military medals, is a philosopher at heart, dreaming like Descartes or Spinoza.Mina loved the obscure reasoning of German philosophy and the noble asceticism of Fichte, as a tender heart loves to recall beautiful things.The most abstruse and difficult words of Kant ④ only reminded Mina of the voice of her father when she read them.With the guidance of her father, what philosophy does not understand or understand?Several eminent scholars agreed to teach at her home.Only her mother and daughter attended the class.

She studied philosophy with scholars in the morning, and attended the ambassador's ball in the evening.In this kind of life, love did not knock on the heart of the rich heiress.French men interested her, but not her heart.Mother often praised them in her presence.But she said to her mother, "They were perhaps the sweetest men one could meet. I admired their wit. Their daily sarcasm was so witty that it amazed and amused me. But when they tried to show Don’t you think they’re contrived and ridiculous when they act excited? Don’t they have any real feelings?” "What good are your accusations?" The wise Mrs. de Wanger replied ①②③④German philosopher (—). German philosopher (-). Dutch philosopher (-). French philosopher (-). Answer, "If you don't like France, we'll go back to Königsberg. But don't forget, you're nineteen, and I might leave you. Think about it, and choose a patron! In case I dead," she added with a sad smile, "the Grand Duke of City C will marry you to her bodyguard." One fine summer day, Mrs. de Wanger went to Compiègne with her daughter to watch the king hunt.Mina suddenly saw the ruins of Biefon Castle in the middle of the forest, and she was deeply moved.She still couldn't get rid of the German prejudice, and felt that every magnificent building in the new Babylonian city of Paris had a sense of indifference, mockery, and evil. In her opinion, the ruins of the old castle in Bilfon are as moving as those on the top of the Brocken in Germany.Mina begged her mother to stay for a few days at the inn in the village of Bierphon.They live very uncomfortable.One day, it began to rain suddenly.Like a twelve-year-old child, Mina stood at the door of the inn watching the rain.She noticed an advertisement for a nearby property for sale.A quarter of an hour later, an inn maid took her to the notary's house under an umbrella.The notary saw this plainly dressed girl come to negotiate with him a piece of real estate worth hundreds of thousands of francs, and asked for the land to sign a contract, and also handed him a few thousand franc notes from the Bank of France as a deposit, Feel very surprised. I'm not saying that this is a rare thing, anyway, out of luck, Mina only suffered a little.The estate was called Petit Verbery, and the seller was the Comte de Ruppert.The man was well known in all the castles of Picardy.He was young, with a dignified body and a dignified appearance.At first sight you admire him, but after a while you find him vulgar and repulsive.The Comte de Ruppert soon claimed to be Madame de Wanger's friend, and he also made Madame de Wangerl happy.Of the young men of his time he was perhaps the only one who could recall the lovely swingers of the Regency.The memoirs of the venerable Earl Tilly magnify their experience.M. de Ruppert squandered a large fortune.He imitated all the eccentricities of the nobles of the time of Louis XIV.But I don't understand why Paris doesn't pay more attention to him.Frustrated by his hopes of showing off, he became madly obsessed with money.His inquiries from Berlin made him fall in love with Mademoiselle de Wanger.After half a year, Mina said to her mother: "If we want to make friends, we really need to buy real estate. If we plan to sell the little Wei Baili in the future, we may lose thousands of francs. But right now, this price will increase our circle of close friends a lot. Lovely woman." However, Mina had learned nothing about the French girl's attitude.She envied their charming demeanor, but still retained the natural and easy manner of the Germans.Among her new acquaintances, Madame de Sely was the closest to her.Here's what she said of Mina: She's a little different, but not weird.Her charming temperament made her forgive everything; her eyes did not reveal her millions; she did not have the simplicity of a well-bred person, but she did have charm. But a thunderbolt on a sunny day disrupted this peaceful life: Mina lost her mother.When her grief abated a little, and she had time to think about her own affairs, she realized that her situation was extremely difficult.Madame de Sely took her to her castle.The thirty-year-old friend said to her: "You should go back. Back to Prussia. That's the wisest thing to do. Otherwise, you'll get married here as soon as the mourning period is over. And you've got to get a quick job from Königsberg." A concubine, if you can find it, preferably a relative." However, there is one big difficulty: German women, even rich ladies, refer to the period when King Louis XV of France was young and the Duke of Orléans was regent. I think you can only marry the man you love.Madame de Selye proposed to Mademoiselle de Wanger ten young men who were suitable for her, but Mina found them vulgar and even vicious.It was the unluckiest year of her life.Her body was broken, and her beauty was almost completely gone.One day, she came to visit Mrs. de Serly, and heard that she could meet the famous Mrs. de Larsey at dinner. This is one of the loveliest and richest women in the area.It was often said that she played with grace and beauty, that she spent her rich fortune with grandeur, admirability and loveliness, without appearing ridiculous.But Mina surprised her by discovering so many mediocrities in the lady's character. "Look, if you want to be loved by others here, you have to be like this." Mina felt very painful.Because of the disappointment of "beauty", it is a very painful thing in the hearts of Germans.Then she paid no attention to Madame de Larsey.Out of politeness, she strikes up a conversation with her husband. This is a very simple person.All she knew about him was that he had served as an attendant to the Emperor Napoleon during the retreat of the French from Russia, and had been credited with bravery beyond his years in that and subsequent campaigns. .He spoke of Greece to Mina in vivid and simple terms.He had fought for the Greeks some time ago, and had been there for a year or two.Mina liked talking to him. He gave her the feeling that she had met a long-lost close friend. After dinner, we went to Compiègne Forest to enjoy several famous sights.More than once, Mina wanted to tell Mr. de Larsey about her predicament and ask him for advice. M. de Ruppert rode that day, following the open carriage, and M. de Larsey's manner was more natural and simple than his elegant demeanor.M. de Larsey entered society during the Franco-Russian War.That war made him see people's hearts clearly, and prompted him to develop a stubborn, calm, active and lively character, but lacking in fantasy.This character makes a most vivid impression on the mind of a visionary.Mina wondered at the simplicity of a Frenchman. In the evening, after M. de Larse left, Mina felt as if she had parted with a confidant who had known all her secrets for years.She found everything dull and repulsive, even Madame de Sely's warm friendship.In front of her new friends, Mina didn't have to hide any thoughts, and she didn't have to worry about being ridiculed by the French and always putting a curtain on her sincere and frank German thoughts.Monsieur de Larsey had absolutely no air of sophistication.This made him look eight or nine years older, but it was also this which occupied Mina's thoughts during the first hour of his absence. The next day she even had to brace herself to listen to Madame de Sely, for she found everything dull and repulsive.In the past, she thought it was just a fantasy to find a heart that is sincere and straightforward, one that does not look for jokes in the simplest words, but she no longer thinks so.All day long she was lost in reverie.In the evening, when Madame de Serly mentioned M. de Larse's name, Mina started and stood up involuntarily, as if someone had called her.She blushed, unable to explain her abnormal behavior.She was flustered, and soon understood why.It was important to her not to be noticed, so she ran back to her bedroom."I'm crazy," she thought to herself. From this moment on, her unhappiness began and developed rapidly, and before long she felt guilty. "I fell in love. I fell in love with a married man! "All night long she was tormented by this guilt. Monsieur de Larse will go with his wife to the thermal baths of Aix in Savoy.He took out a map and pointed it out to the ladies. He planned to make a small detour before going to the hot springs.He forgot to take this map with him.One of Madame de Sely's children found the map.Mina snatched it up, hid in the garden, and spent an hour traveling imaginatively along the route of M. de Larse.She thought the small towns he would pass had dignified and unusual names; she imagined them picturesque and picturesque.She envied the happiness of the inhabitants of those towns.This sweetly silly thought even saved her from the torment of guilt.A few days later, at Madame de Serly's house, it was said that the de Larsey couple had gone to Savoie. Mina's heart was shaken by hearing this, and she also longed to travel. Half a month later, an elderly German lady hired a carriage in Geneva, came to Aix-Savoie, and stayed at a small hotel.The lady brought a maid.She was so bad-tempered towards the maids that even Mrs. Tunot, the proprietress of the inn, felt resentful.The German lady, whose name was Collamer, summoned Mrs. Toinau and said: "I want to hire a girl who knows the situation in the city and the surrounding area. I was also stupid and brought this beautiful lady, but she is not here I don't know anything about her. I really don't know what to do with her." When Madame Toino was alone with her maid, she said to her: "My God, your master looks very angry with you." The maid's name is Aniken.With tears in her eyes, she said: "Don't mention this to me. I regret leaving Frankfurt. My parents opened a shop there, and the business is very good. My mother has many top tailors in the city. , the clothes made are as good as those in Paris." "Your master said she would give you three hundred francs if you would go back to Frankfurt." "It won't show me a good face when I go home. My mother doesn't believe that Mrs. Colamet will dismiss me for no reason." "Well then! You stay in Aix. I can help you find someone. I run an agency, and I introduce all the guests who come to the hot springs and want a servant. You pay the introduction fee of sixty francs." The three hundred francs given by Madame Colamet, you can have more than two hundred francs left over." "If you introduce me to a French house, I'll pay you a hundred. I want to learn French well, and then go to Paris to find a job. I'm pretty good at sewing. I can take the four dollars I brought from Frankfurt A hundred francs are in my master's hands, as a surety of my fidelity." Mademoiselle de Wanger had already spent five or six thousand francs on the realization of her absurd project.Chance helped her.Mrs. de Larsay stayed at the famous "Savoie Cross" hotel. Mrs. de Larsay found the hotel too noisy and rented a room in a charming house by the lake.This year the hot springs are very lively, many rich men come here, and luxurious balls are often held, and everyone dresses up like they are in Paris.There were so many guests in the ballroom every night, and the local maids were neither dexterous nor honest. Madame de Larsey was not satisfied and hoped to find a capable girl to serve her.It was suggested that she go to Mrs. Toinau's agency.Mrs. Toinau showed her some awkward local girls before she let Aniken in.Madame Toineau was already clever, and she was even more eloquent when she got a hundred francs.The dignity of the German girl was so pleasing to Madame de Larsey that she left the girl and sent for her box. That night, when the master went to the ballroom, Aniken took a walk in the garden by the lake while thinking: "The ridiculous thing of the day has finally been done! If I am recognized, what will happen to me? Mrs. de Sely What would she say? She still thinks I'm in Königsberg?" Mina had never lacked courage in her actions before, but now she was beginning to lose it.She was agitated, her breath was short of breath, she was afraid of losing face, she felt remorse, she became very unhappy.A bright moon rose from behind the Outcombe Mountains and was reflected in the water of the lake wrinkled by the north wind; large groups of white clouds with strange shapes drifted hastily in front of the moon.Mina felt that they were like huge giants. "They come from my hometown." Mina thought to herself, "They came to see me and brought me the courage to play the absurd role at the beginning." Baiyun passed by. "O ghosts of the ancestors, recognize your descendants. I am as brave as you. You do not worry when you see me in this strange dress. I will not dishonor my honor. You have bequeathed to me the mystic flame of honor and valor. , but in this ordinary age in which I am destined to live, there is nothing worth burning. I have arranged for myself a destiny that matches the flame that inspires me. Do you think that I am not worthy of it? ?” Mina no longer felt unfortunate. There was a faint singing voice in the distance, beautiful and pleasant, obviously coming from the other side.Mina listened attentively.Her thoughts suddenly changed again, and she began to pity her own fate. "What's the use of my labors?" she wondered. "At best, I am convinced that there is such a noble and simple man in the world as I used to dream of. But he is still invisible to me. The maid's face. Shall I say anything? This hapless disguise has only one effect, and that is to put me in the company of servants. He doesn't care to speak to me." She began to cry.Suddenly, I regained my courage, "At least I can see him every day. I also don't have the chance to enjoy greater blessings. The poor mother is right: 'One day you will fall in love with someone, and you can do any absurd thing!'" The singing came from the lake again, but this time much closer.Then Mina understood that the singer was in a small boat.The boat glides on the water waves plated with silvery moonlight.She recognized that it was a soft and sweet song, as only Mozart could have written it.After a quarter of an hour, she forgot about the reproach she had given herself, and only thought about the happiness of seeing Alfred every day. "Isn't every man able to live out his own destiny?" she thought to herself at last. "I happen to be born high and rich, but it's my destiny not to be famous at court or at balls. I'm there to be noticed, Appreciated. But among those people I am bored and very depressed. People are trying to talk to me, but I am very tired. After the death of my parents, my only happy moments are listening to Mozart alone, avoiding haters. Pursuit Is it my fault that happiness, which is part of every human being, prompted me to act in such an unusual way? It would probably ruin my reputation. By then I would seek refuge in a Catholic monastery." From the bell tower of a village on the other side of the lake, came the sound of midnight.This solemn moment made Mina shudder.The moon has faded.She went back to the house and leaned on the railing of the corridor facing the small garden and the lake, waiting for the "master" to return.Music restored her courage.She thought: "The old ancestors left the majestic and magnificent castle of Königsberg to go to the Holy Land, and a few years later, like me, they came back alone in disguise and through all kinds of dangers. The courage that inspired them then made me devote myself to Danger. This is the only danger we women can risk in this childish and mediocre age. I hope I succeed with dignity. The noble minds will be astonished at my folly, but in their hearts will forgive me." The days passed quickly, and Mina quickly adapted to her situation. She has a lot of needlework to do.She is happy to do the work that her new identity brings her.She often felt like she was acting.Sometimes she unconsciously makes movements that are out of proportion to her status.She thought it was funny too.One day after supper, the master was out for a drive, and the footman opened the door of the carriage, put down the pedal, and she walked slowly to get into the carriage. "The girl is crazy!" said Madame de Larsay.Alfred stared at her for a long time, feeling that she was very elegant.In fact, Mina didn't think about sticking to her duty at all, and she wasn't afraid of being laughed at.She did not have the cautious thoughts of ordinary people at all, and she reminded herself to be careful only out of fear of arousing the suspicion of Madame de Larsey.For just a month and a half ago she had been playing a very different role, and had spent a whole day with Madame de Larsey. Every day, Mina wakes up early in the morning and spends two hours doing makeup and changing her appearance to make herself ugly.She had beautiful blond hair that people used to say was haunting; now she cut it short with a few snaps and dyed it with a chemical that was flaky and ugly, almost sepia. .She also fried the leaves of holly holly to make light juice and applied it on her delicate hands to make the skin look rough.She also painted an ugly paint on her fresh face, which made her look like some white people with black blood from the colonies.Mina was very satisfied with this ugly appearance. She took care not to reveal ideas that attracted attention.She was so absorbed in happiness that she didn't want to speak at all.She sat at the window of Madame de Larsey's room, arranging Madame's evening dress, and twenty times a day heard Alfred speak, and had new opportunities to admire his character.Dare we say it? ...why not dare?Since we are describing a German heart?In moments of bliss and excitement she even imagined him as a supernatural being.Mina worked diligently and enthusiastically at her new job, which, in the eyes of the mediocre Madame de Larsey, was the right thing to do.She treated Mina with arrogance, as a poor girl.This kind of girl, if you hire her, she will feel extremely happy. "Aren't sincerity and passion never appropriate among these people?" Mina wondered.So she intentionally created the illusion that she wanted to regain Mrs. Colamet's favor, and she asked for leave almost every day to see her. Mina had feared that her behavior might make Madame de Larsey suspicious.She was now happily convinced that her new master regarded her only as a maid, less dexterous at needlework than the maid she had left in Paris.But Alfred's servant Duboa is more difficult to deal with.He was a Parisian man of forty, with good appearance.He considered it his duty to court his new companion.Mina seduced him by telling him that his only desire was to save up a small sum of money to open a café in Paris someday.So she did not hesitate to send him some presents.Soon Dubois served her as respectfully as he had done Madame de Larsey. Alfred noticed how awkward and shy the German girl was sometimes, but her mannerisms varied greatly.She has some nuanced insights that are worth listening to.Mina saw from his eyes that he was listening to her, and she ventured to express some sharp and correct thoughts, especially when she believed that Madame de Larsay could not hear or could not understand. During the first two months of her stay in Aix, if a philosopher had asked Mademoiselle de Wanger what was her purpose?Then her childish answer would definitely surprise him.The philosopher might even suspect that she is a bit hypocritical.Seeing and hearing the man she was madly in love with all the time, that was the only purpose of her life.Ask for nothing else.She felt too happy to think of the future.Had the philosopher told her, this love might have been less pure.She must have been surprised to hear that, and even more outraged at the same time.Mina delighted in observing the character of the man she loved.Alfred's father was a member of the House of Lords.He relied on his father's property status to become a member of high society.But he is quiet by nature, which is the complete opposite of people in the upper class.His simplicity, his abhorrence of affectation and pomp and pomp, must have led those to regard him as mediocre if one lived among the middle classes.Alfred never went out of his way to make wisecracks.It was mainly this that made Mina pay him the utmost attention the first day they met.Looking at the French with the prejudice of a German, their conversation seemed to her like the dialogue after a song in a farce.Alfred has met many famous people, so he can tell some interesting words from memory.However, if the purely amusing jokes were not thought up on the spur of the moment, or some of the listeners might have made them, he would consider them low-level and would not make them. Every night Alfred dropped his wife off to the ballroom and then came home to study botany.This hobby, which he had just taken up because of the proximity to where Rousseau had lived as a teenager, kept his specimen folders and plants in the living room where Aniken worked.The two of them would spend hours together every night without speaking a word to each other.They both feel constrained, but also happy.Aniken had only one way to be considerate to Alfred, which was to dissolve the gum with water in advance so that he could paste the dried flowers and plants into the specimen collection.And she allowed herself to do so only because it would be considered her job.Alfred went to play in the beautiful mountains beside Lake Bourget and brought back many beautiful plants.In his absence, Mina admired the specimens.Gradually she also became fascinated with botany.Alfred found this convenient at first, and soon he found it a blessing. "He's in love with me," Mina thought to herself, "but I've worked so hard and done nothing with Madame de Larsay." Madame Colamet pretends to be ill.Upon request, Mina was allowed to spend the night with her original owner.Alfred was surprised to find that his interest in botany had suddenly decreased and almost disappeared.At night when he was in the dance hall, his wife made fun of him, saying that he was bored at home alone.Alfred admitted in his heart that he had a crush on the girl.He was annoyed that he was timid in front of her.Sometimes when I get angry, I pretend to be a hero, asking myself: "Why don't I do like any of my friends? She is only a maid after all." One night, when it was raining, Mina stayed at home.Alfred was also fascinated by botany in his youth in the ballroom ①Rousseau. After showing up, he went home.He seemed surprised to see Mina in the living room. Mina felt his fake expression, and the happiness he had expected to enjoy that evening was stripped away by this small gesture.Perhaps, it was precisely because of this mood that she angrily rejected Alfred's temptation.She went back to her room, crying, "I was wrong, these Frenchmen are all alike." All night she intended to go back to Paris at once. The next day, Mina looked at Alfred with contempt.That look is not fake.Alfred got angry and stopped paying attention to Mina, and spent every night in the dance hall.He did not realize that what he was doing was the best course of action.This indifference made Mina abandon her plan to return to Paris. "This man is no danger to me," she mused.In less than a week she felt that she had regained his little French instinct.As for Alfred, from the boredom the ladies of the ballroom gave him, he found himself more in love than he had thought.However, he restrained himself.In fact, he had already rested his eyes on Mina happily and struck up a conversation with her, but he still didn't come back at night.Mina felt very unhappy.Before she knew it, she was less careful about her make-up, so she wasn't as ugly as before. "Could it be a dream?" Alfred thought, "Aniken turned into the most beautiful girl I have ever seen." One night, he came home by chance, and driven by love, he Ask Aniken to forgive his frivolity. "I realized," he said to her, "that you interested me. I've never paid such attention to other people. I was afraid. I wanted to heal myself or fall out with you. Since then, I have become The most unfortunate man." "Alfred, how happy you make me!" cried Mina, who was utterly happy. That night and the next few nights, they confessed to each other that they were madly in love with each other.They pledged to each other eternal loyalty to each other. Alfred was wise by nature and free from illusions.He knew that lovers often find something special in the person they love.He finds Mina intelligent and gentle, which convinces him that he is indeed in love. "It's not just a hallucination, is it?" he reminded himself every day.He compared Mina's words the previous day with those of the ladies he had met in the ballroom.As for Mina, she knew she had almost lost Alfred.What would happen to her if he was still in the dance hall every night?她远没有努力去继续扮演一个普通姑娘，而是一心想着怎么讨人喜欢，这种情形，她一生中还没有过。 “该不该告诉他我是谁？”米娜寻思，“他是个很理智的人，即使是为他干的荒唐事，他也会指责我的。再说，” 米娜继续想到，“我的命运也必须在这里定下来。如果我说出我是德·旺格尔小姐。我的庄园离他的庄园只有几十里路，那他会确信可以在巴黎再见到我。应该反过来，让他担心永远见不到我，这样就会促使他下决心采取不同一般的，于我们的幸福必不可少的措施。这个如此理智的人怎么会下决心改变信仰，跟妻子离婚，作我的丈夫，到我东普鲁士的领地上去生活呢？”在她的新计划前面，并没有耸起由不合法这几个字构成的障碍。她认为自己并不违反道德，因为只要对阿尔弗雷德有利，她可以毫不犹豫地把生命牺牲一千次。 渐渐地，德·拉尔赛夫人对艾妮肯产生了嫉妒。这个姑娘脸上的奇特变化，没有逃过她的眼睛。她认为这是过分地卖弄风情。她若要把这姑娘辞退，很可能得费一番功夫。她那些女友都劝她，不要把丈夫的一时兴致看得太严重。不过她们叮嘱她，千万不要让丈夫把艾妮肯带到巴黎去。 “谨慎一点。”她们说，“等温泉沐浴的季节一过，你就不会担心了。” 德·拉尔赛夫人派人去摸柯拉梅夫人的底细。她还努力让丈夫相信，艾妮肯只是个喜欢冒险的女人，犯过在司法部门看来应受惩罚的事儿，在维也纳或者柏林受追捕，便潜逃到埃克斯温泉来避一避，也可能是在这里等他的同伙。这番话听起来很像是那么回事，真要去搞清楚又不值得，却在阿尔弗雷德坚强的心里引起了混乱。对他来说，艾妮肯不是一个侍女，这是明显的事情。但是，她充当这样一个辛苦劳碌的角色，究竟是出于什么重大的厉害关系呢？这只可能是因为畏惧。 米娜从阿尔弗雷德的眼睛里看出他心绪烦乱，轻而易举就猜出了其中的缘由。一天晚上她贸然相问，他便把情况都说了出来，米娜听了大吃一惊。阿尔弗雷德讲的事离真相那么近，以致她开始难以为自己辩解。那位假装的柯拉梅夫人没有忠实地扮好自己的角色，让人觉察到她艾妮肯毫不看重金钱利益。看见柯拉梅夫人的话在阿尔弗雷德心里起了作用，米娜深感绝望，差一点要说出她究竟是谁。显然，阿尔弗雷德爱艾妮肯爱得发狂，自然也会爱德·旺格尔小姐，只是这样一来，他就会确信在巴黎可以再见到她，也就不会作出为她的爱情所必须的牺牲了。 米娜惴惴不安地度过了白天，晚上一定更难打发。跟阿尔弗雷德单独相处，她有勇气来抵挡从他眼里透露的忧愁吗？ 看着他的爱情被一种十分自然的猜疑削弱甚至毁掉，她有勇气忍受吗？到了晚上，阿尔弗雷德送妻子去舞厅，没有回来。 这一晚举行化装舞会，宾客如云，喧声鼎沸。从省会尚贝里，甚至从日内瓦赶来了好些看热闹的人。他们的马车把埃克斯的街道塞得满满的。公众的这种欢乐气氛使米娜的心情更为忧烦。她在客厅里徒然等了好几个小时，那可爱的人没有回来。她再也待不下去了，便跑到柯拉梅夫人那儿。谁知在那儿也遇到了令人不快的事情。那个雇来的女人苦着脸求米娜允许她离去，她说她人虽穷，可也不愿长久地扮演人家安排给她的这么一个不光彩的角色。米娜远不是一个能够慎重作出决定的人。情况紧急时，只消一句话就可以使她改变对整个处境的看法。现在伴妇的话引起了她的注意。她寻思：“确实，我的乔装打扮已经骗不了什么人了。我的名誉完了。我大概被他们当作爱冒险的女人了。既然我为阿尔弗雷德牺牲了一切，那么除非我疯了，才会禁止自己享受看见他的幸福。 至少在舞会上，我可以随意打量他、研究他的心灵。 "