Chapter 69 chapter Five

Our desires and actions arise from certain needs of our nervous system which cannot be precisely described.For example, what we call Thomas Buddenbrook's "vanity," his elaborate grooming of his appearance, the extravagance of his clothes, is something else at all.After careful analysis, this is nothing more than an activist trying to keep himself from head to toe forever in a neat and orderly manner that suits his identity.Others' expectations of him and of himself can be regarded as harsh, and private and public affairs pile up on his head.At one of the city council's assignments, the burden of tax administration was assigned to him.

Later, railways, customs duties, and other important national affairs will follow, and they will all take part of his energy.Since he was elected, he has presided over many meetings of the Management Oversight Committee. The real power is in his own hands, which requires him to use all his tact, flexibility and diplomacy.In fact, everyone has noticed that his "vanity" has increased significantly during this period of time, that is to say, some of his requirements, such as recovering from fatigue, nourishing the spirit, changing clothes several times a day in order to cheer up the spirit, etc. , getting stronger and stronger.This means that, although Thomas Buddenbrook is only thirty-seven years old, his energy is exhausted and his body is rapidly failing... Whenever Dr. Graboff asked him to rest more, he replied, "Oh, dear doctor, I'm far too early to rest!" He meant that one day, after reaching a certain situation, he might enjoy it comfortably, but in this He still had countless things to do before, but in fact he hardly believed that such a situation would be reached.The strong desire is pushing him forward, not giving him a moment of peace.Even when he seemed to be resting, for example, when he picked up the newspaper after dinner, he seemed to be slowly and intently twirling the tip of his beard, but the veins stood out on his pale temples. , a thousand thoughts still linger in his mind.His seriousness about his work is astonishing, whether he is thinking of a business strategy, a speech, or the realization of a long-planned plan: immediately replace all underwear with new ones, so that at least temporarily, there is no need to wear them again. Got credit for this one.

If this kind of purchase or exchange of supplies often brings him some temporary satisfaction and peace of mind, he will not spare money, because his business is so good this year, only when his grandfather was alive. Only then can it be compared.The reputation of this company is not only in this city, but also in other places, and his personal prestige in the society is also increasing day by day.His talent and ability have been recognized by everyone. Of course, some people are jealous, and some people are admiring; He always felt that he was irretrievably behind his endless fantasies and plans.

If we knew this, we should never regard Senator Buddenbrook's proud indulgence in the summer of 1863 when he went about planning a spacious new house.Those who are truly happy are those who can do nothing.But his restless nature urged him to rush about this matter.Naturally, some other citizens would attribute this feat to his "vanity".This is indeed the only reasonable explanation.Build a new house, completely change the appearance of life, a big clean-up, a big relocation, resettle a new home, completely remove all old and redundant things, all dross left over from the past, even when he imagined These things produce a feeling of freshness, cleanliness, innocence, and refreshing, which adds infinite strength to him... Maybe he really needs these things, because he is doing his best to realize this plan, and he has even found It's a good piece of land.

It was a rather large foundation at the lower end of Fisherman's Lane.Here is an old dilapidated house for sale, owned by a spinster, the only survivor of a long-forgotten old home.She had lived alone in the house, but she too had died not long ago.It was here that the Senator wanted to build his new house, and he always had it in mind when he passed it on his way to the docks.Here, the neighbors are all decent families: some neat civic houses with gabled gables; the most shabby house in this place is the house on the opposite side: a narrow building with a small flower shop on the ground floor.

He poured all his energy into this matter.He made an approximate budget, and although the amount he had calculated was quite considerable, he found that he still had enough energy to raise it.But he suddenly thought that all this might be just his unrealistic fantasy, and his heartbeat couldn't help but increase.And by his own admission, the house was now more than enough for his family, for his wife, children, and servants.But an unconscious longing made him make up his mind, and in order to gain external support and approval for his plan, he first revealed it to his sister. "Tell me, Tony, do you think I'm doing the right thing? The spiral staircase to the bathroom here is fun, but at bottom this house is like a matchbox. Kind of shabby, don't you think?" ? Now that I am a member of Parliament, it can be said that it is all due to you... In a word, do you think I should change my house...?"

Oh, God, he ought to have it all in Mrs. Perlmeneder's mind!She was earnestly filled with boundless excitement and admiration. She folded her arms on her chest, shrugged her shoulders a little, raised her head, and paced up and down the room. "You've got a very good reason for doing it, Tom! Oh my God, you should do it! No one has any objection, and besides, you married this Arnoldson girl again, and the dowry fee is a hundred thousand. Taylor...you are so kind to me, I am very proud that you discussed this matter with me first!...Since you are determined to do it, you must do the best, this is my opinion...!"

"Yes, I very much agree with you. I would like to spend some money on this matter. I want Ugert to undertake this project. I am very happy to be able to take a look at the drawings with you first. Uger Special artistic vision is very high." The second support Thomas found was Gerda, who was almost pleasantly surprised when he finished.Although the chaos of moving house was never pleasant, she found it a great blessing to have a large music room with special equipment in terms of acoustics.As for the old Senator's lady, she at once saw the construction of the new house as a natural consequence of a recent string of good fortune in the family, and she could only believe in God more devoutly than before.Since the addition of a family member to the family and the election of the senator to the council, she has been more open than ever to conceal her mother's pride.Her catchphrase now was: "My son, Senator," which the three Buddenbrook girls in Bradden Street were especially uncomfortable hearing.

These three young ladies, who are getting older every day, can't find any shadow on the surface of Thomas' prosperous life.They couldn't be content with mocking poor Clotil on Thursday.As for Christian, who had already obtained a position in London through the introduction of his old boss, Mr. Richardson, he recently sent a telegram to show his willful and rambunctious nature again, and wanted to talk to Puug. The marriage of Ms. Er, this matter was naturally rejected by the old wife of the Senate... In short, Christian has degenerated into a person like Yakob Kroger, and he is no longer worth discussing.The three old ladies had to make up for the weakness of the old Senator's wife and Frau Permaneder.For example, when they turned the conversation to hairstyles, the old Senator's wife could say nonchalantly that "her" hair style was the simplest... But everyone with a brain knows it, and the three Miss Buddenbrooks know it especially It was clear that the old lady's perpetual rosy-blond hair under her bonnet was no longer "her" hair.What excited them most was to tease Cousin Tony to talk about the people who had left a hideous mark on the history of her life, like teary Trishke and Grünlich. , Perlmanneder, the Hagenstrom family, etc... When Tony got angry, she shrugged her shoulders and shot out these names like bullets from the muzzle of a gun, forming a series of short and harsh words sound.But to the ears of Uncle Gotthold's daughters, it seemed to be moving music.

And besides, they didn't want to hide it...and there's no point in hiding it...Little John was surprisingly slow to learn to walk and talk...that's what they told the truth, everyone admitted that when Hanno... this is Buddenborough Mrs. Mrs. Locke gave their son a nickname... When it is possible to name anyone in the family quite accurately, only three names, Frederick, Henry Yate and Feifei, can't be said clearly.Speaking of walking, even though he is fifteen months old, he still can't walk without support.Of course this opportunity should not be missed, and the three Miss Buddenbrooks shook their heads pessimistically and announced that the child would be paralyzed and dumb for the rest of his life.

Although this tragic prophecy did not come true, no one denied that Hanno's development was indeed somewhat delayed.He had to struggle with the serious illness when he was still in his infancy, and everyone was afraid of him for this reason.When he came into the world he was too weak to cry, and shortly after his baptism he suffered from diarrhea for three days.His small atrium was originally made to beat with great effort by others. Although he was only sick for three days this time, it was very serious.But he survived, and the good Dr. Grabow is now taking care of him meticulously, giving him nutritious food, and trying his best to prevent him from dying forever when his teeth have just erupted.But as soon as the first few white points came out of his gums, the convulsions came one after another, and then became more and more severe, and sometimes the noise was really scary.Then it came to this point again, and the old doctor could only hold the parents' hands without saying a word... The child couldn't even move his fingers. From the frozen eyes of the eyes covered in black circles, it was obvious that The child's brain is sick.Seeing that there is no hope. However, Hanno's strength returned somewhat, and his eyesight improved.Although the serious illness that escaped death delayed his development of speaking and walking, he finally passed the dangerous period. The boy was unusually thin and rather tall for his age.His light-brown, unusually soft hair, which began to grow at an extraordinary rate at this period, fell in imperceptible waves over the small shoulders of his ruffled bib-style smock.Happily, the family traits could already be seen in him, starting with the Buddenbrook hands: broad, a little too short, with very fine fingers; his nose and father's My great-grandfather's nose is exactly the same as that of my great-grandfather, but the wings of the nose seem to be more slender, which is a little regrettable.But the whole lower part of his face, pointed and thin, was neither Buddenbrooks nor Krogers, which he had inherited from his mother's side.His mouth is even more like his mother's Bi Xiao. Since he was very young, he didn't like to open his tightly closed lips, showing an expression of pain and fear... This expression later became more and more similar to his mask. The unique golden-brown eyes with a circle of light blue shadows are more harmonious... His father is always kind to him, his mother takes good care of his clothes and care, Aunt Antonie prays for him, and the old lady of the Senate He and Uncle Justus gave him toy cavalrymen and tops...He started his life playing with the toys given by the old Senate wife and uncle under the eyes of his father, under the care of his mother, and in the prayers of his aunt .When he was able to walk out of the courtyard and appeared in people's sight, passers-by looked at him expectantly and full of interest.As for Mrs. Dieho, the high-spirited nanny, although she has been taking care of little Hanno until now, the family has already decided that Ida Jungman will take over her work as soon as they move to the new house. , She will find someone else to replace her job at Meng's House... Senator Buddenbrook has realized his plan.The purchase of the Fisherman's Lane foundation was done without difficulty, and the sale of the old house in Bradden Street was thanks to the assistance of the broker, Mr. Ghosh.Within a few days, the house was bought by Stefan Gistenmack; his family was growing and his brother was running a very profitable wine business.As for the construction of the new house, Mr. Ugert was entrusted, and soon after, a clear drawing of his drawing was spread out in front of the family reunited on Thursday, and everyone could already admire the front of the future building.It was a majestic rough building, with pillars carved with goddesses on the overhanging part of the house, and a platform on the roof. Clotilde commented on this platform in a drawl and kindly, saying that if the weather is good, People can also go there to drink coffee and bask in the sun... The councilor also plans to move his company's office to Fisherman's Lane.In this way, the house downstairs of the old house on Meng Street became vacant.But this matter was quickly arranged, and now the city's fire insurance company has agreed to rent these houses as offices. Autumn came, the old gray walls were reduced to rubble, and Thomas Buddenbrook's new house stood tall on its wide basement as the city ushered in the next spring.There's nothing more talked about in town than Buddenbrook's new house!It's really a "top-notch" building, and you can't find a more beautiful house in a radius of dozens of miles!There is no second building in Germany! ...But the money must be spent without limit, the old councilor will never be so lavish...As for the neighbors, the citizens who live in the houses with gabled gables, all guard behind the windows and talk with relish. Looking at how the workers here were working on the scaffolding, they happily watched the house being built little by little, and everyone secretly planned when the house beam-raising ceremony would be held. At last the raising of the beams came, and no detail was omitted in accordance with the custom when it was held.On the platform an old mason foreman spoke a few words, and when he had finished he threw a champagne bottle over his shoulder, and in the midst of the flags a huge garland of roses, green leaves, and leaves of every color was heavy with the wind. swaying to and fro.All who had anything to do with building the house were invited into a tavern for a celebratory dinner, with workers sitting around long tables with beer, sandwiches and cigars.Senator Buddenbrook, with his wife and young son in his arms, walked around the long table in the low room to thank the workers for cheering him on. Hanno was put back in the car as soon as Hanno was out, while Thomas and Gerda walked across the road to get another look at the red facade of the building and the statue of the goddess carved in white stone.There was a small flower shop two steps away, with a narrow door and a small, shabby window, with several pots of bulbs lined up on a green glass panel.E. Wilson, the proprietor of the small florist, was standing in front of the shop with his wife, a tall, stocky man with fair hair and a woolen jacket; He has a southern European face and dark skin.She held a four or five-year-old child with one hand, and gently pushed and pulled a small cart back and forth with the other hand, and a younger child was sleeping in the small cart.It was obvious at a glance that the one she was carrying was about to be born as well. E. Wilson bowed deeply clumsily. His wife never stopped rolling the cart in her hand back and forth. She just looked at Mrs. Congressman with her dark, slender eyes calmly and attentively.At this time, the congressman's wife was walking towards the small flower shop with her husband. Thomas stopped in front of them and pointed to the wreath above with his cane. "You've done a real job, E. Wilson!" "It's none of my business, Senator. It's my wife's work." "Ah!" The MP only exclaimed.He turned sideways and looked Mrs. E. Wilson up and down, his eyes bright, firm, and kind.Then, without saying anything else, he waved very politely and left them.