屋顶间的哲学家_梭维斯特-第12章
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mwithsomedifficulty；andplacedhimagainonthetileinfrontofhishouse；butthemotherhasnotnoticedhim。oncefreedfromthecaresofafamily；shehasresumedherwanderinglifeamongthetreesandalongtheroofs。invainihavekeptawayfrommywindow；totakefromhereveryexcuseforfear；invainthefeeblelittlebirdhascalledtoherwithplaintivecries；hisbadmotherhaspassedby；singingandflutteringwithathousandairsandgraces。onceonlythefathercamenear；helookedathisoffspringwithcontempt；andthendisappeared；nevertoreturn！
icrumbledsomebreadbeforethelittleorphan；buthedidnotknowhowtopeckitwithhisbill。itriedtocatchhim；butheescapedintotheforsakennest。whatwillbeeofhimthere；ifhismotherdoesnoteback！
august15th；sixoclock鈥斺�攖hismorning；onopeningmywindow；ifoundthelittlebirddyinguponthetiles；hiswoundsshowedmethathehadbeendrivenfromthenestbyhisunworthymother。itriedinvaintowarmhimagainwithmybreath；ifeltthelastpulsationsoflife；hiseyeswerealreadyclosed；andhiswingshungdown！iplacedhimontheroofinarayofsunshine；andiclosedmywindow。thestruggleoflifeagainstdeathhasalwayssomethinggloomyinit：itisawarningtous。
happilyihearsomeoneinthepassage；withoutdoubtitismyoldneighbor；hisconversationwilldistractmythoughts。
itwasmyportress。excellentwoman！shewishedmetoreadaletterfromhersonthesailor；andbeggedmetoansweritforher。
ikeptit；tocopyitinmyjournal。hereitis：
〃dearmother：thisistotellyouthatihavebeenverywelleversincethelasttime；exceptthatlastweekiwasnearlydrownedwiththeboat；whichwouldhavebeenagreatloss；asthereisnotabettercraftanywhere。
〃agustofwindcapsizedus；andjustasicameupabovewater；isawthecaptainsinking。iwentafterhim；aswasmyduty；and；afterdivingthreetimes；ibroughthimtothesurface；whichpleasedhimmuch；forwhenwewerehoistedonboard；andhehadrecoveredhissenses；hethrewhisarmsroundmyneck；ashewouldhavedonetoanofficer。
〃idonothidefromyou；dearmother；thatthishasdelightedme。
butitisntall；itseemsthatfishingupthecaptainhasremindedthemthatihadagoodcharacter；andtheyhavejusttoldmethatiampromotedtobeasailorofthefirstclass！directlyiknewit；icriedout；mymothershallhavecoffeetwiceaday！andreally；dearmother；thereisnothingnowtohinderyou；asishallnowhavealargerallowancetosendyou。
〃iincludebybeggingyoutotakecareofyourselfifyouwishtodomegood；fornothingmakesmefeelsowellastothinkthatyouwantfornothing。
〃yourson；fromthebottomofmyheart；
jacques。〃
thisistheanswerthattheportressdictatedtome：
〃mygoodjacquot：itmakesmeveryhappytoseethatyourheartisstillastrueasever；andthatyouwillnevershamethosewhohavebroughtyouup。ineednottellyoutotakecareofyourlife；becauseyouknowitisthesameasmyown；andthatwithoutyou；dearchild；ishouldwishfornothingbutthegrave；butwearenotboundtolive；whileweareboundtodoourduty。
〃donotfearformyhealth；goodjacques；iwasneverbetter！idonotgrowoldatall；forfearofmakingyouunhappy。iwantnothing；andilivelikealady。ievenhadsomemoneyoverthisyear；andasmydrawersshutverybadly；iputitintothesavings
bank；whereihaveopenedanaccountinyourname。so；whenyoueback；youwillfindyourselfwithanine。ihavealsofurnishedyourchestwithnewlinen；andihaveknittedyouthreenewsea…jackets。
〃allyourfriendsarewell。yourcousinisjustdead；leavinghiswidowindifficulties。igaveheryourthirtyfrancsremittanceandsaidthatyouhadsentither；andthepoorwomanremembersyoudayandnightinherprayers。so；yousee；ihaveputthatmoneyinanothersortofsavingsbank；butthereitisourheartsthatgettheinterest。
〃good…bye；dearjacquot。writetomeoften；andalwaysrememberthegoodgod；andyouroldmother；
〃phrosinemillot。〃
goodson；andworthymother！howsuchexamplesbringusbacktoaloveforthehumanrace！inafitoffancifulmisanthropy；wemayenvythefateofthesavage；andpreferthatofthebirdtosuchashe；butimpartialobservationsoondoesjusticetosuchparadoxes。wefind；onexamination；thatinthemixedgoodandevilofhumannature；thegoodsofaraboundsthatwearenotinthehabitofnoticingit；whiletheevilstrikesuspreciselyonaccountofitsbeingtheexception。ifnothingisperfect；nothingissobadastobewithoutitspensationoritsremedy。whatspiritualrichesarethereinthemidstoftheevilsofsociety！howmuchdoesthemoralworldredeemthematerial！
thatwhichwilleverdistinguishmanfromtherestofcreation；ishispowerofdeliberateaffectionandofenduringself…sacrifice。themotherwhotookcareofherbroodinthecornerofmywindowdevotedtothemthenecessarytimeforacplishingthelawswhichinsurethepreservationofherkind；butsheobeyedaninstinct；andnotarationalchoice。whenshehadacplishedthemissionappointedherbyprovidence；shecastoffthedutyaswegetridofaburden；andshereturnedagaintoherselfishliberty。theothermother；onthecontrary；willgoonwithhertaskaslongasgodshallleaveherherebelow：thelifeofhersonwillstillremain；sotospeak；joinedtoherown；andwhenshedisappearsfromtheearth；shewillleavetherethatpartofherself。
thus；theaffectionsmakeforourspeciesanexistenceseparatefromalltherestofcreation。thankstothem；weenjoyasortofterrestrialimmortality；andifotherbeingssucceedoneanother；manaloneperpetuateshimself。
CHAPTER IX
thefamilyofmichaelarout
september15th；eightoclock
thismorning；whileiwasarrangingmybooks；mothergenevievecamein；andbroughtmethebasketoffruitibuyofhereverysunday。forthenearlytwentyyearsthatihavelivedinthisquarter；ihavedealtinherlittlefruit…shop。perhapsishouldbebetterservedelsewhere；butmothergenevievehasbutlittlecustom；toleaveherwoulddoherharm；andcauseherunnecessarypain。itseemstomethatthelengthofouracquaintancehasmademeincurasortoftacitobligationtoher；mypatronagehasbeeherproperty。
shehasputthebasketuponmytable；andasiwantherhusband；whoisajoiner；toaddsomeshelvestomybookcase；shehasgonedownstairsagainimmediatelytosendhimtome。
atfirstididnotnoticeeitherherlooksorthesoundofhervoice：
but；nowthatirecallthem；itseemstomethatshewasnotasjovialasusual。canmothergenevievebeintroubleaboutanything？
poorwoman！allherbestyearsweresubjecttosuchbittertrials；thatshemightthinkshehadreceivedherfullsharealready。wereitoliveahundredyears；ishouldneverforgetthecircumstanceswhichmadeherknowntome；andwhichobtainedforhermyrespect。
itwasatthetimeofmyfirstsettlinginthefaubourg。ihadnoticedheremptyfruit…shop；whichnobodycameinto；and；beingattractedbyitsforsakenappearance；imademylittlepurchasesinit。ihavealwaysinstinctivelypreferredthepoorshops；thereislesschoiceinthem；butitseemstomethatmypurchaseisasignofsympathywithabrotherinpoverty。theselittledealingsarealmostalwaysananchorofhopetothosewhoseveryexistenceisinperil鈥斺�攖heonlymeansbywhichsomeorphangainsalivelihood。theretheaimofthetradesmanisnottoenrichhimself；buttolive！thepurchaseyoumakeofhimismorethananexchange鈥斺�攊tisagoodaction。
mothergenevieveatthattimewasstillyoung；buthadalreadylostthatfreshbloomofyouthwhichsufferingcausestowithersosoonamongthepoor。herhusband；acleverjoiner；graduallyleftoffworkingtobee；accordingtothepicturesqueexpressionoftheworkshops；aworshipperofsaintmonday。thewagesoftheweek；whichwasalwaysreducedtotwoorthreeworkingdays；werepletelydedicatedbyhimtotheworshipofthisgodofthebarriers；鈥斺�敚hecheapwineshopsareoutsidethebarriers；toavoidtheoctroi；ormunicipalexcise。＇鈥斺�攁ndgenevievewasobligedherselftoprovideforallthewantsofthehousehold。
oneevening；wheniwenttomakesometriflingpurchasesofher；iheardasoundofquarrellinginthebackshop。therewerethevoicesofseveralwomen；amongwhichidistinguishedthatofgenevieve；brokenbysobs。onlookingfartherin；iperceivedthefruit…womanholdingachildinherarms；andkissingit；whileacountrynurseseemedtobeclaimingherwagesfromher。thepoorwoman；whowithoutdoubthadexhaustedeveryexplanationandeveryexcuse；wascryinginsilence；andoneofherneighborswastryinginvaintoappeasethecountrywoman。excitedbythatloveofmoneywhichtheevilsofahardpeasantlifebuttoowellexcuse；anddisappointedbytherefusalofherexpectedwages；thenursewaslaunchingforthinrecriminations；threats；andabuse。inspiteofmyself；ilistenedtothequarrel；notdaringtointerfere；andnotthinkingofgoingaway；whenmichaelaroutappearedattheshop…door。
thejoinerhadjustefromthebarriers；wherehehadpassedpartofthedayatapublic…house。hisblouse；withoutabelt；anduntiedatthethroat；showednoneofthenoblestainsofwork：inhishandheheldhiscap；whichhehadjustpickedupoutofthemud；hishairwasindisorder；hiseyefixed；andthepallorofdrunkennessinhisface。hecamereelingin；lookedwildlyaroundhim；andcalledgenevieve。
sheheardhisvoice；gaveastart；andrushedintotheshop；butatthesightofthemiserableman；whowastryinginvaintosteadyhimself；shepressedthechildinherarms；andbentoveritwithtears。
thecountrywomanandtheneighborhadfollowedher。
〃e！e！〃criedtheformerinarage；〃doyouintendtopayme；afterall？〃
〃askthemasterforthemoney；〃ironicallyansweredthewomanfromthenextdoor；pointingtothejoiner；whohadjustfallenagainstthecounter。
thecountrywomanlookedathim。
〃ah！heisthefather；〃returnedshe。〃well；whatidlebeggars！nottohaveapennytopayhonestpeople；andgettipsywithwineinthatway。〃
thedrunkardraisedhishead。
〃what！what！〃stammeredhe；〃whoisitthattalksofwine？ivehadnothingbutbrandy！butiamgoingbackagaintogetsomewine！wife；givemeyourmoney；therearesomefriendswaitingformeattheperelatuille。〃
genevievedidnotanswer：hewentroundthecounter；openedthetill；andbegantorummageinit。
〃youseewherethemoneyofthehousegoes！〃observedtheneighbortothecountrywoman；〃howcanthepoorunhappywomanpayyouwhenhetakesall？〃
〃isthatmyfault？〃repliedthenurse；angrily。〃theyowetome；andsomehoworothertheymustpayme！〃
andlettingloosehertongue；asthesewomenoutofthecountrydo；shebeganrelatingatlengthallthecareshehadtakenofthechild；andalltheexpenseithadbeentoher。inproportionassherecalledallshehaddone；herwordsseemedtoconvincehermorethaneverofherrights；andtoincreaseheranger。thepoormother；whonodoubtfearedthatherviolencewouldfrightenthechild；returnedintothebackshop；andputitintoitscradle。
whetheritisthatthecountrywomansawinthisactadeterminationtoescapeherclaims；orthatshewasblindedbypassion；icannotsay；butsherushedintothenextroom；whereiheardthesoundsofquarrelling；withwhichthecriesofthechildweresoonmingled。thejoiner；whowasstillrummaginginthetill；wasstartled；andraisedhishead。
atthesamemomentgenevieveappearedatthedoor；holdinginherarmsthebabythatthecountrywomanwastryingtotearfromher。sherantowardthecounter；andthrowingherselfbehindherhusband；cried：
〃michael；defendyourson！〃
thedrunkenmanquicklystooduperect；likeonewhoawakeswithastart。
〃myson！〃stammeredhe；〃whatson？〃
hislooksfelluponthechild；avaguerayofintelligencepassedoverhisfeatures。
〃robert；〃resumedhe；〃itisrobert！〃
hetriedtosteadyhimselfonhisfeet；thathemighttakethebaby；buthetottered。thenurseapproachedhiminarage。
〃mymoney；orishalltakethechildaway！〃criedshe。〃itisiwhohavefedandbroughtitup：ifyoudontpaymeforwhathasmadeitlive；itoughttobethesametoyouasifitweredead。ishallnotgountilihavemydue；orthebaby。〃
〃andwhatwouldyoudowithhim？〃murmuredgenevieve；pressingrobertagainstherbosom。
〃takeittothefoundling！〃repliedthecountrywoman；harshly；〃thehospitalisabettermotherthanyouare；foritpaysforthefoodofitslittleones。〃
attheword〃foundling；〃genevievehadexclaimedaloudinhorror。withherarmswoundroundherson；whoseheadshehidinherbosom；andhertwohandsspreadoverhim；shehadretreatedtothewall；andremainedwithherbackagainstit；likealionessdefendingheryoung。theneighborandicontemplatedthisscene；withoutknowinghowwecouldinterfere。asformichael；helookedatusbyturns；makingavisibleefforttoprehenditall。whenhiseyerestedupongenevieveandthechild；itlitupwithagleamofpleasure；butwh
