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the crime of sylvestre bonnard(西维斯特·博拉德的罪行)-第15章


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of Notre… Dame…des…Anges。〃 

     What a delight! My little eyes remained as dull and expressionless as 

ever behind my spectacles。 But at the mere sight of my thick pug… nose; 

which     quivered     with   joy   and   pride;   Brioux     knew    that  I  had    found 

something。   He   noted   the   volume   I   was   looking   at;   observed   the   place 

where I put it back; pounced upon it as soon as I turned my heel; copied it 

secretly; and published in haste; for the sake of playing me a trick。 But his 

edition    swarms     with    errors;  and    I  had  the   satisfaction    of  afterwards 

criticising some of the gross blunders he made。 

     But to come back to the point at which I left off: I began to suspect 

that I was getting very sleepy indeed。 I was looking at a chart of which the 

interest may be divined from the fact that it contained mention of a hutch 

sold to Jehan d'Estonville; priest; in 1312。 But although; even then; I could 

recognise the importance of the document; I did not give it that attention it 

so strongly invited。 My eyes would keep turning; against my will; towards 

a certain corner of the table where there was nothing whatever interesting 



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to   a   learned   mind。   There   was   only   a   big   German   book   there;   bound   in 

pigskin;   with   brass   studs   on   the   sides;   and   very   thick   cording   upon   the 

back。 It was a find copy of a compilation which has little to recommend it 

except     the   wood     engravings      it  contains;   and    which    is  known      as  the 

〃Cosmography   of   Munster。〃   This   volume;   with   its   covers   slightly   open; 

was placed upon edge with the back upwards。 

     I   could   not   say   for   how   long   I   had   been   staring   causelessly   at   the 

sixteenth…century        folio;   when    my    eyes   were    captivated     by   a  sight   so 

extraordinary that even a person as devoid of imagination as I could not 

but have been greatly astonished by it。 

     I perceived; all of a sudden;  without having noticed her coming into 

the room; a little creature seated on the back of the book; with one knee 

bent and one leg hanging downsomewhat in the attitude of the amazons 

of Hyde Park or the Bois de Boulogne on horseback。 She was so small that 

her swinging foot did not reach the table; over which the trail of her dress 

extended   in   a   serpentine   line。   But   her   face   and   figure   were   those   of   an 

adult。   The   fulness   of   her   corsage   and   the   roundness   of   her   waist   could 

leave no doubt of that; even for an old savant like myself。 I will venture to 

add that she was very handsome; with a proud mien; for my iconographic 

studies have long accustomed me to recognise at once the perfection of a 

type   and   the   character   of   a   physiognomy。   The   countenance   of   this   lady 

who   had   seated   herself   inopportunely   on   the   back   of   〃Cosmography   of 

Munster〃 expressed a mingling of haughtiness and mischievousness。 She 

had the air of a queen; but a capricious queen; and I judged; from the mere 

expression of her eyes; that she was accustomed to wield great authority 

somewhere;  in   a   very  whimsical   manner。   Her   mouth   was   imperious   and 

mocking; and those blue eyes of hers seemed to laugh in a disquieting way 

under   her   finely  arched   black   eyebrows。   I   have   always   heard   that   black 

eyebrows are very becoming to blondes; but this lady was very blonde。 On 

the whole; the impression she gave me was one of greatness。 

     It may seem odd to say that a person who was no taller than a wine… 

bottle;   and   who   might   have   been   hidden   in   my   coat   pocketbut   that   it 

would have been very disrespectful to put her in itgave me precisely an 

idea of greatness。 But in the fine proportions of the lady seated upon the 



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〃Cosmography          of  Munster〃      there   was   such    a  proud    elegance;    such    a 

harmonious majesty; and she maintained an attitude at once so easy and so 

noble; that she really seemed to me a very great person。 Although my ink… 

bottle;    which    she   examined       with   an   expression     of   such   mockery      as 

appeared   to   indicate   that   she   knew   in   advance   every   word   that   would 

come out of it at the end of my pen; was for her a deep basin in which she 

would have blackened her gold… clocked pink stockings up to the garter; I 

can assure you that she was great; and imposing even in her sprightliness。 

     Her    costume;      worthy    of   her   face;   was    extremely     magnificent;      it 

consisted   of   a   robe   of   gold…and…silver   brocade;   and   a   mantle   of   nacarat 

velvet; lined with vair。 Her head…dress was a sort of hennin; with two high 

points;   and   pearls   of   splendid   lustre   made   it   bright   and   luminous   as   a 

crescent   moon。   Her   little   white   hand   held   a   wand。   That   wand   drew   my 

attention very strongly; because my archaeological studies had taught me 

to recognise with certainty every sign by which the notable personages of 

legend and of history are distinguished。 This knowledge came to my aid 

during     various    very   queer    conjectures     with   which     I  was   labouring。     I 

examined   the   wand;   and   saw   that   it   appeared   to   have   been   cut   from   a 

branch of hazel。 

     〃Then its a fairy's wand;〃 I said to myself; 〃consequently the lady who 

carries it is a fairy。〃 

     Happy at thus discovering what sort of a person was before me; I tried 

to   collect   my   mind   sufficiently   to   make   her   a   graceful   compliment。   It 

would have given me much satisfaction; I confess; if I could have talked to 

her about the part taken by her people; not less in the life of the Saxon and 

Germanic races; than in that of the Latin Occident。 Such a dissertation; it 

appeared   to   me;   would   have   been   an   ingenious   method   of   thanking   the 

lady for having thus appeared to an old scholar; contrary to the invariable 

custom      of  her   kindred;     who    never    show    themselves      but   to  innocent 

children or ignorant village…folk。 

     Because one happens to be a fairy; one is none the less a woman; I said 

to   myself;   and   since   Madame   Recamier;   according   to   what   I   heard   J。   J。 

Ampere say; used to blush with pleasure when the little chimney… sweeps 

opened      their   eyes   as   wide    as  they   could    to  look    at  her;   surely   the 



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supernatural lady seated upon the 〃Cosmography of Munster〃 might feel 

flattered to hear an erudite man discourse learnedly about her; as about a 

medal; a seal; a fibula; or a token。 But such an undertaking; which would 

have   cost   my   timidity   a   great   deal;   became   totally   out   of   the   question 

when   I   observed   the   Lady   of   the   Cosmography   suddenly   take   from   an 

alms purse hanging at her girdle the very smallest of nuts I had ever seen; 

crack the shells between her teeth; and throw them at my nose; while she 

nibbled the kernels with the gravity of a sucking child。 

     At this conjuncture; I did what the dignity of science demanded of me… 

…I remained silent。 But the nut…shells caused such a painful tickling that I 

put   up   my   hand   to   my   nose;   and   found;   to   my   great   surprise;   that   my 

spectacles   were   straddling       the   very   end   of   it  so  that  I   was  actually 

looking at the lady;  not through   my spectacles;  but over them。 This   was 

incomprehensible;         because    my    eyes;   worn    out  over    old  texts;   cannot 

ordinarily   distinguish   anything   without   glassescould   not   tell   a   melon 

from a decanter; though the two were placed close up to my nose。 

     That nose of mine; remarkable for its size; its shape; and its coloration; 

legitimately attracted the attention of the fairy; for she seized my goose… 

quill pen; which was sticking up from the ink… bottle like a plume; and she 

began to pass the feather…end of that pen over my nose。 I had had more 

than   once;   in   company;   occasion   to   suffer   cheerfully   from   the   innocent 

mischief of young ladies; who made me join their games; and would offer 

me their cheeks to kiss through the back of a chair; or invite me to blow 

out a candle which they would lift suddenly above the range of my breath。 

But until that moment no person of the fair sex had ever subjected me to 

such a whimsical piece of familiarity as that of tickling my nose with my 

own feather pen。 Happily I remembered the maxim of my late grandfather; 

who was accustomed to say that everything was permissible on the part of 

ladies; and that whatever they do to us is to be regarded as a grace and a 

favour。 Therefore; as a grace and a favour I received the nutshells and the 

titillations   with   my   own   pen;   and   I   tried   to   smile。   Much   more!I   even 

found speech。 

     〃Madame;〃 I said; with dignified politeness; 〃you accord the honour of 

a visit not to a silly child; not to a boor; but to a bibliophile who is very 



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happy to make your acquaintance; and who knows that long ago you used 

to make elf…knots in the manes of mares at the crib; drink the milk from 

the   skimming…pails;   slip   graines…a…gratter   down   the   backs   of   our   great… 

grandmothers; make the hearth sputter in the faces of the old folks; and; in 

short; fill the house with disorder and gaiety。 You can also boast of giving 

the nicest frights in the world to lovers who stayed out in the woods too 

late of evenings。 But I thought you had vanished out of existence at least 

three centuries ago。 Can it really be; Madame; that you are still to be seen 

in this   age of   railways   and   telegraphs? My  concierge;  who   used to be   a 

nurse   in   her   young   days;   does   not   know   your   story;   and   my   little   boy… 

neighbour; whose nose is still wiped for him by his bonne; declares that 

you do not exist。〃 

     〃What do   you yourself think about   it?〃 she cried; in a silvery  voice; 

straightening   up   her   royal   little   figure   in   a   very   haughty   fashion;   and 

whipping the back of the 〃Cosmography of Munster〃 as though it were a 

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