羊脂球(英文版)

布莱德数ifIt was half past four in the morning。the travelers，who had met in the yard of the normalandy hotel，were shivering with coldin the darkness。“Isnt the coach ready yet？单击One of them said.“No，not yet，”his companion answered.“luciky we have been to get a permit from the prussian army to leave Rouen，”another said.“I have an acquaintance among german officers”“I see .”“do you think we can run a business at havre？”“perhaps wecan .if not，we can make our way to England。北距venture，北距gain .”“I agree with you .we can do nothing in occupied Rouen .” I have brought my wife . “So have I .”“And I，too .”Horses hoofs were heard，and the tinkling of little bells told them that the harness was being got ready .snow was falling with something like a vague and indefinable whisper。A man with a lantern appeared，dragging along a horse。he spent a long time adjusting the harness with one hand，For he held the lanters in the other .as he was going to fetch the second horse，he notiiced the travellers standing helless ly under the falling snow。点you stand there， he said .“Get inside the coach，and you can at least take shelter from the snow”Why had it not occurred to them？They rushed for the coach。three husbands took their seats at the far end with their wives；other veiled and vague forms took the remaining places。At last the coach was ready .it was drawn by a team of six horses instead of the usual four，Because of the bad state of the roads .the roads were very bad indeed。the horses slipped and panted，and the driver had to use his whip incessantly。Gradually the day dawned。A bluish，leaden light came over the dreary，white landscape。inside the carriage the passengers now looked at one another inquisitive ly。Monsieur and madame l oiseau were whole sale wine merchants of the rue grand-pont。He had started life as a clerk in an office，when his employer failed in business，He bought it and made a fortune by selling very bad wine at lowmaster of every trick of making money，he was notorious for his sharp practice。Next to them sat，with the dignity of a higher class，Monsieur Carre-Lamadon，owner of three spinning-mills，Officer of theunder the empire he posed as leader of the moderate opposition，Which he hoped would be useful to him should he wish to desert to the opposite sidemadame carr-Lama don was much younger 20 than her husband。a lady of delete beauty，shehad always attracted the attention of offices of good family，Stationed at Rouen。Muffled in furs，she now stared su lkhy at the interior of the coach。their neighbours were the count and countess Hubert de br ville，Who belonged to one of the olddest and most aristocratic families in normal Andythe count bore a natural likeness to king Henry，which he tried to acceentuate by elabora te make-up。it had long been whispered among his family，not without pride，that the king had once made love to a madame de br ville，And in return for hergod only knows why he was married to the daughter of an unimportant ship owner of Nantes .She was stately to look at，very hospitable，And the rumour that she had been a favourite with one of the sons of Louis Philippe made her the moreher salon was cons Idred the best in the neighbour hood .admittance to it was not easy to get，And her drawing room was the only place where the gracious politeness of bygone days remained alive .the br villes had landed estates，which were said to yield an income of half a million francs。these six were the most important of the party；They were all wealthy，respectable and solid members of society。it so happensed that all the women were seated on the same side。next to the countess sat two nuns。one of them was an old woman with a skin 5 deep ply pited with small pox；Her companion was as mall，sickly，even consumptive-looking person，but seemingly filled with religous devotion。opposite the two nuns sat a man and a woman。the man was cornudethe was well known for his dissolute habits and crazy political ideas。hehad inherited a respectable fortune from his father，But had wated it away upon drink and useless ambitions . now he took it into his head that he we.the woman beside him was what is called a woman of a certain type。whatwas most notiiceable about her was her exessive portliness。short、Round and plumpling、she was nicknamed Boule de Suif、that is和suet dumpling.She had，nevertheless，rosy cheeks suggesting peony busds ready to burst into flowers，black eyes shaded and deep pened by long lashesAs soon as the ladies recognized her，They began to whisper among themselves。by and by the words probstitut and shame ful and similar 5 words beame audible and attracted the attention of the poor woman .she raised her head and looked at them so defiantly that they becomame silent，with their eyes cast down；Loiseau，sensitive to feminine charms，cast stealthy glances of curiosity at her。However，the three ladles，soon encouraged by their dislike of this common enemy to house wives，resumed their conversion . the three hueecount Hubert talted about the loss of cattle and crops caused by the prussian s，but with an expression which showred that he d