第一百六十六章 第七章——规则：除晚间外概不接待
第七章 规则：除晚间外概不接待
这位吕克-埃斯普里·吉诺曼先生便是如此，他并未秃顶——头发呈灰白色而非纯白——且始终梳着"狗耳朵"式。总而言之，他尽管有这些特点，仍令人肃然起敬。
他身上带着几分十八世纪的气息：轻浮而伟大。
一八一四年及复辟初期，吉诺曼先生尚属年轻——他那时才七十四岁——住在圣日耳曼区塞尔旺多尼街，靠近圣叙尔皮斯教堂。直到年过八旬很久之后，他才退出社交界，迁居沼泽区。
而自退出社交界后，他便将自己禁锢在习惯之中。最主要且一成不变的习惯，便是白天紧闭门户，除晚间之外概不接待任何人。他五点钟用晚餐，此后才开门待客。这是他那个世纪的时尚，他不愿违背。"白昼是庸俗的，"他说，"只配关上窗板。唯有当苍穹点亮星辰时，上流人士才会点亮他们的心智。"他对所有人都闭门不纳，即便是国王本人也不例外。这便是他那个时代过时的雅致。
Such was M. Luc-Esprit Gillenormand, who had not lost his hair,—which was gray rather than white,—and which was always dressed in “dog’s ears.” To sum up, he was venerable in spite of all this.
He had something of the eighteenth century about him; frivolous and great.
In 1814 and during the early years of the Restoration, M. Gillenormand, who was still young,—he was only seventy-four,—lived in the Faubourg Saint Germain, Rue Servandoni, near Saint-Sulpice. He had only retired to the Marais when he quitted society, long after attaining the age of eighty.
And, on abandoning society, he had immured himself in his habits. The principal one, and that which was invariable, was to keep his door absolutely closed during the day, and never to receive any one whatever except in the evening. He dined at five o’clock, and after that his door was open. That had been the fashion of his century, and he would not swerve from it. “The day is vulgar,” said he, “and deserves only a closed shutter. Fashionable people only light up their minds when the zenith lights up its stars.” And he barricaded himself against every one, even had it been the king himself. This was the antiquated elegance of his day.
