第八卷 老兵自己也会幸福
既然我们提到了“谦虚”这个词，既然我们什么也不隐瞒，我们就应该说，有一次，尽管他处于心醉神迷的状态中，“他的于絮尔”还是使他感到非常痛苦。那是在她说服勒布朗先生离开长凳，在林荫路上散步的那些日子里。有阵五月的高风吹来，吹动了悬铃木的树梢。父亲和女儿，手挽着手，刚在马吕斯的坐凳前走过。马吕斯在他们背后站了起来，用眼睛跟着他们，这在神魂颠倒的情况下是常有的事。
忽然来了一阵风，大概是奉命执行春天的事业的，比其他的风更欢乐些，从苗圃那边吹来，扑在小径上，把年轻姑娘裹在一阵飘飘欲仙的寒战中，恰可比拟成维吉尔的林泉女神和泰奥克利忒斯的山林女妖，这阵风吹起了她的衣裙，那衣裙比伊希斯的神衣更为神圣，竟吹到差不多齐袜带的高度。一条美不胜收的腿露了出来。马吕斯看见了。他十分气恼，满腔愤怒。
那姑娘以一种受到惊恐的天神似的姿态，赶忙把裙角拂下去，但是他仍然非常生气。他独自一人，在林荫路上，这确是事实。但是可能还有别的人。要是别的人恰巧在那里，看见了，那怎么办呢！她刚才做的事真是太可怕了！唉，这可怜的孩子并没有什么过错，错的是风，但是马吕斯心里那个存在于谢吕班①身上的巴托罗②还是颤动不已，他嫉妒，并且竟决心非生她的气不可。连那种由肉感引起的醋意，也毫无道理地苏醒过来，竟在他心里出现，横加指责。此外，除了那种醋意，还有那条可爱无比的腿引出的烦乱，那条白袜带，也使他看得心烦意乱。至于那条腿，它曾使一个路人向往，它也使他感到不知所措。
①谢吕班，博马舍的喜剧《费加罗的婚礼》中的人物，是个情窦初开的少年。
②巴托罗，博马舍的喜剧《塞维尔的理发师》中的人物，是个嫉妒心极强的老医生。
等到“他的于絮尔”和勒布朗先生走到小径的尽头，又转回头，走了过来，已经在那条长凳上坐下的马吕斯，向那姑娘投过一道阴森严峻的目光。姑娘也如受了惊的小鸟，微微挺起身子，同时把眼皮抬了一下，好象是说：“怎么了？”
那是他们的“第一次争吵”。
马吕斯刚用眼睛和她吵了嘴，有个人在这时穿过林荫路。那是一个弓腰曲背、满脸皱纹、全身素白、穿着路易十五时代式样的大褂、在胸前悬着一块用红呢带子系着的椭圆小牌子的老兵，在那牌子上是两把交叉着的剑，代表军人十字勋章，另外，他还有一条木腿，一个银下巴和一个木假腿。马吕斯仿佛觉得那人显得非常得意。他甚至以为那个年老的丘八，在跛着走过他身边时，对他表示了一种非常亲切和快乐的神情，好象曾因某种机缘和他们一道共享某种幸福似的。这个武神的残骸为什么那样得意？这木腿和那木腿之间曾发生过什么关系？马吕斯醋意大发，他自言自语：“刚才他或许也在那里！他也许看见了！”他很想把那个老兵消灭掉。
时间能把一切苦磨掉。马吕斯对“于絮尔”的气恼，尽管很对，但终于消了。他到底宽恕了她；但是，这费了很大劲；他赌了三天的气。
但是，尽管如此，也正因为这些事，他的热情有增无减，发展到疯狂的地步。
Since we have pronounced the word modesty, and since we conceal
nothing, we ought to say that once, nevertheless, in spite of his
ecstasies, “his Ursule” caused him very serious grief. It was on one of
the days when she persuaded M. Leblanc to leave the bench and stroll
along the walk. A brisk May breeze was blowing, which swayed the crests
of the plaintain-trees. The father and daughter, arm in arm, had just
passed Marius’ bench. Marius had risen to his feet behind them, and was
following them with his eyes, as was fitting in the desperate situation
of his soul.
All at once, a gust of wind, more merry than the rest, and probably
charged with performing the affairs of Springtime, swept down from the
nursery, flung itself on the alley, enveloped the young girl in a
delicious shiver, worthy of Virgil’s nymphs, and the fawns of
Theocritus, and lifted her dress, the robe more sacred than that of
Isis, almost to the height of her garter. A leg of exquisite shape
appeared. Marius saw it. He was exasperated and furious.
The young girl had hastily thrust down her dress, with a divinely
troubled motion, but he was nonetheless angry for all that. He was
alone in the alley, it is true. But there might have been some one
there. And what if there had been some one there! Can any one
comprehend such a thing? What she had just done is horrible!—Alas, the
poor child had done nothing; there had been but one culprit, the wind;
but Marius, in whom quivered the Bartholo who exists in Cherubin, was
determined to be vexed, and was jealous of his own shadow. It is thus,
in fact, that the harsh and capricious jealousy of the flesh awakens in
the human heart, and takes possession of it, even without any right.
Moreover, setting aside even that jealousy, the sight of that charming
leg had contained nothing agreeable for him; the white stocking of the
first woman he chanced to meet would have afforded him more pleasure.
When “his Ursule,” after having reached the end of the walk, retraced
her steps with M. Leblanc, and passed in front of the bench on which
Marius had seated himself once more, Marius darted a sullen and
ferocious glance at her. The young girl gave way to that slight
straightening up with a backward movement, accompanied by a raising of
the eyelids, which signifies: “Well, what is the matter?”
This was “their first quarrel.”
Marius had hardly made this scene at her with his eyes, when some one
crossed the walk. It was a veteran, very much bent, extremely wrinkled,
and pale, in a uniform of the Louis XV. pattern, bearing on his breast
the little oval plaque of red cloth, with the crossed swords, the
soldier’s cross of Saint-Louis, and adorned, in addition, with a
coat-sleeve, which had no arm within it, with a silver chin and a
wooden leg. Marius thought he perceived that this man had an extremely
well satisfied air. It even struck him that the aged cynic, as he
hobbled along past him, addressed to him a very fraternal and very
merry wink, as though some chance had created an understanding between
them, and as though they had shared some piece of good luck together.
What did that relic of Mars mean by being so contented? What had passed
between that wooden leg and the other? Marius reached a paroxysm of
jealousy.—“Perhaps he was there!” he said to himself; “perhaps he
saw!”—And he felt a desire to exterminate the veteran.
With the aid of time, all points grow dull. Marius’ wrath against
“Ursule,” just and legitimate as it was, passed off. He finally
pardoned her; but this cost him a great effort; he sulked for three
days.
Nevertheless, in spite of all this, and because of all this, his
passion augmented and grew to madness.
