When I got home, I saw a letter on my desk written by Franoise's young dictator to a friend who forgot to take it away. During my mother's absence from home these days, he became unconcerned, but my behaviour deserved more condemnation, because I read his unenclosed letter spread on the table. The only excuse was that the letter on the table seemed to be intended for me to read:
Dear friends and cousins:
I hope your body will be healthy all the time, and your whole family will be healthy, especially my little Godson Joseph. I haven't had the privilege to know him yet, but he is my godson. I love him more than you all. These holy things in my heart will also have dust. Don't raise your hands to beat their holy body. What's more, dear friends and cousins who tell you tomorrow, you and your dear wife and my cousin Mary, you won't be thrown into the sea like sailors tied to the top of masts, because life is just a dark abyss. My dear friend, I want to tell you that my main pastime now is poetry. I'm sure you'll be surprised. I love poetry now because I have to kill time. So don't be too surprised if my dear friend says I haven't answered your letter. If you don't forgive me, forget about it. As you know, Madame's mother died and she suffered indescribably. She was tired because she saw three doctors in a row. The funeral day was a beautiful day, because all Mr. A's acquaintances came and several ministers came. Walking for more than two hours to the cemetery will open your eyes to the people of your village, because Madame Michel's death will certainly not be like this. So my life will only be a long cry. I've just learned to ride a motorcycle. I often ride it to kill time. What would you say, my dear friends, if I flew to Ikol on my motorcycle? But I'm not going to be more secretive on this issue, because I feel that being addicted to misfortune can make people lose their sense. I often deal with Mrs. de Gelmont and people whose names you have never heard of in our closed home. Therefore, I would like to send you Racine and Victor Hugo's books, and to thank Nedore and Alfred de Musset for their selections, because I want to free my hometown from ignorance, which will inevitably lead to crime. I don't see anything to tell you anymore. I'm like an exhausted Pelican on a long journey paying high tribute to your wife, to my godson and to your sister Rose. I wish people would stop talking about her: as Victor Hugo, Aville and Alfred de Mussel said, she lives as a rose, but just like a rose. All these great geniuses were burned to death on the firewood heap like Joan De because they said these words. Looking forward to your reply, please accept a kiss from a brother, Berigo Joseph.
Any life we have never experienced has a strong attraction for us. Knowing that fantasy will be shattered, we will still think about the right and wrong. Many of the things Mr. de Charles told me inspired my imagination greatly, and made me forget the disappointing reality I had seen at Duchess de Gelmont's house, whether by place or by name, and guided my imagination to her cousin, Princess Gelmont. Moreover, if Mr. de Charles had deceived me for some time, believing that the upper classes were valuable, not uniform, but different, it was because he himself had made a mistake. This may be due to his idleness all day, neither writing nor painting, and even reading is careless and careless. But he was several times as smart as the upper classes, so if he took conversation from them and their performances, they couldn't understand him. He speaks as an artist, and can only analyze their false charm at most. His analysis is only useful for artists. His relationship with artists is like that between reindeer and Eskimos: this precious animal gnaws lichens and mosses on barren rocks for them. These plants, which the Arctic inhabitants themselves cannot find and do not know what to use, become north after being digested by reindeers. Digestible food for polar inhabitants.
In addition, I would like to add that Mr. de Charles's paintings for the upper classes are lively because of the mixture of strong hatred and sincere goodwill. He hates young people in particular, but admires some women.
Even if Mr. de Charles put Mrs. Garment first among the women he admired, and even if he described his cousin's and daughter-in-law's residence as a mysterious and inaccessible Palace of Aladdin, it was not enough to explain my astonishment at receiving an invitation from Mrs. Garment. It happened two months after I went to the Duchess'house for dinner. The Duchess went to Cannes that day. When I opened a seemingly ordinary envelope and saw that the invitation had the words "Princess Garment, Duchess of Bavaria, was at home one day, waiting for a ride", I was startled, but I was immediately worried that someone was playing a trick and wanted to call me to a house where I had not been invited to visit. Throw it out the door. Indeed, from a social point of view, it is more difficult to be invited by Princess Gelmont than to be allowed to eat at the Duchess'home. Although I know little about heraldry, my only knowledge tells me that the prince is not a duke. Besides, I think that no matter how high the IQ of a lady in the upper class is, it is impossible for her to be qualitatively different from that of her peers, as Mr. de Charles said. But what my imagination portrays to me is not what I know, but what it sees, that is, what the name reveals to it, just as Elstier neglects the basic concepts of physics when highlighting an attractive effect, even though he can master them. However, even when I did not know the Duchess, once the name of the Duchess of Galmont was added, it always showed me something totally different, like a note, a color * or a quantity, influenced by light and shade changes, mathematical "symbols" or aesthetic "symbols". The profound changes are the same. When the name of Garment was added to the name of the Princess and the Duchess of Louis XIII and XIV, it became the name in the Memoirs of Louis XIII and XIV. I imagined that the residence of Princess Garment was often visited by the Duchess of Longville and the Great Confucius, and that it was difficult for me to step on the threshold of the Princess and the Duchess of Confucius.
Although these people are magnified through a magnifying glass and have different subjective opinions about them (I will mention it later), they always have something objective, and thus show different opinions.
Besides, how can it not be so? The people we often touch are far from our dreams. However, they are similar to those we want to know in our memoirs and letters. The insignificant old man who had dinner with us was the character we saw in a book describing the war of 1970. We read with excitement the proud letter he wrote to Prince Frederick Charlie. At dinner we found it interesting because imagination was not with us. Together; I enjoy reading books because I have imagination to be our companion. It's actually the same person. We wish we had known Mrs. de Pompador, because she had protected literature and art enthusiastically, but when we could be with her, we would feel dull and chewing wax, as if we had come to the side of contemporary Agilee, and felt that she was really mediocre, and maybe we would never want to see her again. Nevertheless, it will be different. People's attitudes towards people are not uniform. Even if they are equally friendly to us, they will eventually show offsetting differences. When I first met Mrs. de Montmorancy, she liked to talk to me about unpleasant things, but when I needed her help, she would help me with her influence without stint and with great efficiency. If Mrs. de Gelmont had been replaced, the situation would have been different. Mrs. de Gelmont may never wish to make me unhappy, to say nothing but good things about me, to be polite and courteous to me (courtesy is the rich spiritual life of the Gelmont family), but once I ask her to do a little thing, she will never make a half step forward to meet my needs, as in some castles. You can use a car to call a servant, but you can't get a glass of cider because it's not included in the ritual. Who is my real friend? Is it Mrs. de Montmorancy or Mrs. de Gelmont? The former takes pleasure in hurting me, but is always ready to serve me; the latter is painful to see someone hurting me, but will never help me a little. In addition, it was said that Duchess de Gelmont talked about boring things, while her cousin-in-law, despite her plain wit, talked about interesting things. Wisdom takes many forms and opposes each other. This is true in literary circles and in upper society. Therefore, it is not only Baudelaire and Merryme who have the right to despise each other. Because of this, everyone has his own rigorous and arbitrary vision, language and behavior system, when we are with others, we always feel that we are smarter than others. What Mrs. de Gelmont said was like a theorem deduced from her kind of intelligence. I think it was the only thing people should say. When she told me that it was foolish for Mrs. de Montmorancy to open her mind to anything she did not understand, or when she knew what bad things Mrs. de Montmorancy had done and said to me, "That's what you call a good woman, but I said she's a bad woman." I really agreed with her. But when I left Mrs. de Gelmont, and another woman sat with me, devaluing the Duchess, I said to her, "In fact, Oliana was not interested in anybody or anything," or even (in the presence of Mrs. de Gelmont, it seemed unbelievable, because she herself was. Statement on the contrary): "When Oliana is addicted to social life", the arbitrary reality that Mrs. de Gelmont is absolutely right will collapse, and the bright light that has faded so far away as ordinary memory will disappear. Since no mathematics can turn Mrs. De Abachong and Mrs. De Montbanzier into equal quantities, I certainly can't answer if someone asks me which of them is wiser.
(1) The Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 1871.
Prince Frederick Charlie (1775-1828), Marshal of the Prussian Army. Cruel and violent.
(3) Mrs. Pompador (1721-1769), Louis XV mistress, played an important role in protecting literature and art at that time.
(4) Agilee is a spring fairy in Roman mythology, who once enlightened Numa, king of Rome. Now it is often used as the explanation of "female staff, female counsellor".
Princess Gelmont's salon has many characteristics, but the most talked about is its exclusiveness, which is partly attributed to her royal origin, but especially to Prince Gelmont's obstinate aristocratic prejudice (the Duke and Duchess never let go of their cynicism about his prejudice in front of me). So I don't think the prince can invite me. He only has His Highness and Duke in his eyes. He always loses his temper when he eats because his position at the table is not the position he might have enjoyed in Louis XIV. He is knowledgeable in history and genealogy. Only he knows these etiquettes, because of this. Many upper-class people often side with the Duchess when deciding the difference between the Duchess and the Prince. I often hear people say that the Duke and Duchess are new figures, very smart, unlike other people, only care about how many branches of noble families, their salon is 300 years ahead of their cousin's salon. Now I stare at the invitation in my hand and think back to what people said to me. I can't help shivering. I think someone might have fooled me by giving me this invitation.
If the Duke and Duke of Gelmont hadn't gone to Cannes, I could still find out the truth of the invitation through them. I thought that people in the upper class could not have doubts like me, but they would have doubts too. Therefore, a writer, even a writer belonging to the upper class, in order to objectively and differently depict all classes, should write down this feeling. Recently, I read a fascinating memoir and found that one of the suspicious passages was very similar to the mood I felt when I received an invitation from Prince Gelmont. George and I (or Ellie, maybe, I don't have books to check) are eager to join Mrs. Dreiser's salon because the desire is so strong that when we receive her invitation, we both think it's necessary to be cautious and try to find out if someone is kidding us." However, the narrator is nobody else, it is Count Orsonville (whose wife is the daughter of the Duke of Bloy), and the other "also" wants to find out whether it is a young man who is deceived. If it is George, it is Mr. de Aguer. If it is Eli, it is Prince Charles. They are Mr. de Osonville's two figures. Leaving friends.
On the day of Princess Galmont's party, I learned that the Duke and Duchess had returned to Paris the day before, and I decided to visit them in the morning. But they went out early in the morning and hadn't come back yet. I first peeped into a cabin to see whether their carriage had returned. I thought it was an excellent observatory. Who knows where it was wrong? We can hardly see our courtyard here, but we can see several other courtyards far away, which is of no use to me, but temporarily provides me with recreation. It is not only in Venice but also in Paris that the painter can look at several houses at the same time. I'm not talking about Paris as Venice. Some of Paris's poor neighborhoods are reminiscent of Venice's poor neighborhoods: in the early morning, tall, open-mouthed chimneys are painted by the brilliant sunshine with the brightest rose and the tenderest pink; the chimneys above houses form an aerial garden with delicate and varied colors, like Delft's. An air garden opened by a tulip lover in the city or Harlem. In addition, the houses were so close to each other that the windows looked across the same courtyard, which made each window a frame: here, a cook looked at the ground in fantasy, over there, an old lady was combing a girl's hair. In the dark, the old lady's face was hard to distinguish and she looked like a witch; because she was separated from the courtyard, she looked like a witch. Son, you can't hear the voice in the opposite house. You can only see the silent gesture through the rectangular glass window. Therefore, each house has a hundred Dutch paintings juxtaposed with its neighbors. Admittedly, it's a different sight from the Galmont House, but it's also strange and interesting. Especially from my wonderful triangle, my sight stretches unimpeded to the towering houses in the distance. In front of it, there is a slope with a large inclination and an indistinct outline. The towering houses are Syris. The residences of Princess Terra and the Marquis of Prasak, cousins of Mr. de Gelmont, whom I have never seen before. This is the residence of their father, Count Bregini. From the Galmont House to the mansion, there are only some low buildings in the middle, all in all directions. Their sloping roofs not only do not block the view, but extend the distance. Marquis Fregut's garage had a red-roofed corner tower with a high spire, but it was as thin as a needle and could not keep his sight. This tower is reminiscent of the beautiful ancient buildings in Switzerland, standing alone at the foot of a mountain. All these places of sight were blurred and unconcentralized, which made the distance between Mrs. de Prasak's residence and us more distant, as if there were several streets or hills in the middle. In fact, it's close to us, but in our illusion, it's as far away as a landscape in the Alps. The large windows of the mansion are like crystal leaves in the sunshine. When all the windows of the floors are opened to clean up the room, if we look at the dirt on the carpet slapped by the indescribable servants, we will feel relaxed and happy, as if we have seen a landscape painting of Turner or Elstier, on the tray of the San Gotta Pass, at every height. A passenger or guide in a post car. But it is impossible to see Mr. or Mrs. de Gelmont back from my "observation point". So in the afternoon, when I had time to continue my peep, I simply stood on the stairs, and if the door of the carriage opened, I could see it. I was waiting on the stairs, though I could not see the splendid Alpine scenery of the Bregini Mansion, nor the servants who were cleaning the rooms but had become very small because of the distance between them. However, waiting on the stairs this time will have extremely serious consequences for me. I will see a landscape painting, not Turner-style, but about morality. Because it's so important, I'll talk about it later. Now let's start with my visit to the Garments - when I know they're back, I go to their house. Count of Monte Cristo
Both Delft and Hallam are Dutch cities.
The San Gotha Pass is located in the Alps in Switzerland. Santa Gotha Pass is the main road of traffic in central and southern Europe.
The Duke received me alone in the study. When I entered, a little old man with grey hair, poor and sour appearance, wore a little black tie like Gombre's notary and some of my grandfather's friends, but less confident than them. He saluted me respectfully and waited for me to go downstairs. I didn't hear what the Duke shouted at him from his study. The man answered, bowing deeply to the wall. Although the Duke could not see, he repeated it over and over again, as if someone had given you a useless smile when talking to you on the phone. He speaks in a false voice. He bowed to me as humbly as a businessman once again. Maybe he was a businessman in Gombre, because he was so rustic, outmoded and gentle that he looked very much like the little people and humble old men there.
"Oliana will be here in a minute," said the Duke to me when I entered. Swan will come to give her the proofs of his Maltese Knights coin paper in a moment, and worse, a big picture with the front and back of the coin, so Oliana would like to change her clothes first so that she and Swan can stay until we go out for dinner. There's so much stuff in our house that I don't know where to put his picture, I thought. But my wife treats people so well that she wants them to be happy. She believed that Swan should be asked to put all the chiefs of the Order together for her to see. He found the medal with their heads on Rhode Island, Greece. I said to you just now that Malta is actually Rhode Island, but it's the same thing as the Knights of St. John in Jerusalem. In fact, Oriana was only interested in this issue because Swan was studying it. Our family is inextricably linked to the Order of Malta. Even today, my brother you know is one of the most prominent members of the Order. I should have told Oliana about these things, but she certainly didn't listen to them. On the contrary, when Swan's study of the Knights of the Temple in the Middle Ages (because it's absolutely impossible for anyone who is madly interested in one of the churches to study other ones) turned to the study of its successor, the Knights of Rhodes, Oliana immediately wanted to see the heads of these knights. Compared with the two Cypriot kings named Lycinion, they were just a bunch of hairy boys. Our family is a direct descendant of the two kings. However, because Swan had never been interested in them, Oliana did not want to know anything about the Lucian family.
King Lycinion is the descendant of the Lycinian family in France. In the history of Cyprus, there were two Kings of Lycinion, King Ji de Lycinion (1129-1194), who redeemed the island of Cyprus from the Knights Templar.
I couldn't immediately talk to the Duke about the purpose of my visit. There were several relatives or friends, such as de Silistra and Duchess Monroe, who visited the Duchess of Galmont (who often met before dinner) and stayed with the Duke for a while without finding her. Princess Celestra came first. She was plain dressed and skinny, but kind. She had a crutch in her hand. I thought she was injured or disabled. But she's very agile. She sadly talked to the Duke about a cousin of his (not of Garment's lineage, if any, more striking) who had been ill for several days and had recently suddenly worsened. But although the Duke was deeply sympathetic to his cousin's misfortune and repeatedly said, "Poor horse" what a good young man, he could see that he did not think his cousin's illness mattered much. Because the Duke is very enthusiastic about the dinner to be attended, he is not tired of the grand party of Princess Garment. More importantly, at 1 a.m., he will go with his wife to the grand night supper and masquerade ball. The clothes are ready. He will wear Louis XI's clothes, and the Duchess will dress up as Queen Isapo de Bavaria. So the Duke wanted to entertain himself and not let poor Armanian de Osmond's illness spoil his spirits. Then came the ladies of two crutches, one Mrs. de Prasak and the other Mrs. de Traim, the daughters of Count Bregini, who came to visit Bazan to inform him that Cousin Ma was in critical condition and was dying on New Year's Eve. The Duke shrugged his shoulders. To change the subject, he asked them if they would go to Mary Hillbe's house at night. They answered no, because Amanian had one breath left. They even cancelled the dinner that the Duke would attend and gave him the names of the guests, including King Diodosie's brother, Princess Mary-Conception, and so on. Because Marquis Osmond's relationship with them was not as close as that with the Duke, the Duke did not feel enthusiastic about them because they indirectly condemned him for cancelling the dinner party's "treachery". Therefore, although they visited the Duchess from the high ground of the Bregini Mansion (to tell her, more precisely, that their cousins were in danger of being ill and that as relatives they should not have any more social gatherings), they left soon. Walbishi and Dorothy (their name) climbed the steep road to their roof again with the climbers'sticks. It never occurred to me to ask the Garments why they used crutches. And it's very common in St. Germain. Perhaps they thought that the whole parish was their territory and preferred to walk rather than ride in a carriage, but because of their uncontrolled hunting, they had fallen off their horses (as is often the case), suffered from old injuries, or because they lived in the damp old castle on the left bank of the Seine River and had rheumatoid arthritis, so they had to walk long distances. Do not use crutches. Or, instead of a long journey to see Mrs. de Gelmont, they would go to their garden (not far from the Duchess's garden) and pick some flowers for sugar and fruit, and drop by to say good night to Mrs. de Gelmont before returning home. Nevertheless, they would not come to the Duchess'house with scissors or a sprinkler.
Isapo de Bavaria (1371-1435), Queen of Charles IV, King of France.
I went to see the Duke the day he came back, and it seemed that he was very touched. But when I told him that I came to his house to ask his wife if her cousin and daughter-in-law really invited me to her party, his face immediately grew gloomy and calm. I touched on the sort of thing that the Garments were unwilling to do. The Duke said to me that it was too late to talk about it. In case Mrs. Prince did not invite me, she would think that she was asking for an invitation. Once before, she had been rejected by his cousin and cousin-in-law. Therefore, he would no longer want them to feel that he was interfering directly or indirectly in the list of their guests. Their family affairs, besides, he and his wife are out for dinner. They don't know if they will go home after dinner. Therefore, in case they don't go to the Princess's party, the best excuse is that they haven't returned to Paris yet. Otherwise, they would certainly like to send someone to ask me, or make a phone call to tell her that they are not going to go back to Paris. You have come back. But it must have been too late. The Prince's wife had already drawn up the guest list." Are you having a bad relationship with her? He asked me with an air of suspicion. The Garments are always afraid that they don't know who's quarrelling with whom recently, or that they're going to make up behind their backs. The Duke always liked to take all possible unpleasant decisions on himself. He finally pretended to suddenly think of something and said to me like, "Listen, my dear, I don't even want to tell Oliana what you just said to me. You know, she is very helpful and likes you very much. No matter what I say, she will send letters to her cousins and daughters-in-law. In this way, if she feels tired after dinner, there is no excuse not to attend her cousins and daughters-in-law's party. I beg you not to mention it to her. If you decide to go to the party, I don't have to tell you that we'll be happy to spend the night with you." Humanity is so sacred that if someone asks you for it, you can't be unkind, whether you really believe him or not. I don't want to make people feel that I hesitate for a moment between my invitation and Mrs. de Gelmont's possible fatigue. I pretend that I didn't realize that Mr. de Gelmont was acting for me and promised that he would never talk to his wife about the purpose of my visit. I asked the Duke if it was possible for me to meet Mrs. De Stemaria at the Princess's house.
"It's impossible," he seemed to know me well. "I know the name you're talking about. You can see it in the club yearbook. It's impossible for such a man to go to the Hilbert's house. You will only see people there who are too gentle and dull. There will be some duchesses whose titles are supposed to have been cut off. They will be reborn by the time. There will be ambassadors, many people in the Principality of Coburg and many foreign highnesses, but you will never see the shadow of Stemaria. Hilbert needn't have seen her, even if you mentioned her, you would feel uncomfortable. Well, you like painting. I have a good painting that I should show you. I bought it from my cousin. Part of it was paid for by Elstel's painting. We obviously don't like his paintings. My cousin sold it to me as a painting by Philip de Chambane, but I believe it was painted by a greater artist than Chambane. Do you want to know what I think? I believe it's the work of Velasquez, the work of the best age, "the Duke said to me, looking into my eyes, probably to capture or deepen my impression. A servant came in.
(1) Philip de Chambanet (1602-1674), one of the most famous painters of Flanders School, is good at portrait painting.
"The Duchess asked me if Mr. Duke would like to receive Mr. Swan, because the Duchess is not ready yet."
"Let Mr. Swan in," said the Duke, looking at his watch and knowing that it was only a few minutes before he could change his clothes. Naturally my wife wasn't ready. She asked him to come. Don't mention Mary Hillbe's party in front of Swan, "the Duke said to me." I don't know if I invited him. Hilbert liked him very much because he believed that he was the illegitimate grandson of Duke Berry, which of course was not true. (If there is no such thing, would you think that my cousin would care about him? When he saw a Jew a hundred metres away, he would scold him. But now, thanks to the Dreyfus case, things are getting worse. Swan should have known better than anyone that he should break away from those people; on the contrary, he said something regrettable."
The Duke called back his servant and asked him if cousin D'Osmond's sick man had returned. The Duke had his plan: since he had reason to believe that his cousin was dying, he had to send someone to ask for information before he was forced to die. Once it was officially known that Amanian was still alive, he could slip out to attend the banquet, Prince Gelmont's party and masquerade ball. He will dress up as Louis XI and have the most exciting tryst with his new mistress until the next day, when the entertainment is over, he sends someone to ask for information. If his cousin dies at night, he begins to mourn." Not yet, Mr. Duke." Damn it! People here always stay up until the last minute." The Duke said. He was afraid that the news of Amanian's "Break Up" would be published in an evening paper in advance, so that he could not go to the masquerade ball. He was asked to bring him an "Time" evening paper, which did not contain the news.
I haven't seen Swan for a long time. Suddenly I saw him. I thought he was somewhat different. I wondered if he had a beard or not. In fact, he did have a big "change" because his face was full of illness, which made him change his appearance, making one suspect at first glance that he never had a beard or a flat head. Swan suffered from the same disease that his mother suffered from. She was killed by the disease. She was at Swan's age when she got sick. In fact, our lives are filled with mysterious numbers and magic because of genetic relationships, as if witches were really at work. Because human beings usually have a certain life span, especially for a family and people who look very similar to each other. Swan is elegantly dressed and smart. His dress, like his wife's dress, closely connects him with him in the past and now. He wore a pearl-grey waist-tight dress, which set off his long stature. He wore black and white striped gloves and a trumpet-shaped grey top hat. This style of hat was specially for him, Prince Sagan, Mr. de Charles, Marquis of Modena, Mr. Charles Ass and Count Louis de Tirana. Special. I saluted him. He smiled kindly and shook hands with me warmly, which made me very surprised. Because we hadn't seen each other for a long time. I thought he would not recognize me immediately. I said to him that I was surprised. He laughed and shook my hand again with a little anger. Buddha told me that my guess was to suspect that his mind was not sound or his feelings were not sincere. But he didn't recognize me. Only a few minutes later, when he heard my name called, he knew it was me. It took me a long time to know about it. But when Mr. de Gelmont's words made him find me, there was no change in his face, in his words and in what he said to me, because he was familiar with the social life and used it freely. Not only that, but also his generous manner, no affectation, even in his clothes, showed his pioneering spirit, which is very similar to the Garments. So, although the social veteran didn't recognize me, he paid tribute to me not as cold and rigid as the formalistic socialists, but as kind and graceful as the Duchess of Galmont did when she paid tribute to people (when she met you, you didn't even have time). Say hello to her, and she'll greet you with a smile. It's totally different from the rigid etiquette that St. Germanic ladies are used to following. Likewise, his hat inside (according to a fading habit of putting it at his feet) is made of green * leather. Usually people don't use leather to make caps, but (according to him) because the leather is dirty, in fact (he didn't say) it is comfortable to wear.
"Hello, Charles, you're an expert. Here's one thing. Then, lads, I'll ask you to wait here for a moment. I'm going to wear a dress. Besides, I think Oliana is coming soon. After that, he showed Swan his Velasquez. I seem to have seen it, "Swan said, his facial muscles contracting painfully, as if speaking was a hard job for him.
"Yes," said the Duke, as the expert did not immediately express his appreciation. You've probably met at Hillberg's house."
"Ah! Yes, I remember.
"What do you see?"
"Well, if I had seen it at the Hilbert's, it would have been one of your ancestors," Swan said half sarcastically and half respectfully. He felt it was impolite and ridiculous not to recognize an ancestor of his family, but in order to show that he was resourceful and educated, he only wanted to talk about it in a joking tone.
"Of course," said the Duke roughly, "it's Bosson. I can't remember the number of his ancestors in the Galmont family. But I don't care about that. You know, I'm not as old-fashioned as my cousin. I have heard the names of Rigo, Minia, and even Velasquez! " When he said this, the Duke forced Swan with a stern and violent eye, trying to gain insight into his thoughts and influence his answer." Come on, "he concluded" (because whenever someone inspires him to make an opinion he longs to hear, he soon thinks it's a person's inner opinion), "you don't have to pick the right one. Do you think this is the work of the three masters I just talked about?
Rigo (1659-1743), French painter.
(2) Minia (1610-1694), French painter.
"No... Yes..." Swan said.
"Come on, I don't know anything about it. It's not up to me to decide who made this old painting. However, you are an art lover and an expert in this field. Who do you say painted it?
Swan apparently felt that the painting was lame and hesitated for a moment: "People with bad minds paint it!" He answered the Duke with a laugh, and he stared with anger. When he calmed down, he said to us, "Stay here and wait for Oliana. I'll wear a tuxedo. I'll send someone to say to my wife that you two are waiting for her here."
I talked to Swan about the Dreyfus case for a while, and I asked him how the Garments opposed a retrial. First of all, these people hate Jews in their bones, "Swan answered. Nevertheless, he had his own experience and knew clearly that some of the Garments did not hate Jews, but like all those who had a strong opinion on something, he always liked to say that they had preconceptions and had no choice but to be prejudiced against them in order to show that others disapproved of their opinions. Discussion. In addition, his life came to an end prematurely, and he was like an exhausted beast who hated these pursuits and was trying to correct his evil habits and revert to his father's religion.
"That's true of Prince Gelmont," I said. "Somebody told me that he hated Jews."
"Humph! Don't mention this person. His anti-Semitic stance was stubborn. When he was in the army, he suffered a toothache attack. He preferred to suffer pain rather than go to the only dentist in the area, because the doctor was Jewish. Later, his residence suffered a fire. He preferred to let the fire destroy one of his side houses rather than borrow a pump from a nearby castle. Because that's the Rothschild castle."
"By the way, may you go to his house tonight?"
"Go," he answered, "though I feel tired. He wrote me a barometric letter saying that he had something to say to me. I feel that I will be very uncomfortable in the last few days. It is impossible for me to go to his house or to receive him. This will distract me. I'd rather solve the problem right away.
"But Mr. de Gelmont does not hate Jews."
"You see clearly that he hates Jews because he opposes a retrial," Swan answered, but he did not find that he had made the wrong reason. Nevertheless, I am sorry that I just let this person - how to use this word! It should be said that the Duke - disappointed, I did not appreciate his so-called Minia, I do not know what is going on.
A logical error based on unproven judgments.
"But," I went back to the Dreyfus case, "the Duchess is very clever."
"Yes, she is charming. Besides, in my opinion, she was more charming when she was Prince Lom's wife than she is now. At that time, her thoughts were more angular, all of which seemed more attractive to this young and energetic lady. But how can I tell you that all these people, male or female, young or not, are of a different origin from us, and that feudalism for thousands of years in their blood will not have no impact. Of course, they don't think that will affect their views.
"Didn't Robert de Saint-Lou advocate a retrial of the Dreyfus case?"
"Ah! Great. You know his mother is adamant against a retrial. Someone told me that he advocated a retrial, but I can't believe it. This makes me very happy. But I'm not surprised, because he's very smart. That's great."
The idea of a retrial made him extremely naive and shocked his view. It was during his marriage to Odette that he was not like this. It was a glorious act for him to return to the way his ancestors had traveled and abandoned him because of his association with nobles. Nevertheless, when Swan, according to the arguments inherited from his ancestors, saw soberly a truth that nobody in the upper class could see, he showed ironic blindness. All people, whether they admire or despise it, have to be re-elected to see if they support or oppose the re-examination. It is not surprising that Mrs. Bondang thinks she is a foolish woman because she opposes the retrial, just as when he married Audrey, it is not surprising to think that Mrs. Bondang is a smart woman. Similarly, when the current new wave has influenced his political views and made him forget that he once regarded Clemenceau as a greedy man, a British spy (a fallacy in the Galmont social circle), and claimed that he always thought Clemenceau, like Gonery, was a gentleman and an iron man, you don't need much. Make a fuss.
"No, that's what I've always said to you. You're mistaken." However, the new wave not only influenced Swan's political views, but also reversed his literary views and even the way he talked about literature. So Barrace II became so gifted that even his early works became mediocre that he could not read them for a second time. You might as well try it. You can't read it. It's very different from Clemenceau! Personally, I am not against the Church, but compared with Clemenceau, Barres is a cartilage! Old man Clemenceau was a very good man. How well he writes!" Moreover, the anti-retrial faction seems to have no right to criticize these absurd words and deeds. They explained that they advocated a retrial because they were Jewish. If a canonical Catholic like Saniette advocates a retrial, it is because, influenced by Mrs. Vildiran, she is a fanatical radical and most opposed to "catholicism". Saniette is not only vicious, but also extremely foolish, not knowing that the landlady has led him astray. If someone objected that Brishaw was also a friend of Mrs. Vildiran, but he was a member of the French Patriotic Union, they explained that it was because he was smarter than others.
(1) Gonelli (1845-1907), a French journalist, launched a propaganda campaign to retry the Dreyfus case.
(2) Barres (1862-1923), French novelist and politician. He wrote "Self-worship" and "Novels of National Spirit", which praised individualism and imperialist war.
"Do you see him sometimes?" I asked Swan, I mean Saint Luke.
I haven't seen him. That day, he wrote me a letter asking me to tell Mussie and several others that they would vote for him to join the race club and that he would easily become a member of the club.
"Didn't the Dreyfus case affect him?"
"No one raised this question. Besides, I want to tell you that after that, I will never go there again."
Mr. de Gelmont came back, and soon his wife came. She had been dressed up and looked slender and luxurious in a red satin evening dress with glittering flakes on the bottom. There was a purple ostrich feather in her hair and a ribbon scarf with the same color on her shoulder. It's good to have green leather in the hat, "said the Duchess, who could not escape her eyes." What's more, Charles, everything on you is beautiful, whether it's your clothes or your conversation, including the books you read and the things you do. Nevertheless, Swan did not seem to hear her, and looked closely at the Duchess as if she were gazing at a famous painting, looking for her eyes after freshness, and turning her lips as if to say, "Good fellow!" Mrs. de Gelmont laughed.
"I'm glad you like my outfit. But I should say I don't like it very much myself, "she said gloomily." My God, when a person wants to stay at home, it's really a nuisance to wear a dress and go out! "
"What a beautiful ruby!"
"Ouch! My little Charles, at least you know the goods, unlike that rough man, Montsevier, who asked me if these gems were real. I should say that I have never seen such a beautiful gem. This is from the Grand Duchess. But I don't think they're slightly bigger and purple, like glasses full of red wine, but I still wear them because tonight we're meeting the Duchess at Mary Hillberg's house, "said Mrs. de Gelmont, who knows that last sentence overturned the Duke's words.
"What's on the Princess's house tonight?"
"Almost nothing," answered the Duke hastily, thinking that Swan's question must have been that he had not received an invitation.
"Why, Bazan? Everyone invited. It must be messy and uninteresting. There seems to be a storm tonight, if it doesn't rain, "she said, looking warmly at Swan." Those unparalleled gardens can be fun. You know these gardens. I stayed in the garden a month ago, when the lilacs were in full bloom, let alone how beautiful they were. And the fountain, the Palace of Versailles in Paris.
"What kind of woman is Mrs. Prince?" I asked.
"You already know, because you've seen her here. She has a charming appearance, but a little foolish, although she has the arrogance of Germanic people, treat people kindly, good-hearted, but often do silly things.
Swan is a very shrewd person, and it is impossible to fail to see that Mrs. de Gelmont is now intent on showing off the "spirit of Gelmont" and that it does not take much effort, because she only uses some of her old words, but also does not use them perfectly. However, in order to prove to the Duchess that he had understood that she was trying to show her wit, he squeezed out a little smile, as if what she had just said was indeed very humorous. This kind of false smile makes me feel uncomfortable, like when I heard my parents talking to Mr. Vandeyi about Fu defeat in certain classes (actually they knew that Montessorvan's Fu defeat was more shocking), or when I heard Legrandan speak to fools in social settings. I had this uncomfortable feeling when I chose adjectives that were obscure and difficult to understand, and that he knew perfectly well that rich or elegant listeners could not understand and that illiterate people could understand.
"Come on, Oliana, what are you talking about," said Mr. de Gelmont, "You say Mary is silly? She's a book reader or a violinist."
"My poor Bazan, you still seem to be a child born soon. Is it impossible for a person who enjoys reading books and music to be a little silly? Moreover, silliness is an exaggeration, rather than a confusion. She comes from the Grand Duchy of Hessen-Damstadt and the Holy Empire of Rome. She is a bit of a loser. As soon as I hear her pronunciation, my nerves can't stand it. But I admit that this is a lovely fool. First of all, it is lovely enough to step down from her to the throne of the German emperor and marry an ordinary person. It's really herself! Oh, that's absolutely true, "she said, turning her face to me." You don't know Hilbert. Let me describe it to you: once, I sent Mrs. Carnot a business card, and he was ill about it... Hello, dear Charles,'said the Duchess, trying to change the subject, for it seemed to displease Mr. de Gelmont when she saw that she had sent Mrs. Carnot her business card.'You know, you haven't sent us pictures of our Rhode Island Knights yet. I like them because of you. How I want to agree with them. Yes."
But the Duke still stared at his wife:
(1) Hesse-Dumstadt is the territory of Duke Hessen-Dumstadt. Since 1567, Dumstadt has become the capital of the Grand Duchy. Today Hessen is a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
"Oliana, at least you should tell the whole truth, not half of it. In fact, "he corrected Swan," the then British Ambassador's wife, somehow, would invite us to her party with the President and his wife. Mrs. Ambassador is a very good woman, but she seems to live on the moon and often does such foolish things. We were surprised. Even Oliana was surprised. Besides, Mrs. Ambassador knows these people very well. She shouldn't invite us to such an incredible party. There was a minister who had been a burglar in the past. Alas, that's all. We didn't know it beforehand. He was trapped. Besides, we should admit that those people were very polite that day. That would be good. Mrs. de Gelmont often talked to me about things. She felt that she should send a business card to the Elysee Palace that week. Hilbert thought it would tarnish our names, and he might have been a little overdone. Nevertheless, don't forget that even if Mr. Karno was a competent president, his grandfather was a member of the Revolutionary Court and killed eleven of our relatives and friends in one day.
"So, Bazan, why did you go to Shantille Palace every week for dinner? Isn't Duke Omar's grandfather also a member of the Revolutionary Court? The difference is that Carlo is an honest man, while Philip Equality is an absolute scoundrel.
"I'm sorry to interrupt. I've sent you that picture," Swan said. I don't understand why you didn't get it."
"It won't surprise me," said the Duchess. My servant only tells me what they think. They probably don't like the Knights of St. John." After that, she rang the bell.
"You know, Oliana, when I went to Shantille Palace for dinner, I wasn't very interested."
"It's not very interesting to bring your pajamas in case the prince stays overnight. In fact, he seldom did this. Like all the Orleans, he was not educated at all. Do you know who we are going to have dinner with at Mrs. St. de Felter's tonight? Mrs. de Gelmont asked her husband.
"In addition to the guests you know, there is King Diodosie's brother, who was invited at the last moment."
On hearing the news, the Duchess had a satisfied look on her face, but in her words she was bored. Alas! My God, Prince again."
"But the prince is cute and smart," Swan said.
"But it's not complete," answered the Duchess, who seemed to be searching for the withered intestines in order to refresh her mind. Have you noticed? The most lovely Prince is not entirely lovely. Yes, I promise you! They have to have their own views on everything. Because they can't express their opinions, they listen to us for the first half of their lives and repeat our opinions in front of us like parrots for the second half of their lives. They have to say that this performance is good and that one is worse. In fact, there is no way to tell the difference between high and low. I tell you that the little Diodosie (whose name I forgot) asked me what was the motivation of the band. I answered him, "At this point, the Duchess's eyes sparkled and her beautiful red lips gave a clear laugh." I answered him, "That's the motivation of the band." Well! He was not happy. Ah! My little Charles, "said Mrs. de Gelmont listlessly." It's boring to go to someone else's house for dinner! Some nights, I would rather die than go out! Of course, death can be equally unpleasant, because we don't know what death is about.
A servant came in. It was the young fiance who quarreled with the porter who, thanks to the intervention of the benevolent duchess, apparently reconciled.
"Shall I hear from Marquis Osmond tonight?" He asked.
"Don't go, go again tomorrow morning! I don't even want you to stay here tonight. Let his servant - you know him - report to you and ask you to come to us. You're not here anyway. You can spend the night outside where you want to go, eat and play happily, but I don't want you here until tomorrow morning."
There was infinite joy on the servant's face. He had been able to stay with his fiancee for several hours, and since he had another quarrel with the porter, the Duchess and the lady had kindly advised him not to go out on a date so as not to see his fiancee again. The Duchess knew at first glance how happy he was to finally have a night at his disposal. She saw others secretly enjoying her happiness, angry and jealous, a burst of pain in her heart and itching in her limbs. No, Bazan. Let him stay here. Don't let him go out."
"Oliana, it's ridiculous. You've all gone with you. Besides, there are men and women in charge of costumes waiting for you at the masquerade ball in the middle of the night. He is of little use here. Besides, he's a friend of horses and horses, so I'd rather send him far away.
"Listen, Bazan, don't mind me. I have something to tell her tonight, but I can't say what time it is. You don't leave here for a minute, "she said to the servant, who looked like a balloon of frustration.
If the Duchess's family is in constant dispute and the servant is dismissed soon after he works in her house, the responsible person will never be dismissed, but he is not the porter. Yes, the Duchess handed the heavy man over to the porter to do rough work, especially hard work, to quarrel with others or even fight. Moreover, when he played this role * he didn't realize at all that he was fulfilling the tasks assigned to him by others. Like the other servants of the Galmont House, he admired the Duchess for her generosity. The duller servants often came back to see Francois after leaving the Duchess and told her that the Duchess would be the best place in Paris without a concierge. The Duchess's use of the porter is like people's long-term use of theocracy, masonry, and the argument that Jews are a scourge... A servant came in.
"Why don't you bring me what Mr. Swan sent me? Oh, by the way (you know, Charles, horses are very ill), Jules, who went to inquire about Mr. Marquis Osmond? Are you back?
"Just back, Mr. Duke. It is estimated that Mr. Marquis may die at any time."
"Great! He's still alive, "cried the Duke with relief." What is not estimated? Are you Satan? As long as we are alive, there is hope, "the Duke said happily to us." They spoke of him as if he were dead and buried. A week later, he's more alive than I am."
"The doctors said he couldn't survive this evening. One doctor wanted to see him again at night. Their head said there was no need. Maybe Mr. Marquis is dead now. He only prolongs his life by Enema with camphor oil."
"Shut up, fool," cried the Duke, furious. Who asked you to say that?
You don't understand what people are saying to you at all."
"Not to me, but to Jules."
"Shut up now!" The Duke roared, then turned to Swan and said, "He's still alive. It's so delightful! He will recover slowly. It's great enough to survive such a crisis. Don't ask too much. A small enema with camphor oil probably won't cause any discomfort, "said the Duke, rubbing his hands." He's still alive. What else? It's beautiful enough to survive such a disease. I even envy him for his good constitution. Ah! Patient, people always care about them, but they don't care about us. This morning, a foolish cook cooked a leg of lamb for me with egg butter sauce. I admit it tastes delicious, but because it's so delicious, I ate more and haven't completely digested it yet. But people would come to hear my news as they did to my dear Armanian. Even too many people inquired about him, which would make him very tired. Should let him breathe, send people to his house constantly, will kill him.
"Hello!" When the Duchess saw the servant exit the living room, she said to him, "Didn't I ask you to bring the picture in the cover that Mr. Swan gave me?"
"Duchess, it's so big that I wonder if I can get in. I left it in the lobby. Does the Duchess want me to bring it up?"
"That's all right! You should have told me so long ago. But since it's big, I'll go and see it later."
"I forgot to tell the Duchess that Countess Morley left a business card for the Duchess in the morning."
"What? In the morning?" The Duchess was very unhappy to say that she felt that such a young woman was not allowed to leave her business card in the morning.
"Nearly ten o'clock, Duchess."
"Show me your business card."
"Oliana, it's ridiculous of you to say that Mary married Hilbert," said the Duke, drawing the subject back to what he had said at the beginning. "In fact, the way you write your own history is strange. If anyone had done something foolish in this marriage, it was Hilbert, who had just married a woman close to the King of Belgium, who had usurped the surname Brabant, but that was our surname. All in all, we share the same blood relationship with the Hessen family, and we are long houses. It must be foolish to talk about oneself, "he said to me." But one thing I have to tell you is that whether we go to Damstadt or anywhere in Kassel and Hessen's prefecture, the princes always take a respectful step backward and let our long house grandchildren go ahead.
Kassel, a city in the eastern part of the Federal Republic of Germany, is located in the northeast of Hessen. Has been the capital of Hessen-Cassell and the capital of the Kingdom of Westphalon.
"Bazan, you won't tell me that the woman who worked as head nurse in the army of their country and was betrothed to the King of Sweden is..."
"Oh! Oliana, you've gone too far. You don't seem to know that the King of Sweden's grandfather planted land in Bocheng, but for 900 years, we have been in the first place in Europe.
Bocheng is the capital of Pyrenees in the Atlantic Ocean.
"Nevertheless, if someone shouts in the street,'Look, King of Sweden', everyone will go all the way to Concorde Square to see him, but if someone shouts,'Look, Mr. de Gelmont', no one will know who he is."
"Strong words make sense!"
"Besides, I can't understand why you haven't given up your mind since the Duke of Brabant has been transferred to the Belgian Royal family."
The servant came back with Countess Morley's business card, or the piece of paper she had left as her business card. She took out a letter she had received from her pocket, put it back in her pocket, and folded a corner on the envelope with her name, Countess Morley. That year, large size stationery was popular, so the envelope was also large. The handwritten "business card" was almost twice as large as the ordinary business card.
"That's what people call Madame Morley's simplicity," said the Duchess, ironically. She wanted us to believe that she had no business card and wanted to be different. But we've all seen that, isn't it, my little Charles, we're all young, and we're innovative enough to know what a half-green and half-yellow woman thinks. She's charming, but in my opinion, she's not plump yet. Don't think it's easy to shock the community by using envelopes as business cards and leaving them at 10 a.m. Her old mouse mother will prove to her that she is as good at doing such a thing as she is.
Swan laughed dumbly at the thought that the Duchess, who was somewhat jealous of Mrs. de Morley's achievements in society, could find some sarcasm in the spirit of Galmont to return the visiting woman's business card.
"I have told you a hundred times about the Duke of Brabant, Oliana..." The Duke said again. The Duchess did not listen to him at all, but said to Swan:
"Little Charles, I'm impatient to see your pictures."
"Oh! Extinct ordra conislatrator Anubis,"Swan said.
Latin, that is to say, annihilate the cruel roaring God of death, Anubis. Anubis is the God of death with a jackal face in Egyptian mythology. He guides the deceased into the Yellow Spring.
"Yes, it's very clever of you to compare it with St. George's Church in Venice. But I don't understand why I should say Anubis?
"Didn't Babel's ancestors look like Anubis?" Mr. de Gelmont asked:
"Would you like to see his Barbars?" Mrs. de Gelmont said coldly, in order to show her disdain for the homonym.
"I want to see both of them," she went on. Three Swordsmen
"Listen, Charles, let's get down and wait for the bus," said the Duke. "Let's go to the lobby and talk, because my wife won't let us be quiet without seeing your picture. To be honest, I can't wait like she does, "he said triumphantly again." I am a calm person, but if I don't go on, she would rather let us die."
"I raise my hands in favour, Bazan," said the Duchess. "Let's go into the lobby. At least we know why we went down from your study, and never know why we are descendants of Count Brabant."
"I've told you a hundred times about how the title joined the Hessen family," the Duke said as we looked at the photos (and I was thinking of the pictures Swan brought back to Gombre for me). "In 1241, there was a daughter of one of the last princes in the Brabant family, who was with Turingen and Hessen. Marriage, therefore, is more precisely the merger of the Hessen family's Prince and title into the Brabant family. Besides, you should also remember that we used the battle slogan of'Lamborg belongs to the conqueror', which is also the battle slogan used by the Dukes of Brabant. Later, we exchanged Brabant's weapon for Gelmont's weapon, and the slogan ceased to be used. Besides, I think it's wrong for us to do so. Even if there are precedents for the Grammons, I won't change my mind."
Langburg is a province of Belgium. Historically, it was an Earl's Territory in Lower Lorraine, then a Duke's Territory. It was conquered by the Duke of Brabant and became a Duke's Territory of Brabant.
"But," said Mrs. de Gelmont, "that's because the King of Belgium conquered Lanburg... Moreover, the heir to the Belgian throne is the Duke of Brabant."
"My dear, what you said is untenable and absolutely wrong. You know as well as I do that some titles are like luxury furnishings and their territory has been stolen, but they still exist intact. For example, the King of Spain claimed to be the Duke of Brabant, which meant that his ancestors also owned Brabant, much later than us, but earlier than the King of Belgium. He also claimed to be the Duke of Burgundy, the King of East and West India, and the Duke of Milan. However, he no longer owns Burgundy, India and Brabant, just as neither I nor Prince Hessen owns Brabant. Both the Spanish and Austrian emperors claimed to be Kings of Jerusalem, but neither of them had any control over Jerusalem."
He paused for a moment, fearing that mentioning Jerusalem would embarrass Swan because of the "ongoing case", but he went on immediately:
"What you say is right for everything. We were the Duke of Omar, and the Duchy Territory was legally incorporated into the French Royal family, just as the Duchy of Juan'anville and the Duchy of Chevres were incorporated into the Albert family. We do not ask for the restoration of these titles, just as I do not ask for the restoration of Marquis Novarmutier. Marquis Nowamutier's territory once belonged to our family, and later became the residence of the Ratremeier family very legally. However, although some concessions are valid, it does not mean that all concessions are valid. For example, "he turned to me and said," My sister-in-law's son is called Prince Agrigant, and this title comes from the mad woman Xiana, just like that of Prince Taranto of the Ratremeier family. However, Napoleon I named a soldier Prince Taranto. Of course, the soldier himself may be a good soldier. However, compared with Napoleon III's canonization of Prince Berigore as Duke of Montmorancy, the former has more power to go beyond, because Berigore has at least one mother named Montmoranci, and the soldier becomes Prince Taranto solely by Napoleon's personal will. But that doesn't stop Sergeant Daisy from alluding to your Uncle Kongdai and asking the Imperial Attorney if he had gone to Vansen II Cemetery to pick up the Duke of Montmorancy.
(1) Mad woman Xiana (1479-1555), the queen of the Castilla kingdom, which was founded in 1035 on the Iberian Peninsula in present-day Spain.
(2) Vansen is the place name of France, where Vansen Castle was built in the ninth century. Many kings and dignitaries in French history had died there.
"Listen, Bazan, I wish I could follow you to Vansen Cemetery, or even to Taranto. By the way, my little Charles, when you just told me about St. George's Church in Venice, I want to tell you that next year Bazan and I want to spend Spring in Italy and Sicily. If you could come with us, the situation would be very different. Not to mention how happy I am to see you. Think about it. You have told me so many Normandian conquests and ancient histories. Think about how wonderful it would be to have a trip with you. That is to say, even Bazan, how to say, even Hilbert, will benefit. Because I feel that when we visit ancient Roman churches and villages like those painted by Renaissance painters, if you give us a lecturer, I will be interested in the messy things, including coveting the throne of Naples. Now, we need to see your photos. Take the cover apart, "the Duchess told a servant.
"No, Oliana, don't watch tonight! Look again tomorrow, "pleaded the Duke.
He saw the photograph so big that he had already made a look of fear to me.
"I'll be happy to watch with Charles," the Duchess said with a laugh, mixed with false desires and complex psychology, because she wanted Swan to be happy. When she said she was happy to see the picture, it was like a patient saying he was happy to eat an orange, or like she was idling with friends and revealing her interests to a biographer.
"How about he come to see you once in the future?" The Duke said that his wife gave in." If you like, you can stay in front of the picture for three hours together, "he said with ridicule." But it's so big. Where do you put it?
"Put it in my bedroom. I want to see it anytime."
"Ah, if you like, I'll save seeing it in your bedroom," said the Duke, unconsciously revealing the secret of his bad relationship with his wife.
"Well, be careful when you pull it down," Mrs. de Gelmont ordered her servant (who, out of courtesy to Swan, was very strict with him). And don't damage the condom.
"Not even the sleeve can be damaged!" The Duke raised his arms to the sky and said to my ears. Swan, "he went on to say," I'm just a mediocre and poor husband. I admire you for finding such a big set. Where did you find it?"
"It's in the photo shop. Sending this kind of stuff is their specialty.
But they were foolish, because I saw that it only wrote'Mrs. Galmont'and not'Duchess'.
"I forgive them," said the Duchess carelessly. She seemed to have a sudden idea. She was overjoyed and had a smile on her face, but then she could not restrain herself. She immediately said to Swan, "What! Would you like to go to Italy with us?
"Madam, I'm sure it's impossible."
"Mrs. Monmorancy is more fortunate than I am. You have been to Venice and Vicenza with her. She said to me, with you, she saw a lot of things, if you are not there, she will never see, no one else has talked about, she said, you let her see unheard of things, even familiar things, there are many unheard of details. If you are not there, she may pass by twenty times and never notice the details. She's really luckier than us... You have Mr. Swan's photo suit, "she said to her servant," fold a corner for me and send it to Countess Morley's house at 10:30 tonight."
Swan laughed.
"But I want to know," Mrs. de Gelmont asked Swan, "how did you know you couldn't go to Italy ten months in advance?"
"Dear Duchess, if you must know, I will tell you. First of all, as you have seen, I am not in good health.
"Yes, my little Charles, I see you look bad. I'm not satisfied with your face, but I don't want you to do it in a week, I want you to do it in ten months. You know, ten months is enough time for you to get sick."
Then a servant came to report that the car was ready. Come on, Oliana, get in the car!" The Duke said that he had stamped his feet in a hurry as if he were a horse waiting for someone to get on.
"So, to put it simply, what is the reason why you can't go to Italy?" The Duchess stood up to say goodbye to us as she asked Swan.
"My dear friend, I will die in a few months. At the end of last year, I saw several doctors and they said that my illness would soon kill me. No matter how I treated it, I could only live for three or four months, which was the longest period, "Swan answered with a smile, as the servant opened the glass door of the lobby and let the Duchess pass.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" cried the Duchess. She stopped and lifted her beautiful, melancholy, suspicious blue eyes. But after a short pause, she went back to the carriage.
For the first time in her life, she faced two distinct responsibilities at the same time: one was to get on a carriage to eat at someone else's house, the other was to show sympathy to a dying person. She could not find principles to follow in the rules of etiquette and did not know what to choose. So she thought that she should pretend not believe in the existence of a second one. Responsibility, so that you can obey the first responsibility, and at this moment, the first responsibility needs less effort, she thought, the best way to solve the contradiction is to deny the second responsibility. Are you kidding? She said to Swan.
"That's an interesting joke," Swan answered mockingly. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I haven't told you about my illness. But now that you ask me, and maybe someday I'll die... But I don't want to delay you. You have to go out for dinner, "he continued, knowing that for others, their social responsibilities are more important than a friend's life and death. He knows how to be polite, so he can put himself in other people's shoes. But the Duchess was polite, and she felt vaguely that Swan's death was not as important as her going out to dinner. So as she continued to walk towards the carriage, she hung down her shoulders and said, "This meal doesn't matter, don't care about it!" But this annoyed the Duke, who cried out, "Come on, Oliana, don't talk to Swan there and sigh! You know very well that Mrs. de Saint-Felter is going to have dinner at eight o'clock. You should know what you are going to do. Your carriage has been waiting for you for five minutes. Excuse me, Charles, "he whispered to Swan." It's ten minutes to eight. Oliana is always late. It takes five or six minutes to get to her mother's house in St. De Fairt."
Mrs. de Gelmont steadfastly headed for the carriage and said goodbye to Swan for the last time. We'll talk about this later. You know, I don't believe a word of what you said, but we should talk about it together. They may have frightened you. You may come to me for lunch one day if you like. (For Mrs. De Gelmont, everything is settled by inviting lunch.) Tell me the date and time. She lifted her red skirt and put her foot on the pedal. As she was getting into the car, the Duke saw the foot and shouted, "Oliana, what are you making of yourself, unfortunate wretch?" Why are you still wearing black shoes? But the clothes are red! Don't go back and change those red shoes, or else, "he said to the servant." Go and get the Duchess's maid to take them off. "
"But, my friend," the Duchess said softly when she saw Swan and I were going out of the door, but wanted to wait until the carriage left. She saw Swan, embarrassed by the Duke's words, and said, "Since we're going to be late..."
"No, it's not too late. It's ten minutes before eight o'clock. It doesn't take ten minutes to get to Montso Park. Besides, what's the way? Even if they arrive at 8:30, they have to wait patiently. You can't go in red clothes and black shoes. Besides, we won't be the last to arrive. Hey, there's the Sassnages. You know, they never arrive before 8:40."
The Duchess had to go back to her bedroom to change her shoes.
"Well," said Mr. de Gelmont to us, "poor husbands, they are always laughed at, but they still have merits. Without me, Oliana went to visit in black shoes."
"It's not ugly," Swan said. "I noticed the black shoes, but I didn't feel anything inappropriate at all."
"I'm not saying it's ugly," the Duke answered, "but shoes and clothes look more elegant in the same colour. Besides, you can rest assured that she will find out by herself when she can't reach the destination, and then it's time for me to come back and pick up my shoes. In that case, I won't be able to eat until nine o'clock. Goodbye, my children, "he gently pushed us aside and said," Go away while she's not down yet. It's not that she doesn't like to see you, on the contrary, it's because she likes to see you too much. If she sees that you haven't left yet, she will talk to you again. She's very tired. If she talks to you again, she'll be half dead when she eats. Besides, I confess frankly to you that I am starving to death. I just got off the train in the morning and had not had a good lunch. Although there were delicious lamb legs cooked with egg butter sauce, I would never be unhappy or unhappy to let me go to the table now. Ah! It's five to eight! Women love to dawdle! She'll make us both hungry and stomach cramps. Her body is far from as strong as people think.
The Duke was not at all uncomfortable about telling a dying man that his wife and himself were not in good health, for in his opinion, his wife's body was more important and interested in him. Therefore, just out of good breeding and in order to make Swan happy, he politely took us to the door and shouted loudly in a loud voice at Swan who had come to the yard:
"Hey, you don't believe the doctor's story. Let their words go to hell! They are all donkeys. You are in good health. You live longer than any of us."