repliedMadameBovarysenior。
“Shewantstobeforcedtooccupyherselfwithsomemanualwork。
Ifshewereobliged,likesomanyothers,toearnherliving,shewouldn’thavethesevapours,thatcometoherfromalotofideasshestuffsintoherhead,andfromtheidlenessinwhichshelives。
Yetsheisalwaysbusy,“saidCharles。
“Ah!alwaysbusyatwhat?Readingnovels,badbooks,worksagainstreligion,andinwhichtheymockatpriestsinspeechestakenfromVoltaire。Butallthatleadsyoufarastray,mypoorchild。Anyonewhohasnoreligionalwaysendsbyturningoutbadly。“
SoitwasdecidedtostopEmmareadingnovels。Theenterprisedidnotseemeasy。Thegoodladyundertookit。Shewas,whenshepassedthroughRouen,togoherselftothelending-libraryandrepresentthatEmmahaddiscontinuedhersubscription。Wouldtheynothavearighttoapplytothepoliceifthelibrarianpersistedallthesameinhispoisonoustrade?Thefarewellsofmotheranddaughter-in-lawwerecold。Duringthethreeweeksthattheyhadbeentogethertheyhadnotexchangedhalf-a-dozenwordsapartfromtheinquiriesandphraseswhentheymetattableandintheeveningbeforegoingtobed。
MadameBovaryleftonaWednesday,themarket-dayatYonville。
ThePlacesincemorninghadbeenblockedbyarowofcarts,which,onendandtheirshaftsintheair,spreadallalongthelineofhousesfromthechurchtotheinn。Ontheothersidetherewerecanvasbooths,wherecottonchecks,blankets,andwoollenstockingsweresold,togetherwithharnessforhorses,andpacketsofblueribbon,whoseendsflutteredinthewind。Thecoarsehardwarewasspreadoutonthegroundbetweenpyramidsofeggsandhampersofcheeses,fromwhichstickystrawstuckout。
Nearthecorn-machinescluckinghenspassedtheirnecksthroughthebarsofflatcages。Thepeople,crowdinginthesameplaceandunwillingtomovethence,sometimesthreatenedtosmashtheshopfrontofthechemist。OnWednesdayshisshopwasneverempty,andthepeoplepushedinlesstobuydrugsthanforconsultations。SogreatwasHomais’reputationintheneighbouringvillages。Hisrobustaplombhadfascinatedtherustics。Theyconsideredhimagreaterdoctorthanallthedoctors。
Emmawasleaningoutatthewindow;shewasoftenthere。Thewindowintheprovincesreplacesthetheatreandthepromenade,shewasamusingherselfwithwatchingthecrowdofboorswhenshesawagentlemaninagreenvelvetcoat。Hehadonyellowgloves,althoughheworeheavygaiters;hewascomingtowardsthedoctor’shouse,followedbyapeasantwalkingwithabentheadandquiteathoughtfulair。
“CanIseethedoctor?“heaskedJustin,whowastalkingonthedoorstepswithFelicite,and,takinghimforaservantofthehouse——“TellhimthatMonsieurRodolpheBoulangerofLaHuchetteishere。“
Itwasnotfromterritorialvanitythatthenewarrivaladded“ofLaHuchette“tohisname,buttomakehimselfthebetterknown。
LaHuchette,infact,wasanestatenearYonville,wherehehadjustboughtthechateauandtwofarmsthathecultivatedhimself,without,however,troublingverymuchaboutthem。Helivedasabachelor,andwassupposedtohave“atleastfifteenthousandfrancsayear。“
Charlescameintotheroom。MonsieurBoulangerintroducedhisman,whowantedtobebledbecausehefelt“atinglingallover。“
“That’llpurgeme,“heurgedasanobjectiontoallreasoning。
SoBovaryorderedabandageandabasin,andaskedJustintoholdit。Thenaddressingthepeasant,whowasalreadypale——
“Don’tbeafraid,mylad。“
“No,no,sir,“saidtheother;“geton。“
Andwithanairofbravadoheheldouthisgreatarm。Attheprickofthelancetthebloodspurtedout,splashingagainstthelooking-glass。
“Holdthebasinnearer,“exclaimedCharles。
“Lor!“saidthepeasant,“onewouldswearitwasalittlefountainflowing。Howredmybloodis!That’sagoodsign,isn’tit?“
“Sometimes,“answeredthedoctor,“onefeelsnothingatfirst,andthensyncopesetsin,andmoreespeciallywithpeopleofstrongconstitutionlikethisman。“
Atthesewordstherusticletgothelancet-casehewastwistingbetweenhisfingers。Ashudderofhisshouldersmadethechair-backcreak。Hishatfelloff。
“Ithoughtasmuch,“saidBovary,pressinghisfingeronthevein。
ThebasinwasbeginningtotrembleinJustin’shands;hiskneesshook,heturnedpale。
“Emma!Emma!“calledCharles。
Withoneboundshecamedownthestaircase。
“Somevinegar,“hecried。“Odear!twoatonce!“
Andinhisemotionhecouldhardlyputonthecompress。
“Itisnothing,“saidMonsieurBoulangerquietly,takingJustininhisarms。Heseatedhimonthetablewithhisbackrestingagainstthewall。
MadameBovarybegantakingoffhiscravat。Thestringsofhisshirthadgotintoaknot,andshewasforsomeminutesmovingherlightfingersabouttheyoungfellow’sneck。Thenshepouredsomevinegaronhercambrichandkerchief;shemoistenedhistempleswithlittledabs,andthenblewuponthemsoftly。Theploughmanrevived,butJustin’ssyncopestilllasted,andhiseyeballsdisappearedinthepalescleroticslikeblueflowersinmilk。
“Wemusthidethisfromhim,“saidCharles。
MadameBovarytookthebasintoputitunderthetable。Withthemovementshemadeinbendingdown,herdressitwasasummerdresswithfourflounces,yellow,longinthewaistandwideintheskirtspreadoutaroundherontheflagsoftheroom;andasEmmastooping,staggeredalittleasshestretchedoutherarms。
Thestuffhereandtheregavewiththeinflectionsofherbust。
Thenshewenttofetchabottleofwater,andshewasmeltingsomepiecesofsugarwhenthechemistarrived。Theservanthadbeentofetchhiminthetumult。Seeinghispupil’seyesstaringhedrewalongbreath;thengoingaroundhimhelookedathimfromheadtofoot。
“Fool!“hesaid,“reallyalittlefool!Afoolinfourletters!A
phlebotomy’sabigaffair,isn’tit!Andafellowwhoisn’tafraidofanything;akindofsquirrel,justasheiswhoclimbstovertiginousheightstoshakedownnuts。Oh,yes!youjusttalktome,boastaboutyourself!Here’safinefitnessforpractisingpharmacylateron;forunderseriouscircumstancesyoumaybecalledbeforethetribunalsinordertoenlightenthemindsofthemagistrates,andyouwouldhavetokeepyourheadthen,toreason,showyourselfaman,orelsepassforanimbecile。“
Justindidnotanswer。Thechemistwenton——
“Whoaskedyoutocome?Youarealwayspesteringthedoctorandmadame。OnWednesday,moreover,yourpresenceisindispensabletome。Therearenowtwentypeopleintheshop。IlefteverythingbecauseoftheinterestItakeinyou。Come,getalong!Sharp!
Waitforme,andkeepaneyeonthejars。“
WhenJustin,whowasrearranginghisdress,hadgone,theytalkedforalittlewhileaboutfainting-fits。MadameBovaryhadneverfainted。
“Thatisextraordinaryforalady,“saidMonsieurBoulanger;“butsomepeopleareverysusceptible。Thusinaduel,Ihaveseenasecondloseconsciousnessatthemeresoundoftheloadingofpistols。“
“Formypart,“saidthechemist,“thesightofotherpeople’sblooddoesn’taffectmeatall,butthemerethoughtofmyownflowingwouldmakemefaintifIreflecteduponittoomuch。“
MonsieurBoulanger,however,dismissedhisservant,advisinghimtocalmhimself,sincehisfancywasover。
“Itprocuredmetheadvantageofmakingyouracquaintance,“headded,andhelookedatEmmaashesaidthis。Thenheputthreefrancsonthecornerofthetable,bowednegligently,andwentout。
HewassoonontheothersideoftheriverthiswashiswaybacktoLaHuchette,andEmmasawhiminthemeadow,walkingunderthepoplars,slackeninghispacenowandthenasonewhoreflects。
“Sheisverypretty,“hesaidtohimself;“sheisverypretty,thisdoctor’swife。Fineteeth,blackeyes,adaintyfoot,afigurelikeaParisienne’s。Wherethedevildoesshecomefrom?
Whereverdidthatfatfellowpickherup?“
MonsieurRodolpheBoulangerwasthirty-four;hewasofbrutaltemperamentandintelligentperspicacity,having,moreover,hadmuchtodowithwomen,andknowingthemwell。Thisonehadseemedprettytohim;sohewasthinkingaboutherandherhusband。
“Ithinkheisverystupid。Sheistiredofhim,nodoubt。Hehasdirtynails,andhasn’tshavedforthreedays。Whileheistrottingafterhispatients,shesitstherebotchingsocks。Andshegetsbored!Shewouldliketoliveintownanddancepolkaseveryevening。Poorlittlewoman!Sheisgapingafterlovelikeacarpafterwateronakitchen-table。Withthreewordsofgallantryshe’dadoreone,I’msureofit。She’dbetender,charming。Yes;buthowtogetridofherafterwards?“
Thenthedifficultiesoflove-makingseeninthedistancemadehimbycontrastthinkofhismistress。ShewasanactressatRouen,whomhekept;andwhenhehadponderedoverthisimage,withwhich,eveninremembrance,hewassatiated——
“Ah!MadameBovary,“hethought,“ismuchprettier,especiallyfresher。Virginieisdecidedlybeginningtogrowfat。Sheissofinikinaboutherpleasures;and,besides,shehasamaniaforprawns。“
Thefieldswereempty,andaroundhimRodolpheonlyheardtheregularbeatingofthegrassstrikingagainsthisboots,withacryofthegrasshopperhiddenatadistanceamongtheoats。HeagainsawEmmainherroom,dressedashehadseenher,andheundressedher。
“Oh,Iwillhaveher,“hecried,strikingablowwithhisstickataclodinfrontofhim。Andheatoncebegantoconsiderthepoliticalpartoftheenterprise。Heaskedhimself——
“Whereshallwemeet?Bywhatmeans?Weshallalwaysbehavingthebratonourhands,andtheservant,theneighbours,andhusband,allsortsofworries。Pshaw!onewouldlosetoomuchtimeoverit。“
Thenheresumed,“Shereallyhaseyesthatpierceone’sheartlikeagimlet。Andthatpalecomplexion!Iadorepalewomen!“
WhenhereachedthetopoftheArguielhillshehadmadeuphismind。“It’sonlyfindingtheopportunities。Well,Iwillcallinnowandthen。I’llsendthemvenison,poultry;I’llhavemyselfbled,ifneedbe。Weshallbecomefriends;I’llinvitethemtomyplace。ByJove!“addedhe,“there’stheagriculturalshowcomingon。She’llbethere。Ishallseeher。We’llbeginboldly,forthat’sthesurestway。“