Justine 淑女的眼泪 Chapter 56

Upon returning to our inn I explained as best I could the history of this unfortunate acquaintance; but whether my companion was not at all satisfied by what I told her, or whether she may perhaps have been exceedingly annoyed by my virtuous ¹ performance which deprived her of an adventure wherefrom she might have earned much, she waggled her tongue, the effects of which were only too plainly revealed by Bertrand's remarks upon the occasion of the deplorable catastrophe ² I am going to relate to you in a moment; however, the monk ³ never did reappear, and we left Lyon., ,Having quit the city late, we could get no further than Villefranche that day, and there we stopped for the night; 'twas in that town, Madame, there took place the horrible event which today causes me to appear before you in a criminal guise ⁴, although I was no more a malefactor ⁵ in that one of my life's fateful circumstances than in any other of those where you have observed me so unjustly assaulted by the blows of fate; and as in many another instance, so this time I was flung into the abyss by nothing other than the goodness of my heart and the wickedness of men., ,Having made Villefranche toward six o'clock in the evening, we supped in haste and retired ⁶ directly, that we might be able to undertake a longer stage on the morrow; we had not been two hours in bed when a dreadful smell of smoke roused us from sleep; convinced the flames are near at hand, we get instantly from bed. Just Heaven! the havoc ⁷ wrought ⁸ by the fire was already but too frightful ⁹; half-naked, we open our door and all around us hear nothing but the fracas ¹⁰ of collapsing ¹¹ walls, the noise of burning timbers and woodwork and the shrieks ¹² of those who had fallen into the blaze; surrounded by devouring ¹³ flames we have no idea in which direction to run; to escape their violence, we rush past them and soon find ourselves lost in a milling crush of wretches ¹⁴ who, like ourselves, are seeking salvation ¹⁵ in flight; at this point I remember that my conductress, more concerned for her own than for her child's safety, has not thought of preserving it from death; without a word to the woman, I fly to our chamber ¹⁶, having to pass through the conflagration ¹⁷ and to sustain burns in several places: I snatch up the poor little creature, spring forward to restore her to her mother: I advance along a half-consumed beam, miss my footing, instinctively ¹⁸ thrust out my hands, this natural reflex forces me to release the precious burden in my arms... it slips from my grasp and the unlucky child falls into the inferno ¹⁹ before its own mother's eyes; at this instant I am myself seized... carried away; too upset to be able to distinguish anything, I am unaware ²⁰ whether 'tis aid or peril ²¹ which surrounds me but, to my grief, I am but too fully ²² enlightened when, flung into a post chaise, I discover myself beside Dubois who, clapping a pistol to my head, threatens to blow out my brains if I utter a syllable ²³..., , ,"Oh, Madame! you?" I exclaim. "Here?", ,"Everything that has just transpired ²⁵ is my doing," the monster replies, " 'twas by arson ²⁶ I saved your life; and by a fire you're going to lose it: in order to catch you I'd have followed you to Hell had it been necessary. Monseigneur was furious, believe me, when he found out you had escaped; I get two hundred louis for every girl I procure ²⁷ him, and not only did he not want to pay me for Eulalie, but he menaced me with all his anger could produce were I to fail to bring you back. I discovered I'd missed you by two hours at Lyon; yesterday I reached Villefranche an hour after your arrival, I had the hotel burned by the henchmen I always have in my employ, I wanted to incinerate you or get you back; I've got you, I m returning you to a house your flight has plunged ²⁸ into trouble and unquiet, and I'm taking you there, Therese, to be treated in a cruel manner. Monseigneur swore he'd not have tortures terrible enough for you, and we'll not step from this carriage until we are at his seat. Well, Therese, what is your present opinion of Virtue ²⁹ ?", ,My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。,I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死 。