World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 195 Sharing (2)
The protagonist in the novel "The Lame Devil" by the French writer Le Sage, that is, the lame devil.Being able to pierce the roof and walls to peek into the house, if this kind of devil character is not first thought up by Le Sage and written into his masterpiece, other imaginative writers will have this talent and create this kind of character to some extent.Had such a devil torn off the roof and walls of the inn in the rue Saint-Germain-des-Prés at the time of Debray's reckoning, it would have been a very rare spectacle.There is a room on the upper floor of the room where Debray and Mrs. Tanglar shared 250 million equally. The tenants in it happen to be familiar to us. They are important characters in the story we told earlier. Now that we have seen them again, We always have to care.

The tenants of this room were Mercedes and Albert.However, in a few days, Mercedes' appearance has changed, not because she is now dressed so simply that we can't recognize her at once-in fact, when she was very rich, she never forgot to dress up, To show her wealth, it is not that she has fallen into a state of depression and a sad face all day long.No, Mercedes has changed because her eyes are no longer bright, because her smile is no longer on her lips, and because she was once quick-witted and quick-talking, and now she is depressed. , always taciturn.Poverty did not despair her, nor did she find it unbearable for want of courage.Mercedes broke away from her original living environment and entered a new life circle of her own choice, just like some people stepping out of a brightly lit living room into the dark night.Mercedes, like a queen, leaves her palace for a hut, deprived of everything but the simplest necessities of life, and she is not used to poor china dishes, which she has to bring to the table herself. Going up, she is not used to the simple bed, but she no longer has the bed she used to sleep on.

Indeed, this Catalan beauty, or rather, this noble countess, now has no proud eyes, no charming smile, and when she looks around, all she sees are sights. Unattractive crappy stuff.The room’s wallpaper is gray and light gray. The budget-conscious hotel owner deliberately chose this kind of wallpaper that doesn’t look dirty. The floor is covered with square bricks, there is no carpet, and the furniture is very dazzling. The shabby look that pretends to be luxurious is extremely eye-catching. In short, a pair of eyes used to looking at elegant environments pays attention to harmony, but the things here are extremely dazzling, and there is no harmony or disharmony at all.Mrs. Mercerf, who had lived here since she left her mansion, was so still that she felt dizzy, as a traveler feels dizzy at the edge of an abyss.Noticing that Albert was watching her furtively all the time, wondering how she was in the mood, she pulled herself together, and there was a lifeless smile on her lips, but her eyes could not smile without that. There is a kind of soft light, so the smile on her mouth is like a reflection of light, only light without warmth.

Albert was worried. The traces left by his luxurious life made him unsuitable for his current environment. He felt uncomfortable and embarrassed.When he went out he wanted to go without gloves, but he found his hands were too white, and when he went into town on errands he wanted to walk back and forth, but he found his boots were too shiny.Yet the love of mother and son unites these two beings so noble and reasonable that they can understand each other without a word, and they don't have to test it out like friends do, and they can live without it. candidly.Besides, Albert said: "Mother, we have no money." Mother would not turn pale immediately when she heard it.

Mercedes never really lived in poverty.Although she often said that her life was poor when she was young, that kind of poverty was something else entirely. As expected, "need" and "necessary" were two synonyms, but the two were very different after all.In the village of Catalunya, Mercedes did need many things, but there were some things she never lacked.As long as the net is not broken, fish can be caught, and as long as there is fish to sell, money can be sold to mend the net.At that time, she had no friendship at all except love, and the love in her heart had nothing to do with material life at all, so it was enough to only care about herself. Just manage it.Mercedes was not rich then, but she was not short of her own expenses, whereas today she had two expenses to meet and she had nothing on hand.

Winter is coming.It was chilling in the bare room, Mercedes had no place to light a fire, and the thousands of radiators in her mansion filled the whole building, from the vestibule to her daughter-in-law. Bin's small living room was warmed up.Now she doesn't even have a poor little flower, when her apartment was like a greenhouse full of exotic flowers!But now she has a son...

A sense of morality, perhaps exaggerated, gave rise to passion, which lifted both of them to the most exalted heights.Passion is almost fanaticism, and fanaticism can make people forget the reality of life on earth.But now that the frenzy has calmed down, they have to gradually return from the illusion to real life.After talking about lofty ideals, it is time to talk about specific problems in life.

"Mother," Albert said, just as Mrs. Tanglar came down the stairs, "you see, shall we calculate how much money we have? I need to know the total amount so that I can make a good plan. "

"The total is equal to zero." Mercedes said with a sad smile.

"No, mother, the total is 3000 francs, and with these 3000 francs I intend to arrange our lives comfortably."

"My child!" said Mercedes, with a sigh.

"Alas, dear mother," said the young man, "it is a pity that I did not really understand the value of money until I spent a lot of it on you. You see, three thousand francs is a lot of money. I have already paid for it Conceive a foolproof, magical future."

"You can talk, my friend," said the poor mother, "but first tell me, are we really going to take the three thousand francs?" Mercedes blushed at this point.

"I think it's all settled," Albert said decisively. "We don't have any money now, so we want to take this money. As you know, the money is in the back garden of the small building on Lane Maihan in Marseilles." For two hundred francs," continued Albert, "the two of us can go to Marseilles."

"Two hundred francs!" said Mercedes. "Is that what you think?"

"Oh! I have asked the public posthouse and the steamship company about this matter, and I have calculated the specific expenses. You will take the coach to Chalons first, and take the front carriage. You see, mother, I have arranged for you to look like Same for the Queen, the fare is 35 francs."

Albert then took up his quill and wrote:

Stagecoach, front carriage ... 35 francs
Chalons to Lyon, steamer... 6 francs
Lyon to Avignon, steamship ... 16 francs
Avignon to Marseilles………………7 francs
Petty expenses along the way………………………… 50 francs
Total………………………………114 francs
"Let's say 120 francs," said Albert, smiling. "You see, I'm very generous, aren't I, mother?"

"But what about yourself, my poor child?"

"Me? Don't you see that I have set aside eighty francs for myself? A young man must not try to be comfortable, mother, and besides, I know what travel is."

"You must take the Stage Express with your footman."

"You don't have to worry about it, mother."

"Very well! so be it," said Mercedes; "but what about the two hundred francs?"

"It's 200 francs, you see, and there's another 200. You see, I sold my watch for 100 francs, and the chain for 300. What luck! Three times as much, just as the old saying goes, what is worthless is valuable. So we have a lot of money, because you have 114 francs on the road and you have 250 francs."

"But what do we have to pay for the hotel?"

"Thirty francs, pay it out of my 30 francs. That's it, hurry up, I have 150 francs on the way, so you see, I am very rich. Besides, there are other And the money. How do you look at this, mother?" said Albert, drawing out a little note-book with a gold buckle--a favorite trinket he had left behind, or perhaps an original A precious present from one of those mysterious veiled girls who used to knock at the little door, Albert drew a thousand-franc note from his notebook.

"What is this?" Mercedes asked.

"A thousand-franc note, mother. Oh! It's the real note."

"Where did you get the thousand francs?"

"Listen, mother, don't get too excited." Albert stood up, kissed his mother on both cheeks, and stood looking at her. "You can't imagine how beautiful you are to me, mother," said the young man, with affection for his mother; "truly, you are the most beautiful and noblest woman I have ever seen in my life!"

"My dear child!" said Mercedes, with tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, in spite of her efforts.

"Really, after your misfortune, I not only love you deeply, but admire you very much."

"As long as my son is with me, I will have no misfortune," said Mercedes; "as long as my son is with me, I will never have any misfortune."

"Ah! I should like to say," said Albert, "that the test is beginning now, mother? Do you remember how we settled it?"

"Have we agreed on something?" Mercedes asked.

(End of this chapter)