Le Juif errant. English

by Eugène Sue

  CHAPTER II. THE CONTRAST.

  Some minutes after the meeting of Mother Bunch with the Bacchanal Queen,the two sisters were alone together in a small room in the tavern.

  "Let me kiss you again," said Cephyse to the young sempstress; "at leastnow we are alone, you will not be afraid?"

  In the effort of the Bacchanal Queen to clasp Mother Bunch in her arms,the cloak fell from the form of the latter. At sight of those miserablegarments, which she had hardly had time to observe on the Place duChatelet, in the midst of the crowd, Cephyse clasped her hands, andcould not repress an exclamation of painful surprise. Then, approachingher sister, that she might contemplate her more closely, she took herthin, icy palms between her own plump hands, and examined for someminutes, with increasing grief, the suffering, pale, unhappy creature,ground down by watching and privations, and half-clothed in a poor,patched cotton gown.

  "Oh, sister! to see you thus!" Unable to articulate another word, theBacchanal Queen threw herself on the other's neck, and burst into tears.Then, in the midst of her sobs, she added: "Pardon! pardon!"

  "What is the matter, my dear Cephyse?" said the young sewing-girl,deeply moved, and gently disengaging herself from the embrace of hersister. "Why do you ask my pardon?"

  "Why?" resumed Cephyse, raising her countenance, bathed in tears, andpurple with shame; "is it not shameful of me to be dressed in all thisfrippery, and throwing away so much money in follies, while you are thusmiserably clad, and in need of everything--perhaps dying of want, for Ihave never seen your poor face look so pale and worn."

  "Be at ease, dear sister! I am not ill. I was up rather late last night,and that makes me a little pale--but pray do not cry--it grieves me."

  The Bacchanal Queen had but just arrived, radiant in the midst of theintoxicated crowd, and yet it was Mother Bunch who was now employed inconsoling her!

  An incident occurred, which made the contrast still more striking.Joyous cries were heard suddenly in the next apartment, and these wordswere repeated with enthusiasm: "Long live the Bacchanal Queen!"

  Mother Bunch trembled, and her eyes filled with tears, as she saw hersister with her face buried in her hands, as if overwhelmed with shame."Cephyse," she said, "I entreat you not to grieve so. You will make meregret the delight of this meeting, which is indeed happiness to me! Itis so long since I saw you! But tell me--what ails you?"

  "You despise me perhaps--you are right," said the Bacchanal Queen,drying her tears.

  "Despise you? for what?"

  "Because I lead the life I do, instead of having the courage to supportmisery along with you."

  The grief of Cephyse was so heart-breaking, that Mother Bunch, alwaysgood and indulgent, wishing to console her, and raise her a little inher own estimation, said to her tenderly: "In supporting it bravely fora whole year, my good Cephyse, you have had more merit and courage thanI should have in bearing with it my whole life."

  "Oh, sister! do not say that."

  "In simple truth," returned Mother Bunch, "to what temptations is acreature like me exposed? Do I not naturally seek solitude, even asyou seek a noisy life of pleasure? What wants have I? A very littlesuffices."

  "But you have not always that little?"

  "No--but, weak and sickly as I seem, I can endure some privations betterthan you could. Thus hunger produces in me a sort of numbness, whichleaves me very feeble--but for you, robust and full of life, hunger isfury, is madness. Alas! you must remember how many times I have seenyou suffering from those painful attacks, when work failed us in ourwretched garret, and we could not even earn our four francs a week--sothat we had nothing--absolutely nothing to eat--for our pride preventedus from applying to the neighbors."

  "You have preserved the right to that honest pride."

  "And you as well! Did you not struggle as much as a human creaturecould? But strength fails at last--I know you well, Cephyse--it washunger that conquered you; and the painful necessity of constant labor,which was yet insufficient to supply our common wants."

  "But you could endure those privations--you endure them still."

  "Can you compare me with yourself? Look," said Mother Bunch, taking hersister by the hand, and leading her to a mirror placed above a couch,"look!--Dost think that God made you so beautiful, endowed you with suchquick and ardent blood, with so joyous, animated, grasping a natureand with such taste and fondness for pleasure, that your youth might bespent in a freezing garret, hid from the sun, nailed constantly to yourchair, clad almost in rags, and working without rest and without hope?No! for He has given us other wants than those of eating and drinking.Even in our humble condition, does not beauty require some littleornament? Does not youth require some movement, pleasure, gayety? Do notall ages call for relaxation and rest? Had you gained sufficient wagesto satisfy hunger, to have a day or so's amusement in the week, afterworking every other day for twelve or fifteen hours, and to procurethe neat and modest dress which so charming a face might naturallyclaim--you would never have asked for more, I am sure of it--you havetold me as much a hundred times. You have yielded, therefore, to anirresistible necessity, because your wants are greater than mine."

  "It is true," replied the Bacchanal Queen, with a pensive air; "if Icould but have gained eighteenpence a day, my life would have been quitedifferent; for, in the beginning, sister, I felt cruelly humiliated tolive at a man's expense."

  "Yes, yes--it was inevitable, my dear Cephyse; I must pity, but cannotblame you. You did not choose your destiny; but, like me, you havesubmitted to it."

  "Poor sister!" said Cephyse, embracing the speaker tenderly; "you canencourage and console me in the midst of your own misfortunes, when Iought to be pitying you."

  "Be satisfied!" said Mother Bunch; "God is just and good. If He hasdenied me many advantages, He has given me my joys, as you have yours."

  "Joys?"

  "Yes, and great ones--without which life would be too burdensome, and Ishould not have the courage to go through with it."

  "I understand you," said Cephyse, with emotion; "you still know how todevote yourself for others, and that lightens your own sorrows."

  "I do what I can, but, alas! it is very little; yet when I succeed,"added Mother Bunch, with a faint smile, "I am as proud and happy as apoor little ant, who, after a great deal of trouble, has brought a bigstraw to the common nest. But do not let us talk any more of me."

  "Yes, but I must, even at the risk of making you angry," resumed theBacchanal Queen, timidly; "I have something to propose to you which youonce before refused. Jacques Rennepont has still, I think, some moneyleft--we are spending it in follies--now and then giving a little topoor people we may happen to meet--I beg of you, let me come to yourassistance--I see in your poor face, you cannot conceal it from me, thatyou are wearing yourself out with toil."

  "Thanks, my dear Cephyse, I know your good heart; but I am not in wantof anything. The little I gain is sufficient for me."

  "You refuse me," said the Bacchanal Queen, sadly, "because you knowthat my claim to this money is not honorable--be it so--I respect yourscruples. But you will not refuse a service from Jacques; he has been aworkman, like ourselves, and comrades should help each other. Accept itI beseech you, or I shall think you despise me."

  "And I shall think you despise me, if you insist any more upon it, mydear Cephyse," said Mother Bunch, in a tone at once so mild and firmthat the Bacchanal Queen saw that all persuasion would be in vain. Shehung her head sorrowfully, and a tear again trickled down her cheek.

  "My refusal grieves you," said the other, taking her hand; "I am trulysorry--but reflect--and you will understand me."

  "You are right," said the Bacchanal Queen, bitterly, after a moment'ssilence; "you cannot accept assistance from my lover--it was an insultto propose it to you. There are positions in life so humiliating, thatthey soil even the good one wishes to do."

  "Cephyse, I did not mean to hurt you--you know it well."

  "Oh! believe me," replied the Bacchanal Queen, "gay and giddy
as I am,I have sometimes moments of reflection, even in the midst of my maddestjoy. Happily, such moments are rare."

  "And what do you think of, then?"

  "Why, that the life I lead is hardly the thing; then resolve to askJacques for a small sum of money, just enough to subsist on for a year,and form the plan of joining you, and gradually getting to work again."

  "The idea is a good one; why not act upon it?"

  "Because, when about to execute this project, I examined myselfsincerely, and my courage failed. I feel that I could never resume thehabit of labor, and renounce this mode of life, sometimes rich, asto day, sometimes precarious,--but at least free and full of leisure,joyous and without care, and at worst a thousand times preferable toliving upon four francs a week. Not that interest has guided me. Manytimes have I refused to exchange a lover, who had little or nothing,for a rich man, that I did not like. Nor have I ever asked anything formyself. Jacques has spent perhaps ten thousand francs the last threeor four months, yet we only occupy two half-furnished rooms, becausewe always live out of doors, like the birds: fortunately, when I firstloved him, he had nothing at all, and I had just sold some jewelsthat had been given me, for a hundred francs, and put this sum in thelottery. As mad people and fools are always lucky, I gained a prize offour thousand francs. Jacques was as gay, and light-headed, and full offun as myself, so we said: 'We love each other very much, and, as longas this money lasts, we will keep up the racket; when we have no more,one of two things will happen--either we shall be tired of one another,and so part--or else we shall love each other still, and then, to remaintogether, we shall try and get work again; and, if we cannot do so, andyet will not part--a bushel of charcoal will do our business!'"

  "Good heaven!" cried Mother Bunch, turning pale.

  "Be satisfied! we have not come to that. We had still something left,when a kind of agent, who had paid court to me, but who was so ugly thatI could not bear him for all his riches, knowing that I was livingwith Jacques asked me to--But why should I trouble you with all thesedetails? In one word, he lent Jacques money, on some sort of a doubtfulclaim he had, as was thought, to inherit some property. It is with thismoney that we are amusing ourselves--as long as its lasts."

  "But, my dear Cephyse, instead of spending this money so foolishly, whynot put it out to interest, and marry Jacques, since you love him?"

  "Oh! in the first place," replied the Bacchanal Queen, laughing, as hergay and thoughtless character resumed its ascendancy, "to put money outto interest gives one no pleasure. All the amusement one has is to lookat a little bit of paper, which one gets in exchange for the nice littlepieces of gold, with which one can purchase a thousand pleasures. As formarrying, I certainly like Jacques better than I ever liked any one;but it seems to me, that, if we were married, all our happiness wouldend--for while he is only my lover, he cannot reproach me with what haspassed--but, as my husband, he would be stare to upbraid me, sooner orlater, and if my conduct deserves blame, I prefer giving it to myself,because I shall do it more tenderly."

  "Mad girl that you are! But this money will not last forever. What is tobe done next?"

  "Afterwards!--Oh! that's all in the moon. To-morrow seems to me as if itwould not come for a hundred years. If we were always saying: 'We mustdie one day or the other'--would life be worth having?"

  The conversation between Cephyse and her sister was here againinterrupted by a terrible uproar, above which sounded the sharp, shrillnoise of Ninny Moulin's rattle. To this tumult succeeded a chorus ofbarbarous cries, in the midst of which were distinguishable these words,which shook the very windows: "The Queen! the Bacchanal Queen!"

  Mother Bunch started at this sudden noise.

  "It is only my court, who are getting impatient," said Cephyse--and thistime she could laugh.

  "Heavens!" cried the sewing-girl, in alarm; "if they were to come herein search of you?"

  "No, no--never fear."

  "But listen! do you not hear those steps? they are coming along thepassage--they are approaching. Pray, sister, let me go out alone,without being seen by all these people."

  That moment the door was opened, and Cephyse, ran towards it. She saw inthe passage a deputation headed by Ninny Moulin, who was armed with hisformidable rattle, and followed by Rose-Pompon and Sleepinbuff.

  "The Bacchanal Queen! or I poison myself with a glass of water;" criedNinny Moulin.

  "The Bacchanal Queen! or I publish my banns of marriage with NinnyMoulin!" cried little Rose-Pompon, with a determined air.

  "The Bacchanal Queen! or the court will rise in arms, and carry her offby force!" said another voice.

  "Yes, yes--let us carry her off!" repeated a formidable chorus.

  "Jacques, enter alone!" said the Bacchanal Queen, notwithstanding thesepressing summonses; then, addressing her court in a majestic tone, sheadded: "In ten minutes, I shall be at your service--and then for a--of atime!"

  "Long live the Bacchanal Queen," cried Dumoulin, shaking his rattle ashe retired, followed by the deputation, whilst Sleepinbuff entered theroom alone.

  "Jacques," said Cephyse, "this is my good sister."

  "Enchanted to see you," said Jacques, cordially; "the more so as youwill give me some news of my friend Agricola. Since I began to play therich man, we have not seen each other, but I like him as much as ever,and think him a good and worthy fellow. You live in the same house. Howis he?"

  "Alas, sir! he and his family have had many misfortunes. He is inprison."

  "In prison!" cried Cephyse.

  "Agricola in prison! what for?" said Sleepinbuff.

  "For a trifling political offence. We had hoped to get him out on bail."

  "Certainly; for five hundred francs it could be done," said Sleepinbuff.

  "Unfortunately, we have not been able; the person upon whom we relied--"

  The Bacchanal Queen interrupted the speaker by saying to her lover: "Doyou hear, Jacques? Agricola in prison, for want of five hundred francs!"

  "To be sure! I hear and understand all about it. No need of yourwinking. Poor fellow! he was the support of his mother."

  "Alas! yes, sir--and it is the more distressing, as his father has butjust returned from Russia, and his mother--"

  "Here," said Sleepinbuff, interrupting, and giving Mother Bunch a purse;"take this--all the expenses here have been paid beforehand--this iswhat remains of my last bag. You will find here some twenty-five orthirty Napoleons, and I cannot make a better use of them than to servea comrade in distress. Give them to Agricola's father; he will take thenecessary steps, and to-morrow Agricola will be at his forge, where Ihad much rather he should be than myself."

  "Jacques, give me a kiss!" said the Bacchanal Queen.

  "Now, and afterwards, and again and again!" said Jacques, joyouslyembracing the queen.

  Mother Bunch hesitated for a moment; but reflecting that, after all,this sum of money, which was about to be spent in follies, would restorelife and happiness to the family of Agricola, and that hereafter thesevery five hundred francs, when returned to Jacques, might be of thegreatest use to him, she resolved to accept this offer. She took thepurse, and with tearful eyes, said to him: "I will not refuse yourkindness M. Jacques; you are so good and generous, Agricola's fatherwill thus at least have one consolation, in the midst of heavy sorrows.Thanks! many thanks!"

  "There is no need to thank me; money was made for others as well asourselves."

  Here, without, the noise recommenced more furiously than ever, and NinnyMoulin's rattle sent forth the most doleful sounds.

  "Cephyse," said Sleepinbuff, "they will break everything to pieces,if you do not return to them, and I have nothing left to pay for thedamage. Excuse us," added he, laughing, "but you see that royalty hasits duties."

  Cephyse deeply moved, extended her arms to Mother Bunch, who threwherself into them, shedding sweet tears.

  "And now," said she, to her sister, "when shall I see you again?"

  "Soon--though nothing grieves me more than to see you
in want, out ofwhich I am not allowed to help you."

  "You will come, then, to see me? It is a promise?"

  "I promise you in her name," said Jacques; "we will pay a visit to youand your neighbor Agricola."

  "Return to the company, Cephyse, and amuse yourself with a light heart,for M. Jacques has made a whole family happy."

  So saying, and after Sleepinbuff had ascertained that she could go downwithout being seen by his noisy and joyous companions, Mother Bunchquietly withdrew, eager to carry one piece of good news at least toDagobert; but intending, first of all, to go to the Rue de Babylone, tothe garden-house formerly occupied by Adrienne de Cardoville. We shallexplain hereafter the cause of this determination.

  As the girl quitted the eating-house, three men plainly and comfortablydressed, were watching before it, and talking in a low voice. Soonafter, they were joined by a fourth person, who rapidly descended thestairs of the tavern.

  "Well?" said the three first, with anxiety.

  "He is there."

  "Are you sure of it?"

  "Are there two Sleepers-in-buff on earth?" replied the other. "I havejust seen him; he is togged out like one of the swell mob. They will beat table for three hours at least."

  "Then wait for me, you others. Keep as quiet as possible. I will go andfetch the captain, and the game is bagged." So saying, one of the threemen walked off quickly, and disappeared in a street leading from thesquare.

  At this same instant the Bacchanal Queen entered the banqueting-room,accompanied by Jacques, and was received with the most frenziedacclamations from all sides.

  "Now then," cried Cephyse, with a sort of feverish excitement, as if shewished to stun herself; "now then, friends--noise and tumult, hurricaneand tempest, thunder and earthquake--as much as you please!" Then,holding out her glass to Ninny Moulin, she added: "Pour out! pour out!"

  "Long live the Queen!" cried they all, with one voice.