Latest / The Charterhouse of Parma / Fragment 1: Birague's narrative

Transcript

Fragment 1: Birague's narrative · The Charterhouse of Parma

• 0:00
  Section thirty six of the Charterhouse of Palmer by Stendahl, translated by C.
• 0:06
  K. Scott Montcrief. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read
• 0:11
  by Peter Dan fragment Ie Barague's narrative, Fabricio were received in this house,
• 0:19
  which seemed to him very pleasant. Sought never to speak of the battle,
• 0:23
  since memories of that sort depressed the colonel, But as he thought, without
• 0:27
  ceasing of the details of which he had been a witness, he would sometimes
• 0:30
  return to the topic. Then the colonel placed a finger on his lips with
• 0:34
  a smile, and spoke of something else. On the other hand, Fabrizio
• 0:39
  was careful never to say anything that might let it be guessed by what succession
• 0:43
  of chances he had been brought into the neighborhood of Waterloo. The ladies especially
• 0:48
  were constantly placing him under the necessity of finding polite answers which should tell them
• 0:53
  nothing of what they desired to know. At every moment, by phrases which
• 0:58
  betrayed the keenest interest, they placed him under the necessity of telling them something.
• 1:03
  But he got well out of the trap, and the ladies knew absolutely
• 1:06
  nothing except that he was called Vasi, and even then they had good reason
• 1:11
  to believe that this name was assumed Colonel le Baron. His wife and the
• 1:15
  ladies of their acquaintance were therefore devoured by curiosity. This young man's adventures must
• 1:22
  indeed be extraordinary. All that I can say positively repeated the colonel, is
• 1:27
  that he is endowed with the truest courage, the most simple, the most
• 1:32
  innocent, so to speak. When I was so stupid as to set him
• 1:36
  on picket at the head of the bridge at La Sante, and he fought
• 1:38
  there one against ten, I would wager that he was drawing a saber for
• 1:42
  the first time. And his passport, which you went to verify at the
• 1:47
  municipality, is really made out. Vasi dealer in barometers, traveling with his
• 1:53
  wares. The ladies that day plied him with a thousand artful questions about the
• 1:59
  barometers. He extricated himself with a laugh, and very neatly they consulted him
• 2:04
  as to the state of the barometer in the house, which they put in
• 2:07
  his hands. He remembered the tone that in similar circumstances Contepietronaira would have adopted,
• 2:14
  unjustified by the fun that was being made of him, replied, in
• 2:16
  a tone of the most lively gallantry. His appearance was so modest, and
• 2:22
  his tone was in so strange a contrast to his ordinary manner, that it
• 2:25
  was by no means ill received. The ladies went into fits of laughter.
• 2:30
  That same evening, the Colonel said to him, Chance has just offered me
• 2:35
  a way of finding out a young man's position. You know that resurrected looking
• 2:39
  creature who has come to him from Italy. The man is a lawyer,
• 2:43
  and is called Barrague. And besides that, he is dying of fright.
• 2:46
  He speaks bad French, but I hope that his jibberish may not offend you,
• 2:51
  for he is so driven by fear that each of his sentences says something.
• 2:55
  This morning, there's lawyer, who for some days has always followed me
• 3:00
  with his eyes at the cafe, as at last found an excuse for as
• 3:02
  he says, presenting his respects to me. I at once thought that perhaps
• 3:07
  you would deign not to be put off by his speech, which, for
• 3:10
  that matter greatly resembles your young favorites. And so I have invited this strange
• 3:16
  creature to take tea with us this evening, and if you give me leave,
• 3:21
  I shall now send Blois to fetch him from the cafe. Ten minutes
• 3:25
  later, Trooper Blois announced at the door of the drawing room, Monsieur Brague
• 3:30
  Avoca. The conversation lasted for fully two hours. The ladies heaped every attention
• 3:38
  on the poor lawyer, who did everything in his power to please them,
• 3:40
  But it was in vain that they sought to extract from him anything that bore
• 3:44
  upon Fabrizio. They had lost patience with his discretion, which was not lacking
• 3:49
  in polite forms of speech. When the colonel exclaimed, I must say,
• 3:53
  my dear Avoca, that you are a very brave man. How could you
• 3:58
  dare enter France in the present state of things. They are kind enough to
• 4:01
  give me in the army a certain reputation for bravery. But I must confess
• 4:05
  to you that in your place, and I tell you frankly, speaking of
• 4:09
  French so different from that spoken by the natives of the country, I should
• 4:14
  never have ventured to penetrate into so disturbed a country. Now I see that
• 4:18
  you have made a conquest of these ladies. You have an air of sincerity
• 4:21
  which pleases me, and I should like to give you my protection. Madame's
• 4:27
  uncle is Mayor of Armian. I ought to tell you that, since you
• 4:30
  are not recommended by an ambassador, your fate lies in his hands. Monsieur
• 4:35
  le Mayor Lebonn has a savage nature. You will never believe that you have
• 4:40
  come to Armion for your health. And so forth. The ladies were quick
• 4:45
  in taking the hint given them by the colonel. They took the utmost pain
• 4:48
  to give the Milanese lawyer a strong impression of the cruel nature of the worthy.
• 4:53
  Monsieur le Bun, Mayor of Armian. Barrague turned paler than his shirt
• 4:59
  than the whit cravat an enormous hat in which he had attired himself that evening
• 5:02
  to be presented to ladies. But he found himself so well treated that finally,
• 5:08
  about eleven o'clock he ventured to ask the colonel if he had any horses.
• 5:13
  The colonel asked him whether at that time of night he wished to go
• 5:15
  for a ride, saying that he had only two horses, which were indeed
• 5:19
  a pair of screws, but that he placed them willingly at his service.
• 5:25
  I should not think of going out by the gate at this hour, and
• 5:27
  running the risk of seeing myself questioned by the police. But I find so
• 5:31
  estimable a humanity in your heart, and in the hearts of these good ladies,
• 5:35
  that I venture to make a request of you. Allow me to spend
• 5:40
  the night in your horse's hayloft, as it is an idea that has just
• 5:43
  occurred to me. The terrible Mayor Lebourgne would never hear of it, and
• 5:46
  I should spend one night at least in peace and quiet. I am lodging
• 5:50
  with his excellency, Monsieur Varsi, but he has committed the imprudence, as
• 5:56
  a matter of fact, long before my arrival, of refusing to see any
• 6:00
  more of the Dupreix family, who were greatly annoyed, and who I have
• 6:02
  no doubt would be glad to have their revenge. I have not attempted to
• 6:08
  hide my feelings in the matter from Monsieur Vassi. I have taken the liberty
• 6:12
  of saying that this step was rash on his part. But your experience,
• 6:15
  Monsieur le Colonel, must have taught you what the rashness of youth is.
• 6:19
  Monsieur Vassi's answer was that he would have been stifled by boredom if he had
• 6:24
  continued to spend his evenings with the Dupreix family. In the present state of
• 6:30
  things, the Duprey, who no doubt desire to be avenged, will not
• 6:33
  dare to attack a man like Monsieur Vassis, but they will take it out
• 6:36
  on a poor devil like myself, and so on. The colonel ended by
• 6:43
  giving mossieuur Barag a letter of recommendation addressed to the Mayor of Armian, in
• 6:46
  which he declared that he would answer with his life for Missieu Baragh, the
• 6:50
  respectable lawyer of Milan, whom he had known when he was stationed in that
• 6:55
  city. Carry this letter on you while you are on your way to the
• 6:59
  grand Man, and burn all the written or printed documents which you may have
• 7:02
  in your room. Spend a quiet night, but you see that I am
• 7:06
  answering for you. Come to morrow and tell me your whole history, so
• 7:10
  that if the Mayor questions me closely, I can make a show of having
• 7:14
  known you for a long time. Say nothing to Monsieur Vassis of what I
• 7:17
  am doing for you. One may imagine whether this evening was amusing for the
• 7:23
  ladies. But they were afraid of having alarmed Monsieur Barrage unduly. Really,
• 7:28
  the man's appearance was incredible, said Madame le Baron. But put in one
• 7:32
  of her friends, it becomes more and more likely that our young protege Vassis
• 7:36
  is a man of consequence in his own country. The colonel had to employ
• 7:43
  stratagems for a week. Monsieur Barrag spoke as freely as could be desired of
• 7:46
  his own affairs, but was impenetrable on everything that related to Fabrizio. Madame
• 7:53
  le Baron and her friends invited him to luncheon one day when the Colonel was
• 7:57
  absent, and played so cruelly upon Monsieur Baron's alarm that he ended by saying
• 8:01
  to them with tears, Oh well, I see that you are good ladies.
• 8:05
  I see that you would not wish to ruin me. You have immense
• 8:07
  influence with the Mayor of Armian. Give me your word that you will obtain
• 8:11
  for me a passport for England signed by the Mayor, and I shall at
• 8:15
  least be able to fly to London in case of danger. My father ordered
• 8:20
  me to travel by London so as to be able to return to Milan without
• 8:22
  fear of Baron Binda, the chief of police there. He is a man
• 8:28
  of the same sort as your mayor. It is not easy to get out
• 8:31
  of his prisons once one has got into them. Very well, exclaimed Madame
• 8:35
  le Baron, if you are frank with us, I give you my word
• 8:39
  that to morrow you shall have your passport for London. We wish no harm
• 8:43
  to Monsieur Vassi. Far from it. This lady, she pointed to,
• 8:46
  the youngest of her friends, has a tender regard for him. Barag was
• 8:52
  slightly astonished by the shout of laughter which greeted this admission. He had some
• 8:56
  difficulty in replying with any clarity to the hundred questions by which he was at
• 9:01
  once overwhelmed. The ladies knew already that Vassi was an assumed name, that
• 9:07
  Fabrizio Deldonna was the second son of the Marchesa Deldonno, second Grand Major Domo
• 9:13
  Major of the Lombardo Venician Kingdom, one of the greatest noblemen in that country,
• 9:18
  to whom his barrague's father was Stewart. On the news of Napoleon's landing
• 9:24
  from the Gulf of Granti in June, regardless of the alarm of his aunt
• 9:28
  and mother, Fabrizio had fled from his father's magnificent castle situated at Grianta on
• 9:33
  the Lake of Como, six leagues from the Swiss frontier. Barragu was at
• 9:37
  this stage in his narrative. When the colonel returned, he was told all
• 9:41
  that Barrague had already said. As his regiment had been stationed for some time
• 9:46
  at Lodi, a few leagues from Milan, he knew all the principal personages
• 9:50
  of the court of Prince Eugene. What he cried, That Contessa Gina Pietrenera,
• 9:56
  of whom you are speaking to these ladies as the aunt of Rizzio.
• 10:01
  Is she that famous Contessa Pietrenia, the most beautiful woman in Milan in the
• 10:05
  days of the Viceroy, whose word was law at his court, the very
• 10:09
  same colonel. And what age might she be now? Twenty seven or twenty
• 10:16
  eight? She is more beautiful than ever, but she is completely ruined.
• 10:20
  Her husband was murdered in what they called a duel, and the contessa was
• 10:24
  furious at not being able to avenge his death. The general was out shooting
• 10:28
  in the mountains of Bergamo with some officers of the Ultra party he is,
• 10:33
  you know, although belonging to a family of the old nobility, had always
• 10:37
  served with the troops of the ces Alpine Republic. There was a luncheon.
• 10:41
  In the course of this shooting party. One of the ultra officers took the
• 10:43
  liberty of belittling the courage of the Cesalpine troops. The general struck him a
• 10:48
  blow. The luncheon was interrupted, as they had no weapons but guns.
• 10:54
  They fought with those. The poor general fell stone dead with two bullets in
• 10:58
  his body. But the details of this duel made such a stir in Milan
• 11:01
  that all the officers who had been present were obliged to go and travel in
• 11:05
  Switzerland. The local surgeon, who examined the general's body, certified that the
• 11:09
  bullet which caused his death had entered from the back. This statement by the
• 11:15
  surgeon came to the Signor Baron Binder, Director General of the Police. Contessa
• 11:20
  Pietronera knew of it at once, for she can do anything she likes at
• 11:24
  Milan. All the important people of the place are her friends and are at
• 11:28
  his service. Twenty four hours later there arrived a second statement by the country
• 11:33
  surgeon from the Vegamo district he contradicted the first and stated that the bullet which
• 11:39
  caused the death had entered by the stomach, and that the second bullet,
• 11:41
  which had passed through the thigh, had also entered from in front. But
• 11:46
  they said that this surgeon had received a large sum of money. On the
• 11:50
  very night after the arrival of this second statement, the officers who had been
• 11:54
  present at the duel left for Switzerland. The funeral was held next day.
• 11:58
  They were afraid of being mobbed by the crowd. And the strangest thing of
• 12:01
  all was that the surgeon also left for Switzerland, where he still is.
• 12:07
  He has never dared to show his face again. In his own neighborhood.
• 12:09
  The Burger Masques have sworn to exterminate him. They don't take things lightly in
• 12:13
  that part of the world. It was after that that there was the famous
• 12:18
  quarrel between Senora Pietrenera and her friend Limoccarti. What is that, the famous
• 12:24
  Limacarti, who in eighteen eleven had such fine English horses, seven of them,
• 12:30
  no doubt, Lodovico Lemacarti, he had forty horses in his stables.
• 12:35
  He has an income of over two hundred thousand lires. My cousin ner Coole
• 12:39
  is his factor. But there's a bad relation for you. He has never
• 12:43
  thought of employing me as lawyer to the rich Limoccarti estate. It is terrible,
• 12:48
  frightful, called Madame le Baron. But you spoke of a letter which
• 12:52
  I must tell you excites my curiosity greatly. End of Section thirty six ep