Saturday, 11 December 1875

The water in the fountain basin was still frozen at noon.

L'eau du bassin etait encore gele a douze.

I searched vainly in the crowd for my handsome unknown.

Je cherchais en vain dans la foule mon bel inconnu.

De Gonzales has arrived. The Audiffret house is open, but one does not see him — he is no doubt busy expelling his stepmother from here.

De Gonzales est arrive. Chez Audiffret c'est ouvert, mais on ne le voit pas; il est sans doute occupe a expulser sa belle-mere d'ici.

This morning at Maman's they touched upon my torment.

Ce matin chez maman on a touche a mon tourment.

"My God, Papa," said my mother, "why do you speak of that — it is the same as tormenting a wound with a red-hot iron!"

— Mon Dieu, papa, dit ma mere, pourquoi parlez-vous de cela, c'est la meme chose que tourmenter un endroit blesse avec un fer rouge !

They had begun by speaking of marriage, and I said that I would marry at once and with anyone at all, provided only that things would change.

On avait commence par parler de mariage, et j'ai dit que je me marierais tout de suite et avec n'importe qui, pourvu de changer.

"But," said grandfather — according to his habit, without listening to what is being discussed, like a barrel organ slowly wound up — "every mother must endeavour to marry off her daughter as soon as possible."

— Mais, disait grand-papa, selon son habitude sans ecouter de quoi il s'agit et comme un orgue de barbarie remonte lentement, mais chaque mere doit tacher de marier sa fille au plus tard.

"But that is not the point, grandfather!" I say.

— Mais ce n'est pas cela, grand-papa ! dis-je.

"Every mother," he continued, "must..."

— Chaque mere, continua-t-il, doit...

"But that is not what we are talking about!"

— Mais ce n'est pas de cela qu'il s'agit !

"...endeavour to marry off her daughter as soon as possible, for..."

— Tacher de marier sa fille au plus tard, car...

"But please — do understand that that is not the question."

— Mais, de grace, comprenez-donc que ce n'est pas la question.

"For," he resumed, paying not the slightest attention, "imagine — you, for instance, a little bird — and you shall be surrounded by children."

— Car, reprit-il sans faire la moindre attention, car figurez-vous, toi par exemple un petit oiseau et tu seras entouree d'enfants.

"For pity's sake!" I cried, beside myself.

— Par charite ! criais-je hors de moi.

"Papa," said my mother, "it is not for that — it is to change her way of life."

— Papa, dit ma mere, ce n'est pas pour cela, c'est pour changer de genre de vie.

"How so?"

— Comment ?

"Yes — to live as everyone else does," she continued.

— Oui, pour vivre comme tout le monde, reprit-elle.

"But that depends on you."

— Mais cela depend de vous.

"Oh! no," I say slowly. "I do not think so — if it depended on them, they would not make me suffer so horribly."

— Oh ! non, dis-je lentement, je ne crois pas, si cela dependait d'elles, elles ne me feraient pas si horriblement souffrir.

I give that as a small specimen of our daily conversations.

Je donne cela comme un petit echantillon de nos conversations de tous les jours.

Pleasant, is it not?

Agreable, hein ?

There are three unknowns: the one who bowed, another I saw the next day and who is merely not bad, and the Beautiful One.

Il y a trois inconnus, celui qui a salue, un autre que j'ai vu le lendemain et qui est seulement *pas mal,* et le beau.

This evening we go to the Opera. I shall enjoy myself tolerably — but on returning I shall weep. That is what the cards say. Let us see if it will be true. Dinner has just been announced.

Ce soir nous allons a l'Opera. Je m'amuserai assez, mais en rentrant *je pleurerai. Voila ce* que disent les cartes. Voyons si ce sera vrai. On vient d'annoncer le diner.

"Why do you not go to the afternoon dance at the Cercle?" Collignon asks me.

— Pourquoi n'allez-vous pas a la matinee dansante du Cercle ? me demanda Collignon.

"Because I do not wish to have my chest and my backside described in the press, as Robenson's chest and backside were described."

— Parce que je ne veux pas qu'on decrive ma poitrine et mon derriere, comme on a decrit la poitrine et le derriere de la Robenson.

Indeed, the Pointed American has been compared to the Venus de Milo. Poor Venus de Milo! Absurd journalist!

En effet on a compare la Pointue Americaine a la Venus de Milo. Pauvre Venus de Milo ! absurde journaliste !

Oh the cards — they deserve to be thrown into the fire! Far from weeping, I passed a charming evening. They were giving La Cenerentola;¹ I expected an empty house or nearly so — which is indeed what occurred. By a strange whim, I dressed in blue. A great gown of very pale blue silk, quite plain, with a large ruffle at the bottom of the skirt, the train square-cut. A close-fitting bodice, close-fitting sleeves reaching only to the elbow, the front cut in quite a particular way — neither round, nor square, nor oval; I do not know how to describe it. But the whole effect was ravishing, and I myself am very pretty.

Oh les cartes ! Meritent-elles d'etre jetees au feu ! Loin de pleurer, j'ai passe une soiree charmante. On donnait "La Cenerentola", je m'attendais a une salle vide ou a peu pres, c'est ce qui arriva en effet. Par une fantaisie bizarre, je me suis habillee en bleu. Une grande robe de soie bleu tres clair, toute unie, avec une grosse ruche dans le bas de la jupe, dont la traine est carree. Un corsage collant, manches collantes et jusqu'au coude seulement, le devant ouvert d'une facon toute particuliere, ni rond, ni carre, ni ovale, je ne sais comment. Mais le tout etait ravissant et moi-meme je suis fort jolie.

Pepino looks at me from behind a column.

Pepino me regarde de derriere une colonne.

"There is the son!" says my aunt.

— Voila le fils ! dit ma tante.

"There is Émile," says Dina.

— Voila Emile, dit Dina.

I see a grey frock coat in box No. 1 — I blush, and begin to ogle a poor innocent girl who has nothing to do with anything.

Je vois une redingote grise dans le n 1, rougis et me mets a lorgner une pauvre innocente qui ne me faisait rien.

My blushes had barely subsided when Pepino entered; my heart was still beating when I said good evening to him.

A peine ma rougeur est-elle passee que Pepino entre, mon coeur battait encore lorsque je lui dis bonsoir.

This pleasant young Nice man is very amusing; we flirt² together the whole time; then Ricardo arrives; Pepino wants to escape, but I detain him agreeably. And at the beginning of the last act — after considerable maneuvering — M. Émile d'Audiffret does us the honour of entering our box.

Ce gentil Nicois est tres drole, il amuse beaucoup, nous flirtons ensemble pendant tout le temps, puis arrive Ricardo, Pepino veut fuir, mais je le retiens gentillement. Et au commencement du dernier acte apres s'etre demene considerablement, M. Emile d'Audiffret nous fait l'honneur d'entrer dans notre loge.

I did not expect this favour from the illustrious cad — but I received him none the less with admirable simplicity.

Je ne m'attendais pas a cette faveur de l'illustre faquin, mais je ne l'en recus pas moins avec une admirable simplicite.

Pepino escaped at once — but I had shown sufficiently that he was paying me court, and he could depart in peace.

Pepino s'est sauve de suite, mais j'avais assez montre qu'il me faisait la cour et il pouvait partir en paix.

"I was to call on you this evening, Madame," he said, "but I thought that leaving a card at nine o'clock in the evening was absurd — and I came to the theatre to see if you were not here, and here you are indeed. No, truly — I do not say it for effect: I speak the truth."

— Je devais ce soir me presenter chez vous, Madame, dit-il, mais j'ai pense que laisser une carte a neuf heures du soir, etait absurde, et je suis venu au theatre pour voir si vous n'y etiez pas, et je vous trouve en effet au theatre. Non, mais vraiment, ce n'est pas pour dire, je dis vrai.

"I believe you, Monsieur — you are sincere," I say.

- Je vous crois, Monsieur, vous etes sincere, dis-je.

But let us return to the Surprising One, whose visit is a satisfaction for Ricardo — the poor man will have some news to recount: a small thing, but something.

Mais revenons au Surprenant, la visite duquel est un contentement pour Ricardo, le pauvre homme aura une nouvelle a raconter, peu de chose, mais quelque chose.

Bibi is as handsome as ever, and his hypocritical lip still pleases me. There is something in his face that attracts. Does he have this effect on everyone, or on me alone?

Bibi est toujours joli, et sa levre hypocrite me plait toujours. Il a dans la figure quelque chose qui plait. Fait-il cet effet a tout le monde ou a moi seule ?

He says he is coming from Florence. He lies — he has been to Rome to find a tenor.

Il arrive de Florence. Il ment, il a ete a Rome chercher un tenor.

Wicked Pepino made a great many very amusing cutting remarks about the management of the Opera.

Le mechant Pepino a dit une foule de mechancetes fort amusantes sur la direction de l'Opera.

Ricardo goes off "to leave Audiffret the field clear."

Ricardo s'en va pour "laisser a Audiffret le champ libre".

Audiffret had no need of that; he chats very pleasantly with us — but not at all as before. He seems like a person introduced only yesterday, whereas in the early days of our acquaintance he seemed like a friend of ten years.

Audiffret n'avait pas besoin de cela, il cause tres gentiment avec nous, mais pas du tout comme avant, il semble presente d'hier seulement, tandis que les premiers jours de notre connaissance il semblait un ami de dix ans.

I prefer his correct tone now.

J'aime mieux le ton comme il faut d'a present.

Notes

La Cenerentola (Cinderella): opera by Rossini (1817). ↩

flirtons: in English in the original; the English word was fashionable in 1870s French society. ↩

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