Prudence had just been declared bankrupt. She said that it was Marguerite’s fault: during her final illness, she had loaned Marguerite considerable sums of money for which she, Prudence, had signed promissory notes. She had not been able to repay these notes because Marguerite had died without reimbursing her, nor had she signed any receipts which would have allowed Prudence to join the other creditors.
With the help of this unlikely tale, which Madame Duvernoy put about generally as an excuse for the mishandling of her own affairs, she succeeded in getting a thousand francs out of Armand who did not believe a word of it but wanted to appear as though he did, such was his respect for anyone and anything that had once been close to his mistress.
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8
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随后我们到了朱利·迪普拉家里,她向我们讲述了她亲眼目睹的惨事,在想起她朋友的时候流下了真诚的眼泪。
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8
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Next, we called on Julie Duprat, who went over the unhappy course of events which she had witnessed and wept sincerely as she remembered her dead friend.
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9
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最后我们到玛格丽特的坟地上去,四月里太阳的初辉已经催开了绿叶的嫩芽。
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9
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Finally, we went to see Margrerite’s grave over which the early rays of the April sun were uncurling the first leaves.
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10
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阿尔芒还有最后一件必须要办的事情,就是到他父亲那儿去。他还希望我能陪他去。
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10
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There remained one final call of duty for Armand to answer, which was to rejoin his father. Once more, he asked me to accompany him.
We arrived at C where I met Monsieur Duval, who looked exactly as I had pictured him from the description his son had given me: a tall, dignified, kindly man.
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12
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他含着幸福的眼泪欢迎阿尔芒,亲切地和我握手。我很快就发现了在这个税务官身上,父爱高于一切。
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12
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He welcomed Armand with tears of happiness, and shook my hand affectionately. I quickly realized that among the Collector’s sentiments, fatherly feeling was by far the strongest.
His daughter, whose name was Blanche, had the cleareyed gaze and serene mouth which point to a soul that conceives only saintly thoughts and lips that speak only pious words. She greeted her brother’s return with smiles, unaware, chaste young woman that she was, that in a far country a courtesan had sacrificed her own happiness to the mere mention of her name.
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14
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我在这个幸福的家庭里住了几天,全家都为这个给他们带来一颗治愈了的心的人忙碌着。
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14
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I stayed for some time with this happy family which directed every waking thought to the son who had brought them a convalescent heart.
I returned to Paris where I wrote this story exactly as it had been told to me. It has just one quality to commend it, which may be contested: it is true.
From this tale, I do not draw the conclusion that all women of Marguerite’s sort are capable of behaving as she did. Far from it. But I have learned that one such woman, once in her life, experienced deep love, that she suffered for it and that she died of it. I have told the reader what I learned. It was a duty.
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17
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我并不是在宣扬淫乱邪恶,但是不论在什么地方听到有这种高贵的受苦人在祈求,我都要为他作宣传。
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17
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I am not an advocate of vice, but I shall always be a sounding board for any noble heart in adversity wherever I hear its voice raised in prayer.
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18
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我再重复一遍,玛格丽特的故事是罕见的,但是如果它带有普遍性的话,似乎也就不必把它写出来了。
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18
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Marguerite’s history is an exception, I say again. Had it been a commonplace, it would not have been worth writing down.