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T he children adored him, but he did not care for them; his thoughts were elsewhere. Cold, just, and at the same time loved, because his coming had, in a measure,removed dullness from the house, he was a good tutor. For his part, he felt only hatred and horror for the high society in which he was allowed to occupy the very foot of the table.
There were certain formal dinners at which he could barely contain his hatred of everything round about him. On Saint Louis's day in particular, Mr. Valenod was laying down the law at Mr. de Renal's; Julien almost gave himself away; he escaped into the garden, saying that he must look after the children.“Show respect to that man who obviously has doubled and tripled his fortune since he has been in charge of the relief of the poor? Ha! What monsters!”
Some days earlier, Julien, walking by himself and saying his prayers in a little wood, had tried in vain to avoid his two brothers, whom he saw approaching him by a solitary path. The jealousy of these rough labourers had been so quickened by the sight of their brother's handsome black coat, and air of extreme refi nement , as well as by the sincere contempt which he felt for them, that they had proceeded to beat him, leaving him there unconscious and bleeding freely. Madame de Renal, who was out walking with Mr. Valenod and the town judicial assistant,happened to turn into the little wood; she saw Julien lying on the ground and thought him dead. She was so overcome as to make Mr. Valenod jealous.
His alarm was premature . Julien admired Madame de Renal's looks, but hated her for her beauty. He spoke to her as seldom as possible.
Elisa, Madame de Renal's maid, had not failed to fall in love with the young tutor. Madame de Renal observed that Julien was speaking more often than before to Miss Elisa; she learned that these conversations were due to the limitations of Julien's extremely small wardrobe . He had so scanty a supply of linen that he was obliged to send it out constantly to be washed,and it was in performing these little services that Elisa made herself useful to him.
Madame de Renal was one of those women to be found in the provinces whom one may easily take to be fools until one has known them for a fortnight. She had no experience of life,and made no effort at conversation. Until Julien arrived, she had really paid no attention to anyone but her children. She imagined that all men resembled her husband and Mr. Valenod.Coarse wit and the most brutal insensibility to everything that did not promise money, promotion or a medal, a blind hatred of every argument that went against them seemed to her to be things natural to the male sex. After many long years, Madame de Renal had not yet grown accustomed to these money-hungry creatures among whom she had to live.
Hence arriving of the little peasant Julien, Madame de Renal found much pleasant enjoyment , radiant with the charm of novelty , in the sympathy of this proud and noble spirit.Generosity, nobility of soul, humanity, seemed to her, after a time, to exist only in this young man.
Madame de Renal, the wealthy heiress of a religious aunt,married at sixteen to a worthy gentleman, had never in her life felt or seen anything that bore the faintest resemblance to love.Thanks to this ignorance, Madame de Renal, entirely happy,occupied incessantly with the thought of Julien, was far from reproaching herself in the slightest degree.
elective /ɪˈlektɪv/ adj. 选任的；有选举权的；可选择的
resemblance /rɪˈzembləns/ n. 相似，相似性
obviously /ˈɒbvɪəslɪ/ adv. 明显地，显然
triple /ˈtrɪpl/ vt. 使增至三倍
quicken /ˈkwɪkən/ vt. 加快；变得更活跃
refi nement /rɪˈfaɪnmənt/ n. 优雅；礼貌；改进
unconscious /ʌnˈkɒnˌʃəs/ adj. 无意识的
judicial /dʒu:ˈdɪʃəl/ adj. 司法的；法院的
premature /ˌpreməˈtʃʊə/ adj. 过早的；未成熟的
wardrobe /ˈwɔ:drəʊb/ n. 全部衣物；衣柜
scanty /ˈskæntɪ/ adj. 缺乏的，不足的
linen /ˈlɪnɪn/ n. 亚麻布；亚麻制品
brutal /ˈbru:təl/ adj. 残忍的；兽性的
insensibility /ɪnˌsensəˈbɪlətɪ/ n. 没有知觉；不在乎；不关心
enjoyment /ɪnˈdʒɔɪmənt/ n. 快乐；享受
radiant /ˈreɪdɪənt/ adj. 容光焕发的；辐射的；发光的
novelty /ˈnɒvəltɪ/ n. 新颖；新奇的事物
nobility /nəʊˈbɪlɪtɪ/ n. 高贵
heiress /ˈeərɪs/ n. 女性继承人
worthy /ˈwɜ:ðɪ/ adj. 可敬的；值得的
incessantly /ɪnˈsesəntlɪ/ adv. 不间断地
reproach /rɪˈprəʊtʃ/ vt. 责备