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1、BOULE DE SUIF It was half past four in the morningThe travellers， who had met in the yard of the Normandy Hotel，were shivering with cold in the darkness“Isnt the coach ready yet？”one of them said“No，not yet，”his companion answered“Lucky we have been to get a permit from the Prussian army to leave Ro
2、uen，”another said“I have an acquaintance among German officers”“I see”“Do you think we can run a business at Havre？”“Perhaps we canIf not，we can make our way to EnglandNothing venture，nothing gain”“I agree with youWe can do nothing in occupied Rouen”“I have brought my wife”“So have I”“And I，too”Hors
3、es hoofs were heard，and the tinkling of little bells told them that the harness was being got readySnow was falling with something like a vague and indefinable whisperA man with a lantern appeared，dragging along a horseHe spent a long time adjusting the harness with one hand， for he held the lantern
4、 in the otherAs he was going to fetch the second horse，he noticed the travellers standing helplessly under the falling snow“Dont you stand there，”he said“Get inside the coach， and you can at least take shelter from the snow”Why had it not occurred to them？They rushed for the coachThe three husbands
5、took their seats at the far end with their wives；the other veiled and vague forms took the remaining placesAt last the coach was readyIt was drawn by a team of six horses instead of the usual four，because of the bad state of the roadsThe roads were very bad indeedThe horses slipped and panted，and th
6、e driver had to use his whip incessantlyGradually the day dawnedA bluish，leaden light came over the dreary， white landscapeInside the carriage the passengers now looked at one another inquisitivelyMonsieur and Madame Loiseau were wholesale wine merchants of the Rue Grand-pontHe had started life as a
7、 clerk in an office，and when his employer failed in business，he bought it and made a fortune by selling very bad wine at low prices to small retailers in the countryMaster of every trick of making money， he was notorious for his sharp practiceNext to them sat， with the dignity of a higher class，Mons
8、ieur CarreLamadon，owner of three spinningmills，officer of the Legion of Honour and member of the Conseil GnralUnder the Empire he posed as leader of the moderate opposition，which he hoped would be useful to him should he wish to desert to the opposite sideMadame CarrLamadon was much younger20 than h
9、er husbandA lady of delicate beauty，she had always attracted the attention of officers of good family， stationed at RouenMuffled in furs，she now stared sulkily at the interior of the coachTheir neighbours were the Count and Countess Hubert de Brville， who belonged to one of the oldest and most arist
10、ocratic families in NormandyThe Count bore a natural likeness to King Henry ， which he tried to accentuate by elaborate makeupIt had long been whispered among his family，not without pride， that the king had once made love to a Madame de Brville， and in return for her attentions， had made her husband
11、 a count and governor of a provinceGod only knows why he was married to the daughter of an unimportant shipowner of NantesShe was stately to look at， very hospitable，and the rumour that she had been a favourite with one of the sons of Louis Philippe made her the more popular among the local noblesHe
12、r salon was considered the best in the neighbourhoodAdmittance to it was not easy to get，and her drawing room was the only place where the gracious politeness of bygone days remained aliveThe Brvilles had landed estates，which were said to yield an income of half a million francsThese six were the mo
13、st important of the party； they were all wealthy， respectable and solid members of societyIt so happened that all the women were seated on the same sideNext to the Countess sat two nunsOne of them was an old woman with a skin5 deeply pitted with smallpox； her companion was as mall，sickly， even consu
14、mptive-looking person，but seemingly filled with religious devotionOpposite the two nuns sat a man and a womanThe man was Cornudet； he was wellknown for his dissolute habits and crazy political ideasHehad inherited a respectable fortune from his father， but had wasted it away upon drink and useless a
15、mbitionsNow he took it into his head that he would be better employed at Havre，where his help would be neededThe woman beside him was what is called a woman of a certain typeWhat was most noticeable about her was her excessive portlinessShort， round and plump as a dumpling， she was nicknamed Boule d
16、e Suif， that is，suet dumplingShe had，nevertheless， rosy cheeks suggesting peony buds ready to burst into flowers， black eyes shaded and deepened by long lashes， and a25 charming， pouting mouth revealing now and then white rows of tiny teethAs soon as the ladies recognized her， they began to whisper among themselvesBy and by the words “prostitute”and “
