Rimbaud's girl

Arthur decided to go to Paris again.

It was not difficult for him to persuade Madame Rimbaud to let him go, let alone Verlaine's letter.Mrs. Rimbaud could not refuse this favorite child, she could only agree.But in order to let him go home as soon as possible, she didn't give him much money, only 100 francs.

If he can bear the standard of living of 1 franc a day, he can use it for 3 months; but this kid Arthur doesn't know what "making money is not easy" is. He works in the small shop at home and doesn't go to , for this job is actually just as a game, and has not been taken seriously.

He was happy to go to Paris again, but he had no idea how he was going to live in Paris.In short, this is a teenager who is well taken care of by his mother and has very low self-care ability.

Vitaly was not going to dampen his enthusiasm, but just told him that he could give him 200 francs. If Verlaine helped him pay for the hotel, 300 francs would be enough for him to live in Paris for a month, and he could live a good life.

"Only spend 5 francs a day, and keep 5 francs for emergencies." She taught him how to plan and spend money, "Verlaine will definitely not let you go hungry, tell him when you see him, and ask him to help you find an environment A nicer hotel, or a small apartment for weekly rent, and if he invites you to live in his house, don't go."

Vitaly felt like an old mother mentality. "You have to remember that it's not so easy to live in other people's homes. Think about Captain Rimbaud, we will be disliked when we live in our father's house. You and Verlaine are not familiar enough to live in his house."

Arthur thought about it, indeed, he had never tasted the real taste of "being under the fence", but it was conceivable that it would not be very pleasant.As a human being, happiness is more important.

About to fill his chest with the joy of "the sea is wide and the fish leap", he passionately composed another long poem titled "Drunk Boat".

"... At this time, the sky suddenly dyed Bibo red,

According to the ecstasy and soothing rhythm,

Stronger than alcohol, wider than a harp,

The bitter water of love is surging!

I know the colorful sky, the blue waves,

Turbulence and tornado; I know the night,

Knowing the rays that wander like a flock of doves,

I've seen everything people imagined!

……

And I, a lost canoe stuck in a weedy bay,

And swept into a birdless sky lake by the storm,

My Gunboats and Hanseatics

Drunken bones are no longer salvaged in the water;

……

Clothed in crescent-shaped lightning, I run fast,

Like crazy pedals, escorted by black seahorses,

The sky is like a burning funnel,

When July crushes the sky of lapis lazuli with its clubs.

......"

This long poem is a masterpiece of brilliance, full of Arthur's talent, but few Rimbauds could understand it.Vitaly just knew that the poem was "very good", but she couldn't tell what was so good about it.

This is a kind of "artistic conception" that is difficult to explain. Arthur spent a long time explaining his "psychic person" concept to his sister.He believes that "psychic Voyant" should have insight into people's hearts, and as a "psychic person", poets should have outstanding "synaesthesia", immerse themselves in a "psychic" state, and gain insight into the mysteries of the universe. To write beautiful poems and express one's emotions;

A poet is a "prophet" and a "fire stealer"—"He must be felt, touched, and heard about his creation...", "The person who intends to be a poet must first study his own He should search his soul, examine it, test it, know it."

This is his "creative idea", which can also be regarded as his "philosophical thought".

In this regard, his depth of thinking far exceeds that of his peers, and he is not at all like a teenager who has not yet reached the age of 17.

Arthur couldn't wait to stay at home until next month, and happily boarded the train to Paris in the last week of September.

Mrs. Rimbaud had a letter from Arthur the next afternoon, saying that he had arrived in Paris and that all was well and that there was nothing to worry about, and so on.

The letter to Vitaly said that after seeing Verlaine, he felt that he was fine except for a little baldness.Verlaine warmly invited him to live in his home—the home of his wife, a beautiful girl named Mathilde, who was only 16 years old and was about to have a baby.

Vitaly wrote back to him that night, "Dear Arthur, it's all right to stay at Verlaine's wife's house for a few days, but don't be an annoying guest. No matter where you are, it's more pleasant to live in a place where you won't be restrained." .You should not be restrained, provided, of course, that you obey the law. Besides, if you write a new poem in Paris, I hope you will copy it in time and send it to me."

Arthur wrote back a few days later, "My good sister: living at the Verlaine's is not as bad as you think, his house is very comfortable, there are kerosene lamps in every room! The food is also good, even better than the 20 in the restaurant." Franc's food is even better! I met some people in Paris, some were good, but others were not!" He did not specify what happened to him in Paris.

Poor Arthur, Vitaly thought, who doesn't know how much real food costs and has never tasted it.

Arthur wrote back every week, if not to his mother, then to Vitaly, copying out his new poems and sending them to her.

He hardly talked about his stay in Paris. He just said that Paris is indeed a holy place that everyone yearns for. If you want to be famous, you must come to Paris.He turned 10 on October 20, and Verlaine took him to a friend named Etienne Carja for a half-length portrait of him - finally with his hair cut and the baby on his face Fat, with puffy cheeks, he looked like he was only 17 years old, not a 14-year-old boy at all.

He knew that people outside "judged people by their appearance" and "judged them by their clothes", so he brought his best suit of coats, including two pleated muslin shirts.When Vitaly went to Paris last time, she also bought him some clothes, including these two shirts.He hasn't grown much, still only 1 meters, which makes him look even younger.

He sent the photo back home, and when Vitaly saw the photo, she thought that he looked so young, would those poets who had already begun to become famous treat him as a "man" with the same status?

Vitaly's study at Mr. Pierre's house was fruitful.

Although some knowledge points can be learned by reading books, it is impossible to learn all of them. Someone needs to analyze them for you, otherwise what else do teachers need to do?There is no need for any school.

Vitaly felt that she had benefited a lot, and Arthur could gradually understand the textbooks.

Her volume gradually increased, and she went back to her room to read after dinner at night.She tried hard to persuade her mother to hire a housemaid, because Mrs. Rimbaud was in the store most of the time now, and the house really had to hire a maid to clean and cook, otherwise she would be too busy.

After having a housemaid, Vitaly basically stopped doing housework and could spend all her time studying.Isabel was very envious, and when she returned home in mid-November, she also yelled at Mrs. Rimbaud. She didn't want to go to the convent girls' school, but wanted to find a private tutor in Charleville like Vitaly -->>

learn.

Isabel was born on June 1860, 6, and is now 1 and a half years old.

The environment in the convent girls' school is not good, and Vitaly is not willing to let her little sister stay in that kind of school all the time.Isabel was also a clever girl, but of course she didn't learn everything as quickly as Vitaly.

Mrs. Rimbaud's main consideration is that Isabel should learn some skills that girls must learn. Because she lost her mother since she was young, many girls should not be able to do housework, such as being a female celebrity, such as cooking well, such as some The necessary mathematical calculation ability, etc.

Although Vitaly doesn't think that girls can only learn to do housework, she doesn't object to it. After all, there is no harm in learning more life skills.Mr. Pierre does not accept students who are too young, they must be at least 12 years old, and they must pass the academic level assessment.So she told Mrs. Rimbaud that Isabel would not be allowed to go to the convent girls' school next year, and they could find a female teacher in Charleville, and let Isabel learn some housekeeping skills first; in short, wait until the early spring of next year.

Isabel stayed at home happily, and sometimes went to help in the shop.

Vitaly also taught her sister how to keep accounts and how to use the abacus.Abacus is not unique to China. The Romans began to use abacus a long time ago, and its shape is different from that of Chinese abacus.Now the abacus Vitaly got is the "thirteen-pillar abacus" from the east.

Isabel is very interested in learning bookkeeping and abacus, and she learns it very quickly. It took less than a month to learn to use the abacus to calculate accounts proficiently; she also remembers bookkeeping quickly and carefully.

Arthur's life in Paris was revealed to the Charleville-Rimbauds by a somewhat curious incident-there was a copy of the November 11th issue of the "People's Sovereign" sent to them, which contained a very ironic article. The article said that seeing "the poet Paul Verlaine held the arm of a charming young man, just like at home, talking while walking... The young man was Miss Rimbaud."

Mrs. Rimbaud did not understand the article, but the reference to Arthur Rimbaud by the word "Miss" was obviously not done with good intentions.Vitaly was very angry.

The other party sent the newspaper anonymously, with the obvious intention of wanting Rimbaud's family to know what kind of character Rimbaud was in Paris.

"What the hell is he talking about?" Mrs. Rimbaud frowned anxiously.

"Nothing." Vitaly quickly put away the newspaper.

"They don't like Arthur?"

"Arthur was an 'outsider' and it wasn't easy for them to accept a boy who was much younger than them and had gifts they didn't have."

"what does that mean?"

"That is to say, some people are jealous of Arthur, jealous of Arthur's relationship with Verlaine."

"What's the matter with them?"

"Probably nothing. Arthur is not tall and young. Verlaine may just regard him as a younger brother."

Mrs. Rimbaud could not be so naive. She knew a little about the relationship between men and men, but she didn't know much, and she didn't want to think too much-this kind of thing would not have anything to do with her precious son, absolutely not.

But Vitaly knew right away: there must be something too intimate between the two of them to make people feel disgusted.That's right, even in the later 21st century, most people are still homophobic, let alone the 19th century.

She hesitated for several days, whether to tell her mother about it.Arthur is still very young. He may not realize how important a "good reputation" is to him, or he may not care at all. He is a rebellious boy, and he doesn't think or think about many things at all.

Damn Verlaine!Arthur is not yet 18!Still underage!

She thought angrily that Verlaine might not care about Arthur's age at all, after all he married a 16-year-old girl.Although the law stipulates that the age of adulthood is 18, women can marry at the age of 15, while men can only marry at the age of 18.

In short, this is wrong, very wrong!

Then in December, two weeks before Christmas, another letter was sent to Madame Rimbaud, still anonymous, but in a tone reminiscent of Verlaine's father-in-law's.

It mentions the "abnormal relationship" between Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud. Mrs. Rimbaud is asked to pay attention to Rimbaud, a young man in Paris. He should be restrained instead of being an annoying young man in Paris.

Yes, Arthur Rimbaud has done quite a few nasty things.

He had a childlike naughtiness, and a kind of indulgence of a spoiled child. Verlaine doted on him and tried to meet his demands; he took Arthur everywhere and met his friends, who admired Arthur very much at first. Arthur's aura, but it didn't take long for what Arthur did to realize the "psychic" statement, which started to cause headaches.

The anonymous letter did not directly mention what Arthur had done, but it clearly stated that he was a "urchin" and was not suitable for the "adult world". It also crazily implied that Arthur and Verlaine had actually had sexual contact. .Probably because she was worried that Mrs. Rimbaud's cultural level could not understand the hints, she finally said directly that Verlaine often stayed out at night, and lived in a room in the "Foreigner Hotel" with Mr. Rimbaud, and got drunk at noon the next day. Home - his wife's home.

Mrs. Rimbaud turned blue with anger when she realized what the letter was about.But she instinctively thought it was all Verlaine's fault, not her "baby".Vitaly also thought it was Verlaine's fault - Arthur was not yet of age!

Mrs. Rimbaud made a decision very quickly: let Felix take Vitaly, go to Paris to find Arthur, and bring him home.

Arthur is closest to Vitaly, and she is the most likely to persuade Arthur; and Vitaly is still a child, it is impossible to rest assured that she will go out to Paris alone: ​​the shop at home cannot be closed for several days, so let Fei It's the best arrangement for Lex to accompany Vitaly.

She gave Vitaly 300 francs, thinking it would be enough for the round trip and the hotel.

Vitaly traveled to Paris again, this time by train from Charleville to Paris, with stops in some cities.

There is no scenery along the train line. In winter, it is chilly everywhere.

A few hours later, the train arrived in Paris.

This time, they stayed in a hotel not far from Verlaine's home.

I changed my clothes first. They were not fashionable, but they were very tidy. Anyway, the Rambo family was definitely not as rich as the Fleville family, so they didn't need to dress too carefully, as long as they kept tidy.

Verlaine's wife, whose maiden name was Fleville, lived at No. 14, Rue Nicolai, a three-story single-family small building surrounded by courtyards, with stables and a carriage house.As soon as Vitaly and her uncle stayed in the hotel, she wrote a note to the Fleville family, asking the hotel owner to find a boy who delivered the letter, and sent it to No. 10, Rue Nikolai for 14 sous.

When she came to the door of No. 14 Nikolai Street, she couldn't help admiring: It's nice to have money!

The horse-drawn carriage they took was not "luxury", but it was not shabby, and the price was twice as expensive as that in Dijon. It cost 4 francs, but it was worth it.The servants of the Fleville family did not show any disdain.

Vitaly was thinking that Verlaine's wife, Mathilde, had just given birth to a child not long ago, and she would definitely not go out for nothing, and she would definitely be at home.To discuss this kind of matter, you still have to talk to the other party's wife, and then have dinner by the way, and enjoy a sumptuous dinner at the bourgeois landlord's house.