Miss Eugenie Grandet

Unexpectedly, his daughter's voice suddenly sounded behind him like this. Grandet was obviously taken aback, and his mouth was closed suddenly. A gloomy look.

"Master, why don't you sing anymore?"

cried Nanon.

Grandet ignored the stupid and ignorant questions of the maid at home, and after Eugenie sat down at the table, she said to herself: "Let people take one step and make progress. The old saying is true! This At home, probably everyone thinks I'm old."

Eugenie picked up a piece of bread as if she hadn't heard, spread a spoonful of fresh apple jam on it, took a bite, and said to Nanon: "The jam is really good, Nanon, you're getting better at it."

Nanon said cheerfully: "Yes, madam! I think so myself!"

Grandet put down his wine glass and squinted at Eugenie who seemed nothing had happened.

"My daughter, that stable and reliable fool, why didn't you see him coming?"

Eugenie looked at Grandet and smiled.

"Father, didn't you scare him away? Now I finally understand that it was you who showed your magnanimity as the head of the family before allowing me to offend you. When you really can't What you accept, as a father, you really say the same thing."

This is the first time in more than a year that father and daughter have gained the upper hand in a confrontation, and it is a big advantage.Hearing such words of admitting defeat came out of his daughter's mouth, Grandet was extremely proud, but he still couldn't let his face turn pale, the sarcoma on his nose moved, "It's good to know."

Madame and Nanon, who had been living in Floafonds, knew nothing but the failure of the marriage due to the failure of the president.Now that I heard such a conversation between father and daughter, my curiosity was finally aroused.

"Eugenie, what are you and your father talking about?"

asked the bewildered wife.

Eugenie smiled at her mother, but said nothing.

Most people are like this. After doing something self-righteous and beautiful, if there is no one to share the pride, they can only rot in their own hearts. It is a bit regrettable—Grantet has such a mentality at the moment.Think about it, as the head of the family, he had been suppressed by his daughter for so long, and now he finally won a hand. If his wife and Nanon didn't know, he couldn't even sleep well at night.So hearing his wife's question was exactly in his favor.But the daughter didn't say anything, and after holding back for a while, the old man finally couldn't help it, so he said: "Old woman, you can sit still for me, don't fall to the ground in fright! Eugenie is not obedient, so I will cancel it." Her inheritance! I'd rather give all my money to that stupid nephew of yours than leave a dime to a disobedient daughter!"

Although she had been reminded, the poor lady was still frightened when she heard such terrible words from the old man's mouth. The spoon in her hand fell to the ground with a ding, and she stared blankly at Grandet with her mouth wide open.

"Holy Mother! Monsieur! You can't do that!"

Nanon cried out in horror.

The old man gloated and said: "Who told her to be disobedient! I would rather throw my money into the water than leave it to my daughter who is only against me!"

"Monsieur! Please have mercy! Eugenie has broken off her engagement to the president! You cannot do that!" cried madame also.

"What are you shouting about! Stupid old woman!"

Seeing that the effect of the intimidation really met his expectations, Grandet was in a good mood, so he continued triumphantly, "There is an additional clause in the document! Once the marriage with that fool fails, the previous clause will be void."

Because the wife was too scared at first, she still couldn't comprehend the old man's mystification at the moment, and she still sat on the chair blankly.Nanon, on the other hand, finally understood, and exclaimed cheerfully: "I understand! As long as the lady does not marry M. Crochet, the lady will still be your heir!"

Grandet took a sip of the fruit wine and babbled, expressing his approval of the maid's explanation.

Poor lady, finally recovered from the shock.Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she muttered, "But it's still frightening to listen to...Master, one day you will revoke that document in the past, so I can rest assured..."

Grandet looked at Eugenie majestically, and said: "When she completely admits her mistake and promises that she will never disobey her parents in the future, I will naturally revoke it."

"Eugenie, do you hear?" madame begged her daughter hastily, "admit your mistake to your father quickly! Beg his forgiveness! Holy Mother, my heart beats violently at the mere thought of the existence of that dreadful paperwork. If you don’t fall, you won’t be able to sleep well!”

Eugenie walked up to her mother, comforted her a few words, looked at her father who was sitting upright, waiting for her to confess her mistake, and laughed.

"Father, in order to reassure my mother, I decided to admit my mistake to you and beg your forgiveness. I promise that even if Mr. Crochet dares to propose to me without your consent, I will never Will promise to marry him. Is that satisfactory to you?"

The old man stared at the seemingly sincere daughter, still a little dissatisfied with her apology.But anyway, this battle is over, he is the undisputed winner, and his status as the head of the family continues.Thinking of this, he felt very happy.So for his daughter's apology that sounded insincere, he also decided to be generous and not care about it.

"That's it! When your performance satisfies me, I will cancel it naturally."

After the old man drank the last sip of fruit wine, he got up and walked away with square steps.Returning to the room, he walked about with the joy he had just had, knocking on the walls here and the floor there, wondering where it would be suitable to make a secret room like that in Saumur's house—for For the daughter's sake, Floavfon has gradually become the second place where the old man often stays.Just as gophers are used to digging holes, the old man can't leave the secret room.He wants to create a secret cave here that no one can get in except himself.After inspecting the room, the spirit of drinking just now surged up, and Grandet felt that he wanted to sleep, so he lay down.When he closed his eyes, he was still thinking about the victory just now in his mind.Suddenly, the sarcoma on his nose moved, and he felt something was wrong.

"Why does Eugenie look strange? As if she knew that I would do this," thought the old man. "Have I been tricked by her? She knows that I would rather throw her into the Loire than let her Marry the family who plotted my gold all day long. So she clamored to marry the idiot. After I scare the family away, well, the little boy has already been driven away by her, so I can't do anything to her !"

The more the old man thought about it, the more reasonable he felt.

He couldn't sleep anymore, feeling as uncomfortable as a cat scratching, and even planned to question his daughter now.

If that's the case, it's downright irritating.

But turning around, he changed his mind again.

"...How is it possible..." He comforted himself secretly, "If I could be calculated by my daughter so easily, how could I have accumulated such a large fortune? I must be thinking too much, I think too much. No matter how smart Eugenie is, she will never be able to turn my palm... This time is a lesson, let her learn a good lesson, and she will know how to obey her father's wishes in the future..."

Grandet felt much more comfortable, and felt ridiculous for his suspicion just now.

He turned over again, closed his eyes, and fell asleep comfortably.

----

Eugenie returned to the room with Madame Grandet, who was still in shock, and after repeatedly assuring her that she would never marry the president, Madame Grandet finally went to bed.After she closed her eyes, she stood up and was about to put down the curtain when Madame Grandet suddenly opened her eyes again and looked at her daughter.

"Eugenie..." She looked into her daughter's eyes with a mother's tenderness and worry, "My daughter, your father and I are getting old, maybe we will go to heaven at some point. This world is full of suffering, How lonely it would be to leave you alone. My daughter, what do you think in your heart? I am also satisfied with the young man your father wants you to marry. My daughter, will he come back?"

After a moment's pause, Eugenie pulled up the quilt for her mother, then bent down and kissed her mother's warm, wrinkled forehead.

"Mom, forget about him. He won't come back," she whispered.

Madame Grandet sighed and slowly closed her eyes.

Eugenie sat by the bed with her all the time, and when she fell asleep and began to snore lightly, she stood up, lowered the curtain for her, and left lightly.

----

Life in the Grand family returned to calm.

Not long after, the Saumurs secretly spread another new news.It is said that one day, old Grandet secretly revoked that legal document.In other words, the father and daughter reconciled, and Miss Grandet was still the rich heiress.

In fact, the most sympathetic thing in the whole thing is probably Madame Grandet's nephew.Poor young man, after staying in Paris for a year, he not only squandered all the money he brought with him, but also came back with a whole pile of debts. When he was in a state of desperation, he was suddenly told one day that he had been arrested by someone who had never seen him in his life The former Uncle Grandet was appointed as the heir to the property.The young man couldn't believe that such a good thing would happen, so he immediately inquired in many ways, and when he was sure that the good luck happened to him because his uncle broke up with his cousin and his daughter, apart from ecstasy, all he had left was day and night. I prayed today, praying that my uncle would be called by the Lord soon, and praying that my uncle and cousin would never get back together again.In order to find out the truth, he also encouraged his mother to visit Mrs. Grandet, who had not seen him for many years.It's a pity that it didn't take long to be happy, and there was news that my uncle and cousin had reconciled. It turned out that everything was just joy in vain!

Needless to say how disappointed the young man must be, but Grandet didn't care about other people's life or death. After revoking the document, he immediately forgot about the wife's nephew who was used by him.As for the Crochet family, if you think that after such a twists and turns, the two families have become enmity, you are wrong.From the beginning to the end, the old Grandet did not confide in front of others any words against marrying his daughter to President Crochet.That legal document established in Anjou, when the good-for-nothing tried to find out the details, the notary who handled it was only willing to confide half a sentence, saying that Grandet decided to cancel his daughter's inheritance rights, that's all, nothing more. other information.Moreover, after this incident, everyone could clearly see that when the old man met the two uncles of the Crochet family on the road, he not only greeted them, but also appeared more affectionate than before.

In this way, the father put the responsibility completely aside. On the contrary, it was the uncle and nephew Crochet who were secretly discussed by the Saumur people as dishonest, and even abandoned Miss Grandet when she needed support most. Well, if they don't take it seriously and ask for forgiveness, they are really looked down upon.

So one day two months later, Uncle and Nephew Krosh finally came to apologize for his breach of contract full of shame.Miss Grandet happened to be out at that time, Father Grandet and Madame Grandet received the old friend happily, and magnanimously said that their family had long forgotten the unhappiness at the time, and begged them to forget it too.Whether in the past, present or future, the relationship between the Crochet family and the Grandet family is unbreakable.In this way, the two families were reconciled. On the second day, everyone saw the old Grandet and the notary walking side by side. They were still a pair of old friends who had a good relationship.

----

Time flies like an arrow, and four years have passed.These four years have been busy and fulfilling for Miss Grandet.The Merchant Bank, which she and James co-owned, was thriving and expanding, not only in France, but also in European financial circles.What makes people talk about it most is that so far, this merchant bank has not had any investment failures or signs of failure.Apart from this, Miss Grandet pays more attention and invests more in the railway company she owns.

Three years ago, a company called the Universal Railway was quietly incorporated in the Ministry of Commerce in Paris.As one of the shareholders, Mr. Bernard led a team including experts in surveying and mapping, geology, engineering signals, etc., designed and planned the construction of the first railway connecting Nantes and Angers.

On this day in August 1824, it was sunny and sunny, and it was the first day that the Nantes-Angers Railway was officially opened to traffic.This morning, the first train from Angers to Nantes will arrive at Nantes Railway Station at ten o'clock in the morning after a journey of about two hours.

Nantes is the most prosperous port city on the Loire River, where countless ships enter and leave the Atlantic Ocean every day.His cousin, Charles, also boarded the ship to India from here.

According to the speed of the former stagecoach, this section of the journey will take a whole day, but now, if everything goes well, it only takes two hours.After the trial operation is successful, according to the plan, the main railway line connecting Tours, Orleans, and Paris will be repaired.

At 10:[-] in the morning, with [-] minutes left, the first train pulling five freight cars and five passenger cars will arrive at the station.

Ribbons fluttered in the station, voices were buzzing, drum bands stood in line, and the platform was crowded with crowds eagerly waiting for the train to enter the station.The police pulled out the cordon to keep the people who were allowed to watch in a safe area, and in the center of the platform, Miss Grandet was chatting and laughing with the guests attending this special occasion today.

Throughout France, unprecedented attention has been paid to this trial railway.The guests present today, in addition to the writers of the major newspapers in Paris, the mayor of Nantes, and even the Minister of Commerce, also rushed over from Paris to attend in person.

"His Majesty Napoleon was very concerned about the construction of this railway during his lifetime. He often asked me questions, hoping to be one of the first passengers after the opening of the locomotive. It is a pity that His Majesty did not wait for this day, but now, I am under the authority of the successor emperor of the empire. It was dispatched to fulfill His Majesty Napoleon's last wish. Miss Grandet, you are really amazing, His Majesty always said that this will be the beginning of changing the world."

In the past three years, after several wars of varying scales due to friction with Prussia over the South German states, France, which defeated Prussia and further consolidated the balance of Europe, stopped foreign wars so that Let the country recuperate and cultivate national strength.At the beginning of the year, Napoleon, who had been in poor health, died of illness, and the King of Rome succeeded to the throne. Considering that the King of Rome was underage, Queen Mary Luisa was temporarily regent.The highly respected Karno continued to serve as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, and Rana and Eugene co-assisted the government. It was thanks to this cabinet known as the "Imperial Trident" that the political situation was able to transition smoothly.

Eugenie expressed her sincere gratitude to the minister for her words and hoped that everything would go well today.

"I can't wait to get on the train to Angers, so I can experience this comfortable two-hour journey for myself."

Mr. Mayor is a veteran, and now he still carries some of the old military style.At first, he was not interested in the choice of Nantes by businesswomen as the city to build the country's first railway.It wasn't until a few days ago that he heard that not only writers from more than a dozen famous newspapers in Paris would come, but even the Minister of Commerce would be present, so he readily accepted the invitation.

Glancing at the wall clock outside the control room of the platform, Eugenie smiled and said, "Gentlemen, the first train is about to enter the station, let's welcome it."

There was a long siren sound in the distance. When the fuselage of the train appeared in sight, everyone's attention was attracted. In order to see it more clearly, many people began to squeeze forward.When the rumored huge black guy finally showed his real body, with thick black smoke spraying from his head, making a deafening sound, and roaring towards the platform like a giant dragon, everyone seemed to feel the pressure under their feet. Trembling for a while, Mr. Mayor, who ran to the front despite the obstruction just now, was so shocked that he couldn't help but want to back up, one foot accidentally tripped over the other, and he sat on the ground with his buttocks. The contributors provided an interesting piece of tidbit: the mayor of Nantes, who attended the opening ceremony of the locomotive, fell to the ground due to excessive fright when the train entered the station.

The train driven by Mr. Bernard himself, pulling ten carriages and reaching a speed of 35 kilometers per hour, stopped.Cheers came from the crowd who had finally recovered from the great shock just now.The door of the first coach opened, and a well-dressed gentleman stepped out, surrounded by a beautiful lady.

This is James Rochelle and his wife, daughter of a Danish Grand Duke of noble blood.They got married last year after they met by chance.

Although Eugenie and Madame Rochelle did not meet each other very often, they had a good impression of each other.As the second largest shareholder of the railway company, he took the first train from Angers to Nantes to celebrate. This was an agreement James had made with Eugenie very early on.

Seeing him and his wife appear, Eugenie immediately stepped forward with a smile on her face.

----

The opening to traffic was a huge success.

In the next few days, newspapers in France and even European countries used their headlines to report on the grand opening of the day.In the author's description, this is a new type of transportation that is "daunting but admirable" with tremendous energy. Some authors boldly predicted that it would herald the end of the carriage era and the beginning of the railway age. start.In the balls and salons in Paris, the ladies competed to be proud of talking about this news, and those who didn't know about it would be considered as outdated and old-fashioned representatives.Everyone is eagerly looking forward to the extension of the railway to their own cities as soon as possible.The name of its inventor, Engineer Bernard, was known all over the country in a short period of time. By the way, the mayor of Nantes finally got his wish and appeared in the newspaper. It was repeatedly mentioned in the report by the writer without mercy.

----

In Saumur, the surname Grandet has already become a belief second only to God.No one dared to hope to marry the daughter of the Grand family anymore.Both the president's and the banker's sons had found suitable wives to marry.Now, for the greater part of the year, Mademoiselle Grandet did not live in Saumur either.She seemed to prefer Floafont, living there with her mother, or, sometimes, on an estate in Anjou.But she seldom set foot in Paris, and even if there were any business matters that had to be done, she would stop there in a hurry, never staying for a while.

Only old Grandet, looking the same as before.

He is already 80 years old, but he is still diligently planting grapes, and he has to compare pennies and pennies with the purchaser for the price increase of one franc per barrel. The depth and width of the ditch, and loudly scolded those workers who were lazy and took advantage of it.He would go back to Saumur at least a few times a month.Whenever his familiar figure in a gray leather jacket appeared on the streets of Saumur, the people of Saumur would watch him in awe and whisper how much wealth he now possessed.

"I'm afraid he can't even count it himself!"

Whenever this topic is discussed, everyone will draw conclusions like this in an envious tone.

----

In the early winter of this year, misfortune began to befall the family.Although Eugenie has been serving her mother with all her heart, Mrs. Grandet is still ill.After being lingering for several months, in the spring of the second year, this loving woman, who had been indifferent to the world all her life, left her beloved daughter and went to heaven with a serene smile on her lips.

In the summer of 1825, a railway connecting Saumur with Fran, dozens of kilometers away, opened to traffic.This was a decision made at the request of the mayor of Saumur and the local church presbytery. As a native of Saumur, Ms. Grandet also agreed to the decision when she knew that the operation would not be balanced for at least ten years.Due to the remaining shareholders, the operating expenses to maintain the railway will be borne by her personally.

Old Grandet naturally disagreed with this.But since the death of his wife, he seemed to be aging along with him, his energy was getting weaker and worse, and he even made a mistake in the calculation of accounts, so after knowing that Eugenie had made this decision, he only muttered a few words in dissatisfaction.

On the first day of the opening of the small station of Saumur, under the attention of the whole city, the old Grandet finally boarded the train carriage with the support of his daughter.

The train moved on, and he was finally satisfied as he leaned back in his comfortable chair and looked out the glass at what was swiftly thrown behind him.

"Ah—Eugenie—father has one last wish—if it can be granted—"

He yelled at his daughter, who was sitting across from him.When Eugenie questioned him, he hesitated and said that he was just talking nonsense just now.

When the train arrived at the station, Eugenie found that her old father had fallen asleep.He curled up in the corner of the chair, opened his mouth slightly, and snored loudly, sleeping very soundly.