Part 1 Chapter 24

A CapitalSo much noise, so many busy people! So many ideas in the headof a man of twenty! So many distractions for love!

BARNAVEAt length he made out, on a distant mountain, a line of dark walls; itwas the citadel of Besancon. 'How different for me,' he said with a sigh,'if I were arriving in this noble fortress to be a sublieutenant in one of theregiments entrusted with its defence!'

Besancon is not merely one of the most charming towns in France, itabounds in men and women of feeling and spirit. But Julien was only ayoung peasant and had no way of approaching the distinguished people.

He had borrowed from Fouque a layman's coat, and it was in this attire that he crossed the drawbridges. His mind full of the history of thesiege of 1674, he was determined to visit, before shutting himself up inthe Seminary, the ramparts and the citadel. More than once, he was onthe point of being arrested by the sentries for making his way into placesfrom which the engineers of the garrison excluded the public, in order tomake a profit of twelve or fifteen francs every year by the sale of the haygrown there.

The height of the walls, the depth of the moats, the awe-inspiring appearance of the guns had occupied him for some hours, when hehappened to pass by the principal cafe, on the boulevard. He stoodspeechless with admiration; albeit he could read the word Cafe inscribedin huge letters over the two vast doors, he could not believe his eyes. Hemade an effort to master his timidity; he ventured to enter, and foundhimself in a hall thirty or forty feet long, the ceiling of which rose to aheight of at least twenty feet. On this day of days everything wore an airof enchantment for him.

Two games of billiards were in progress. The waiters were calling outthe scores; the players hurried round the tables through a crowd of onlookers. Streams of tobacco smoke, pouring from every mouth, enveloped them in a blue haze. The tall stature of these men, their roundedshoulders, their heavy gait, their bushy whiskers, the long frock coatsthat coveted their bodies, all attracted Julien's attention. These noble sonsof ancient Bisontium conversed only in shouts; they gave themselves theair of tremendous warriors. Julien stood spellbound in admiration; hewas thinking of the vastness and splendour of a great capital like Besancon. He felt that he could not possibly summon up courage to ask for acup of coffee from one of those gentlemen with the proud gaze whowere marking the score at billiards.

But the young lady behind the counter had remarked the charming appearance of this young country cousin, who, brought to a standstill threepaces from the stove, hugging his little bundle under his arm, was studying the bust of the King, in gleaming white plaster. This young lady, astrapping Franc-Comtoise, extremely well made, and dressed in the stylecalculated to give tone to a cafe, had already said twice, in a low voice somodulated that only Julien should hear her: 'Sir! Sir!' Julien's gaze metthat of a pair of the most tender blue eyes, and saw that it was himselfwho was being addressed.

He stepped briskly up to the counter and the pretty girl, as he mighthave advanced in the face of the enemy. As he executed this great movement, his bundle fell to the ground.

What pity will not our provincial inspire in the young scholars of Paris, who at fifteen, have already learned how to enter a cafe with so distinguished an air! But these children, so stylish at fifteen, at eighteen beginto turn common. The passionate shyness which one meets in theprovinces now and then overcomes itself, and then teaches its victim todesire. As he approached this beautiful girl who had deigned to speak tohim, 'I must tell her the truth,' thought Julien, who was growing courageous by dint of his conquered shyness.

'Madame, I have come for the first time in my life to Besancon; Ishould like to have, and to pay for, a roll of bread and a cup of coffee.'

The girl smiled a little and then blushed; she feared, for this good-looking young man, the satirical attention and witticisms of the billiardplayers. He would be frightened and would never show his face thereagain.

'Sit down here, near me,' she said, and pointed to a marble table, almost entirely hidden by the enormous mahogany counter which protruded into the room.

The young woman leaned over this counter, which gave her an opportunity to display a superb figure. Julien observed this; all his ideasaltered. The pretty girl had just set before him a cup, some sugar and aroll of bread. She hesitated before calling to a waiter for coffee, realisingthat on the arrival of the said waiter her private conversation with Julienwould be at an end.

Julien, lost in thought, was comparing this fair and sprightly beautywith certain memories which often stirred him. The thought of the passion of which he had been the object took from him almost all his timidity. The pretty girl had only a moment; she read the expression in Julien'seyes.

'This pipe smoke makes you cough, come to breakfast tomorrow before eight o'clock; at that time, I am almost alone.'

'What is your name?' said Julien, with the caressing smile of happytimidity.

'Amanda Binet.'

'Will you permit me to send you, in an hour's time, a little parcel nobigger than this?'

The fair Amanda reflected for a while.

'I am watched: what you ask may compromise me; however, I am nowgoing to write down my address upon a card, which you can attach toyour parcel. Send it to me without fear.'

'My name is Julien Sorel,' said the young man. 'I have neither familynor friends in Besancon.'

'Ah! Now I understand,' she exclaimed joyfully, 'you have come forthe law school?'

'Alas, no!' replied Julien; 'they are sending me to the Seminary.'

The most complete discouragement extinguished the light inAmanda's features; she called a waiter: she had the necessary couragenow. The waiter poured out Julien's coffee, without looking at him.

Amanda was taking money at the counter; Julien prided himself onhaving ventured to speak to her: there was a dispute in progress at oneof the billiard tables. The shouts and contradictions of the players, echoing through that vast hall, made a din which astonished Julien.

Amanda was pensive and did not raise her eyes.

'If you like, Mademoiselle,' he said to her suddenly with assurance, 'Ican say that I am your cousin.'

This little air of authority delighted Amanda. This is no good-for-nothing young fellow,' she thought. She said to him very quickly, withoutlooking at him, for her eye was occupied in watching whether anyonewere approaching the counter:

'I come from Genlis, near Dijon; say that you are from Genlis too, andmy mother's cousin.'

'I shall not forget.'

'On Thursdays, at five o'clock, in summer, the young gentlemen fromthe Seminary come past the cafe here.'

'If you are thinking of me, when I pass, have a bunch of violets in yourhand.'

Amanda gazed at him with an air of astonishment; this gaze changedJulien's courage into temerity; he blushed deeply, however, as he said toher:

'I feel that I love you with the most violent love.'

'Don't speak so loud, then,' she warned him with an air of alarm.

Julien thought of trying to recollect the language of an odd volume ofthe Nouvelle Heloise, which he had found at Vergy. His memory servedhim well; he had been for ten minutes reciting the Nouvelle Heloise toMiss Amanda, who was in ecstasies; he was delighted with his owncourage, when suddenly the fair Franc-Comtoise assumed a glacial air.

One of her admirers stood in the doorway of the cafe.

He came up to the counter, whistling and swaying his shoulders; hestared at Julien. For the moment, the latter's imagination, always flyingto extremes, was filled entirely with thoughts of a duel. He turneddeadly pale, thrust away his cup, assumed an air of assurance and studied his rival most attentively. While this rival's head was lowered as hefamiliarly poured himself out a glass of brandy upon the counter, with aglance Amanda ordered Julien to lower his gaze. He obeyed, and for aminute or two sat motionless in his place, pale, determined, and thinkingonly of what was going to happen; he was really fine at that moment.

The rival had been astonished by Julien's eyes; his glass of brandydrained at a gulp, he said a few words to Amanda, thrust his hands intothe side pockets of his ample coat, and made his way to one of the billiard tables, breathing loudly and staring at Julien. The latter sprang tohis feet in a transport of rage; but did not know what action to take to beinsulting. He laid down his little bundle and, with the most swaggeringgait that he could assume, strode towards the billiard table.

In vain did prudence warn him: 'With a duel on the day of your arrivalat Besancon, your career in the church is gone for ever.'

'What does that matter, it shall never be said that I quailed before aninsult.'

Amanda observed his courage; it formed a charming contrast with thesimplicity of his manners; in an instant, she preferred him to the bigyoung man in the long coat. She rose, and, while appearing to be following with her eyes the movements of someone going by in the street, tookher place swiftly between him and the billiard table.

'You are not to look askance at that gentleman; he is my brother-inlaw.'

'What do I care? He looked at me.'

'Do you wish to get me into trouble? No doubt, he looked at you, perhaps he will even come up and speak to you. I have told him that youare one of my mother's family and that you have just come from Genlis.

He is a Franc-Comtois and has never been farther than Dole, on the roadinto Burgundy; so tell him whatever you like, don't be afraid.'

Julien continued to hesitate; she added rapidly, her barmaid's imagination supplying her with falsehoods in abundance:

'I dare say he did look at you, but it was when he was asking me whoyou were; he is a man who is rude with everyone, he didn't mean to insult you.'

Julien's eye followed the alleged brother-in-law; he saw him buy anumber for the game of pool which was beginning at the farther of thetwo billiard tables. Julien heard his loud voice exclaim: 'I volunteer!' Hepassed nimbly behind Miss Amanda's back and took a step towards thebilliard table. Amanda seized him by the arm.

'Come and pay me first,' she said to him.

'Quite right,' thought Julien; 'she is afraid I may leave without paying.'

Amanda was as greatly agitated as himself, and had turned very red; shecounted out his change as slowly as she could, repeating to him in awhisper as she did so:

'Leave the cafe this instant, or I shan't like you any more; I do like you,though, very much.'

Julien did indeed leave, but slowly. 'Is it not incumbent upon me,' herepeated to himself, 'to go and stare at that rude person in my turn, andbreathe in his face?' This uncertainty detained him for an hour on theboulevard, outside the cafe; he watched to see if his man came out. Hedid not however appear, and Julien withdrew.

He had been but a few hours in Besancon, and already he hadsomething to regret. The old Surgeon-Major had long ago, notwithstanding his gout, taught him a few lessons in fencing; this was all the sciencethat Julien could place at the service of his anger. But this embarrassmentwould have been nothing if he had known how to pick a quarrel otherwise than by striking a blow; and, if they had come to fisticuffs, his rival,a giant of a man, would have beaten him and left him discomfited.

'For a poor devil like me,' thought Julien, 'without protectors andwithout money, there will be no great difference between a Seminaryand a prison; I must leave my lay clothes in some inn, where I can put onmy black coat. If I ever succeed in escaping from the Seminary for anhour or two, I can easily, in my lay clothes, see Miss Amanda again.' Thiswas sound reasoning; but Julien, as he passed by all the inns in turn, hadnot the courage to enter any of them.

Finally, as he came again to the Hotel des Ambassadeurs, his rovinggaze met that of a stout woman, still reasonably young, with a high complexion, a happy and gay expression. He went up to her and told her hisstory.

'Certainly, my fine young priest,' the landlady of the Ambassadeurssaid to him, 'I shall keep your lay clothes for you, indeed I will havethem brushed regularly. In this weather, it is a mistake to leave a broadcloth coat lying.' She took a key and led him herself to a bedroom, advising him to write down a list of what he was leaving behind.

'Lord, how nice you look like that, M. l'abbe Sorel,' said the stout woman, when he came down to the kitchen. 'I am going to order you a gooddinner; and,' she added in an undertone, 'it will only cost you twentysous, instead of the fifty people generally pay; for you must be carefulwith your little purse.'

'I have ten louis,' retorted Julien with a certain note of pride.

'Oh, good Lord!' replied the good landlady in alarm, 'do not speak soloud; there are plenty of bad folk in Besancon. They will have that out of you in less than no time. Whatever you do, never go into the cafes, theyare full of rogues.'

'Indeed!' said Julien, to whom this last statement gave food forthought.

'Never go anywhere except to me, I will give you your coffee. Bear inmind that you will always find a friend here and a good dinner fortwenty sous; that's good enough for you, I hope. Go and sit down at thetable, I am going to serve you myself.'

'I should not be able to eat,' Julien told her. 'I am too much excited, Iam going to enter the Seminary as soon as I leave here.'

The good woman would not allow him to leave until she had stuffedhis pockets with provisions. Finally Julien set out for the dread spot, thelandlady from her doorstep pointing out the way.