[Masterpiece Les Miserables] Paris Sparks

Corona never expected such a scene.

Both Caton and Darnay advocate simplicity, and even the wealthy families in London are far from being able to compare with the luxury in Paris.The rare treasures that Corona had seen in the previous 14 years were not as many as what she saw at a glance in this banquet hall.From the roof to the floor, from the curtains to the sofa, all of them are of elegant character, but reveal [-]% luxury and wealth.The dark red brocade curtains embroidered with gold thread, the leather sofa that Corona can't tell the history of, the white tablecloth with hollow lace borders, and the shining crystal lamps, it seems that this place is determined to gather all the magnificence of the world's craftsmen.They arrived not too early or too late, and there were already many nobles chatting and laughing inside. Those noble ladies were wearing gorgeous clothes, exquisitely embroidered, and some of the fabrics of the dresses could not even be discerned by Corona.The pearls and gems they wear around their necks are as big as a cherry.

Where can there be girls who don't love beauty?Not to mention that Corona has studied painting for many years, and the painter's pursuit of beauty is irresistible.She stood at the door, staring dumbfounded.Always calm and bold, it was the first time for her to feel timid about the excessive brilliance, and she dared not go inside. It was Caton who held her hand and led her into the banquet hall.

Basil followed them.One of the most famous painters in England, he was well known in society, though unsociable, and had several friends in Paris.He led them into a corner and introduced them to a Marchioness.She wore a green velvet dress embroidered with white lilies in full bloom, with stamens adorned with silver thread and crushed crystals.On the wrist is a bracelet of brightly colored emeralds, each gemstone is cut into a perfect teardrop shape.

"Ah, Count Evremonde. The whole of Paris has heard of your name." The Marchioness smiled and nodded to them, "I think this little lady must be your daughter."

Corona lifted her skirt and saluted.Carton (whose surname is now Evermond in society) chatted politely with the Marchioness for a while, using a completely different set of words, which Corona had never heard Carton speak before. , as if changing a language.After a while, Caton entrusted Corona to the care of the Marchioness, and went to socialize with some other nobles.

Corona even forgot to keep him.She took a good look at everything around her. There were so many gorgeous details that she could barely see them: a noble lady was dressed in lavender silk, decorated with countless butterfly embroidery.Another lady wore a fuchsia damask dress with matching garnet jewels around her neck and wrists.She also saw a black velvet dress with silver threads shining like the Milky Way in the night sky.Aristocratic ladies wore high buns adorned with gems, flowers and small gold jewellery.She has only seen the beauty of nature, and the beauty of nature is like a rose, a beam of sunshine, warm and silent.In this strong and proud beauty of the world, she felt at a loss what to do.

Who can not be tempted by the sight in front of them?When Corona recovered from her intoxication, she felt ashamed.The self-satisfaction of looking at herself in the mirror has completely faded away, and now she looks down at her clothes, and she feels that the dark blue velvet is dull, the silver lace is too unremarkable, and the skirt is too conservative It's a bit too much, without the delicacy and ingenuity of those ladies and ladies.Her snow-white wrists and neck are hollow, which is almost dazzling; the simply combed hair is also out of place compared with the buns with flowers and silver.She couldn't help feeling envious in her heart: it turns out that there are such beautiful clothes and jewelry in the world, and people can dress up so beautifully!She couldn't help wanting to be close to them, to listen to their conversations, to imitate their grooming.The Marchioness seemed to want to pull her and introduce more people to her, but Basil pulled Corona from her hand and led her to a corner.

"We shouldn't have brought you here," he said, seeming a little annoyed. "These finery are nothing more than material luxury. Don't take them too seriously."

"Oh, Basil, you have been commenting on aristocratic society in this way for several years." Corona said, she was indulging in it, but Basil wanted to pull her away, and she couldn't help being a little impatient, "We are now Don't you remember Dorian Gray now, Paris?"

Her cleverness and sensitivity have not diminished at all, but now she lacks her usual gentleness and stability, and her words are inevitably a bit too sharp.Basil's expression changed accordingly: Dorian Gray was once his muse, but after this young man entered the aristocratic circle, his behavior changed completely. Great reputation.Coronne had studied painting with Basil for many years, so she understood this matter very clearly, and also knew that Basil had always regretted not stopping Dorian Gray from entering that bustling and fascinating world.Corona regretted saying it now, but it was too late to change her words.She was indeed nostalgic for this splendor, and when she saw Basil blocking her, she felt reluctance: Just because Dorian Gray didn't agree with you, why should you prevent me from entering such a beautiful world?

This is the terrible thing about Paris's bustling market: its appearance is too beautiful.A raging storm at sea is at first glance terrible, but no one knows that the Parisian gold cave is far more terrifying than any storm: its raging seas are utterly silent.A storm drowns a man, destroys a ship, tears its sails, snaps its mast; the love and pursuit of luxury drowns all the virtues of simplicity and goodness, destroys a man's soul, and tears her conscience , breaking her spine.Once caught in it, the man is henceforth blindfolded and deaf, and the splendor of jewels eclipses the splendor of virtue, and the laments of the poor are drowned out by the empty words of society.Even a young man who has read a lot of books, or an old fox who has been in the mall will inevitably fall into this quagmire sometimes, and cannot get out, not to mention that Corona is only a 14-year-old girl at this time. With such concentration?

She said a few words to Basil, took advantage of his distraction, then got out and went to the Marchioness again.Basil naturally went to look for him afterwards, but the Marquise waved her fan with a smile and dismissed him with a few words.

"My dear Basil, you're too nervous little girl! I'm no old hag to eat her for no reason," she complained in a soft tone. "Look at her, she's already She is 14 years old, and her father inherited the title again. You don’t think about keeping her at home forever, do you? It’s the age when she comes out to see the world. If you hide this time, there will always be a next time. I will lead her Why are you worried about her? Then again, what are you asking her to do to hide from such scenes? Such a beautiful child was born for beautiful clothes. When she is two or three years older, she will She will be a beauty famous in all Paris! Wouldn't it be unworthy of her beauty not to adorn her neck with pearls, to accentuate her waist with silk, and to adorn her temples with pins of emerald and gold? Buzz Er, as a painter, I thought you were the one who could discover beauty the most!"

Basil frowned. "You say that Corona is beautiful, and I can't refute that," he said, "but I disagree with other words. For me, I hope that when she is 17 years old, she can be a beautiful actress." Emerging painters are famous in Paris, not just because of their beauty. She is beautiful in person--this kind of beauty does not need to be exaggerated or detracted from, but I have been teaching her to paint for seven years. I hope that her talent for creating beauty will one day be celebrated."

Although Corona was about to be overwhelmed by the Marchioness's praise, this sentence touched her strangely.She looked up at Basil, and Basil looked back at her, with real sadness in his eyes. "I already had a best friend ruined and I don't want the same thing to happen to my favorite student."

Corona bit her lower lip, almost feeling guilty.All of a sudden, all the beautiful things around her were less attractive to her, and she was about to go back to Basil's side and never leave again -- no matter how beautiful these things were, it was not worth her seven-year teacher doing this for it. Sad.

But just at this moment, someone patted Basil on the shoulder, and a middle-aged man with a mustache in a bright blue top and brown trousers enthusiastically pulled him over: "Bazz El Howard! I can't believe how long it's been since you've been in Paris! When was the last time I saw you at a party—four years ago, five years ago? Have you done anything good yet?"

"Viscount Calanelle!" Basil and the Marquise greeted together.Basil exchanged a few words with the man, and Viscount Calanelle pulled him out and said, "Come, come, my old friend. It's hard to wait for you to come to Paris once, and I want to introduce someone to you." !"

Basil hesitated and looked back at Corona again.The Marquise smiled and urged him: "Don't worry about playing, Basil! I will leave this child to me. I really want such a pretty girl to stay by my side for a while longer!"

So he left, and Corona returned to the Marchioness again, and listened to her introduction of the various jewelry styles, dress fashions and hairstyles, but she was no longer as interested as before.After the initial shock of beauty, as the Marchioness talked about it, she realized that it was actually the same thing as what Lucy and little Lucy tried to teach her when she was a child—how to dress up Dressing up, choosing dresses, embellishing yourself, it's just that more gold, silver and jewelry are used here in Paris.She was not interested in this at first, but now that she heard this, she also lost her initial enthusiasm.

But more important was Basil's sad eyes.Even though Ke Luona was temporarily fascinated by the colorful social scene, it was not so fast for her to fall into it completely. The sincere love for her relatives and teachers in her heart has not been stained.She had studied painting with Basil for many years, met Dorian Gray several times, heard about his bad reputation in London, and witnessed Basil's heartbreak and regret after that.Thinking of this, her interest in the bustling scene in front of her was somewhat diluted.

She followed the Marquise around the venue for half a circle, greeted many ladies and ladies, and forcefully wrote down their names and titles with her own cleverness.The Marquise obviously had her own close friends, and after leading her to meet a few people, she walked into her small circle to chat and laugh.Although Corona's French is fluent, she still can't speak English as well. She has already realized that her clothes are not as good as others, and she doesn't want to be teased by others, so she just stays quietly, not much Word.The Marquis and the other ladies occasionally took care of her at first, but later saw that she seldom answered and did not participate in the conversations of the people. They thought that she didn't understand anything when she first entered this circle, and gradually forgot about it. She, talking about her own topic.They talked about the current fashion colors in Paris, the workmanship and materials of lace, and judged the dresses and manners of the previous parties. "You should really see Madame de Morcerf," said a lady in a purple dress—the Viscountess de Bouprey—with contempt. "I bet she hasn't understood the opera since the third act." Pass."

"I heard that she used to be an illiterate fisherman?" the Marchioness asked with interest.

"I don't know if the Fisher Girl is real, but if she can't read, I'm absolutely sure," said Mrs. Bupley. "She's pretty, but just look at her stupid manners! You can tell she never Knows proper etiquette. Mrs. Caddell invited us to lunch earlier, and she even accidentally knocked a goblet on the floor—"

"That's old news, who hasn't heard of this joke?" A lady in a crimson dress next to her smiled, "Madame de Morcerf's cheeks were redder than my skirt at that time, she is so pitiful! Come to think of it, as a commoner, her conversation is already very polite."

"Who told her to be so lucky that her husband actually earned her an earl?" Another viscountess said sourly.

"It's just that I don't know when her own behavior will be worthy of being a countess?"

They laughed together, and Coronne almost suspected that she was too unfamiliar with French, so she misheard. After listening carefully for a while, she finally confirmed that they were talking about Madame de Morcerf.Just a moment ago, the Marchioness had taken her to greet the lady. The lady had a dignified manner and a calm demeanor. Corona could not see any vulgarity in her.The Marchioness and Madame de Morcerf also talked and laughed at Yanyan, and they were very close.Who would have thought that when she turned around, these ladies and ladies would tease her behind her back, just because she didn't have a pair of noble parents?

Of course she hadn't seen villains.She had seen the shoemaker beating and cursing apprentices, the porter deliberately slamming his luggage on the ground, the eight-year-old waif who stole his wallet, the law office copyist who dragged people around with his long drawl.She had seen old hooligans who spit on girls' skirts, and little boys who cried and kicked passers-by's calves.But these ladies at the moment—they are so beautiful, why would they speak vicious words and despise a lady who has done nothing wrong?The dresses on them cost several hundred francs a piece. They are rich and at ease, and they have nothing to worry about. Why do they still have evil thoughts in their hearts?

What is even more chilling is that they all made out with Madame Morcerf in front of her, with smiles on their faces.Would they do the same to herself?Had they now seemed to love her and take care of her, turn around and call her "a little illiterate girl" who "didn't know proper manners" with the same scorn, Comments on hairstyles, jewelry, and even French accents?

The more she listened to their small talk, the more she felt that such a thing was likely to happen, and the more uneasy she felt.When she was suspicious and stopped looking at them with blind admiration, she gradually became aware of those glances from the corners of her eyes, those whispers hidden by the fan, those mocking glances that lingered on her bare neck and wrists. .When the dinner was about to end and Basil and Carton came back, she had lost her earlier interest.

When she showed enthusiasm before, the two of them were secretly uneasy; now that she lost interest, they became worried again, for fear that the little girl who was in contact with the nobles for the first time would be looked down upon and bullied by others. "Do you like it there?" On the return carriage, Caton asked her tentatively, "Do you like the Marchioness?"

"It's beautiful there! The Marchioness brought me to know many people. Those ladies and ladies are all beautiful and treated me very politely." Corona replied with a smile.

But she didn't ask to go a second time.That dress, in spite of Basil's request, she refused to wear again.