Mademoiselle Fifi



Guy de Maupassant

1882

LE MAJOR, commandant prussien, comte de Farlsberg, achevait de lire son courrier, le dos au fond d'un grand fauteuil de tapisserie et ses pieds bottés sur le marbre élégant de la cheminée, où ses éperons, depuis trois mois qu'il occupait le château d'Uville, avaient tracé deux trous profonds, fouillés un peu plus tous les jours.


THE MAJOR Graf von Farlsberg, the Prussian commandant, was reading his newspaper, lying back in a great armchair, with his booted feet on the beautiful marble fireplace, where his spurs had made two holes, which grew deeper every day, during the three months that he had been in the chateau of Urville.

Une tasse de café fumait sur un guéridon de marqueterie maculé par les liqueurs, brûlé par les cigares, entaillé par le canif de l'officier conquérant qui, parfois, s'arrêtant d'aiguiser un crayon, traçait sur le meuble gracieux des chiffres ou des dessins, à la fantaisie de son rêve nonchalant.


A cup of coffee was smoking on a small inlaid table, which was stained with liquors, burnt by cigars, notched by the penknife of the victorious officer, who occasionally would stop while sharpening a pencil, to jot down figures, or to make a drawing on it, just as it took his fancy.

Quand il eut achevé ses lettres et parcouru les journaux allemands que son vaguemestre venait de lui apporter, il se leva, et, après avoir jeté au feu trois ou quatre énormes morceaux de bois vert, car ces messieurs abattaient peu à peu le parc pour se chauffer, il s'approcha de la fenêtre.


When he had read his letters and the German newspapers, which his baggage-master had brought him, he got up, and after throwing three or four enormous pieces of green wood on to the fire--for these gentlemen were gradually cutting down the park in order to keep themselves warm--he went to the window.

La pluie tombait à flots, une pluie normande qu'on aurait dit jetée par une main furieuse, une pluie en biais, épaisse comme un rideau, formant une sorte de mur à raies obliques, une pluie cinglante, éclaboussante, noyant tout, une vraie pluie des environs de Rouen, ce pot de chambre de la France.


The rain was descending in torrents, a regular Normandy rain, which looked as if it were being poured out by some furious hand, a slanting rain, which was as thick as a curtain, and which formed a kind of wall with oblique stripes, and which deluged everything, a regular rain, such as one frequently experiences in the neighborhood of Rouen, which is the chamberpot of France.

L'officier regarda longtemps les pelouses inondées, et, là-bas, l'Andelle gonflée qui débordait, et il tambourinait contre la vitre une valse du Rhin, quand un bruit le fit se retourner: c'était son second, le baron de Kelweingstein, ayant le grade équivalent à celui de capitaine.


For a long time the officer looked at the sodden turf, and at the swollen Andelle beyond it, which was overflowing its banks, and he was drumming a waltz from the Rhine on the window-panes, with his fingers, when a noise made him turn round; it was his second in command, Captain Baron von Kelweinstein.

Le major était un géant, large d'épaules, orné d'une longue barbe en éventail formant nappe sur sa poitrine; et toute sa grande personne solennelle éveillait l'idée d'un paon militaire, un paon qui aurait porté sa queue déployeé à son menton. Il avait des yeux bleus, froids et doux, une joue fendue d'un coup de sabre dans la guerre d'Autriche, et on le disait brave homme autant que brave officier.


The major was a giant, with broad shoulders, and a long, fair beard, which hung like a cloth on to his chest. His whole, solemn person suggested the idea of a military peacock, a peacock who was carrying his tail spread out on to his breast. He had cold, gentle, blue eyes, and the scar from a sword-cut, which he had received in the war with Austria; he was said to be an honorable man, as well as a brave officer.

Le capitaine, un petit rougeaud à gros ventre, sanglé de force, portait presque ras son poil ardent, dont les files de feu auraient fait croire, quand ils se trouvaient sous certains reflets, sa figure frottée de phosphore. Deux dents perdues dans une nuit de noce, sans qu'il se reppelât au juste comment, lui faisaient cracher des paroles épaisses qu'on n'entendait pas toujours; et il était chauve du sommet du crâne seulement, tonsuré comme un moine, avec une toison de petits cheveux frisés, dorés et luisants, autour de ce cerceau de chair nue.


The captain, a short, red-faced man, who was tightly girthed in at the waist, had his red hair cropped quite close to his head, and in certain lights almost looked as if he had been rubbed over with phosphorus. He had lost two front teeth one night, though he could not quite remember how. This defect made him speak so that he could not always be understood, and he had a bald patch on the top of his head, which made him look rather like a monk, with a fringe of curly, bright, golden hair round the circle of bare skin.

Le commandant lui serra la main, et il avala d'un trait sa tasse de café (la sixième depuis le matin), en écoutant le rapport de son subordonné sur les incidents survenus dans le service; puis tous deux se rapprochèrent de la fenêtre en déclarant que ce n'était pas gai. Le major, homme tranquille, marié chez lui, s'accommodait de tout; mais le baron capitaine, viveur tenace, coureur de bouges, forcené trousseur de filles, rageait d'être enfermé depuis trois mois dans la chasteté obligatoire de ce poste perdu.


The commandant shook hands with him, and drank his cup of coffee (the sixth that morning) in one gulp, while he listened to his subordinate's report of what had occurred; and then they both went to the window, and declared that it was a very unpleasant outlook. The major, who was a quiet man, with a wife at home, could accommodate himself to everything; but the captain, who was a party type, being in the habit of frequenting low resorts, and much given to women, was mad at having been shut up for three months in the compulsory chastity of that wretched hole.

Comme on grattait à la porte, le commandant cria d'ouvrir, et un homme, un de leurs soldats automates, apparut dans l'ouverture, disant par sa seule présence que le déjeuner était prêt.


There was a knock at the door, and when the commandant said, "Come in," one of their robotlike soldiers appeared, and by his mere presence announced that breakfast was ready.

Dans la salle ils trouvèrent les trois officiers de moindre grade: un lieutenant, Otto de Grossling; deux sous-lieutenants, Fritz Scheunaubourg et le marquis Wilhem d'Eyrik, un tout petit blondin fier et brutal avec les hommes, dur aux vaincus, et violent comme une armé à feu.


In the dining-room, they met three other officers of lower rank: a lieutenant, Otto von Grossling, and two sub-lieutenants, Fritz Scheunebarg, and Count von Eyrick, a very short, fair-haired man, who was proud and brutal toward his men, harsh toward prisoners, and violent as a firearm.

Depuis son entrée en France, ses camarades ne l'appelaient plus que Mlle Fifi. Ce surnom lui venait de sa tournure coquette, de sa taille fine qu'on aurait dit tenue en un corset, de sa figure pâle où sa naissante moustache apparaissait à peine, et aussi de l'habitude qu'il avait prise, pour exprimer son souverain mépris des êtres et des chose, d'employer à tout moment la locution française--fi, fi, donc, qu'il prononçait avec un léger sifflement.


Since he had been in France, his comrades had called him nothing but "Mademoiselle Fifi." They had given him that nickname on account of his dandified style and small waist, which looked as if he wore stays, from his pale face, on which his budding mustache scarcely showed, and on account of the habit he had acquired of employing the French expression, fi, fi donc, which he pronounced with a slight whistle, when he wished to express his sovereign contempt for persons or things.



La salle à manger du château d'Uville était une longue et royale pièce dont les glaces de cristal ancien, étoilées de balles, et les hautes tapisseries des Flandres, tailladées à coups de sabre et pendantes par endroits, disaient les occupations de Mlle Fifi, en ses heures de désoeuvrement.


The dining-room of the chateau was a magnificent long room, whose fine old mirrors, now cracked by pistol bullets, and Flemish tapestry, now cut to ribbons and hanging in rags in places, from sword-cuts, told too well what Mademoiselle Fifi's occupation was during his spare time.

Sur les murs, trois portraits de famille, un guerrier vêtu de fer, un cardinal et un président, fumaient de longues pipes de porcelaine, tandis qu'en son cadre dédoré par les ans, une noble dame à poitrine serrée montrait d'un air arrogant une énorme paire de moustaches faites au charbon.


There were three family portraits on the walls; a steel-clad knight, a cardinal, and a judge, who were all smoking long porcelain pipes, which had been inserted into holes in the canvas, while a lady in a long, pointed waist proudly exhibited an enormous pair of mustaches, drawn with a piece of charcoal.

Et le déjeuner des officiers s'écoula presque en silence dans cette pièce mutilée, assombrie par l'averse, attristante par son aspect vaincu, et dont le vieux parquet de chêne était devenu sordide comme un sol de cabaret.


The officers ate their breakfast almost in silence in that mutilated room, which looked dull in the rain, and melancholy under its vanquished appearance, although its old, oak floor had become as solid as the stone floor of a public-house.

A l'heure du tabac, quand ils commencèrent à boire, ayant fini de manger, ils se mirent, de même que chaque jour, à parler de leur ennui. Les bouteilles de cognac et de liqueurs passaient de main en main; et tous, renversés sur leurs chaises, absorbaient à petits coups répétés, en gardant au coin de la bouche le long tuyau courbé que terminait l'oeuf de faience, toujours peinturluré comme pour séduire des Hottentots.


When they had finished eating, and were smoking and drinking, they began, as usual, to talk about the dull life they were leading. The bottles of brandy and of liquors passed from hand to hand, and all sat back in their chairs, taking repeated sips from their glasses, and scarcely removing the long, bent stems, which terminated in china bowls painted in a manner to delight a Hottentot, from their mouths.

Dès que leur verre était vide, ils le remplissaient avec un geste de lassitude résignée. Mais Mlle Fifi cassait à tout moment le sien, et un soldat immédiatement lui en présentait un autre.


As soon as their glasses were empty, they filled them again, with a gesture of resigned weariness, but Mademoiselle Fifi emptied his every minute, and a soldier immediately gave him another.

Un brouillard de fumée âcre les noyait, et ils semblaient s'enfoncer dans une ivresse endormie et triste, dans cette saoulerie morne des gens qui n'ont rien a faire.


They were enveloped in a cloud of strong tobacco smoke; they seemed to be sunk in a state of drowsy, stupid intoxication, in that dull state of drunkenness of men who have nothing to do.

Mais le baron, soudain, se redressa. Une révolte le secouait; il jura: "Nom de Dieu, ça ne peut pas durer, il faut inventer quelque chose à la fin."


But suddenly, the baron sat up, and said: "By heavens! This cannot go on; we must think of something to do."

Ensemble le lieutenant Otto et le sous-lieutenant Fritz, deux Allemands doués éminemment de physionomies allemandes lourdes et graves, répondirent: "Quoi, mon capitaine?"


And on hearing this, Lieutenant Otto and Sub-lieutenant Fritz, who pre-eminently possessed the grave, heavy German countenance, said: "What, Captain?"

Il réfléchit quelques secondes, puis reprit: "Quoi? Eh bien, il faut organiser une fête, si le commandant le permet."


He thought for a few moments, and then replied "What? Well, we must get up some entertainment; if the commandant will allow us."

Le major quitta sa pipe: "Quelle fête, capitaine?"


"What sort of an entertainment, captain?" the major asked, taking his pipe out of his mouth.

Le baron s'approcha: "Je me charge de tout, mon commandant. J'enverrai à Rouen Le Devoir, qui nous ramènera des dames: je sais où les prendre. On préparera ici un souper; rien ne manque d'ailleurs, et, au moins, nous passerons une bonne soirée."


"I will arrange all that, commandant," the baron said. "I will send the Duty Noncomm to Rouen, who will bring us some ladies. I know where they can be found. We will have supper here, as all the materials are at hand, and, at least, we shall have a jolly evening."

Le comte de Farlsberg haussa les épaules en souriant "Vous êtes fou, mon ami."


Graf von Farlsberg shrugged his shoulders with a smile: "You must surely be mad, my friend."

Mais tous les officiers s'étaient levés, entouraient leur chef, le suppliaient: "Laissez faire le capitaine, mon commandant, c'est si triste ici."


But all the other officers got up, surrounded their chief, and said: "Let the captain have his own way, commandant; it is terribly dull here."

A la fin le major céda: "Soit", dit-il; et aussitôt le baron fit appeler Le Devoir.


And the major ended by yielding. "Very well," he replied, and the baron immediately sent for "Duty".

C'était un vieux sous-officier qu'on n'avait jamais vu rire, mais qui accomplissait fanatiquement tous les ordres de ses chefs, quels qu'ils fussent.


The latter was an old corporal who had never been seen to smile, but who carried out all the orders of his superiors to the letter, no matter what they might be.

Debout, avec sa figure impassible, il reçut les instructions du baron; puis il sortit; et, cinq minutes plus tard, une grande voiture du train militaire, couverte d'une bâche de meunier tendue en dôme, détalait sous la pluie acharnée, au galop de quatre chevaux. Aussitôt un frisson de réveil sembla courir dans les esprits; les poses alanguies se redressèrent, les visages s'animèrent et on se mit à causer.


He stood there, with an impassive face while he received the baron's instructions, and then went out; five minutes later a large wagon belonging to the military train, covered with a miller's tilt, galloped off as fast as four horses could take it, under the pouring rain, and the officers all seemed to awaken from their lethargy, their looks brightened, and they began to talk.

Bien que l'averse continuât avec autant de furie, le major affirma qu'il faisait moins sombre, et le lieutenant Otto annonçait avec conviction que le ciel allait s'éclaircir. Mlle Fifi elle-même ne semblait pas tenir en place. Elle se levait, se rasseyait. Son oeil clair et dur cherchait quelque chose à briser. Soudain, fixant la dame aux moustaches, le jeune blondin tira son revolver. "Tu ne verras pas cela toi", dit-il; et, sans quitter son siège, il visa. Deux balles successivement crevèrent les deux yeux du portrait.


Although it was raining as hard as ever, the major declared that it was not so dull, and Lieutenant von Grossling said with conviction, that the sky was clearing up, while Mademoiselle Fifi did not seem to be able to keep in his place. He got up, and sat down again, and his bright eyes seemed to be looking for something to destroy. Suddenly, looking at the lady with the mustaches, the young fellow pulled out his revolver, and said: "You shall not see it." And without leaving his seat he aimed, and with two successive bullets cut out both the eyes of the portrait.

Puis il s'écria: "Faisons la mine!" Et brusquement les conversations s'interrompirent, comme si un intérêt puissant et nouveau se fût emparé de tout le monde. La mine, c'était son invention, sa manière de détruire, son amusement préféré.


"Let us make a mine!" he then exclaimed, and the conversation was suddenly interrupted, as if they had found some fresh and powerful subject of interest. The mine was his invention, his method of destruction, and his favorite amusement.

En quittant son château, le propriétaire légitime, le comte Fernand d'Amoys d'Uville, n'avait eu le temps de rien emporter ni de rien cacher, sauf l'argenterie enfouie dans le trou d'un mur. Or, comme il était fort riche et magnifique, son grand salon, dont la porte ouvrait dans la salle à manger, présentait, avant la fuite precipitée du maître, l'aspect d'une galerie de musée.


When he left the chateau, the lawful owner, Count Fernand d'Amoys d'Urville, had not had time to carry away or to hide anything, except the plate, which had been stowed away in a hole made in one of the walls, so that, as he was very rich and had good taste, the large drawing-room, which opened into the dining-room, had looked like the gallery in a museum, before his precipitate flight.

Aux murailles pendaient des toiles, des dessins et des aquarelles de prix, tandis que sur les meubles, les étagères, et dans les vitrines élégantes, mille bibelots, des potiches, des statuettes, des bonshommes de Saxe et des magots de Chine, des ivoires anciens et des verres de Venise, peuplaient le vaste appartement de leur foule précieuse et bizarre.


Expensive oil-paintings, water-colors, and drawings hung upon the walls, while on the tables, on the hanging shelves, and in elegant glass cupboards, there were a thousand knickknacks: small vases, statuettes, groups in Dresden china, grotesque Chinese figures, old ivory, and Venetian glass, which filled the large room with their precious and fantastical array.

Il n'en restait guère maintenant. Non qu'on les eût pillés, le major comte de Farlsberg ne l'aurait point permis; mais Mlle Fifi, de temps en temps, faisait la mine; et tous les officiers, ce jour-là, s'amusaient vraiment pendant cinq minutes.


Scarcely anything was left now; not that the things had been stolen, for the major would not have allowed that, but Mademoiselle Fifi would have a mine, and on that occasion all the officers thoroughly enjoyed themselves for five minutes.

Le petit marquis alla chercher dans le salon ce qu'il lui fallait. Il rapporta une toute mignonne théière de Chine famille Rose qu'il emplit de poudre à canon, et, par le bec, il introduisit délicatement un long morceau d'amadou, l'alluma, et courut reporter cette machine infernale dans l'appartement voisin. Puis il revint bien vite, en fermant la porte. Tous les Allemands attendaient, debout, avec la figure souriante d'une curiosité enfantine; et, dès que l'explosion eut secoué le château, ils se précipitèrent ensemble.


The little marquis went into the drawing-room to get what he wanted, and he brought back a small, delicate china teapot, which he filled with gunpowder, and carefully introduced a piece of German tinder into it, through the spout. Then he lighted it, and took this infernal machine into the next room; but he came back immediately and shut the door. The Germans all stood expectantly, their faces full of childish, smiling curiosity, and as soon as the explosion had shaken the chateau, they all rushed in at once.

Mlle Fifi, entrée la première, battait des mains avec délire devant une Vénus de terre cuite dont la tête avait enfin sauté; et chacun ramassa des morceaux de porcelaine, s'étonnant aux dentelures étranges des éclats, examinant les dégâts nouveaux, contestant certains ravages comme produits par l'explosion précédente; et le major considérait d'un air paternel le vaste salon bouleversé par cette mitraille à la Néron et sablé de débris d'objets d'art. Il en sortit le premier, en déclarant avec bonhomie: "Ça a bien réussi, cette fois."


Mademoiselle Fifi, who got in first, clapped his hands in delight at the sight of a terra-cotta Venus, whose head had been blown off, and each picked up pieces of porcelain, and wondered at the strange shape of the fragments, while the major was looking with a paternal eye at the large drawing-room which had been wrecked in the style of Nero, and which was strewn with the fragments of works of art. He went out first, and said, with a smile: "He managed that very well!"

Mais une telle trombe de fumée était entrée dans la salle à manger, se mêlant à celle du tabac, qu'on ne pouvait plus respirer. Le commandant ouvrit la fenêtre, et tous les officiers, revenus pour boire un dernier verre de cognac, s'en approchèrent.


But there was such a cloud of smoke in the dining-room, mingled with the tobacco smoke, that they could not breathe, so the commandant opened the window, and all the officers, who had gone into the room for a glass of cognac, went up to it.

L'air humide s'engouffra dans la pièce, apportant une sorte de poussière d'eau qui poudrait les barbes et une odeur d'inondation. Ils regardaient les grands arbres accablés sous l'averse, la large vallée embrumée par ce dégorgement des nuages sombres et bas, et tout au loin le clocher de l'église dressé comme une pointe grise dans la pluie battante.


The moist air blew into the room, and brought a sort of spray with it, which powdered their beards. They looked at the tall trees which were dripping with the rain, at the broad valley which was covered with mist, and at the church spire in the distance, which rose up like a gray point in the beating rain.

Depuis leur arrivée, il n'avait plus sonné. C'était, du reste, la seule résistance que les envahisseurs eussent rencontrée aux environs: celle du clocher. Le curé ne s'était nullement refusé à recevoir et à nourrir des soldats prussiens; il avait même plusieurs fois accepté de boire une bouteille de bière ou de bordeaux avec le commandant ennemi, qui l'employait souvent comme intermédiaire bienveillant; mais il ne fallait pas lui demander un seul tintement de sa cloche; il se serait plutôt laissé fusiller. C'était sa manière à lui de protester contre l'invasion, protestation pacifique, protestation du silence, la seule, disait-il, qui convînt au prêtre, homme de douceur et non de sang; et tout le monde, à dix lieues à la ronde, vantait la fermeté, l'héroïsme de l'abbé Chantavoine, qui osait affirmer le deuil public, le proclamer, par le mutisme obstiné de son église.


The bells had not rung since their arrival. That was the only resistance which the invaders had met with in the neighborhood. The parish priest had not refused to take in and to feed the Prussian soldiers; he had several times even drunk a bottle of beer or claret with the hostile commandant, who often employed him as a benevolent intermediary; but it was no use to ask him for a single stroke of the bells; he would sooner have allowed himself to be shot. That was his way of protesting against the invasion, a peaceful and silent protest, the only one, he said, which was suitable to a priest, who was a man of mildness, and not of blood; and everyone, for twenty-five miles round, praised Abbe Chantavoine's firmness and heroism, in venturing to proclaim the public mourning by the obstinate silence of his church bells.

Le village entier, enthousiasmé par cette résistance, était prêt à soutenir jusqu'au bout son pasteur, à tout braver, considérant cette protestation tacite comme la sauvegarde de l'honneur national. Il semblait aux paysans qu'ils avaient ainsi mieux mérité de la patrie que Belfort et que Strasbourg, qu'ils avaient donné un exemple équivalent, que le nom du hameau en deviendrait immortel; et, hormis cela, ils ne refusaient rien aux Prussiens vainqueurs.


The whole village grew enthusiastic over his resistance, and was ready to back up their pastor and to risk anything, as they looked upon that silent protest as the safeguard of the national honor. It seemed to the peasants that thus they had deserved better of their country than Belfort and Strasbourg, that they had set an equally valuable example, and that the name of their little village would become immortalized by that; but with that exception, they refused their Prussian conquerors nothing.

Le commandant et ses officiers riaient ensemble de ce courage inoffensif; et comme le pays entier se montrait obligeant et souple à leur égard, ils toléraient volontiers son patriotisme muet.


The commandant and his officers laughed among themselves at that inoffensive courage, and as the people in the whole country round showed themselves obliging and compliant toward them, they willingly tolerated their silent patriotism.

Seul, le petit marquis Wilhem aurait bien voulu forcer la cloche à sonner. Il enrageait de la condescendance politique de son supérieur pour le prêtre: et chaque jour il suppliait le commandant de le laisser faire "Ding-don-don", une fois, une seule petite fois pour rire un peu seulement. Et il demandait cela avec des grâces de chatte, des cajoleries de femme, des douceurs de voix d'une maîtresse affolée par une envie; mais le commandant ne cédait point, et Mlle Fifi, pour se consoler, faisait la mine dans le château d'Uville.


Only little Count Wilhelm would have liked to have forced them to ring the bells. He was very angry at his superior's politic compliance with the priest's scruples, and every day he begged the commandant to allow him to sound "ding-dong, ding-dong," just once, only just once, just by way of a joke. And he asked it like a wheedling woman, in the tender voice of some mistress who wishes to obtain something, but the commandant would not yield, and to console herself, Mademoiselle Fifi made a mine in the chateau.

Les cinq hommes restèrent là, en tas, quelques minutes, aspirant l'humidité. Le lieutenant Fritz, enfin, prononça en jetant un rire pâteux: "Ces temoiselles técitément n'auront pas peau temps pour leur bromenate." Là-dessus, on se sépara, chacun allant à son service, et le capitaine ayant fort à faire pour les préparatifs du dîner.


The five men stood there together for some minutes, inhaling the moist air, and at last, Lieutenant Fritz said, with a laugh: "The ladies will certainly not have fine weather for their drive." Then they separated, each to his own duties, while the captain had plenty to do in seeing about the dinner.

Quand ils se retrouvèrent de nouveau à la nuit tombante, ils se mirent à rire en se voyant tous coquets et reluisants comme aux jours de grande revue, pommadés, parfumés, tout frais. Les cheveux du commandant semblaient moins gris que le matin; et le capitaine s'était rasé, ne gardant que sa moustache, qui lui mettait une flamme sous le nez.


When they met again, as it was growing dark, they began to laugh at seeing each other as dandified and smart as on the day of a grand review. The commandant's hair did not look as gray as it did in the morning, and the captain had shaved--had only kept his mustache on, which made him look as if he had a streak of fire under his nose.

Malgré la pluie, on laissait la fenêtre ouverte; et l'un d'eux parfois allait écouter. A six heures dix minutes le baron signala un lointain roulement. Tous se précipitèrent; et bientôt la grande voiture accourut, avec ses quatre chevaux toujours au galop, crottés jusqu'au dos, fumants et soufflants. Et cinq femmes descendirent sur le perron, cinq belles filles choisies avec soin par un camarade du capitaine à qui Le Devoir était allé porter une carte de son officier.


In spite of the rain, they left the window open, and one of them went to listen from time to time. At a quarter past six the baron said he heard a rumbling in the distance. They all rushed down, and soon the wagon drove up at a gallop with its four horses, splashed up to their backs, steaming and panting. Five women got out at the bottom of the steps, five handsome girls whom a comrade of the captain, to whom Duty had taken his card, had selected with care.

Elles ne s'étaient point fait prier, sûres d'être bien payées, connaissant d'ailleurs les Prussiens, depuis trois mois qu'elles en tâtaient, et prenant leur parti des hommes comme des choses. "C'est le métier qui veut ça", se disaient-elles en route, pour répondre sans doute à quelque picotement secret d'un reste de conscience.


They had not required much pressing, as they were sure of being well treated, for they had got to know the Prussians in the three months during which they had had to do with them. So they resigned themselves to the men as they did to the state of affairs. "It is part of our business, so it must be done," they said as they drove along; no doubt to allay some slight, secret scruples of conscience.

Et tout de suite on entra dans la salle à manger. Illuminée, elle semblait plus lugubre encore en son délabrement piteux; et la table couverte de viandes, de vaisselle riche et d'argenterie retrouvée dans le mur où l'avait cachée le propriétaire, donnait à ce lieu l'aspect d'une taverne de bandits qui soupent après un pillage. Le capitaine, radieux, s'empara des femmes comme d'une chose familière, les appréciant, les embrassant, les flairant, les évaluant à leur valeur de filles à plaisir; et comme les trois jeunes gens voulaient en prendre chacun une, il s'y opposa avec autorité, se réservant de faire le partage, en toute justice, suivant les grades, pour ne blesser en rien la hiérarchie.


They went into the dining-room immediately, which looked still more dismal in its dilapidated state, when it was lighted up; while the table covered with choice dishes, the beautiful china and glass, and the plate, which had been found in the hole in the wall where its owner had hidden it, gave to the place the look of a bandits' resort, where they were supping after committing a robbery. The captain was radiant; he took hold of the women as if he were familiar with them; appraising them, kissing them, valuing them for what they were worth as ladies of pleasure; and when the three young men wanted to appropriate one each, he opposed them authoritatively, reserving to himself the right to apportion them justly, according to their several ranks, so as not to wound the hierarchy.

Alors, afin d'éviter toute discussion, toute contestation et tout soupçon de partialité, il les aligna par rang de taille, et s'adressant à la plus grande, avec le ton du commandement:


Therefore, so as to avoid all discussion, jarring, and suspicion of partiality, he placed them all in a line according to height, and addressing the tallest, he said in a voice of command:

"Ton nom?"


"Vats your name?"

Elle répondit en grossissant sa voix: "Paméla."


"Pamela," she replied, raising her voice.

Alors il proclama: "Numéro un, la nommée Paméla, adjugée au commandant."


Then he said: "Number One, called Pamela, is adjudged to the commandant."

Ayant ensuite embrassé Blondine, la seconde, en signe de propriété, il offrit au lieutenant Otto la grosse Amanda, Eva la Tomate au sous-lieutenant Fritz, et la plus petite de toutes, Rachel, une brune toute jeune, à l'oeil noir comme une tache d'encre, une juive dont le nez retroussé confirmait la règle qui donne des becs courbes à toute sa race, au plus jeune des officiers, au frêle marquis Wilhem d'Eyrik.


Then, having kissed Blondina, the second, as a sign of proprietorship, he proffered stout Amanda to Lieutenant Otto, Eva, "the Tomato," to Sub-lieutenant Fritz, and Rachel, the shortest of them all, a very young, dark girl, with eyes as black as ink, a Jewess, whose snub nose confirmed by exception the rule which allots hooked noses to all her race, to the youngest officer, frail Count Wilhelm von Eyrick.

Toutes, d'ailleurs, étaient jolies et grasses, sans physionomies bien distinctes, faites à peu près pareilles de tournure et de peau par les pratiques d'amour quotidiennes et la vie commune des maisons publiques.


They were all pretty and plump, without any distinctive features, and all were very much alike in look and person, from their daily dissipation, and the life common to houses of public accommodation.

Les trois jeunes gens prétendaient tout de suite entraîner leurs femmes, sous prétexte de leur offrir des brosses et du savon pour se nettoyer; mais le capitaine s'y opposa sagement, affirmant qu'elles étaient assez propres pour se mettre à table et que ceux qui monteraient voudraient changer en descendant et troubleraient les autres couples. Son expérience l'emporta. Il y eut seulement beaucoup de baisers, des baisers d'attente.


The three younger men wished to carry off their women immediately, under the pretext of finding them brushes and soap; but the captain wisely opposed this, for he said they were quite fit to sit down to dinner, and that those who went up would wish for a change when they came down, and so would disturb the other couples, and his experience in such matters carried the day. There were only many kisses; expectant kisses.

Soudain, Rachel suffoqua, toussant aux larmes, et rendant de la fumée par les narines. Le marquis, sous prétexte de l'embrasser, venait de lui souffler un jet de tabac dans la bouche. Elle ne se fâcha point, ne dit pas un mot, mais elle regarda fixement son possesseur avec une colère éveillée tout au fond de son oeil noir.


Suddenly Rachel choked, and began to cough until the tears came into her eyes, while smoke came through her nostrils. Under pretense of kissing her, the count had blown a whiff of tobacco into her mouth. She did not fly into a rage, and did not say a word, but she looked at her possessor with latent hatred in her dark eyes.

On s'assit. Le commandant lui-même semblait enchanté; il prit à sa droite Paméla, Blondine à sa gauche et déclara, en dépliant sa serviette:


They sat down to dinner. The commandant seemed delighted; he made Pamela sit on his right, and Blondina on his left, and said, as he unfolded his table napkin:

"Vous avez eu là une charmante idée, capitaine."


"That was a delightful idea of yours, captain."

Les lieutenants Otto et Fritz, polis comme auprès de femmes du monde, intimidaient un peu leurs voisines; mais le baron de Kelweingstein, lâché dans son vice, rayonnait, lançait des mots grivois, semblait en feu avec sa couronne de cheveux rouges. Il galantisait en français du Rhin; et ses compliments de taverne, expectorés par le trou des deux dents brisées, arrivaient aux filles au milieu d'une mitraille de salive.


Lieutenants Otto and Fritz, who were as polite as if they had been with fashionable ladies, rather intimidated their neighbors, but Baron von Kelweinstein gave the reins to all his vicious propensities, beamed, made doubtful remarks, and seemed on fire with his crown of red hair. He paid them compliments in French from the other side of the Rhine, and sputtered out gallant remarks, only fit for a low pot-house, from between his two broken teeth.

Elles ne comprenaient rien, du reste; et leur intelligence ne sembla s'éveiller que lorsqu'il cracha des paroles obscènes, des expressions crues, estropiées par son accent. Alors toutes, ensemble, elles commencèrent à rire comme des folles, tombant sur le ventre de leurs voisins, répétant les termes que le baron se mit alors à défigurer à plaisir pour leur faire dire des ordures. Elles en vomissaient à volonté, soûles aux premières bouteilles de vin; et, redevenant elles, ouvrant la porte aux habitudes, elles embrassaient les moustaches de droite et celles de gauche, pinçaient les bras, poussaient des cris furieux, buvaient dans tous les verres, chantaient des couplets français et des bouts de chansons allemandes appris dans leurs rapports quotidiens avec l'ennemi.


They did not understand him, however, and their intelligence did not seem to be awakened until he uttered nasty words and broad expressions, which were mangled by his accent. Then all began to laugh at once, like mad women, and fell against each other, repeating the words, which the baron then began to say all wrong, in order that he might have the pleasure of hearing them say doubtful things. They gave him as much of that stuff as he wanted, for they were drunk after the first bottle of wine, and, becoming themselves once more, and opening the door to their usual habits, they kissed the mustaches on the right and left of them, pinched their arms, uttered furious cries, drank out of every glass, and sang French couplets, and bits of German songs, which they had picked up in their daily intercourse with the enemy.

Bientôt les hommes eux-mêmes, grisés par cette chair de femme étalée sous leur nez et sous leurs mains, s'affolèrent, hurlant, brisant la vaisselle, tandis que, derrière leur dos, des soldats impassibles les servaient.


Soon the men themselves, intoxicated by that which was displayed to their sight and touch, grew very amorous, shouted and broke the plates and dishes, while the soldiers behind them waited on them stolidly.

Le commandant seul gardait de la retenue.


The commandant was the only one who put any restraint upon himself.

Mlle Fifi avait pris Rachel sur ses genoux, et, s'animant à froid, tantôt il embrassait follement les frisons d'ébène de son cou, humant par le mince intervalle entre la robe et la peau la douce chaleur de son corps et tout le fumet de sa personne; tantôt à travers l'étoffe, il la pinçait avec fureur, la faisant crier, saisi d'une férocité rageuse, travaillé par son besoin de ravage. Souvent aussi, la tenant à pleins bras, l'étreignant comme pour la mêler à lui, il appuyait longuement ses lèvres sur la bouche fraîche de la juive, la baisait à perdre haleine; mais soudain il la mordit si profondément qu'une traînée de sang descendit sur le menton de la jeune femme et coula dans son corsage.


Mademoiselle Fifi had taken Rachel on to his knees, and, getting excited, at one moment kissed the little black curls on her neck, inhaling the pleasant warmth of her body, and all the savor of her person, through the slight space there was between her dress and her skin, and at another pinched her furiously through the material, and made her scream, for he was seized with a species of ferocity, and tormented by his desire to hurt her. He often held her close to him, as if to make her part of himself, and put his lips in a long kiss on the Jewess's rosy mouth, until she lost her breath; and at last he bit her until a stream of blood ran down her chin and on to her bodice.

Encore une fois, elle le regarda bien en face, et, lavant la plaie, murmura: "Ça se paye, cela." Il se mit à rire, d'un rire dur. "Je payerai", dit-il.


For the second time, she looked him full in the face, and as she bathed the wound, she said: "You will have to pay for that!" But he merely laughed a hard laugh, and said: "I vill pay."

On arrivait au dessert; on versait du champagne. Le commandant se leva, et du même ton qu'il aurait pris pour porter la santé de l'impératrice Augusta, il but:


At dessert, champagne was served, and the commandant rose, and in the same voice in which he would have drunk to the health of the Empress Augusta, he drank:

"A nos dames!" Et une série de toasts commença, des toasts d'une galanterie de soudards et de pochards, mêlés de plaisanteries obscènes, rendues plus brutales encore par l'ignorance de la langue.


"To our ladies!" Then a series of toasts began, toasts worthy of the lowest soldiers and of drunkards, mingled with filthy jokes, which were made still more brutal by their ignorance of the language.

Ils se levaient l'un après l'autre, cherchant de l'esprit, s'efforçant d'être drôles; et les femmes, ivres à tomber, les yeux vagues, les lèvres pâteuses, applaudissaient chaque fois éperdument.


They stood up, one after the other, trying to say something witty, forcing themselves to be funny, and the women, who were so drunk that they almost fell off their chairs, with vacant looks and clammy tongues, applauded madly each time.

Le capitaine, voulant sans doute rendre à l'orgie un air galant, leva encore une fois son verre, et prononça: "A nos victoires sur les coeurs!"


The captain, who no doubt wished to impart an appearance of gallantry to the orgy, raised his glass again, and said: "To our victories over hearts!"

Alors le lieutenant Otto, espèce d'ours de la forêt Noire, se dressa, enflammé, saturé de boissons. Et envahi brusquement de patriotisme alcoolique, il cria: "A nos victoires sur la France!"


Thereupon Lieutenant Otto, who was a species of bear from the Black Forest, jumped up, inflamed and saturated with drink, and seized by an access of alcoholic patriotism, cried: "To our victories over France!"

Toutes grises qu'elles étaient, les femmes se turent; et Rachel, frissonnante, se retourna: "Tu sais, j'en connais des Français, devant qui tu ne dirais pas ça."


Drunk as they were, the women were silent, and Rachel turned round with a shudder, and said: "Look here, I know some Frenchmen, in whose presence you would not dare to say that."

Mais le petit marquis, la tenant toujours sur ses genoux, se mit à rire, rendu très gai par le vin: "Ah! ah! ah! je n'en ai jamais vu, moi. Sitôt que nous paraissons, ils foutent le camp!"


But the little count, still holding her on his knees, began to laugh, for the wine had made him very merry, and said: "Ha! ha! ha! I haf never met any of them, myself. As soon as ve show ourselfs, dey run away!"

La fille, exaspérée, lui cria dans la figure: "Tu mens, salop!"


The girl, who was in a terrible rage, shouted into his face: "You are lying, you dirty scoundrel!"

Durant une seconde, il fixa sur elle ses yeux clairs, comme il les fixait sur les tableaux dont il crevait la toile à coups de revolver, puis il se mit à rire: "Ah! oui, parlons-en, la belle! serions-nous ici, s'ils étaient braves!" Et il s'animait: "Nous sommes leurs maîtres! à nous la France!"


For a moment, he looked at her steadily, with his bright eyes upon her, as he had looked at the portrait before he destroyed it with revolver bullets, and then he began to laugh: "Ah! yes, talk about them, my dear! Should we be here now, if they were brave?" Then getting excited, he exclaimed: "We are the masters! France belongs to us!"

Elle quitta ses genoux d'une secousse et retomba sur sa chaise. Il se leva, tendit son verre jusqu'au milieu de la table et répéta: "A nous la France et les Français, les bois, les champs et les maisons de France!"


She jumped off his knees with a bound, and threw herself into her chair, while he rose, held out his glass over the table, and repeated: "France and the French, the woods, the fields, and the houses of France belong to us!"

Les autres, tout à fait soûls, secoués soudain par un enthousiasme militaire, un enthousiasme de brutes, saisirent leurs verres en vociférant: "Vive la Prusse!" et les vidèrent d'un seul trait.


The others, who were quite drunk, and who were suddenly seized by military enthusiasm, the enthusiasm of brutes, seized their glasses, and shouting, "Long live Prussia!" emptied them at a gulp.

Les filles ne protestaient point, réduites au silence et prises de peur. Rachel elle-même se taisait, impuissante à répondre. Alors, le petit marquis posa sur la tête de la juive sa coupe de champagne emplie à nouveau: "A nous aussi, cria-t-il, toutes les femmes de France!"


The girls did not protest, for they were reduced to silence, and were afraid. Even Rachel did not say a word, as she had no reply to make, and then the little count put his champagne glass, which had just been refilled, on to the head of the Jewess, and exclaimed: "All the women in France belong to us, alzo!"

Elle se leva si vite, que le cristal, culbuté, vida, comme pour un baptême, le vin jaune dans ses cheveux noirs, et il tomba, se brisant à terre. Les lèvres tremblantes, elle bravait du regard l'officier qui riait toujours, et elle balbutia, d'une voix étranglée de colère: "Ça, ça, ça n'est pas vrai, par exemple, vous n'aurez pas les femmes de France."


At that she got up so quickly that the glass upset, spilling the amber colored wine on to her black hair as if to baptize her, and broke into a hundred fragments as it fell on to the floor. With trembling lips, she defied the looks of the officer, who was still laughing, and she stammered out, in a voice choked with rage: "That--that--that--is not true,--for you shall certainly not have any French women."

Il s'assit pour rire à son aise, et, cherchant l'accent parisien: "Elle est pien ponne, pien ponne, qu'est-ce alors que tu viens faire ici, pétite?"


He sat down again, so as to laugh at his ease, and trying ineffectually to speak in the Parisian accent, he said: "Dat is good, very good! Then vat did you come here for, my dear?"

Interdite, elle se tut d'abord, comprenant mal dans son trouble, puis, dès qu'elle eut bien saisi ce qu'il disait, elle lui jeta, indignée et véhémente: "Moi! moi! Je ne suis pas une femme, moi, je suis une putain; c'est bien tout ce qu'il faut à des Prussiens."


She was thunderstruck, and made no reply for a moment, for in her agitation she did not understand him at first; but as soon as she grasped his meaning, she said to him indignantly and vehemently: "I! I! I am not a woman; I am only a whore, and that is all that Prussians want."

Elle n'avait point fini qu'il la giflait à toute volée; mais comme il levait encore une fois la main, affolée de rage, elle saisit sur la table un petit couteau de dessert à lame d'argent, et si brusquement, qu'on ne vit rien d'abord, elle le lui piqua droit dans le cou, juste au creux où la poitrine commence. Un mot qu'il prononçait fut coupé dans sa gorge; et il resta béant, avec un regard effroyable.


Almost before she had finished, he slapped her full in her face; but as he was raising his hand again as if he would strike her, she, almost mad with passion, took up a small dessert knife from the table, and stabbed him right in the neck, just above the breastbone. Something that he was going to say, was cut short in his throat, and he sat there, with his mouth half open, and a terrible look in his eyes.

Tous poussèrent un rugissement, et se levèrent en tumulte; mais ayant jeté sa chaise dans les jambes du lieutenant Otto, qui s'écroula tout au long, elle courut à la fenêtre, l'ouvrit avant qu'on eût pu l'atteindre, et s'élança dans la nuit, sous la pluie qui tombait toujours.


All the officers shouted in horror, and leaped up tumultuously; but throwing her chair between Lieutenant Otto's legs, who fell down at full length, she ran to the window, opened it before they could seize her, and jumped out into the night and pouring rain.

En deux minutes, Mlle Fifi fut morte. Alors Fritz et Otto dégainèrent et voulurent massacrer les femmes, qui se traînaient à leur genoux. Le major, non sans peine, empêcha cette boucherie, fit enfermer dans une chambre, sous la garde de deux hommes, les quatre filles éperdues; puis comme s'il eût disposé ses soldats pour un combat, il organisa la poursuite de la fugitive, bien certain de la reprendre.


In two minutes, Mademoiselle Fifi was dead. Fritz and Otto drew their swords and wanted to kill the women, who threw themselves at their feet and clung to their knees. With some difficulty the major stopped the slaughter, and had the four terrified girls locked up in a room under the care of two soldiers. Then he organized the pursuit of the fugitive, as carefully as if he were about to engage in a skirmish, feeling quite sure that she would be caught.

Cinquante hommes, fouettés de menaces, furent lancés dans le parc. Deux cents autres fouillèrent les bois et toutes les maisons de la vallée.


Fifty men were severely warned to search the park thoroughly. Two hundred other soldiers were tasked to search the woods and all the houses in the valley.

La table, desservie en un instant, servait maintenant de lit mortuaire, et les quatre officiers, rigides, dégrisés, avec la face dure des hommes de guerre en fonctions, restaient debout près des fenêtres, sondaient la nuit.


The table, which had been cleared immediately, now served as a bed on which to lay Fifi out, and the four officers made for the window, rigid and sobered, with the stern faces of soldiers on duty, and tried to pierce through the darkness of the night, amid the steady torrent of rain.

Soudain, un coup de feu retentit, puis un autre très loin; et, pendant quatre heures, on entendit ainsi de temps en temps des détonations proches ou lointaines et des cris de ralliement, des mots étranges lancés comme appel par des voix gutturales.


Suddenly, a shot was heard, and then another, a long way off; and for four hours they heard, from time to time, near or distant reports and rallying cries, strange words uttered as a call, in guttural voices.

Au matin, tout le monde rentra. Deux soldats avaient été tués, et trois autres blessés par leurs camarades dans l'ardeur de la chasse et l'effarement de cette poursuite nocturne. On n'avait pas retrouvé Rachel.


In the morning they all returned. Two soldiers had been killed and three others wounded by their comrades in the ardor of that chase, and in the confusion of such a nocturnal pursuit, but they had not caught Rachel.

Alors les habitants furent terrorisés, les demeures bouleversées, toute la contrée parcourue, battue, retournée. La juive ne semblait pas avoir laissé une seule trace de son passage.


Then the inhabitants of the district were terrorized, the houses were turned topsy-turvy, the country was scoured and beaten up, over and over again, but the Jewess did not seem to have left a single trace of her passage behind her.

Le général, prévenu, ordonna d'étouffer l'affaire, pour ne point donner de mauvais exemples dans l'armée, et il frappa d'une peine disciplinaire le commandant, qui punit ses inférieurs. Le général avait dit: "On ne fait pas la guerre pour s'amuser et caresser des filles publiques." Et le comte de Farlsberg, exaspéré, résolut de se venger sur le pays. Comme il lui fallait un prétexte afin de sévir sans contrainte, il fit venir le curé et lui ordonna de sonner la cloche à l'enterrement du marquis d'Eyrik.


When the general was told of it, he gave orders to hush up the affair, so as not to set a bad example to the army, but he severely censured the commandant, who in turn punished his inferiors. The general had said: "One does not go to war in order to amuse oneself, and to caress prostitutes." And Graf von Farlsberg, in his exasperation, made up his mind to have his revenge on the district, but as he required a pretext for showing severity, he sent for the priest and ordered him to have the bell tolled at the funeral of Count von Eyrick.

Contre toute attente, le prêtre se montra docile, humble, plein d'égards. Et quand le corps de Mlle Fifi, porté par des soldats, précédé, entouré, suivi de soldats qui marchaient le fusil chargé, quitta le château d'Uville, allant au cimetière, pour la première fois la cloche tinta son glas funèbre avec une allure allègre, comme si une main amie l'eût caressée.


Contrary to all expectation, the priest showed himself humble and most respectful, and when Mademoiselle Fifi's body left the Chateau d'Urville on its way to the cemetery, carried by soldiers, preceded, surrounded, and followed by soldiers, who marched with loaded rifles, for the first time the bell sounded its funereal knell in a lively manner, as if a friendly hand were caressing it.

Elle sonna le soir encore, et le lendemain aussi, et tous les jours; elle carillonna tant qu'on voulut. Parfois même, la nuit, elle se mettait toute seule en branle, et jetait doucement deux ou trois sons dans l'ombre, prise de gaietés singulières, réveillée on ne sait pourquoi. Tous les paysans du lieu la dirent alors ensorcelée; et personne, sauf le curé et le sacristain, n'approchait plus du clocher. C'est qu'une pauvre fille vivait là-haut, dans l'angoisse et la solitude, nourrie en cachette par ces deux hommes.


At night it sounded again, and the next day, and every day; it rang as much as anyone could desire. Sometimes even, it would start at night, and sound gently through the darkness, seized by strange joy, awakened, one could not tell why. All the peasants in the neighborhood declared that it was bewitched, and nobody, except the priest and the sacristan would now go near the church tower, and they went because a poor girl was living there in grief and solitude, secretly nourished by those two men.

Elle y resta jusqu'au départ des troupes allemandes. Puis, un soir, le curé ayant emprunté le char à bancs du boulanger, conduisit lui-même sa prisonnière jusqu'à la porte de Rouen. Arrivé là, le prêtre l'embrassa; elle descendit et regagna vivement à pied le logis public, dont la patronne la croyait morte.


She remained there until the German troops departed, and then one evening the priest borrowed the baker's cart, and himself drove his prisoner to Rouen. When they got there, he embraced her, and she quickly went back on foot to the establishment from which she had come, where the proprietress, who thought that she was dead, was very glad to see her.

Elle en fut tirée quelque temps après par un patriote sans préjugés qui l'aima pour sa belle action, puis l'ayant ensuite chérie pour elle-même, l'épousa, en fit une Dame qui valut autant que beaucoup d'autres.


A short time afterward, a patriot who had no prejudices, who liked her because of her bold deed, and who afterward loved her for herself, married her, and made a lady of her.