[英语学习]八十天环游地球Around the world in 80 days.doc

Around the World in 80DaysJules VerneAround the World in 80 Days2 of 339Chapter IIN WHICH PHILEAS FOGGAND PASSEPARTOUTACCEPT EACH OTHER, THEONE AS MASTER, THEOTHER AS MANMr. Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row,Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan died in1814. He was one of the most noticeable members of theReform Club, though he seemed always to avoidattracting attention; an enigmatical personage, aboutwhom little was known, except that he was a polishedman of the world. People said that he resembled Byronat least that his head was Byronic; but he was a bearded,tranquil Byron, who might live on a thousand yearswithout growing old.Certainly an Englishman, it was more doubtful whetherPhileas Fogg was a Londoner. He was never seen onChange, nor at the Bank, nor in the counting-rooms ofthe City" no ships ever came into London docks ofAround the World in 80 Days3 of 339which he was the owner; he had no public employment;he had never been entered at any of the Inns of Court,either at the Temple, or Lincolns Inn, or Grays Inn; norhad his voice ever resounded in the Court of Chancery, orin the Exchequer, or the Queens Bench, or theEcclesiastical Courts. He certainly was not a manufacturer;nor was he a merchant or a gentleman farmer. His namewas strange to the scientific and learned societies, and henever was known to take part in the sage deliberations ofthe Royal Institution or the London Institution, theArtisans Association, or the Institution of Arts andSciences. He belonged, in fact, to none of the numeroussocieties which swarm in the English capital, from theHarmonic to that of the Entomologists, founded mainlyfor the purpose of abolishing pernicious insects.Phileas Fogg was a member of the Reform, and thatwas all.The way in which he got admission to this exclusiveclub was simple enough.He was recommended by the Barings, with whom hehad an open credit. His cheques were regularly paid atsight from his account current, which was always flush.Was Phileas Fogg rich? Undoubtedly. But those whoknew him best could not imagine how he had made hiseBook brought to you byCreate, view, and edit PDF. Download the free trial version.Around the World in 80 Days4 of 339fortune, and Mr. Fogg was the last person to whom toapply for the information. He was not lavish, nor, on thecontrary, avaricious; for, whenever he knew that moneywas needed for a noble, useful, or benevolent purpose, hesupplied it quietly and sometimes anonymously. He was,in short, the least communicative of men. He talked verylittle, and seemed all the more mysterious for his taciturnmanner. His daily habits were quite open to observation;but whatever he did was so exactly the same thing that hehad always done before, that the wits of the curious werefairly puzzled.Had he travelled? It was likely, for no one seemed toknow the world more familiarly; there was no spot sosecluded that he did not appear to have an intimateacquaintance with it. He often corrected, with a few clearwords, the thousand conjectures advanced by members ofthe club as to lost and unheard-of travellers, pointing outthe true probabilities, and seeming as if gifted with a sortof second sight, so often did events justify his predictions.He must have travelled everywhere, at least in the spirit.It was at least certain that Phileas Fogg had notabsented himself from London for many years. Those whowere honoured by a better acquaintance with him thanthe rest, declared that nobody could pretend to have everAround the World in 80 Days5 of 339seen him anywhere else. His sole pastimes were readingthe papers and playing whist. He often won at this game,which, as a silent one, harmonised with his nature; but hiswinnings never went into his purse, being reserved as afund for his charities. Mr. Fogg played, not to win, but forthe sake of playing. The game was in his eyes a contest, astruggle with a difficulty, yet a motionless, unwearyingstruggle, congenial to his tastes.Phileas Fogg was not known to have either wife orchildren, which may happen to the most honest people;either relatives or near friends, which is certainly moreunusual. He lived alone in his house in Saville Row,whither none penetrated. A single domestic sufficed toserve him. He breakfasted and dined at the club, at hoursmathematically fixed, in the same room, at the same table,never taking his meals with other members, much lessbringing a guest with him; and went home at exactlymidnight, only to retire at once to bed. He never used thecosy chambers which the Reform provides for its favouredmembers. He passed ten hours out of the twenty-four inSaville Row, either in sleeping or making his toilet. Whenhe chose to take a walk it was with a regular step in theentrance hall with its mosaic flooring, or in the circulargallery with its dome supported by twenty red porphyryAround the World in 80 Days6 of 339Ionic columns, and illumined by blue painted windows.When he breakfasted or dined all the resources of theclubits kitchens and pantries, its buttery and dairyaided to crowd his table with their most succulent stores;he was served by the gravest waiters, in dress coats, andshoes with swan-skin soles, who proffered the viands inspecial porcelain, and on the finest linen; club decanters, ofa lost mould, contained his sherry, his port, and hiscinnamon-spiced claret; while his beverages wererefreshingly cooled with ice, brought at great cost fromthe American lakes.If to live in this style is to be eccentric, it must beconfessed that there is something good in eccentricity.The mansion in Saville Row, though not sumptuous,was exceedingly comfortable. The habits of its occupantwere such as to demand but little from the sole domestic,but Phileas Fogg required him to be almost superhumanlyprompt and regular. On this very 2nd of October he haddismissed James Forster, because that luckless youth hadbrought him shaving-water at eighty-four degreesFahrenheit instead of eighty-six; and he was awaiting hissuccessor, who was due at the house between eleven andhalf-past.Around the World in 80 Days7 of 339Phileas Fogg was seated squarely in his armchair, hisfeet close together like those of a grenadier on parade, hishands resting on his knees, his body straight, his headerect; he was steadily watching a complicated clock whichindicated the hours, the minutes, the seconds, the days, themonths, and the years. At exactly half-past eleven Mr.Fogg would, according to his daily habit, quit SavilleRow, and repair to the Reform.A rap at this moment sounded on the door of the cosyapartment where Phileas Fogg was seated, and JamesForster, the dismissed servant, appeared.The new servant, said he.A young man of thirty advanced and bowed.You are a Frenchman, I believe, asked Phileas Fogg,and your name is John?Jean, if monsieur pleases, replied the newcomer, JeanPassepartout, a surname which has clung to me because Ihave a natural aptness for going out of one business intoanother. I believe Im honest, monsieur, but, to beoutspoken, Ive had several trades. Ive been an itinerantsinger, a circus-rider, when I used to vault like Leotard,and dance on a rope like Blondin. Then I got to be aprofessor of gymnastics, so as to make better use of mytalents; and then I was a sergeant fireman at Paris, andAround the World in 80 Days8 of 339assisted at many a big fire. But I quitted France five yearsago, and, wishing to taste the sweets of domestic life, tookservice as a valet here in England. Finding myself out ofplace, and hearing that Monsieur Phileas Fogg was themost exact and settled gentleman in the United Kingdom,I have come to monsieur in the hope of living with him atranquil life, and forgetting even the name ofPassepartout.Passepartout suits me, responded Mr. Fogg. You arewell recommended to me; I hear a good report of you.You know my conditions?Yes, monsieur.Good! What time is it?Twenty-two minutes after eleven, returnedPassepartout, drawing an enormous silver watch from thedepths of his pocket.You are too slow, said Mr. Fogg.Pardon me, monsieur, it is impossibleYou are four minutes too slow. No matter; its enoughto mention the error. Now from this moment, twentynineminutes after eleven, a.m., this Wednesday, 2ndOctober, you are in my service.Around the World in 80 Days9 of 339Phileas Fogg got up, took his hat in his left hand, put iton his head with an automatic motion, and went offwithout a word.Passepartout heard the street door shut once; it was hisnew master going out. He heard it shut again; it was hispredecessor, James Forster, departing in his turn.Passepartout remained alone in the house in Saville Row.Around the World in 80 Days10 of 339Chapter IIIN WHICH PASSEPARTOUTIS CONVINCED THAT HE HASAT LAST FOUND HIS IDEALFaith, muttered Passepartout, somewhat flurried, Iveseen people at Madame Tussauds as lively as my newmaster!Madame Tussauds people, let it be said, are of wax,and are much visited in London; speech is all that iswanting to make them human.During his brief interview with Mr. Fogg, Passepartouthad been carefully observing him. He appeared to be aman about forty years of age, with fine, handsomefeatures, and a tall, well-shaped figure; his hair andwhiskers were light, his forehead compact andunwrinkled, his face rather pale, his teeth magnificent. Hiscountenance possessed in the highest degree whatphysiognomists call repose in action, a quality of thosewho act rather than talk. Calm and phlegmatic, with aclear eye, Mr. Fogg seemed a perfect type of that EnglishAround the World in 80 Days11 of 339composure which Angelica Kauffmann has so skilfullyrepresented on canvas. Seen in the various phases of hisdaily life, he gave the idea of being perfectly wellbalanced,as exactly regulated as a Leroy chronometer.Phileas Fogg was, indeed, exactitude personified, and thiswas betrayed even in the expression of his very hands andfeet; for in men, as well as in animals, the limbs themselvesare expressive of the passions.He was so exact that he was never in a hurry, wasalways ready, and was economical alike of his steps and hismotions. He never took one step too many, and alwayswent to his destination by the shortest cut; he made nosuperfluous gestures, and was never seen to be moved oragitated. He was the most deliberate person in the world,yet always reached his destination at the exact moment.He lived alone, and, so to speak, outside of every socialrelation; and as he knew that in this world account mustbe taken of friction, and that friction retards, he neverrubbed against anybody.As for Passepartout, he was a true Parisian of Paris.Since he had abandoned his own country for England,taking service as a valet, he had in vain searched for amaster after his own heart. Passepartout was by no meansone of those pert dunces depicted by Moliere with a boldAround the World in 80 Days12 of 339gaze and a nose held high in the air; he was an honestfellow, with a pleasant face, lips a trifle protruding, softmanneredand serviceable, with a good round head, suchas one likes to see on the shoulders of a friend. His eyeswere blue, his complexion rubicund, his figure almostportly and well-built, his body muscular, and his physicalpowers fully developed by the exercises of his youngerdays. His brown hair was somewhat tumbled; for, whilethe ancient sculptors are said to have known eighteenmethods of arranging Minervas tresses, Passepartout wasfamiliar with but one of dressing his own: three strokes ofa large-tooth comb completed his toilet.It would be rash to predict how Passepartouts livelynature would agree with Mr. Fogg. It was impossible totell whether the new servant would turn out as absolutelymethodical as his master required; experience alone couldsolve the question. Passepartout had been a sort of vagrantin his early years, and now yearned for repose; but so farhe had failed to find it, though he had already served inten English houses. But he could not take root in any ofthese; with chagrin, he found his masters invariablywhimsical and irregular, constantly running about thecountry, or on the look-out for adventure. His last master,young Lord Longferry, Member of Parliament, afterAround the World in 80 Days13 of 339passing his nights in the Haymarket taverns, was too oftenbrought home in the morning on policemens shoulders.Passepartout, desirous of respecting the gentleman whomhe served, ventured a mild remonstrance on such conduct;which, being ill-received, he took his leave. Hearing thatMr. Phileas Fogg was looking for a servant, and that hislife was one of unbroken regularity, that he neithertravelled nor stayed from home overnight, he felt sure thatthis would be the place he was after. He presented himself,and was accepted, as has been seen.At half-past eleven, then, Passepartout found himselfalone in the house in Saville Row. He begun itsinspection without delay, scouring it from cellar to garret.So clean, well-arranged, solemn a mansion pleased him ; itseemed to him like a snails shell, lighted and warmed bygas, which sufficed for both these purposes. WhenPassepartout reached the second story he recognised atonce the room which he was to inhabit, and he was wellsatisfied with it. Electric bells and speaking-tubes affordedcommunication with the lower stories; while on themantel stood an electric clock, precisely like that in Mr.Foggs bedchamber, both beating the same second at thesame instant. Thats good, thatll do, said Passepartout tohimself.Around the World in 80 Days14 of 339He suddenly observed, hung over the clock, a cardwhich, upon inspection, proved to be a programme of thedaily routine of the house. It comprised all that wasrequired of the servant, from eight in the morning, exactlyat which hour Phileas Fogg rose, till half-past eleven,when he left the house for the Reform Cluball thedetails of service, the tea and toast at twenty-three minutespast eight, the shaving-water at thirty-seven minutes pastnine, and the toilet at twenty minutes before ten.Everything was regulated and foreseen that was to be donefrom half-past eleven a.m. till midnight, the hour at whichthe methodical gentleman retired.Mr. Foggs wardrobe was amply supplied and in thebest taste. Each pair of trousers, coat, and vest bore anumber, indicating the time of year and season at whichthey were in turn to be laid out