Chapter 7

VII HOW THE OLD WOMAN TOOK CARE OF CANDIDE, AND HOW HE FOUND THE OBJECT HE LOVED. VII COMMENT LA VIEILLE FEMME A PRIS SOIN DE CANDIDE ET COMMENT IL A TROUVÉ L'OBJET QU'IL A AIMÉ.

Candide did not take courage, but followed the old woman to a decayed house, where she gave him a pot of pomatum to anoint his sores, showed him a very neat little bed, with a suit of clothes hanging up, and left him something to eat and drink. Candide ne prit pas courage, mais suivit la vieille femme dans une maison délabrée, où elle lui donna un pot de pomatum pour oindre ses plaies, lui montra un petit lit très soigné, avec un habit suspendu, et lui laissa quelque chose à manger et boire.

"Eat, drink, sleep," said she, "and may our lady of Atocha,[9] the great St. Anthony of Padua, and the great St. James of Compostella, receive you under their protection. I shall be back to-morrow." Candide, amazed at all he had suffered and still more with the charity of the old woman, wished to kiss her hand. Candide, étonné de tout ce qu'il avait souffert et plus encore de la charité de la vieille femme, voulut lui baiser la main.

"It is not my hand you must kiss," said the old woman; "I shall be back to-morrow. Anoint yourself with the pomatum, eat and sleep." Candide, notwithstanding so many disasters, ate and slept. Candide, malgré tant de désastres, mangeait et dormait. The next morning the old woman brought him his breakfast, looked at his back, and rubbed it herself with another ointment: in[Pg 27] like manner she brought him his dinner; and at night she returned with his supper. Le lendemain matin, la vieille femme lui apporta son petit-déjeuner, regarda son dos et le frotta elle-même avec un autre onguent: de la même manière [Pg 27] elle lui apporta son dîner; et le soir, elle revint avec son souper. The day following she went through the very same ceremonies. Le lendemain, elle subit les mêmes cérémonies.

"Who are you?" said Candide; "who has inspired you with so much goodness? What return can I make you?" Quel retour puis-je vous faire? " The good woman made no answer; she returned in the evening, but brought no supper.

"Come with me," she said, "and say nothing." She took him by the arm, and walked with him about a quarter of a mile into the country; they arrived at a lonely house, surrounded with gardens and canals. The old woman knocked at a little door, it opened, she led Candide up a private staircase into a small apartment richly furnished. La vieille femme frappa à une petite porte, elle s'ouvrit, elle conduisit Candide dans un escalier privé dans un petit appartement richement meublé. She left him on a brocaded sofa, shut the door and went away. Elle le laissa sur un canapé en brocart, ferma la porte et s'en alla. Candide thought himself in a dream; indeed, that he had been dreaming unluckily all his life, and that the present moment was the only agreeable part of it all. Candide se croyait en rêve; en effet, qu'il avait rêvé malheureusement toute sa vie, et que le moment présent était la seule partie agréable de tout cela.

The old woman returned very soon, supporting with difficulty a trembling woman of a majestic figure, brilliant with jewels, and covered with a veil. La vieille revint très vite, soutenant avec peine une femme tremblante d'une figure majestueuse, brillante de bijoux et couverte d'un voile.

"Take off that veil," said the old woman to Candide. The young man approaches, he raises the veil[Pg 28] with a timid hand. Oh! what a moment! what surprise! he believes he beholds Miss Cunegonde? |||sees|| he really sees her! it is herself! His strength fails him, he cannot utter a word, but drops at her feet. Sa force lui manque, il ne peut prononcer un mot, mais tombe à ses pieds. Cunegonde falls upon the sofa. The old woman supplies a smelling bottle; they come to themselves and recover their speech. La vieille femme fournit une bouteille odorante; ils reviennent à eux-mêmes et récupèrent leur parole. As they began with broken accents, with questions and answers interchangeably interrupted with sighs, with tears, and cries. ||||||||||alternately back and forth||||||| Comme ils ont commencé avec des accents brisés, avec des questions et des réponses interchangeables interrompues par des soupirs, des larmes et des cris. The old woman desired they would make less noise and then she left them to themselves. ||||they would|||||||||||

"What, is it you?" "Quoi, c'est toi?" said Candide, "you live? I find you again in Portugal? then you have not been ravished? |||||violently taken alors tu n'as pas été ravi? then they did not rip open your belly as Doctor Pangloss informed me?" alors ils ne t'ont pas déchiré le ventre comme le docteur Pangloss m'a informé? " "Yes, they did," said the beautiful Cunegonde; "but those two accidents are not always mortal." "But were your father and mother killed?" "It is but too true," answered Cunegonde, in tears. "And your brother?" "My brother also was killed." "And why are you in Portugal? and how did you know of my being here? et comment as-tu su que j'étais ici? and by what strange adventure did you contrive to bring me to this house?" "I will tell you all that," replied the lady, "but first of all let me know your history, since[Pg 29] the innocent kiss you gave me and the kicks which you received." Candide respectfully obeyed her, and though he was still in a surprise, though his voice was feeble and trembling, though his back still pained him, yet he gave her a most ingenuous account of everything that had befallen him since the moment of their separation. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||honest||||||||||||| Cunegonde lifted up her eyes to heaven; shed tears upon hearing of the death of the good Anabaptist and of Pangloss; after which she spoke as follows to Candide, who did not lose a word and devoured her with his eyes. Cunégonde leva les yeux vers le ciel; versé des larmes en apprenant la mort du bon anabaptiste et de Pangloss; après quoi elle parla comme suit à Candide, qui ne perdit pas un mot et la dévora des yeux. [Pg 30]