Bel Ami, or The History of a Scoundrel

MP3 Audio CD. Bel Ami, or The History of a Scoundrel

CHAPTER I.

POVERTY


After changing his five-franc piece Georges Duroy left the restaurant.
He twisted his mustache in military style and cast a rapid, sweeping
glance upon the diners, among whom were three saleswomen, an untidy
music-teacher of uncertain age, and two women with their husbands.

When he reached the sidewalk, he paused to consider what route he
should take. It was the twenty-eighth of June and he had only three
francs in his pocket to last him the remainder of the month. That meant
two dinners and no lunches, or two lunches and no dinners, according to
choice. As he pondered upon this unpleasant state of affairs, he
sauntered down Rue Notre Dame de Lorette, preserving his military air
and carriage, and rudely jostled the people upon the streets in order
to clear a path for himself. He appeared to be hostile to the
passers-by, and even to the houses, the entire city.

Tall, well-built, fair, with blue eyes, a curled mustache, hair
naturally wavy and parted in the middle, he recalled the hero of the
popular romances.

It was one of those sultry, Parisian evenings when not a breath of air
is stirring; the sewers exhaled poisonous gases and the restaurants the
disagreeable odors of cooking and of kindred smells. Porters in their
shirt-sleeves, astride their chairs, smoked their pipes at the carriage
gates, and pedestrians strolled leisurely along, hats in hand.

When Georges Duroy reached the boulevard he halted again, undecided as
to which road to choose. Finally he turned toward the Madeleine and
followed the tide of people.

The large, well-patronized cafes tempted Duroy, but were he to drink
only two glasses of beer in an evening, farewell to the meager supper
the following night!