Passepartout
conoce a Phileas Fogg y siente que ha encontrado una persona tranquila donde
dejará de viajar como un gitano. Del clásico Around the World in Eighty Days,
de Jules Verne
During his brief
interview with Mr. Fogg, Passepartout had been carefully observing him. He
appeared to be a man about forty years of age, with fine, handsome features,
and a tall, well-shaped figure; his hair and mustache were light, his forehead compact and unwrinkled, his face
rather pale, his teeth magnificent. His countenance possessed in the highest
degree what physiognomists call "repose in action," a quality of
those who act rather than talk. Calm and phlegmatic, with a clear eye, Mr. Fogg
seemed a perfect type of that English composure which Angelica Kauffmann has so skilfully represented on canvas. Seen in
the various phases of his daily life, he gave the idea of being perfectly
well-balanced, as exactly regulated as a Leroy
chronometer. Phileas Fogg was, indeed, exactitude personified, and this was
betrayed even in the expression of his very hands and feet; for in men, as well
as in animals, the limbs themselves are expressive of the passions.
He was so exact
that he was never in a hurry, was always ready, and was economical alike of his
steps and his motions. He never took one step too many, and always went to his
destination by the shortest cut; he made no superfluous gestures, and was never
seen to be moved or agitated. He was the most deliberate person in the world,
yet always reached his destination at the exact moment.
Poster de Verne, 1889 |
He lived alone,
and, so to speak, outside of every social relation; and as he knew that in this
world account must be taken of friction, and that friction retards, he never
rubbed 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 a
master after his own heart. Passepartout was by no means one of those lively dunces depicted by Moliere with
a bold gaze and a nose held high in the air; he was an honest fellow, with a
pleasant face, lips a little
protruding, soft-mannered and serviceable, with a good round head, such as one
likes to see on the shoulders of a friend. His eyes were blue, his complexion
rubicund, his figure almost portly and well-built, his body muscular, and his
physical powers fully developed by the exercises of his younger days. His brown
hair was somewhat tumbled; for,
while the ancient sculptors are said to have known eighteen methods of
arranging Minerva's tresses, Passepartout was familiar with but one of dressing
his own: three strokes of a large-tooth comb completed his toilet.
It would be rash
to predict how Passepartout's lively nature would agree with Mr. Fogg. It was
impossible to tell whether the new servant would turn out as absolutely
methodical as his master required; experience alone could solve the question.
Passepartout had been a sort of vagrant in his early years, and now yearned for
repose; but so far he had failed to find it, though he had already served in
ten English houses. But he could not take root in any of these; with mortification, he found his masters
invariably capricious and irregular,
constantly running about the country, or on the look-out for adventure. His
last master, young Lord Longferry, Member of Parliament, after passing his
nights in the Haymarket taverns, was too often brought home in the morning on
policemen's shoulders. Passepartout, desirous of respecting the gentleman whom
he served, ventured a mild remonstrance
on such conduct; which, being ill-received, he took his leave. Hearing that Mr.
Phileas Fogg was looking for a servant, and that his life was one of unbroken
regularity, that he neither travelled nor stayed from home overnight, he felt
sure that this would be the place he was after. He presented himself, and was
accepted, as has been seen. (Adaptado de Around
the World in Eighty Days,
de Jules Verne)
Vocabulario
reemplazado
Whiskers pert trifle chagrin
whimsical
Vocabulario
Angelica Kauffmann (1741-1807) fue una pintora
neoclásica nacida en Suiza que tuvo una carrera exitosa en Londres y Roma. Fue
una de las dos mujeres fundadoras de la Royal Academy en 1768
Leroy chronometer: Pierre Le Roy (1717-1785) fue un
relojero francés. Fue el inventor del ¿escape de retén? (detent
escapement), ¿balance compensado
térmicamente? (temperature-compensated
balance), ¿espiral de balance isócrino? (isochronous balance spring). Sus
desarrollos son considerados como los fundamentos de los modernos relojes de
precisión. Pierre fue el hijo de Julien Le Roy, relojero de Luis XV, quién
había trabajado con Henry Sully.
Dunces: estupidos
Tumbled: caído
Remonstrance: protesta
De
la web
Around
the World in Eighty Days, Themes & Symbolism. From bookrags.com
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario
Deja aquí tus mensajes, comentarios o críticas. Serán bienvenidos