And, when the measure of his crimes is full,
Will bare its red right arm, and launch its
lightnings.”
Mason.
The day of the trial so anxiously awaited, and on which the fate of so many persons depended, at length arrived. Adeline, accompanied by M. Verneuil and Madame la Motte, appeared as the prosecutor1 of the Marquis de Montalt; and d’Aunoy, du Bosse, Louis de la Motte, and several other persons, as witness in her cause. The judges were some of the most distinguished2 in France; and the advocates on both sides men of eminent3 abilities. On a trial of such importance the court, as may be imagined, was crowded with persons of distinction, and the spectacle it presented was strikingly solemn, yet magnificient.
When she appeared before the tribunal, Adeline’s emotion surpassed all the arts of disguise, but adding to the natural dignity of her air an expression of soft timidity, and to her downcast eyes a sweet confusion, it rendered her an object still more interesting; and she attracted the universal pity and admiration4 of the assembly. When she ventured to raise her eyes, she perceived that the Marquis was not yet in the court, and while she awaited his appearance in trembling expectation, a confused murmuring rose in a distant part of the hall. Her spirits now almost forsook5 her; the certainty of seeing immediately, and consciously, the murderer of her father chilled her with horror, and she was with difficulty preserved from fainting. A low sound now run through the court, and an air of confusion appeared, which was soon communicated to the tribunal itself. Several of the members arose, some left the hall, the whole place exhibited a scene of disorder6, and a report at length reached Adeline that the Marquis de Montalt was dying. A considerable time elapsed in uncertainty7; but the confusion continued; the Marquis did not appear; and at Adeline’s request M. Verneuil went in quest of more positive information.
He followed a crowd which was hurrying towards the Chatalet, and with some difficulty gained admittance into the prison; but the porter at the gate, whom he had bribed8 for a passport, could give him no certain information on the subject of his enquiry, and not being at liberty to quit his post, furnished M. Verneuil with only a vague direction to the Marquis’s apartment. The courts were silent and deserted9, but as he advanced a distant hum of voices led him on, still perceiving several persons running towards a staircase which appeared beyond the archway of a long passage, he followed thither10, and learned that the Marquis was certainly dying. The staircase was filled with people; he endeavoured to press through the crowd, and after much struggle and difficulty he reached the door of an anti room which communicated with the apartment where the Marquis lay, and whence several persons now issued. Here he learned that the object of his enquiry was already dead. M. Verneuil, however, pressed through the anti-room to the chamber11 where lay the Marquis on a bed surrounded by officers of the law, and two notaries12, who appeared to have been taking down depositions13. His countenance14 was suffused15 with a black, and deadly hue16, and impressed with the horrors of death; M. Verneuil turned away, shocked by the spectacle, and on enquiry heard that the Marquis had died by poison.
It appeared that convinced he had nothing to hope from his trial, he had taken this method of avoiding an ignominious17 death. In the last hours of life, while tortured with the remembrance of his crime, he resolved to make all the atonement that remained for him, and having swallowed the potion, he immediately sent for a confessor to take a full confession18 of his guilt19, and two notaries, and thus established Adeline beyond dispute in the rights of her birth; and also bequeathed her a considerable legacy20.
In consequence of these depositions she was soon after formally acknowledged as the daughter and heiress of Henry Marquis de Montalt, and the rich estates of her father were restored to her. She immediately threw herself at the feet of the king in behalf of Theodore and of La Motte. The character of the former, the cause in which he had risked his life, and the occasion of the late Marquis’s enmity towards him, were circumstances so notorious, and so forcible, that it is more than probable the monarch21 would have granted his pardon to a pleader less irresistible22 than was Adeline de Montalt. Theodore La Luc not only received an ample pardon, but in consideration of his gallant23 conduct towards Adeline, he was soon after raised to a post of considerable rank in the army.
For La Motte, who had been condemned24 for the robbery on full evidence, and who had been also charged with the crime which had formerly25 compelled him to quit Paris, a pardon could not be obtained; but at the earnest supplication26 of Adeline, and in consideration of the service he had finally rendered her, his sentence was softened27 from death to banishment28. This indulgence, however, would have availed him little, had not the noble generosity29 of Adeline silenced other prosecutions30 that were preparing against him, and bestowed31 on him a sum more than sufficient to support his family in a foreign country. This kindness operated so powerfully upon his heart, which had been betrayed through weakness rather than natural depravity, and awakened32 so keen a remorse33 for the injuries he had once meditated34 against a benefactress so noble, that his former habits became odious35 to him, and his character gradually recovered the hue which it would probably always have worn had he never been exposed to the tempting36 dissipations of Paris.
The passion which Louis had so long owned for Adeline was raised almost to adoration37 by her late conduct; but he now relinquished38 even the faint hope which he had hitherto almost unconsciously cherished, and, since the life which was granted to Theodore rendered this sacrifice necessary, he could not repine. He resolved, however, to seek in absence the tranquillity39 he had lost, and to place his future happiness on that of two persons so deservedly dear to him.
On the eve of his departure La Motte and his family took a very affecting leave of Adeline; he left Paris for England, where it was his design to settle; and Louis, who was eager to fly from her enchantments41, set out on the same day for his regiment42.
Adeline remained some time at Paris to settle her affairs, where she was introduced by M. V— to the few and distant relations that remained of her family. Among these were the Count and Countess D — and the Mon. Amand, who had so much engaged her pity and esteem43 at Nice. The lady, whose death he lamented44, was of the family of de Montalt; and the resemblance which he had traced between her features and those of Adeline, her cousin, was something more than the effect of fancy. The death of his elder brother had abruptly45 recalled him from Italy; but Adeline had the satisfaction to observe, that the heavy melancholy46 which formerly oppressed him, had yielded to a sort of placid47 resignation, and that his countenance was often enlivened by a transient gleam of cheerfulness.
The Count and Countess D — who were much interested by her goodness and beauty, invited her to make their hotel her residence while she remained at Paris.
Her first care was to have the remains48 of her parent removed from the Abbey of St. Clair, and deposited in the vault49 of his ancestors. D’Aunoy was tried, condemned, and hanged, for the murder. At the place of execution he had described the spot where the remains of the Marquis were concealed50, which was in the stone room already mentioned, belonging to the Abbey. M. V— accompanied the officers appointed for the search, and attended the ashes of the Marquis to St. Maur, an estate in one of the northern provinces. There they were deposited with the solemn funeral pomp becoming his rank: Adeline attended as chief mourner; and this last duty paid to the memory of her parent, she became more tranquil40 and resigned. The MS. that recorded his sufferings had been found at the Abbey, and delivered to her by M. V — and she preserved it with the pious51 enthusiasm so sacred a relique deserved.
On her return to Paris, Theodore La Luc, who was come from Montpelier, awaited her arrival. The happiness of this meeting was clouded by the account he brought of his father, whose extreme danger had alone withheld52 him from hastening the moment he obtained his liberty to thank Adeline for the life she had preserved. She now received him as the friend to whom she was indebted for her preservation53, and as the lover who deserved, and possessed54, her tenderest affection. The remembrance of the circumstances under which they had last met, and of their mutual55 anguish56, rendered more exquisite57 the happiness of the present moments, when no longer oppressed by the horrid58 prospect59 of ignominious death and final separation, they looked forward only to the smiling days that awaited them when hand in hand they should tread the flowery scenes of life. The contrast which memory drew of the past with the present, frequently drew tears of tenderness and gratitude60 to their eyes, and the sweet smile which seemed struggling to dispel61 from the countenance of Adeline those gems62 of sorrow, penetrated63 the heart of Theodore, and brought to his recollection a little song which in other circumstances he had formerly sung to her. He took up a lute64 that lay on the table, and touching65 the dulcet66 chords, accompanied it with the following words:
SONG.
The rose that weeps with morning dew, And glitters in the sunny ray, In tears and smiles resembles you, When Love breaks Sorrow’s cloud away.
The dews that bend the blushing flow’r, Enrich the scent67 — renew the glow; So Love’s sweet tears exalt68 his pow’r, So bliss69 more brightly shines by woe70!
Her affection for Theodore had induced Adeline to reject several suitors which her goodness, beauty, and wealth, had already attracted, and whom, though infinitely71 his superiors in point of fortune, were many of them inferior to him in family, and all of them in merit.
The various and tumultuous emotions which the late events had called forth72 in the bosom73 of Adeline were now subsided74; but the memory of her father still tinctured her mind with a melancholy that time only could subdue75; and she refused to listen to the supplications of Theodore till the period she had prescribed for her mourning should be expired. The necessity of re-joining his regiment obliged him to leave Paris within the fortnight after his arrival; but he carried with him assurance of receiving her hand soon after she should lay aside her sable76 habit, and departed therefore with tolerable composure.
M. La Luc’s very precarious77 state was a source of incessant78 disquietude to Adeline, and she determined79 to accompany M. V — who was now the declared lover of Clara, to Montpelier, whither La Luc had immediately gone on the liberation of his son. For this journey she was preparing when she received from her friend a flattering account of his amendment80; and as some farther settlement of her affairs required her presence at Paris, she deferred81 her design, and M. V— departed alone.
When Theodore’s affairs assumed a more favourable82 aspect, M. Verneuil had written to La Luc, and communicated to him the secret of his heart respecting Clara. La Luc, who admired and esteemed83 M. V — and who was not ignorant of his family connections, was pleased with the proposed alliance; Clara thought she had never seen any person whom she was so much inclined to love; and M. V— received an answer favourable to his wishes, and which encouraged him to undertake the present journey to Montpelier.
The restoration of his happiness and the climate of Montpelier did all for the health of La Luc that his most anxious friends could wish, and he was at length so far recovered as to visit Adeline at her estate of St. Maur. Clara and M. V— accompanied him, and a cessation of hostilities84 between France and Spain soon after permitted Theodore to join this happy party. When La Luc, thus restored to those most dear to him, looked back on the miseries85 he had escaped, and forward to the blessings86 that awaited him, his heart dilated87 with emotions of exquisite joy and gratitude; and his venerable countenance, softened by an expression of complacent88 delight, exhibited a perfect picture of happy age.
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收听单词发音
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1
prosecutor
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| n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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3
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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4
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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5
forsook
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| forsake的过去式 | |
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6
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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7
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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10
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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11
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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12
notaries
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| n.公证人，公证员( notary的名词复数 ) | |
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13
depositions
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| 沉积（物）( deposition的名词复数 )； （在法庭上的）宣誓作证； 处置； 罢免 | |
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14
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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15
suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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17
ignominious
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| adj.可鄙的，不光彩的，耻辱的 | |
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18
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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19
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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20
legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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21
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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22
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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23
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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24
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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25
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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26
supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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27
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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28
banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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29
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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30
prosecutions
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| 起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事 | |
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31
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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33
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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34
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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35
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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36
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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37
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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38
relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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39
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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40
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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41
enchantments
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| n.魅力( enchantment的名词复数 )；迷人之处；施魔法；着魔 | |
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42
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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43
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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44
lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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46
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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47
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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48
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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49
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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50
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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51
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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52
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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53
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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54
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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55
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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56
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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57
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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58
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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60
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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lute
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| n.琵琶，鲁特琴 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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dulcet
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| adj.悦耳的 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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exalt
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| v.赞扬，歌颂，晋升，提升 | |
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bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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70
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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81
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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83
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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84
hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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85
miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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86
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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87
dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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88
complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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