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CHAPTER XX Noel
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It was Christmas morning in southern France. For several hours a light snow had been falling, but had not stayed upon the ground. Yet it clothed the branches of the trees with white lace and filled the air with jewels.

Walking alone a slender girl with dark hair and eyes lifted her face to let the snow melt upon her cheeks. She looked fragile, as if she were just recovering from an illness, nor did her expression betray any special interest in Christmas.

"These woods are as lovely as I remember them," she said aloud. "It is true, I never could find a place in Belgium I liked half so well."

Then she stopped a moment and glanced around her.

"I do hope Barbara and Dick won't discover I have run away. I feel as much[Pg 259] a truant1 as if I were a small girl. But they surely won't be tramping through my woods at present, when they assured me they would spend several hours at the chateau2. So I can't be found out till it is too late. I feel I must see Nicolete's little log house and Nona's 'Pool of Melisande.'"

Ten minutes after Eugenia arrived at the desired place. The lake of clear water which she had once described as the "pool of truth" was today covered with a thin coating of ice at its edges. The center was as untroubled as it had always been. Above it tall evergreen3 trees leaned so close to one another that their summits almost touched.

Eugenia breathed deeply of the fragrance4 of the snow and the pine. The day was an unusually cold one for this part of the country, but the winter was being everywhere severe. It was as if nature would make no easier the task of her children's destruction of each other.

But Eugenia was not thinking of warlike things at this hour. She was merely[Pg 260] feeling a physical pleasure in her own returning strength.

Yet just as she was congratulating herself on having been able to walk so far without tiring, the girl experienced a sudden, overpowering sensation of fatigue5.

For several moments she stood upright fighting her weakness; she even turned and started back toward home. Then recognizing her own folly6, Eugenia looked for a place to rest.

But she did not look very far nor in but one direction. Yes, the log was there in the same place it had been six months before.

With a half smile at herself Eugenia sat down. She was not deceived, for she understood perfectly7 why she had wished to come back to this neighborhood and why today she had wanted to walk alone into these woods.

But there could be no wrong in what she was doing, since no one would ever guess her reason.

Eugenia was sincerely pleased over Barbara's and Dick's happiness. But she[Pg 261] would never confess herself so completely surprised as Barbara demanded that she be. She merely announced that if one of the girls felt compelled to marry (and she supposed they could not all hope to escape the temptation of their nursing experiences in Europe), at least she was grateful that Barbara had chosen to bestow8 her affection upon an American. Personally, she felt convinced that no foreign marriage could be a success.

Yet here sat Eugenia in an extremely sentimental9 attitude with the light snow falling about her. More than this, she was in an equally sentimental state of mind. But then nothing of this kind matters when one chances to be entirely10 alone. Dreams are one's own possession.

Then the girl heard a sound that entirely accorded with her train of thought.

It was a slow velvet-like tread moving in her direction.

In another moment Duke had approached and laid his great head in her lap. He did not move again; there was no foolish wagging of his tail. These expressions of [Pg 262]emotion were meant for lesser11 beasts; Duke revealed his joy and his affection in a beautiful, almost a thrilling silence.

Eugenia had not seen her old friend since her arrival at the farmhouse12 a few days before. For some reason he had not called there with Fran?ois and she had not been outside the house until today. Their trip had been a long and tiring one and she was more exhausted13 than she had expected to be.

But this was a far more satisfactory reunion and Eugenia was sincerely moved.

She put her own thin cheek down on Duke's silver head and remained as still as he was. Truly he had not forgotten!

Captain Castaigne found them like this when he appeared within the next few seconds.

He made no pretence14 of a greeting. Instead he frowned upon his one-time friend as severely15 as she might have upon him had their positions been reversed.

"It is not possible that you are in the woods in this snowstorm, Eugenie! Miss Meade told me that I should find you at[Pg 263] the little farmhouse. Take my arm and we will return as quickly as possible."

With entire meekness16 Eugenia did as she was told. She did not even remember to be amused at this young Frenchman's amazing fashion of ordering her about. But she was surprised into speechlessness at his unexpected appearance.

"Only yesterday your mother assured us you were in northern France with your regiment17," Eugenia murmured as she was being escorted along the path toward home. "She insisted that there was no possible prospect18 of your returning to this neighborhood in many months."

Captain Castaigne smiled. "Is that American frankness, Eugenie? We French people prefer to leave certain things to the imagination. Of course, I understand that you would never have come to the farmhouse had you dreamed of my being nearby. However, I am here for the purpose of seeing you. My mother did not intend to deceive you; I had not told her of my intention. But we will not talk of these things until we arrive at home. You are too weary to speak."

[Pg 264]

This was so manifestly true that Eugenia made no attempt at argument.

She was fatigued19, and yet there was something else keeping her silent.

How splendidly well Captain Castaigne looked! His face was less boyish than she remembered it. But then she had not understood him at the beginning of their acquaintance. It had been stupid of her too, because no soldier receives the Cross of the Legion of Honor who has not put aside boyish things.

Because it was Christmas day, Noel as the French term it, the living room at the farmhouse was gay with evergreens20. But better than this, a real fire burned in the fireplace.

Eugenia let her companion take off her long nursing cloak and she herself removed her cap.

Then she stood revealed a different Eugenia, because of Barbara's taste and determination.

Instead of her uniform or her usual shabby, ill-made dress, she wore an exquisite21 pale gray crepe de chine, which[Pg 265] made a beauty of her slenderness. About her throat there were folds of white and in her belt a dull, rose-velvet rose. This costume had been purchased in Paris as the girls passed through and Eugenia wore it today in honor of Christmas.

Without a doubt Eugenia looked pale and ill, but her hair was twisted about her head like a dull brown coronet and the shadows about her eyes revealed their new depth and sweetness.

When she sat down again, drawing near the fire with a little shiver, Captain Castaigne came and knelt beside her.

No American could have done this without awkwardness and self-consciousness. Yet there was no hint of either in the young French officer's attitude. Seeing him, Eugenia forgot her past narrowness and the critical misunderstanding of a nature that cannot appreciate temperaments22 and circumstances unlike their own. She was reminded of the picture of a young French knight23, the St. Louis of France, whom she had seen among the frescoes24 of the Pantheon in Paris.

[Pg 266]

Very gravely Captain Castaigne raised Eugenia's hand to his lips.

"I care for you more than I did when I told you of my love and you would not believe. I shall go on caring. How long must I serve before you return my affection?"

Eugenia shook her head fretfully like a child.

"But it isn't a question of my caring. I told you that there were a thousand other things that stood between us, Henri."

Then she drew her hand away and laid it lightly upon the young man's head.

"This house has many memories for me. Perhaps when I am an old woman you will let me come back here and live a part of each year. May I buy the house from your mother? Ask her as a favor to me?"

Eugenia was trying her best to return to her old half maternal25 treatment of the young officer. This had been the attitude which she had used in the months of his illness in the little "Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door."

But this time their positions were reversed.

[Pg 267]

"We will talk of that another time," he returned. "Now you must be fair with me. I will not accept such an answer as you gave me before. I must be told the truth."

Captain Castaigne had gotten up and stood looking down upon Eugenia.

"I return to my regiment tomorrow. You must tell me today."

In reply the girl let her hands fall gently into her lap and gazed directly into the handsome, clear-cut face above her own.

"Why should I try to deceive you? It would be only sheer pretence. You are the only man I have ever cared for or ever shall. But I'll never marry you under any possible circumstances. I am too old and too unattractive and too—oh, a hundred other things."

But Captain Castaigne was smiling in entire serenity26.

"We will marry at the little 'Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door' during my next leave of absence."

But Barbara and Dick were at this moment entering the blue front door.

[Pg 268]

Half an hour later, when they had finished Christmas dinner, Dick Thornton drew a magazine from his pocket, which had on its cover the sign of the Red Cross.

"Here is a poem some one in America has written called 'She of the Red Cross.' Will you listen while I read it to you? To me the poem, of course, means Barbara and to Captain Castaigne, Eugenia."
"She fulfills27 the dramatic destiny of woman,
Because she stands valiant28, in the presence of pestilence29,
And faces woe30 unafraid,
And binds31 up the wounds made by the wars of men.
She fights to defeat pain,
And to conquer torture,
And to cheat death of his untimely prey32.
And her combat is for neither glory nor gain, but, with charity and mercy and compassion33 as her weapons, she storms incessantly34 the ramparts of grief.
There thrills through her life never the sharp, sudden thunder of the charge, never the swift and ardent35 rush of the short, decisive conflict—the tumult36 of applauding nations does not reach her ears—and the courage that holds her heart high comes from the voice of her invincible37 soul.
She fulfills the dramatic destiny of woman because, [Pg 269]reared to await the homage38 of man and to receive his service, she becomes when the war trumps39 sound, the servitor of the world.
And because whenever men have gone into battle, women have borne the real burden of the fray40,
And because since the beginning of time, man when he is hurt or maimed turns to her and finds, in her tenderness, the consolation41 and comfort which she alone can give.
Thus she of the Red Cross stands today, as woman has stood always, the most courageous42 and the most merciful figure in all history.
She is the Valor43 of the World."

*         *         *         *         *         *

The fourth volume in the American Red Cross Girls series will be called "The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army."

In this volume the four girls will return to the scene of actual fighting. They will be with the Russian army in their retreat. Moreover, certain characters introduced in the first book will reappear in the fourth, so increasing the excitement and interest of the plot. A new romance differing from the others plays an unexpected part in the life of one of the girls. The story may safely promise to have more important developments than any of the past volumes.

The End

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1 truant zG4yW     
n.懒惰鬼,旷课者;adj.偷懒的,旷课的,游荡的;v.偷懒,旷课
参考例句:
  • I found the truant throwing stones in the river.我发现那个逃课的学生在往河里扔石子。
  • Children who play truant from school are unimaginative.逃学的孩子们都缺乏想像力。
2 chateau lwozeH     
n.城堡,别墅
参考例句:
  • The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。
  • The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。
3 evergreen mtFz78     
n.常青树;adj.四季常青的
参考例句:
  • Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的,被叫做常青树。
  • There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
4 fragrance 66ryn     
n.芬芳,香味,香气
参考例句:
  • The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
  • The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。
5 fatigue PhVzV     
n.疲劳,劳累
参考例句:
  • The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
  • I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。
6 folly QgOzL     
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话
参考例句:
  • Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
  • Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。
7 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
8 bestow 9t3zo     
v.把…赠与,把…授予;花费
参考例句:
  • He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
  • What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我?
9 sentimental dDuzS     
adj.多愁善感的,感伤的
参考例句:
  • She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人,她相信姻缘命中注定。
  • We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。
10 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
11 lesser UpxzJL     
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地
参考例句:
  • Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
  • She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及,但程度较轻。
12 farmhouse kt1zIk     
n.农场住宅(尤指主要住房)
参考例句:
  • We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
  • We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。
13 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
14 pretence pretence     
n.假装,作假;借口,口实;虚伪;虚饰
参考例句:
  • The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
  • He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。
15 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
16 meekness 90085f0fe4f98e6ba344e6fe6b2f4e0f     
n.温顺,柔和
参考例句:
  • Amy sewed with outward meekness and inward rebellion till dusk. 阿密阳奉阴违地一直缝到黄昏。 来自辞典例句
  • 'I am pretty well, I thank you,' answered Mr. Lorry, with meekness; 'how are you?' “很好,谢谢,”罗瑞先生回答,态度温驯,“你好么?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
17 regiment JATzZ     
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制
参考例句:
  • As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活,所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
  • They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。
18 prospect P01zn     
n.前景,前途;景色,视野
参考例句:
  • This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
  • The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
19 fatigued fatigued     
adj. 疲乏的
参考例句:
  • The exercises fatigued her. 操练使她感到很疲乏。
  • The President smiled, with fatigued tolerance for a minor person's naivety. 总统笑了笑,疲惫地表现出对一个下级人员的天真想法的宽容。
20 evergreens 70f63183fe24f27a2e70b25ab8a14ce5     
n.常青树,常绿植物,万年青( evergreen的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The leaves of evergreens are often shaped like needles. 常绿植物的叶常是针形的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The pine, cedar and spruce are evergreens. 松树、雪松、云杉都是常绿的树。 来自辞典例句
21 exquisite zhez1     
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的
参考例句:
  • I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
  • I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。
22 temperaments 30614841bea08bef60cd8057527133e9     
性格( temperament的名词复数 ); (人或动物的)气质; 易冲动; (性情)暴躁
参考例句:
  • The two brothers have exactly opposite temperaments: one likes to be active while the other tends to be quiet and keep to himself. 他们弟兄两个脾气正好相反, 一个爱动,一个好静。
  • For some temperaments work is a remedy for all afflictions. 对于某些人来说,工作是医治悲伤的良药。
23 knight W2Hxk     
n.骑士,武士;爵士
参考例句:
  • He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
  • A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。
24 frescoes e7dc820cf295bb1624a80b546e226207     
n.壁画( fresco的名词复数 );温壁画技法,湿壁画
参考例句:
  • The Dunhuang frescoes are gems of ancient Chinese art. 敦煌壁画是我国古代艺术中的瑰宝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The frescoes in these churches are magnificent. 这些教堂里的壁画富丽堂皇。 来自《简明英汉词典》
25 maternal 57Azi     
adj.母亲的,母亲般的,母系的,母方的
参考例句:
  • He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
  • The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。
26 serenity fEzzz     
n.宁静,沉着,晴朗
参考例句:
  • Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤,但仍使人感觉安详。
  • She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。
27 fulfills 192c9e43c3273d87e5e92f3b1994933e     
v.履行(诺言等)( fulfill的第三人称单数 );执行(命令等);达到(目的);使结束
参考例句:
  • He always fulfills his promises. 他总是履行自己的诺言。 来自辞典例句
  • His own work amply fulfills this robust claim. 他自己的作品在很大程度上实现了这一正确主张。 来自辞典例句
28 valiant YKczP     
adj.勇敢的,英勇的;n.勇士,勇敢的人
参考例句:
  • He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
  • Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施,通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。
29 pestilence YlGzsG     
n.瘟疫
参考例句:
  • They were crazed by the famine and pestilence of that bitter winter.他们因那年严冬的饥饿与瘟疫而折磨得发狂。
  • A pestilence was raging in that area. 瘟疫正在那一地区流行。
30 woe OfGyu     
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌
参考例句:
  • Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
  • A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸,自认福是福。
31 binds c1d4f6440575ef07da0adc7e8adbb66c     
v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 );装订;捆绑;(用长布条)缠绕
参考例句:
  • Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》
32 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
33 compassion 3q2zZ     
n.同情,怜悯
参考例句:
  • He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
  • Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。
34 incessantly AqLzav     
ad.不停地
参考例句:
  • The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
  • It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。
35 ardent yvjzd     
adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的
参考例句:
  • He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
  • Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。
36 tumult LKrzm     
n.喧哗;激动,混乱;吵闹
参考例句:
  • The tumult in the streets awakened everyone in the house.街上的喧哗吵醒了屋子里的每一个人。
  • His voice disappeared under growing tumult.他的声音消失在越来越响的喧哗声中。
37 invincible 9xMyc     
adj.不可征服的,难以制服的
参考例句:
  • This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
  • The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致,他们就是不可战胜的。
38 homage eQZzK     
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬
参考例句:
  • We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
  • The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。
39 trumps 22c5470ebcda312e395e4d85c40b03f7     
abbr.trumpets 喇叭;小号;喇叭形状的东西;喇叭筒v.(牌戏)出王牌赢(一牌或一墩)( trump的过去式 );吹号公告,吹号庆祝;吹喇叭;捏造
参考例句:
  • On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
40 fray NfDzp     
v.争吵;打斗;磨损,磨破;n.吵架;打斗
参考例句:
  • Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢?
  • Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。
41 consolation WpbzC     
n.安慰,慰问
参考例句:
  • The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
  • This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。
42 courageous HzSx7     
adj.勇敢的,有胆量的
参考例句:
  • We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
  • He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。
43 valor Titwk     
n.勇气,英勇
参考例句:
  • Fortitude is distinct from valor.坚韧不拔有别于勇猛。
  • Frequently banality is the better parts of valor.老生常谈往往比大胆打破常规更为人称道。


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