drop Cap L
LE BOIS DE PA?OLIVE is in repute among the inhabitants of the plain and its great cities as one of the wonders of the world, at least of that self-contained world of France, in which is everything, outside of which nothing. Pa?olive is Pagus Oliv?. Curious the wood is, but cannot compare with Mourèze or Montpellier le Vieux, which have characteristics in common with it. The characteristics are these. There is an extensive elevated platform of cretaceous limestone4 of very unequal consistency5. The result of this inequality has been that the softer matter has been washed away, whether at the retreat of the Tertiary ocean, or whether by atmospheric6 degradation7 alone is uncertain, leaving the cores of greater resistance isolated8, as turrets9, obelisks10, bridges. And these cores themselves containing soluble11 matter have been riddled12 in all directions by the rain that, resting on them for a moment, has been then absorbed, and has carried forth13 through every crevice14 what it was able to dissolve. But even the masses of hardest texture15 are so soft that [Pg 154] the rain soaking into them and then running out at every perforation has furrowed16 the white face with its trickling17 tears.
The wood measures three miles in each direction, and a guide is needed through the labyrinth of galleries and masses of insulated rock, all buried in a wood of oaks, here and there cleared for mulberry plantations18.
It lies beside the road from the station of S. Paul le Jeune to Les Vans, and reaches to the river Chassezac, that has cut its way through the plateau in a profound ravine. In fact, the same formation continues on the further side of the stream, but the shapes of the rocks assumed there are less eccentric. A guide lives in a cottage where a road to the right joins that coming from S. Paul, and he charges three francs for showing visitors the principal sights in the wood, five francs for a complete exploration.
The path, or track rather, changes direction at every moment, wriggling19 in and out among the rocks, over fallen masses, down descents where the brambles throw long streamers across one's path to arrest progress; the thorns claw and rend20 ladies' dresses. But the turf is purple with violets, and the fantastic shapes of the rocks draw one forward in defiance21 of thorn and prickle.
Some rocks resemble monstrous22 beasts. Near the road are the Lion and the Bear, engaged in a wrestle23. There are castles with windows and doors, pointed24 arches, a very orgy of natural architecture in which every style is represented. We pass through narrow rifts25 into which the sun never penetrates27, arrive by long galleries at culs-de-sac, and are forced to retrace28 our steps. Everywhere cavities, grottoes, piercing the rock that glares white in the sun and almost blinds the eye. [Pg 155] We arrive in a great cirque, in the midst of which are mulberries. In and out, everywhere grow oaks and broom; suddenly we come forth upon the gaping30 chasm31 through which rolls the Chassezac. A narrow and dangerous path down a rift26 enables one to descend32 to the river.
Pa?olive: The Lion and the Bear
By scrambling33 among fallen blocks, after having passed under a little natural arch, a tunnel is reached in which a score of persons might shelter from the rain. Then a path emerging into the light leads along a terrace above the abyss, and by climbing and sliding and clinging to the bushes La Gleyzasse (the Church) is reached, a rift and cavern34, once inhabited, as has been proved by the discovery under the soil of flint weapons and fragments of pottery35.
This is the best known of the caverns36 of Pa?olive. But the mysterious wood grows above a whole subterranean37 world of vaults38 and passages. The entrances to these grottoes are known only to the guide; they are hidden among bushes, and often they are pot-holes, wells that open without warning, and down which an incautious visitor might fall. Stones thrown in strike the sides with a sound that becomes ever feebler till they reach the unexplored bottom.
M. de Malbos describes some of these:—
"I visited as well a grotto29 forming a gallery, on a very rapid slope. I would not speak of it but that, entering it without a candle, I found that my right foot did not touch the ground; so I retraced39 my steps to light a candle, and thus illumined I saw with horror that I had had half my body suspended over a precipice40, sustaining myself only by my left foot on a slide of loose stones.
"On ascending41 the river of Chassezac, on top of the [Pg 156] precipice one can reach the Grotte of the Chouans. One descends42, or rather jumps, down to it, where it opens on a precipice with a ledge43 before it. Down to this cave one has to climb with difficulty. It divides into several galleries, that are lighted by small cracks, visible at the height of one hundred feet above the Chassezac. It was in this grotto that seven Royalists, who had fled to it, were taken by means of fires of straw and sulphur lighted in the entrance. They were shot at a little distance from it. One only, Gavidel, managed to escape, having managed to breathe through the barrel of his gun, which he had unscrewed and thrust through one of the cracks I have mentioned."
Near the entrance to the wood is the group that goes by the name of the Lion and the Bear, already mentioned. There is a Lot's Wife, there is a nun44, a sphynx, and so on. The Castle of the Trois Seigneurs does seem actually to have possessed45 a little fortress46, built in and out among the spires47 of rock, for fragments of wall are worked into the fissures48 and surmount49 some of the points.
But perhaps the most remarkable50 spot is the Cros de la Perdrix, where the limestone is in a craggy jumble51 of all kinds of forms.
One enters this sort of fortified52 circus with precipitous sides by a noble rock, pierced by a natural arch, at the entry to a cleft53, something like that of Gleyzasse—already described.
If we follow the edge of the ravine of the Chassezac we see the river gliding54 smoothly55 below through green pastures between sheer walls. On the promontory56 of Cornillon are the remains57 of an ancient village.
At the north-west of the wood is the hermitage of S. Eugène, at the fringe of the forest. It is as though [Pg 157] suspended above the valley, standing58 on the limestone, which here lies in narrow, almost horizontal beds. Architecturally it is nothing. Only a poor, ruinous, abandoned structure; no hermit2 has occupied it for many years.
According to tradition, for many generations the wood was inhabited by a family, the head of which assumed the title of King of Pa?olive. Louis XIV. was informed of the existence of this sovereign in a corner of his province of Languedoc, and ordered that the man should be arrested and tried. Several detachments of troops were sent to surround the wood and to explore its depths. No one was to be seen in it; all was silent, till a crack of a firearm sounded, and a man fell. After a quarter of an hour, those who had ventured into the labyrinth struggled out, but with the loss of ten of their number, each of whom had received a ball in his heart. The troops retired59, and as there was no question of rebellion against royal authority or of religion, Louis was content to let the matter rest; only he succeeded in entering into communication with the petty king by means of the hermit of S. Eugène, and requiring of him as recognition of suzerainty annually60 a pair of partridges—a tribute, however, that was never paid. The succession of kings of Pa?olive continued till the Revolution, when it was not safe on French soil for any man to bear a royal title, and the last king, rather than run the risk of losing his head on the scaffold, assumed the red cap and sank into a plain citoyen.
In 1792, the Royalist bands of the Count of Saillans took refuge in the wood of Pa?olive, confident that it would not be possible for the Republican troops to dislodge them, and their head-quarters was in the Grotto of [Pg 158] Gleyzasse, three hundred feet above the river. The Directory of Ardèche, however, found means of securing the conspirators61 when they met at the Chateau62 of Jalès, and they were taken to Les Vans and there put to death, the Count among them. Jalès had belonged to the Templars, but these, sacrificed by Clement63 V. to the cupidity64 of Louis the Fair, were taken to Aigues Mortes and there burnt alive on false charges. To the Templars succeeded the Knights65 of Malta. The most celebrated66 commander among these, who resided at Jalès, was the Bailli of Suffren, whom the vassals67 complained of as devouring68 forty pounds of meat in a day. But the Bailli was a fire-eater as well, and his exploits in the Mediterranean69, fighting the English, form the theme of a ballad70 introduced by Mistral into "Mirèio." The Bailli was killed in a duel71 by the Marquess of Mirepoix, in 1788.
"Our Captain was Bailly Suffren;
We had sail'd from Toulon,
Five-hundred seafaring Proven?eaux,
Stout-hearted and strong:
'Twas the sweet hope of meeting the English that made our hearts burn,
And till we had thrashed them we vowed73 we would never return."
And, of course, these stout-hearted Proven?eaux thrash the English like curs, just as our bluejackets always thrash the French—in ballads74.
Between the wood and Berrias on the bare plateau are many dolmens.
On the lovely day in early spring upon which I visited the Bois de Pa?olive, the inventories were being taken in the churches of Banne and Berrias. As we drove to the wood the bell of Banne church [Pg 159] was pealing75 the alarm; as we left, that of Berrias was sounding, and we drove thither76. The village was occupied by soldiers, and these surrounded the church, and held every avenue, whilst a body of gendarmes77 with axes smashed the barricaded78 west door. Outside the village was an ambulance wagon79, rendered necessary, as the people were offering a strenuous80 resistance. In the adjoining village of Beaulieu on the preceding day they had thrown quicklime in the faces of the assailants, and had blinded one soldier, who had to be conveyed to the hospital.
The hostility81 provoked by the Government by ordering the taking of the inventories of the contents of the churches is not very explicable, for there was no threat made of confiscation82. The reasons given me were these. At the first Revolution every church had been pillaged83 and its treasures seized. Only in some cases had certain of these latter been saved before the sacred buildings were plundered84, by being confided85 to the custody86 of reliable men in the parish, who restored them when the churches were reopened for divine worship. The people suppose that the taking of the inventories is a preliminary step to confiscation, and to protect the State against the secretion87 of any of the church treasures when that confiscation takes place. As, however, it is exceedingly unlikely that such a step will occur, the violent excitement over the taking of the inventories is not very reasonable. "We," say the people, "our fathers and grandsires, gave the furniture to the church; it belongs to the Commune, and not to the State."
The attitude assumed by the bishops88 and curés has been diverse. Here the taking of the inventory89 has [Pg 160] been opposed by force, there permitted under protest. At Lodève, where very fine new wrought-iron gates have lately been added to the porch, the clergy90 took good care not to fasten them and expose them to be damaged, but bolted the inner door of wood, very thin, and easily cut through. That was the form of their protest. At Alais the curé received the State officials at the door and contented91 himself with reading a written remonstrance92, after which he drew aside and allowed them to do their duty.
Actually, the curés in most places took no lead in the demonstrations94, which were often organised by reactionaries95 so as to excite hostility to the Republic, in view of the approaching elections for the Chamber96 of Deputies. They failed utterly97 in their purpose, as the election, when it did take place, proved to demonstration93. But in many a country place the resistance was due to the excited passions of the people ungoaded on by their superiors. A man said to me when I asked him the object of these futile98 resistances to authority: "Mais, il nous faut, à tout72 prix—des émotions."
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
labyrinth
|
|
| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
hermit
|
|
| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
inventories
|
|
| n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
limestone
|
|
| n.石灰石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
consistency
|
|
| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
atmospheric
|
|
| adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
degradation
|
|
| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
isolated
|
|
| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
turrets
|
|
| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
obelisks
|
|
| n.方尖石塔，短剑号，疑问记号( obelisk的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
soluble
|
|
| adj.可溶的；可以解决的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
riddled
|
|
| adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
crevice
|
|
| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
texture
|
|
| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
furrowed
|
|
| v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
trickling
|
|
| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
plantations
|
|
| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
wriggling
|
|
| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
rend
|
|
| vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
defiance
|
|
| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
monstrous
|
|
| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
wrestle
|
|
| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
rifts
|
|
| n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 )；裂隙；分裂；不和 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
rift
|
|
| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
penetrates
|
|
| v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
retrace
|
|
| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
grotto
|
|
| n.洞穴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
gaping
|
|
| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
chasm
|
|
| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
scrambling
|
|
| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
cavern
|
|
| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
pottery
|
|
| n.陶器，陶器场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
caverns
|
|
| 大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
subterranean
|
|
| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
vaults
|
|
| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
retraced
|
|
| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
precipice
|
|
| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
ascending
|
|
| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
descends
|
|
| v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
ledge
|
|
| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
nun
|
|
| n.修女，尼姑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
fortress
|
|
| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
spires
|
|
| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
fissures
|
|
| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
surmount
|
|
| vt.克服；置于…顶上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
jumble
|
|
| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
fortified
|
|
| adj. 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
cleft
|
|
| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
gliding
|
|
| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
smoothly
|
|
| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
promontory
|
|
| n.海角；岬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
annually
|
|
| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
conspirators
|
|
| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
chateau
|
|
| n.城堡，别墅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
clement
|
|
| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
cupidity
|
|
| n.贪心，贪财 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
knights
|
|
| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
celebrated
|
|
| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
vassals
|
|
| n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
devouring
|
|
| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
Mediterranean
|
|
| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
ballad
|
|
| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
duel
|
|
| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
tout
|
|
| v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
vowed
|
|
| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
ballads
|
|
| 民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
pealing
|
|
| v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
thither
|
|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
gendarmes
|
|
| n.宪兵，警官( gendarme的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
barricaded
|
|
| 设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
wagon
|
|
| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
strenuous
|
|
| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
hostility
|
|
| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
confiscation
|
|
| n. 没收, 充公, 征收 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
pillaged
|
|
| v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
plundered
|
|
| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
confided
|
|
| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
custody
|
|
| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
secretion
|
|
| n.分泌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
bishops
|
|
| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
inventory
|
|
| n.详细目录，存货清单 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
clergy
|
|
| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
contented
|
|
| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
remonstrance
|
|
| n抗议，抱怨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
demonstration
|
|
| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
demonstrations
|
|
| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
reactionaries
|
|
| n.反动分子，反动派( reactionary的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
futile
|
|
| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |