CHAPTER XXIII—THE WEDDING WITHOUT BELLS

Doctor Franklin journeys down to Lyons, on some secret errand of his own; he will be gone a week. Commodore Paul Jones, at home with the good Marsan, drunk with love, forgets the blue of the ocean in the blue of Aimee’s eyes. One sun-filled afternoon he is disturbed by Lieutenant¹ Dale, who stalks in with a scowl² on his usually steady face.

“What is it, Dick?” asks Commodore Paul Jones, alive in a moment.

“Something too deep for me, Commodore, or I shouldn’t be here with the tangle³. Commissioner⁴ Lee, with Landais, has taken the Alliance.”

“What?”

“It’s as I say. Lee declares that Doctor Franklin had no authority to depose⁵ Landais. He, Lee, has restored him to command, and the pair have possession of the ship.”

“What did you do?”

“I did nothing. I’m a sailor, and pretend to no knowledge of the limits of Mr. Lee’s authority. Speaking for myself, I refused to serve with Landais; and Lieutenants⁶ Stack, McCarty and Lunt, and Midshipman Lindthwait did the same. We came ashore⁷, and Bo’sen Jack⁸ Robinson at the head of sixty of the crew came with us.” Commodore Paul Jones, while Lieutenant Dale talks, is thinking. What is to be done! Manifestly nothing. Doctor Franklin is out of reach. Without the Doctor’s authority no one can meddle⁹ with Arthur Lee, who still has his powers as a commissioner. Besides, there’s the Serapis; it is only a question of weeks when he, Commodore Paul Jones, will be given its command. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Dale and the others can disport¹⁰ themselves ashore, as he does. Let Lee and Landais keep the Alliance, since they already have it.

“You’ve done right, Dick,” he says. “Stay ashore then, and keep the lads together; we’ll wait for the Serapis. Also, King Louis has given Doctor Franklin the Ariel, a ship-sloop the size of the old Ranger¹¹. When I take the Serapis to sea, Dick, you shall sail Captain of the Ariel.”

Lieutenant Dale goes his way, and Commodore Paul Jones returns to Aimee, pleased in secret to think he may continue unhindered to sun himself in her smiles. It grinds a bit to think of the “dog Landais,” and the “traitor Arthur Lee,” in control of the Alliance. Still, all will come right; for is he not to have the Serapis? And while he waits, there is Aimee; and love is even sweeter than war. So he goes back to his goddess, with her deep eyes and red-gold hair, and puts such caitiff creatures as Lee and Landais outside his thoughts. It is for Congress to deal with them.

Commodore Paul Jones is not permitted to forget Lee and Landais. Within the hour, he is again called from the side of Aimee by his friend Genet, a noble upperling in the French foreign office.

“I come to tell you,” says Genet, “that Captain Landais and Monsieur Lee have got the Alliance.”

“I know!”

“They are to sail in three days.”

“Lieutenant Dale has told me.”

“He did not tell you that we have issued orders to Thevenard, who commands the forts at the barrier, to sink the Alliance, should she try to put to sea.”

“Sink the Alliance!” Commodore Paul Jones is thunderstruck. “My dear Genet, you jest.”

“No jest, my friend. The orders have been given. Should the Alliance attempt to pass the harriers, Thevenard will fire on it with all his hundreds of big guns, and snuff it out like a candle. It is by request of your Doctor Franklin.”

“Do you tell me that Doctor Franklin asks you to sink the Alliance?”

“He has asked us—for he had some inkling of the designs of Lee and Landais—to prevent them sailing away with the ship. We know of but one way to do that. We must sink it, since we have no ship here to arrest them. So we gave the orders to Thevenard. Those orders, however, we did not impart to Doctor Franklin; and, in good truth, I tell them to you now, not as a French official, but as a friend.”

“This must be stopped!” cries Commodore Paul Jones, his habits of decision and iron promptitude reassumed in a moment. “What! Sink two hundred brave, good men, to punish a pair of traitors¹²? Never!”

Genet, who makes a cult¹³ of red tape, shrugs¹⁴ his shoulders and spreads his hands.

“It is too late,” he says. “There is Doctor Franklin’s request. I cannot countermand¹⁵ the orders to Thevenard until he withdraws his request.”

“I shall see Thevenard!”

Two hundred and eighty miles in fifty-four hours! An unprecedented¹⁶ thing! And yet Commodore Paul Jones does it, and rides into l’Orient in time to prevail on General Thevenard, who is his friend and his worshipper, to let the Alliance pass free. The forts would else have sunk the ship with their tons upon tons of metal. He saves the Alliance by a narrow margin¹⁷ of hours, and Lee and Landais shake out their sails for America.

“They go to disgrace and grief,” thinks Commodore Paul Jones, consoling himself for their escape. Then he considers how he has saved the lives of more than two hundred honest sailors, who have fought well for flag and country, and is consoled in earnest.

Commodore Paul Jones is surrounded by surprises. He is met on the road, while returning to his Aimee, by a message from the Duchess de Chartres.

“Come instantly to me!” it says.

There is a look of mingled¹⁸ sorrow and resentment¹⁹, with over all a hue²⁰ of humor, on the Duchess’ bright face when she welcomes Commodore Paul Jones.

“The Marchioness de Marsan and I have arranged it,” she says, and her glance is wicked and amused.

“Arranged what?”

“Your marriage, my friend! I congratulate you! You and your red-haired, blue-eyed one are to wed²¹.”

“With all my heart, then!” says he, turning wicked, too. Manlike, it offends his vanity that one who has pretended to love him so deeply should be now so ready to give him to another. “I could wish no fairer fate.”

“But the wedding must be secret.”

“Secret! Believe me, I shall tell all France.”

“And ruin the blue-eyed one! Hear me, my Commodore—once my beloved, ever to be my friend! I have had a world of trouble in your affairs. I arranged with the Marsan; but only by agreeing that the marriage be buried in secrecy²². You know much of the sea; little of the shore when all’s said. Should the king hear of Aimee as your wife, he would drive her from court.”

“May I ask why!” and his cheek begins to burn angrily.

“You forget that Aimee is a Bourbon,” returns the Duchess, with a fashion of malicious²³ satisfaction. He has deserted²⁴ her for his Aimee; it is her revenge to irritate his pride. “You are a valorous man, and the king makes much of you. Besides, you beat the English, whom he fears and hates. And yet he does not forget that you are a peasant—as I did. Marry Aimee, my friend—. marry a Bourbon, even a Bourbon by the left hand, and King Louis will bolt the doors of France in both your faces. Indeed, the Bastile might be the end of it for your Aimee.”

“I think your royal highness sees unnecessary ghosts,” he replies, with a sneer²⁵. Just the same, that linking of the Bastile and Aimee alarms him. “Without pausing to question the king’s powers touching²⁶ Bastiles and French doors, I may tell you he has already heard that I love Aimee. Doctor Franklin, himself, told me.”

“Love Aimee! Yes; love her as much and to what limit you will! The king will never resent that. But do not let the whisper that you have married Aimee reach the kingly ear. Can you not understand! Here, I will put it in the abstract. A Princess may have a liaison²⁷ with a peasant, and in the shadow of that dishonor she will remain forever a Princess. Should the Princess, in some gust²⁸ of virtue²⁹, be swept into a marriage with the peasant, she becomes instantly a peasant. It is one of those strange cases, my friend, where the word ‘wife’ is a stain and the word ‘mistress’ no stain at all.”

It is midnight; two candles burn dimly on the altar of “Our Lady of Loretto.” The great chapel³⁰ is dark and vacant; the feeble light does not reach the vaulted³¹ roof, and the groined arches disappear upward in a thick blackness.

At the altar stands a priest. Near the rail is gathered a group of four, the Duchess de Chartres, the good Marchioness de Marsan, Aimee—heart a-flutter, her pink cheeks hidden in a veil—and Commodore Paul Jones. The priest draws the Duchess aside.

“Your royal highness,” he whispers, pleadingly, “I am afraid.”

“Afraid of whom, pray?”

“The king, your royal highness.”

The Duchess makes an angry motion with her hand, while her little boot smites³² the stone floor and sends an echo through the room’s vast emptiness.

“Father Joseph, observe! You are my almoner. Through your hands I give fifty thousand louis to the poor of Paris, and keep you in fatness besides. It is I, not the king, whom you should fear.”

And so, before the flickering³³ altar candles, Commodore Paul Jones weds³⁴ Aimee Adele de Telison. In the book which the Duchess and the good Marsan sign as witnesses, Father Joseph, with a pen that shakes a little, records the nuptials³⁵ of “Monsieur le Joignes and Mademoiselle Adele de Bonneval.” For “de Bonneval” was the dead King’s name for Aimee’s mother in the days of Monsieur le Bel and the Parc-aux-Cerfs.

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 scowl   

vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。
• The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色，清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。

3 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 depose   

vt.免职；宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The witness is going to depose.证人即将宣誓做证。
• The emperor attempted to depose the Pope.皇帝企图废黜教皇。

6 lieutenants   

n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员

参考例句：

• In the army, lieutenants are subordinate to captains. 在陆军中，中尉是上尉的下级。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lieutenants now cap at 1.5 from 1. Recon at 1. 中尉现在由1人口增加的1.5人口。侦查小组成员为1人口。 来自互联网

7 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

8 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

9 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

10 disport   

v.嬉戏，玩

参考例句：

• Every Sunday,they disport themselves either in the parks or in the mountains.每周日他们或去公园或去爬山。
• A servant was washing the steps,and some crabs began to disport themselves in the little pools.一个仆人正在清洗台阶，一些螃蟹开始在小渠里玩耍。

11 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

12 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。

13 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

14 shrugs   

n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany shrugs off this criticism. 匈牙利总理久尔恰尼对这个批评不以为然。 来自互联网
• She shrugs expressively and takes a sip of her latte. 她表达地耸肩而且拿她的拿铁的啜饮。 来自互联网

15 countermand   

v.撤回(命令)，取消(订货)

参考例句：

• I have now to countermand that order,in consequence of the receipting of the letter this morning.由于今日上午才收到来函，现在只好取消那份订单。
• The general countermand the orders issued in his absence.将军撤销了他不在时所发布的命令。

16 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

17 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

18 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

19 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

20 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

21 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

22 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

23 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

24 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

25 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

26 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

27 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

28 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

29 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

30 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

31 vaulted   

adj.拱状的

参考例句：

• She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path. 她用手一撑跃过栅栏门沿着小路跑去。
• The formal living room has a fireplace and vaulted ceilings. 正式的客厅有一个壁炉和拱形天花板。

32 smites   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The sound smites upon the ear. 声音震耳。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My conscience smites me. 我良心上过意不去。 来自互联网

33 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

34 weds   

v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Confetti showered down on the newly-weds. 彩屑撒在一双新人身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The newly-weds are head over heels in love. 这对新婚夫正情溶意蜜。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

35 nuptials   

n.婚礼；婚礼( nuptial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their nuptials were performed by the local priest. 他们的婚礼由当地牧师主持。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• If he married, when the nuptials would take place, and under what circumstances? 如果他结婚，那么什么时候举行婚礼？在什么情况下举行婚礼？ 来自辞典例句