“And my hands are stained with blood. I have just committed a murder.
“I have assassinated4 the man against whom I have committed a deadly wrong.
“At eleven o’clock I presented myself at the little gate of the park. I was conducted into the chamber5 of Emilie.
“She was in bed, pale, almost dying.
“She, formerly6 so beautiful, seemed the ghost of herself. The hand of God had already touched her.
“I seated myself at her bedside. She extended to me her trembling, icy hand.
“I pressed it to my lips, my cold lips.
“We gave a last painful look at the past I accused myself of having destroyed her.
“We spoke7 of our unfortunate child. We wept, oh, how bitterly! when suddenly—
“Ah! I feel still the cold sweat deluge8 my brow. My hair stands on end, and a terrible voice cries to me, ‘Murderer! Murderer!’
“Oh, I will not seek to fly from remorse9; till my last day I shall keep before me the image of my victim.
“By the judgment10 of God, which has already condemned11 me, I take oath to do it.
“Let me recall the scene.
“It was a terrible moment.
“The chamber of Emilie was dimly lighted by a night-lamp placed near the door.
“My back was toward this door. I was seated by her bed. She could not retain her sobs12. My forehead was resting on my hand.
“The most profound silence reigned13 around us.
“I had just spoken to her of our child. I had just promised to fulfil her will in reference to him.
“I had tried to console her, to induce her to hope for better days, to reanimate her courage, to give her strength to conceal14 all from her husband; to prove to her that, for his own peace and happiness, it was better to let him remain in confident security.
“Suddenly the door behind me opened with violence.
“Emilie cried in terror: ‘My husband! I am dead!’
“Before I could turn around, an involuntary movement of her husband extinguished the lamp.
“We were all three in the dark.
“‘Do not kill me before forgiving me!’ cried Emilie.
“‘Oh—you first—him afterwards,’ said Count de Montreuil, in a hollow voice.
“The moment was horrible.
“He advanced irresolutely15. I advanced also.
“I wished to meet him and hold him back.
“We said nothing. The silence was profound.
“Nothing was heard but the sound of our oppressed breathing, and the low, spasmodic voice of Emilie, who murmured: ‘Lord have pity on me! Lord have pity on me!’
“Suddenly I felt a hand as cold as marble on my forehead.
“It was the hand of her husband. In seeking her, he had touched me.
“He started, and said, without concerning himself further about me: ‘Her bed ought to be on the left!’
“His calmness terrified me. I threw myself on him.
“At that moment, Emilie, whom he had doubtless already seized, cried, ‘Mercy! Mercy!’
“I tried to take him by the middle of his body. I felt the point of a dagger16 graze my hand.
“Emilie uttered a long sigh. She was killed or wounded, her blood spouted17 up on my forehead.
“Then my brain became wild; I felt myself endowed with a supernatural strength. With my left hand I seized the right arm of the murderer; with my right hand I snatched his dagger from him, and plunged18 it twice in his breast.
“I heard him fall without uttering a cry. From that moment I remember nothing.
“I found myself at the rising of the sun lying by the side of a hedge. I was covered with blood.
“For some moments I could remember nothing, then all returned to my memory. I returned home, avoiding the sight of every one.
“I discovered, as I entered, that my Maltese cross was lost. Perhaps it had been taken away from me in the struggle.
“I found Peyrou, who was waiting for me with my horses. I arrived here.”
[Some pages are wanting in this place.]
“... and she is no more.
“He lies by her side in the same tomb. The idea of murder pursues me. I am doubly criminal.
“My entire life will not suffice to expiate19 this murder, and...”
The rest of this page was wanting.
The last letter which the casket contained was a letter addressed to Peyrou by a bargemaster in the neighbourhood of Aiguemortes five years after the events which we have just recorded, and the same year, no doubt, of the abduction of Erebus by the pirates on the coast of Languedoc.
Peyrou, who was then serving on board the galleys21 of religion with the commander, was in the secret of this strange and bloody tragedy.
The following letter was addressed to Malta, to which place he had followed the commander, who, five years after these fatal events had transpired22, was still unwilling23 to enter France.
To M. Bernard Peyrou, Overseer-Patron of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows.
“My dear Peyrou:—Three days ago a great calamity24 occurred. A pirate galley20 made a descent on the unguarded coast.
“The pirates put all to fire and sword, and carried off into slavery all the inhabitants upon whom they could fasten their chains. I hardly know how to tell you the rest of this misfortune. The woman Agniel and the child that you confided25 to her care have disappeared, no doubt massacred, or carried away captives by these pirates. I went into her house, and everything there showed marks of violence. Alas26! I must tell you, there remained no doubt that the woman and child had shared the fate of the other inhabitants of this unfortunate village. We can hardly hope that the child was able to endure the fatigues27 and hardships of the voyage. I send you the only thing that could be found in the house, the picture of the child, which, in obedience28 to your order, the woman Agniel had taken to Montpellier, where the portrait had been executed about a month before. I saw the child quite recently, and I can assure you that it is an excellent likeness29. Alas! it is, perhaps, all that remains30 of him now. I send this letter directly to Malta by the tartan St. Cecile, so that it may reach you safely.
“P. S. In case the child is recovered, I inform you that there is a Maltese cross tattooed31 on his arm.”
To complete the explanation of the tragedy, it remains to be said that, although Pog—the Count de Montreuil—was dangerously wounded, he retained sufficient strength and presence of mind to keep the events of that fatal night a profound secret.
After the death of Emilie, he commanded Justine, under the direst threats, to say that her mistress, overwhelmed with grief at the death of her child, had finally succumbed32 to the desperate illness which ensued.
Nothing seemed more plausible33 than this account, hence it was generally accepted.
The Count de Montreuil remained concealed34 in his house until his wound was thoroughly35 healed. With every conceivable threat and promise, he tried to induce Justine to reveal the secret of the child’s hiding-place, but all his efforts were unavailing.
It now becomes necessary to explain how the count surprised the interview between Emilie and the commander.
Learning the supposed death of his child, while in the lazaretto or pest-house near Marseilles, he was plunged in desperate grief. He believed that his wife was no less inconsolable, and, notwithstanding the penalty of death incurred36 by deserters from the lazaretto, before the expiration37 of the established quarantine, he swam that night even from the island Ratonneau, where the sanitary38 buildings were situated39.
Reaching the coast, where a trusty servant awaited him with clothing, he assumed another name, and galloped40 in hot haste on the road to Lyons. Leaving his horses about two leagues from his house, he accomplished41 the rest of the journey on foot. Passing through the little gate which the commander had left open, he entered the park.
Several days before, by way of precaution, Emilie had dismissed most of her servants, under various pretexts42, retaining two women only of whom she felt sure. Her husband, finding the house almost deserted43, entered unperceived, and stood at the door of Emilie’s chamber, while she believed that he would remain ten days longer in the lazaretto.
Hearing the conversation which took place between his wife and Pierre des Anbiez, the Count de Montreuil could have no further doubt of her infidelity.
When he had entirely44 recovered from his wounds, he abandoned his house, situated in the country near Lyons, for ever; and feeling sure of Justine’s silence, as the woman had no interest in betraying his secret, he left France, taking with him a considerable sum in gold.
When his disappearance45 from the lazaretto was discovered, it was believed and currently reported that the Count de Montreuil, frenzied46 by grief over the loss of his child, had thrown himself into the sea. While this rumour47 was accepted in France, the commander believed that his victim had died from his wounds.
Thus it was that the Count de Montreuil was ignorant of the name of Emilie’s seducer48, and the only clew he had was the commander’s Maltese cross, which had fallen on the floor of the chamber.
This cross bore the initials L. P. on its ring, which letters proved that its owner belonged to the Proven?al nation. This explains the intense hatred49 which Pog cherished against the chevaliers of Malta.
His thirst for vengeance50 was so blind, that, by preference, he directed his attacks against Languedoc and Provence, because Emilie’s seducer must have been a chevalier of Malta, born in that province.
It is needless to say, if the love Pog felt for Emilie before her betrayal was strong and passionate51, the rage, or rather the monomania, which seized his mind after he learned of the deception52 practised upon him, was in itself a terrible proof of his love and desperate grief.
The portrait which hung above the coffin53 which served as a bed for the Commander des Anbiez, as a part of the expiation54 of his crime, was the portrait of the Count de Montreuil, or Pog,—obtained by Peyrou at the sale of the house near Lyons.
Let us now return to Pog, in his chamber on the Red Galleon55.
After having read the letters which unveiled so many mysteries, he remained for a time in a sort of dazed state of mind. He closed his eyes. A thousand conflicting thoughts and ideas reached his brain. He feared he was losing his mind.
By degrees he recovered his self-possession, and contemplated56 the new opportunities which this discovery offered his hatred with a calmness which was more dreadful than anger.
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1
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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3
intentionally
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| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
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4
assassinated
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| v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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7
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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8
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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9
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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10
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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11
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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12
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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13
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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14
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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15
irresolutely
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| adv.优柔寡断地 | |
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16
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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17
spouted
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| adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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18
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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19
expiate
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| v.抵补，赎罪 | |
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20
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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21
galleys
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| n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房 | |
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22
transpired
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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23
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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24
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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25
confided
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| 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） | |
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26
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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27
fatigues
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| n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服 | |
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28
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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29
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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30
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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31
tattooed
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| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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32
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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33
plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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35
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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36
incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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37
expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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38
sanitary
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| adj.卫生方面的，卫生的，清洁的，卫生的 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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40
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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41
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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42
pretexts
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| n.借口，托辞( pretext的名词复数 ) | |
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43
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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44
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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45
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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46
frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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47
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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48
seducer
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| n.诱惑者,骗子,玩弄女性的人 | |
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49
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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50
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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51
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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52
deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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53
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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54
expiation
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| n.赎罪，补偿 | |
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55
galleon
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| n.大帆船 | |
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56
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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