CHAPTER XXXV.

 Thy hope is young, thy heart is strong, but yet a day may be,

When thou shalt weep in dungeon¹ deep, and none thy weeping see.

                                                                        The Count of Saldana.

 

 

Morton had left Vienna, and was journeying in the diligence on the confines of Styria. The cumbrous machine had been lumbering² on all night. Awaking at daybreak from his comfortless sleep, and looking through the breath-bedimmed panes³ before him, he saw the postilion's shoulders wearily jolting⁵ up and down with the motion of the lazy horses. He had one fellow-traveller in the compartment⁶ which he occupied, a man of thirty-five or thereabouts, who had taken the diligence late the evening before, and who now, his shoulders supported by the leather straps⁷ which hung for the purpose from the roof, and his head tumbling forward on his chest, was dozing⁸ with a ludicrously grim expression of countenance⁹. At length a sudden jolt⁴ awakened¹⁰ him; he started, shook himself, looked about him, inclined his head by way of salutation to his fellow-traveller, and opened a conversation with a remark on the chillness of the morning. After conversing¹¹ for a time in French, the stranger said in excellent English, "I see there is no need of our speaking French, for by your accent I judge that you are English. I myself have a little of the English about me; that is to say, I was four years at Oxford¹², though I am German by birth."

 

"I am not English, though my ancestors were."

 

"You are American, then?" said the stranger, looking at him with some curiosity; and from this beginning, their acquaintance ripened¹³ fast. The German, regarding his companion as a young man of more intelligence than experience, conversed¹⁴ with an ease and frankness which fast gained upon Morton's confidence. He proved, indeed, a storehouse of information, discoursing¹⁵ of the people, the country, and even the government, with little reserve, and an admirable copiousness¹⁶ and minuteness of knowledge. At length he asked Morton if he had any acquaintance in Austria.

 

"None, excepting one or two persons at Vienna, to whom I had letters."

 

"Then you have probably made agreeable acquaintances. The society of Vienna is a very pleasant one."

 

"My letters were, or purported¹⁷ to be, to savans and literary men."

 

"There, too, you should have found persons well worth the meeting."

 

"I have no doubt of it."

 

"You do not speak," said the investigating stranger, with a smile, "like one who has been much pleased with his experience."

 

"I have had no opportunity to judge fairly of the Viennese savans."

 

"Your letters gave you no opportunity?"

 

"They were given me at Paris, in a rather singular way; and, to say the truth, the persons to whom they introduced me were so little to my taste, that after delivering one or two of them, I determined¹⁸ not to use the rest."

 

"You appear to have been very unfortunate. Will you allow me to ask to whom your letters were addressed?"

 

"They were written by a person whom I never saw, and were given to me by a friend,—an acquaintance,—of mine, as a means of gaining information about the country; such information as that for which I am indebted to you. I have been a good deal perplexed¹⁹ as to the character of the persons to whom they were written."

 

"Very probably I could aid you."

 

Morton mentioned the names of the men he had seen.

 

The German at first looked puzzled, then amazed, then distrustful.

 

"Your letters were got for you by a friend of yours?"

 

"Yes."

 

"And were written by——"

 

"A professor from Berlin, named Speyer,—Henry Speyer."

 

"Henry Speyer!" repeated the German, in astonishment²⁰.

 

"You were saying that you had lived for some years at Berlin. Perhaps you can tell me who and what he is."

 

"I know of no Professor Henry Speyer at Berlin."

 

"This man, I am told, is well known as a philologist²¹."

 

"There is a Henry Speyer who is a philologist, so far as speaking every language in Europe can make him one; but he was never a professor in Berlin or any where else."

 

Morton looked perplexed. The German studied his face for a moment, and then said,—

 

"You say that a friend of yours gave you letters from Henry Speyer to the men you just named?"

 

"Yes."

 

"I beg your pardon! Have you ever quarrelled with your friend? Are you on terms with your friend's mistress? or do you stand between your friend and a fortune?"

 

A cold thrill passed through Morton's frame. There was an approach to truth in both the two last suppositions.

 

"Either you are very much deeper than I know how to comprehend you, or else you are the victim of a plot."

 

"What kind of plot?" demanded the startled Morton; "who is Speyer, and who are the other men?"

 

"I will tell you. Speyer is an intriguer²², a revolutionist, a man in every way infamous²³. As for his being a professor, he is no more a professor than he is a prime minister, and you may ascribe what motives²⁴ you please to your friend for giving him the name. He dares not set foot in Austria. If he did, it would go very hard with him. The other men are of the same kidney—his aiders, abetters, fellow conspirators²⁵; known or suspected to be plotting for the overthrow²⁶ of the government."

 

"Then why are they at liberty?"

 

"Do you call it liberty to be day and night under the eye of the police—to be dogged and watched every hour of their lives? They serve as a sort of decoy. All who hold communication with them are noted²⁷ down as dangerous; and my only wonder is, that you have not before this heard from the police."

 

"And what would you advise me to do?"

 

"Get out of Austria as soon and as quietly as you can. When you have passed the frontier you will be safe, and not before."

1 dungeon   

n.地牢，土牢

参考例句：

• They were driven into a dark dungeon.他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。
• He was just set free from a dungeon a few days ago.几天前，他刚从土牢里被放出来。

2 lumbering   

n.采伐林木

参考例句：

• Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
• Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家，伐木业十分重要。

3 panes   

窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sun caught the panes and flashed back at him. 阳光照到窗玻璃上，又反射到他身上。
• The window-panes are dim with steam. 玻璃窗上蒙上了一层蒸汽。

4 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

5 jolting   

adj.令人震惊的

参考例句：

• 'she should be all right from the plane's jolting by now. “飞机震荡应该过了。
• This is perhaps the most jolting comment of all. 这恐怕是最令人震惊的评论。

6 compartment   

n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间

参考例句：

• We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴，整个客车隔间由我们独享。
• The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。

7 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。

8 dozing   

v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

9 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

10 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 conversing   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

13 ripened   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They're collecting the ripened reddish berries. 他们正采集熟了的淡红草莓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The branches bent low with ripened fruits. 成熟的果实压弯了树枝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 conversed   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 )

参考例句：

• I conversed with her on a certain problem. 我与她讨论某一问题。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She was cheerful and polite, and conversed with me pleasantly. 她十分高兴，也很客气，而且愉快地同我交谈。 来自辞典例句

15 discoursing   

演说（discourse的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• He was discoursing to us on Keats. 他正给我们讲济慈。
• He found the time better employed in searching than in discussing, in discovering than in discoursing. 他认为与其把时间花费在你争我辩和高谈阔论上，不如用在研究和发现上。

16 copiousness   

n.丰裕，旺盛

参考例句：

17 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

19 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

20 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

21 philologist   

n.语言学者，文献学者

参考例句：

• Syme was a philologist, a specialist in Newspeak. 赛姆是语言学家，也是新话专家。 来自英汉文学

22 intriguer   

密谋者

参考例句：

23 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

24 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

25 conspirators   

n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The conspirators took no part in the fighting which ensued. 密谋者没有参加随后发生的战斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The French conspirators were forced to escape very hurriedly. 法国同谋者被迫匆促逃亡。 来自辞典例句

26 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

27 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。