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首页 » 英文短篇小说 » The Isle of Unrest » CHAPTER XVIII. A WOMAN OF ACTION.
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CHAPTER XVIII. A WOMAN OF ACTION.
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      “Love ... gives to every power a double power
     Above their functions and their offices.”
  
“Ah!” said Mademoiselle Brun, as she stepped on deck the next morning. And the contrast between the gloomy departure from Corsica and the sunny return to France was strong enough, without further comment from this woman of few words.
The yacht was approaching the little harbour of St. Raphael at half speed on a sea as blue and still as the Mediterranean1 of any poet's dream. The freshness of morning was in the air—the freshness of Provence, where the days are hot and the nights cool, and there are no mists between the one and the other. Almost straight ahead, the little town of Fréjus (where another Corsican landed to set men by the ears) stood up in sharp outline against the dark pinewoods of Valescure, with the thin wood-smoke curling up from a hundred chimneys. To the left, the flat lands of Les Arcs half hid the distant heights of Toulon; and, to the right, headland after headland led the eye almost to the frontier of Italy along the finest coast-line in the world. Every shade of blue was on sky or sea or mountain, while the deep morning shadows were transparent2 and almost luminous3. From the pinewoods a scent4 of resin5 swept seaward, mingled6 with the subtle odour of the tropic foliage7 near the shore. The sky was cloudless. This was indeed the smiling land of France.
Denise, who had followed mademoiselle on deck, stood still and drank it all in; for such sights and scents8 have a deep eloquence9 for the young, which older hearts can only touch from the outside, vaguely10 and intangibly, like the memory of a perfume.
Denise had slept well, and Mademoiselle Brun said she had slept enough for an old woman. A cheery little stewardess11 had brought them coffee soon after daylight, and had answered a few curt12 questions put to her by Mademoiselle Brun.
“Yes; the yacht was the yacht of the Baron13 de Mélide, and the bête-noire, by the same token, of madame, who hated the sea.”
And madame was at the chateau14 near Fréjus, where Monsieur le Baron had installed her on the outbreak of the war, and would assuredly be on the pier15 at St. Raphael to meet them. And God only knew where Monsieur le Baron was. He had gone, it was said, to the war in some civil capacity.
As they stood on deck, Denise soon perceived the little pier where there were, even at this early hour, a few of those indefatigable16 Mediterranean Waltons who fish and fish and catch nothing, all through the sunny day. Presently Mademoiselle Brun caught sight of a small dot of colour which seemed to move spasmodically up and down.
“I see the parasol,” she said, “of Jane de Mélide. What good friends we have!”
And presently they were near enough to wave a handkerchief in answer to the Baroness17 de Mélide's vigorous salutations. The yacht crept round the pier-head, and was soon made fast to a small white buoy18. While a boat was being lowered, the baroness, in a gay Parisian dress, walked impatiently backwards19 and forwards, waved her parasol, and called out incoherent remarks, which Mademoiselle Brun answered by a curt gesture of the hand.
“My poor friend!” exclaimed the baroness, as she embraced Mademoiselle Brun. “My dear Denise, you are a brave woman. I have heard all about you.”
And her quick, dancing eyes took in at a glance that Denise had come against her will, and Mademoiselle Brun had brought her. Of which Denise was ignorant, for the sunshine and brightness of the scene affected20 her and made her happy.
“Surely,” she said, as they walked the length of the pier together, “the bad news has been exaggerated. The war will soon be over and we shall be happy again.”
“Do not talk of it,” cried the baroness. “It is a horror. I saw Lory, after W?rth, and that was enough war for me. And, figure to yourself!—I am all alone in this great house. It is a charity to come and stay with me. Lory has gone to the front. My husband, who said he loved me—where is he? Bonjour, and he is gone. He leaves me without a regret. And I, who cry my eyes out; or would cry them out if I were a fool—such as mademoiselle thinks me. Ah! I do not know what has come to all the men.”
“But I do,” said mademoiselle, who had seen war before.
And the baroness, looking at that still face, laughed her gay little inconsequent laugh.
A carriage was waiting for them in the shade of the trees on the market-place, its smart horses and men forming a strong contrast to the untidy town and slip-shod idlers. As usual, a game of bowls was in progress, and absorbed all the attention of the local intelligence.
“We have half an hour through the pine trees,” said the baroness, settling herself energetically on the cushions. “And, do you know, I am thankful to see you. I thought you would be prevented coming.”
She glanced at Denise as she spoke21, and with a suddenly grave face, leant forward, and whispered—
“The news is bad—the news is bad. All this has been organized by Lory and my husband, who told me, in so many words, that they must have us where they can find us at a moment's notice. In case—ah, mon Dieu! I do not know what is going to happen to us all.”
“Then are we to be moved about, like ornaments23, from one safe place to another?” asked Denise, with a laugh which was not wholly spontaneous.
“I have never been treated as an ornament22 yet,” put in Mademoiselle Brun, “and it is perhaps rather late to begin now.”
Denise looked at her inquiringly.
“Yes,” said the little woman, quietly. “I am going to the war—if Jane will take care of you while I am away.”
“And why should not I go too?” asked Denise.
“Because you are too young and too pretty, my dear—since you ask a plain question,” replied the baroness, impulsively24. Then she turned towards mademoiselle. “You know,” she said, “that my precious stupid is organizing a field hospital.”
“I thought he would find something to do,” answered mademoiselle, curtly25.
“Yes,” said the baroness, slowly, “yes—because when he was a boy he had for governess a certain little woman whose teaching was deeds, not words. And he is paying for it himself. And we shall all be ruined.”
She spread out her rich dress, lay back in her luxurious26 carriage, and smiled on Mademoiselle Brun with something that was not mirth at the back of her brown eyes.
“I shall go to him,” said mademoiselle. And the baroness made no reply for some moments.
“Do you know what he said?” she asked. “He said we shall want women—old ones. I know one old woman who will come!”
Mademoiselle was buttoning her cotton gloves and did not seem to hear.
“It was, of course, Lory,” went on the baroness, “who encouraged him and told him how to go about it. And then he went back to the front to fight. Mon Dieu! he can fight—that Lory!”
“Where is he?” asked mademoiselle. And the baroness spread out her gloved hands.
“At the front—I cannot tell you more.”
And mademoiselle did not speak again. She was essentially27 a woman of her word. She had undertaken to find Lory and give him that odd, inexplicable28 message from the abbé. She had not undertaken much in her narrow life; but she had usually accomplished29, in a quiet, mouse-like way, that to which she set her hand. And now, as she drove through the smiling country, with which it was almost impossible to associate the idea of war, she was planning how she could get to the front and work there under the Baron de Mélide, and find Lory de Vasselot.
“They are somewhere near a little place called Sedan,” said the baroness.
And Mademoiselle Brun set out that same day for the little place called Sedan; then known vaguely as a fortress30 on the Belgian frontier, and now for ever written in every Frenchman's heart as the scene of one of those stupendous catastrophes31 to which France seems liable, and from which she alone has the power of recovery. For, whatever the history of the French may be, it has never been dull reading, and she has shown the whole world that one may carry a brave and a light heart out of the deepest tragedy.
By day and night Mademoiselle Brun, sitting upright in a dark corner of a second-class carriage, made her way northward32 across France. No one questioned her, and she asked no one's help. A silent little old woman assuredly attracts less attention to her comings and goings than any other human being. And on the third day mademoiselle actually reached Chalons, which many a more important traveller might at this time have failed to do. She found the town in confusion, the civilians33 bewildered, the soldiers sullen34. No one knew what an hour might bring forth35. It was not even known who was in command. The emperor was somewhere near, but no one knew where. General officers were seeking their army-corps. Private soldiers were wandering in the streets seeking food and quarters. The railway station was blocked with stores which had been hastily discharged from trucks wanted elsewhere. And it was no one's business to distribute the stores.
Mademoiselle Brun wandered from shop to shop, gathering36 a hundred rumours37 but no information. “The emperor is dying—Macmahon is wounded,” a butcher told her, as he mechanically sharpened his knife at her approach, though he had not as much as a bone in his shop to sell her.
She stopped a cuirassier riding a lame38 horse, his own leg hastily bandaged with a piece of coloured calico.
“What regiment39?” she asked.
“I have no regiment. There is nothing left. You see in me the colonel, and the majors, and the captains. I am the regiment,” he answered with a laugh that made mademoiselle bite her steady lip.
“Where are you going?”
“I don't know. Can you give me a little money?”
“I can give you a franc. I have not too much myself. Where have you come from?”
“I don't know. None of us knew where we were.”
He thanked her, observed that he was very hungry, and rode on. She found a night's lodging40 at a seed-chandler's who had no seeds to sell.
“They will not need them this year,” he said. “The Prussians are riding over the corn.”
The next morning the indomitable little woman went on her way towards Sedan in a forage-cart which was going to the front. She told the corporal in charge that she was attached to the Baron de Mélide's field hospital and must get to her work.
“You will not like it when you get there, my brave lady,” said the man, good-humouredly, making room for her.
“I shall like it better than doing nothing here,” she replied.
And so they set forth through the country heavy with harvest. It was the second of September. The corn was ripe, the leaves were already turning; for it had been a dry summer, and since April hardly any rain had fallen.
It was getting late in the afternoon when they met a man in a dog-cart driving at a great pace. He pulled up when he saw them. His face was the colour of lead, his eyes were startlingly bloodshot.
“This parishioner has been badly scared,” muttered the soldier who was driving Mademoiselle Brun.
“Where are you going?” asked the stranger in a high, thin voice.
“To Sedan.”
“Then turn back,” he cried; “Sedan is no place for a woman. It is a hell on earth. I saw it all, mon Dieu. I saw it all. I was at Bazeilles. I saw the children thrown into the windows of the burning houses. I saw the Bavarians shoot our women in the streets. I saw the troops rush into Sedan like rabbits into their holes, and then the Prussians bombarded the town. They had six hundred guns all round the town, and they fired upon that little place which was packed full like a sheep-pen. It is not war—it is butchery. What is the good God doing? What is He thinking of?”
And the man, who had the pasty face of a clerk or a commercial traveller, raised his whip to heaven in a gesture of fierce anger. Mademoiselle Brun looked at him with measuring eyes. He was almost a man at that moment. But perhaps her standard of manhood was too high.
“And is Sedan taken?” she asked quietly.
“Sedan is taken. Macmahon is wounded. The emperor is prisoner, and the whole French army has surrendered. Ninety thousand men. The Prussians had two hundred and forty thousand men. Ah! That emperor—that scoundrel!”
Mademoiselle Brun looked at him coldly, but without surprise. She had dealt with Frenchmen all her life, and probably expected that the fallen should be reviled—an unfortunate characteristic in an otherwise great national spirit.
“And the cavalry41?” she asked.
“Ah!” cried the man, and again his dull eye flashed. “The cavalry were splendid. They tried to cut their way out. They passed through the Prussian cavalry and actually faced the infantry42, but the fire was terrible. No man ever saw or heard anything like it. The cuirassiers were mown down like corn. The cavalry exists no longer, madame, but its name is immortal43.”
There was nothing poetic44 about Mademoiselle Brun, who listened rather coldly.
“And you,” she asked, “what are you? you are assuredly a Frenchman?”
“Yes—I am a Frenchman.”
“And yet your back is turned,” said Mademoiselle Brun, “towards the Prussians.”
“I am a writer,” explained the man—“a journalist. It is my duty to go to some safe place and write of all that I have seen.”
“Ah!” said Mademoiselle Brun. “Let us, my friend,” she said, turning to her companion on the forage-cart, “proceed towards Sedan. We are fortunately not in the position of monsieur.”

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1 Mediterranean ezuzT     
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
  • Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。
2 transparent Smhwx     
adj.明显的,无疑的;透明的
参考例句:
  • The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明,可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
  • The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。
3 luminous 98ez5     
adj.发光的,发亮的;光明的;明白易懂的;有启发的
参考例句:
  • There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。
  • Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。
4 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
5 resin bCqyY     
n.树脂,松香,树脂制品;vt.涂树脂
参考例句:
  • This allyl type resin is a highly transparent, colourless material.这种烯丙基型的树脂是一种高度透明的、无色材料。
  • This is referred to as a thixotropic property of the resin.这种特性叫做树脂的触变性。
6 mingled fdf34efd22095ed7e00f43ccc823abdf     
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。
7 foliage QgnzK     
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶
参考例句:
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
  • Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。
8 scents 9d41e056b814c700bf06c9870b09a332     
n.香水( scent的名词复数 );气味;(动物的)臭迹;(尤指狗的)嗅觉
参考例句:
  • The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。
  • The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 eloquence 6mVyM     
n.雄辩;口才,修辞
参考例句:
  • I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
  • The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。
10 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
11 stewardess BUkzw     
n.空中小姐,女乘务员
参考例句:
  • Please show your ticket to the stewardess when you board the plane.登机时请向空中小姐出示机票。
  • The stewardess hurried the passengers onto the plane.空中小姐催乘客赶快登机。
12 curt omjyx     
adj.简短的,草率的
参考例句:
  • He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
  • He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。
13 baron XdSyp     
n.男爵;(商业界等)巨头,大王
参考例句:
  • Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
  • The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。
14 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。
15 pier U22zk     
n.码头;桥墩,桥柱;[建]窗间壁,支柱
参考例句:
  • The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害,专家担心它已不能负重。
  • The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。
16 indefatigable F8pxA     
adj.不知疲倦的,不屈不挠的
参考例句:
  • His indefatigable spirit helped him to cope with his illness.他不屈不挠的精神帮助他对抗病魔。
  • He was indefatigable in his lectures on the aesthetics of love.在讲授关于爱情的美学时,他是不知疲倦的。
17 baroness 2yjzAa     
n.男爵夫人,女男爵
参考例句:
  • I'm sure the Baroness will be able to make things fine for you.我相信男爵夫人能够把家里的事替你安排妥当的。
  • The baroness,who had signed,returned the pen to the notary.男爵夫人这时已签过字,把笔交回给律师。
18 buoy gsLz5     
n.浮标;救生圈;v.支持,鼓励
参考例句:
  • The party did little to buoy up her spirits.这次聚会并没有让她振作多少。
  • The buoy floated back and forth in the shallow water.这个浮标在浅水里漂来漂去。
19 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
20 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
21 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
22 ornament u4czn     
v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物
参考例句:
  • The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
  • She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。
23 ornaments 2bf24c2bab75a8ff45e650a1e4388dec     
n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 );点缀;装饰品;首饰v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
  • Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》
24 impulsively 0596bdde6dedf8c46a693e7e1da5984c     
adv.冲动地
参考例句:
  • She leant forward and kissed him impulsively. 她倾身向前,感情冲动地吻了他。
  • Every good, true, vigorous feeling I had gathered came impulsively round him. 我的一切良好、真诚而又强烈的感情都紧紧围绕着他涌现出来。
25 curtly 4vMzJh     
adv.简短地
参考例句:
  • He nodded curtly and walked away. 他匆忙点了一下头就走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The request was curtly refused. 这个请求被毫不客气地拒绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
26 luxurious S2pyv     
adj.精美而昂贵的;豪华的
参考例句:
  • This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
  • The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。
27 essentially nntxw     
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上
参考例句:
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
28 inexplicable tbCzf     
adj.无法解释的,难理解的
参考例句:
  • It is now inexplicable how that development was misinterpreted.当时对这一事态发展的错误理解究竟是怎么产生的,现在已经无法说清楚了。
  • There are many things which are inexplicable by science.有很多事科学还无法解释。
29 accomplished UzwztZ     
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的
参考例句:
  • Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
  • Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
30 fortress Mf2zz     
n.堡垒,防御工事
参考例句:
  • They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
  • The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。
31 catastrophes 9d10f3014dc151d21be6612c0d467fd0     
n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 );灾难;不幸事件;困难
参考例句:
  • Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
  • The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句
32 northward YHexe     
adv.向北;n.北方的地区
参考例句:
  • He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
  • I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。
33 civilians 2a8bdc87d05da507ff4534c9c974b785     
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓
参考例句:
  • the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
  • At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后,至少有300名平民下落不明。
34 sullen kHGzl     
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句:
  • He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
  • Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐,因为昨晚没睡好。
35 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
36 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
37 rumours ba6e2decd2e28dec9a80f28cb99e131d     
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 );风闻;谣言;谣传
参考例句:
  • The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
  • Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。
38 lame r9gzj     
adj.跛的,(辩解、论据等)无说服力的
参考例句:
  • The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
  • I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。
39 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。
40 lodging wRgz9     
n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍
参考例句:
  • The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
  • Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?
41 cavalry Yr3zb     
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队
参考例句:
  • We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
  • The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。
42 infantry CbLzf     
n.[总称]步兵(部队)
参考例句:
  • The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
  • We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。
43 immortal 7kOyr     
adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的
参考例句:
  • The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
  • The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽!
44 poetic b2PzT     
adj.富有诗意的,有诗人气质的,善于抒情的
参考例句:
  • His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
  • His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。


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