It is easy enough to be philosophic7 at home in a chair beside the lamp. Under those circumstances, the Abbe had reflected that no one would rob him, because he possessed8 nothing worth stealing. But now, out here in the dark, he recalled a hundred instances of wanton murder duly recorded in the newspaper which he shared with three parishioners in Gemosac.
He paused to wipe his brow with a blue cotton handkerchief before pushing open the gate, and, being alone, was not too proud to peep through the keyhole before laying his shoulder against the solid and weather-beaten oak. He glanced nervously9 at the loopholes in the flanking towers and upward at the machicolated battlement overhanging him, as if any crumbling10 peep-hole might harbour gleaming eyes. He hurried through the passage beneath the vaulted11 roof without daring to glance to either side, where doorways13 and steps to the towers were rendered more fearsome by heavy curtains of ivy15.
The enceinte of the castle of Gemosac is three-sided, with four towers jutting16 out at the corners, from which to throw a flanking fire upon any who should raise a ladder against the great curtains, built of that smooth, white stone which is quarried17 at Brantome and on the banks of the Dordogne. The fourth side of the enceinte stands on a solid rock, above the little river that loses itself in the flat-lands bordering the Gironde, so that it can scarce be called a tributary18 of that wide water. A moss-grown path round the walls will give a quick walker ten minutes' exercise to make the round from one tower of the gateway19 to the other.
Within the enceinte are the remains20 of the old castle, still solid and upright; erected21, it is recorded, by the English during their long occupation of this country. A more modern chateau, built after the final expulsion of the invader22, adjoins the ancient structure, and in the centre of the vast enclosure, raised above the walls, stands a square house, in the Italian style, built in the time of Marie de Medici, and never yet completed. There are, also, gardens and shaded walks and vast stables, a chapel23, two crypts, and many crumbling remains inside the walls, that offered a passive resistance to the foe24 in olden time, and as successfully hold their own to-day against the prying25 eye of a democratic curiosity.
Above the stables, quite close to the gate, half a dozen rooms were in the occupation of the Marquis de Gemosac; but it was not to these that the Abbe Touvent directed his tremulous steps.
Instead, he went toward the square, isolated26 house, standing27 in the middle of that which had once been the great court, and was now half garden, half hayfield. The hay had been cut, and the scent28 of the new stack, standing against the walls of the oldest chateau and under its leaking roof, came warm and aromatic29 to mix with the breath of the evening primrose30 and rosemary clustering in disorder31 on the ill-defined borders. The grim walls, that had defended the Gemosacs against franker enemies in other days, served now to hide from the eyes of the villagers the fact—which must, however, have been known to them—that the Marquis de Gemosac, in gloves, kept this garden himself, and had made the hay with no other help than that of his old coachman and Marie, that capable, brown-faced bonne-a-tout-faire, who is assuredly the best man in France to-day.
In this clear, southern atmosphere the moon has twice the strength of that to which we are accustomed in mistier32 lands, and the Abbe looked about him with more confidence as he crossed the great court. There were frogs in a rainwater tank constructed many years ago, when some enterprising foe had been known to cut off the water-supply of a besieged33 chateau, and their friendly croak34 brought a sense of company and comfort to the Abbe's timid soul.
The door of the Italian house stood open, for the interior had never been completed, and only one apartment, a lofty banqueting-hall, had ever been furnished. Within the doorway12, the Abbe fumbled35 in the pocket of his soutane and rattled36 a box of matches. He carried a parcel in his hand, which he now unfolded, and laid out on the lid of a mouldy chest half a dozen candles. When he struck a match a flight of bats whirred out of the doorway, and the Abbe's breath whistled through his teeth.
He lighted two candles, and carrying them, alight, in one hand—not without dexterity37, for candles played an important part in his life—he went forward. The flickering38 light showed his face to be a fat one, kind enough, gleaming now with perspiration and fear, but shiny at other times with that Christian39 tolerance40 which makes men kind to their own failings. It was very dark within the house, for all the shutters41 were closed.
The Abbe lighted a third candle and fixed42 it, with a drop of its own wax, on the high mantel of the great banqueting-hall. There were four or five candlesticks on side-tables, and a candelabra stood in the centre of a long table, running the length of the room. In a few minutes the Abbe had illuminated43 the apartment, which smelt44 of dust and the days of a dead monarchy45. Above his head, the bats were describing complicated figures against a ceiling which had once been painted in the Italian style, to represent a trellis roof, with roses and vines entwined. Half a dozen portraits of men, in armour46 and wigs47, looked down from the walls. One or two of them were rotting from their frames, and dangled48 a despondent49 corner out into the room.
There were chairs round the table, set as if for a phantom50 banquet amid these mouldering51 environments, and their high carved backs threw fantastic shadows on the wall.
While the Abbe was still employed with the candles, he heard a heavy step and loud breathing in the hall without, where he had carefully left a light.
“Why did you not wait for me on the hill, malhonnete?” asked a thick voice, like the voice of a man, but the manner was the manner of a woman. “I am sure you must have heard me. One hears me like a locomotive, now that I have lost my slimness.”
She came into the room as she spoke52, unwinding a number of black, knitted shawls, in which she was enveloped53. There were so many of them, and of such different shape and texture54, that some confusion ensued. The Abbe ran to her assistance.
“But, Madame,” he cried, “how can you suspect me of such a crime? I came early to make these preparations. And as for hearing you—would to Heaven I had! For it needs courage to be a Royalist in these days—especially in the dark, by one's self.”
He seemed to know the shawls, for he disentangled them with skill and laid them aside, one by one.
The Comtesse de Chantonnay breathed a little more freely, but no friendly hand could disencumber her of the mountains of flesh, which must have weighed down any heart less buoyant and courageous.
“Ah, bah!” she cried, gaily55. “Who is afraid? What could they do to an old woman? Ah! you hold up your hands. That is kind of you. But I am no longer young, and there is my Albert—with those stupid whiskers. It is unfilial to wear whiskers, and I have told him so. And you—who could harm you—a priest? Besides, no one could be a priest, and not a Royalist, Abbe!”
“I know it, Madame, and that is why I am one. Have we been seen, Madame la Comtesse? The village was quiet, as you came through?”
“Quiet as my poor husband in his grave. Tell me, Abbe, now, honestly, am I thinner? I have deprived myself of coffee these two days.”
The Abbe walked gravely round her. It was quite an excursion.
“Who would have you different, Madame, to what you are?” he temporized56. “To be thin is so ungenerous. And Albert—where is he? You have not surely come alone?”
“Heaven forbid!—and I a widow!” replied Madame de Chantonnay, arranging, with a stout57 hand, the priceless lace on her dress. “Albert is coming. We brought a lantern, although it is a moon. It is better. Besides, it is always done by those who conspire58. And Albert had his great cloak, and he fell up a step in the courtyard and dropped the lantern, and lost it in the long grass. I left him looking for it, in the dark. He was not afraid, my brave Albert!”
“He has the dauntless heart of his mother,” murmured the Abbe, gracefully59, as he ran round the table setting the chairs in order. He had already offered the largest and strongest to the Comtesse, and it was creaking under her now, as she moved to set her dress in order.
“Assuredly,” she admitted, complacently60. “Has not France produced a Jeanne d'Arc and a Duchesse de Berri? It was not from his father, at all events, that he inherited his courage. For he was a poltroon61, that man. Yes, my dear Abbe, let us be honest, and look at life as it is. He was a poltroon, and I thought I loved him—for two or three days only, however. And I was a child then. I was beautiful.”
“Was?” echoed the Abbe, reproachfully.
“Silence, wicked one! And you a priest.”
“Even an ecclesiastic62, Madame, may have eyes,” he said, darkly, as he snuffed a candle and, subsequently, gave himself a mechanical thump63 on the chest, in the region of the heart.
“Then they should wear blinkers, like a horse,” said Madame, severely64, as if wearied by an admiration65 so universal that it palled66.
At this moment, Albert de Chantonnay entered the room. He was enveloped in a long black cloak, which he threw off his shoulders and cast over the back of a chair, not without an obvious appreciation67 of its possibilities of the picturesque68. He looked round the room with a mild eye, which refused to lend itself to mystery or a martial69 ruthlessness.
He was a young man with a very thin neck, and the whiskers, of which his mother made complaint, were scarcely visible by the light of the Abbe's candles.
He came forward to the table, with long, nervous strides. He was not exactly impressive, but his manner gave the assurance of a distinct earnestness of purpose. The majority of us are unfortunately situated71 toward the world, as regards personal appearance. Many could pass for great if their physical proportions were less mean. There are thousands of worthy72 and virtuous73 young men who never receive their due in social life because they have red hair or stand four-feet-six high, or happen to be the victim of an inefficient74 dentist. The world, it would seem, does not want virtue75 or solid worth. It prefers appearance to either. Albert de Chantonnay would, for instance, have carried twice the weight in Royalist councils if his neck had been thicker.
He nodded to the Abbe.
“I received your message,” he said, in the curt14 manner of the man whose life is in his hand, or is understood, in French theatrical76 circles, to be thus uncomfortably situated. “The letter?”
“It is here, Monsieur Albert,” replied the Abbe, who was commonplace, and could not see himself as he wished others to see him. There was only one Abbe Touvent, for morning or afternoon, for church or fete, for the chateau or the cottage. There were a dozen Albert de Chantonnays, fierce or tender, gay or sad, a poet or a soldier—a light persifleur, who had passed through the mill, and had emerged hard and shining, or a young man of soul, capable of high ideals. To-night, he was the politician—the conspirator—quick of eye, curt of speech.
He held out his hand for the letter.
“You are to read it, as Monsieur le Marquis instructs me, Monsieur Albert,” hazarded the Abbe, touching77 the breast pocket of his soutane, where Monsieur de Gemosac's letter lay hidden, “to those assembled.”
“But, surely, I am to read it to myself first,” was the retort; “or else how can I give it proper value?”
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1
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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3
ramp
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| n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速 | |
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chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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serenely
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| adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地 | |
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7
philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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8
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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11
vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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14
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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15
ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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17
quarried
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| v.从采石场采得( quarry的过去式和过去分词 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石 | |
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18
tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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19
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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20
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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21
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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invader
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| n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者 | |
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23
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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24
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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25
prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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26
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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28
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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29
aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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primrose
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| n.樱草，最佳部分， | |
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31
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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32
mistier
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| misty（多雾的，被雾笼罩的）的比较级形式 | |
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33
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
croak
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| vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚 | |
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35
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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36
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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37
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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38
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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39
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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40
tolerance
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| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
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41
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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42
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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43
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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44
smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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45
monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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46
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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47
wigs
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| n.假发，法官帽( wig的名词复数 ) | |
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48
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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49
despondent
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| adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的 | |
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50
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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51
mouldering
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| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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52
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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53
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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55
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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56
temporized
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| v.敷衍( temporize的过去式和过去分词 )；拖延；顺应时势；暂时同意 | |
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58
conspire
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| v.密谋，（事件等）巧合，共同导致 | |
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59
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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60
complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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61
poltroon
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| n.胆怯者；懦夫 | |
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62
ecclesiastic
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| n.教士，基督教会；adj.神职者的，牧师的，教会的 | |
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63
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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64
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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65
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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66
palled
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| v.（因过多或过久而）生厌，感到乏味，厌烦( pall的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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68
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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69
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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70
tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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71
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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72
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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73
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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74
inefficient
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| adj.效率低的，无效的 | |
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75
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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76
theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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77
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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