Chapter 1

 Jean Servien was born in a back-shop in the _Rue Notre-Damedes Champs_. His father was a bookbinder and worked for theReligious Houses. Jean was a little weakling child, and his mothernursed him at her breast as she sewed the books, sheet by sheet,with the curved needle of the trade. One day as she was crossingthe shop, humming a song, in the words of which she found expressionfor the vague, splendid visions of her maternal¹ ambition, herfoot slipped on the boards, which were moist with paste.

Instinctively² she threw up her arm to guard the child she heldclasped to her bosom³, and struck her breast, thus exposed, asevere blow against the corner of the iron press. She felt novery acute pain at the time, but later on an abscess formed,which got well, but presently reopened, and a low fever supervenedthat confined her to her bed.

There, in the long, long evenings, she would fold her littleone in her one sound arm and croon over him in a hot, feverishwhisper bits of her favourite ditty:

  The fisherman, when dawn is nigh,  Peers forth⁴ to greet the kindling⁵ sky....

Above all, she loved the refrain that recurred⁶ at the end ofeach verse with only the change of a word. It was her littleJean's lullaby, who became, at the caprice of the words, turnand turn about, General, Lawyer, and ministrant at the altarin her fond hopes.

A woman of the people, knowing nothing of the circumstances offashionable life, save from a few peeps at their outward pompand the vague tales of _concierges_, footmen, and cooks, shepictured her boy at twenty more beautiful than an archangel,his breast glittering with decorations, in a drawing-room fullof flowers, amid a bevy⁷ of fashionable ladies with manners everywhit as genteel as had the actresses at the _Gymnase_:

  _But for the nonce, on mother's breast,  Sweet wee gallant⁸, take thy rest._Presently the vision changed; now her boy was standing⁹ up gownedin Court, by his eloquence¹⁰ saving the life and honour of someillustrious client:

  _But for the nonce, on mother's breast,  Sweet wee pleader, take thy rest._Presently again he was an officer under fire, in a brilliantuniform, on a prancing¹¹ charger, victorious¹² in battle, like thegreat Generals whose portraits she had seen one Sunday at Versailles:

  _But for the nonce, on mother's breast,  Sweet wee general, take thy rest._But when night was creeping into the room, a new picture woulddazzle her eyes, a picture this of other and incomparably greaterglories.

Proud in her motherhood, yet humble¹³ too at heart, she was gazingfrom the dim recesses¹⁴ of a sanctuary¹⁵ at her son, her Jean, cladin sacerdotal vestments, lifting the monstrance in the vaultedchoir censed by the beating wings of half-seen Cherubim. And shewould tremble awestruck as if she were the mother of a god, thispoor sick work-woman whose puling child lay beside her droopingin the poisoned air of a back-shop:

  _But for the nonce, on mother's breast,  My sweet boy-bishop, take thy rest._One evening, as her husband handed her a cooling drink, she saidto him in a tone of regret:

"Why did you disturb me? I could see the Holy Virgin¹⁶ among flowersand precious stones and lights. It was so beautiful! so beautiful!"She said she was no longer in pain, that she wished her Jean tolearn Latin. And she passed away.

1 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

2 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

4 forth   

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。

5 kindling   

n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There were neat piles of kindling wood against the wall. 墙边整齐地放着几堆引火柴。
• "Coal and kindling all in the shed in the backyard." “煤，劈柴，都在后院小屋里。” 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

6 recurred   

再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈

参考例句：

• Old memories constantly recurred to him. 往事经常浮现在他的脑海里。
• She always winced when he recurred to the subject of his poems. 每逢他一提到他的诗作的时候，她总是有点畏缩。

7 bevy   

n.一群

参考例句：

• A bevy of bathing beauties appeared on the beach.沙滩上出现了一群游泳的美女。
• Look,there comes a bevy of ladies.看，一群女人来了。

8 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 eloquence   

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。

11 prancing   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lead singer was prancing around with the microphone. 首席歌手手执麦克风，神气地走来走去。
• The King lifted Gretel on to his prancing horse and they rode to his palace. 国王把格雷特尔扶上腾跃着的马，他们骑马向天宫走去。 来自辞典例句

12 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

13 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

14 recesses   

n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭

参考例句：

• I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

16 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。