Chapter 27

 The kind-hearted bookbinder harassed¹ his son with no reproaches.

After dinner he went and sat at his shop-door, and looked at thefirst star that peeped out in the evening sky.

"My boy," said he, "I am not a man of learning like you; butI have a notion--and you must not rob me of it, because it isa comfort to me--that, when I have finished binding² books, Ishall go to that star. The idea occurred to me from what I haveread in the paper that the stars are all worlds. What is thatstar called?""Venus, father.""In my part of the world, they say it is the shepherd's star.

It's a beautiful star, and I think your mother is there. Thatis why I should like to go there."The old man passed his knotted fingers across his brow, murmuring:

"God forgive me, how one forgets those who are gone!"Jean sought balm for his wounded spirit in reading poetry and inlong, dreamy walks. His head was filled with visions--a welter ofsublime imaginings, in which floated such figures as Ophelia andCassandra, Gretchen, Delia, Ph?dra, Manon Lescaut, and Virginia,and hovering⁴ amid these, shadows still nameless, still almostformless, and yet full of seduction! Holding bowls and daggersand trailing long veils, they came and went, faded and grew vividwith colour. And Jean could hear them calling to him; "If everwe win to life, it will be through you. And what a bliss⁵ it willbe for you, Jean Servien, to have created us. How you will loveus!" And Jean Servien would answer them; "Come back, come back,or rather do not leave me. But I cannot tell how to make youvisible; you vanish away when I gaze at you, and I cannot netyou in the meshes⁶ of beautiful verse!"Again and again he tried to write poems, tragedies, romances;but his indolence, his lack of ideas, his fastidiousness broughthim to a standstill before half a dozen lines were written, andhe would toss the all but virgin³ page into the fire. Quicklydiscouraged, he turned his attention to politics. The funeralof Victor Noir, the Belleville risings, the _plébiscite_, filledhis thoughts; he read the papers, joined the groups that gatheredon the boulevards, followed the yelping⁷ pack of white blouses,and was one of the crowd that hooted⁸ the Commissary of Police ashe read the Riot Act. Disorder⁹ and uproar¹⁰ intoxicated¹¹ him; hisheart beat as if it would burst his bosom¹², his enthusiasm roseto fever pitch, amid these stupid exhibitions of mob violence.

Then to end up, after tramping the streets with other gaping¹³ idlerstill late at night, he would make his way back, with weary limbsand aching ribs¹⁴, his head whirling confusedly with bombast¹⁵ andloud talk, through the sleeping city to the Faubourg Saint-Germain.

There, as he strode past some aristocratic mansion¹⁶ and saw thescutcheon blazoned¹⁷ on its fa?ade and the two lions lying whitein the moonlight on guard before its closed portal, he wouldcast a look of hatred¹⁸ at the building. Presently, as he resumedhis march, he would picture himself standing¹⁹, musket²⁰ in hand, ona barricade²¹, in the smoke of insurrection, along with workmenand young fellows from the schools, as we see it all representedin lithographs²².

One day in July, he saw a troop of white blouses moving alongthe boulevard and shouting: "To Berlin!" Ragamuffin street-boysran yelping round. Respectable citizens lined the sidewalks,staring in wonder, and saying nothing; but one of them, a stout,tall, red-faced man, waved his hat and shouted:

"To Berlin! long live the Emperor!"Jean recognized Monsieur Bargemont.

1 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

2 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

3 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。

4 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

5 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

6 meshes   

网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境

参考例句：

• The net of Heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through. 天网恢恢，疏而不漏。
• This net has half-inch meshes. 这个网有半英寸见方的网孔。

7 yelping   

v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In the middle of the table sat a little dog, shaking its paw and yelping. 在桌子中间有一只小狗坐在那儿，抖着它的爪子，汪汪地叫。 来自辞典例句
• He saved men from drowning and you shake at a cur's yelping. 他搭救了快要溺死的人们，你呢，听到一条野狗叫唤也瑟瑟发抖。 来自互联网

8 hooted   

（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• An owl hooted nearby. 一只猫头鹰在附近啼叫。
• The crowd hooted and jeered at the speaker. 群众向那演讲人发出轻蔑的叫嚣和嘲笑。

9 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

10 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

11 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

12 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。

13 gaping   

adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

15 bombast   

n.高调，夸大之辞

参考例句：

• There was no bombast or conceit in his speech.他的演讲并没有夸大其词和自吹自擂。
• Yasha realized that Wolsky's bombast was unnecessary.雅夏看出沃尔斯基是在无中生有地吹嘘。

16 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

17 blazoned   

v.广布( blazon的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布；夸示；装饰

参考例句：

• The villages were blazoned with autumnal color. 山谷到处点缀着秋色。 来自辞典例句
• The "National Enquirer" blazoned forth that we astronomers had really discovered another civilization. 《国民询问者》甚至宣称，我们天文学家已真正发现了其它星球上的文明。 来自辞典例句

18 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

19 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。

20 musket   

n.滑膛枪

参考例句：

• I hunted with a musket two years ago.两年前我用滑膛枪打猎。
• So some seconds passed,till suddenly Joyce whipped up his musket and fired.又过了几秒钟，突然，乔伊斯端起枪来开了火。

21 barricade   

n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住

参考例句：

• The soldiers make a barricade across the road.士兵在路上设路障。
• It is difficult to break through a steel barricade.冲破钢铁障碍很难。

22 lithographs   

n.平版印刷品( lithograph的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The etchings, drypoints, lithographs, and engravings together formed his graphic work. 蚀刻画、铜版画、平版画以及雕刻构成了他书画刻印的作品。 来自互联网
• These historic works of art will be released as limited editions of signed lithographs. 这些艺术历史作品是以有限的单一的平版版本发行。 来自互联网