Chapter 33

 Two days after a cab with a musket¹ barrel protruding² from eitherwindow stopped before the bookbinder's shop. The two NationalGuards who stumbled out of it demanded to see the citizen JeanServien, handed him a sealed packet and signed to him to openthe door wide and wait for them. Next minute they reappearedcarrying a full-length portrait.

It represented a woman of forty or thereabouts, with a yellowface, very long and disproportionately large for the frail³, sicklybody it surmounted⁴, and dressed in an unpretending black gown.

She wore a sad, submissive look. Her grey eyes bespoke⁵ a contriteand fearful heart, the cheeks were pendulous⁶ and the loose chinalmost touched the bosom⁷. Jean scrutinized⁸ the poor, pitifulface, but could recall no memory in connection with it. He openedthe letter and read:

  "_Commune of Paris--General Staff_.

  "Order to deliver to the citizen Jean Servien  the portrait of Madame Bargemont.

  "Tudesco.

  "Colonel commanding the Subterranean⁹  Ways of the Commune."Jean wanted to ask the National Guards what it all meant, butalready the cab was driving off, bayonets protruding from bothwindows. The passers-by, who had long ceased to be surprised atanything, cast a momentary¹⁰ glance after the retreating vehicle.

Jean, left alone with Madame Bargemont's portrait before him,began to ask himself why his disconcerting friend Tudesco hadsent it to him.

"The wretch," he told himself, "must have arrested Bargemont andsacked his apartments."Meantime Madame Bargemont was gazing at him with a martyr's hauntingeyes. She looked so unhappy that Jean was filled with pity.

"Poor woman!" he ejaculated, and turning the canvas face to thewall, he left the house.

Presently the bookbinder returned to his work and, though anythingbut an inquisitive¹¹ man, was tempted¹² to look at this big picturethat blocked up his shop. He scratched his head, wondering ifthis could be the actress his son was in love with. He opined shemust be mightily¹³ taken with the young man to send him so largea portrait in so handsome a frame. He could not see anything tocapture a lover's fancy.

"At any rate," he thought, "she does not look like a bad woman."

1 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。

2 protruding   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸

参考例句：

• He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
• There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句

3 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

4 surmounted   

战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上

参考例句：

• She was well aware of the difficulties that had to be surmounted. 她很清楚必须克服哪些困难。
• I think most of these obstacles can be surmounted. 我认为这些障碍大多数都是可以克服的。

5 bespoke   

adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求

参考例句：

• His style of dressing bespoke great self-confidence. 他的衣着风格显得十分自信。
• The haberdasher presented a cap, saying,"Here is the cap your worship bespoke." 帽匠拿出一顶帽子来说：“这就是老爷您定做的那顶。” 来自辞典例句

6 pendulous   

adj.下垂的；摆动的

参考例句：

• The oriole builds a pendulous nest.金莺鸟筑一个悬垂的巢。
• Her lip grew pendulous as she aged.由于老迈，她的嘴唇往下坠了。

7 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。

8 scrutinized   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

9 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

10 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

11 inquisitive   

adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的

参考例句：

• Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
• A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。

12 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

13 mightily   

ad.强烈地；非常地

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。