Ever since he had sat on the juror's bench, he had been eagerly watching, among the crowd of culprits who appeared before him, for élodie's seducer3; of this man he had elaborated in his busy fancy a portrait, some details of which were accurate. He pictured him as young, handsome, haughty4, and felt convinced he had fled to England. He thought he had discovered him in a young émigré named Maubel, who, having come back to France and been denounced by his host, had been arrested in an inn at Passy; Fouquier-Tinville was in charge of the prosecution5,—among a thousand others. Letters had been found on him which the accusation6 regarded as proofs of a plot concocted7 between Maubel and the agents of Pitt, but which were in fact only letters written to the émigré by a banking-house in London which he had entrusted8 with certain funds. Maubel, who was young and good-looking, seemed to be mainly occupied in affairs of gallantry. His pocket-book afforded a clue to some correspondence with Spain, then at war with France; but these communications were really of a purely9 private nature, and if the court of preliminary enquiry did not ignore the bill, it was only in virtue10 of the maxim11 that justice should never be in too great a hurry to release a prisoner.
Gamelin was handed a report of Maubel's first semi-private examination and he was struck by what it revealed of the young man's character, which he took to agree with what he believed to be that of élodie's betrayer. Thereafter he spent long hours in the private room of the Clerk of the Court, poring eagerly over the papers relating to this case. His suspicion received a remarkable12 confirmation13 on his discovering in a note-book belonging to the émigré, but long out of date, the address of the Amour peintre, in company, it is true, with those of the Green Monkey, the Dauphin's Head, and several more print and picture shops. But when he was informed that in this same note-book had been found three or four petals14 of a red carnation15 carefully wrapped in a piece of silk paper, remembering how the red carnation was élodie's favourite flower, the one she cultivated on her window-sill, wore in her hair and used to give (he had reason to know) as a love-token, évariste's last doubts vanished. Being now convinced he knew the facts, he resolved to question élodie, though without letting her know the circumstances that had led him to discover the culprit.
As he was climbing the stairs to his lodgings17, he perceived even on the lower landings a stifling18 smell of fruit, and on reaching the studio, found élodie helping19 the citoyenne Gamelin to make quince preserve. While the old housewife was kindling20 the stove and turning over in her mind ways of saving the fuel and moist sugar without prejudicing the quality of the preserves, the citoyenne Blaise, seated in a straw-bottomed chair, with an apron21 of brown holland and her lap full of the golden fruit, was peeling the quinces, quartering and throwing them into a shallow copper22 basin. The strings23 of her coif were thrown back over her shoulders, the meshes24 of her black hair coiled above her moist forehead; from her whole person breathed a domestic charm and an intimate grace that induced gentle thoughts and voluptuous25 dreams of tranquil26 pleasures.
Without stirring from her seat, she lifted her beautiful eyes, that gleamed like molten gold, to her lover's face, and said:
"See, évariste, we are working for you. We mean you to have a store of delicious quince jelly to last you the winter; it will settle your stomach and make your heart merry."
But Gamelin, stepping nearer, uttered a name in her ear:
"Jacques Maubel...."
At that moment Combalot the cobbler showed his red nose at the half-open door. He had brought, along with some pairs of shoes he had re-heeled, the bill for the repairs.
For fear of being taken for a bad citizen, he made a point of using the new calendar. The citoyenne Gamelin, who liked to see clearly what was what in her accounts, was all astray among the Fructidors and Vendémiaires. She heaved a sigh.
"Jesus!" she complained, "they want to alter everything,—days, months, seasons of the year, the sun and the moon! Lord God, Monsieur Combalot, what ever is this pair of over-shoes down for the 8 Vendémiaire?"
"Citoyenne, just cast your eye over your almanac, and you'll get the hang of it."
She took it down from the wall, glanced at it and immediately turning her head another way.
"Not only that, citoyenne," said the cobbler, "but now we have only three Sundays in the month instead of four. And that's not all; we shall soon have to change our ways of reckoning. There will be no more farthings and half-farthings, everything will be regulated by distilled28 water."
At the words the citoyenne Gamelin, whose lips were trembling, threw up her eyes to the ceiling and sighed out:
"They are going too far!"
And, while she was lost in lamentations, looking like the holy women in a wayside calvary, a bad coal that had caught alight in the fire when her attention was diverted, began to fill the studio with a poisonous smother29 which, added to the stifling smell of quinces, was like to make the air unbreathable.
élodie complained that her throat was tickling30 her and begged to have the window opened. But, directly the citoyen Combalot had taken his leave and the citoyenne Gamelin had gone back to her stove, évariste repeated the same name in the girl's ear:
"Jacques Maubel," he reiterated31.
She looked up at him in some surprise, and very quietly, still going on cutting a quince in quarters:
"Well!... Jacques Maubel...?"
"He is the man."
"The man! what man?"
"You once gave him a red carnation."
She declared she did not understand and asked him to explain himself.
"That aristocrat32! that émigré! that scoundrel!"
She shrugged33 her shoulders, and denied with the most natural air that she had never known a Jacques Maubel.
It was true; she had never known anyone of the name.
She denied she had ever given red carnations34 to anybody but évariste; but perhaps, on this point, her memory was not very good.
He had little experience of women and was far from having fully16 fathomed35 élodie's character; still, he deemed her quite capable of cajoling and deceiving a cleverer man than himself.
"Why deny?" he asked. "I know all."
Again she asseverated36 she had never known anybody called Maubel. And, having done peeling the quinces, she asked for a basin of water, because her fingers were sticky. This Gamelin brought her, and, as she washed her hands, she repeated her denials.
Again he repeated that he knew, and this time she made no reply.
She did not guess the object of her lover's question and she was a thousand miles from suspecting that this Maubel, whom she had never heard spoken of before, was to appear before the Revolutionary Tribunal; she could make nothing of the suspicions with which she was assailed38, but she knew them to be unfounded. For this reason, having very little hope of dissipating them, she had very little wish to do so either. She ceased to deny having known Maubel, preferring to leave her jealous lover to go astray on a false trail, when from one moment to the next, the smallest incident might start him on the right road. Her little lawyer's clerk of former days, now grown into a patriot39 dragoon and lady-killer, had quarrelled by now with his aristocratic mistress. Whenever he met élodie in the street, he would gaze at her with a glance that seemed to say:
"Come, my beauty! I feel sure I am going to forgive you for having betrayed you, and I am really quite ready to take you back into favour." She made no further attempt therefore to cure what she called her lover's crotchets, and Gamelin remained firm in the conviction that Jacques Maubel was élodie's seducer.
Through the days that ensued the Tribunal devoted40 its undivided attention to the task of crushing Federalism, which, like a hydra41, had threatened to devour42 Liberty. They were busy days; and the jurors, worn out with fatigue43, despatched with the utmost possible expedition the case of the woman Roland, instigator44 and accomplice45 of the crimes of the Brissotin faction46.
Meantime Gamelin spent every morning at the Courts to press on Maubel's trial. Some important pieces of evidence were to be found at Bordeaux; he insisted on a Commissioner47 being sent to ride post to fetch them. They arrived at last. The deputy of the Public Prosecutor48 read them, pulled a face and told évariste:
"It is not good for much, your new evidence! there is nothing in it! mere49 fiddle-faddle.... If only it was certain that this ci-devant Comte de Maubel ever really emigrated...!"
In the end Gamelin succeeded. Young Maubel was served with his act of accusation and brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal on the 19 Brumaire.
From the first opening of the sitting the President showed the gloomy and dreadful face he took care to assume for the hearing of cases where the evidence was weak. The Deputy Prosecutor stroked his chin with the feather of his pen and affected50 the serenity51 of a conscience at ease. The Clerk read the act of accusation; it was the hollowest sham52 the Court had ever heard so far.
The President asked the accused if he had not been aware of the laws passed against the émigrés.
"I was aware of them and I observed them," answered Maubel, "and I left France provided with passports in proper form."
As to the reasons for his journey to England and his return to France he had satisfactory explanations to offer. His face was pleasant, with a look of frankness and confidence that was agreeable. The women in the galleries looked at the young man with a favourable53 eye. The prosecution maintained that he had made a stay in Spain at the time that Nation was at war with France; he averred54 he had never left Bayonne at that period. One point alone remained obscure. Among the papers he had thrown in the fire at the time of his arrest, and of which only fragments had been found, some words in Spanish had been deciphered and the name of "Nieves."
On this subject Jacques Maubel refused to give the explanations demanded; and, when the President told him that it was in the accused's own interest to clear up the point, he answered that a man ought not always to do what his own interest requires.
Gamelin only thought of convicting Maubel of a crime; three times over he pressed the President to ask the accused if he could explain about the carnation the dried petals of which he hoarded55 so carefully in his pocket-book.
Maubel replied that he did not consider himself obliged to answer a question that had no concern with the case at law, as no letter had been found concealed56 in the flower.
The jury retired57 to the hall of deliberations, favourably58 impressed towards the young man whose mysterious conduct appeared chiefly connected with a lover's secrets. This time the good patriots59, the purest of the pure themselves, would gladly have voted for acquittal. One of them, a ci-devant noble, who had given pledges to the Revolution, said:
"Is it his birth they bring up against him? I, too, I have had the misfortune to be born in the aristocracy."
"Yes, but you have left them," retorted Gamelin, "and he has not."
And he spoke37 with such vehemence60 against this conspirator61, this emissary of Pitt, this accomplice of Coburg, who had climbed the mountains and sailed the seas to stir up enemies to Liberty, he demanded the traitor's condemnation62 in such burning words, that he awoke the never-resting suspicions, the old stern temper of the patriot jury.
"There are services that cannot well be refused between colleagues."
The verdict of death was recorded by a majority of one.
The condemned64 man heard his sentence with a quiet smile. His eyes, which had been gazing unconcernedly about the hall, as they fell on Gamelin's face, took on an expression of unspeakable contempt.
No one applauded the decision of the court.
Jacques Maubel was taken back to the Conciergerie; here he wrote a letter while he waited the hour of execution, which was to take place the same evening, by torchlight:
My dear sister,—The tribunal sends me to the scaffold, affording me the only joy I have been able to appreciate since the death of my adored Nieves. They have taken from me the only relic65 I had left of her, a pomegranate flower, which they called, I cannot tell why, a carnation.
I loved the arts; at Paris, in happier times, I made a collection of paintings and engravings, which are now in a sure place, and which will be delivered to you so soon as this is possible. I pray you, dear sister, to keep them in memory of me.
He cut a lock of his hair, enclosed it in the letter, which he folded and wrote outside:
To the citoyenne Clémence Dezeimeries, née Maubel,
La Réole.
He gave all the silver he had on him to the turnkey, begging him to forward this letter to its destination, asked for a bottle of wine, which he drank in little sips66 while waiting for the cart....
After supper Gamelin ran to the Amour Peintre and burst into the blue chamber67 where every night élodie was waiting for him.
"You are avenged," he told her. "Jacques Maubel is no more. The cart that took him to his death has just passed beneath your window, escorted by torch-bearers."
She understood:
"Wretch68! it is you have killed him, and he was not my lover. I did not know him.... I have never seen him.... What was this man? He was young, amiable69 ... innocent. And you have killed him, wretch! wretch!"
She fell in a faint. But, amid the shadows of this momentary70 death, she felt herself overborne by a flood at once of horror and voluptuous ecstasy71. She half revived; her heavy lids lifted to show the whites of the eyes, her bosom72 swelled73, her hands beat the air, seeking for her lover. She pressed him to her in a strangling embrace, drove her nails into the flesh, and gave him with her bleeding lips, without a word, without a sound, the longest, the most agonized74, the most delicious of kisses.
She loved him with all her flesh, and the more terrible, cruel, atrocious she thought him, the more she saw him reeking75 with the blood of his victims, the more consuming was her hunger and thirst for him.
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1
holocaust
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| n.大破坏；大屠杀 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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seducer
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| n.诱惑者,骗子,玩弄女性的人 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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concocted
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| v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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carnation
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| n.康乃馨（一种花） | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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meshes
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| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
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voluptuous
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| adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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28
distilled
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| adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华 | |
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29
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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tickling
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| 反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法 | |
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reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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aristocrat
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| n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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carnations
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| n.麝香石竹，康乃馨( carnation的名词复数 ) | |
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35
fathomed
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| 理解…的真意( fathom的过去式和过去分词 )； 彻底了解； 弄清真相 | |
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asseverated
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| v.郑重声明，断言( asseverate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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hydra
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| n.水螅；难于根除的祸患 | |
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devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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instigator
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| n.煽动者 | |
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accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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prosecutor
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| n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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54
averred
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| v.断言( aver的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出 | |
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hoarded
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| v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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57
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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58
favourably
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| adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably | |
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patriots
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| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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60
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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61
conspirator
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| n.阴谋者，谋叛者 | |
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condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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cynically
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| adv.爱嘲笑地，冷笑地 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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66
sips
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| n.小口喝，一小口的量( sip的名词复数 )v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的第三人称单数 ) | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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71
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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72
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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agonized
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| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
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reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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