In a hunchback's cracked voice the citoyen Beauvisage begged the delegates to seat themselves and put himself entirely2 at their service.
Guénot then asked him if he knew a ci-devant Monsieur des Ilettes, residing near the Pont-Neuf.
"It is an individual," he added, "whose arrest I am instructed to effect,"—and he exhibited the order from the Committee of General Security.
Beauvisage, after racking his memory for a while, replied that he knew no individual of that name, that the suspect in question might not be an inhabitant of his Section, certain portions of the Sections du Muséum, de l'Unité, de Marat-et-Marseille being likewise in the near neighbourhood of the Pont-Neuf; that, if he did live in the Section, it must be under another name than that borne on the Committee's order; that, nevertheless, it would not be long before they laid hands on him.
"Let's lose no time," urged Guénot. "Our vigilance was aroused in this case by a letter from one of the man's accomplices3 that was intercepted4 and put into the hands of the Committee a fortnight ago, but which the citoyen Lacroix took action upon only yesterday evening. We are overdone5 with business; denunciations flow in from every quarter in such abundance one does not know which to attend to."
"Denunciations," replied Beauvisage proudly, "are coming in freely, too, to the Committee of Vigilance of our Section. Some make these revelations out of patriotism6, others lured7 by the bait of a bank-bill for a hundred sols. Many children denounce their parents, whose property they covet8."
"This letter," resumed Guénot, "emanates9 from a ci-devant called Rochemaure, a woman of gallantry, at whose house they played biribi, and is addressed to one citoyen Rauline; but is really for an émigré in the service of Pitt. I have brought it with me to communicate to you the portion relating to this man des Ilettes."
He drew the letter from his pocket.
"It begins with copious10 details as to those members of the Convention who might, according to the woman's tale, be gained over by the offer of a sum of money or the promise of a well-paid post under a new Government, more stable than the present. Then comes the following passage:
"I have just returned from a visit to Monsieur des Ilettes, who lives near the Pont-Neuf in a garret where you must be either a cat or an imp11 to get at him; he is reduced to earning a living by making punch-and-judies. He is a man of judgment12, for which reason I report to you, sir, the main gist13 of his conversation. He does not believe that the existing state of things will last long. Nor does he foresee its being ended by the victory of the coalition14, and events appear to justify15 his opinion; for, as you are aware, sir, for some time past tidings from the front have been bad. He would rather seem to believe in the revolt of the poor and the women of the humbler classes, who remain still deeply attached to their religion. He holds that the widespread alarm caused by the Revolutionary Tribunal will soon reunite all France against the Jacobins. 'This tribunal,' he said, in his joking way, 'which sentences the Queen of France and a bread-hawker, is like that William Shakespeare the English admire so much, etc....' He thinks it not impossible that Robespierre may marry Madame Royale and have himself named Protector of the Kingdom.
"I should be grateful to you, sir, if you would transmit me the amount owing to me, that is to say one thousand pounds sterling17, by the channel you are in the habit of using; but whatever you do, do not write to Monsieur Morhardt; he has lately been arrested, thrown into prison, etc., etc...."
"This worthy18 des Ilettes makes dancing-dolls, it appears," observed Beauvisage, "that is a valuable clue ... though certainly there are many petty trades of the sort carried on in the Section."
"That reminds me," said Delourmel, "I promised to bring home a doll for my little girl Nathalie, my youngest, who is ill with scarlatina. The fever is not a dangerous one, but it demands careful nursing, and Nathalie, a very forward child for her age, and with a very active brain, has but delicate health."
"I," remarked Guénot, "I have only a boy. He plays hoop19 with barrel-hoops and makes little montgolfier balloons by inflating20 paper bags."
"Very often," Beauvisage put in his word, "it is with articles that are not toys at all that children like best to play. My nephew émile, a little chap of seven, a very intelligent child, amuses himself all day long with little wooden bricks with which he builds houses.... Do you snuff, citoyens?"—and Beauvisage held out his open snuff-box to the two delegates.
"Now we must set about nabbing our rascal," said Delourmel, who had long moustaches and great eyes that rolled in his head. "I feel quite in the mood this morning for a dish of aristocrat's lights and liver, washed down with a glass of white wine."
Beauvisage suggested to the delegates going to the Place Dauphine to see if his colleague Dupont senior was at his shop there; he would be sure to know this man, des Ilettes.
So they set off in the keen morning air, accompanied by four grenadiers of the Section.
"Have you seen 'The Last Judgment of Kings' played?" Delourmel asked his companions; "the piece is worth seeing. The author shows you all the Kings of Europe on a desert island where they have taken refuge, at the foot of a volcano which swallows them up. It is a patriotic22 work."
At the corner of the Rue23 du Harlay Delourmel's eye was caught by a little cart, as brilliantly painted as a reliquary, which an old woman was pushing, wearing over her coif a hat of waxed cloth.
"What is that old woman selling?" he asked.
"Look, gentlemen, make your choice. I have beads24 and rosaries, crosses, St. Anthonys, holy cerecloths, St. Veronica handkerchiefs, Ecce homos, Agnus Deis, hunting-horns and rings of St. Hubert, and articles of devotion of every sort and kind."
"Why, it is the very arsenal25 of fanaticism26!" cried Delourmel in horror,—and he proceeded to a summary examination of the poor woman, who made the same answer to every question:
"My son, it's forty years I have been selling articles of devotion."
Another Delegate of the Committee of General Security, noticing a blue-coated National Guard passing, directed him to convey the astonished old woman to the Conciergerie.
The citoyen Beauvisage pointed27 out to Delourmel that it would have been more in the competence28 of the Committee of Surveillance to arrest the woman and bring her before the Section; that in any case, one never knew nowadays what attitude to take up towards the old religion so as to act up to the views of the Government, and whether it was best to allow everything or forbid everything.
On nearing the joiner's shop, the delegates and the commissary could hear angry shouts mingling29 with the hissing30 of the saw and the grinding of the plane. A quarrel had broken out between the joiner, Dupont senior, and his neighbour Remacle, the porter, because of the citoyenne Remacle, whom an irresistible31 attraction was for ever drawing into the recesses32 of the workshop, whence she would return to the porter's lodge33 all covered with shavings and saw-dust. The injured porter bestowed34 a kick on Mouton, the carpenter's dog, which at that very moment his own little daughter Joséphine was nursing lovingly in her arms. Joséphine was furious and burst into a torrent35 of imprecations against her father, while the carpenter shouted in a voice of exasperation36:
"And I," retorted the porter brandishing38 his broom, "I tell you you shall not...."
He did not finish the sentence; the joiner's plane had hurtled close past his head.
The instant he caught sight of the citoyen Beauvisage and the attendant delegates, he rushed up to him and cried:
The citoyen Beauvisage, in his red cap, the badge of his office, put out his long arms in the attitude of a peacemaker, and addressing the porter and the joiner:
"A hundred sols," he announced, "to whichever of you will inform us where to find a suspect, wanted by the Committee of General Security, a ci-devant named des Ilettes, a maker40 of dancing-dolls."
With one accord porter and carpenter designated Brotteaux's lodging41, the only quarrel now between them being who should have the assignat for a hundred sols promised the informer.
Delourmel, Guénot, and Beauvisage, followed by the four grenadiers, Remacle the porter, Dupont the carpenter, and a dozen little scamps of the neighbourhood filed up the stairs which shook under their tread, and finally mounted the ladder to the attics42.
Brotteaux was in his garret busy cutting out his dancing figures, while the Père Longuemare sat facing him, stringing their scattered43 limbs on threads, smiling to himself to see rhythm and harmony thus growing under his fingers.
At the sound of muskets44 being grounded on the landing, the monk45 trembled in every limb, not that he was a whit21 less courageous46 than Brotteaux, who never moved a muscle, but the habit of respect for human conventions had never disciplined him to assume an attitude of self-composure. Brotteaux gathered from the citoyen Delourmel's questions the quarter from which the blow had come and saw too late how unwise it is to confide47 in women. He obeyed the citoyen Commissary's order to go with him, first picking up his Lucretius and his three shirts.
"The citoyen," he said, pointing to the Père Longuemare, "is an assistant I have taken to help me make my marionettes. His home is here."
But the monk failing to produce a certificate of citizenship48, was put under arrest along with Brotteaux.
As the procession filed past the porter's door, the citoyenne Remacle, leaning on her broom, looked at her lodger49 with the eyes of virtue50 beholding51 crime in the clutches of the law. Little Joséphine, dainty and disdainful, held back Mouton by his collar when the dog tried to fawn52 on the friend who had often given him a lump of sugar. A gaping53 crowd filled the Place de Thionville.
At the foot of the stairs Brotteaux came face to face with a young peasant woman who was on the point of going up. She carried a basket on her arm full of eggs and in her hand a flat cake wrapped in a napkin. It was Athena?s, who had come from Palaiseau to present her saviour54 with a token of her gratitude55. When she observed a posse of magistrates56 and four grenadiers and "Monsieur Maurice" being led away a prisoner, she stopped in consternation57 and asked if it was really true; then she stepped up to the Commissary and said in a gentle voice:
"You are not taking him to prison? it can't be possible.... Why! you don't know him! God himself is not better or kinder."
The citoyen Delourmel pushed her away and beckoned58 to the grenadiers to come forward. Then Athena?s let loose a torrent of the foulest59 abuse, the filthiest60 and most abominable61 invective62, at the magistrates and soldiers, who thought that all the rinsings of the Palais-Royal and the Rue Fromenteau were being emptied over their devoted63 heads. After which, in a voice that filled the whole Place de Thionville and sent a shudder64 through the throng65 of curious onlookers66:
"Vive le roi! Vive le roi!" she yelled.
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1
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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intercepted
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| 拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻 | |
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5
overdone
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| v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度 | |
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patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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covet
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| vt.垂涎；贪图(尤指属于他人的东西) | |
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emanates
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| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的第三人称单数 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
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copious
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| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
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imp
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| n.顽童 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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gist
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| n.要旨；梗概 | |
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coalition
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| n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合 | |
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justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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16
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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18
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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hoop
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| n.（篮球）篮圈，篮 | |
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20
inflating
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| v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨 | |
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21
whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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24
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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25
arsenal
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| n.兵工厂，军械库 | |
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fanaticism
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| n.狂热，盲信 | |
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27
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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competence
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| n.能力，胜任，称职 | |
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mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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30
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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32
recesses
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| 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 | |
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33
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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34
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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36
exasperation
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| n.愤慨 | |
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37
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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38
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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39
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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40
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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41
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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42
attics
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| n. 阁楼 | |
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43
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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44
muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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45
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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46
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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47
confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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48
citizenship
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| n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份) | |
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49
lodger
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| n.寄宿人，房客 | |
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50
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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51
beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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52
fawn
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| n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承 | |
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53
gaping
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| 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 | |
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54
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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55
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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56
magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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57
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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58
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
foulest
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| adj.恶劣的( foul的最高级 )；邪恶的；难闻的；下流的 | |
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60
filthiest
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| filthy（肮脏的，污秽的）的最高级形式 | |
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61
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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62
invective
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| n.痛骂，恶意抨击 | |
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63
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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64
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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65
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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