There was no hint of his nationality in all this. But his fair hair, his clear blue eye, firm even to fierceness, his flaxen mustache, his determined1 chin and broad jaws2, convinced Pichegru that he belonged to one of the northern races.
"Hungarian or Russian?" asked Pichegru in French.
"Polish," replied the young man, laconically4, in the same language.
"An exile then?" asked Pichegru.
"Worse than that!"
"Poor people! So brave and so unfortunate!" and he held out his hand to the young man.
"Wait," said the latter; "before doing me this honor, you must know—"
But the Pole seemed to take a certain pride in refusing to accept this courtesy until he had proved that he had a right to it. He pulled out a little leathern bag which he[Pg 126] wore upon his breast, as the Neapolitans wear their amulets6, and took a folded paper from it.
"Who does not know the hero of Dubienka?" exclaimed Pichegru.
"Then read that," said the Pole, handing him the note.
Pichegru took it and read as follows:
I recommend to all men who struggle for independence and the liberty of their country, this brave man, son of a brave man, brother of a brave man.
He was with me at Dubienka.
T. Kosciusko.
"You have a fine brevet of bravery there, sir," said Pichegru; "will you do me the honor to become my aide-de-camp?"
"I should not do you much service, and I should not be avenging9 myself; it is vengeance10 that I seek."
"And against whom—Russians, Austrians or Prussians?"
"Against all three, since they are all oppressing and devouring11 unhappy Poland; but I hate the Prussians most."
"Where do you come from?"
"Dantzic. I belong to the old Polish race which, after having lost Poland in 1308, reconquered it in 1454, and defended it against Etienne Battori in 1575. From that day Dantzic has always held a Polish party ready to revolt, and which did revolt at Kosciusko's first call. My brother, my father and I seized our guns and placed ourselves under his orders.
"Thus we, my father, my brother and myself, found ourselves among four thousand men who defended the fort of Dubienka for five days against sixteen thousand Russians, when we had had only one day to fortify12 it.
"Some time later Stanislas yielded to Catherine's will. Kosciusko, unwilling13 to become the accomplice14 of the Czarina's lover, sent in his resignation, and my father, my brother and I returned to Dantzic, where I resumed my studies.
[Pg 127]
"One morning we learned that Dantzic had been ceded15 to the Prussians. There were among us at least two thousand patriots16 who protested with one hand and took up arms with the other; this tearing asunder17 of our native land, this dismemberment of our dear Poland, seemed to us a direct appeal, after moral protestation, to material protestation—the protestation of blood with which it is necessary to water the nations in order that they may not die. We went to meet the body of Prussians who had come to take possession of the city; they were ten thousand in number, and we were eighteen hundred.
"A thousand of us remained upon the battlefield. In the three days that followed three hundred died of their wounds. Five hundred remained.
"All were equally guilty, but our adversaries18 were generous. They divided us into three classes: the first were to be shot; the second were to be hanged; the third escaped with their lives after having received fifty lashes19.
"They had divided us according to our strength. Those who were the most severely20 wounded were to be shot; those who were slightly wounded were to be hanged; those who were well and sound were to receive fifty lashes. Thus they would preserve the memory all their lives of the chastisement21 deserved by every ungrateful wretch22 who refuses to throw himself into the open arms of Prussia.
"My dying father was shot. My brother, who had a broken thigh23, was hanged. I, who had only a scratch on my shoulder, received fifty lashes.
"At the fortieth I fainted; but the officers were conscientious24 men, and, although I did not feel the blows, they completed the number, and then left me lying upon the place of punishment without paying any further attention to me. My sentence read that when I had received the fifty lashes I was free. The punishment had taken place in one of the courts of the citadel25. When I recovered consciousness it was night; I saw around me a number of inanimate bodies that resembled corpses26, but who were men[Pg 128] who, like myself, had probably fainted. I found my clothing, but, with the exception of my shirt, I was not able to put them on my bleeding shoulders. I threw them over my arm and endeavored to locate myself. A light was burning a short distance from me; I thought it belonged to the guard at the gate and I made my way to it. The sentinel was at his wicket.
"'Your name?' he asked.
"I told him my name."
He consulted his list.
"'Here,' he said, 'is your passport.'
"I looked at it. It read, 'Good for the frontier.'
"'Then I cannot enter Dantzic?' I asked.
"'Not under pain of death.'
"I thought of my mother, bereaved27 of her husband and her sons; I uttered a sigh, committed her to God, and took up my march. I had no money, but fortunately in a secret fold of my pocketbook I had managed to save the note which Kosciusko had given me, and which I have shown you.
"I took my way through Custrin, Frankfort and Leipsic. As sailors are guided by the polar star so I looked to France, that beacon28 of liberty, and hastened toward it. Six weeks of hunger, fatigue29, miseries30, and humiliations were forgotten when I set foot in the holy land of liberty yesterday, all save the hope of vengeance. I threw myself upon my knees and blessed God that I was as strong as the crime of which I had been made the victim. In all your soldiers I saw brothers, not marching to the conquest of the world, but to the deliverance of the oppressed. A flag passed; I sprang toward it, asking permission of the officer to embrace this sacred emblem31, the symbol of universal brotherhood32. The officer hesitated.
"'Ah!' I cried, 'I am a Pole, and proscribed33, and I have come nine hundred miles to join you. This flag is mine also. I have the right to kiss it, to press it to my heart, and to put my lips to it.'
[Pg 129]
"And I took it almost by force, and kissed it, saying: 'Be always pure, brilliant, and glorious, flag of the conquerors34 of the Bastile, flag of Valmy, of Jemmapes, and of Bercheim.'
"Oh! general, for a moment I felt no more fatigue; I forgot my shoulders so cruelly lacerated beneath the lash7, my brother suspended to the gibbet, my father shot. I forgot all, even vengeance.
"To-day I come to you. I am trained in all things pertaining35 to science; I speak five languages equally well; I can pass for German, Russian, English, or French. I can penetrate36 in any disguise into towns, fortresses37 and headquarters; I can give news of everything, for I can draw plans. No material obstacle can stop me; ten times, when I was a child, I swam across the Vistula. In short, I am no longer a man, I am a thing; I call myself no longer Stephan Moinjki, but Vengeance!"
"And do you wish to be a spy?"
"Do you call that man a spy who is fearless, and who by his intelligence can do the most harm to the enemy?"
"Yes."
"Then I wish to be a spy."
"Do you know that you risk being shot if you are caught?"
"Like my father."
"Or hanged?"
"Like my brother."
"The least that can happen to you is to be whipped. Do you know that?"
With a rapid movement Stephan loosened his coat, drew his arm out of the sleeve, turned down his shirt, and showed his back covered with blue welts.
"As I have been," he answered, laughing.
"Remember that I offer you a place in my army as a lieutenant38, or as an interpreter."
"And you, citizen-general, must remember that I, finding myself unworthy, have refused. In condemning39 me they[Pg 130] have put me outside the pale of manhood. Well, I will strike them secretly."
"Very well. And now, what do you want?"
"Some money to buy other clothes, and your orders."
Pichegru stretched out his hand and took a folio of assignats and a pair of scissors from a chair. It was what he received every month for his expenses at the seat of war. The month was not more than half gone, but the folio was nearly used up.
He cut three days' pay, amounting to four hundred and fifty francs, from it and gave them to the spy.
"Buy some clothes with that," he said.
"That is too much: I shall only want peasant's clothes," said the Pole.
"Perhaps to-morrow you will be obliged to buy another disguise."
"Very well. And now your orders?"
"Listen carefully to what I have to say," said Pichegru, laying his hand on the young man's shoulder.
The young man listened with his eyes fastened upon Pichegru; it seemed as if he were trying to see as well as to hear the words.
"I am advised," resumed Pichegru, "that the army of the Moselle, commanded by Hoche, is about to join mine. This union accomplished40, we shall attack Woerth, Froeschwiller and Reichsoffen. Well, I must know the number of men and cannon41 that defend these places as well as the best points of attack. You will be aided by the hatred42 that our peasants and the Alsatian bourgeois43 bear the Prussians."
"Shall I bring you the information here? Will you wait for it, or will you start to meet the army of the Moselle?"
"In three or four days you will probably hear firing in the direction of Marschwilier, Dawendorff, or Uberack; you may join me wherever I am."
Just then the door opened and a young man, about twenty-five or six, wearing a colonel's uniform, entered.
From his light hair and mustache, and ruddy complex[Pg 131]ion, it was plain to be seen that he was one of the many Irishmen who had taken service in France now that she was likely to go to war with England.
"Ah! is it you, my dear Macdonald," said Pichegru, making a sign to the young man, "I was just going to send for you; here is one of your Scotch44 or English countrymen."
"Neither the English nor the Scotch are my countrymen, general," said Macdonald. "I am Irish."
"I beg your pardon, colonel," said Pichegru, laughing, "I did not mean to insult you, I only meant that he speaks nothing but English, and, as I do not know it very well, I want to know what he is saying."
"Nothing is easier," replied Macdonald. Then, addressing the young man, he put several questions to him, to which the other replied without an instant's hesitation45.
"Has he told you what he wants?" asked Pichegru.
"Yes," replied Macdonald; "he asks for a place in the commissary department."
"Then," Pichegru said to the Pole, "that is all I wanted to know. Do what you have been told, and do not forget anything. If you will be good enough to translate what I have said to him, Macdonald, you will be doing me a great service."
Macdonald repeated, word for word, in English, what the general had said. The pretended Englishman bowed and went out.
"Well," asked Pichegru, "how does he speak English?"
"Admirably," replied Macdonald; "he has a slight accent which makes me think that he comes rather from the provinces than from London or Dublin. Only one would have to be English or Irish to detect it."
"That is all I wanted to know," said Pichegru, with a laugh. And he returned to the large room, followed by Macdonald.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
jaws
|
|
| n.口部；嘴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
scrutiny
|
|
| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
laconically
|
|
| adv.简短地，简洁地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
patriot
|
|
| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
amulets
|
|
| n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
lash
|
|
| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
avenging
|
|
| adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
devouring
|
|
| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
fortify
|
|
| v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
unwilling
|
|
| adj.不情愿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
accomplice
|
|
| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
ceded
|
|
| v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
patriots
|
|
| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
asunder
|
|
| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
adversaries
|
|
| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
lashes
|
|
| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
severely
|
|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
chastisement
|
|
| n.惩罚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
wretch
|
|
| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
thigh
|
|
| n.大腿；股骨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
conscientious
|
|
| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
citadel
|
|
| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
corpses
|
|
| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
bereaved
|
|
| adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
beacon
|
|
| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
fatigue
|
|
| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
miseries
|
|
| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
emblem
|
|
| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
brotherhood
|
|
| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
proscribed
|
|
| v.正式宣布（某事物）有危险或被禁止( proscribe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
conquerors
|
|
| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
pertaining
|
|
| 与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
penetrate
|
|
| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
fortresses
|
|
| 堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
lieutenant
|
|
| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
condemning
|
|
| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
cannon
|
|
| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
hatred
|
|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
bourgeois
|
|
| adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
scotch
|
|
| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
hesitation
|
|
| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |