The incoyable, that hybrid1 of the Revolution, had his feminine counterpart, like him born of the same epoch2. She was called the meiveilleuse.
She borrowed her raiment, not from a new fashion like the incoyable, but from antiquity3, from the Greek and Corinthian draperies of the Phrynes and the Aspasias. Tunic4, peplum, and mantle5, all were cut after the fashion of antiquity. The less a woman had on to conceal6 her nakedness the more elegant she was. The true meiveilleuse, or merveilleuses—for that of course was the real word—had bare arms and legs, the tunic, modelled after that of Diana, was often separated at the side, with nothing more than a cameo to catch the two parts together above the knee.
But this was not enough. The ladies took advantage of the warm weather to appear at balls and at the promenade7 with filmy garments more diaphanous8 than the clouds which enveloped9 Venus, when she led her son to Dido. ?neas did not recognize his mother until she emerged from the clouds. Incessut patuit dea, says Virgil, "by her step was the goddess known." These ladies, however, did not need to emerge from their clouds in order to be seen, for they were perfectly10 visible through them, and those who took them for goddesses must have done so only out of courtesy. This airy tissue of which Juvenal speaks became all the rage.
Besides private parties they met at public balls. People gathered either at the Lycée-Bal or the H?tel Thélusson to mingle11 their tears and their plans of vengeance12 with their dancing. These assemblies were called the "Balls of the Victims," and, indeed, no one was admitted to them unless[Pg 239] he or she had had relatives either drowned by Carlier, guillotined by Robespierre, shot by Collot d'Herbois, or blown to pieces by Fréron.
Horace Vernet, who designed costumes for a living, has left a charming portfolio13 of the costumes of that period drawn14 from life with that delightful15 wit with which Heaven had endowed him. Nothing could be more amusing than this grotesque16 collection, and it is difficult to imagine how an incoyable and a meiveilleuse could meet without laughing in each other's faces.
But some of the costumes adopted by the fops at these balls of the victims were terrible in character. Old General Piré has told me twenty times that he has met incoyables at these balls wearing waistcoats and trousers made of human skins. Those who mourned only some distant relative, like an aunt or an uncle, contented17 themselves with dipping their little finger in some blood-red liquid; when this was the case they cut off the corresponding finger of their glove, and carried their little pot of blood to the ball to renew the color, as ladies did their rouge-pots.
While dancing, they conspired18 against the Republic. This was easy, because the Convention, which had its national police, had no Parisian police. It is a singular fact that public murder seemed to have destroyed private murder; and never were fewer crimes committed in France than during the years of '93, '94 and '95. Passions had other outlets19.
The moment was approaching, however, when the Convention, that terrible Convention, which had abolished royalty20 on the 21st of September, when it entered upon its functions to the sound of the guns of Valmy, and had proclaimed the Republic—the moment was approaching when the Convention was to abdicate21 its power. It had been a cruel mother. It had devoured22 the Girondins, the Cordeliers, the Jacobins, that is to say, the most eloquent23, the most energetic, and the most intelligent of her children. But it had been a devoted24 daughter. It had successfully[Pg 240] battled with foes25 without and within. It had raised fourteen armies. To be sure, they had been badly clothed, poorly shod, badly cared for, and still more poorly paid. But what did that matter? These fourteen armies not only drove the enemy on all sides from the frontier, but they took the Duchy of Nice and Savoy, marched against Spain and laid hands on Holland.
It created the National Institute, the Polytechnic26 School, the Normal School, the Conservatories27 of Art and Science, and established a national budget. It promulgated28 eight thousand three hundred and seventy decrees, most of them revolutionary. It gave a tremendous strength of character to men and things. Grandeur29 was gigantic, courage was temerity30, and stoicism, impassibility. Never was colder disdain31 expressed for the executioner; never was blood shed with less remorse32.
Do you know how many parties there were in France during the years of '93 to '95? Thirty-three. Would you like to know their names?
Ministerial, Partisans33 of Civil Life, Knights34 of the Dagger35, Men of the 10th of August, Men of September, Girondins, Brissotins, Federalists, Men of the State, Men of the 31st of May, Moderates, Suspects, Men of the Plain, Toads36 of the Marsh37, Men of the Mountain.
All these in 1793 alone. We now pass to 1794.
Alarmists, Men of Pity, Sleepers38, Emissaries of Pitt and Coburg, Muscadins, Hebertists, Sans-Culottes, Counter-Revolutionists, Inhabitants of the Ridge39, Terrorists, Maratists, Cut-throats, Drinkers of Blood, Patriots40 of 1789, Companions of Jehu, Chouans.
Let us add the jeunesse dorée of Fréron, and we come to the 22d of August—the day when the new constitution, that of the year III., after having been debated article by article, was adopted by the Convention. The gold louis was then worth twelve hundred francs in assignats.
It was during this latter period that André-Chénier, the brother of Marie-Joseph Chénier, was beheaded. His execu[Pg 241]tion took place on the 25th of July, 1794, at eight o'clock in the morning; that is to say, on the 7th Thermidor, two days before the death of Robespierre. His companions in the cart were MM. de Montalembert, De Créquy, De Montmorency, De Loiserolles—that sublime41 old man who took his son's place and cheerfully died in his stead—and finally Roucher, the author of "The Months," who did not know that he was to die with André Chénier until he saw him in the cart, when he uttered an exclamation42 of joy, and, seating himself near him, recited those beautiful lines of Racine:
Now fortune doth assume a newer trend,
Since thee again I find, thou faithful friend;
And thus our lot in common blent.
A friend, who dared to risk his life by following the cart in order to prolong the final farewell, heard the two poets speaking of poetry, love and the future. On the way André Chénier recited his last verses to his friend, which he was in the act of writing when he was summoned by the executioner. He had them with him written in pencil; and after having read them to Roucher, he gave them to the third friend, who did not leave him until they had reached the scaffold. They were thus preserved; and Latouche, to whom we owe the only edition we have of André Chénier's poems, was enabled to include them in the volume we all know by heart:
As a last soft breeze, a tender ray,
Gleams at the close of a lovely day,
So doth my lyre at the scaffold sound its lay;
And e'er the hour its appointed round
Unending sleep will close these eyes of mine.
And e'er this verse I now begin shall fade,
The messenger of Death, ill-omened harbinger of shade,
With its black escort of ill-fame
Along its darkling corridors will speed my name.[Pg 242]
As he mounted the scaffold, André put his hand to his forehead and said with a sigh: "And yet I did have something there!"
"You are mistaken," cried the friend who was not to die; and pointing to his heart he added, "it is there."
André Chénier, for whose sake we have wandered from our subject, and whose memory has drawn these few words from us, was the first to plant the standard of a new poetry. No one before him had written verses like his. Nay48, more; no one will ever write like verses after him.
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1
hybrid
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| n.(动，植）杂种，混合物 | |
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epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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5
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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6
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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promenade
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| n./v.散步 | |
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8
diaphanous
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| adj.(布)精致的，半透明的 | |
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9
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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11
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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12
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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13
portfolio
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| n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位 | |
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14
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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15
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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16
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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17
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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19
outlets
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| n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店 | |
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20
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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abdicate
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| v.让位，辞职，放弃 | |
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devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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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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25
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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polytechnic
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| adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校 | |
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conservatories
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| n.（培植植物的）温室，暖房( conservatory的名词复数 ) | |
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28
promulgated
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| v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等） | |
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29
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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31
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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32
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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33
partisans
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| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
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34
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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toads
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 ) | |
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marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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sleepers
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| n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环 | |
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39
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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40
patriots
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| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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41
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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42
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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43
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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44
forfeit
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| vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物 | |
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45
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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46
resonance
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| n.洪亮；共鸣；共振 | |
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47
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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