Just as it was getting under way—I was looking through the ventilator—there was a sudden panic on the platform. Employees and foremen began to run, flinging their arms up. What was it? There was a noise, I understood. A Taube was flying over the station. The men crowded to the doors. We had no time to distinguish anything. A tremendous explosion flung us on top of each other, and a certain number fell on to the floor of the waggon1.
A bomb had just fallen thirty yards from us. There were instant yells and a torrent2 of smoke. A waggon was pulverised on one of the adjacent lines. Three men killed, and six wounded we heard. And two hours' delay for us.
So we did not get away till night. The beginning of our misfortunes! We had not been going twenty minutes, when we pulled up with a violent jerk. An avalanche3 of rifles and packs—contusions and confusion.
The lantern was shivered, and went out. A chorus of imprecations exploded in the darkness. We struck[Pg 387] some matches. No serious damage done. Prunelle's face was bleeding, and his glasses were broken. He had a splinter of glass at the edge of his eyelashes. He was lucky. He might have lost an eye.
And outside? We leant out. Shadows were swarming4 on the ballast, some limping, others frightened. Bouchut had been sent for and came up in a fury shouting at the top of his voice. An orderly was standing6 in front of each waggon inquiring in a surly voice:
"Any casualties here?"
A commonplace stoppage. The tail carriages had turned over, and the last one which contained among other things the officers' equipments was reduced to atoms, to the great glee of the men.
"We'll lend 'em our tooth-brushes!" said Judsi.
They were not so delighted about it, when they heard that some more men had been killed there, four or five apparently7, including Sépot, the chief laboratory man, a good sort, whom everybody loved.
"If this sorter thing goes on," Lamalou said, "there won't be many of us by the time we gets to Paris!"
The stoppage was prolonged. I got out and walked up and down for a little while. The sky was overcast8, and there was no moon. I got back. Our train hooted9 dismally10 in the darkness, like a ship in distress11.
We woke up at dawn to find we had halted again, and were not to go on for an hour at least. The cooks were getting coffee ready. There was an autumnal feeling in the air. It was bitterly cold, and we stamped our feet. It was a characteristic landscape, with its billows of bald hillocks studded with little woods[Pg 388] of conventional shapes.... The surroundings of the Camp de Chalons.
De Valpic was shivering and stayed in his waggon. Guillaumin said to me below his breath:
"I wonder—if I'm dreaming?"
"Why?"
"I thought I heard...."
"Well?"
"Firing!"
I listened attentively13. No, there was nothing. I chaffed him on his hallucinations! Was he profiting by Ravelli's teaching? Firing indeed! An excellent joke! We had left the enemy more than a hundred and thirty miles behind.
Guillaumin did not persist. The time which had been fixed14 passed by. Then we were told that we should be there for another two hours.
I left the railway lines and went off into the open fields.
I noticed that our convoy15 was not the only one which had been stopped there. The black line stretched away as far as eye could see, bordered with a swarm5 of uniforms, and smoking bonfires. The line was badly blocked.
As I had plenty of time before me, the idea occurred to me of climbing the nearest hill. I followed a chalky path.
I had imagined that this crest16 was quite near by, and that I should reach it without any difficulty. I only breasted it after twenty minutes of breathless climbing.
A violent north wind lashed17 me, up there, and dried my perspiration18. A vast panorama19 lay before me: a[Pg 389] series of desolate-looking humps covered the ground, some of them bristling20 with vine poles, supporting the good Champagne21 grapes. I took my bearings. Just to the south, I made out the blue ridge22 of the more important hills, a sort of promontory23 where I thought an army might have got a good hold. I turned towards the west, a lifeless, colourless stretch of country. The railway line with its telegraph posts disappeared between two low hillocks on that side.
But I thought I could make out the haze24 and dust rising from a big town. Yes—when I looked harder—there was a purple phantom25, the silhouette26 of a building, hardly discernible in the mist, which little by little grew more distinct—those towers superb in their grace and strength. In my wonder, I named it aloud—Rheims Cathedral.
By some strange chance I had forgotten that this Presence was so near at hand, though on getting into the train that day before, I had vaguely27 hoped that fate might lead us to it.
My veneration28 for this most sacred of all shrines29 dated from my earliest childhood when I had admired a picture of it reproduced in my prayer-book. Abbé Ygonel, my first teacher, had sung the praises of its magnificent harmony in striking terms. I had made of this erection the centre round which gravitated the whole of our history, enchanting30 as a legend.
I had only once been to see it. I had gone to Rheims for a football match, and before and after the game had left my comrades, and had gone all alone to reflect on the faith which reared the poem of this portal and these towers.
I unconsciously picked up the thread of that meditation31 again now. The coronation cathedral! It was[Pg 390] there that all the kings whose names were landmarks32 in our annals, from Philippe-Auguste to Louis XVI. had come, with bowed heads, to receive at the hands of holy men the crown and the unction which made them more than men.
Detached from the present, I once more began to rejoice at this glorious realisation—when my meditation was disturbed by an almost imperceptible wave of sound—a distant echo. A storm beginning or ending? I considered the sky. It was clear and serene33. Again there was a stifled34 rumble35. This time I ceased to entertain any doubts. Guillaumin's ears had not played him false. My heart contracted at the first echoes of firing to awaken36 Champagne. I listened. I wanted to find out ... the pale horizon guarded its secret. I looked again. The bewildering part of it was that this rumbling37 seemed to come not from the borders of Argonne, where we had left our trail only yesterday, but from the opposite direction, stretching westwards towards Paris. Was the enemy there? Could it be possible? Already barring this route!
I had mechanically turned my eyes towards the cathedral again. What was I seeking? I believe it was help and comfort, from thee, the representative city,—vision worthy38 of exalting39 us.
Why, on the contrary, did this unbounding sadness worm its way into my heart?
What did this proud edifice40 declare? The power of Royalty41, the glory of the Catholicism.... The soul of ancient France, which was incarnate42 in these living stones, had crumbled43 more quickly in the blast of modern thought, than they had in the wear and tear of time. What bound us, the sons of the twentieth[Pg 391] century, to these traditions for which our ancestors had lived, and piously44 lavished45 themselves in such attestations?
Other thoughts obsessed46 me. Rheims, the heart of the country. This city, which held such an illustrious place in our annals, to-day was threatened, almost lost. How many of our ancient possessions had lately fallen into the hands of the enemy? In 1871, Strassburg and Metz. This time the downfall was more rapid—Flanders and Artois, Picardy, so many treasures and marvels47, our patrimony48 of art and land. The impious tide was advancing. And what fate awaited these august arches, under which our princes had prostrated49 themselves, the nave50 which had echoed to the sublime51 chants of our religion? Would they become a Lutheran church which we should be allowed to look over for the consideration of a few pfennigs? Or was there a worse fate in store for them? I dared not put it into words ... the crushing presentiment52 of ravage53 and crime, fire and sword, devastating54 this miracle of human hands. I only know that filling my consciousness with the gorgeous picture I secretly bid it farewell.
What was to be done? Resist? No doubt. But so many legions had burst from the Germanic reservoirs. What if it was the barbarians55' turn to spread across this corner of the world? An unwavering law—why not? France would perhaps die away—the most civilised nation, ruined by her intelligence, by her scepticism revolting against that which had formed her grandeur56. I glanced at the string of stationary57 trains below. Should we ever get any farther? Were we not more likely to fight where we were? An ironical58 fate to perish in sight of these towers,[Pg 392] symbols of our whilom virtue59, of our repudiated60 creed61!
It must be noticed that I was still convinced that we should all do our utmost duty. We should merit the respect of those who would build on our ruins. I closed my eyes. I almost wished that the hour of our noble passing would strike as soon as possible. It seemed to me that, wounded to the death, I might have closed my eyes, unregretfully, on my race and on myself since we had achieved our destiny.
And yet compunction pursued me among these gloomy speculations62. Where was my dauntlessness of yesterday? Why did I suddenly flinch63? I sought for the torches which lit up my path. A dazzling beacon64 stood forth65: My love! Jeannine—Jeannine! I still adored her, but what fears interposed themselves, chilling my hope. I counted the days, how many was it, five or six, since I had heard from her. Our one chance of happiness was exposed to so many risks.
What was happening over there? If there were strikes and riots, and the attendant train of outrages66? A fair-haired victim...! Would not our future fall to pieces with the future of our nation? Or again—other thoughts assailed67 me. The turgid surge of uncertainty68. Had I deceived myself? Had I not relied too much on a few friendly letters? Had the exalted69 tone of my missives suddenly alarmed her?
And then I took pity on myself. So that was the only cause of my depression. The delay in our correspondence. But was there any one round me, never mind who it was, more favoured than I? I tried in vain to bring about a reaction.
I went back into the valley. Guillaumin was watching for me and greeted me by asking:
[Pg 393]
"Well, are you convinced now?"
Yes, it certainly was firing. It could be heard quite distinctly. The men had recognised it, and seemed exhilarated by it.
Judsi announced:
"Boom! There now! We missed the band!"
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1
waggon
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| n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱 | |
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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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avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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4
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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5
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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7
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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8
overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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9
hooted
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| （使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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12
drowsily
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| adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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14
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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15
convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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16
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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17
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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18
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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panorama
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| n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置] | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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22
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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24
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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25
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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26
silhouette
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| n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓 | |
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27
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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29
shrines
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| 圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 ) | |
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enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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32
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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33
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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34
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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35
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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36
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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37
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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38
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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exalting
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| a.令人激动的，令人喜悦的 | |
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40
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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41
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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42
incarnate
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| adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的 | |
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43
crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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44
piously
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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45
lavished
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
obsessed
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| adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的 | |
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47
marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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48
patrimony
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| n.世袭财产，继承物 | |
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49
prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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50
nave
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| n.教堂的中部；本堂 | |
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51
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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52
presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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53
ravage
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| vt.使...荒废，破坏...；n.破坏，掠夺，荒废 | |
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54
devastating
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| adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的 | |
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55
barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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56
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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57
stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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58
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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59
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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60
repudiated
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| v.（正式地）否认( repudiate的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝接受；拒绝与…往来；拒不履行（法律义务） | |
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61
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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62
speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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63
flinch
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| v.畏缩，退缩 | |
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64
beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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65
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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66
outrages
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| 引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 ) | |
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67
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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68
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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69
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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