n the South of Europe, nigh a once frescoed1 capital, now with dank mould cankering its bloom, central in a plain, stands what, at distance, seems the black mossed stump2 of some immeasurable pine, fallen, in forgotten days, with Anak and the Titan.
As all along where the pine-tree falls its dissolution leaves a mossy mound,—last-flung shadow of the perished trunk, never lengthening3, never lessening4, unsubject to the fleet falsities of the sun, shade immutable5, and true gauge6 which cometh by prostration,—so westward7 from what seems the stump, one steadfast8 spear of lichened9 ruin veins10 the plain.
From that tree-top, what birded chimes of silver throats had rung. A stone pine; a metallic11 aviary12 in its crown: the Bell-Tower, built by the great mechanician, the unblessed foundling, Bannadonna.
Like Babel’s, its base was laid in a high hour of renovated13 earth, following the second deluge14, when the waters of the Dark Ages had dried up, and once more the[129] green appeared. No wonder that, after so long and deep submersion, the jubilant expectation of the race should, as with Noah’s sons, soar into Shinar aspiration15.
In firm resolve, no man in Europe at that period went beyond Bannadonna. Enriched through commerce with the Levant, the state in which he lived voted to have the noblest bell-tower in Italy. His repute assigned him to be architect.
Stone by stone, month by month, the tower rose. Higher, higher; snail-like in pace, but torch or rocket in its pride.
After the masons would depart, the builder, standing17 alone upon its ever-ascending summit, at close of every day, saw that he overtopped still higher walls and trees. He would tarry till a late hour there, wrapped in schemes of other and still loftier piles. Those who of saints’ days thronged20 the spot,—hanging to the rude poles of scaffolding, like sailors on yards or bees on boughs21, unmindful of lime and dust and falling chips of stone,—their homage22 not the less inspirited him to self-esteem.
At length the holiday of the Tower came. To the sound of viols, the climax-stone slowly rose in air, and, amid the firing of ordnance23, was laid by Bannadonna’s hands upon the final course. Then mounting it, he stood erect24, alone, with folded arms, gazing upon the white summits of blue inland Alps, and whiter crests25 of bluer Alps off-shore,—sights invisible from the plain. Invisible, too, from thence was that eye he turned below, when, like the cannon-booms, came up to him the people’s combustions of applause.
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That which stirred them so was, seeing with what serenity26 the builder stood three hundred feet in air, upon an unrailed perch27. This none but he durst do. But his periodic standing upon the pile, in each stage of its growth,—such discipline had its last result.
Little remained now but the bells. These, in all respects, must correspond with their receptacle.
The minor28 ones were prosperously cast. A highly enriched one followed, of a singular make, intended for suspension in a manner before unknown. The purpose of this bell, its rotary29 motion, and connection with the clock-work, also executed at the time, will, in the sequel, receive mention.
In the one erection, bell-tower and clock-tower were united, though before that period such structures had commonly been built distinct; as the Campanile and Torre dell’ Orologio of St. Mark to this day attest30.
But it was upon the great state-bell that the founder31 lavished32 his more daring skill. In vain did some of the less elated magistrates33 here caution him, saying that, though truly the tower was Titanic35, yet limit should be set to the dependent weight of its swaying masses. But undeterred he prepared his mammoth36 mould, dented37 with mythological38 devices; kindled41 his fires of balsamic firs; melted his tin and copper42, and, throwing in much plate contributed by the public spirit of the nobles, let loose the tide.
The unleashed43 metals bayed like hounds. The workmen shrunk. Through their fright, fatal harm to the bell was dreaded44. Fearless as Shadrach, Bannadonna, rushing through the glow, smote45 the chief culprit with[131] his ponderous46 ladle. From the smitten47 part a splinter was dashed into the seething48 mass, and at once was melted in.
Next day a portion of the work was heedfully uncovered. All seemed right. Upon the third morning, with equal satisfaction, it was bared still lower. At length, like some old Theban king, the whole cooled casting was disinterred. All was fair except in one strange spot. But as he suffered no one to attend him in these inspections49, he concealed50 the blemish51 by some preparation which none knew better to devise.
The casting of such a mass was deemed no small triumph for the caster; one, too, in which the state might not scorn to share. The homicide was overlooked. By the charitable that deed was but imputed52 to sudden transports of ?sthetic passion, not to any flagitious quality,—a kick from an Arabian charger; not sign of vice40, but blood. His felony remitted53 by the judge, absolution given him by the priest, what more could even a sickly conscience have desired?
Honoring the tower and its builder with another holiday, the republic witnessed the hoisting54 of the bells and clock-work amid shows and pomps superior to the former.
Some months of more than usual solitude55 on Bannadonna’s part ensued. It was not unknown that he was engaged upon something for the belfry, intended to complete it, and to surpass all that had gone before. Most people imagined that the design would involve a casting like the bells. But those who thought they had some further insight would shake their heads, with hints that[132] not for nothing did the mechanician keep so secret. Meantime, his seclusion56 failed not to invest his work with more or less of that sort of mystery pertaining57 to the forbidden.
Erelong he had a heavy object hoisted58 to the belfry, wrapped in a dark sack or cloak,—a procedure sometimes had in the case of an elaborate piece of sculpture or statue, which, being intended to grace the front of a new edifice59, the architect does not desire exposed to critical eyes, till set up, finished, in its appointed place. Such was the impression now. But, as the object rose, a statuary present observed, or thought he did, that it was not entirely60 rigid61, but was, in a manner, pliant62. At last, when the hidden thing had attained63 its final height, and, obscurely seen from below, seemed almost of itself to step into the belfry as if with little assistance from the crane, a shrewd old blacksmith present ventured the suspicion that it was but a living man. This surmise64 was thought a foolish one, while the general interest failed not to augment65.
Not without demur66 from Bannadonna, the chief magistrate34 of the town, with an associate,—both elderly men,—followed what seemed the image up the tower. But, arrived at the belfry, they had little recompense. Plausibly67 intrenching himself behind the conceded mysteries of his art, the mechanician withheld68 present explanation. The magistrates glanced toward the cloaked object, which, to their surprise, seemed now to have changed its attitude, or else had before been more perplexingly concealed by the violent muffling69 action of the wind without. It seemed now seated upon some sort of[133] frame or chair contained within the domino. They observed that nigh the top, in a sort of square, the web of the cloth, either from accident or from design, had its warp70 partly withdrawn71, and the cross-threads plucked out here and there, so as to form a sort of woven grating. Whether it were the low wind or no, stealing through the stone lattice-work, or only their own perturbed73 imaginations, is uncertain, but they thought they discerned a slight sort of fitful, spring-like motion, in the domino. Nothing, however incidental or insignificant74, escaped their uneasy eyes. Among other things, they pried75 out, in a corner, an earthen cup, partly corroded76 and partly incrusted, and one whispered to the other that this cup was just such a one as might, in mockery, be offered to the lips of some brazen77 statue, or, perhaps, still worse.
But, being questioned, the mechanician said that the cup was simply used in his founder’s business, and described the purpose; in short, a cup to test the condition of metals in fusion78. He added that it had got into the belfry by the merest chance.
Again and again they gazed at the domino, as at some suspicious incognito79 at a Venetian mask. All sorts of vague apprehensions80 stirred them. They even dreaded lest, when they should descend82, the mechanician, though without a flesh-and-blood companion, for all that, would not be left alone.
Affecting some merriment at their disquietude, he begged to relieve them, by extending a coarse sheet of workman’s canvas between them and the object.
Meantime he sought to interest them in his other[134] work; nor, now that the domino was out of sight, did they long remain insensible to the artistic83 wonders lying round them; wonders hitherto beheld84 but in their unfinished state; because, since hoisting the bells, none but the caster had entered within the belfry. It was one trait of his that, even in details, he would not let another do what he could, without too great loss of time, accomplish for himself. So, for several preceding weeks, whatever hours were unemployed86 in his secret design, had been devoted87 to elaborating the figures on the bells.
The clock-bell, in particular, now drew attention. Under a patient chisel88, the latent beauty of its enrichments, before obscured by the cloudings incident to casting, that beauty in its shiest grace, was now revealed. Round and round the bell, twelve figures of gay girls, garlanded, hand-in-hand, danced in a choral ring,—the embodied89 hours.
“Bannadonna,” said the chief, “this bell excels all else. No added touch could here improve. Hark!” hearing a sound, “was that the wind?”
“The wind, Eccellenza,” was the light response. “But the figures, they are not yet without their faults. They need some touches yet. When those are given, and the—block yonder,” pointing toward the canvas screen, “when Haman there, as I merrily call him,—him? it, I mean,—when Haman is fixed90 on this, his lofty tree, then, gentlemen, shall I be most happy to receive you here again.”
The equivocal reference to the object caused some return of restlessness. However, on their part, the visitors forbore further allusion91 to it, unwilling92, perhaps, to[135] let the foundling see how easily it lay within his plebeian93 art to stir the placid94 dignity of nobles.
“Well, Bannadonna,” said the chief, “how long ere you are ready to set the clock going, so that the hour shall be sounded? Our interest in you, not less than in the work itself, makes us anxious to be assured of your success. The people, too,—why, they are shouting now. Say the exact hour when you will be ready.”
“To-morrow, Eccellenza, if you listen for it,—or should you not, all the same,—strange music will be heard. The stroke of one shall be the first from yonder bell,” pointing to the bell adorned95 with girls and garlands; “that stroke shall fall there, where the hand of Una clasps Dua’s. The stroke of one shall sever85 that loved clasp. To-morrow, then, at one o’clock, as struck here, precisely96 here,” advancing and placing his finger upon the clasp, “the poor mechanic will be most happy once more to give you liege audience, in this his littered shop. Farewell till then, illustrious magnificoes, and hark ye for your vassal’s stroke.”
His still, Vulcanic face hiding its burning brightness like a forge, he moved with ostentatious deference97 toward the scuttle98, as if so far to escort their exit. But the junior magistrate, a kind-hearted man, troubled at what seemed to him a certain sardonical disdain99, lurking100 beneath the foundling’s humble101 mien102, and in Christian103 sympathy more distressed104 at it on his account than on his own, dimly surmising105 what might be the final fate of such a cynic solitaire, nor perhaps uninfluenced by the general strangeness of surrounding things,—this good magistrate had glanced sadly, sidewise from the speaker,[136] and thereupon his foreboding eye had started at the expression of the unchanging face of the hour Una.
“How is this, Bannadonna?” he lowly asked, “Una looks unlike her sisters.”
“In Christ’s name, Bannadonna,” impulsively106 broke in the chief, his attention for the first time attracted to the figure by his associate’s remark, “Una’s face looks just like that of Deborah, the prophetess, as painted by the Florentine, Del Fonca.”
“Surely, Bannadonna,” lowly resumed the milder magistrate, “you meant the twelve should wear the same jocundly107 abandoned air. But see, the smile of Una seems but a fatal one. ’Tis different.”
While his mild associate was speaking, the chief glanced, inquiringly, from him to the caster, as if anxious to mark how the discrepancy108 would be accounted for. As the chief stood, his advanced foot was on the scuttle’s curb109. Bannadonna spoke:—
“Eccellenza, now that, following your keener eye, I glance upon the face of Una, I do, indeed, perceive some little variance110. But look all round the bell, and you will find no two faces entirely correspond. Because there is a law in art—But the cold wind is rising more; these lattices are but a poor defence. Suffer me, magnificoes, to conduct you at least partly on your way. Those in whose well-being111 there is a public stake should be heedfully attended.”
“Touching the look of Una, you were saying, Bannadonna, that there was a certain law in art,” observed the chief, as the three now descended112 the stone shaft113, “pray, tell me, then—”
[137]
“Pardon—another time, Eccellenza; the tower is damp.”
“Nay, I must rest, and hear it now. Here,—here is a wide landing, and through this leeward114 slit115 no wind, but ample light. Tell us of your law, and at large.”
“Since, Eccellenza, you insist, know that there is a law in art, which bars the possibility of duplicates. Some years ago, you may remember, I graved a small seal for your republic, bearing, for its chief device, the head of your own ancestor, its illustrious founder. It becoming necessary, for the customs’ use, to have innumerable impressions for bales and boxes, I graved an entire plate, containing one hundred of the seals. Now, though, indeed, my object was to have those hundred heads identical, and though, I dare say, people think them so, yet, upon closely scanning an uncut impression from the plate, no two of those five-score faces, side by side, will be found alike. Gravity is the air of all; but diversified116 in all. In some, benevolent117; in some, ambiguous; in two or three, to a close scrutiny118, all but incipiently119 malign120, the variation of less than a hair’s breadth in the linear shadings round the mouth sufficing to all this. Now, Eccellenza, transmute121 that general gravity into joyousness122, and subject it to twelve of those variations I have described, and tell me, will you not have my hours here, and Una one of them? But I like—”
“Hark! is that—a footfall above?”
“Mortar123, Eccellenza; sometimes it drops to the belfry-floor from the arch where the stonework was left undressed. I must have it seen to. As I was about to say: for one, I like this law forbidding duplicates. It[138] evokes124 fine personalities126. Yes, Eccellenza, that strange and—to you—uncertain smile, and those fore-looking eyes of Una, suit Bannadonna very well.”
“Hark!—sure, we left no soul above?”
“No soul, Eccellenza; rest assured, no soul. Again the mortar.”
“It fell not while we were there.”
“But Una,” said the milder magistrate, “she seemed intently gazing on you; one would have almost sworn that she picked you out from among us three.”
“If she did, possibly it might have been her finer apprehension81, Eccellenza.”
“How, Bannadonna? I do not understand you.”
“No consequence, no consequence, Eccellenza: but the shifted wind is blowing through the slit. Suffer me to escort you on; and then, pardon, but the toiler128 must to his tools.”
“It may be foolish, Signor,” said the milder magistrate, as, from the third landing, the two now went down unescorted, “but, somehow, our great mechanician moves me strangely. Why, just now, when he so superciliously129 replied, his walk seemed Sisera’s, God’s vain foe130, in Del Fonca’s painting. And that young, sculptured Deborah, too. Ay, and that—”
“Ah,” said the other, as they now stepped upon the sod,—“ah, Signor, I see you leave your fears behind you with the chill and gloom; but mine, even in this sunny air, remain. Hark!”
[139]
It was a sound from just within the tower door, whence they had emerged. Turning, they saw it closed.
“He has slipped down and barred us out,” smiled the chief; “but it is his custom.”
Proclamation was now made that the next day, at one hour after meridian132, the clock would strike, and—thanks to the mechanician’s powerful art—with unusual accompaniments. But what those should be, none as yet could say. The announcement was received with cheers.
By the looser sort, who encamped about the tower all night, lights were seen gleaming through the topmost blind-work, only disappearing with the morning sun. Strange sounds, too, were heard, or were thought to be, by those whom anxious watching might not have left mentally undisturbed,—sounds, not only of some ringing implement133, but also—so they said—half-suppressed screams and plainings, such as might have issued from some ghostly engine overplied.
Slowly the day drew on; part of the concourse chasing the weary time with songs and games, till, at last, the great blurred134 sun rolled, like a football, against the plain.
At noon, the nobility and principal citizens came from the town in cavalcade135, a guard of soldiers, also, with music, the more to honor the occasion.
Only one hour more. Impatience136 grew. Watches were held in hands of feverish137 men, who stood, now scrutinizing138 their small dial-plates, and then, with neck thrown back, gazing toward the belfry, as if the eye might foretell139 that which could only be made sensible[140] to the ear; for, as yet, there was no dial to the tower-clock.
The hour-hands of a thousand watches now verged140 within a hair’s breadth of the figure 1. A silence, as of the expectation of some Shiloh, pervaded141 the swarming142 plain. Suddenly a dull, mangled143 sound,—naught144 ringing in it; scarcely audible, indeed, to the outer circles of the people,—that dull sound dropped heavily from the belfry. At the same moment, each man stared at his neighbor blankly. All watches were upheld. All hour-hands were at—had passed—the figure 1. No bell-stroke from the tower. The multitude became tumultuous.
Waiting a few moments, the chief magistrate, commanding silence, hailed the belfry, to know what thing unforeseen had happened there.
No response.
He hailed again and yet again.
All continued hushed.
By his order, the soldiers burst in the tower-door, when, stationing guards to defend it from the now surging mob, the chief, accompanied by his former associate, climbed the winding145 stairs. Half-way up, they stopped to listen. No sound. Mounting faster, they reached the belfry, but, at the threshold, started at the spectacle disclosed. A spaniel, which, unbeknown to them, had followed them thus far, stood shivering as before some unknown monster in a brake; or, rather, as if it snuffed footsteps leading to some other world.
Bannadonna lay, prostrate146 and bleeding, at the base of the bell which was adorned with girls and garlands.[141] He lay at the feet of the hour Una; his head coinciding, in a vertical147 line, with her left hand, clasped by the hour Dua. With downcast face impending148 over him, like Jael over nailed Sisera in the tent, was the domino; now no more becloaked.
It had limbs, and seemed clad in a scaly149 mail, lustrous150 as a dragon-beetle’s. It was manacled, and its clubbed arms were uplifted, as if, with its manacles, once more to smite151 its already smitten victim. One advanced foot of it was inserted beneath the dead body, as if in the act of spurning152 it.
Uncertainty153 falls on what now followed.
It were but natural to suppose that the magistrates would, at first, shrink from immediate154 personal contact with what they saw. At the least, for a time, they would stand in involuntary doubt; it may be, in more or less of horrified155 alarm. Certain it is, that an arquebuse was called for from below. And some add that its report, followed by a fierce whiz, as of the sudden snapping of a main-spring, with a steely din18, as if a stack of sword-blades should be dashed upon a pavement,—these blended sounds came ringing to the plain, attracting every eye far upward to the belfry, whence, through the lattice-work, thin wreaths of smoke were curling.
Some averred156 that it was the spaniel, gone mad by fear, which was shot. This, others denied. True, it was, the spaniel never more was seen; and, probably, for some unknown reason, it shared the burial now to be related of the domino. For, whatever the preceding circumstances may have been, the first instinctive157 panic over, or else all ground of reasonable fear removed, the[142] two magistrates, by themselves, quickly re-hooded the figure in the dropped cloak wherein it had been hoisted. The same night, it was secretly lowered to the ground, smuggled158 to the beach, pulled far out to sea, and sunk. Nor to any after urgency, even in free convivial159 hours, would the twain ever disclose the full secrets of the belfry.
From the mystery unavoidably investing it, the popular solution of the foundling’s fate involved more or less of supernatural agency. But some few less unscientific minds pretended to find little difficulty in otherwise accounting160 for it. In the chain of circumstantial inferences drawn72, there may or may not have been some absent or defective161 links. But, as the explanation in question is the only one which tradition has explicitly162 preserved, in dearth163 of better, it will here be given. But, in the first place, it is requisite164 to present the supposition entertained as to the entire motive165 and mode, with their origin, of the secret design of Bannadonna; the minds above mentioned assuming to penetrate166 as well into his soul as into the event. The disclosure will indirectly167 involve reference to peculiar168 matters, none of the clearest, beyond the immediate subject.
At that period, no large bell was made to sound otherwise than as at present,—by agitation169 of a tongue within, by means of ropes, or percussion170 from without, either from cumbrous machinery171, or stalwart watchmen, armed with heavy hammers, stationed in the belfry, or in sentry-boxes on the open roof, according as the bell was sheltered or exposed.
It was from observing these exposed bells, with their[143] watchmen, that the foundling, as was opined, derived172 the first suggestion of his scheme. Perched on a great mast or spire173, the human figure viewed from below undergoes such a reduction in its apparent size as to obliterate174 its intelligent features. It evinces no personality. Instead of bespeaking175 volition176, its gestures rather resemble the automatic ones of the arms of a telegraph.
Musing177, therefore, upon the purely178 Punchinello aspect of the human figure thus beheld, it had indirectly occurred to Bannadonna to devise some metallic agent, which should strike the hour with its mechanic hand, with even greater precision than the vital one. And, moreover, as the vital watchman on the roof, sallying from his retreat at the given periods, walked to the bell with uplifted mace179 to smite it, Bannadonna had resolved that his invention should likewise possess the power of locomotion180, and, along with that, the appearance, at least, of intelligence and will.
If the conjectures181 of those who claimed acquaintance with the intent of Bannadonna be thus far correct, no unenterprising spirit could have been his. But they stopped not here; intimating that though, indeed, his design had, in the first place, been prompted by the sight of the watchman, and confined to the devising of a subtle substitute for him, yet, as is not seldom the case with projectors183, by insensible gradations, proceeding184 from comparatively pygmy aims to Titanic ones, the original scheme had, in its anticipated eventualities, at last attained to an unheard-of degree of daring. He still bent185 his efforts upon the locomotive figure for the belfry, but only as a partial type of an ulterior creature, a sort of[144] elephantine Helot, adapted to further, in a degree scarcely to be imagined, the universal conveniences and glories of humanity; supplying nothing less than a supplement to the Six Days’ Work; stocking the earth with a new serf, more useful than the ox, swifter than the dolphin, stronger than the lion, more cunning than the ape, for industry an ant, more fiery186 than serpents, and yet, in patience, another ass16. All excellences187 of all God-made creatures, which served man, were here to receive advancement188, and then to be combined in one. Talus was to have been the all-accomplished Helot’s name. Talus, iron slave to Bannadonna, and, through him, to man.
Here it might well be thought that, were these last conjectures as to the foundling’s secrets not erroneous, then must he have been hopelessly infected with the craziest chimeras189 of his age, far outgoing Albert Magus and Cornelius Agrippa. But the contrary was averred. However marvellous his design, however apparently190 transcending191 not alone the bounds of human invention, but those of divine creation, yet the proposed means to be employed were alleged192 to have been confined within the sober forms of sober reason. It was affirmed that, to a degree of more than sceptic scorn, Bannadonna had been without sympathy for any of the vainglorious193 irrationalities of his time. For example, he had not concluded, with the visionaries among the metaphysicians, that between the finer mechanic forces and the ruder animal vitality194 some germ of correspondence might prove discoverable. As little did his scheme partake of the enthusiasm of some natural philosophers, who hoped, by physiological195 and chemical inductions196, to arrive at a knowledge of the[145] source of life, and so qualify themselves to manufacture and improve upon it. Much less had he aught in common with the tribe of alchemists, who sought, by a species of incantations, to evoke125 some surprising vitality from the laboratory. Neither had he imagined, with certain sanguine197 theosophists, that, by faithful adoration198 of the Highest, unheard-of powers would be vouchsafed199 to man. A practical materialist200, what Bannadonna had aimed at was to have been reached, not by logic39, not by crucible201, not by conjuration, not by altars; but by plain vice-bench and hammer. In short, to solve Nature, to steal into her, to intrigue202 beyond her, to procure203 some one else to bind204 her to his hand,—these, one and all, had not been his objects; but, asking no favors from any element or any being, of himself to rival her, outstrip205 her, and rule her. He stooped to conquer. With him, common-sense was theurgy; machinery, miracle; Prometheus, the heroic name for machinist; man, the true God.
Nevertheless, in his initial step, so far as the experimental automaton206 for the belfry was concerned, he allowed fancy some little play; or, perhaps, what seemed his fancifulness was but his utilitarian207 ambition collaterally208 extended. In figure, the creature for the belfry should not be likened after the human pattern, nor any animal one, nor after the ideals, however wild, of ancient fable209, but equally in aspect as in organism be an original production; the more terrible to behold210, the better.
Such, then, were the suppositions as to the present scheme, and the reserved intent. How, at the very threshold, so unlooked-for a catastrophe211 overturned all,[146] or rather, what was the conjecture182 here, is now to be set forth212.
It was thought that on the day preceding the fatality213, his visitors having left him, Bannadonna had unpacked214 the belfry image, adjusted it, and placed it in the retreat provided,—a sort of sentry-box in one corner of the belfry; in short, throughout the night, and for some part of the ensuing morning, he had been engaged in arranging everything connected with the domino: the issuing from the sentry-box each sixty minutes; sliding along a grooved215 way, like a railway; advancing to the clock-bell, with uplifted manacles; striking it at one of the twelve junctions216 of the four-and-twenty hands; then wheeling, circling the bell, and retiring to its post, there to bide217 for another sixty minutes, when the same process was to be repeated; the bell, by a cunning mechanism218, meantime turning on its vertical axis219, so as to present, to the descending220 mace, the clasped hands of the next two figures, when it would strike two, three, and so on, to the end. The musical metal in this time-bell was so managed in the fusion, by some art, perishing with its originator, that each of the clasps of the four-and-twenty hands should give forth its own peculiar resonance221 when parted.
But on the magic metal, the magic and metallic stranger never struck but that one stroke, drove but that one nail, severed222 but that one clasp, by which Bannadonna clung to his ambitious life. For, after winding up the creature in the sentry-box, so that, for the present, skipping the intervening hours, it should not emerge till the hour of one, but should then infallibly emerge, and, after[147] deftly223 oiling the grooves224 whereon it was to slide, it was surmised225 that the mechanician must then have hurried to the bell, to give his final touches to its sculpture. True artist, he here became absorbed,—an absorption still further intensified226, it may be, by his striving to abate227 that strange look of Una; which, though before others he had treated it with such unconcern, might not, in secret, have been without its thorn.
And so, for the interval228, he was oblivious229 of his creature; which, not oblivious of him, and true to its creation, and true to its heedful winding up, left its post precisely at the given moment; along its well-oiled route, slid noiselessly toward its mark; and, aiming at the hand of Una, to ring one clangorous note, dully smote the intervening brain of Bannadonna, turned backward to it; the manacled arms then instantly upspringing to their hovering230 poise231. The falling body clogged232 the thing’s return; so there it stood, still impending over Bannadonna, as if whispering some post-mortem terror. The chisel lay dropped from the hand, but beside the hand; the oil-flask spilled across the iron track.
In his unhappy end, not unmindful of the rare genius of the mechanician, the republic decreed him a stately funeral. It was resolved that the great bell—the one whose casting had been jeopardized233 through the timidity of the ill-starred workman—should be rung upon the entrance of the bier into the cathedral. The most robust234 man of the country round was assigned the office of bell-ringer.
But as the pall-bearers entered the cathedral porch, naught but a broken and disastrous235 sound, like that of[148] some lone19 Alpine236 land-slide, fell from the tower upon their ears. And then, all was hushed.
Glancing backward, they saw the groined belfry crushed sidewise in. It afterward237 appeared that the powerful peasant who had the bell-rope in charge, wishing to test at once the full glory of the bell, had swayed down upon the rope with one concentrate jerk. The mass of quaking metal, too ponderous for its frame, and strangely feeble somewhere at its top, loosed from its fastening, tore sidewise down, and tumbling in one sheer fall, three hundred feet to the soft sward below, buried itself inverted238 and half out of sight.
Upon its disinterment, the main fracture was found to have started from a small spot in the ear; which, being scraped, revealed a defect, deceptively minute, in the casting; which defect must subsequently have been pasted over with some unknown compound.
The re-molten metal soon reassumed its place in the tower’s repaired superstructure. For one year the metallic choir239 of birds sang musically in its belfry-boughwork of sculptured blinds and traceries. But on the first anniversary of the tower’s completion,—at early dawn, before the concourse had surrounded it,—an earthquake came; one loud crash was heard. The stone-pine, with all its bower240 of songsters, lay overthrown241 upon the plain.
So the blind slave obeyed its blinder lord; but, in obedience242, slew243 him. So the creator was killed by the creature. So the bell was too heavy for the tower. So the bell’s main weakness was where man’s blood had flawed it. And so pride went before the fall.
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frescoed
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| 壁画( fresco的名词复数 )； 温壁画技法，湿壁画 | |
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stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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4
lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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immutable
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| adj.不可改变的，永恒的 | |
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gauge
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| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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lichened
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| adj.长满地衣的，长青苔的 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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aviary
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| n.大鸟笼，鸟舍 | |
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renovated
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| 翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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aspiration
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| n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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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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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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19
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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20
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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22
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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23
ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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24
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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25
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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26
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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28
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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29
rotary
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| adj.(运动等)旋转的；轮转的；转动的 | |
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30
attest
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| vt.证明，证实；表明 | |
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31
Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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32
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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magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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34
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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35
titanic
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| adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的 | |
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36
mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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37
dented
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| v.使产生凹痕( dent的过去式和过去分词 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等） | |
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38
mythological
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| adj.神话的 | |
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39
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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40
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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41
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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42
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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43
unleashed
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| v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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45
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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46
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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47
smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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48
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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49
inspections
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| n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅 | |
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50
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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51
blemish
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| v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点 | |
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52
imputed
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
remitted
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| v.免除（债务），宽恕( remit的过去式和过去分词 )；使某事缓和；寄回，传送 | |
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54
hoisting
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| 起重，提升 | |
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55
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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56
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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57
pertaining
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| 与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to) | |
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58
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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60
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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61
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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62
pliant
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| adj.顺从的；可弯曲的 | |
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63
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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64
surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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65
augment
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| vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张 | |
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66
demur
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| v．表示异议，反对 | |
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67
plausibly
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| 似真地 | |
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68
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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69
muffling
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| v.压抑，捂住( muffle的现在分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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70
warp
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| vt.弄歪，使翘曲，使不正常，歪曲，使有偏见 | |
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71
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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72
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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73
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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75
pried
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| v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的过去式和过去分词 )；撬开 | |
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76
corroded
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| 已被腐蚀的 | |
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77
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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78
fusion
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| n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接 | |
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79
incognito
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| adv.匿名地；n.隐姓埋名；adj.化装的，用假名的，隐匿姓名身份的 | |
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80
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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81
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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82
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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83
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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84
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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85
sever
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| v.切开，割开；断绝，中断 | |
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86
unemployed
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| adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的 | |
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87
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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88
chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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89
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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90
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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91
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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92
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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93
plebeian
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| adj.粗俗的；平民的；n.平民；庶民 | |
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94
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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95
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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96
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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97
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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98
scuttle
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| v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗 | |
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99
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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100
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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101
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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102
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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103
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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104
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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105
surmising
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的现在分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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106
impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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107
jocundly
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| adv.愉快地，快活地 | |
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108
discrepancy
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| n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾 | |
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109
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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110
variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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111
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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112
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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113
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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114
leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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115
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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116
diversified
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| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
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117
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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118
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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119
incipiently
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| adv.起初地，早期地 | |
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120
malign
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| adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑 | |
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121
transmute
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| vt.使变化，使改变 | |
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122
joyousness
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| 快乐，使人喜悦 | |
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123
mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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124
evokes
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| 产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 ) | |
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125
evoke
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| vt.唤起，引起，使人想起 | |
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126
personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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127
blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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128
toiler
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| 辛劳者，勤劳者 | |
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129
superciliously
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| adv.高傲地；傲慢地 | |
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130
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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131
whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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132
meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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133
implement
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| n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行 | |
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134
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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135
cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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136
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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137
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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138
scrutinizing
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| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 ) | |
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139
foretell
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| v.预言，预告，预示 | |
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140
verged
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| 接近，逼近（verge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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141
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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142
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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143
mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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144
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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145
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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146
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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147
vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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148
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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149
scaly
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| adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的 | |
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150
lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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151
smite
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| v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿 | |
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152
spurning
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的现在分词 ) | |
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153
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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154
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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155
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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156
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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157
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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158
smuggled
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| 水货 | |
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159
convivial
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| adj.狂欢的，欢乐的 | |
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160
accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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161
defective
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| adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的 | |
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162
explicitly
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| ad.明确地，显然地 | |
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163
dearth
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| n.缺乏，粮食不足，饥谨 | |
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164
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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165
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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166
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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167
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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168
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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169
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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170
percussion
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| n.打击乐器；冲突，撞击；震动，音响 | |
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171
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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172
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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173
spire
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| n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点 | |
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174
obliterate
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| v.擦去，涂抹，去掉...痕迹，消失，除去 | |
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175
bespeaking
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| v.预定( bespeak的现在分词 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求 | |
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176
volition
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| n.意志；决意 | |
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177
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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178
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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179
mace
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| n.狼牙棒，豆蔻干皮 | |
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180
locomotion
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| n.运动，移动 | |
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181
conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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182
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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183
projectors
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| 电影放映机，幻灯机( projector的名词复数 ) | |
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184
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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185
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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186
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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187
excellences
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| n.卓越( excellence的名词复数 )；（只用于所修饰的名词后）杰出的；卓越的；出类拔萃的 | |
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188
advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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189
chimeras
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| n.（由几种动物的各部分构成的）假想的怪兽( chimera的名词复数 )；不可能实现的想法；幻想；妄想 | |
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190
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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191
transcending
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| 超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的现在分词 )； 优于或胜过… | |
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192
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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193
vainglorious
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| adj.自负的；夸大的 | |
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194
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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195
physiological
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| adj.生理学的，生理学上的 | |
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196
inductions
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| 归纳（法）( induction的名词复数 )； （电或磁的）感应； 就职； 吸入 | |
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197
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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198
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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199
vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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200
materialist
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| n. 唯物主义者 | |
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201
crucible
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| n.坩锅，严酷的考验 | |
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202
intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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203
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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204
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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205
outstrip
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| v.超过，跑过 | |
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206
automaton
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| n.自动机器，机器人 | |
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207
utilitarian
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| adj.实用的，功利的 | |
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208
collaterally
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| 担保物； 旁系亲属 | |
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209
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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210
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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211
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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212
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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213
fatality
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| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
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214
unpacked
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| v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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215
grooved
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| v.沟( groove的过去式和过去分词 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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216
junctions
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| 联结点( junction的名词复数 )； 会合点； （公路或铁路的）交叉路口； （电缆等的）主结点 | |
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217
bide
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| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
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218
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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219
axis
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| n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线 | |
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220
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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221
resonance
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| n.洪亮；共鸣；共振 | |
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222
severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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223
deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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224
grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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225
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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226
intensified
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| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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227
abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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228
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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229
oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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230
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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231
poise
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| vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信 | |
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232
clogged
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| （使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞 | |
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233
jeopardized
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| 危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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234
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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235
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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236
alpine
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| adj.高山的；n.高山植物 | |
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237
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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238
inverted
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| adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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239
choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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240
bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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241
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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242
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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243
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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