At half-past five o'clock, after the closing of the gates, Delaherche, in his eager thirst for news, now that he knew the battle lost, had again returned to the Sous-Prefecture. He hung persistently1 about the approaches of the janitor's lodge3, tramping up and down the paved courtyard with feverish4 impatience5, for more than three hours, watching for every officer who came up and interviewing him, and thus it was that he had become acquainted, piecemeal6, with the rapid series of events; how General de Wimpffen had tendered his resignation and then withdrawn7 it upon the peremptory8 refusal of Generals Ducrot and Douay to append their names to the articles of capitulation, how the Emperor had thereupon invested the General with full authority to proceed to the Prussian headquarters and treat for the surrender of the vanquished10 army on the most advantageous11 terms obtainable; how, finally, a council of war had been convened12 with the object of deciding what possibilities there were of further protracting13 the struggle successfully by the defense15 of the fortress16. During the deliberations of this council, which consisted of some twenty officers of the highest rank and seemed to him as if it would never end, the cloth manufacturer climbed the steps of the huge public building at least twenty times, and at last his curiosity was gratified by beholding18 General de Wimpffen emerge, very red in the face and his eyelids19 puffed20 and swollen21 with tears, behind whom came two other generals and a colonel. They leaped into the saddle and rode away over the Pont de Meuse. The bells had struck eight some time before; the inevitable22 capitulation was now to be accomplished23, from which there was no escape.
Delaherche, somewhat relieved in mind by what he had heard and seen, remembered that it was a long time since he had tasted food and resolved to turn his steps homeward, but the terrific crowd that had collected since he first came made him pause in dismay. It is no exaggeration to say that the streets and squares were so congested, so thronged25, so densely26 packed with horses, men, and guns, that one would have declared the closely compacted mass could only have been squeezed and wedged in there thus by the effort of some gigantic mechanism27. While the ramparts were occupied by the bivouacs of such regiments29 as had fallen back in good order, the city had been invaded and submerged by an angry, surging, desperate flood, the broken remnants of the various corps30, stragglers and fugitives31 from all arms of the service, and the dammed-up tide made it impossible for one to stir foot or hand. The wheels of the guns, of the caissons, and the innumerable vehicles of every description, had interlocked and were tangled32 in confusion worse confounded, while the poor horses, flogged unmercifully by their drivers and pulled, now in this direction, now in that, could only dance in their bewilderment, unable to move a step either forward or back. And the men, deaf to reproaches and threats alike, forced their way into the houses, devoured33 whatever they could lay hands on, flung themselves down to sleep wherever they could find a vacant space, it might be in the best bedroom or in the cellar. Many of them had fallen in doorways34, where they blocked the vestibule; others, without strength to go farther, lay extended on the sidewalks and slept the sleep of death, not even rising when some by-passer trod on them and bruised35 an arm or leg, preferring the risk of death to the fatigue36 of changing their location.
These things all helped to make Delaherche still more keenly conscious of the necessity of immediate37 capitulation. There were some quarters in which numerous caissons were packed so close together that they were in contact, and a single Prussian shell alighting on one of them must inevitably38 have exploded them all, entailing39 the immediate destruction of the city by conflagration40. Then, too, what could be accomplished with such an assemblage of miserable41 wretches42, deprived of all their powers, mental and physical, by reason of their long-endured privations, and destitute44 of either ammunition45 or subsistence? Merely to clear the streets and reduce them to a condition of something like order would require a whole day. The place was entirely47 incapable48 of defense, having neither guns nor provisions.
These were the considerations that had prevailed at the council among those more reasonable officers who, in the midst of their grief and sorrow for their country and the army, had retained a clear and undistorted view of the situation as it was; and the more hot-headed among them, those who cried with emotion that it was impossible for an army to surrender thus, had been compelled to bow their head upon their breast in silence and admit that they had no practicable scheme to offer whereby the conflict might be recommenced on the morrow.
In the Place Turenne and Place du Rivage, Delaherche succeeded with the greatest difficulty in working his way through the press. As he passed the Hotel of the Golden Cross a sorrowful vision greeted his eyes, that of the generals seated in the dining room, gloomily silent, around the empty board; there was nothing left to eat in the house, not even bread. General Bourgain-Desfeuilles, however, who had been storming and vociferating in the kitchen, appeared to have found something, for he suddenly held his peace and ran away swiftly up the stairs, holding in his hands a large paper parcel of a greasy49 aspect. Such was the crowd assembled there, to stare through the lighted windows upon the guests assembled around that famine-stricken _table d'hote_, that the manufacturer was obliged to make vigorous play with his elbows, and was frequently driven back by some wild rush of the mob and lost all the distance, and more, that he had just gained. In the Grande Rue50, however, the obstacles became actually impassable, and there was a moment when he was inclined to give up in despair; a complete battery seemed to have been driven in there and the guns and _materiel_ piled, pell-mell, on top of one another. Deciding finally to take the bull by the horns, he leaped to the axle of a piece and so pursued his way, jumping from wheel to wheel, straddling the guns, at the imminent51 risk of breaking his legs, if not his neck. Afterward52 it was some horses that blocked his way, and he made himself lowly and stooped, creeping among the feet and underneath53 the bellies54 of the sorry jades55, who were ready to die of inanition, like their masters. Then, when after a quarter of an hour's laborious56 effort he reached the junction57 of the Rue Saint-Michel, he was terrified at the prospect58 of the dangers and obstacles that he had still to face, and which, instead of diminishing, seemed to be increasing, and made up his mind to turn down the street above mentioned, which would take him into the Rue des Laboureurs; he hoped that by taking these usually quiet and deserted59 passages he should escape the crowd and reach his home in safety. As luck would have it he almost directly came upon a house of ill-fame to which a band of drunken soldiers were in process of laying siege, and considering that a stray shot, should one reach him in the fracas60, would be equally as unpleasant as one intended for him, he made haste to retrace61 his steps. Resolving to have done with it he pushed on to the end of the Grande Rue, now gaining a few feet by balancing himself, rope-walker fashion, along the pole of some vehicle, now climbing over an army wagon62 that barred his way. At the Place du College he was carried along--bodily on the shoulders of the throng24 for a space of thirty paces; he fell to the ground, narrowly escaped a set of fractured ribs63, and saved himself only by the proximity64 of a friendly iron railing, by the bars of which he pulled himself to his feet. And when at last he reached the Rue Maqua, inundated65 with perspiration66, his clothing almost torn from his back, he found that he had been more than an hour in coming from the Sous-Prefecture, a distance which in ordinary times he was accustomed to accomplish in less than five minutes.
Major Bouroche, with the intention of keeping the ambulance and garden from being overrun with intruders, had caused two sentries67 to be mounted at the door. This measure was a source of great comfort to Delaherche, who had begun to contemplate68 the possibilities of his house being subjected to pillage69. The sight of the ambulance in the garden, dimly lighted by a few candles and exhaling70 its fetid, feverish emanations, caused him a fresh constriction71 of the heart; then, stumbling over the body of a soldier who was stretched in slumber72 on the stone pavement of the walk, he supposed him to be one of the fugitives who had managed to find his way in there from outside, until, calling to mind the 7th corps treasure that had been deposited there and the sentry73 who had been set over it, he saw how matters stood: the poor fellow, stationed there since early morning, had been overlooked by his superiors and had succumbed74 to his fatigue. Besides, the house seemed quite deserted; the ground floor was black as Egypt, and the doors stood wide open. The servants were doubtless all at the ambulance, for there was no one in the kitchen, which was faintly illuminated75 by the light of a wretched little smoky lamp. He lit a candle and ascended77 the main staircase very softly, in order not to awaken78 his wife and mother, whom he had begged to go to bed early after a day where the stress, both mental and physical, had been so intense.
On entering his study, however, he beheld79 a sight that caused his eyes to dilate80 with astonishment81. Upon the sofa on which Captain Beaudoin had snatched a few hours' repose82 the day before a soldier lay outstretched; and he could not understand the reason of it until he had looked and recognized young Maurice Levasseur, Henriette's brother. He was still more surprised when, on turning his head, he perceived, stretched on the floor and wrapped in a bed quilt, another soldier, that Jean, whom he had seen for a moment just before the battle. It was plain that the poor fellows, in their distress83 and fatigue after the conflict, not knowing where else to bestow84 themselves, had sought refuge there; they were crushed, annihilated85, like dead men. He did not linger there, but pushed on to his wife's chamber86, which was the next room on the corridor. A lamp was burning on a table in a corner; the profound silence seemed to shudder87. Gilberte had thrown herself crosswise on the bed, fully14 dressed, doubtless in order to be prepared for any catastrophe88, and was sleeping peacefully, while, seated on a chair at her side with her head declined and resting lightly on the very edge of the mattress89, Henriette was also slumbering90, with a fitful, agitated91 sleep, while big tears welled up beneath her swollen eyelids. He contemplated92 them silently for a moment, strongly tempted93 to awake and question the young woman in order to ascertain94 what she knew. Had she succeeded in reaching Bazeilles? and why was it that she was back there? Perhaps she would be able to give him some tidings of his dyehouse were he to ask her? A feeling of compassion95 stayed him, however, and he was about to leave the room when his mother, ghost-like, appeared at the threshold of the open door and beckoned96 him to follow her.
As they were passing through the dining room he expressed his surprise.
"What, have you not been abed to-night?"
She shook her head, then said below her breath:
"I cannot sleep; I have been sitting in an easy-chair beside the colonel. He is very feverish; he awakes at every instant, almost, and then plies97 me with questions. I don't know how to answer them. Come in and see him, you."
M. de Vineuil had fallen asleep again. His long face, now brightly red, barred by the sweeping98 mustache that fell across it like a snowy avalanche99, was scarce distinguishable on the pillow. Mme. Delaherche had placed a newspaper before the lamp and that corner of the room was lost in semi-darkness, while all the intensity100 of the bright lamplight was concentrated on her where she sat, uncompromisingly erect101, in her fauteuil, her hands crossed before her in her lap, her vague eyes bent102 on space, in sorrowful reverie.
"I think he must have heard you," she murmured; "he is awaking again."
It was so; the colonel, without moving his head, had reopened his eyes and bent them on Delaherche. He recognized him, and immediately asked in a voice that his exhausted104 condition made tremulous:
"It is all over, is it not? We have capitulated."
The manufacturer, who encountered the look his mother cast on him at that moment, was on the point of equivocating105. But what good would it do? A look of discouragement passed across his face.
"What else remained to do? A single glance at the streets of the city would convince you. General de Wimpffen has just set out for Prussian general headquarters to discuss conditions."
M. de Vineuil's eyes closed again, his long frame was shaken with a protracted106 shiver of supremely107 bitter grief, and this deep, long-drawn moan escaped his lips:
"Ah! merciful God, merciful God!" And without opening his eyes he went on in faltering108, broken accents: "Ah! the plan I spoke109 of yesterday --they should have adopted it. Yes, I knew the country; I spoke of my apprehensions110 to the general, but even him they would not listen to. Occupy all the heights up there to the north, from Saint-Menges to Fleigneux, with your army looking down on and commanding Sedan, able at any time to move on Vrigne-aux-Bois, mistress of Saint-Albert's pass--and there we are; our positions are impregnable, the Mezieres road is under our control--"
His speech became more confused as he proceeded; he stammered112 a few more unintelligible113 words, while the vision of the battle that had been born of his fever little by little grew blurred114 and dim and at last was effaced115 by slumber. He slept, and in his sleep perhaps the honest officer's dreams were dreams of victory.
"Does the major speak favorably of his case?" Delaherche inquired in a whisper.
Madame Delaherche nodded affirmatively.
"Those wounds in the foot are dreadful things, though," he went on. "I suppose he is likely to be laid up for a long time, isn't he?"
She made him no answer this time, as if all her being, all her faculties117 were concentrated on contemplating118 the great calamity119 of their defeat. She was of another age; she was a survivor120 of that strong old race of frontier burghers who defended their towns so valiantly121 in the good days gone by. The clean-cut lines of her stern, set face, with its fleshless, uncompromising nose and thin lips, which the brilliant light of the lamp brought out in high relief against the darkness of the room, told the full extent of her stifled122 rage and grief and the wound sustained by her antique patriotism123, the revolt of which refused even to let her sleep.
About that time Delaherche became conscious of a sensation of isolation124, accompanied by a most uncomfortable feeling of physical distress. His hunger was asserting itself again, a griping, intolerable hunger, and he persuaded himself that it was debility alone that was thus robbing him of courage and resolution. He tiptoed softly from the room and, with his candle, again made his way down to the kitchen, but the spectacle he witnessed there was even still more cheerless; the range cold and fireless, the closets empty, the floor strewn with a disorderly litter of towels, napkins, dish-clouts and women's aprons126; as if the hurricane of disaster had swept through that place as well, bearing away on its wings all the charm and cheer that appertain naturally to the things we eat and drink. At first he thought he was not going to discover so much as a crust, what was left over of the bread having all found its way to the ambulance in the form of soup. At last, however, in the dark corner of a cupboard he came across the remainder of the beans from yesterday's dinner, where they had been forgotten, and ate them. He accomplished his luxurious127 repast without the formality of sitting down, without the accompaniment of salt and butter, for which he did not care to trouble himself to ascend76 to the floor above, desirous only to get away as speedily as possible from that dismal128 kitchen, where the blinking, smoking little lamp perfumed the air with fumes129 of petroleum130.
It was not much more than ten o'clock, and Delaherche had no other occupation than to speculate on the various probabilities connected with the signing of the capitulation. A persistent2 apprehension111 haunted him; a dread116 lest the conflict might be renewed, and the horrible thought of what the consequences must be in such an event, of which he could not speak, but which rested on his bosom131 like an incubus132. When he had reascended to his study, where he found Maurice and Jean in exactly the same position he had left them in, it was all in vain that he settled himself comfortably in his favorite easy-chair; sleep would not come to him; just as he was on the point of losing himself the crash of a shell would arouse him with a great start. It was the frightful133 cannonade of the day, the echoes of which were still ringing in his ears; and he would listen breathlessly for a moment, then sit and shudder at the equally appalling134 silence by which he was now surrounded. As he could not sleep he preferred to move about; he wandered aimlessly among the rooms, taking care to avoid that in which his mother was sitting by the colonel's bedside, for the steady gaze with which she watched him as he tramped nervously135 up and down had finally had the effect of disconcerting him. Twice he returned to see if Henriette had not awakened136, and he paused an instant to glance at his wife's pretty face, so calmly peaceful, on which seemed to be flitting something like the faint shadow of a smile. Then, knowing not what to do, he went downstairs again, came back, moved about from room to room, until it was nearly two in the morning, wearying his ears with trying to decipher some meaning in the sounds that came to him from without.
This condition of affairs could not last. Delaherche resolved to return once more to the Sous-Prefecture, feeling assured that all rest would be quite out of the question for him so long as his ignorance continued. A feeling of despair seized him, however, when he went downstairs and looked out upon the densely crowded street, where the confusion seemed to be worse than ever; never would he have the strength to fight his way to the Place Turenne and back again through obstacles the mere46 memory of which caused every bone in his body to ache again. And he was mentally discussing matters, when who should come up but Major Bouroche, panting, perspiring137, and swearing.
"_Tonnerre de Dieu!_ I wonder if my head's on my shoulders or not!"
He had been obliged to visit the Hotel de Ville to see the mayor about his supply of chloroform, and urge him to issue a requisition for a quantity, for he had many operations to perform, his stock of the drug was exhausted, and he was afraid, he said, that he should be compelled to carve up the poor devils without putting them to sleep.
"Well?" inquired Delaherche.
"Well, they can't even tell whether the apothecaries138 have any or not!"
But the manufacturer was thinking of other things than chloroform. "No, no," he continued. "Have they brought matters to a conclusion yet? Have they signed the agreement with the Prussians?"
The major made a gesture of impatience. "There is nothing concluded," he cried. "It appears that those scoundrels are making demands out of all reason. Ah, well; let 'em commence afresh, then, and we'll all leave our bones here. That will be best!"
Delaherche's face grew very pale as he listened. "But are you quite sure these things are so?"
"I was told them by those fellows of the municipal council, who are in permanent session at the city hall. An officer had been dispatched from the Sous-Prefecture to lay the whole affair before them."
And he went on to furnish additional details. The interview had taken place at the Chateau139 de Bellevue, near Donchery, and the participants were General de Wimpffen, General von Moltke, and Bismarck. A stern and inflexible140 man was that von Moltke, a terrible man to deal with! He began by demonstrating that he was perfectly141 acquainted with the hopeless situation of the French army; it was destitute of ammunition and subsistence, demoralization and disorder125 pervaded142 its ranks, it was utterly143 powerless to break the iron circle by which it was girt about; while on the other hand the German armies occupied commanding positions from which they could lay the city in ashes in two hours. Coldly, unimpassionedly, he stated his terms: the entire French army to surrender arms and baggage and be treated as prisoners of war. Bismarck took no part in the discussion beyond giving the general his support, occasionally showing his teeth, like a big mastiff, inclined to be pacific on the whole, but quite ready to rend9 and tear should there be occasion for it. General de Wimpffen in reply protested with all the force he had at his command against these conditions, the most severe that ever were imposed on a vanquished army. He spoke of his personal grief and ill-fortune, the bravery of the troops, the danger there was in driving a proud nation to extremity144; for three hours he spoke with all the energy and eloquence145 of despair, alternately threatening and entreating146, demanding that they should content themselves with interning147 their prisoners in France, or even in Algeria; and in the end the only concession148 granted was, that the officers might retain their swords, and those among them who should enter into a solemn arrangement, attested149 by a written parole, to serve no more during the war, might return to their homes. Finally, the armistice150 to be prolonged until the next morning at ten o'clock; if at that time the terms had not been accepted, the Prussian batteries would reopen fire and the city would be burned.
"That's stupid!" exclaimed Delaherche; "they have no right to burn a city that has done nothing to deserve it!"
The major gave him still further food for anxiety by adding that some officers whom he had met at the Hotel de l'Europe were talking of making a sortie _en masse_ just before daylight. An extremely excited state of feeling had prevailed since the tenor151 of the German demands had become known, and measures the most extravagant152 were proposed and discussed. No one seemed to be deterred153 by the consideration that it would be dishonorable to break the truce154, taking advantage of the darkness and giving the enemy no notification, and the wildest, most visionary schemes were offered; they would resume the march on Carignan, hewing155 their way through the Bavarians, which they could do in the black night; they would recapture the plateau of Illy by a surprise; they would raise the blockade of the Mezieres road, or, by a determined156, simultaneous rush, would force the German lines and throw themselves into Belgium. Others there were, indeed, who, feeling the hopelessness of their position, said nothing; they would have accepted any terms, signed any paper, with a glad cry of relief, simply to have the affair ended and done with.
"Good-night!" Bouroche said in conclusion. "I am going to try to sleep a couple of hours; I need it badly."
When left by himself Delaherche could hardly breathe. What, could it be true that they were going to fight again, were going to burn and raze157 Sedan! It was certainly to be, soon as the morrow's sun should be high enough upon the hills to light the horror of the sacrifice. And once again he almost unconsciously climbed the steep ladder that led to the roofs and found himself standing158 among the chimneys, at the edge of the narrow terrace that overlooked the city; but at that hour of the night the darkness was intense and he could distinguish absolutely nothing amid the swirling159 waves of the Cimmerian sea that lay beneath him. Then the buildings of the factory below were the first objects which, one by one, disentangled themselves from the shadows and stood out before his vision in indistinct masses, which he had no difficulty in recognizing: the engine-house, the shops, the drying rooms, the storehouses, and when he reflected that within twenty-four hours there would remain of that imposing160 block of buildings, his fortune and his pride, naught161 save charred162 timbers and crumbling163 walls, he overflowed164 with pity for himself. He raised his glance thence once more to the horizon, and sent it traveling in a circuit around that profound, mysterious veil of blackness behind which lay slumbering the menace of the morrow. To the south, in the direction of Bazeilles, a few quivering little flames that rose fitfully on the air told where had been the site of the unhappy village, while toward the north the farmhouse165 in the wood of la Garenne, that had been fired late in the afternoon, was burning still, and the trees about were dyed of a deep red with the ruddy blaze. Beyond the intermittent166 flashing of those two baleful fires no light to be seen; the brooding silence unbroken by any sound save those half-heard mutterings that pass through the air like harbingers of evil; about them, everywhere, the unfathomable abyss, dead and lifeless. Off there in the distance, very far away, perhaps, perhaps upon the ramparts, was a sound of someone weeping. It was all in vain that he strained his eyes to pierce the veil, to see something of Liry, la Marfee, the batteries of Frenois, and Wadelincourt, that encircling belt of bronze monsters of which he could instinctively167 feel the presence there, with their outstretched necks and yawning, ravenous168 muzzles169. And as he recalled his glance and let it fall upon the city that lay around and beneath him, he heard its frightened breathing. It was not alone the unquiet slumbers170 of the soldiers who had fallen in the streets, the blending of inarticulate sounds produced by that gathering171 of guns, men, and horses; what he fancied he could distinguish was the insomnia172, the alarmed watchfulness173 of his bourgeois174 neighbors, who, no more than he, could sleep, quivering with feverish terrors, awaiting anxiously the coming of the day. They all must be aware that the capitulation had not been signed, and were all counting the hours, quaking at the thought that should it not be signed the sole resource left them would be to go down into their cellars and wait for their own walls to tumble in on them and crush the life from their bodies. The voice of one in sore straits came up, it seemed to him, from the Rue des Voyards, shouting: "Help! murder!" amid the clash of arms. He bent over the terrace to look, then remained aloft there in the murky175 thickness of the night where there was not a star to cheer him, wrapped in such an ecstasy176 of terror that the hairs of his body stood erect.
Below-stairs, at early daybreak, Maurice awoke upon his sofa. He was sore and stiff as if he had been racked; he did not stir, but lay looking listlessly at the windows, which gradually grew white under the light of a cloudy dawn. The hateful memories of the day before all came back to him with that distinctness that characterizes the impressions of our first waking, how they had fought, fled, surrendered. It all rose before his vision, down to the very least detail, and he brooded with horrible anguish177 on the defeat, whose reproachful echoes seemed to penetrate178 to the inmost fibers179 of his being, as if he felt that all the responsibility of it was his. And he went on to reason on the cause of the evil, analyzing180 himself, reverting181 to his old habit of bitter and unavailing self-reproach. He would have felt so brave, so glorious had victory remained with them! And now, in defeat, weak and nervous as a woman, he once again gave way to one of those overwhelming fits of despair in which the entire world, seemed to him to be foundering182. Nothing was left them; the end of France was come. His frame was shaken by a storm of sobs183, he wept hot tears, and joining his hands, the prayers of his childhood rose to his lips in stammering184 accents.
"O God! take me unto Thee! O God! take unto Thyself all those who are weary and heavy-laden!"
Jean, lying on the floor wrapped in his bed-quilt, began to show some signs of life. Finally, astonished at what he heard, he arose to a sitting posture185.
"What is the matter, youngster? Are you ill?" Then, with a glimmering186 perception of how matters stood, he adopted a more paternal187 tone. "Come, tell me what the matter is. You must not let yourself be worried by such a little thing as this, you know."
"Ah!" exclaimed Maurice, "it is all up with us, _va_! we are Prussians now, and we may as well make up our mind to it."
As the peasant, with the hard-headedness of the uneducated, expressed surprise to hear him talk thus, he endeavored to make it clear to him that, the race being degenerate188 and exhausted, it must disappear and make room for a newer and more vigorous strain. But the other, with an obstinate189 shake of the head, would not listen to the explanation.
"What! would you try to make me believe that my bit of land is no longer mine? that I would permit the Prussians to take it from me while I am alive and my two arms are left to me? Come, come!"
Then painfully, in such terms as he could command, he went on to tell how affairs looked to him. They had received an all-fired good basting190, that was sure as sure could be! but they were not all dead yet, he didn't believe; there were some left, and those would suffice to rebuild the house if they only behaved themselves, working hard and not drinking up what they earned. When a family has trouble, if its members work and put by a little something, they will pull through, in spite of all the bad luck in the world. And further, it is not such a bad thing to get a good cuffing191 once in a way; it sets one thinking. And, great heavens! if a man has something rotten about him, if he has gangrene in his arms or legs that is spreading all the time, isn't it better to take a hatchet192 and lop them off rather than die as he would from cholera193?
"All up, all up! Ah, no, no! no, no!" he repeated several times. "It is not all up with me, I know very well it is not."
And notwithstanding his seedy condition and demoralized appearance, his hair all matted and pasted to his head by the blood that had flowed from his wound, he drew himself up defiantly194, animated195 by a keen desire to live, to take up the tools of his trade or put his hand to the plow196, in order, to use his own expression, to "rebuild the house." He was of the old soil where reason and obstinacy197 grow side by side, of the land of toil198 and thrift199.
"All the same, though," he continued, "I am sorry for the Emperor. Affairs seemed to be going on well; the farmers were getting a good price for their grain. But surely it was bad judgment200 on his part to allow himself to become involved in this business!"
Maurice, who was still in "the blues," spoke regretfully: "Ah, the Emperor! I always liked him in my heart, in spite of my republican ideas. Yes, I had it in the blood, on account of my grandfather, I suppose. And now that that limb is rotten and we shall have to lop it off, what is going to become of us?"
His eyes began to wander, and his voice and manner evinced such distress that Jean became alarmed and was about to rise and go to him, when Henriette came into the room. She had just awakened on hearing the sound of voices in the room adjoining hers. The pale light of a cloudy morning now illuminated the apartment.
"You come just in time to give him a scolding," he said, with an affectation of liveliness. "He is not a good boy this morning."
But the sight of his sister's pale, sad face and the recollection of her affliction had had a salutary effect on Maurice by determining a sudden crisis of tenderness. He opened his arms and took her to his bosom, and when she rested her head upon his shoulder, when he held her locked in a close embrace, a feeling of great gentleness pervaded him and they mingled201 their tears.
"Ah, my poor, poor darling, why have I not more strength and courage to console you! for my sorrows are as nothing compared with yours. That good, faithful Weiss, the husband who loved you so fondly! What will become of you? You have always been the victim; always, and never a murmur103 from your lips. Think of the sorrow I have already caused you, and who can say that I shall not cause you still more in the future!"
She was silencing him, placing her hand upon his mouth, when Delaherche came into the room, beside himself with indignation. While still on the terrace he had been seized by one of those uncontrollable nervous fits of hunger that are aggravated202 by fatigue, and had descended203 to the kitchen in quest of something warm to drink, where he had found, keeping company with his cook, a relative of hers, a carpenter of Bazeilles, whom she was in the act of treating to a bowl of hot wine. This person, who had been one of the last to leave the place while the conflagrations204 were at their height, had told him that his dyehouse was utterly destroyed, nothing left of it but a heap of ruins.
"The robbers, the thieves! Would you have believed it, _hein_?" he stammered, addressing Jean and Maurice. "There is no hope left; they mean to burn Sedan this morning as they burned Bazeilles yesterday. I'm ruined, I'm ruined!" The scar that Henriette bore on her forehead attracted his attention, and he remembered that he had not spoken to her yet. "It is true, you went there, after all; you got that wound-- Ah! poor Weiss!"
And seeing by the young woman's tears that she was acquainted with her husband's fate, he abruptly205 blurted206 out the horrible bit of news that the carpenter had communicated to him among the rest.
"Poor Weiss! it seems they burned him. Yes, after shooting all the civilians207 who were caught with arms in their hands, they threw their bodies into the flames of a burning house and poured petroleum over them."
Henriette was horror-stricken as she listened. Her tears burst forth208, her frame was shaken by her sobs. My God, my God, not even the poor comfort of going to claim her dear dead and give him decent sepulture; his ashes were to be scattered209 by the winds of heaven! Maurice had again clasped her in his arms and spoke to her endearingly, calling her his poor Cinderella, beseeching210 her not to take the matter so to heart, a brave woman as she was.
After a time, during which no word was spoken, Delaherche, who had been standing at the window watching the growing day, suddenly turned and addressed the two soldiers:
"By the way, I was near forgetting. What I came up here to tell you is this: down in the courtyard, in the shed where the treasure chests were deposited, there is an officer who is about to distribute the money among the men, so as to keep the Prussians from getting it. You had better go down, for a little money may be useful to you, that is, provided we are all alive a few hours hence."
The advice was good, and Maurice and Jean acted on it, having first prevailed on Henriette to take her brother's place on the sofa. If she could not go to sleep again, she would at least be securing some repose. As for Delaherche, he passed through the adjoining chamber, where Gilberte with her tranquil211, pretty face was slumbering still as soundly as a child, neither the sound of conversation nor even Henriette's sobs having availed to make her change her position. From there he went to the apartment where his mother was watching at Colonel de Vineuil's bedside, and thrust his head through the door; the old lady was asleep in her fauteuil, while the colonel, his eyes closed, was like a corpse212. He opened them to their full extent and asked:
"Well, it's all over, isn't it?"
Irritated by the question, which detained him at the very moment when he thought he should be able to slip away unobserved, Delaherche gave a wrathful look and murmured, sinking his voice:
"Oh, yes, all over! until it begins again! There is nothing signed."
"Merciful God, let me die before the end! I do not hear the guns. Why have they ceased firing? Up there at Saint-Menges, at Fleigneux, we have command of all the roads; should the Prussians dare turn Sedan and attack us, we will drive them into the Meuse. The city is there, an insurmountable obstacle between us and them; our positions, too, are the stronger. Forward! the 7th corps will lead, the 12th will protect the retreat--"
And his fingers kept drumming on the counterpane with a measured movement, as if keeping time with the trot215 of the charger he was riding in his vision. Gradually the motion became slower and slower as his words became more indistinct and he sank off into slumber. It ceased, and he lay motionless and still, as if the breath had left his body.
"Lie still and rest," Delaherche whispered; "when I have news I will return."
Then, having first assured himself that he had not disturbed his mother's slumber, he slipped away and disappeared.
Jean and Maurice, on descending216 to the shed in the courtyard, had found there an officer of the pay department, seated on a common kitchen chair behind a little unpainted pine table, who, without pen, ink, or paper, without taking receipts or indulging in formalities of any kind, was dispensing217 fortunes. He simply stuck his hand into the open mouth of the bags filled with bright gold pieces, and as the sergeants219 of the 7th corps passed in line before him he filled their _kepis_, never counting what he bestowed220 with such rapid liberality. The understanding was that the sergeants were subsequently to divide what they received with the surviving men of their half-sections. Each of them received his portion awkwardly, as if it had been a ration17 of meat or coffee, then stalked off in an embarrassed, self-conscious sort of way, transferring the contents of the _kepi_ to his trousers' pockets so as not to display his wealth to the world at large. And not a word was spoken; there was not a sound to be heard but the crystalline chink and rattle221 of the coin as it was received by those poor devils, dumfounded to see the responsibility of such riches thrust on them when there was not a place in the city where they could purchase a loaf of bread or a quart of wine.
When Jean and Maurice appeared before him the officer, who was holding outstretched his hand filled, as usual, with louis, drew it back.
"Neither of you fellows is a sergeant218. No one except sergeants is entitled to receive the money." Then, in haste to be done with his task, he changed his mind: "Never mind, though; here, you corporal, take this. Step lively, now. Next man!"
And he dropped the gold coins into the _kepi_ that Jean held out to him. The latter, oppressed by the magnitude of the amount, nearly six hundred francs, insisted that Maurice should take one-half. No one could say what might happen; they might be parted from each other.
They made the division in the garden, before the ambulance, and when they had concluded their financial business they entered, having recognized on the straw near the entrance the drummer-boy of their company, Bastian, a fat, good-natured little fellow, who had had the ill-luck to receive a spent ball in the groin about five o'clock the day before, when the battle was ended. He had been dying by inches for the last twelve hours.
In the dim, white light of morning, at that hour of awakening222, the sight of the ambulance sent a chill of horror through them. Three more patients had died during the night, without anyone being aware of it, and the attendants were hurriedly bearing away the corpses223 in order to make room for others. Those who had been operated on the day before opened wide their eyes in their somnolent224, semi-conscious state, and looked with dazed astonishment on that vast dormitory of suffering, where the victims of the knife, only half-slaughtered, rested on their straw. It was in vain that some attempts had been made the night before to clean up the room after the bloody226 work of the operations; there were great splotches of blood on the ill-swept floor; in a bucket of water a great sponge was floating, stained with red, for all the world like a human brain; a hand, its fingers crushed and broken, had been overlooked and lay on the floor of the shed. It was the parings and trimmings of the human butcher shop, the horrible waste and refuse that ensues upon a day of slaughter225, viewed in the cold, raw light of dawn.
Bouroche, who, after a few hours of repose, had already resumed his duties, stopped in front of the wounded drummer-boy, Bastian, then passed on with an imperceptible shrug227 of his shoulders. A hopeless case; nothing to be done. The lad had opened his eyes, however, and emerging from the comatose228 state in which he had been lying, was eagerly watching a sergeant who, his _kepi_ filled with gold in his hand, had come into the room to see if there were any of his men among those poor wretches. He found two, and to each of them gave twenty francs. Other sergeants came in, and the gold began to fall in showers upon the straw, among the dying men. Bastian, who had managed to raise himself, stretched out his two hands, even then shaking in the final agony.
"Don't forget me! don't forget me!"
The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done. What good could money do there? Then yielding to a kindly229 impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
"Don't forget me! don't forget me!"
Bastian fell backward on his straw. For a long time he groped with stiffening230 fingers for the elusive231 gold, which seemed to avoid him. And thus he died.
"The gentleman has blown his candle out; good-night!" said a little, black, wizened232 zouave, who occupied the next bed. "It's vexatious, when one has the wherewithal to pay for wetting his whistle!"
He had his left foot done up in splints. Nevertheless he managed to raise himself on his knees and elbows and in this posture crawl over to the dead man, whom he relieved of all his money, forcing open his hands, rummaging233 among his clothing and the folds of his capote. When he got back to his place, noticing that he was observed, he simply said:
"There's no use letting the stuff be wasted, is there?"
Maurice, sick at heart in that atmosphere of human distress and suffering, had long since dragged Jean away. As they passed out through the shed where the operations were performed they saw Bouroche preparing to amputate the leg of a poor little man of twenty, without chloroform, he having been unable to obtain a further supply of the anaesthetic. And they fled, running, so as not to hear the poor boy's shrieks234.
Delaherche, who came in from the street just then, beckoned to them and shouted:
"Come upstairs, come, quick! we are going to have breakfast. The cook has succeeded in procuring235 some milk, and it is well she did, for we are all in great need of something to warm our stomachs." And notwithstanding his efforts to do so, he could not entirely repress his delight and exultation236. With a radiant countenance237 he added, lowering his voice: "It is all right this time. General de Wimpffen has set out again for the German headquarters to sign the capitulation."
Ah, how much those words meant to him, what comfort there was in them, what relief! his horrid238 nightmare dispelled239, his property saved from destruction, his daily life to be resumed, under changed conditions, it is true, but still it was to go on, it was not to cease! It was little Rose who had told him of the occurrences of the morning at the Sous-Prefecture; the girl had come hastening through the streets, now somewhat less choked than they had been, to obtain a supply of bread from an aunt of hers who kept a baker's shop in the quarter; it was striking nine o'clock. As early as eight General de Wimpffen had convened another council of war, consisting of more than thirty generals, to whom he related the results that had been reached so far, the hard conditions imposed by the victorious241 foe242, and his own fruitless efforts to secure a mitigation of them. His emotion was such that his hands shook like a leaf, his eyes were suffused243 with tears. He was still addressing the assemblage when a colonel of the German staff presented himself, on behalf of General von Moltke, to remind them that, unless a decision were arrived at by ten o'clock, their guns would open fire on the city of Sedan. With this horrible alternative before them the council could do nothing save authorize244 the general to proceed once more to the Chateau of Bellevue and accept the terms of the victors. He must have accomplished his mission by that time, and the entire French army were prisoners of war.
When she had concluded her narrative245 Rose launched out into a detailed246 account of the tremendous excitement the tidings had produced in the city. At the Sous-Prefecture she had seen officers tear the epaulettes from their shoulders, weeping meanwhile like children. Cavalrymen had thrown their sabers from the Pont de Meuse into the river; an entire regiment28 of cuirassiers had passed, each man tossing his blade over the parapet and sorrowfully watching the water close over it. In the streets many soldiers grasped their muskets247 by the barrel and smashed them against a wall, while there were artillerymen who removed the mechanism from the mitrailleuses and flung it into the sewer248. Some there were who buried or burned the regimental standards. In the Place Turenne an old sergeant climbed upon a gate-post and harangued249 the throng as if he had suddenly taken leave of his senses, reviling250 the leaders, stigmatizing251 them as poltroons and cowards. Others seemed as if dazed, shedding big tears in silence, and others also, it must be confessed (and it is probable that they were in the majority), betrayed by their laughing eyes and pleased expression the satisfaction they felt at the change in affairs. There was an end to their suffering at last; they were prisoners of war, they could not be obliged to fight any more! For so many days they had been distressed252 by those long, weary marches, with never food enough to satisfy their appetite! And then, too, they were the weaker; what use was there in fighting? If their chiefs had betrayed them, had sold them to the enemy, so much the better; it would be the sooner ended! It was such a delicious thing to think of, that they were to have white bread to eat, were to sleep between sheets!
As Delaherche was about to enter the dining room in company with Maurice and Jean, his mother called to him from above.
"Come up here, please; I am anxious about the colonel."
M. de Vineuil, with wide-open eyes, was talking rapidly and excitedly of the subject that filled his bewildered brain.
"The Prussians have cut us off from Mezieres, but what matters it! See, they have outmarched us and got possession of the plain of Donchery; soon they will be up with the wood of la Falizette and flank us there, while more of them are coming up along the valley of the Givonne. The frontier is behind us; let us kill as many of them as we can and cross it at a bound. Yesterday, yes, that is what I would have advised--"
At that moment his burning eyes lighted on Delaherche. He recognized him; the sight seemed to sober him and dispel240 the hallucination under which he was laboring253, and coming back to the terrible reality, he asked for the third time:
"It is all over, is it not?"
The manufacturer explosively blurted out the expression of his satisfaction; he could not restrain it.
"Ah, yes, God be praised! it is all over, completely over. The capitulation must be signed by this time."
The colonel raised himself at a bound to a sitting posture, notwithstanding his bandaged foot; he took his sword from the chair by the bedside where it lay and made an attempt to break it, but his hands trembled too violently, and the blade slipped from his fingers.
"Look out! he will cut himself!" Delaherche cried in alarm. "Take that thing away from him; it is dangerous!"
Mme. Delaherche took possession of the sword. With a feeling of compassionate254 respect for the poor colonel's grief and despair she did not conceal255 it, as her son bade her do, but with a single vigorous effort snapped it across her knee, with a strength of which she herself would never have supposed her poor old hands capable. The colonel laid himself down again, casting a look of extreme gentleness upon his old friend, who went back to her chair and seated herself in her usual rigid256 attitude.
In the dining room the cook had meantime served bowls of hot coffee and milk for the entire party. Henriette and Gilberte had awakened, the latter, completely restored by her long and refreshing257 slumber, with bright eyes and smiling face; she embraced most tenderly her friend, whom she pitied, she said, from the bottom of her heart. Maurice seated himself beside his sister, while Jean, who was unused to polite society, but could not decline the invitation that was extended to him, was Delaherche's right-hand neighbor. It was Mme. Delaherche's custom not to come to the table with the family; a servant carried her a bowl, which she drank while sitting by the colonel. The party of five, however, who sat down together, although they commenced their meal in silence, soon became cheerful and talkative. Why should they not rejoice and be glad to find themselves there, safe and sound, with food before them to satisfy their hunger, when the country round about was covered with thousands upon thousands of poor starving wretches? In the cool, spacious258 dining room the snow-white tablecloth259 was a delight to the eye and the steaming _cafe au lait_ seemed delicious.
They conversed260, Delaherche, who had recovered his assurance and was again the wealthy manufacturer, the condescending261 patron courting popularity, severe only toward those who failed to succeed, spoke of Napoleon III., whose face as he saw it last continued to haunt his memory. He addressed himself to Jean, having that simple-minded young man as his neighbor. "Yes, sir, the Emperor has deceived me, and I don't hesitate to say so. His henchmen may put in the plea of mitigating262 circumstances, but it won't go down, sir; he is evidently the first, the only cause of our misfortunes."
He had quite forgotten that only a few months before he had been an ardent263 Bonapartist and had labored264 to ensure the success of the plebiscite, and now he who was henceforth to be known as the Man of Sedan was not even worthy265 to be pitied; he ascribed to him every known iniquity266.
"A man of no capacity, as everyone is now compelled to admit; but let that pass, I say nothing of that. A visionary, a theorist, an unbalanced mind, with whom affairs seemed to succeed as long as he had luck on his side. And there's no use, don't you see, sir, in attempting to work on our sympathies and excite our commiseration267 by telling us that he was deceived, that the opposition268 refused him the necessary grants of men and money. It is he who has deceived us, he whose crimes and blunders have landed us in the horrible muddle269 where we are."
Maurice, who preferred to say nothing on the subject, could not help smiling, while Jean, embarrassed by the political turn the conversation had taken and fearful lest he might make some ill-timed remark, simply replied:
"They say he is a brave man, though."
But those few words, modestly expressed, fairly made Delaherche jump. All his past fear and alarm, all the mental anguish he had suffered, burst from his lips in a cry of concentrated passion, closely allied270 to hatred271.
"A brave man, forsooth; and what does that amount to! Are you aware, sir, that my factory was struck three times by Prussian shells, and that it is no fault of the Emperor's that it was not burned! Are you aware that I, I shall lose a hundred thousand francs by this idiotic272 business! No, no; France invaded, pillaged273, and laid waste, our industries compelled to shut down, our commerce ruined; it is a little too much, I tell you! One brave man like that is quite sufficient; may the Lord preserve us from any more of them! He is down in the blood and mire274, and there let him remain!"
And he made a forcible gesture with his closed fist as if thrusting down and holding under the water some poor wretch43 who was struggling to save himself, then finished his coffee, smacking275 his lips like a true gourmand276. Gilberte waited on Henriette as if she had been a child, laughing a little involuntary laugh when the latter made some exhibition of absent-mindedness. And when at last the coffee had all been drunk they still lingered on in the peaceful quiet of the great cool dining room.
And at that same hour Napoleon III. was in the weaver277's lowly cottage on the Donchery road. As early as five o'clock in the morning he had insisted on leaving the Sous-Prefecture; he felt ill at ease in Sedan, which was at once a menace and a reproach to him, and moreover he thought he might, in some measure, alleviate278 the sufferings of his tender heart by obtaining more favorable terms for his unfortunate army. His object was to have a personal interview with the King of Prussia. He had taken his place in a hired caleche and been driven along the broad highway, with its row of lofty poplars on either side, and this first stage of his journey into exile, accomplished in the chill air of early dawn, must have reminded him forcibly of the grandeur279 that had been his and that he was putting behind him forever. It was on this road that he had his encounter with Bismarck, who came hurrying to meet him in an old cap and coarse, greased boots, with the sole object of keeping him occupied and preventing him from seeing the King until the capitulation should have been signed. The King was still at Vendresse, some nine miles away. Where was he to go? What roof would afford him shelter while he waited? In his own country, so far away, the Palace of the Tuileries had disappeared from his sight, swallowed up in the bosom of a storm-cloud, and he was never to see it more. Sedan seemed already to have receded280 into the distance, leagues and leagues, and to be parted from him by a river of blood. In France there were no longer imperial chateaus, nor official residences, nor even a chimney-nook in the house of the humblest functionary281, where he would have dared to enter and claim hospitality. And it was in the house of the weaver that he determined to seek shelter, the squalid cottage that stood close to the roadside, with its scanty282 kitchen-garden inclosed by a hedge and its front of a single story with little forbidding windows. The room above-stairs was simply whitewashed283 and had a tiled floor; the only furniture was a common pine table and two straw-bottomed chairs. He spent two hours there, at first in company with Bismarck, who smiled to hear him speak of generosity284, after that alone in silent misery285, flattening286 his ashy face against the panes287, taking his last look at French soil and at the Meuse, winding288 in and out, so beautiful, among the broad fertile fields.
Then the next day and the days that came after were other wretched stages of that journey; the Chateau of Bellevue, a pretty bourgeois retreat overlooking the river, where he rested that night, where he shed tears after his interview with King William; the sorrowful departure, that most miserable flight in a hired caleche over remote roads to the north of the city, which he avoided, not caring to face the wrath213 of the vanquished troops and the starving citizens, making a wide circuit over cross-roads by Floing, Fleigneux, and Illy and crossing the stream on a bridge of boats, laid down by the Prussians at Iges; the tragic290 encounter, the story of which has been so often told, that occurred on the corpse-cumbered plateau of Illy: the miserable Emperor, whose state was such that his horse could not be allowed to trot, had sunk under some more than usually violent attack of his complaint, mechanically smoking, perhaps, his everlasting291 cigarette, when a band of haggard, dusty, blood-stained prisoners, who were being conducted from Fleigneux to Sedan, were forced to leave the road to let the carriage pass and stood watching it from the ditch; those who were at the head of the line merely eyed him in silence; presently a hoarse292, sullen293 murmur began to make itself heard, and finally, as the caleche proceeded down the line, the men burst out with a storm of yells and cat-calls, shaking their fists and calling down maledictions on the head of him who had been their ruler. After that came the interminable journey across the battlefield, as far as Givonne, amid scenes of havoc294 and devastation295, amid the dead, who lay with staring eyes upturned that seemed to be full of menace; came, too, the bare, dreary296 fields, the great silent forest, then the frontier, running along the summit of a ridge289, marked only by a stone, facing a wooden post that seemed ready to fall, and beyond the soil of Belgium, the end of all, with its road bordered with gloomy hemlocks297 descending sharply into the narrow valley.
And that first night of exile, that he spent at a common inn, the Hotel de la Poste at Bouillon, what a night it was! When the Emperor showed himself at his window in deference298 to the throng of French refugees and sight-seers that filled the place, he was greeted with a storm of hisses299 and hostile murmurs300. The apartment assigned him, the three windows of which opened on the public square and on the Semoy, was the typical tawdry bedroom of the provincial301 inn with its conventional furnishings: the chairs covered with crimson302 damask, the mahogany _armoire a glace_, and on the mantel the imitation bronze clock, flanked by a pair of conch shells and vases of artificial flowers under glass covers. On either side of the door was a little single bed, to one of which the wearied aide-de-camp betook himself at nine o'clock and was immediately wrapped in soundest slumber. On the other the Emperor, to whom the god of sleep was less benignant, tossed almost the whole night through, and if he arose to try to quiet his excited nerves by walking, the sole distraction303 that his eyes encountered was a pair of engravings that were hung to right and left of the chimney, one depicting304 Rouget de Lisle singing the Marseillaise, the other a crude representation of the Last Judgment, the dead rising from their graves at the sound of the Archangel's trump305, the resurrection of the victims of the battlefield, about to appear before their God to bear witness against their rulers.
The imperial baggage train, cause in its day of so much scandal, had been left behind at Sedan, where it rested in ignominious306 hiding behind the Sous-Prefet's lilac bushes. It puzzled the authorities somewhat to devise means for ridding themselves of what was to them a _bete noire_, for getting it away from the city unseen by the famishing multitude, upon whom the sight of its flaunting307 splendor308 would have produced much the same effect that a red rag does on a maddened bull. They waited until there came an unusually dark night, when horses, carriages, and baggage-wagons, with their silver stew-pans, plate, linen309, and baskets of fine wines, all trooped out of Sedan in deepest mystery and shaped their course for Belgium, noiselessly, without beat of drum, over the least frequented roads like a thief stealing away in the night.
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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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piecemeal
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| adj.零碎的；n.片，块；adv.逐渐地；v.弄成碎块 | |
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withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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rend
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| vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取 | |
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vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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convened
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| 召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合 | |
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protracting
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| v.延长，拖延（某事物）( protract的现在分词 ) | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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ration
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| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
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beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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throng
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thronged
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densely
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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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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34
doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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35
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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36
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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37
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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38
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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39
entailing
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| 使…成为必要( entail的现在分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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40
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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41
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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42
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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43
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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44
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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45
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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46
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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47
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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48
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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49
greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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50
rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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51
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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52
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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53
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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54
bellies
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| n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的 | |
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55
jades
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| n.玉，翡翠（jade的复数形式）v.（使）疲（jade的第三人称单数形式） | |
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56
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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57
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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58
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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59
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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60
fracas
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| n.打架；吵闹 | |
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61
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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62
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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63
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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64
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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65
inundated
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| v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付 | |
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66
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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67
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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68
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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69
pillage
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| v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物 | |
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70
exhaling
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| v.呼出，发散出( exhale的现在分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气 | |
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71
constriction
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| 压缩； 紧压的感觉； 束紧； 压缩物 | |
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72
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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73
sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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74
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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75
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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76
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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77
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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78
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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79
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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80
dilate
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| vt.使膨胀，使扩大 | |
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81
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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82
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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83
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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84
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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85
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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86
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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87
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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88
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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89
mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 | |
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90
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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91
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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92
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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93
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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94
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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95
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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96
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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97
plies
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的第三人称单数 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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98
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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99
avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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100
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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101
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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102
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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103
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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104
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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105
equivocating
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| v.使用模棱两可的话隐瞒真相( equivocate的现在分词 ) | |
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106
protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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107
supremely
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| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
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108
faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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109
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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110
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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111
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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112
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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113
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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114
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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115
effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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116
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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117
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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118
contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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119
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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120
survivor
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| n.生存者，残存者，幸存者 | |
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121
valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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122
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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123
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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124
isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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125
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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126
aprons
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| 围裙( apron的名词复数 )； 停机坪，台口（舞台幕前的部份） | |
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127
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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128
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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129
fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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130
petroleum
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| n.原油，石油 | |
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131
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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132
incubus
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| n.负担；恶梦 | |
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133
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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134
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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135
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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136
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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137
perspiring
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| v.出汗，流汗( perspire的现在分词 ) | |
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138
apothecaries
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| n.药剂师，药店( apothecary的名词复数 ) | |
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139
chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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140
inflexible
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| adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的 | |
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141
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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142
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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143
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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144
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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145
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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146
entreating
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的现在分词 ) | |
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147
interning
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| v.拘留，关押( intern的现在分词 ) | |
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148
concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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149
attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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150
armistice
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| n.休战，停战协定 | |
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151
tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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152
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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153
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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154
truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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155
hewing
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| v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的现在分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟 | |
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156
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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157
raze
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| vt.铲平，把(城市、房屋等)夷为平地，拆毁 | |
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158
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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159
swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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160
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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161
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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162
charred
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| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
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163
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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164
overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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165
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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166
intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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167
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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168
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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169
muzzles
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| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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170
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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171
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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172
insomnia
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| n.失眠，失眠症 | |
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173
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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174
bourgeois
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| adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子 | |
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175
murky
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| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
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176
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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177
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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178
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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179
fibers
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| 光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质 | |
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180
analyzing
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| v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析 | |
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181
reverting
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| 恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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182
foundering
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| v.创始人( founder的现在分词 ) | |
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183
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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184
stammering
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的现在分词 ) | |
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185
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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186
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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187
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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188
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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189
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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190
basting
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| n.疏缝；疏缝的针脚；疏缝用线；涂油v.打( baste的现在分词 )；粗缝；痛斥；（烤肉等时）往上抹[浇]油 | |
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191
cuffing
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| v.掌打，拳打( cuff的现在分词 )；袖口状白血球聚集 | |
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192
hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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193
cholera
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| n.霍乱 | |
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194
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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195
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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196
plow
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| n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough | |
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197
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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198
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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199
thrift
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| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
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200
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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201
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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202
aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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203
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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204
conflagrations
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| n.大火（灾）( conflagration的名词复数 ) | |
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205
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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206
blurted
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| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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207
civilians
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| 平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓 | |
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208
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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209
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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210
beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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211
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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212
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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213
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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214
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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215
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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216
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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217
dispensing
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| v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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218
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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219
sergeants
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| 警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士 | |
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220
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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221
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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222
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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223
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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224
somnolent
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| adj.想睡的，催眠的；adv.瞌睡地；昏昏欲睡地；使人瞌睡地 | |
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225
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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226
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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227
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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228
comatose
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| adj.昏睡的，昏迷不醒的 | |
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229
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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230
stiffening
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| n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式 | |
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231
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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232
wizened
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| adj.凋谢的；枯槁的 | |
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233
rummaging
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
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234
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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235
procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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236
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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237
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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238
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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239
dispelled
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| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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240
dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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241
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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242
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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243
suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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244
authorize
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| v.授权，委任；批准，认可 | |
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245
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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246
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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247
muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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248
sewer
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| n.排水沟，下水道 | |
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249
harangued
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| v.高谈阔论( harangue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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250
reviling
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| v.辱骂，痛斥( revile的现在分词 ) | |
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251
stigmatizing
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| v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的现在分词 ) | |
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252
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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253
laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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254
compassionate
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| adj.有同情心的，表示同情的 | |
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255
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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256
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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257
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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258
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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259
tablecloth
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| n.桌布，台布 | |
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260
conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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261
condescending
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| adj.谦逊的,故意屈尊的 | |
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262
mitigating
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| v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的现在分词 ) | |
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263
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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264
labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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265
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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266
iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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267
commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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268
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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269
muddle
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| n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱 | |
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270
allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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271
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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272
idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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273
pillaged
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| v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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274
mire
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| n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境 | |
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275
smacking
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| 活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的 | |
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276
gourmand
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| n.嗜食者 | |
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277
weaver
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| n.织布工；编织者 | |
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278
alleviate
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| v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等) | |
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279
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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280
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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281
functionary
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| n.官员；公职人员 | |
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282
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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283
whitewashed
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| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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284
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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285
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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286
flattening
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| n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词 | |
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287
panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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288
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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289
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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290
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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291
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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292
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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293
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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294
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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295
devastation
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| n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤 | |
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296
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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297
hemlocks
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| 由毒芹提取的毒药( hemlock的名词复数 ) | |
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298
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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299
hisses
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| 嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 ) | |
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300
murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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301
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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302
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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303
distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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304
depicting
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| 描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述 | |
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305
trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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306
ignominious
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| adj.可鄙的，不光彩的，耻辱的 | |
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307
flaunting
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| adj.招摇的，扬扬得意的，夸耀的v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的现在分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
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308
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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309
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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