The sun shone brightly on the roof of the Cathedral, a fresh odour of lilacs came up from the bushes in the garden of the Bishop1. Angelique smiled, as she stood there, dazzled, and as if bathed in the springtide. Then, starting as if suddenly awakened2 from sleep, she said:
"Father, I have no more gold thread for my work."
Hubert, who had just finished pricking3 the tracing of the pattern of a cope, went to get a skein from the case of drawers, cut it, tapered4 off the two ends by scratching the gold which covered the silk, and he brought it to her rolled up in parchment.
"Is that all you need?"
"Yes, thanks."
With a quick glance she had assured herself that nothing more was wanting; the needles were supplied with the different golds, the red, the green, and the blue; there were spools5 of every shade of silk; the spangles were ready; and the twisted wires for the gold lace were in the crown of a hat which served as a box, with the long fine needles, the steel pincers, the thimbles, the scissors, and the ball of wax. All these were on the frame even, or on the material stretched therein, which was protected by a thick brown paper.
She had threaded a needle with the gold thread. But at the first stitch it broke, and she was obliged to thread it again, breaking off tiny bits of the gold, which she threw immediately into the pasteboard waste-basket which was near her.
"Now at last I am ready," she said, as she finished her first stitch.
Perfect silence followed. Hubert was preparing to stretch some material on another frame. He had placed the two heavy ends on the chantlate and the trestle directly opposite in such a way as to take lengthwise the red silk of the cope, the breadths of which Hubertine had just stitched together, and fitting the laths into the mortice of the beams, he fastened them with four little nails. Then, after smoothing the material many times from right to left, he finished stretching it and tacked6 on the nails. To assure himself that it was thoroughly7 tight and firm, he tapped on the cloth with his fingers and it sounded like a drum.
Angelique had become a most skilful8 worker, and the Huberts were astonished at her cleverness and taste. In addition to what they had taught her, she carried into all she did her personal enthusiasm, which gave life to flowers and faith to symbols. Under her hands, silk and gold seemed animated9; the smaller ornaments10 were full of mystic meaning; she gave herself up to it entirely11, with her imagination constantly active and her firm belief in the infinitude of the invisible world.
The Diocese of Beaumont had been so charmed with certain pieces of her embroidery12, that a clergyman who was an archaeologist, and another who was an admirer of pictures, had come to see her, and were in raptures14 before her Virgins16, which they compared to the simple gracious figures of the earliest masters. There was the same sincerity17, the same sentiment of the beyond, as if encircled in the minutest perfection of detail. She had the real gift of design, a miraculous18 one indeed, which, without a teacher, with nothing but her evening studies by lamplight, enabled her often to correct her models, to deviate19 entirely from them, and to follow her own fancies, creating beautiful things with the point of her needle. So the Huberts, who had always insisted that a thorough knowledge of the science of drawing was necessary to make a good embroiderer20, were obliged to yield before her, notwithstanding their long experience. And, little by little, they modestly withdrew into the background, becoming simply her aids, surrendering to her all the most elaborate work, the under part of which they prepared for her.
From one end of the year to the other, what brilliant and sacred marvels21 passed through her hands! She was always occupied with silks, satins, velvets, or cloths of gold or silver. She embroidered23 chasubles, stoles, maniples, copes, dalmatics, mitres, banners, and veils for the chalice24 and the pyx. But, above all, their orders for chasubles never failed, and they worked constantly at those vestments, with their five colours: the white, for Confessors and Virgins; the red, for Apostles and Martyrs25; the black, for the days of fasting and for the dead; the violet, for the Innocents; and the green for fete-days. Gold was also often used in place of white or of green. The same symbols were always in the centre of the Cross: the monograms27 of Jesus and of the Virgin15 Mary, the triangle surrounded with rays, the lamb, the pelican28, the dove, a chalice, a monstrance, and a bleeding heart pierced with thorns; while higher up and on the arms were designs, or flowers, all the ornamentation being in the ancient style, and all the flora29 in large blossoms, like anemones30, tulips, peonies, pomegranates, or hortensias. No season passed in which she did not remake the grapes and thorns symbolic31, putting silver on black, and gold on red. For the most costly32 vestments, she varied33 the pictures of the heads of saints, having, as a central design, the Annunciation, the Last Supper, or the Crucifixion. Sometimes the orfreys were worked on the original material itself; at others, she applied34 bands of silk or satin on brocades of gold cloth, or of velvet22. And all this efflorescence of sacred splendour was created, little by little, by her deft35 fingers. At this moment the vestment on which Angelique was at work was a chasuble of white satin, the cross of which was made by a sheaf of golden lilies intertwined with bright roses, in various shades of silk. In the centre, in a wreath of little roses of dead gold, was the monogram26 of the Blessed Virgin, in red and green gold, with a great variety of ornaments.
For an hour, during which she skilfully36 finished the little roses, the silence had not been broken even by a single word. But her thread broke again, and she re-threaded her needle by feeling carefully under the frame, as only an adroit37 person can do. Then, as she raised her head, she again inhaled38 with satisfaction the pure, fresh air that came in from the garden.
"Ah!" she said softly, "how beautiful it was yesterday! The sunshine is always perfect."
Hubertine shook her head as she stopped to wax her thread.
"As for me, I am so wearied, it seems as if I had no arms, and it tires me to work. But that is not strange, for I so seldom go out, and am no longer young and strong, as you are at sixteen."
Angelique had reseated herself and resumed her work. She prepared the lilies by sewing bits of vellum on certain places that had been marked, so as to give them relief, but the flowers themselves were not to be made until later, for fear the gold be tarnished39 were the hands moved much over it.
Hubert, who, having finished arranging the material in its frame, was about drawing with pumice the pattern of the cope, joined in the conversation and said: "These first warm days of spring are sure to give me a terrible headache."
Angelique's eyes seemed to be vaguely40 lost in the rays which now fell upon one of the flying buttresses41 of the church, as she dreamily added: "Oh no, father, I do not think so. One day in the lively air, like yesterday, does me a world of good."
Having finished the little golden leaves, she began one of the large roses, near the lilies. Already she had threaded several needles with the silks required, and she embroidered in stitches varying in length, according to the natural position and movement of the petals42, and notwithstanding the extreme delicacy43 and absorbing nature of this work, the recollections of the previous day, which she lived over again in thought and in silence, now came to her lips, and crowded so closely upon each other that she no longer tried to keep them back. So she talked of their setting out upon their expedition, of the beautiful fields they crossed, of their lunch over there in the ruins of Hautecoeur, upon the flagstones of a little room whose tumble-down walls towered far above the Ligneul, which rolled gently among the willows44 fifty yards below them.
She was enthusiastic over these crumbling45 ruins, and the scattered46 blocks of stone among the brambles, which showed how enormous the colossal47 structure must have been as, when first built, it commanded the two valleys. The donjon remained, nearly two hundred feet in height, discoloured, cracked, but nevertheless firm, upon its foundation pillars fifteen feet thick. Two of its towers had also resisted the attacks of Time--that of Charlemagne and that of David--united by a heavy wall almost intact. In the interior, the chapel48, the court-room, and certain chambers49 were still easily recognised; and all this appeared to have been built by giants, for the steps of the stairways, the sills of the windows, and the branches on the terraces, were all on a scale far out of proportion for the generation of to-day. It was, in fact, quite a little fortified50 city. Five hundred men could have sustained there a siege of thirty months without suffering from want of ammunition51 or of provisions. For two centuries the bricks of the lowest story had been disjointed by the wild roses; lilacs and laburnums covered with blossoms the rubbish of the fallen ceilings; a plane-tree had even grown up in the fireplace of the guardroom. But when, at sunset, the outline of the donjon cast its long shadow over three leagues of cultivated ground, and the colossal Chateau52 seemed to be rebuilt in the evening mists, one still felt the great strength, and the old sovereignty, which had made of it so impregnable a fortress53 that even the kings of France trembled before it.
"And I am sure," continued Angelique, "that it is inhabited by the souls of the dead, who return at night. All kinds of noises are heard there; in every direction are monsters who look at you, and when I turned round as we were coming away, I saw great white figures fluttering above the wall. But, mother, you know all the history of the castle, do you not?"
Hubertine replied, as she smiled in an amused way: "Oh! as for ghosts, I have never seen any of them myself."
But in reality, she remembered perfectly54 the history, which she had read long ago, and to satisfy the eager questionings of the young girl, she was obliged to relate it over again.
The land belonged to the Bishopric of Rheims, since the days of Saint Remi, who had received it from Clovis.
An archbishop, Severin, in the early years of the tenth century, had erected55 at Hautecoeur a fortress to defend the country against the Normans, who were coming up the river Oise, into which the Ligneul flows.
In the following century a successor of Severin gave it in fief to Norbert, a younger son of the house of Normandy, in consideration of an annual quit-rent of sixty sous, and on the condition that the city of Beaumont and its church should remain free and unincumbered. It was in this way that Norbert I became the head of the Marquesses of Hautecoeur, whose famous line from that date became so well known in history. Herve IV, excommunicated twice for his robbery of ecclesiastical property, became a noted56 highwayman, who killed, on a certain occasion, with his own hands, thirty citizens, and his tower was razed57 to the ground by Louis le Gros, against whom he had dared to declare war. Raoul I, who went to the Crusades with Philip Augustus, perished before Saint Jean d'Acre, having been pierced through the heart by a lance. But the most illustrious of the race was John V, the Great, who, in 1225, rebuilt the fortress, finishing in less than five years this formidable Chateau of Hautecoeur, under whose shelter he, for a moment, dreamed of aspiring58 to the throne of France, and after having escaped from being killed in twenty battles, he at last died quietly in his bed, brother-in-law to the King of Scotland. Then came Felician III, who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem barefooted; Herve VII, who asserted his claims to the throne of Scotland; and still many others, noble and powerful in their day and generation, down to Jean IX, who, under Mazarin, had the grief of assisting at the dismantling59 of the castle. After a desperate siege, the vaults60 of the towers and of the donjon were blown up with powder, and the different constructions were set on fire; where Charles VI had been sent to rest, and to turn his attention from his vagaries61, and where, nearly two hundred years later, Henri IV had passed a week as Gabrielle D'Estress. Thenceforth, all these royal souvenirs had passed into oblivion.
Angelique, without stopping the movement of her needle, listened eagerly, as if the vision of these past grandeurs rose up from her frame, in proportion as the rose grew there in its delicate life of colour. Her ignorance of general history enlarged facts, and she received them as if they were the basis of a marvellous legend. She trembled with delight, and, transported by her faith, it seemed as if the reconstructed Chateau mounted to the very gates of heaven, and the Hautecoeurs were cousins to the Virgin Mary.
When there was a pause in the recital63 she asked, "Is not our new Bishop Monseigneur d'Hautecoeur, a descendant of this noted family?"
Hubertine replied that Monseigneur must belong to the younger branch of the family, as the elder branch had been extinct for a very long time. It was, indeed, a most singular return, as for centuries the Marquesses of Hautecoeur and the clergy13 of Beaumont had been hostile to each other. Towards 1150 an abbot undertook to build a church, with no other resources than those of his Order; so his funds soon gave out, when the edifice64 was no higher than the arches of the side chapels65, and they were obliged to cover the nave66 with a wooden roof. Eighty years passed, and Jean V came to rebuild the Chateau, when he gave three hundred thousand pounds, which, added to other sums, enabled the work on the church to be continued. The nave was finished, but the two towers and the great front were terminated much later, towards 1430, in the full fifteenth century. To recompense Jean V for his liberality, the clergy accorded to him, for himself and his descendants, the right of burial in a chapel of the apse, consecrated67 to St. George, and which, since that time, had been called the Chapel Hautecoeur. But these good terms were not of long duration. The freedom of Beaumont was put in constant peril68 by the Chateau, and there were continual hostilities69 on the questions of tribute and of precedence. One especially, the right of paying toll70, which the nobles demanded for the navigation of the Ligneul, perpetuated71 the quarrels. Then it was that the great prosperity of the lower town began, with its manufacturing of fine linen72 and lace, and from this epoch73 the fortune of Beaumont increased daily, while that of Hautecoeur diminished, until the time when the castle was dismantled74 and the church triumphed. Louis XIV made of it a cathedral, a bishop's palace was built in the old enclosure of the monks75, and, by a singular chain of circumstances, to-day a member of the family of Hautecoeur had returned as a bishop to command the clergy, who, always powerful, had conquered his ancestors, after a contest of four hundred years.
"But," said Angelique, "Monseigneur has been married, and has not he a son at least twenty years of age?"
"Yes," she replied, "the Abbot Cornille told me the whole story, and it is a very sad history. When but twenty years of age, Monseigneur was a captain under Charles X. In 1830, when only four-and-twenty, he resigned his position in the army, and it is said that from that time until he was forty years of age he led an adventurous78 life, travelling everywhere and having many strange experiences. At last, one evening, he met, at the house of a friend in the country, the daughter of the Count de Valencay, Mademoiselle Pauline, very wealthy, marvellously beautiful, and scarcely nineteen years of age, twenty-two years younger than himself. He fell violently in love with her, and, as she returned his affection, there was no reason why the marriage should not take place at once. He then bought the ruins of Hautecoeur for a mere79 song--ten thousand francs, I believe--with the intention of repairing the Chateau and installing his wife therein when all would be in order and in readiness to receive her. In the meanwhile they went to live on one of his family estates in Anjou, scarcely seeing any of their friends, and finding in their united happiness the days all too short. But, alas80! at the end of a year Pauline had a son and died."
Hubert, who was still occupied with marking out his pattern, raised his head, showing a very pale face as he said in a low voice: "Oh! the unhappy man!"
"It was said that he himself almost died from his great grief," continued Hubertine. "At all events, a fortnight later he entered into Holy Orders, and soon became a priest. That was twenty years ago, and now he is a bishop. But I have also been told that during all this time he has refused to see his son, the child whose birth cost the life of its mother. He had placed him with an uncle of his wife's, an old abbot, not wishing even to hear of him, and trying to forget his existence. One day a picture of the boy was sent him, but in looking at it he found so strong a resemblance to his beloved dead that he fell on the floor unconscious and stiff, as if he had received a blow from a hammer. . . . Now age and prayer have helped to soften81 his deep grief, for yesterday the good Father Cornille told me that Monseigneur had just decided82 to send for his son to come to him."
Angelique, having finished her rose, so fresh and natural that perfume seemed to be exhaled83 from it, looked again through the window into the sunny garden, and, as if in a reverie, she said in a low voice: "The son of Monseigneur!"
Hubertine continued her story.
"It seems that the young man is handsome as a god, and his father wished him to be educated for the priesthood. But the old abbot would not consent to that, saying that the youth had not the slightest inclination84 in that direction. And then, to crown all, his wealth, it is said, is enormous. Two million pounds sterling85! Yes, indeed! His mother left him a tenth of that sum, which was invested in land in Paris, where the increase in the price of real estate has been so great, that to-day it represents fifty millions of francs. In short, rich as a king!"
"Rich as a king, beautiful as a god!" repeated Angelique unconsciously, in her dreamy voice.
And with one hand she mechanically took from the frame a bobbin wound with gold thread, in order to make the open-work centre of one of the large lilies. After having loosened the end from the point of the reel, she fastened it with a double stitch of silk to the edge of the vellum which was to give a thickness to the embroidery. Then, continuing her work, she said again, without finishing her thought, which seemed lost in the vagueness of its desire, "Oh! as for me, what I would like, that which I would like above all else----"
The silence fell again, deep and profound, broken only by the dull sound of chanting which came from the church. Hubert arranged his design by repassing with a little brush all the perforated lines of the drawing, and thus the ornamentation of the cope appeared in white on the red silk. It was he who first resumed speaking.
"Ah! those ancient days were magnificent! Noblemen then wore costumes weighted with embroidery. At Lyons, material was sometimes sold for as much as six hundred francs an ell. One ought to read the by-laws and regulations of the Guild86 of Master Workmen, where it is laid down that 'The embroiderers of the King have always the right to summon, by armed force if necessary, the workmen of other masters.' . . . And then we had coats of arms, too! Azure87, a fesso engrailed or, between three fleurs-de-lys of the same, two of them being near the top and the third in the point. Ah! it was indeed beautiful in the days of long ago!"
He stopped a moment, tapping the frame with his fingers to shake off the dust. Then he continued:
"At Beaumont they still have a legend about the Hautecoeurs, which my mother often related to me when I was a child. . . . A frightful88 plague ravaged89 the town, and half of the inhabitants had already fallen victims to it, when Jean V, he who had rebuilt the fortress, perceived that God had given him the power to contend against the scourge90. Then he went on foot to the houses of the sick, fell on his knees, kissed them, and as soon as his lips had touched them, while he said, 'If God is willing, I wish it,' the sufferers were healed. And lo! that is why these words have remained the device of the Hautecoeurs, who all have since that day been able to cure the plague. . . . Ah! what a proud race of men! A noble dynasty! Monseigneur himself is called Jean XII, and the first name of his son must also be followed by a number, like that of a prince."
He stopped. Each one of his words lulled91 and prolonged the reverie of Angelique. She continued, in a half-singing tone: "Oh! what I wish for myself! That which I would like above all else----"
Holding the bobbin, without touching92 the thread, she twisted the gold by moving it from left to right alternately on the vellum, fastening it at each turn with a stitch in silk. Little by little the great golden lily blossomed out.
Soon she continued: "Yes, what I would like above all would be to marry a prince--a prince whom I had never seen; who would come towards sunset, just before the waning93 daylight, and would take me by the hand and lead me to his palace. And I should wish him to be very handsome, as well as very rich! Yes, the most beautiful and the wealthiest man that had ever been seen on the earth! He should have superb horses that I could hear neighing under my windows, and jewels which he would pour in streams into my lap, and gold that would fall from my hands in a deluge94 when I opened them. And what I wish still further is, that this prince of mine should love me to distraction95, so that I might also love him desperately96. We would then remain very young, very good, and very noble, for ever!"
Hubert, leaving his work, had approached her smilingly; whilst Hubertine, in a friendly way, shook her finger at the young girl.
"Oh, what a vain little creature! Ah! ambitious child, you are quite incorrigible97. Now, you are quite beside yourself with your need of being a queen. At all events such a dream is much better than to steal sugar and to be impertinent. But really, you must not indulge in such fancies. It is the Evil One who prompts them, and it is pride that speaks, as well as passion."
Gay and candid98, Angelique looked her in the face as she said: "But mother, mother mine, what are you saying? Is it, then, a sin to love that which is rich and beautiful? I love it because it is rich and beautiful, and so cheers my heart and soul. A beautiful object brightens everything that is near it, and helps one to live, as the sun does. You know very well that I am not selfish. Money? Oh! you would see what a good use I would make of it, if only I had it in abundance! I would rain it over the town; it should be scattered among the miserable99. Think what a blessing100 it would be to have no more poverty! In the first place, as for you and my father, I would give you everything. You should be dressed in robes and garments of brocades, like the lords and ladies of the olden time."
Hubertine shrugged101 her shoulders and smiled. "It is ridiculous," she said. "But, my dear child, you must remember that you are poor, and that you have not a penny for your marriage-portion. How can you, then, for a moment dream of a prince? Are you, then, so desirous to marry a prince?"
"Why should not I wish to marry such a man?" And she looked quite amazed, as she continued: "Marry him? Of course I would do so. Since he would have plenty of money, what difference would it make if I had none? I should owe everything to him, and on that very account I should love him all the more deeply."
This victorious102 reasoning enchanted103 Hubert, who seemed carried above the earth by Angelique's enthusiasm. He would willingly have accompanied her on the wings of a cloud to the regions of fancy.
"She is right," he exclaimed.
But his wife glanced at him reprovingly. She became quite stern.
"My child, you will think differently later on, when you know life better."
"Life?--but I know it already."
"How is it possible for you to know it? You are too young; you are ignorant of evil. Yet evil exists and is very powerful."
"Evil--evil?"
Angelique repeated the word very slowly, as if to penetrate104 its meaning. And in her pure eyes was a look of innocent surprise. Evil? She knew all about it, for she had read of it in the "Golden Legend." Was not evil Satan himself? And had not she seen how, although he constantly reappeared, he was always overthrown105? After every battle he remained crushed to earth, thoroughly conquered, and in a most pitiable state.
"Evil? Ah, mother mine, if you knew how little I fear it! It is only necessary once to conquer it and afterwards life is all happiness."
Hubertine appeared troubled and looked anxious.
"You will make me almost regret having brought you up in this house, alone with us two, and away from the world as it were. I am really afraid that some day we shall regret having kept you in such complete ignorance of the realities of life. What Paradise are you looking for? What is your idea of the world?"
A look of hope brightened the face of the young girl, while, bending forward, she still moved the bobbin back and forth62 with a continuous, even motion.
"You then really think, mother, that I am very foolish, do you not? This world is full of brave people. When one is honest and industrious106, one is always rewarded. I know also that there are some bad people, but they do not count. We do not associate with them, and they are soon punished for their misdeeds. And then, you see, as for the world, it produces on me, from a distance, the effect of a great garden; yes, of an immense park, all filled with flowers and with sunshine. It is such a blessing to live, and life is so sweet that it cannot be bad."
She grew excited, as if intoxicated107 by the brightness of the silks and the gold threads she manipulated so well with her skilful fingers.
"Happiness is a very simple thing. We are happy, are we not? All three of us? And why? Simply because we love each other. Then, after all, it is no more difficult than that; it is only necessary to love and to be loved. So, you see, when the one I expect really comes, we shall recognise each other immediately. It is true I have not yet seen him, but I know exactly what he ought to be. He will enter here and will say: 'I have come in search of you.' And I shall reply: 'I expected you, and will go with you.' He will take me with him, and our future will be at once decided upon. He will go into a palace, where all the furniture will be of gold, encrusted in diamonds. Oh, it is all very simple!"
"You are crazy; so do not talk any more," interrupted Hubertine, coldly.
And seeing that the young girl was still excited, and ready to continue to indulge her fancies, she continued to reprove her.
"I beg you to say no more, for you absolutely make me tremble. Unhappy child! When we really marry you to some poor mortal you will be crushed, as you fall to earth from these heights of the imagination. Happiness, for the greater part of the world, consists in humility108 and obedience109."
"I expect him, and he will come."
"But she is right," exclaimed Hubert, again carried away by her enthusiasm. "Why need you scold her? She is certainly pretty, and dainty enough for a king. Stranger things than that have happened, and who knows what may come?"
Sadly Hubertine looked at him with her calm eyes.
"Do not encourage her to do wrong, my dear. You know, better than anyone, what it costs to follow too much the impulses of one's heart."
He turned deadly pale, and great tears came to the edge of his eyelids112. She immediately repented113 of having reproved him, and rose to offer him her hands. But gently disengaging himself, he said, stammeringly114:
"No, no, my dear; I was wrong. Angelique, do you understand me? You must always listen to your mother. She alone is wise, and we are both of us very foolish. I am wrong; yes, I acknowledge it."
Too disturbed to sit down, leaving the cope upon which he had been working, he occupied himself in pasting a banner that was finished, although still in its frame. After having taken the pot of Flemish glue from the chest of drawers, he moistened with a brush the underside of the material, to make the embroidery firmer. His lips still trembled, and he remained quiet.
But if Angelique, in her obedience, was also still, she allowed her thoughts to follow their course, and her fancies mounted higher and still higher. She showed it in every feature--in her mouth, that ecstasy115 had half opened, as well as in her eyes, where the infinite depth of her visions seemed reflected. Now, this dream of a poor girl, she wove it into the golden embroidery. It was for this unknown hero that, little by little, there seemed to grow on the white satin the beautiful great lilies, and the roses, and the monogram of the Blessed Virgin. The stems of the lilies had all the gracious pointings of a jet of light, whilst the long slender leaves, made of spangles, each one being sewed on with gold twist, fell in a shower of stars. In the centre, the initials of Mary were like the dazzling of a relief in massive gold, a marvellous blending of lacework and of embossing, or goffering, which burnt like the glory of a tabernacle in the mystic fire of its rays. And the roses of delicately-coloured silks seemed real, and the whole chasuble was resplendent in its whiteness of satin, which appeared covered almost miraculously116 with its golden blossoms.
After a long silence, Angelique, whose cheeks were flushed by the blood which mounted into them from her excitement, raised her head, and, looking at Hubertine, said again, a little maliciously117:
"I expect him, and he will come."
It was absurd for her thus to give loose reins118 to her imagination. But she was willful. She was convinced in her own mind that everything would come to pass, eventually, as she wished it might. Nothing could weaken her happy conviction.
"Mother," she added, "why do you not believe me, since I assure you it must be as I say?"
Hubertine shrugged her shoulders, and concluded the best thing for her to do was to tease her.
"But I thought, my child, that you never intended being married. Your saints, who seem to have turned your head, they led single lives. Rather than do otherwise they converted their lovers, ran away from their homes, and were put to death."
The young girl listened and was confused. But soon she laughed merrily. Her perfect health, and all her love of life, rang out in this sonorous119 gaiety. "The histories of the saints! But that was ages ago! Times have entirely changed since then. God having so completely triumphed, no longer demands that anyone should die for Him."
When reading the Legend, it was the marvels which fascinated her, not the contempt of the world and the desire for death. She added: "Most certainly I expect to be married; to love and to be loved, and thus be very happy."
"Be careful, my dear," said Hubertine, continuing to tease her. "You will make your guardian120 angel, Saint Agnes, weep. Do not you know that she refused the son of the Governor, and preferred to die, that she might be wedded121 to Jesus?"
The great clock of the belfry began to strike; numbers of sparrows flew down from an enormous ivy-plant which framed one of the windows of the apse. In the workroom, Hubert, still silent, had just hung up the banner, moist from the glue, that it might dry, on one of the great iron hooks fastened to the wall.
The sun in the course of the morning had lightened up different parts of the room, and now it shone brightly upon the old tools--the diligent122, the wicker winder, and the brass123 chandelier--and as its rays fell upon the two workers, the frame at which they were seated seemed almost on fire, with its bands polished by use, and with the various objects placed upon it, the reels of gold cord, the spangles, and the bobbins of silk.
Then, in this soft, charming air of spring, Angelique looked at the beautiful symbolic lily she had just finished. Opening wide her ingenuous124 eyes, she replied, with an air of confiding125 happiness, to Hubertine's last remark in regard to the child-martyr, Saint Agnes:
"Ah, yes! But it was Jesus who wished it to be so."
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1
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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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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pricking
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| 刺，刺痕，刺痛感 | |
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4
tapered
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| adj. 锥形的，尖削的，楔形的，渐缩的，斜的 动词taper的过去式和过去分词 | |
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spools
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| n.（绕线、铁线、照相软片等的）管( spool的名词复数 )；络纱；纺纱机；绕圈轴工人v.把…绕到线轴上（或从线轴上绕下来）( spool的第三人称单数 )；假脱机（输出或输入） | |
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tacked
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| 用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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raptures
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| 极度欢喜( rapture的名词复数 ) | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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virgins
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| 处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母） | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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18
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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19
deviate
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| v.(from)背离，偏离 | |
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embroiderer
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| 刺绣工 | |
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21
marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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22
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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23
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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24
chalice
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| n.圣餐杯；金杯毒酒 | |
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martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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monogram
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| n.字母组合 | |
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monograms
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| n.字母组合( monogram的名词复数 ) | |
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28
pelican
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| n.鹈鹕，伽蓝鸟 | |
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29
flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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anemones
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| n.银莲花( anemone的名词复数 )；海葵 | |
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symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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32
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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deft
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| adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手） | |
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skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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37
adroit
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| adj.熟练的，灵巧的 | |
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38
inhaled
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| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
tarnished
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| （通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏 | |
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40
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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41
buttresses
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| n.扶壁，扶垛( buttress的名词复数 )v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的第三人称单数 ) | |
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petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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44
willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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45
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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46
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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48
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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49
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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50
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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51
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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52
chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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53
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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54
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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55
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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56
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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57
razed
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| v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
aspiring
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| adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求 | |
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59
dismantling
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| （枪支）分解 | |
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60
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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61
vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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62
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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63
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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64
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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65
chapels
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| n.小教堂， （医院、监狱等的）附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 )；（在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的）礼拜仪式 | |
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66
nave
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| n.教堂的中部；本堂 | |
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67
consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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68
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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69
hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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70
toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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71
perpetuated
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| vt.使永存（perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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72
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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73
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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74
dismantled
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| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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75
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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76
shears
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| n.大剪刀 | |
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77
remodel
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| v.改造，改型，改变 | |
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78
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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79
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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80
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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81
soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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82
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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83
exhaled
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| v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气 | |
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84
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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85
sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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86
guild
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| n.行会，同业公会，协会 | |
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87
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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88
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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89
ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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90
scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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91
lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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92
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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93
waning
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| adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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94
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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95
distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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96
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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97
incorrigible
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| adj.难以纠正的，屡教不改的 | |
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98
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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99
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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100
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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101
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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102
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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103
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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104
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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105
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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106
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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107
intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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108
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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109
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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110
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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111
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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112
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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113
repented
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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114
stammeringly
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| adv.stammering（口吃的）的变形 | |
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115
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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116
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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117
maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 | |
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118
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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119
sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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120
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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121
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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122
diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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123
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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124
ingenuous
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| adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的 | |
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125
confiding
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| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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