“It is a courier from Africa, is it not?”
“No, monsieur le comte,” replied a voice which made the father of Raoul start upright in his bed.
“Grimaud!” murmured he. And the sweat began to pour down his face. Grimaud appeared in the doorway10. It was no longer the Grimaud we have seen, still young with courage and devotion, when he jumped the first into the boat destined11 to convey Raoul de Bragelonne to the vessels12 of the royal fleet. ’Twas now a stern and pale old man, his clothes covered with dust, and hair whitened by old age. He trembled whilst leaning against the door-frame, and was near falling on seeing, by the light of the lamps, the countenance13 of his master. These two men who had lived so long together in a community of intelligence, and whose eyes, accustomed to economize14 expressions, knew how to say so many things silently — these two old friends, one as noble as the other in heart, if they were unequal in fortune and birth, remained tongue-tied whilst looking at each other. By the exchange of a single glance they had just read to the bottom of each other’s hearts. The old servitor bore upon his countenance the impression of a grief already old, the outward token of a grim familiarity with woe15. He appeared to have no longer in use more than a single version of his thoughts. As formerly16 he was accustomed not to speak much, he was now accustomed not to smile at all. Athos read at a glance all these shades upon the visage of his faithful servant, and in the same tone he would have employed to speak to Raoul in his dream:
“Grimaud,” said he, “Raoul is dead. Is it not so?”
Behind Grimaud the other servants listened breathlessly, with their eyes fixed17 upon the bed of their sick master. They heard the terrible question, and a heart-breaking silence followed.
“Yes,” replied the old man, heaving the monosyllable from his chest with a hoarse18, broken sigh.
Then arose voices of lamentation19, which groaned20 without measure, and filled with regrets and prayers the chamber where the agonized21 father sought with his eyes the portrait of his son. This was for Athos like the transition which led to his dream. Without uttering a cry, without shedding a tear, patient, mild, resigned as a martyr22, he raised his eyes towards Heaven, in order there to see again, rising above the mountain of Gigelli, the beloved shade that was leaving him at the moment of Grimaud’s arrival. Without doubt, while looking towards the heavens, resuming his marvelous dream, he repassed by the same road by which the vision, at once so terrible and sweet, had led him before; for after having gently closed his eyes, he reopened them and began to smile: he had just seen Raoul, who had smiled upon him. With his hands joined upon his breast, his face turned towards the window, bathed by the fresh air of night, which brought upon its wings the aroma23 of the flowers and the woods, Athos entered, never again to come out of it, into the contemplation of that paradise which the living never see. God willed, no doubt, to open to this elect the treasures of eternal beatitude, at this hour when other men tremble with the idea of being severely24 received by the Lord, and cling to this life they know, in the dread25 of the other life of which they get but merest glimpses by the dismal26 murky27 torch of death. Athos was spirit-guided by the pure serene28 soul of his son, which aspired29 to be like the paternal30 soul. Everything for this just man was melody and perfume in the rough road souls take to return to the celestial31 country. After an hour of this ecstasy32, Athos softly raised his hands as white as wax; the smile did not quit his lips, and he murmured low, so low as scarcely to be audible, these three words addressed to God or to Raoul:
“HERE I AM!”
And his hands fell slowly, as though he himself had laid them on the bed.
Death had been kind and mild to this noble creature. It had spared him the tortures of the agony, convulsions of the last departure; had opened with an indulgent finger the gates of eternity33 to that noble soul. God had no doubt ordered it thus that the pious34 remembrance of this death should remain in the hearts of those present, and in the memory of other men — a death which caused to be loved the passage from this life to the other by those whose existence upon this earth leads them not to dread the last judgment35. Athos preserved, even in the eternal sleep, that placid36 and sincere smile — an ornament37 which was to accompany him to the tomb. The quietude and calm of his fine features made his servants for a long time doubt whether he had really quitted life. The comte’s people wished to remove Grimaud, who, from a distance, devoured38 the face now quickly growing marble-pale, and did not approach, from pious fear of bringing to him the breath of death. But Grimaud, fatigued39 as he was, refused to leave the room. He sat himself down upon the threshold, watching his master with the vigilance of a sentinel, jealous to receive either his first waking look or his last dying sigh. The noises all were quiet in the house — every one respected the slumber40 of their lord. But Grimaud, by anxiously listening, perceived that the comte no longer breathed. He raised himself with his hands leaning on the ground, looked to see if there did not appear some motion in the body of his master. Nothing! Fear seized him; he rose completely up, and, at the very moment, heard some one coming up the stairs. A noise of spurs knocking against a sword — a warlike sound familiar to his ears — stopped him as he was going towards the bed of Athos. A voice more sonorous41 than brass42 or steel resounded43 within three paces of him.
“Athos! Athos! my friend!” cried this voice, agitated44 even to tears.
“Monsieur le Chevalier d’Artagnan,” faltered45 out Grimaud.
“Where is he? Where is he?” continued the musketeer. Grimaud seized his arm in his bony fingers, and pointed46 to the bed, upon the sheets of which the livid tints47 of death already showed.
A choked respiration48, the opposite to a sharp cry, swelled49 the throat of D’Artagnan. He advanced on tip-toe, trembling, frightened at the noise his feet made on the floor, his heart rent by a nameless agony. He placed his ear to the breast of Athos, his face to the comte’s mouth. Neither noise, nor breath! D’Artagnan drew back. Grimaud, who had followed him with his eyes, and for whom each of his movements had been a revelation, came timidly; seated himself at the foot of the bed, and glued his lips to the sheet which was raised by the stiffened50 feet of his master. Then large drops began to flow from his red eyes. This old man in invincible51 despair, who wept, bent52 doubled without uttering a word, presented the most touching53 spectacle that D’Artagnan, in a life so filled with emotion, had ever met with.
The captain resumed standing54 in contemplation before that smiling dead man, who seemed to have burnished55 his last thought, to give his best friend, the man he had loved next to Raoul, a gracious welcome even beyond life. And for reply to that exalted56 flattery of hospitality, D’Artagnan went and kissed Athos fervently57 on the brow, and with his trembling fingers closed his eyes. Then he seated himself by the pillow without dread of that dead man, who had been so kind and affectionate to him for five and thirty years. He was feeding his soul with the remembrances the noble visage of the comte brought to his mind in crowds — some blooming and charming as that smile — some dark, dismal, and icy as that visage with its eyes now closed to all eternity.
All at once the bitter flood which mounted from minute to minute invaded his heart, and swelled his breast almost to bursting. Incapable58 of mastering his emotion, he arose, and tearing himself violently from the chamber where he had just found dead him to whom he came to report the news of the death of Porthos, he uttered sobs59 so heart-rending that the servants, who seemed only to wait for an explosion of grief, answered to it by their lugubrious60 clamors, and the dogs of the late comte by their lamentable61 howlings. Grimaud was the only one who did not lift up his voice. Even in the paroxysm of his grief he would not have dared to profane62 the dead, or for the first time disturb the slumber of his master. Had not Athos always bidden him be dumb?
At daybreak D’Artagnan, who had wandered about the lower hall, biting his fingers to stifle63 his sighs — D’Artagnan went up once more; and watching the moments when Grimaud turned his head towards him, he made him a sign to come to him, which the faithful servant obeyed without making more noise than a shadow. D’Artagnan went down again, followed by Grimaud; and when he had gained the vestibule, taking the old man’s hands, “Grimaud,” said he, “I have seen how the father died; now let me know about the son.”
Grimaud drew from his breast a large letter, upon the envelope of which was traced the address of Athos. He recognized the writing of M. de Beaufort, broke the seal, and began to read, while walking about in the first steel-chill rays of dawn, in the dark alley of old limes, marked by the still visible footsteps of the comte who had just died.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
galloping
|
|
| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
gravel
|
|
| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
alley
|
|
| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
animated
|
|
| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
ascertain
|
|
| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
galloped
|
|
| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
hesitation
|
|
| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
destined
|
|
| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
vessels
|
|
| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
economize
|
|
| v.节约，节省 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
woe
|
|
| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
hoarse
|
|
| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
lamentation
|
|
| n.悲叹，哀悼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
groaned
|
|
| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
agonized
|
|
| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
martyr
|
|
| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
aroma
|
|
| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
severely
|
|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
dismal
|
|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
murky
|
|
| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
serene
|
|
| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
aspired
|
|
| v.渴望，追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
paternal
|
|
| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
celestial
|
|
| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
ecstasy
|
|
| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
eternity
|
|
| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
pious
|
|
| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
placid
|
|
| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
ornament
|
|
| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
devoured
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
fatigued
|
|
| adj. 疲乏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
slumber
|
|
| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
sonorous
|
|
| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
brass
|
|
| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
resounded
|
|
| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
agitated
|
|
| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
faltered
|
|
| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
tints
|
|
| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
respiration
|
|
| n.呼吸作用；一次呼吸；植物光合作用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
swelled
|
|
| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
stiffened
|
|
| 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
invincible
|
|
| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
burnished
|
|
| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
exalted
|
|
| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
fervently
|
|
| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
incapable
|
|
| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
sobs
|
|
| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
lugubrious
|
|
| adj.悲哀的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
lamentable
|
|
| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
profane
|
|
| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
stifle
|
|
| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |