Upon this information, Renzo’s intention was to attempt a passage at the first gate upon which he might happen to light; and if any obstacle presented itself, to go round outside, until he found another more easy of access. And Heaven knows how many gates he thought Milan must have!
Arrived, then, before the walls, he stood still to look about him, as one does who, not knowing which way will be the best way to bend his steps, seems as if he awaited and asked direction from anything. But he could discover nothing either way but two reaches of a winding2 road, and before him a part of the wall: in no quarter was there a symptom of a human being, except than in one spot, on the platform, might be seen a dense3 column of black and murky4 smoke, which expanded itself as it mounted, and curled into ample circles, and afterwards dispersed5 itself through the gray and motionless atmosphere. They were clothes, beds, and other articles of infected furniture which were being committed to the flames: and such melancholy7 conflagrations8 were constantly to be seen, not only here, but on every side of the wall.
The weather was close, the air thick and heavy, the whole sky veiled by a uniform sluggish9 cloud of mist, which seemed to forbid the sun, without giving promise of rain; the country round was partly uncultivated, and the whole looked parched10; vegetation was stunted11, and not a drop of dew moistened the drooping12 and withered13 leaves. This solitude14, this deep silence, so near a large mass of habitations, added new consternation15 to Renzo’s disquietude, and rendered his thoughts still more gloomy.
Having stood thus for a moment, he took the right hand, at a venture, directing his steps, without being aware of it, towards the Porta Nuova, which, though close at hand, he had not been able to perceive, on account of a bastion behind which it was concealed17. After taking a few steps, a tinkling18 of little bells fell upon his ear, which ceased and was renewed at intervals19, and then the voices of men. He went forward; and having turned the corner of the bastion, the first thing that met his eye on the esplanade before the gate was a small wooden house, or sentry-box, at the doorway20 of which stood a guard, leaning on his musket21 with a languid and negligent22 air; behind was a fence, composed of stakes, and beyond that the gate, that is to say, two wings of the wall connected by a roof above, which served to shelter the door, both leaves of which were wide open, as was also the wicket of the palisade. Exactly before the opening, however, stood a melancholy impediment — a handbarrow, placed upon the ground, on which two monatti were laying out a poor creature to bear him away: it was the head of the customhouse officers, in whom the plague had been discovered just before. Renzo stood still where he was, awaiting the issue. The party being gone, and no one appearing to shut the gate again, now seemed to be his time, he hastened forward; but the ill-looking sentinel called out to him: ‘Holla!’ He instantly stopped, and winking23 at the man drew out a half-ducat, and showed it to him. The fellow, either having already had the pestilence24, or fearing it less than he loved half-ducats, beckoned25 to Renzo to throw it to him; and soon seeing it roll at his feet, muttered, ‘Go forward, quickly.’ Renzo gave him no occasion to repeat the order; he passed the palisade, entered the gate, and went forward without any one observing or taking any notice of him; except that when he had gone perhaps forty paces, he heard another ‘holla’ from a toll-gatherer who was calling after him. This he pretended not to hear, and instead of turning round only quickened his pace. ‘Holla!’ cried the collector again, in a tone, however, which rather indicated vexation than a determination to be obeyed; and finding he was not obeyed, he shrugged26 his shoulders and returned into the house, like one who was more concerned about not approaching too near to passengers, than inquiring into their affairs.
The street inside this gate, at that time, as now, ran straight forward as far as the canal called the Naviglio: at the sides were hedges or walls of gardens, churches, convents, and a few private dwellings28; and at the end of this street, in the middle of that which ran along the brink29 of the canal, was erected31 a cross, called the Cross of Sant’ Eusebio. And, let Renzo look before him as he would, nothing but this cross ever met his view. Arrived at the cross road, which divided the street about half way, and looking to the right and left, he perceived in the right hand one, which bore the name of Santa Teresa, a citizen who was coming exactly towards him. — A Christian32, at last! — said he to himself, and he immediately turned into the street, with the intention of making some inquiries33 of him. The man stared at and eyed the stranger who was advancing towards him, with a suspicious kind of look, even at a distance; and still more, when he perceived, that, instead of going about his own business, he was making up to him. Renzo, when he was within a little distance, took off his hat, like a respectful mountaineer, such as he was; and holding it in his left hand, put the whole fist of his right into the empty crown, and advanced more directly towards the unknown passenger. But he, wildly rolling his eyes, gave back a step, uplifted a knotty34 stick he carried, with a sharp spike35 at the end like a rapier, and pointing it at Renzo’s breast, cried, ‘Stand off! stand off!’
‘Oho!’ cried the youth in his turn, putting on his hat again; and willing to do anything, as he afterwards said in relating the matter, rather than pick a quarrel at that moment, he turned his back upon the uncourteous citizen, and pursued his way, or to speak more correctly, that in which he happened to have set off.
The citizen also continued his route, trembling from head to foot, and every now and then looking behind him. And having reached home, he related how a poisoner had come up to him, with a meek36 and humble37 air, but with the look of an infamous38 impostor, and with a box of ointment39 or a paper of powder (he was not exactly certain which) in his hand in the crown of his hat, with the intention of playing a trick upon him, if he hadn’t known how to keep him at a distance. ‘If he had come one step nearer,’ added he, ‘I’d have run him through before he’d had time to touch me, the scoundrel! The misfortune was that we were in so unfrequented a place; had it been in the heart of Milan, I’d have called people, and bid them seize him. I’m sure we should have found that infamous poison in his hat. But there, all alone, I was obliged to be content with saving myself, without running the risk of getting the infection; for a little powder is soon thrown, and these people are remarkably40 dexterous41: besides, they have the devil on their side. He’ll be about Milan now: who knows what murders he is committing!’ And as long as he lived, which was many years, every time that poisoners were talked of, he repeated his own instance, and added: ‘They who still maintain that it wasn’t true, don’t let them talk to me: for absolute facts one couldn’t help seeing.’
Renzo, far from imagining what a stab he had escaped, and more moved with anger than fear, reflected, in walking, on this reception, and pretty nearly guessed the opinion which the citizen had formed of his actions; yet the thing seemed to him so beyond all reason, that he came to the conclusion that the man must have been half a fool. — It’s a bad beginning — thought he, however — it seems as if there were an evil star for me at this Milan. Everything seconds me readily enough in entering; but afterwards, when I am in, I find disagreeabilities all prepared for me. Well . . . with God’s help . . . if I find . . . if I succeed in finding . . . Oh! all will have been nothing! —
Having reached the foot of the bridge, he turned without hesitation43 to the left, along a road called San Marco’s Street, as it seemed to him this must lead into the heart of the city. As he went along, he kept constantly on the look-out, in hopes of discovering some human creature; but he could see none, except a disfigured corpse44 in the little ditch which runs between the few houses (which were then still fewer) and the street, for a part of the way. Having passed this part, he heard some cries which seemed to be addressed to him; and turning his eyes upwards45 in the direction whence the sound came, he perceived, at a little distance, on the balcony of an isolated46 dwelling27, a poor woman, with a group of children around her, who, calling to him, was beckoning47 also with her hand to entreat48 him to approach. He ran towards her; and when he came near, ‘O young man,’ said the woman, ‘in the name of the friends you’ve lost, have the charity to go and tell the commissary that we are here forgotten! They’ve shut us up in the house as suspected persons, because my poor husband is dead; they’ve nailed up the door, as you see; and since yesterday morning nobody has brought us anything to eat: for the many hours I’ve stood here, I haven’t been able to find a single Christian who would do me this kindness: and these poor little innocents are dying of hunger!’
‘Of hunger!’ exclaimed Renzo; and putting his hands into his pocket, ‘See here!’ said he, drawing out the two loaves: ‘send something down to take them.’
‘God reward you for it! wait a moment,’ said the woman; and she went to fetch a little basket, and a cord by which to lower it for the bread. Renzo at this moment recollected49 the two loaves he had found near the Cross on his first instance into Milan, and thought to himself:— See! it’s a restitution51, and perhaps better than if I’d found the real owner; for this surely is a deed of charity! —
‘As to the commissary you mention, my good woman,’ said he putting the bread into the basket, ‘I’m afraid I can’t serve you at all; for, to tell you the truth, I’m a stranger, and have no acquaintance with any one in this country. However, if I meet any one at all civil and human to speak to, I’ll tell him.’
The woman begged he would do so, and told him the name of the street, by which he might describe the situation.
‘You, too, I think,’ resumed Renzo, ‘can do me a service, a real kindness, without any trouble. A family of high rank, very great signors here in Milan, the family of . . .; can you tell me where they live?’
‘I know very well there is such a family,’ replied the woman: ‘but where it is I haven’t the least idea. If you go forward into the city, in this direction, you’ll find somebody who will show you the way. And don’t forget to tell him about us!’
‘Don’t fear it,’ said Renzo; and he pursued his way.
At every step he heard increasing, and drawing nearer, a noise which he had already begun to distinguish as he stood talking with the woman: a noise of wheels and horses, with a tinkling of little bells, and every now and then a cracking of whips, and loud vociferations. He looked before him, but saw nothing. Having reached the end of this winding street, and got a view of the square of San Marco, the objects which first met his eye were two erect30 beams, with a rope and sundry52 pulleys, which he failed not immediately to recognize (for it was a familiar spectacle in those days) as the abominable53 instrument of torture. It was erected in that place, (and not only there, but in all the squares and most spacious54 streets,) in order that the deputies of every quarter, furnished with this most arbitrary of all means, might be able to apply it immediately to any one whom they should deem deserving of punishment, whether it were sequestrated persons who left their houses, or officers rebelling against orders, and whatever else it might be: it was one of those extravagant55 and inefficacious remedies, of which, in those days, and at that particular period especially, they were so extremely prodigal56.
While Renzo was contemplating57 this machine, wondering why it was erected in that place, and listening to the closely approaching sound, behold58, he saw appearing from behind the corner of the church a man ringing a little bell: it was an apparitore; and behind him two horses, which, stretching their necks and pawing with their hoofs59, could with difficulty make their way; and drawn60 by these a cart full of dead bodies, and after that another, and then another, and another; and on each hand monatti walking by the side of the horses, hastening them on with whips, blows, and curses. These corpses61 were for the most part naked, while some were miserably62 enveloped63 in tattered64 sheets, and were heaped up and twined together, almost like a nest of snakes slowly unfolding themselves to the warmth of a mild spring day; so that at every trifling65 obstacle, at every jolt66, these fatal groups were seen quivering and falling into horrible confusion, heads dangling67 down, women’s long tresses dishevelled, arms torn off and striking against the wheels, exhibiting to the already horror-stricken view how such a spectacle may become still more wretched and disgraceful.
The youth had paused at the corner of the square, by the side of the railing of the canal, and was praying, meanwhile, for these unknown dead. A horrible thought flashed across his mind:— Perhaps there, amongst these, beneath them! . . . Oh Lord! let it not be true! help me not to think of it! —
The funeral procession having disappeared, he moved on, crossing the square, and taking the street along the left-hand side of the canal, without other reason for his choice than because the procession had taken the opposite direction. After going a few steps between the side of the church and the canal, he saw to the right the bridge Marcellino; he crossed it, and by that unique passage arrived in the street of the Borgo Nuovo. Casting his eyes forward, on the constant look-out for some of whom he might ask direction, he saw at the other end of the street a priest clothed in a doublet, with a small stick in his hand, standing69 near a half-open door, with his head bent70, and his ear at the aperture71; and very soon afterwards he saw him raise his hand to pronounce a blessing72. He guessed — what in fact was the case — that he had just finished confessing some one; and said to himself:— This is my man. If a priest, in the exercise of his functions, hasn’t a little charity, a little good-nature and kindness, I can only say there is none left in the world. —
In the mean while, the priest, leaving the doorway, advanced towards Renzo, walking with much caution in the middle of the road. When he was within four or five paces of him, Renzo took off his hat and signified that he wanted to speak to him, stopping, at the same time, so as to let him understand that he would not approach too indiscreetly. The priest also paused, with the air of one prepared to listen, planting his stick, however, on the ground before him, to serve, as it were, for a kind of bulwark73. Renzo proposed his inquiries, which the good priest readily satisfied, not only telling him the name of the street where the house was situated74, but giving him also, as he saw the poor fellow had need of it, a little direction as to his way; pointing out to him, i. e. by the help of right and left hands, crosses and churches, those other six or eight streets he had yet to traverse before reaching the one he was inquiring after.
‘God keep you in good health, both in these days and always!’ said Renzo: and as the priest prepared to go away, ‘Another favour,’ added he; and he told him of the poor forgotten woman. The worthy75 priest thanked him for having given him this opportunity of conveying assistance where it was so much needed; and saying that he would go and inform the proper authorities, took his departure.
Renzo, making a bow, also pursued his way, and tried, as he went along, to recapitulate76 the instructions he had received, that he might be obliged as seldom as possible to ask further directions. But it cannot be imagined how difficult he found the task; not so much on account of the perplexity of the thing, as from a fresh uneasiness which had arisen in his mind. That name of the street, that tracing of the road, had almost upset him. It was the information he had desired and requested, without which he could do nothing; nor had anything been said to him, together with it, which could suggest a presage77, not to say a suspicion, of misfortune. Yet how was it? The rather more distinct idea of an approaching termination to his doubts, when he might hear either, ‘She is living;’ or, on the other hand, ‘She is dead’— that idea had come before him with so much force, that at that moment he would rather have been in ignorance about everything, and have been at the beginning of that journey of which he now found himself so near the end. He gathered up his courage, however:— Ah! — said he to himself — if we begin now to play the child, how will things go on? — Thus re-emboldened as best might be, he pursued his way, advancing further into the city.
What a city? and who found time in those days to recollect50 what it had been the year before, by reason of the famine!
Renzo happened to have to pass through one of its most unsightly and desolated78 quarters; that junction79 of streets known by the name of the Carrobio of the Porta Nuova. (Here, at that time, was a cross at the head of the street, and opposite to it, by the side of the present site of San Francesco di Paola, an ancient church, bearing the name of San Anastasia.) Such had been the virulence80 of the contagion81, and the infection of the scattered82 corpses in this neighbourhood, that the few survivors83 had been obliged to remove; so that while the passer-by was stunned84 with such a spectacle of solitude and desertion, more than one sense was only too grievously incommoded and offended by the tokens and relics85 of recent habitation. Renzo quickened his steps, consoling himself with the thought that the end of his search could not yet be at hand, and hoping that before he arrived at it, he would find the scene, at least in part, changed; and, in fact, a little further on, he came out into a part which might still be called the city of the living — but what a city, and what living! All the doorways86 into the streets kept shut from either suspicion or alarm, except those which were left open because deserted87 or invaded; others nailed up and sealed outside, on account of the sick, or dead, who lay within; others marked with a cross drawn with coal, as an intimation to the monatti that there were dead to be carried away: all more a matter of chance than otherwise, according as there happened to be here, rather than there, a commissary of health, or other officer, who was inclined either to execute the regulations, or to exercise violence and oppression. Everywhere were rags and corrupted88 bandages, infected straw, or clothes, or sheets, thrown from the windows; sometimes bodies, which had suddenly fallen dead in the streets, and were left there till a cart happened to pass by and pick them up, or shaken from off the carts themselves, or even thrown from the windows. To such a degree had the obstinacy89 and virulence of the contagion brutalized men’s minds and divested90 them of all compassionate91 care, of every feeling of social respect! The stir of business, the clatter93 of carriages, the cries of sellers, the talking of passengers, all were everywhere hushed; and seldom was the death-like stillness broken but by the rumbling94 of funeral cars, the lamentations of beggars, the groans95 of the sick, the shouts of the frantic96, or the vociferations of the monatti. At daybreak, midday, and evening, one of the bells of the cathedral gave the signal for reciting certain prayers proposed by the Archbishop; its tones were responded to by the bells of the other churches; and then persons might be seen repairing to the windows to pray in common; and a murmur97 of sighs and voices might be heard which inspired sadness, mingled98 at the same time with some feeling of comfort.
Two-thirds, perhaps, of the inhabitants being by this time carried off, a great part of the remainder having departed, or lying languishing99 at home, and the concourse from without being reduced almost to nothing, perhaps not one individual among the few who still went about, would be met with in a long circuit, in whom something strange, and sufficient in itself to infer a fatal change in circumstances, was not apparent. Men of the highest rank might be seen without cape42 or cloak, at that time a most essential part of any gentleman’s dress; priests without cassocks, friars without cowls; in short, all kinds of dress were dispensed101 with which could contract anything in fluttering about, or give (which was more feared than all the rest) facilities to the poisoners. And besides this carefulness to go about as trussed up and confined as possible, their persons were neglected and disorderly; the beards of such as were accustomed to wear them grown much longer, and suffered to grow by those who had formerly102 kept them shaven; their hair, too, long and undressed, not only from the neglect which usually attends prolonged depression, but because suspicion had been attached to barbers ever since one of them, Giangiacomo Mora, had been taken and condemned103 as a famous poisoner; a name which, for a long while afterwards, preserved throughout the duchy a pre-eminent celebrity104 in infamy105, and deserved a far more extensive and lasting106 one in commiseration107. The greater number carried in one hand a stick, some even a pistol, as a threatening warning to any one who should attempt to approach them stealthily; and in the other, perfumed pastils, or little balls of metal or wood, perforated and filled with sponges steeped in aromatic108 vinegar, which they applied109 from time to time, as they went along, to their noses, or held there continually. Some carried a small vial hung round their neck, containing a little quick-silver, persuaded that this possessed110 the virtue111 of absorbing and arresting every pestilential effluvia; this they were very careful to renew from time to time. Gentlemen not only traversed the streets without their usual attendants, but even went about with a basket on their arms, providing the common necessaries of life. Even friends, when they met in the streets alive, saluted112 each other at a distance, with silent and hasty signs. Every one, as he walked along, had enough to do to avoid the filthy113 and deadly stumbling-blocks with which the ground was strewn, and in some places even encumbered114. Every one tried to keep the middle of the road, for fear of some other obstacle, some other more fatal weight, which might fall from the windows; for fear of venomous powders, which it was affirmed were often thrown down thence upon the passengers; for fear, too, of the walls, which might, perchance, be anointed. Thus ignorance, unseasonably secure, or preposterously115 circumspect116, now added trouble to trouble, and incited117 false terrors in compensation for the reasonable and salutary ones which it had withstood at the beginning.
Such were the less disfigured and pitiable spectacles which were everywhere present; the sight of the whole, the wealthy: for after so many pictures of misery118, and remembering that still more painful one which it remains119 for us to describe, we will not now stop to tell what was the condition of the sick who dragged themselves along, or lay in the streets-beggars, women, children. It was such that the spectator could find a desperate consolation120, as it were, in what appears at first sight, to those who are far removed in place and time, the climax121 of misery; the thought, I mean — the constant observation, that the survivors were reduced to so small a number.
Renzo had already gone some distance on his way through the midst of this desolation, when he heard, proceeding122 from a street a few yards off, into which he had been directed to turn, a confused noise, in which he readily distinguished123 the usual horrible tinkling.
At the entrance of the street, which was one of the most spacious, he perceived four carts standing in the middle; and as in a cornmarket there is a constant hurrying to and fro of people, and an emptying and filling of sacks, such was the bustle124 here; monatti intruding125 into houses, monatti coming out, bearing a burden upon their shoulders, which they placed upon one or other of the carts; some in red livery, others without that distinction: many with another still more odious126, plumes127 and cloaks of various colours, which these miserable128 wretches129 wore in the midst of the general mourning, as if in honour of a festival. From time to time the mournful cry resounded130 from one of the windows: ‘Here, monatti!’ And, with a still more wretched sound, a harsh voice rose from this horrible source in reply: ‘Coming directly!’ Or else there were lamentations nearer at hand, or entreaties131 to make haste; to which the monatti responded with oaths.
Having entered the street, Renzo quickened his steps, trying not to look at these obstacles further than was necessary to avoid them; his attention, however, was arrested by a remarkable132 object of pity, such pity as inclines to the contemplation of its object; so that he came to a pause almost without determining to do so.
Coming down the steps at one of the doorways, and advancing towards the convoy133, he beheld134 a woman, whose appearance announced still-remaining, though somewhat advanced youthfulness; a veiled and dimmed, but not destroyed beauty, was still apparent, in spite of much suffering, and a fatal languor135 — that delicate, and, at the same time, majestic136, beauty, which is conspicuous137 in the Lombard blood. Her gait was weary, but not tottering138; no tears fell from her eyes, though they bore tokens of having shed many; there was something peaceful and profound in her sorrow, which indicated a mind fully139 conscious and sensitive enough to feel it. But it was not only her own appearance which, in the midst of so much misery, marked her out so especially as an object of commiseration, and revived in her behalf a feeling now exhausted140 — extinguished, in men’s hearts. She carried in her arms a little child, about nine years old, now a lifeless body; but laid out and arranged, with her hair parted on her forehead, and in a white and remarkably clean dress, as if those hands had decked her out for a long-promised feast, granted as a reward. Nor was she lying there, but upheld and adjusted on one arm, with her breast reclining against her mother’s like a living creature; save that a delicate little hand, as white as wax, hung from one side with a kind of inanimate weight, and the head rested upon her mother’s shoulder with an abandonment deeper than that of sleep; her mother, for even if their likeness141 to each other had not given assurance of the fact, the countenance142 which still depicted143 any feeling would have clearly revealed it.
A horrible-looking monatto approached the woman, and attempted to take the burden from her arms, with a kind of unusual respect, however, and with involuntary hesitation. But she, slightly drawing back, yet with the air of one who shows neither scorn nor displeasure, said, ‘No! don’t take her from me yet; I must place her myself on this cart: here.’ So saying, she opened her hand, displayed a purse which she held in it, and dropped it into that which the monatto extended towards her. She then continued: ‘Promise me not to take a thread from around her, nor to let any one else attempt to do so, and to lay her in the ground thus.’
The monatto laid his right hand on his heart; and then zealously144, and almost obsequiously145, rather from the new feeling by which he was, as it were, subdued146, than on account of the unlooked for reward, hastened to make a little room on the car for the infant dead. The lady, giving it a kiss on the forehead, laid it on the spot prepared for it, as upon a bed, arranged it there, covering it with a pure white linen147 cloth, and pronounced the parting words: ‘Farewell, Cecilia! rest in peace! This evening we, too, will join you, to rest together for ever. In the meanwhile, pray for us; for I will pray for you and the others.’ Then, turning to the monatto, ‘You,’ said she, ‘when you pass this way in the evening, may come to fetch me too, and not me only.’
So saying, she re-entered the house, and, after an instant, appeared at the window, holding in her arms another more dearly-loved one, still living, but with the marks of death on its countenance. She remained to contemplate148 these so unworthy obsequies of the first child, from the time the car started until it was out of sight, and then disappeared. And what remained for her to do, but to lay upon the bed the only one that was left to her, and to stretch herself beside it, that they might die together? as the flower already full blown upon the stem, falls together with the bud still enfolded in its calyx, under the scythe149 which levels alike all the herbage of the field.
‘Oh Lord!’ exclaimed Renzo, ‘hear her! take her to Thyself, her and that little infant one: they have suffered enough! surely, they have suffered enough!’
Recovered from these singular emotions, and while trying to recall to memory the directions he had received, to ascertain150 whether he was to turn at the first street, and whether to the right or left, he heard another and a different sound proceeding from the latter, a confused sound of imperious cries, feeble lamentations, prolonged groans, sobs151 of women, and children’s moans.
He went forward, oppressed at heart by that one sad and gloomy foreboding. Having reached the spot where the two streets crossed, he beheld a confused multitude advancing from one side, and stood still to wait till it had passed. It was a party of sick on their way to the Lazzaretto; some driven thither by force, vainly offering resistance, vainly crying that they would rather die upon their beds, and replying with impotent imprecations to the oaths and commands of the monatti who were conducting them; others who walked on in silence, without any apparent grief and without hope, like insensible beings; women with infants clinging to their bosoms152; children terrified by the cries, the mandates153, and the crowd, more than by the confused idea of death, with loud cries demanding their mother and her trusted embrace, and imploring154 that they might remain at their well-known homes. Alas155! perhaps their mother, whom they supposed they had left asleep upon her bed, had there thrown herself down senseless, subdued in a moment by the disease, to be carried away on a cart to the Lazzaretto — or the grave, if perchance the cart should arrive a little later. Perhaps — oh misfortune deserving of still more bitter tears — the mother, entirely156 taken up by her own sufferings, had forgotten everything, even her own children, and had no longer any wish but to die in quiet.
In such a scene of confusion, however, some examples of constancy and piety157 might still be seen: parents, brothers, sons, husbands, supporting their loved ones, and accompanying them with words of comfort; and not adults only, but even boys and little girls escorting their younger brothers and sisters, and, with manly158 sense and compassion92, exhorting159 them to obedience160, and assuring them that they were going to a place where others would take care of them and try to restore them to health.
In the midst of the sadness and emotions of tenderness excited by these spectacles, a far different solicitude161 pressed more closely upon our traveller, and held him in a painful suspense162. The house must be near at hand, and who knew whether among these people . . . But the crowd having all passed by, and this doubt being removed, he turned to a monatto who was walking behind, and asked him for the street and dwelling of Don Ferrante. ‘It’s gone to smash, clown,’ was the reply he received. Renzo cared not to answer again; but perceiving a few yards distant, a commissary who brought up the convoy, and had a little more Christian-like countenance, he re-repeated to him the same inquiry163. The commissary, with a stick in the direction whence he had come, said, ‘The first street to the right, the last gentleman’ house on the left.’
With new and still deeper anxiety of mind, the youth bent his steps thitherward, and quickly distinguished the house among others more humble and unpretending; he approached the closed door, placed his hand on the knocker, and held it there in suspense, as in an urn6, before drawing out the ticket upon which depends life or death. At length he raised the hammer, and gave a resolute164 knock.
In a moment or two a window was slightly opened, and a woman appeared at it to peep out, looking towards the door with a suspicious countenance, which seemed to say — Monatti? robbers? commissaries? poisoners? devils? —
‘Signora,’ said Renzo, looking upwards, in a somewhat tremulous tone, ‘is there a young country girl here at service, of the name of Lucia?’
‘She’s here no longer, go away,’ answered the woman, preparing to shut the window.
‘One moment, for pity’s sake! She’s no longer here? Where is she?’
‘At the Lazzaretto;’ and she was again about to close the window.
‘But one moment, for Heaven’s sake! With the pestilence?’
‘To be sure. Something new, eh? Get you gone.’
‘Oh stay! Was she very ill? How long is it? . . . ’
But this time the window was closed in reality.
‘Oh Signora! Signora! one word, for charity! for the sake of your poor dead! I don’t ask you for anything of yours: alas! oh!’ But he might as well have talked to the wall.
Afflicted165 by this intelligence, and vexed166 with the treatment he had received, Renzo again seized the knocker, and standing close to the door, kept squeezing and twisting it in his hand, then lifted it to knock again, in a kind of despair, and paused, in act to strike. In this agitation167 of feeling, he turned to see if his eye could catch any person near at hand, from whom he might, perhaps, receive some more sober information, some direction, some light. But the first, the only person he discovered was another woman, distant, perhaps, about twenty yards; who, with a look full of terror, hatred168, impatience169, and malice170, with a certain wild expression of eye which betrayed an attempt to look at him and something else at a distance at the same time, with a mouth opened as if on the point of shouting as loud as she could; but holding even her breath, raising two thin, bony arms, and extending and drawing back two wrinkled and clenched171 hands, as if reaching to herself something, gave evident signs of wishing to call people without letting somebody perceive it. On their eyes encountering each other, she, looking still more hideous172, started like one taken by surprise.
‘What the ——?’ began Renzo, raising his fist towards the woman; but she, having lost all hope of being able to have him unexpectedly seized, gave utterance173 to the cry she had hitherto restrained: ‘The poisoner! seize him! seize him! seize him! the poisoner!’
‘Who? I! ah, you lying old witch! hold your tongue there!’ cried Renzo; and he sprang towards her to frighten her and make her be silent. He perceived, however, at this moment, that he must rather look after himself. At the screams of the woman people flocked from both sides; not the crowds, indeed, which, in a similar case, would have collected three months before; but still more than enough to crush a single individual. At this very instant, the window was again thrown open, and the same woman who had shown herself so uncourteous just before, displayed herself this time in full, and cried out, ‘Take him, take him; for he must be one of those wicked wretches who go about to anoint the doors of gentlefolks.’
Renzo determined174 in an instant that it would be a better course to make his escape from them, than stay to clear himself; he cast an eye on each side to see where were the fewest people; and in that direction took to his legs. He repulsed175, with a tremendous push, one who attempted to stop his passage; with another blow on the chest he forced a second to retreat eight or ten yards, who was running to meet him; and away he went at full speed, with his tightly clenched fist uplifted in the air, in preparation for whomsoever should come in his way. The street was clear before him; but behind his back he heard resounding176 more and more loudly the savage177 cry: ‘Seize him! seize him! a poisoner!’ he heard, drawing nearer and nearer, the footsteps of the swiftest among his pursuers. His anger became fury, his anguish100 was changed into desperation; a cloud seemed gathering178 over his eyes; he seized hold of his poniard, unsheathed it, stopped, drew himself up, turned round a more fierce and savage face than he had ever put on in his whole life; and, brandishing179 in the air, with outstretched arm, the glittering blade, exclaimed, ‘Let him who dares come forward, you rascals180! and I’ll anoint him with this, in earnest.’
But, with astonishment181 and a confused feeling of relief, he perceived that his persecutors had already stopped at some distance, as if in hesitation, and that while they continued shouting after him, they were beckoning with uplifted hands, like people possessed and terrified out of their senses, to others at some distance beyond him. He again turned round, and beheld before him, and a very little way off, (for his extreme perturbation had prevented his observing it a moment before), a cart advancing, indeed a file of the usual funeral carts with their usual accompaniments; and beyond them another small band of people, who were ready, on their part, to fall upon the poisoner, and take him in the midst; these, however, were also restrained by the same impediment. Finding himself thus between two fires, it occurred to him that what was to them a cause of terror might be for himself a means of safety; he thought that this was not a time for squeamish scruples182; so again sheathing183 his poniard, he drew a little on one side, resumed his way towards the carts, and passing by the first, remarked in the second a tolerably empty space. He took aim, sprang up and lit with his right foot in the cart, his left in the air, and his arms stretched forward.
‘Bravo! bravo!’ exclaimed the monatti with one voice, some of whom were following the convoy on foot, others were seated on the carts; and others, to tell the horrible fact as it really was, on the dead bodies, quaffing184 from a large flask185 which was going the round of the party. ‘Bravo! a capital hit!’
‘You’ve come to put yourself under the protection of the monatti: you may reckon yourself as safe as in church,’ said one of the two who were seated on the cart upon which he had thrown himself.
The greater part of his enemies had, on the approach of the train, turned their backs upon him and fled, crying at the same time, ‘Seize him! seize him! a poisoner!’ Some few of them, however, retired186 more deliberately187, stopping every now and then, and turning with a hideous grin of rage and threatening gestures towards Renzo; who replied to them from the cart by shaking his fist at them.
‘Leave it to me,’ said a monatto; and tearing a filthy rag from one of the bodies, he hastily tied it in a knot, and taking it by one of its ears, raised it like a sling188 towards these obstinate189 fellows, and pretended to hurl190 it at them, crying, ‘Here, you rascals!’ At this action they all fled in horror; and Renzo saw nothing but the backs of his enemies and heels which bounded rapidly through the air, like the hammers in a clothier’s mill.
A howl of triumph arose among the monatti, a stormy burst of laughter, a prolonged ‘Eh!’ as an accompaniment, so to say, to this fugue.
‘Aha! look if we don’t know how to protect honest fellows!’ said the same monatto to Renzo: ‘one of us is worth more than a hundred of those cowards!’
‘Certainly, I may say I owe you my life,’ replied he; ‘and I thank you with all my heart.’
‘Not a word, not a word,’ answered the monatto: ‘you deserve it; one can see you’re a brave young fellow. You do right to poison these rascals; anoint away, extirpate191 all those who are good for nothing, except when they’re dead; for in reward for the life we lead, they only curse us, and keep saying that when the pestilence is over, they’ll have us all hanged. They must be finished before the pestilence; the monatti only must be left to chant victory and revel192 in Milan.’
‘Long live the pestilence, and death to the rabble193!’ exclaimed the other; and with this beautiful toast he put the flask to his mouth, and holding it with both his hands amidst the joltings of the cart, took a long draught194, and then handed it to Renzo, saying, ‘Drink to our health.’
‘I wish it you all, with my whole heart,’ said Renzo, ‘but I’m not thirsty: I don’t feel any inclination195 to drink just now.’
‘You’ve had a fine fright, it seems,’ said the monatto. ‘You look like a harmless creature enough; you should have another face than that to be a poisoner.’
‘Let everybody do as he can,’ said the other.
‘Here, give it me,’ said one of those on foot at the side of the car, ‘for I, too, want to drink another cup to the health of his honour, who finds himself in such capital company . . . there, there, just there, among that elegant carriage-full.’
And with one of his hideous and cursed grins he pointed196 to the cart in front of that upon which our poor Renzo was seated. Then, composing his face to an expression of seriousness still more wicked and revolting, he made a bow in that direction, and resumed: ‘May it please you, my lord, to let a poor wretch68 of a monatto taste a little of this wine from your cellar? Mind you, sir: our way of life is only so so: we have taken you into our carriage to give you a ride into the country; and then it takes very little wine to do harm to your lordships: the poor monatti have good stomachs.’
And amidst the loud laughs of his companions, he took the flask, and lifted it up, but, before drinking, turned to Renzo, and fixed197 his eyes on his face, and said to him, with a certain air of scornful compassion: ‘The devil, with whom you have made agreement, must be very young; for if we hadn’t been by to rescue you, he’d have given you mighty198 assistance.’ And amidst a fresh outburst of laughter, he applied the flagon to his lips.
‘Give us some! What! give us some!’ shouted many voices from the preceding car. The ruffian, having swallowed as much as he wished, handed the great flask with both hands into those of his fellow-ruffians, who continued passing it round, until one of them, having emptied it, grasped it by the neck, slung199 it round it the air two or three times, and dashed it to atoms upon the pavement, crying, ‘Long live the pestilence!’ He then broke into one of their licentious200 ballads201, and was soon accompanied by all the rest of this depraved chorus. The infernal song, mingled with the tinkling of the bells, the rattle202 of the cart, and the trampling203 of men and horses, resounded through the silent vacuity204 of the streets, and echoing in the houses, bitterly wrung205 the hearts of the few who still inhabited them.
But what cannot sometimes turn to advantage? What cannot appear good in some case or another? The extremity206 of a moment before had rendered more than tolerable to Renzo the company of these dead and living companions; and now the sounds that relieved him from the awkwardness of such a conversation, were, I had almost said, acceptable, music to his ears. Still half bewildered, and in great agitation, he thanked Providence207 in his heart, as he best could, that he had escaped such imminent208 danger without receiving or inflicting209 injury; he prayed for assistance to deliver himself now from his deliverers; and for his part kept on the look-out, watching his companions, and reconnoitring the road, that he might seize the proper moment to slide quietly down without giving them an opportunity of making any disturbance210 or uproar211, which might stir up mischief212 in the passers-by.
And lo! on turning a corner, he seemed to recognize the place along which they were about to pass: he looked more attentively213, and at once knew it by more certain signs. Does the reader know where he was? In the direct course to the Porta Orientale, in that very street along which he had gone so slowly, and returned so speedily, about twenty months before. He quickly remembered that from thence he could go straight to the Lazzaretto; and this finding of himself in the right way without any endeavour of his own, and without direction, he looked upon as a special token of Divine guidance, and a good omen16 of what remained. At that moment a commissary came to meet the cars, who called out to the monatti to stop, and I know not what besides: it need only be said that they came to a halt, and the music was changed into clamorous214 dialogues. One of the monatti seated on Renzo’s car jumped down; Renzo said to the other, ‘Thank you for your kindness; God reward you for it!’ and sprang down at the opposite side.
‘Get you gone, poor poisoner,’ replied the man: ‘you’ll not be the fellow that’ll ruin Milan!’
Fortunately there was no one at hand who could overhear him. The party had stopped on the left hand of the street: Renzo hastily crossed over to the opposite side; and, keeping close to the wall, trudged215 onward216 towards the bridge; crossed it; followed the well-known street of the Borgo, and recognized the Convent of the Capuchins; he comes close to the gate, sees the projecting corner of the Lazzaretto, passes through the palisade, and the scene outside the enclosure is laid open to his view; not so much an indication and specimen217 of the interior, as itself a vast, diversified218, and indescribable scene.
Along the two sides, which are visible to a spectator from this point, all was bustle and confusion; there was a great concourse; an influx219 and reflux of people; sick flocking in crowds to the Lazzaretto; some sitting or lying on the edge of one or other of the moats that flanked the road, whose strength had proved insufficient220 to carry them within their place of retreat, or, when they had abandoned it in despair, had equally failed to convey them further away. Others were wandering about as if stupefied; and not a few were absolutely beside themselves: one would be eagerly relating his fancies to a miserable creature labouring under the malady221; another would be actually raving222; while a third appeared with a smiling countenance, as if assisting at some gay spectacle. But the strangest and most clamorous kind of so melancholy a gaiety, was a loud and continual singing, which seemed to proceed from that wretched assembly, and even drowned all the other voices — a popular song of love, joyous223 and playful, one of those which are called rural; and following this sound by the eye to discover who could possibly be so cheerful, yonder, tranquilly224 seated in the bottom of the ditch that washes the walls of the Lazzaretto, he perceived a poor wretch, with upturned eyes, singing at the very stretch of his voice!
Renzo had scarcely gone a few yards along the south side of the edifice225, when an extraordinary noise arose in the crowd, and a distant cry of ‘Take care!’ and ‘Stop him!’ He stood upon tiptoe, looked forward, and beheld a jaded226 horse galloping227 at full speed, impelled228 forward by a still more wretched looking rider: a poor frantic creature, who, seeing the beast loose and unguarded, standing by a cart, had hastily mounted his bare back, and striking him on the neck with his fists, and spurring him with his heels, was urging him impetuously onward; monatti were following, shouting and howling; and all were enveloped in a cloud of dust, which whirled around their heads.
Confounded and weary with the sight of so much misery, the youth arrived at the gate of that abode229 where perhaps more was concentrated than had been scattered over the whole space it had yet been his fortune to traverse. He walked up to the door, entered under the vaulted230 roof, and stood for a moment without moving in the middle of the portico231.
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1
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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2
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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3
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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4
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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5
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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urn
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| n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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conflagrations
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| n.大火（灾）( conflagration的名词复数 ) | |
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9
sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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10
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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11
stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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12
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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13
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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14
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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15
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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17
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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18
tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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negligent
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| adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的 | |
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23
winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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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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26
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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30
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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31
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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32
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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33
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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knotty
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| adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的 | |
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spike
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| n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效 | |
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36
meek
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| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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ointment
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| n.药膏，油膏，软膏 | |
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40
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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41
dexterous
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| adj.灵敏的；灵巧的 | |
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42
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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43
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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44
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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45
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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47
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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48
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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49
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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51
restitution
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| n.赔偿；恢复原状 | |
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52
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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53
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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54
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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55
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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56
prodigal
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| adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的 | |
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57
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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58
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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59
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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60
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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62
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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63
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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66
jolt
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| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
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67
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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68
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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69
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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70
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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71
aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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72
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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73
bulwark
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| n.堡垒，保障，防御 | |
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74
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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75
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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76
recapitulate
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| v.节述要旨，择要说明 | |
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77
presage
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| n.预感，不祥感；v.预示 | |
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78
desolated
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| adj.荒凉的，荒废的 | |
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79
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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80
virulence
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| n.毒力，毒性；病毒性；致病力 | |
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81
contagion
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| n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延 | |
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82
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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83
survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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84
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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85
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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86
doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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87
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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88
corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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89
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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90
divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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91
compassionate
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| adj.有同情心的，表示同情的 | |
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92
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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93
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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94
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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95
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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96
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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97
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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98
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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99
languishing
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| a. 衰弱下去的 | |
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100
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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101
dispensed
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| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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102
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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103
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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104
celebrity
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| n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望 | |
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105
infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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106
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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107
commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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108
aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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109
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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110
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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111
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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112
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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113
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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114
encumbered
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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115
preposterously
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| adv.反常地；荒谬地；荒谬可笑地；不合理地 | |
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116
circumspect
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| adj.慎重的，谨慎的 | |
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117
incited
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| 刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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118
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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119
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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120
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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121
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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122
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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123
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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124
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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125
intruding
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| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于 | |
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126
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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127
plumes
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|
| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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128
miserable
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|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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129
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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130
resounded
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| 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 | |
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131
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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132
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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133
convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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134
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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135
languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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136
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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137
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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138
tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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139
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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140
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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141
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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142
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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143
depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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144
zealously
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| adv.热心地；热情地；积极地；狂热地 | |
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145
obsequiously
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146
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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147
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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148
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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149
scythe
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| n. 长柄的大镰刀，战车镰； v. 以大镰刀割 | |
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150
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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151
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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152
bosoms
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| 胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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153
mandates
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| 托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式） | |
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154
imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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155
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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156
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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157
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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158
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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159
exhorting
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的现在分词 ) | |
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160
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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161
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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162
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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163
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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164
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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165
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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166
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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167
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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168
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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169
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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170
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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171
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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172
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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173
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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174
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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175
repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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176
resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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177
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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178
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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179
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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180
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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181
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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182
scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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183
sheathing
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| n.覆盖物，罩子v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的现在分词 )；包，覆盖 | |
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184
quaffing
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| v.痛饮( quaff的现在分词 )；畅饮；大口大口将…喝干；一饮而尽 | |
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185
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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186
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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187
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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188
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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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
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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191
extirpate
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| v.除尽，灭绝 | |
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192
revel
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| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
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193
rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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194
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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195
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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196
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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197
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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licentious
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| adj.放纵的，淫乱的 | |
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ballads
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| 民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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vacuity
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| n.(想象力等)贫乏，无聊，空白 | |
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wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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206
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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clamorous
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| adj.吵闹的，喧哗的 | |
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trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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diversified
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| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
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influx
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| n.流入，注入 | |
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insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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portico
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| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
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