Chapter 14 The Pigeons of Dort

    It was indeed in itself a great honour for Cornelius vanBaerle to be confined in the same prison which had oncereceived the learned master Grotius.

　　But on arriving at the prison he met with an honour evengreater. As chance would have it, the cell formerlyinhabited by the illustrious Barneveldt happened to bevacant, when the clemency¹ of the Prince of Orange sent thetulip-fancier Van Baerle there.

　　The cell had a very bad character at the castle since thetime when Grotius, by means of the device of his wife, madeescape from it in that famous book-chest which the jailersforgot to examine.

　　On the other hand, it seemed to Van Baerle an auspiciousomen that this very cell was assigned to him, for accordingto his ideas, a jailer ought never to have given to a secondpigeon the cage from which the first had so easily flown.

　　The cell had an historical character. We will only statehere that, with the exception of an alcove² which wascontrived there for the use of Madame Grotius, it differedin no respect from the other cells of the prison; only,perhaps, it was a little higher, and had a splendid viewfrom the grated window.

　　Cornelius felt himself perfectly³ indifferent as to the placewhere he had to lead an existence which was little more thanvegetation. There were only two things now for which hecared, and the possession of which was a happiness enjoyedonly in imagination.

　　A flower, and a woman; both of them, as he conceived, lostto him for ever.

　　Fortunately the good doctor was mistaken. In his prison cellthe most adventurous⁴ life which ever fell to the lot of anytulip-fancier was reserved for him.

　　One morning, whilst at his window inhaling⁵ the fresh airwhich came from the river, and casting a longing⁶ look to thewindmills of his dear old city Dort, which were looming⁷ inthe distance behind a forest of chimneys, he saw flocks ofpigeons coming from that quarter to perch⁸ fluttering on thepointed gables of Loewestein.

　　These pigeons, Van Baerle said to himself, are coming fromDort, and consequently may return there. By fastening alittle note to the wing of one of these pigeons, one mighthave a chance to send a message there. Then, after a fewmoments' consideration, he exclaimed, --"I will do it."A man grows very patient who is twenty-eight years of age,and condemned⁹ to a prison for life, -- that is to say, tosomething like twenty-two or twenty-three thousand days ofcaptivity.

　　Van Baerle, from whose thoughts the three bulbs were neverabsent, made a snare¹⁰ for catching¹¹ the pigeons, baiting thebirds with all the resources of his kitchen, such as it wasfor eight slivers¹² (sixpence English) a day; and, after amonth of unsuccessful attempts, he at last caught a femalebird.

　　It cost him two more months to catch a male bird; he thenshut them up together, and having about the beginning of theyear 1673 obtained some eggs from them, he released thefemale, which, leaving the male behind to hatch the eggs inher stead, flew joyously¹³ to Dort, with the note under herwing.

　　She returned in the evening. She had preserved the note.

　　Thus it went on for fifteen days, at first to thedisappointment, and then to the great grief, of Van Baerle.

　　On the sixteenth day, at last, she came back without it.

　　Van Baerle had addressed it to his nurse, the old Frisianwoman; and implored¹⁴ any charitable soul who might find it toconvey it to her as safely and as speedily as possible.

　　In this letter there was a little note enclosed for Rosa.

　　Van Baerle's nurse had received the letter in the followingway.

　　Leaving Dort, Mynheer Isaac Boxtel had abandoned, not onlyhis house, his servants, his observatory¹⁵, and his telescope,but also his pigeons.

　　The servant, having been left without wages, first lived onhis little savings¹⁶, and then on his master's pigeons.

　　Seeing this, the pigeons emigrated from the roof of IsaacBoxtel to that of Cornelius van Baerle.

　　The nurse was a kind-hearted woman, who could not livewithout something to love. She conceived an affection forthe pigeons which had thrown themselves on her hospitality;and when Boxtel's servant reclaimed¹⁷ them with culinaryintentions, having eaten the first fifteen already, and nowwishing to eat the other fifteen, she offered to buy themfrom him for a consideration of six stivers per head.

　　This being just double their value, the man was very glad toclose the bargain, and the nurse found herself in undisputedpossession of the pigeons of her master's envious¹⁸ neighbour.

　　In the course of their wanderings, these pigeons with othersvisited the Hague, Loewestein, and Rotterdam, seekingvariety, doubtless, in the flavour of their wheat orhempseed.

　　Chance, or rather God, for we can see the hand of God ineverything, had willed that Cornelius van Baerle shouldhappen to hit upon one of these very pigeons.

　　Therefore, if the envious wretch¹⁹ had not left Dort to followhis rival to the Hague in the first place, and then toGorcum or to Loewestein, -- for the two places are separatedonly by the confluence²⁰ of the Waal and the Meuse, -- VanBaerle's letter would have fallen into his hands and not thenurse's: in which event the poor prisoner, like the raven²¹ ofthe Roman cobbler, would have thrown away his time, histrouble, and, instead of having to relate the series ofexciting events which are about to flow from beneath our penlike the varied²² hues²³ of a many coloured tapestry²⁴, we shouldhave naught²⁵ to describe but a weary waste of days, dull andmelancholy and gloomy as night's dark mantle²⁶.

　　The note, as we have said, had reached Van Baerle's nurse.

　　And also it came to pass, that one evening in the beginningof February, just when the stars were beginning to twinkle,Cornelius heard on the staircase of the little turret²⁷ avoice which thrilled through him.

　　He put his hand on his heart, and listened.

　　It was the sweet harmonious²⁸ voice of Rosa.

　　Let us confess it, Cornelius was not so stupefied withsurprise, or so beyond himself with joy, as he would havebeen but for the pigeon, which, in answer to his letter, hadbrought back hope to him under her empty wing; and, knowingRosa, he expected, if the note had ever reached her, to hearof her whom he loved, and also of his three darling bulbs.

　　He rose, listened once more, and bent²⁹ forward towards thedoor.

　　Yes, they were indeed the accents which had fallen sosweetly on his heart at the Hague.

　　The question now was, whether Rosa, who had made the journeyfrom the Hague to Loewestein, and who -- Cornelius did notunderstand how -- had succeeded even in penetrating³⁰ into theprison, would also be fortunate enough in penetrating to theprisoner himself.

　　Whilst Cornelius, debating this point within himself, wasbuilding all sorts of castles in the air, and was strugglingbetween hope and fear, the shutter³¹ of the grating in thedoor opened, and Rosa, beaming with joy, and beautiful inher pretty national costume -- but still more beautiful fromthe grief which for the last five months had blanched³² hercheeks -- pressed her little face against the wire gratingof the window, saying to him, --"Oh, sir, sir! here I am!"Cornelius stretched out his arms, and, looking to heaven,uttered a cry of joy, --"Oh, Rosa, Rosa!""Hush³³! let us speak low: my father follows on my heels,"said the girl.

　　"Your father?""Yes, he is in the courtyard at the bottom of the staircase,receiving the instructions of the Governor; he willpresently come up.""The instructions of the Governor?""Listen to me, I'll try to tell you all in a few words. TheStadtholder has a country-house, one league distant fromLeyden, properly speaking a kind of large dairy, and myaunt, who was his nurse, has the management of it. As soonas I received your letter, which, alas³⁴! I could not readmyself, but which your housekeeper³⁵ read to me, I hastened tomy aunt; there I remained until the Prince should come tothe dairy; and when he came, I asked him as a favour toallow my father to exchange his post at the prison of theHague with the jailer of the fortress³⁶ of Loewestein. ThePrince could not have suspected my object; had he known it,he would have refused my request, but as it is he grantedit.""And so you are here?""As you see.""And thus I shall see you every day?""As often as I can manage it.""Oh, Rosa, my beautiful Rosa, do you love me a little?""A little?" she said, "you make no great pretensions,Mynheer Cornelius."Cornelius tenderly stretched out his hands towards her, butthey were only able to touch each other with the tips oftheir fingers through the wire grating.

　　"Here is my father," said she.

　　Rosa then abruptly³⁷ drew back from the door, and ran to meetold Gryphus, who made his appearance at the top of thestaircase.

1 clemency   

n.温和，仁慈，宽厚

参考例句：

• The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题，将由国王决定。
• They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。

2 alcove   

n.凹室

参考例句：

• The bookcase fits neatly into the alcove.书架正好放得进壁凹。
• In the alcoves on either side of the fire were bookshelves.火炉两边的凹室里是书架。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

5 inhaling   

v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was treated for the effects of inhaling smoke. 他因吸入烟尘而接受治疗。 来自辞典例句
• The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. 长期吸入被污染空气的影响还无从知晓。 来自互联网

6 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

7 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

8 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

11 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

12 slivers   

（切割或断裂下来的）薄长条，碎片( sliver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Margret had eight slivers of glass removed from her cheek. 从玛格列特的脸颊取出了八片碎玻璃。
• Eight slivers are drawn together to produce the drawn sliver. 在末道并条机上，八根棉条并合在一起被牵伸成熟条。

13 joyously   

ad.快乐地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately. 她打开门，直扑我的怀抱，欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
• They came running, crying out joyously in trilling girlish voices. 她们边跑边喊，那少女的颤音好不欢快。 来自名作英译部分

14 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

15 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

16 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

17 reclaimed   

adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 envious   

adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的

参考例句：

• I don't think I'm envious of your success.我想我并不嫉妒你的成功。
• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

19 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

20 confluence   

n.汇合，聚集

参考例句：

• They built the city at the confluence of two rivers.他们建造了城市的汇合两条河流。
• The whole DV movements actually was a confluence of several trends.整个当时的DV运动，实际上是几股潮流的同谋。

21 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

22 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

23 hues   

色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点

参考例句：

• When the sun rose a hundred prismatic hues were reflected from it. 太阳一出，更把它映得千变万化、异彩缤纷。
• Where maple trees grow, the leaves are often several brilliant hues of red. 在枫树生长的地方，枫叶常常呈现出数种光彩夺目的红色。

24 tapestry   

n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面

参考例句：

• How about this artistic tapestry and this cloisonne vase?这件艺术挂毯和这个景泰蓝花瓶怎么样？
• The wall of my living room was hung with a tapestry.我的起居室的墙上挂着一块壁毯。

25 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。

26 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

27 turret   

n.塔楼，角塔

参考例句：

• This ancient turret has attracted many visitors.这座古老的塔楼吸引了很多游客。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔楼攀登上了要塞的城墙。

28 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

29 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

30 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

31 shutter   

n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置

参考例句：

• The camera has a shutter speed of one-sixtieth of a second.这架照像机的快门速度达六十分之一秒。
• The shutter rattled in the wind.百叶窗在风中发出嘎嘎声。

32 blanched   

v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮

参考例句：

• The girl blanched with fear when she saw the bear coming. 那女孩见熊（向她）走来，吓得脸都白了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Their faces blanched in terror. 他们的脸因恐惧而吓得发白。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

34 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

35 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

36 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

37 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。