Evolution has not yet placed man so far above the lower order of animals that he does not in his heart of hearts acknowledge the tendency of nature to ratify6 the monarchical7 idea. He finds beneath him in the scale of being the bees setting up a queen and the herds8 of wild cattle paying homage to a king bull. He discovers that the prevailing9 conception of a future world, even among democrats10, pictures God upon His throne, surrounded by celestial11 courtiers. Whether he looks up or down, therefore, man’s eye rests upon the concrete manifestations12 of the abstract idea of royalty13, and, sweeping14 the whole range of existence, he sees a throne beneath his feet and dreams of[116] another somewhere beyond the stars. The old cry, “Le roi est mort, vive le roi,” may have in it the germs of universal truth that a nation of freemen would do well to heed15. The substitution of a political “boss” for an hereditary16 ruler may be a step forward, but there are those to whom it looks like reaction illustrating17 the very nature of things.
Prince Carlo of Rexania sipped18 his coffee and pondered certain questions related to the propositions just laid down. Whatever of weakness there had been in the voluptuous19 dreams that had tempted20 him from the stern path of duty in the afternoon had disappeared, and his mind now dwelt wholly upon the obligations he owed to his people, his forefathers21, and himself. As the thought of his physical helplessness at that moment stung him into a gesture of angry impatience22, Rukacs crossed the room and closed the window that looked out upon the balcony, the window that Prince Carlo had vainly attempted to open on the night of his arrival. Rukacs understood the secret of its fastenings, and silently, almost stealthily, took an unnecessary precaution against his captive’s escape. The manner in which the Rexanian performed this task proved that he was, at bottom, ashamed of the rôle he was playing at the moment.
“If you desire anything, your—your royal highness,” he faltered23, as he recrossed the room and placed a hand upon the door opening into the hall, “will you kindly24 rap three times upon the floor?” The conspirator’s flushed face bore outward evidence of his interior agitation25. Rukacs loved freedom too well to make a graceful26 jailer.
[117]
Prince Carlo bowed in acknowledgment of his captor’s words, and on the instant found himself alone, the grating sound of a rusty27 key again serving to emphasize the chilling fact that he, the heir-apparent to the throne of Rexania, was a prisoner in a land whose political stock in trade is liberty.
There was something oppressive in the sudden silence. Prince Carlo glanced furtively28 around the room. He had become used to the depressing characteristics of the apartment, and the antic shadows that lurked29 in the far corners and hovered30 around the curtains of the bed no longer affected31 his nerves. But at this moment the uncanny spirit of the old house seemed to whisper to him in threatening tones. His overwrought fancy pictured the stealthy assassin creeping through the damp corridors and dodging32 behind crumbling33 curtains in his search for blood. A door creaked on its hinges in some distant corner of the house; he started as though the sound carried with it a menace he must heed.
Presently the reaction came, and a smile of self-pity played about his clean-cut mouth. With an impatient gesture, he brushed his damp hair back from his brow and poured some of the iced coffee into a glass. He was about to raise the draught34 to his lips, when the conviction seized him that somebody’s eyes were resting upon him. A shiver went through his frame, and he replaced the goblet35 upon the table with trembling hand. Courageous36 though Prince Carlo was by nature, there was a weird37, uncanny influence at work, as it seemed to him, to disturb the balance of his nervous system.
[118]
Annoyed at himself, the youth arose from the table, and, resting one hand upon the coverlet, glanced toward the window. On the instant his eyes met the burning gaze of Ludovics, who crouched38 outside the window, enraged39 to find it locked. For a moment neither the prince nor the madman moved. Then, with one bound, the latter smashed his way through the glass, and cut and bleeding, a ghastly, crimson40 incarnation of all that is hideous41 in the cult42 of the assassin, he faced Prince Carlo across the table, while the lamp flickered43 threateningly as the night breeze swept through the window into the room.
The two men stood motionless, gazing into each other’s eyes. The blood-stained madman, representative of all that is most horrible in the effort of man to escape from the tyranny of tradition and to seek higher things, faced the incarnation of reaction, the embodiment of obsolete44 prerogatives45 and time-dishonored claims. The man who was in the right was mad; he who was in the wrong was sane46. Thus did they represent, as they stood facing each other in the dim light of that wind-beset chamber47, ages of human history.
The glare in Ludovics’ eyes faded slowly as he looked upon the pale, strong, beautiful face of the youth who had assumed in his wild fancy the figure of a tyrant48 who held wild revelry at the expense of the people in a palace here at hand. What gleam of reason returned to his crazy mind, who shall say? There was no bacchanalian49 carnival50 surrounding the prince; only a simple supper, untasted, spread before him. He was not mocking[119] Ludovics, but only looking at him with sad, splendid eyes that stirred the distraught soul of the madman to its depths. Beneath their gaze Ludovics seemed to collapse51 and slink away. He turned, with a low cry, that echoed through the room like the wail52 of a spirit damned, and stumbled towards the window.
Prince Carlo stood motionless at the table, watching the retreating form of the madman. Suddenly Ludovics drew himself erect53 and turned again to face the prince. Raising his pistol slowly until the muzzle54 rested against his forehead, Ludovics said, in voice so calm that it seemed to come from a man whose mind was absolutely normal:
On the instant he pulled the trigger and sent a bullet crashing through his crazy brain.
点击收听单词发音
1 pickle | |
n.腌汁,泡菜;v.腌,泡 | |
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2 tempt | |
vt.引诱,勾引,吸引,引起…的兴趣 | |
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3 deference | |
n.尊重,顺从;敬意 | |
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4 homage | |
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬 | |
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5 conspirator | |
n.阴谋者,谋叛者 | |
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6 ratify | |
v.批准,认可,追认 | |
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7 monarchical | |
adj. 国王的,帝王的,君主的,拥护君主制的 =monarchic | |
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8 herds | |
兽群( herd的名词复数 ); 牧群; 人群; 群众 | |
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9 prevailing | |
adj.盛行的;占优势的;主要的 | |
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10 democrats | |
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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11 celestial | |
adj.天体的;天上的 | |
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12 manifestations | |
n.表示,显示(manifestation的复数形式) | |
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13 royalty | |
n.皇家,皇族 | |
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14 sweeping | |
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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15 heed | |
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心 | |
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16 hereditary | |
adj.遗传的,遗传性的,可继承的,世袭的 | |
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17 illustrating | |
给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 ); 说明; 表明; (用示例、图画等)说明 | |
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18 sipped | |
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19 voluptuous | |
adj.肉欲的,骄奢淫逸的 | |
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20 tempted | |
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词) | |
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21 forefathers | |
n.祖先,先人;祖先,祖宗( forefather的名词复数 );列祖列宗;前人 | |
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22 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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23 faltered | |
(嗓音)颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃 | |
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24 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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25 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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26 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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27 rusty | |
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的 | |
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28 furtively | |
adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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29 lurked | |
vi.潜伏,埋伏(lurk的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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30 hovered | |
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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31 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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32 dodging | |
n.避开,闪过,音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 );回避 | |
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33 crumbling | |
adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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34 draught | |
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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35 goblet | |
n.高脚酒杯 | |
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36 courageous | |
adj.勇敢的,有胆量的 | |
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37 weird | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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38 crouched | |
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39 enraged | |
使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 ); 歜; 激愤 | |
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40 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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41 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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42 cult | |
n.异教,邪教;时尚,狂热的崇拜 | |
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43 flickered | |
(通常指灯光)闪烁,摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44 obsolete | |
adj.已废弃的,过时的 | |
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45 prerogatives | |
n.权利( prerogative的名词复数 );特权;大主教法庭;总督委任组成的法庭 | |
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46 sane | |
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的 | |
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47 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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48 tyrant | |
n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 | |
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49 bacchanalian | |
adj.闹酒狂饮的;n.发酒疯的人 | |
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50 carnival | |
n.嘉年华会,狂欢,狂欢节,巡回表演 | |
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51 collapse | |
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷 | |
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52 wail | |
vt./vi.大声哀号,恸哭;呼啸,尖啸 | |
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53 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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54 muzzle | |
n.鼻口部;口套;枪(炮)口;vt.使缄默 | |
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55 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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56 salute | |
vi.行礼,致意,问候,放礼炮;vt.向…致意,迎接,赞扬;n.招呼,敬礼,礼炮 | |
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