“My way took me frequently along the path in front of that miserable5 rancho. I rode from the fort to the town almost every evening, to sigh at the window of a lady I was in love with, then. When one is young, you understand.... She was a good patriot6, you may be sure. Caballeros, credit me or not, political feeling ran so high in those days that I do not believe I could have been fascinated by the charms of a woman of Royalist opinions....”
Murmurs8 of amused incredulity all round the table interrupted the General; and while they lasted he stroked his white beard gravely.
“Senores,” he protested, “a Royalist was a monster to our overwrought feelings. I am telling you this in order not to be suspected of the slightest tenderness towards that old Royalist’s daughter. Moreover, as you know, my affections were engaged elsewhere. But I could not help noticing her on rare occasions when with the front door open she stood in the porch.
“You must know that this old Royalist was as crazy as a man can be. His political misfortunes, his total downfall and ruin, had disordered his mind. To show his contempt for what we patriots9 could do, he affected10 to laugh at his imprisonment11, at the confiscation12 of his lands, the burning of his houses, and the misery13 to which he and his womenfolk were reduced. This habit of laughing had grown upon him, so that he would begin to laugh and shout directly he caught sight of any stranger. That was the form of his madness.
“I, of course, disregarded the noise of that madman with that feeling of superiority the success of our cause inspired in us Americans. I suppose I really despised him because he was an old Castilian, a Spaniard born, and a Royalist. Those were certainly no reasons to scorn a man; but for centuries Spaniards born had shown their contempt of us Americans, men as well descended14 as themselves, simply because we were what they called colonists15. We had been kept in abasement16 and made to feel our inferiority in social intercourse17. And now it was our turn. It was sale for us patriots to display the same sentiments; and I being a young patriot, son of a patriot, despised that old Spaniard, and despising him I naturally disregarded his abuse, though it was annoying to my feelings. Others perhaps would not have been so forbearing.
“He would begin with a great yell—‘I see a patriot. Another of them!’ long before I came abreast18 of the house. The tone of his senseless revilings, mingled19 with bursts of laughter, was sometimes piercingly shrill20 and sometimes grave. It was all very mad; but I felt it incumbent21 upon my dignity to check my horse to a walk without even glancing towards the house, as if that man’s abusive clamour in the porch were less than the barking of a cur. I rode by, preserving an expression of haughty22 indifference23 on my face.
“It was no doubt very dignified24; but I should have done better if I had kept my eyes open. A military man in war time should never consider himself off duty; and especially so if the war is a revolutionary war, when the enemy is not at the door, but within your very house. At such times the heat of passionate25 convictions, passing into hatred26, removes the restraints of honour and humanity from many men and of delicacy27 and fear from some women. These last, when once they throw off the timidity and reserve of their sex, become by the vivacity28 of their intelligence and the violence of their merciless resentment29 more dangerous than so many armed giants.”
The General’s voice rose, but his big hand stroked his white beard twice with an effect of venerable calmness. “Si, senores! Women are ready to rise to the heights of devotion unattainable by us men, or to sink into the depths of abasement which amazes our masculine prejudices. I am speaking now of exceptional women, you understand...”
Here one of the guests observed that he had never met a woman yet who was not capable of turning out quite exceptional under circumstances that would engage her feelings strongly. “That sort of superiority in recklessness they have over us,” he concluded, “makes of them the more interesting half of mankind.”
The General, who bore the interruption with gravity, nodded courteous30 assent31. “Si. Si. Under circumstances.... Precisely32. They can do an infinite deal of mischief33 sometimes in quite unexpected ways. For who could have imagined that a young girl, daughter of a ruined Royalist whose life itself was held only by the contempt of his enemies, would have had the power to bring death and devastation34 upon two flourishing provinces and cause serious anxiety to the leaders of the revolution in the very hour of its success!” He paused to let the wonder of it penetrate35 our minds.
“Death and devastation,” somebody murmured in surprise: “how shocking!”
The old General gave a glance in the direction of the murmur7 and went on. “Yes. That is, war—calamity. But the means by which she obtained the power to work this havoc36 on our southern frontier seem to me, who have seen her and spoken to her, still more shocking. That particular thing left on my mind a dreadful amazement37 which the further experience of life, of more than fifty years, has done nothing to diminish.” He looked round as if to make sure of our attention, and, in a changed voice: “I am, as you know, a republican, son of a Liberator,” he declared. “My incomparable mother, God rest her soul, was a Frenchwoman, the daughter of an ardent38 republican. As a boy I fought for liberty; I’ve always believed in the equality of men; and as to their brotherhood39, that, to my mind, is even more certain. Look at the fierce animosity they display in their differences. And what in the world do you know that is more bitterly fierce than brothers’ quarrels?”
All absence of cynicism checked an inclination40 to smile at this view of human brotherhood. On the contrary, there was in the tone the melancholy41 natural to a man profoundly humane42 at heart who from duty, from conviction and from necessity, had played his part in scenes of ruthless violence.
The General had seen much of fratricidal strife43. “Certainly. There is no doubt of their brotherhood,” he insisted. “All men are brothers, and as such know almost too much of each other. But “—and here in the old patriarchal head, white as silver, the black eyes humorously twinkled—“if we are all brothers, all the women are not our sisters.”
One of the younger guests was heard murmuring his satisfaction at the fact. But the General continued, with deliberate earnestness: “They are so different! The tale of a king who took a beggar-maid for a partner of his throne may be pretty enough as we men look upon ourselves and upon love. But that a young girl, famous for her haughty beauty and, only a short time before, the admired of all at the balls in the Viceroy’s palace, should take by the hand a guasso, a common peasant, is intolerable to our sentiment of women and their love. It is madness. Nevertheless it happened. But it must be said that in her case it was the madness of hate—not of love.”
After presenting this excuse in a spirit of chivalrous44 justice, the General remained silent for a time. “I rode past the house every day almost,” he began again, “and this was what was going on within. But how it was going on no mind of man can conceive. Her desperation must have been extreme, and Gaspar Ruiz was a docile45 fellow. He had been an obedient soldier. His strength was like an enormous stone lying on the ground, ready to be hurled46 this way that by the hand that picks it up.
“It is clear that he would tell his story to the people who gave him the shelter he needed. And he needed assistance badly. His wound was not dangerous, but his life was forfeited47. The old Royalist being wrapped up in his laughing madness, the two women arranged a hiding-place for the wounded man in one of the huts amongst the fruit trees at the back of the house. That hovel, an abundance of clear water while the fever was on him, and some words of pity were all they could give. I suppose he had a share of what food there was. And it would be but little; a handful of roasted corn, perhaps a dish of beans, or a piece of bread with a few figs48. To such misery were those proud and once wealthy people reduced.”
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1
confiscated
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| 没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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clemency
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| n.温和，仁慈，宽厚 | |
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shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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5
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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9
patriots
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| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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10
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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12
confiscation
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| n. 没收, 充公, 征收 | |
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13
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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14
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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16
abasement
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| n.滥用 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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19
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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20
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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incumbent
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| adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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25
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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28
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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29
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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30
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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31
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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33
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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34
devastation
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| n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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36
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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37
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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38
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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39
brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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40
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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41
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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42
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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43
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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44
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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45
docile
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| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
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46
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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47
forfeited
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
figs
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| figures 数字，图形，外形 | |
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