The gleam of a lantern woke Odo. The horses had stopped at the gates ofPianura, and the abate1 giving the pass-word, the carriage rolled underthe gatehouse and continued its way over the loud cobble-stones of theducal streets. These streets were so dark, being lit but by some lanternprojecting here and there from the angle of a wall, or by the flare2 ofan oil-lamp under a shrine3, that Odo, leaning eagerly out, could onlynow and then catch a sculptured palace-window, the grinning mask on thekeystone of an archway, or the gleaming yellowish facade4 of a churchinlaid with marbles. Once or twice an uncurtained window showed a groupof men drinking about a wineshop table, or an artisan bending over hiswork by the light of a tallow dip; but for the most part doors andwindows were barred and the streets disturbed only by the watchman's cryor by a flash of light and noise as a sedan chair passed with its escortof linkmen and servants. All this was amazing enough to the sleepy eyesof the little boy so unexpectedly translated from the solitude5 ofPontesordo; but when the carriage turned under another arch and drew upbefore the doorway6 of a great building ablaze7 with lights, the pressureof accumulated emotions made him fling his arms about his preceptor'sneck.
"Courage, cavaliere, courage! You have duties, you haveresponsibilities," the abate admonished8 him; and Odo, choking back hisfright, suffered himself to be lifted out by one of the lacqueys groupedabout the door. The abate, who carried a much lower crest9 than atPontesordo, and seemed far more anxious to please the servants than theyto oblige him, led the way up a shining marble staircase where beggarswhined on the landings and powdered footmen in the ducal livery wererunning to and fro with trays of refreshments10. Odo, who knew that hismother lived in the Duke's palace, had vaguely11 imagined that hisfather's death must have plunged12 its huge precincts into silence andmourning; but as he followed the abate up successive flights of stairsand down long corridors full of shadow he heard a sound of dance musicbelow and caught the flash of girandoles through the antechamber doors.
The thought that his father's death had made no difference to any one inthe palace was to the child so much more astonishing than any of theother impressions crowding his brain, that these were scarcely felt, andhe passed as in a dream through rooms where servants were quarrellingover cards and waiting-women rummaged14 in wardrobes full of perfumedfinery, to a bedchamber in which a lady dressed in weeds satdisconsolately at supper.
"Mamma! Mamma!" he cried, springing forward in a passion of tears.
The lady, who was young, pale and handsome, pushed back her chair with awarning hand.
"Child," she exclaimed, "your shoes are covered with mud; and, goodheavens, how you smell of the stable! Abate, is it thus you teach yourpupil to approach me?""Madam, I am abashed15 by the cavaliere's temerity16. But in truth I believeexcessive grief has clouded his wits--'tis inconceivable how he mournshis father!"Donna Laura's eyebrows17 rose in a faint smile. "May he never have worseto grieve for!" said she in French; then, extending her scented18 hand tothe little boy, she added solemnly: "My son, we have suffered anirreparable loss."Odo, abashed by her rebuke20 and the abate's apology, had drawn21 his heelstogether in a rustic22 version of the low bow with which the children ofthat day were taught to approach their parents.
"Holy Virgin23!" said his mother with a laugh, "I perceive they have nodancing-master at Pontesordo. Cavaliere, you may kiss my hand.
So--that's better; we shall make a gentleman of you yet. But what makesyour face so wet? Ah, crying, to be sure. Mother of God! as for crying,there's enough to cry about." She put the child aside and turned to thepreceptor. "The Duke refuses to pay," she said with a shrug24 of despair.
"Good heavens!" lamented25 the abate, raising his hands. "And Don Lelio?"he faltered26.
She shrugged27 again, impatiently. "As great a gambler as my husband.
They're all alike, abate: six times since last Easter has the bill beensent to me for that trifle of a turquoise28 buckle29 he made such a to-doabout giving me." She rose and began to pace the room in disorder30. "I'ma ruined woman," she cried, "and it's a disgrace for the Duke to refuseme."The abate raised an admonishing31 finger. "Excellency...excellency..."She glanced over her shoulder.
"Eh? You're right. Everything is heard here. But who's to pay for mymourning the saints alone know! I sent an express this morning to myfather, but you know my brothers bleed him like leeches32. I could havegot this easily enough from the Duke a year ago--it's his marriage hasmade him so stiff. That little white-faced fool--she hates me becauseLelio won't look at her, and she thinks it's my fault. As if I caredwhom he looks at! Sometimes I think he has money put away...all I wantis two hundred ducats...a woman of my rank!" She turned suddenly on Odo,who stood, very small and frightened, in the corner to which she hadpushed him. "What are you staring at, child? Eh! the monkey is droppingwith sleep. Look at his eyes, abate! Here, Vanna, Tonina, to bed withhim; he may sleep with you in my dressing-closet, Tonina. Go with her,child, go; but for God's sake wake him if he snores. I'm too ill to havemy rest disturbed." And she lifted a pomander to her nostrils33.
The next few days dwelt in Odo's memory as a blur34 of strange sights andsounds. The super-acute state of his perceptions was succeeded after anight's sleep by the natural passivity with which children accept theimprobable, so that he passed from one novel impression to another aseasily and with the same exhilaration as if he had been listening to afairy tale. Solitude and neglect had no surprises for him, and it seemednatural enough that his mother and her maids should be too busy toremember his presence.
For the first day or two he sat unnoticed on his little stool in acorner of his mother's room, while packing-chests were dragged in,wardrobes emptied, mantua-makers and milliners consulted, andtroublesome creditors35 dismissed with abuse, or even blows, by theservants lounging in the ante-chamber. Donna Laura continued to show theliveliest symptoms of concern, but the child perceived her distress36 tobe but indirectly37 connected with the loss she had suffered, and he hadseen enough of poverty at the farm to guess that the need of money wassomehow at the bottom of her troubles. How any one could be in want, whoslept between damask curtains and lived on sweet cakes and chocolate, itexceeded his fancy to conceive; yet there were times when his mother'svoice had the same frightened angry sound as Filomena's on the days whenthe bailiff went over the accounts at Pontesordo.
Her excellency's rooms, during these days, were always crowded, forbesides the dressmakers and other merchants there was the hairdresser,or French Monsu--a loud, important figure, with a bag full of cosmeticsand curling-irons--the abate, always running in and out with messagesand letters, and taking no more notice of Odo than if he had never seenhim, and a succession of ladies brimming with condolences, and eachfollowed by a servant who swelled38 the noisy crowd of card-playinglacqueys in the ante-chamber.
Through all these figures came and went another, to Odo the mostnoticeable,--that of a handsome young man with a high manner, dressedalways in black, but with an excess of lace ruffles39 and jewels, aclouded amber13 head to his cane40, and red heels to his shoes. This younggentleman, whose age could not have been more than twenty, and who hadthe coldest insolent41 air, was treated with profound respect by all butDonna Laura, who was for ever quarrelling with him when he was present,yet could not support his absence without lamentations and alarm. Theabate appeared to act as messenger between the two, and when he came tosay that the Count rode with the court, or was engaged to sup with thePrime Minister, or had business on his father's estate in the country,the lady would openly yield to her distress, crying out that she knewwell enough what his excuses meant: that she was the most cruellyoutraged of women, and that he treated her no better than a husband.
For two days Odo languished42 in his corner, whisked by the women'sskirts, smothered43 under the hoops44 and falbalas which the dressmakersunpacked from their cases, fed at irregular hours, and faring on thewhole no better than at Pontesordo. The third morning, Vanna, who seemedthe most good-natured of the women, cried out on his pale looks when shebrought him his cup of chocolate. "I declare," she exclaimed, "the childhas had no air since he came in from the farm. What does your excellencysay? Shall the hunchback take him for a walk in the gardens?"To this her excellency, who sat at her toilet under the hair-dresser'shands, irritably45 replied that she had not slept all night and was in nostate to be tormented46 about such trifles, but that the child might gowhere he pleased.
Odo, who was very weary of his corner, sprang up readily enough whenVanna, at this, beckoned47 him to the inner ante-chamber. Here, wherepersons of a certain condition waited (the outer being given over toservants and tradesmen), they found a lean humpbacked boy, shabbilydressed in darned stockings and a faded coat, but with an extraordinarykeen pale face that at once attracted and frightened the child.
"There, go with him; he won't eat you," said Vanna, giving him a push asshe hurried away; and Odo, trembling a little, laid his hand in theboy's. "Where do you come from?" he faltered, looking up into hiscompanion's face.
The boy laughed and the blood rose to his high cheekbones. "I?--From theInnocenti, if your Excellency knows where that is," said he.
Odo's face lit up. "Of course I do," he cried, reassured48. "I know a girlwho comes from there--the Momola at Pontesordo.""Ah, indeed?" said the boy with a queer look. "Well, she's my sister,then. Give her my compliments when you see her, cavaliere. Oh, we're alarge family, we are!"Odo's perplexity was returning. "Are you really Momola's brother?" heasked.
"Eh, in a way--we're children of the same house.""But you live in the palace, don't you?" Odo persisted, his curiositysurmounting his fear. "Are you a servant of my mother's?""I'm the servant of your illustrious mother's servants; the abatino ofthe waiting-women. I write their love-letters, do you see, cavaliere, Icarry their rubbish to the pawnbroker's when their sweethearts have bledthem of their savings49; I clean the birdcages and feed the monkeys, anddo the steward's accounts when he's drunk, and sleep on a bench in theportico and steal my food from the pantry...and my father very likelygoes in velvet50 and carries a sword at his side."The boy's voice had grown shrill51, and his eyes blazed like an owl's inthe dark. Odo would have given the world to be back in his corner, buthe was ashamed to betray his lack of heart; and to give himself couragehe asked haughtily52: "And what is your name, boy?"The hunchback gave him a gleaming look. "Call me Brutus," he cried, "forBrutus killed a tyrant53." He gave Odo's hand a pull. "Come along," saidhe, "and I'll show you his statue in the garden--Brutus's statue in aprince's garden, mind you!" And as the little boy trotted54 at his sidedown the long corridors he kept repeating under his breath in a kind ofangry sing-song, "For Brutus killed a tyrant."The sense of strangeness inspired by his odd companion soon gave way inOdo's mind to emotions of delight and wonder. He was, even at that age,unusually sensitive to external impressions, and when the hunchback,after descending55 many stairs and winding56 through endless back-passages,at length led him out on a terrace above the gardens, the beauty of thesight swelled his little heart to bursting.
A Duke of Pianura had, some hundred years earlier, caused a great wingto be added to his palace by the eminent57 architect Carlo Borromini, andthis accomplished58 designer had at the same time replanted and enlargedthe ducal gardens. To Odo, who had never seen plantations59 more artfulthan the vineyards and mulberry orchards60 about Pontesordo, theseperspectives of clipped beech61 and yew62, these knots of box filled in withmulti-coloured sand, appeared, with the fountains, colonnades63 andtrellised arbours surmounted64 by globes of glass, to represent the verypattern and Paradise of gardens. It seemed indeed too beautiful to bereal, and he trembled, as he sometimes did at the music of the Eastermass, when the hunchback, laughing at his amazement65, led him down theterrace steps.
It was Odo's lot in after years to walk the alleys66 of many a splendidgarden, and to pace, often wearily enough, the paths along which he wasnow led; but never after did he renew the first enchanted67 impression ofmystery and brightness that remained with him as the most vivid emotionof his childhood.
Though it was February the season was so soft that the orange and lemontrees had been put out in their earthen vases before the lemon-house,and the beds in the parterres were full of violets, daffodils andauriculas; but the scent19 of the orange-blossoms and the bright coloursof the flowers moved Odo less than the noble ordonnance of the pleachedalleys, each terminated by a statue or a marble seat; and when he cameto the grotto68 where, amid rearing sea-horses and Tritons, a cascadepoured from the grove69 above, his wonder passed into such delicious aweas hung him speechless on the hunchback's hand.
"Eh," said the latter with a sneer70, "it's a finer garden than we have atour family palace. Do you know what's planted there?" he asked, turningsuddenly on the little boy. "Dead bodies, cavaliere! Rows and rows ofthem; the bodies of my brothers and sisters, the Innocents who die likeflies every year of the cholera71 and the measles72 and the putrid73 fever."He saw the terror in Odo's face and added in a gentler tone: "Eh, don'tcry, cavaliere; they sleep better in those beds than in any othersthey're like to lie on. Come, come, and I'll show your excellency theaviaries."From the aviaries74 they passed to the Chinese pavilion, where the Dukesupped on summer evenings, and thence to the bowling-alley, thefish-stew and the fruit-garden. At every step some fresh surprisearrested Odo; but the terrible vision of that other garden planted withthe dead bodies of the Innocents robbed the spectacle of its brightness,dulled the plumage of the birds behind their gilt75 wires and cast adeeper shade over the beech-grove, where figures of goat-faced menlurked balefully in the twilight76. Odo was glad when they left theblackness of this grove for the open walks, where gardeners were workingand he had the reassurance77 of the sky. The hunchback, who seemed sorrythat he had frightened him, told him many curious stories about themarble images that adorned78 the walks; and pausing suddenly before one ofa naked man with a knife in his hand, cried out in a frenzy79: "This is mynamesake, Brutus!" But when Odo would have asked if the naked man was akinsman, the boy hurried him on, saying only: "You'll read of him someday in Plutarch."
收听单词发音 |
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abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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facade
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| n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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admonished
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| v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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refreshments
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| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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rummaged
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查 | |
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abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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rustic
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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faltered
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| （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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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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turquoise
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| n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的 | |
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buckle
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| n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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admonishing
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| v.劝告( admonish的现在分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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leeches
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| n.水蛭( leech的名词复数 )；蚂蟥；榨取他人脂膏者；医生 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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blur
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| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
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creditors
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| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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ruffles
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| 褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 ) | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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languished
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| 长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐 | |
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smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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hoops
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| n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓 | |
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irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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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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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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beech
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| n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的 | |
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yew
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| n.紫杉属树木 | |
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colonnades
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| n.石柱廊( colonnade的名词复数 ) | |
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64
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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65
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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66
alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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67
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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68
grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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69
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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70
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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71
cholera
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| n.霍乱 | |
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72
measles
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| n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子 | |
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73
putrid
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| adj.腐臭的；有毒的；已腐烂的；卑劣的 | |
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74
aviaries
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| n.大鸟笼( aviary的名词复数 )；鸟舍；鸟类饲养场；鸟类饲养者 | |
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75
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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76
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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77
reassurance
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| n.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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78
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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