Our Hero Departs from Vienna, and Quits the Domain1 of Venus for the Rough Field of Mars.
Luckily for our adventurer, before she adhered to this determination, the young Count de Melvil was summoned to Presburg by his father, who desired to see him, before he should take the field, in consequence of a rupture2 between the Emperor and the French King; and Fathom3 of course quitted Vienna, in order to attend his patron, after he and Renaldo had resided two whole years in that capital, where the former had made himself perfect in all the polite exercises, become master of the French tongue, and learned to speak the Italian with great facility; over and above those other accomplishments4 in which we have represented him as an inimitable original.
As for the young Count, his exteriors5 were so much improved by the company to which he had access, since his departure from his father’s house, that his parents were equally surprised and overjoyed at the alteration6. All that awkwardness and rusticity7, which hung upon his deportment, was, like the rough coat of a diamond, polished away; the connexion and disposition8 of his limbs seemed to have been adjusted anew; his carriage was become easy, his air perfectly9 genteel, and his conversation gay and unrestrained. The merit of this reformation was in a great measure ascribed to the care and example of Mr. Fathom, who was received by the old Count and his lady with marks of singular friendship and esteem10; nor was he overlooked by Mademoiselle, who still remained in a state of celibacy11, and seemed to have resigned all hope of altering her condition; she expressed uncommon12 satisfaction at the return of her old favourite, and readmitted him into the same degree of familiarity with which he had been honoured before his departure.
The joy of Teresa was so excessive at his arrival, that she could scarce suppress her raptures13, so as to conceal14 them from the notice of the family; and our hero, upon this occasion, performed the part of an exquisite15 actor, in dissembling those transports which his bosom16 never knew. So well had this pupil retained the lessons of her instructor17, that, in the midst of those fraudulent appropriations18, which she still continued to make, she had found means to support her interest and character with Mademoiselle, and even to acquire such influence in the family, that no other servant, male or female, could pretend to live under the same roof, without paying incessant19 homage20 to this artful waiting-woman, and yielding the most abject21 submission22 to her will.
The young gentlemen having tarried at Presburg about six weeks, during which a small field equipage was prepared for Renaldo, they repaired to the camp at Heilbron, under the auspices23 of Count Melvil, in whose regiment24 they carried arms as volunteers, with a view to merit promotion25 in the service by their own personal behaviour. Our adventurer would have willingly dispensed26 with this occasion of signalising himself, his talents being much better adapted to another sphere of life; nevertheless, he affected27 uncommon alacrity28 at the prospect29 of gathering30 laurels31 in the field, and subscribed32 to his fortune with a good grace; foreseeing, that even in a campaign, a man of his art and ingenuity33 might find means to consult his corporal safety, without any danger to his reputation. Accordingly, before he had lived full three weeks in camp, the damp situation, and sudden change in his way of life, had such a violent effect upon his constitution, that he was deprived of the use of all his limbs, and mourned, without ceasing, his hard fate, by which he found himself precluded34 from all opportunity of exerting his diligence, courage, and activity, in the character of a soldier, to which he now aspired35.
Renaldo, who was actually enamoured of a martial36 life, and missed no occasion of distinguishing himself, consoled his companion with great cordiality, encouraged him with the hope of seeing his constitution familiarised to the inconveniences of a camp, and accommodated him with everything which he thought would alleviate37 the pain of his body, as well as the anxiety of his mind. The old Count, who sincerely sympathised with his affliction, would have persuaded him to retire into quarters, where he could be carefully nursed, and provided with everything necessary to a person in his condition; but such was his desire of glory, that he resisted his patron’s importunities with great constancy, till at length, seeing the old gentleman obstinately38 determined39 to consult his health by removing him from the field, he gradually suffered himself to recover the use of his hands, made shift to sit up in his bed, and amuse himself with cards or backgammon, and, notwithstanding the feeble condition of his legs, ventured to ride out on horseback to visit the lines, though the Count and his son would never yield to his solicitations so far, as to let him accompany Renaldo in those excursions and reconnoitring parties, by which a volunteer inures40 himself to toil41 and peril42, and acquires that knowledge in the operations of war, which qualifies him for a command in the service.
Notwithstanding this exemption43 from all duty, our adventurer managed matters so as to pass for a youth of infinite mettle44, and even rendered his backwardness and timidity subservient45 to the support of that character, by expressing an impatience46 of lying inactive, and a desire of signalising his prowess, which even the disabled condition of his body could scarce restrain. He must be a man of very weak nerves and excessive irresolution47, who can live in the midst of actual service, without imbibing48 some portion of military fortitude49: danger becomes habitual50, and loses a great part of its terror; and as fear is often caught by contagion51, so is courage communicated among the individuals of an army. The hope of fame, desire of honours and preferment, envy, emulation52, and the dread53 of disgrace, are motives54 which co-operate in suppressing that aversion to death or mutilation, which nature hath implanted in the human mind; and therefore it is not to be wondered at, if Fathom, who was naturally chicken-hearted, gained some advantages over his disposition before the end of the campaign, which happened to be neither perilous55 nor severe.
During the winter, while both armies remained in quarters, our adventurer attended his patron to Presburg, and, before the troops were in motion, Renaldo obtained a commission, in consequence of which he went into garrison56 at Philipsburg, whither he was followed by our hero, while the old Count’s duty called him to the field in a different place. Ferdinand for some time had no reason to be dissatisfied with this disposition, by which he was at once delivered from the fatigues57 of a campaign, and the inspection58 of a severe censor59, in the person of Count Melvil; and his satisfaction was still increased by an accidental meeting with the Tyrolese who had been his confederate at Vienna, and now chanced to serve in garrison on the same footing with himself. These two knights-errant renewed their former correspondence, and, as all soldiers are addicted60 to gaming, levied61 contributions upon all those officers who had money to lose, and temerity62 to play.
However, they had not long pursued this branch of traffic, when their success was interrupted by a very serious occurrence, that for the present entirely63 detached the gentlemen in the garrison from such amusements. The French troops invested Fort Kehl, situated64 on the Rhine, opposite to Strasburg; and the Imperialists, dreading65 that the next storm would fall upon Philipsburg, employed themselves with great diligence to put that important fortress66 in a proper posture67 of defence. If the suspension of play was displeasing68 to our hero, the expectation of being besieged69 was by no means more agreeable. He knew the excellence70 of the French engineers, the power of their artillery71, and the perseverance72 of their general. He felt, by anticipation73, the toils74 of hard duty upon the works, the horrors of night-alarms, cannonading, bombardment, sallies, and mines blown up; and deliberated with himself whether or not he should privately75 withdraw, and take refuge among the besiegers; but, when he reflected that such a step, besides the infamy76 that must attend it, would be like that of running upon Scylla, seeking to avoid Charybdis, as he would be exposed to more danger and inconvenience in the trenches77 than he could possibly undergo in the town, and after all run the risk of being taken and treated as a deserter; upon these considerations he resolved to submit himself to his destiny, and endeavoured to mitigate78 the rigour of his fate by those arts he had formerly79 practised with success. He accordingly found means to enjoy a very bad state of health during the whole siege, which lasted about six weeks after the trenches were opened; and then the garrison marched out by capitulation, with all the honours of war.
1 domain | |
n.(活动等)领域,范围;领地,势力范围 | |
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2 rupture | |
n.破裂;(关系的)决裂;v.(使)破裂 | |
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3 fathom | |
v.领悟,彻底了解 | |
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4 accomplishments | |
n.造诣;完成( accomplishment的名词复数 );技能;成绩;成就 | |
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5 exteriors | |
n.外面( exterior的名词复数 );外貌;户外景色图 | |
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6 alteration | |
n.变更,改变;蚀变 | |
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7 rusticity | |
n.乡村的特点、风格或气息 | |
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8 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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9 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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10 esteem | |
n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 | |
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11 celibacy | |
n.独身(主义) | |
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12 uncommon | |
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的 | |
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13 raptures | |
极度欢喜( rapture的名词复数 ) | |
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14 conceal | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽 | |
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15 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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16 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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17 instructor | |
n.指导者,教员,教练 | |
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18 appropriations | |
n.挪用(appropriation的复数形式) | |
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19 incessant | |
adj.不停的,连续的 | |
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20 homage | |
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬 | |
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21 abject | |
adj.极可怜的,卑屈的 | |
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22 submission | |
n.服从,投降;温顺,谦虚;提出 | |
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23 auspices | |
n.资助,赞助 | |
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24 regiment | |
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
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25 promotion | |
n.提升,晋级;促销,宣传 | |
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26 dispensed | |
v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 );施与;配(药) | |
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27 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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28 alacrity | |
n.敏捷,轻快,乐意 | |
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29 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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30 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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31 laurels | |
n.桂冠,荣誉 | |
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32 subscribed | |
v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 );签署,题词;订阅;同意 | |
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33 ingenuity | |
n.别出心裁;善于发明创造 | |
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34 precluded | |
v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 );排除;妨碍;使…行不通 | |
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35 aspired | |
v.渴望,追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36 martial | |
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的 | |
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37 alleviate | |
v.减轻,缓和,缓解(痛苦等) | |
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38 obstinately | |
ad.固执地,顽固地 | |
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39 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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40 inures | |
vt.使习惯(inure的第三人称单数形式) | |
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41 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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42 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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43 exemption | |
n.豁免,免税额,免除 | |
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44 mettle | |
n.勇气,精神 | |
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45 subservient | |
adj.卑屈的,阿谀的 | |
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46 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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47 irresolution | |
n.不决断,优柔寡断,犹豫不定 | |
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48 imbibing | |
v.吸收( imbibe的现在分词 );喝;吸取;吸气 | |
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49 fortitude | |
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
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50 habitual | |
adj.习惯性的;通常的,惯常的 | |
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51 contagion | |
n.(通过接触的疾病)传染;蔓延 | |
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52 emulation | |
n.竞争;仿效 | |
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53 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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54 motives | |
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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55 perilous | |
adj.危险的,冒险的 | |
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56 garrison | |
n.卫戍部队;驻地,卫戍区;vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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57 fatigues | |
n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 );杂役;厌倦;(士兵穿的)工作服 | |
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58 inspection | |
n.检查,审查,检阅 | |
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59 censor | |
n./vt.审查,审查员;删改 | |
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60 addicted | |
adj.沉溺于....的,对...上瘾的 | |
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61 levied | |
征(兵)( levy的过去式和过去分词 ); 索取; 发动(战争); 征税 | |
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62 temerity | |
n.鲁莽,冒失 | |
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63 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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64 situated | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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65 dreading | |
v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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66 fortress | |
n.堡垒,防御工事 | |
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67 posture | |
n.姿势,姿态,心态,态度;v.作出某种姿势 | |
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68 displeasing | |
不愉快的,令人发火的 | |
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69 besieged | |
包围,围困,围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70 excellence | |
n.优秀,杰出,(pl.)优点,美德 | |
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71 artillery | |
n.(军)火炮,大炮;炮兵(部队) | |
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72 perseverance | |
n.坚持不懈,不屈不挠 | |
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73 anticipation | |
n.预期,预料,期望 | |
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74 toils | |
网 | |
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75 privately | |
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地 | |
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76 infamy | |
n.声名狼藉,出丑,恶行 | |
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77 trenches | |
深沟,地沟( trench的名词复数 ); 战壕 | |
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78 mitigate | |
vt.(使)减轻,(使)缓和 | |
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79 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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