登陆注册
5256400000133

第133章 CHAPTER IV(2)

For a while she had tried to count the black minutes measured off for her by the drop of water; but that melancholy labor of an ailing brain had broken off of itself in her head, and had left her in stupor.

At length, one day, or one night, (for midnight and midday were of the same color in that sepulchre), she heard above her a louder noise than was usually made by the turnkey when he brought her bread and jug of water. She raised her head, and beheld a ray of reddish light passing through the crevices in the sort of trapdoor contrived in the roof of the ~inpace~.

At the same time, the heavy lock creaked, the trap grated on its rusty hinges, turned, and she beheld a lantern, a hand, and the lower portions of the bodies of two men, the door being too low to admit of her seeing their heads. The light pained her so acutely that she shut her eyes.

When she opened them again the door was closed, the lantern was deposited on one of the steps of the staircase; a man alone stood before her. A monk's black cloak fell to his feet, a cowl of the same color concealed his face. Nothing was visible of his person, neither face nor hands. It was a long, black shroud standing erect, and beneath which something could be felt moving. She gazed fixedly for several minutes at this sort of spectre. But neither he nor she spoke. One would have pronounced them two statues confronting each other. Two things only seemed alive in that cavern; the wick of the lantern, which sputtered on account of the dampness of the atmosphere, and the drop of water from the roof, which cut this irregular sputtering with its monotonous splash, and made the light of the lantern quiver in concentric waves on the oily water of the pool.

At last the prisoner broke the silence.

"Who are you?"

"A priest."

The words, the accent, the sound of his voice made her tremble.

The priest continued, in a hollow voice,--

"Are you prepared?"

"For what?"

"To die."

"Oh!" said she, "will it be soon?"

"To-morrow."

Her head, which had been raised with joy, fell back upon her breast.

"'Tis very far away yet!" she murmured; "why could they not have done it to-day?""Then you are very unhappy?" asked the priest, after a silence.

"I am very cold," she replied.

She took her feet in her hands, a gesture habitual with unhappy wretches who are cold, as we have already seen in the case of the recluse of the Tour-Roland, and her teeth chattered.

The priest appeared to cast his eyes around the dungeon from beneath his cowl.

"Without light! without fire! in the water! it is horrible!""Yes," she replied, with the bewildered air which unhappiness had given her. "The day belongs to every one, why do they give me only night?""Do you know," resumed the priest, after a fresh silence, "why you are here?""I thought I knew once," she said, passing her thin fingers over her eyelids, as though to aid her memory, "but I know no longer."All at once she began to weep like a child.

"I should like to get away from here, sir. I am cold, I am afraid, and there are creatures which crawl over my body.""Well, follow me."

So saying, the priest took her arm. The unhappy girl was frozen to her very soul. Yet that hand produced an impression of cold upon her.

"Oh!" she murmured, "'tis the icy hand of death. Who are you?"The priest threw back his cowl; she looked. It was the sinister visage which had so long pursued her; that demon's head which had appeared at la Falourdel's, above the head of her adored Phoebus; that eye which she last had seen glittering beside a dagger.

This apparition, always so fatal for her, and which had thus driven her on from misfortune to misfortune, even to torture, roused her from her stupor. It seemed to her that the sort of veil which had lain thick upon her memory was rent away.

All the details of her melancholy adventure, from the nocturnal scene at la Falourdel's to her condemnation to the Tournelle, recurred to her memory, no longer vague and confused as heretofore, but distinct, harsh, clear, palpitating, terrible.

These souvenirs, half effaced and almost obliterated by excess of suffering, were revived by the sombre figure which stood before her, as the approach of fire causes letters traced upon white paper with invisible ink, to start out perfectly fresh. It seemed to her that all the wounds of her heart opened and bled simultaneously.

"Hah!" she cried, with her hands on her eyes, and a convulsive trembling, "'tis the priest!"Then she dropped her arms in discouragement, and remained seated, with lowered head, eyes fixed on the ground, mute and still trembling.

The priest gazed at her with the eye of a hawk which has long been soaring in a circle from the heights of heaven over a poor lark cowering in the wheat, and has long been silently contracting the formidable circles of his flight, and has suddenly swooped down upon his prey like a flash of lightning, and holds it panting in his talons.

She began to murmur in a low voice,--

"Finish! finish! the last blow!" and she drew her head down in terror between her shoulders, like the lamb awaiting the blow of the butcher's axe.

"So I inspire you with horror?" he said at length.

She made no reply.

"Do I inspire you with horror?" he repeated.

Her lips contracted, as though with a smile.

"Yes," said she, "the headsman scoffs at the condemned.

Here he has been pursuing me, threatening me, terrifying me for months! Had it not been for him, my God, how happy it should have been! It was he who cast me into this abyss!

Oh heavens! it was he who killed him! my Phoebus!"Here, bursting into sobs, and raising her eyes to the priest,--"Oh! wretch, who are you? What have I done to you?

Do you then, hate me so? Alas! what have you against me?""I love thee!" cried the priest.

Her tears suddenly ceased, she gazed at him with the look of an idiot. He had fallen on his knees and was devouring her with eyes of flame.

"Dost thou understand? I love thee!" he cried again.

"What love!" said the unhappy girl with a shudder.

He resumed,--

"The love of a damned soul."

同类推荐
  • 手杖论

    手杖论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 毗尼日用切要香乳记

    毗尼日用切要香乳记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Under the Greenwood Tree

    Under the Greenwood Tree

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 略释新华严经修行次第决疑论

    略释新华严经修行次第决疑论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 彻庸和尚谷响集

    彻庸和尚谷响集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 异世封龙

    异世封龙

    尘琰躲在一个洞窟内小心的看着外面的巨兽那是一种被人们称为狮蝎的猛兽,一般成年后可以打到冒险者9星的实力,不过尘琰此刻面对的并不是一只成年的狮蝎。这倒是让他稍微感到欣慰。尘琰是德安拉一名佣兵,不同于其他人的是他一直独来独往。用他自己的话来说就是不想被出卖。至于为什么,他一直也不愿意透露半分。
  • 粤匪犯湖南纪略

    粤匪犯湖南纪略

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 好日子

    好日子

    一个乡下人想要有出息,有三条路可走:一是当兵,二是读书,第三是做生意。李明亮最初选择读书,他在家里排行老三,上面有两个哥哥。两个哥哥都不肯费脑筋去读书,宁愿扑在田里下死力气。所以当李明亮说他想读书考大学时,他父母亲高兴得差点流泪,勒紧裤带省钱供他上学。他娘在灶台上炒菜倒油时,大拇指按住油壶的口子,让菜油像一条丝线般顺着她的拇指滴出一点点,随后迅速止住。全家人嚼着没油味的霉干菜,一点也不感觉到难过,相反还挺自豪。按照李明亮母亲的话说,我们家明亮读书考大学,将来要做官的,我们的好日子就要来了。李明亮第一次参加高考,分数差了五六十分。
  • 黄粱梦

    黄粱梦

    当你的身体异变的时候,或者并不是坏事!但是,任我怎么想,我都想不到……我会长出翅膀,浴火涅槃……--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 九品神君

    九品神君

    天地是否有界限?蝼蚁与神的距离又有多遥远? 修炼乃是擎苍之路,踏破天地的法则!窃阴阳,夺造化,转乾坤方得阶品。神君者,万般皆下品,武道之极,天地之巅!神君之路,迈出一步已是不归。何谓不归?不死不休便是不归!
  • 八大菩萨曼荼罗经

    八大菩萨曼荼罗经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 弗洛伊德9:自我与本我

    弗洛伊德9:自我与本我

    此卷收录四部分内容。《超越快乐原则》修正了弗洛伊德早期的本能学说,第一次提出人存在着死的本能与生的本能,并把这两种作用相反、同时并存的力量的斗争视为整个生命运动历程的决定者。《群体心理学与自我的分析》系统论述了关于“群体的本质就在于它自身存在的力比多联系”的理论。《自我与本我》谈及意识、前意识、潜意识,阐述了自我从本我、超我从自我分化的过程。《抑制、症状与焦虑》是弗洛伊德对压抑与焦虑及心理防御机制关系理论进行修正与补充的主要论著。
  • 阴阳风水秘录

    阴阳风水秘录

    爷爷去世的时候,交给我一本古籍《风水秘藏》,我没有想到,他会让我后来的际遇,如此跌宕起伏。古墓中白凶干尸,鬼脸蜘蛛,化身地狱召唤接踵而来,玄妙机关,扑朔迷离幽道,是为守护世代传承秘密所存,我一步步踏上奇异的征途,却发现...
  • 我愿戒痴情

    我愿戒痴情

    我们原来,曾经很相爱。可是什么时候开始,你的爱变成了折断我羽翼的武器。“从今天起,你我恩断义绝!你不再是我的妻子,我高兴你是什么你就什么!”为了可笑的误会,你对我字字诛心,发泄你那所谓的愤怒。可你从来不知道,你口中所谓的爱,会变成伤害我的匕首。一刀一刀将我的心划的支离破碎……--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 紫元君授道传心法

    紫元君授道传心法

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。