基督山伯爵 英文版 The Count of Monte Cristo
大仲马 Alexandre Dumas père
Chapter 33 Page 3
"Carmela wished to form a quadrille, but there was one ladywanting. Carmela looked all around her, but not one of theguests had a costume similar to her own, or those of hercompanions. The Count of San-Felice pointed out Teresa, whowas hanging on Luigi's arm in a group of peasants. `Will youallow me, father?' said Carmela. -- `Certainly,' replied thecount, `are we not in Carnival time?' -- Carmela turnedtowards the young man who was talking with her, and saying afew words to him, pointed with her finger to Teresa. Theyoung man looked, bowed in obedience, and then went toTeresa, and invited her to dance in a quadrille directed bythe count's daughter. Teresa felt a flush pass over herface; she looked at Luigi, who could not refuse his assent.Luigi slowly relinquished Teresa's arm, which he had heldbeneath his own, and Teresa, accompanied by her elegantcavalier, took her appointed place with much agitation inthe aristocratic quadrille. Certainly, in the eyes of anartist, the exact and strict costume of Teresa had a verydifferent character from that of Carmela and her companions;and Teresa was frivolous and coquettish, and thus theembroidery and muslins, the cashmere waist-girdles, alldazzled her, and the reflection of sapphires and diamondsalmost turned her giddy brain.
"Luigi felt a sensation hitherto unknown arising in hismind. It was like an acute pain which gnawed at his heart,and then thrilled through his whole body. He followed withhis eye each movement of Teresa and her cavalier; when theirhands touched, he felt as though he should swoon; everypulse beat with violence, and it seemed as though a bellwere ringing in his ears. When they spoke, although Teresalistened timidly and with downcast eyes to the conversationof her cavalier, as Luigi could read in the ardent looks ofthe good-looking young man that his language was that ofpraise, it seemed as if the whole world was turning roundwith him, and all the voices of hell were whispering in hisears ideas of murder and assassination. Then fearing thathis paroxysm might get the better of him, he clutched withone hand the branch of a tree against which he was leaning,and with the other convulsively grasped the dagger with acarved handle which was in his belt, and which, unwittingly,he drew from the scabbard from time to time. Luigi wasjealous! He felt that, influenced by her ambitions andcoquettish disposition, Teresa might escape him.
"The young peasant girl, at first timid and scared, soonrecovered herself. We have said that Teresa was handsome,but this is not all; Teresa was endowed with all those wildgraces which are so much more potent than our affected andstudied elegancies. She had almost all the honors of thequadrille, and if she were envious of the Count ofSan-Felice's daughter, we will not undertake to say thatCarmela was not jealous of her. And with overpoweringcompliments her handsome cavalier led her back to the placewhence he had taken her, and where Luigi awaited her. Twiceor thrice during the dance the young girl had glanced atLuigi, and each time she saw that he was pale and that hisfeatures were agitated, once even the blade of his knife,half drawn from its sheath, had dazzled her eyes with itssinister glare. Thus, it was almost tremblingly that sheresumed her lover's arm. The quadrille had been mostperfect, and it was evident there was a great demand for arepetition, Carmela alone objecting to it, but the Count ofSan-Felice besought his daughter so earnestly, that sheacceded. One of the cavaliers then hastened to inviteTeresa, without whom it was impossible for the quadrille tobe formed, but the young girl had disappeared. The truthwas, that Luigi had not felt the strength to support anothersuch trial, and, half by persuasion and half by force, hehad removed Teresa toward another part of the garden. Teresahad yielded in spite of herself, but when she looked at theagitated countenance of the young man, she understood by hissilence and trembling voice that something strange waspassing within him. She herself was not exempt from internalemotion, and without having done anything wrong, yet fullycomprehended that Luigi was right in reproaching her. Why,she did not know, but yet she did not the less feel thatthese reproaches were merited. However, to Teresa's greatastonishment, Luigi remained mute, and not a word escapedhis lips the rest of the evening. When the chill of thenight had driven away the guests from the gardens, and thegates of the villa were closed on them for the festain-doors, he took Teresa quite away, and as he left her ather home, he said, --
"`Teresa, what were you thinking of as you danced oppositethe young Countess of San-Felice?' -- `I thought,' repliedthe young girl, with all the frankness of her nature, `thatI would give half my life for a costume such as she wore.'
"`And what said your cavalier to you?' -- `He said it onlydepended on myself to have it, and I had only one word tosay.'
"`He was right,' said Luigi. `Do you desire it as ardentlyas you say?' -- `Yes.' -- `Well, then, you shall have it!'
"The young girl, much astonished, raised her head to look athim, but his face was so gloomy and terrible that her wordsfroze to her lips. As Luigi spoke thus, he left her. Teresafollowed him with her eyes into the darkness as long as shecould, and when he had quite disappeared, she went into thehouse with a sigh.
the Sailor." he said.words he drew away the stone, and showed Teresa thegrotto, lighted up by two wax lights, which burnt on eachside.
"The next day, at the usual hour, the two young peasantswere on the borders of the forest. Luigi arrived first. Hecame toward Teresa in high spirits, and seemed to havecompletely forgotten the events of the previous evening. Theyoung girl was very pensive, but seeing Luigi so cheerful,she on her part assumed a smiling air, which was natural toher when she was not excited or in a passion. Luigi took herarm beneath his own, and led her to the door of the grotto.Then he paused. The young girl, perceiving that there wassomething extraordinary, looked at him steadfastly.`Teresa,' said Luigi, `yesterday evening you told me youwould give all the world to have a costume similar to thatof the count's daughter.' -- `Yes,' replied Teresa withastonishment; `but I was mad to utter such a wish.' -- `AndI replied, "Very well, you shall have it."' -- `Yes,'replied the young girl, whose astonishment increased atevery word uttered by Luigi, `but of course your reply wasonly to please me.'
"`I have promised no more than I have given you, Teresa,'said Luigi proudly. `Go into the grotto and dress yourself.'At these words he drew away the stone, and showed Teresa thegrotto, lighted up by two wax lights, which burnt on eachside of a splendid mirror; on a rustic table, made by Luigi,were spread out the pearl necklace and the diamond pins, andon a chair at the side was laid the rest of the costume.
roundwith him, and all the voices of hell were whispering in hisears ideas of murder and assassination. Then fearing thathis paroxysm might.
"Teresa uttered a cry of joy, and, without inquiring whencethis attire came, or even thanking Luigi, darted into thegrotto, transformed into a dressing-room. Luigi pushed thestone behind her, for on the crest of a small adjacent hillwhich cut off the view toward Palestrina, he saw a travelleron horseback, stopping a moment, as if uncertain of hisroad, and thus presenting against the blue sky that perfectoutline which is peculiar to distant objects in southernclimes. When he saw Luigi, he put his horse into a gallopand advanced toward him. Luigi was not mistaken. Thetraveller, who was going from Palestrina to Tivoli, hadmistaken his way; the young man directed him; but as at adistance of a quarter of a mile the road again divided intothree ways, and on reaching these the traveller might againstray from his route, he begged Luigi to be his guide. Luigithrew his cloak on the ground, placed his carbine on hisshoulder, and freed from his heavy covering, preceded thetraveller with the rapid step of a mountaineer, which ahorse can scarcely keep up with. In ten minutes Luigi andthe traveller reached the cross-roads. On arriving there,with an air as majestic as that of an emperor, he stretchedhis hand towards that one of the roads which the travellerwas to follow. -- "That is your road, excellency, and nowyou cannot again mistake.' -- `And here is your recompense,'said the traveller, offering the young herdsman some smallpieces of money.
"`Thank you,' said Luigi, drawing back his hand; `I render aservice, I do not sell it.' -- `Well,' replied thetraveller, who seemed used to this difference between theservility of a man of the cities and the pride of themountaineer, `if you refuse wages, you will, perhaps, accepta gift.' -- `Ah, yes, that is another thing.' -- `Then,'said the traveller, `take these two Venetian sequins andgive them to your bride, to make herself a pair ofearrings.'
"`And then do you take this poniard,' said the youngherdsman; `you will not find one better carved betweenAlbano and Civita-Castellana.'
"`I accept it,' answered the traveller, `but then theobligation will be on my side, for this poniard is worthmore than two sequins.' -- `For a dealer perhaps; but forme, who engraved it myself, it is hardly worth a piastre.'
"`What is your name?' inquired the traveller. -- `LuigiVampa,' replied the shepherd, with the same air as he wouldhave replied, Alexander, King of Macedon. -- `And yours?' --`I,' said the traveller, `am called Sinbad the Sailor.'"Franz d'Epinay started with surprise.
"Sinbad the Sailor." he said.
"Yes," replied the narrator; "that was the name which thetraveller gave to Vampa as his own."
"Well, and what may you have to say against this name?"inquired Albert; "it is a very pretty name, and theadventures of the gentleman of that name amused me very muchin my youth, I must confess." -- Franz said no more. Thename of Sinbad the Sailor, as may well be supposed, awakenedin him a world of recollections, as had the name of theCount of Monte Cristo on the previous evening.
"Proceed!" said he to the host.
"Vampa put the two sequins haughtily into his pocket, andslowly returned by the way he had gone. As he came withintwo or three hundred paces of the grotto, he thought heheard a cry. He listened to know whence this sound couldproceed. A moment afterwards he thought he heard his ownname pronounced distinctly. The cry proceeded from thegrotto. He bounded like a chamois, cocking his carbine as hewent, and in a moment reached the summit of a hill oppositeto that on which he had perceived the traveller. Three criesfor help came more distinctly to his ear. He cast his eyesaround him and saw a man carrying off Teresa, as Nessus, thecentaur, carried Dejanira. This man, who was hasteningtowards the wood, was already three-quarters of the way onthe road from the grotto to the forest. Vampa measured thedistance; the man was at least two hundred paces in advanceof him, and there was not a chance of overtaking him. Theyoung shepherd stopped, as if his feet had been rooted tothe ground; then he put the butt of his carbine to hisshoulder, took aim at the ravisher, followed him for asecond in his track, and then fired. The ravisher stoppedsuddenly, his knees bent under him, and he fell with Teresain his arms. The young girl rose instantly, but the man layon the earth struggling in the agonies of death. Vampa thenrushed towards Teresa; for at ten paces from the dying manher legs had failed her, and she had dropped on her knees,so that the young man feared that the ball that had broughtdown his enemy, had also wounded his betrothed. Fortunately,she was unscathed, and it was fright alone that had overcomeTeresa. When Luigi had assured himself that she was safe andunharmed, he turned towards the wounded man. He had justexpired, with clinched hands, his mouth in a spasm of agony,and his hair on end in the sweat of death. His eyes remainedopen and menacing. Vampa approached the corpse, andrecognized Cucumetto. From the day on which the bandit hadbeen saved by the two young peasants, he had been enamouredof Teresa, and had sworn she should be his. From that timehe had watched them, and profiting by the moment when herlover had left her alone, had carried her off, and believedhe at length had her in his power, when the ball, directedby the unerring skill of the young herdsman, had pierced hisheart. Vampa gazed on him for a moment without betraying theslightest emotion; while, on the contrary, Teresa,shuddering in every limb, dared not approach the slainruffian but by degrees, and threw a hesitating glance at thedead body over the shoulder of her lover. Suddenly Vampaturned toward his mistress: -- `Ah,' said he -- `good, good!You are dressed; it is now my turn to dress myself.'
"Teresa was clothed from head to foot in the garb of theCount of San-Felice's daughter. Vampa took Cucumetto's bodyin his arms and conveyed it to the grotto, while in her turnTeresa remained outside. If a second traveller had passed,he would have seen a strange thing, -- a shepherdesswatching her flock, clad in a cashmere grown, with ear-ringsand necklace of pearls, diamond pins, and buttons ofsapphires, emeralds, and rubies. He would, no doubt, havebelieved that he had returned to the times of Florian, andwould have declared, on reaching Paris, that he had met anAlpine shepherdess seated at the foot of the Sabine Hill. Atthe end of a quarter of an hour Vampa quitted the grotto;his costume was no less elegant than that of Teresa. He worea vest of garnet-colored velvet, with buttons of cut gold; asilk waistcoat covered with embroidery; a Roman scarf tiedround his neck; a cartridge-box worked with gold, and redand green silk; sky-blue velvet breeches, fastened above theknee with diamond buckles; garters of deerskin, worked witha thousand arabesques, and a hat whereon hung ribbons of allcolors; two watches hung from his girdle, and a splendidponiard was in his belt. Teresa uttered a cry of admiration.Vampa in this attire resembled a painting by Leopold Robert,or Schnetz. He had assumed the entire costume of Cucumetto.The young man saw the effect produced on his betrothed, anda smile of pride passed over his lips. -- `Now,' he said toTeresa, `are you ready to share my fortune, whatever it maybe?' -- `Oh, yes!' exclaimed the young girlenthusiastically. -- `And follow me wherever I go?' -- `Tothe world's end.' -- `Then take my arm, and let us on; wehave no time to lose.' -- The young girl did so withoutquestioning her lover as to where he was conducting her, forhe appeared to her at this moment as handsome, proud, andpowerful as a god. They went towards the forest, and soonentered it. We need scarcely say that all the paths of themountain were known to Vampa; he therefore went forwardwithout a moment's hesitation, although there was no beatentrack, but he knew his path by looking at the trees andbushes, and thus they kept on advancing for nearly an hourand a half. At the end of this time they had reached thethickest of the forest. A torrent, whose bed was dry, ledinto a deep gorge. Vampa took this wild road, which,enclosed between two ridges, and shadowed by the tuftedumbrage of the pines, seemed, but for the difficulties ofits descent, that path to Avernus of which Virgil speaks.Teresa had become alarmed at the wild and deserted look ofthe plain around her, and pressed closely against her guide,not uttering a syllable; but as she saw him advance witheven step and composed countenance, she endeavored torepress her emotion. Suddenly, about ten paces from them, aman advanced from behind a tree and aimed at Vampa. -- `Notanother step,' he said, `or you are a dead man.' -- `What,then,' said Vampa, raising his hand with a gesture ofdisdain, while Teresa, no longer able to restrain her alarm,clung closely to him, `do wolves rend each other?' -- `Whoare you?' inquired the sentinel. -- `I am Luigi Vampa,shepherd of the San-Felice farm.' -- `What do you want?' --`I would speak with your companions who are in the glade atRocca Bianca.' -- `Follow me, then,' said the sentinel; `or,as you know your way, go first.' -- Vampa smileddisdainfully at this precaution on the part of the bandit,went before Teresa, and continued to advance with the samefirm and easy step as before. At the end of ten minutes thebandit made them a sign to stop. The two young personsobeyed. Then the bandit thrice imitated the cry of a crow; acroak answered this signal. -- `Good!' said the sentry, `youmay now go on.' -- Luigi and Teresa again set forward; asthey went on Teresa clung tremblingly to her lover at thesight of weapons and the glistening of carbines through thetrees. The retreat of Rocca Bianca was at the top of a smallmountain, which no doubt in former days had been a volcano-- an extinct volcano before the days when Remus and Romulushad deserted Alba to come and found the city of Rome. Teresaand Luigi reached the summit, and all at once foundthemselves in the presence of twenty bandits. `Here is ayoung man who seeks and wishes to speak to you,' said thesentinel. -- `What has he to say?' inquired the young manwho was in command in the chief's absence. -- `I wish to saythat I am tired of a shepherd's life,' was Vampa's reply. --`Ah, I understand,' said the lieutenant; `and you seekadmittance into our ranks?' -- `Welcome!' cried severalbandits from Ferrusino, Pampinara, and Anagni, who hadrecognized Luigi Vampa. -- `Yes, but I came to ask somethingmore than to be your companion.' -- `And what may that be?'inquired the bandits with astonishment. -- `I come to ask tobe your captain,' said the young man. The bandits shoutedwith laughter. `And what have you done to aspire to thishonor?' demanded the lieutenant. -- `I have killed yourchief, Cucumetto, whose dress I now wear; and I set fire tothe villa San-Felice to procure a wedding-dress for mybetrothed.' An hour afterwards Luigi Vampa was chosencaptain, vice Cucumetto deceased."
"Well, my dear Albert," said Franz, turning towards hisfriend; "what think you of citizen Luigi Vampa?"
"I say he is a myth," replied Albert, "and never had anexistence."
"And what may a myth be?" inquired Pastrini.
"The explanation would be too long, my dear landlord,"replied Franz.
"And you say that Signor Vampa exercises his profession atthis moment in the environs of Rome?"
"And with a boldness of which no bandit before him ever gavean example."
"Then the police have vainly tried to lay hands on him?"
"Why, you see, he has a good understanding with theshepherds in the plains, the fishermen of the Tiber, and thesmugglers of the coast. They seek for him in the mountains,and he is on the waters; they follow him on the waters, andhe is on the open sea; then they pursue him, and he hassuddenly taken refuge in the islands, at Giglio, Guanouti,or Monte Cristo; and when they hunt for him there, hereappears suddenly at Albano, Tivoli, or La Riccia."
"And how does he behave towards travellers?"
"Alas! his plan is very simple. It depends on the distancehe may be from the city, whether he gives eight hours,twelve hours, or a day wherein to pay their ransom; and whenthat time has elapsed he allows another hour's grace. At thesixtieth minute of this hour, if the money is notforthcoming, he blows out the prisoner's brains with apistol-shot, or plants his dagger in his heart, and thatsettles the account."
are youstill disposed to go to the Colosseum by the outer wall?" man of the cities and the pride of themountaineer.
"Well, Albert," inquired Franz of his companion, "are youstill disposed to go to the Colosseum by the outer wall?"
fellow," said Albert, rising, and lighting histhird cigar, "really, I thought.
"Quite so," said Albert, "if the way be picturesque." Theclock struck nine as the door opened, and a coachmanappeared. "Excellencies," said he, "the coach is ready."
"Well, then," said Franz, "let us to the Colosseum."
"By the Porta del Popolo or by the streets, yourexcellencies?"
"By the streets, morbleu, by the streets!" cried Franz.
"Ah, my dear fellow," said Albert, rising, and lighting histhird cigar, "really, I thought you had more courage." Sosaying, the two young men went down the staircase, and gotinto the carriage.