基督山伯爵 英文版 The Count of Monte Cristo
大仲马 Alexandre Dumas père
Chapter 35 Page 2
Franz heard the words of the count but imperfectly, and heperhaps did not fully appreciate this new attention to theirwishes; for he was wholly absorbed by the spectacle that thePiazza del Popolo presented, and by the terrible instrumentthat was in the centre. It was the first time Franz had everseen a guillotine, -- we say guillotine, because the Romanmandaia is formed on almost the same model as the Frenchinstrument.* The knife, which is shaped like a crescent,that cuts with the convex side, falls from a less height,and that is all the difference. Two men, seated on themovable plank on which the victim is laid, were eating theirbreakfasts, while waiting for the criminal. Their repastconsisted apparently of bread and sausages. One of themlifted the plank, took out a flask of wine, drank some, andthen passed it to his companion. These two men were theexecutioner's assistants. At this sight Franz felt theperspiration start forth upon his brow. The prisoners,transported the previous evening from the Carcere Nuovo tothe little church of Santa Maria del Popolo, had passed thenight, each accompanied by two priests, in a chapel closedby a grating, before which were two sentinels, who wererelieved at intervals. A double line of carbineers, placedon each side of the door of the church, reached to thescaffold, and formed a circle around it, leaving a pathabout ten feet wide, and around the guillotine a space ofnearly a hundred feet. All the rest of the square was pavedwith heads. Many women held their infants on theirshoulders, and thus the children had the best view. TheMonte Pincio seemed a vast amphitheatre filled withspectators; the balconies of the two churches at the cornerof the Via del Babuino and the Via di Ripetta were crammed;the steps even seemed a parti-colored sea, that was impelledtowards the portico; every niche in the wall held its livingstatue. What the count said was true -- the most curiousspectacle in life is that of death. And yet, instead of thesilence and the solemnity demanded by the occasion, laughterand jests arose from the crowd. It was evident that theexecution was, in the eyes of the people, only thecommencement of the Carnival. Suddenly the tumult ceased, asif by magic, and the doors of the church opened. Abrotherhood of penitents, clothed from head to foot in robesof gray sackcloth, with holes for the eyes, and holding intheir hands lighted tapers, appeared first; the chiefmarched at the head. Behind the penitents came a man of vaststature and proportions. He was naked, with the exception ofcloth drawers at the left side of which hung a large knifein a sheath, and he bore on his right shoulder a heavy ironsledge-hammer. This man was the executioner. He had,moreover, sandals bound on his feet by cords. Behind theexecutioner came, in the order in which they were to die,first Peppino and then Andrea. Each was accompanied by twopriests. Neither had his eyes bandaged. Peppino walked witha firm step, doubtless aware of what awaited him. Andrea wassupported by two priests. Each of them, from time to time,kissed the crucifix a confessor held out to them. At thissight alone Franz felt his legs tremble under him. He lookedat Albert -- he was as white as his shirt, and mechanicallycast away his cigar, although he had not half smoked it. Thecount alone seemed unmoved -- nay, more, a slight colorseemed striving to rise in his pale cheeks. His nostrilsdilated like those of a wild beast that scents its prey, andhis lips, half opened, disclosed his white teeth, small andsharp like those of a jackal. And yet his features wore anexpression of smiling tenderness, such as Franz had neverbefore witnessed in them; his black eyes especially werefull of kindness and pity. However, the two culpritsadvanced, and as they approached their faces became visible.Peppino was a handsome young man of four or five and twenty,bronzed by the sun; he carried his head erect, and seemed onthe watch to see on which side his liberator would appear.Andrea was short and fat; his visage, marked with brutalcruelty, did not indicate age; he might be thirty. In prisonhe had suffered his beard to grow; his head fell on hisshoulder, his legs bent beneath him, and his movements wereapparently automatic and unconscious.
* Dr. Guillotin got the idea of his famous machine fromwitnessing an execution in Italy.
"I thought," said Franz to the count, "that you told methere would be but one execution."
to come, there is no time to lose."the people with one voice -- "a pardon!"At this cry?
"I told you true," replied he coldly.
"And yet here are two culprits."
"Yes; but only one of these two is about to die; the otherhas many years to live."
"If the pardon is to come, there is no time to lose."
"And see, here it is," said the count. At the moment whenPeppino reached the foot of the mandaia, a priest arrived insome haste, forced his way through the soldiers, and,advancing to the chief of the brotherhood, gave him a foldedpaper. The piercing eye of Peppino had noticed all. Thechief took the paper, unfolded it, and, raising his hand,"Heaven be praised, and his holiness also," said he in aloud voice; "here is a pardon for one of the prisoners!"
"A pardon!" cried the people with one voice -- "a pardon!"At this cry Andrea raised his head. "Pardon for whom?" criedhe.
Peppino remained breathless. "A pardon for Peppino, calledRocca Priori," said the principal friar. And he passed thepaper to the officer commanding the carbineers, who read andreturned it to him.
"For Peppino!" cried Andrea, who seemed roused from thetorpor in which he had been plunged. "Why for him and notfor me? We ought to die together. I was promised he shoulddie with me. You have no right to put me to death alone. Iwill not die alone -- I will not!" And he broke from thepriests struggling and raving like a wild beast, andstriving desperately to break the cords that bound hishands. The executioner made a sign, and his two assistantsleaped from the scaffold and seized him. "What is going on?"asked Franz of the count; for, as all the talk was in theRoman dialect, he had not perfectly understood it. "Do younot see?" returned the count, "that this human creature whois about to die is furious that his fellow-sufferer does notperish with him? and, were he able, he would rather tear himto pieces with his teeth and nails than let him enjoy thelife he himself is about to be deprived of. Oh, man, man --race of crocodiles," cried the count, extending his clinchedhands towards the crowd, "how well do I recognize you there,and that at all times you are worthy of yourselves!"Meanwhile Andrea and the two executioners were struggling onthe ground, and he kept exclaiming, "He ought to die! -- heshall die! -- I will not die alone!"
"Look, look," cried the count, seizing the young men's hands-- "look, for on my soul it is curious. Here is a man whohad resigned himself to his fate, who was going to thescaffold to die -- like a coward, it is true, but he wasabout to die without resistance. Do you know what gave himstrength? -- do you know what consoled him? It was, thatanother partook of his punishment -- that another partook ofhis anguish -- that another was to die before him. Lead twosheep to the butcher's, two oxen to the slaughterhouse, andmake one of them understand that his companion will not die;the sheep will bleat for pleasure, the ox will bellow withjoy. But man -- man, whom God created in his own image --man, upon whom God has laid his first, his sole commandment,to love his neighbor -- man, to whom God has given a voiceto express his thoughts -- what is his first cry when hehears his fellow-man is saved? A blasphemy. Honor to man,this masterpiece of nature, this king of the creation!" Andthe count burst into a laugh; a terrible laugh, that showedhe must have suffered horribly to be able thus to laugh.However, the struggle still continued, and it was dreadfulto witness. The people all took part against Andrea, andtwenty thousand voices cried, "Put him to death! put him todeath!" Franz sprang back, but the count seized his arm, andheld him before the window. "What are you doing?" said he."Do you pity him? If you heard the cry of `Mad dog!' youwould take your gun -- you would unhesitatingly shoot thepoor beast, who, after all, was only guilty of having beenbitten by another dog. And yet you pity a man who, withoutbeing bitten by one of his race, has yet murdered hisbenefactor; and who, now unable to kill any one, because hishands are bound, wishes to see his companion in captivityperish. No, no -- look, look!"
The command was needless. Franz was fascinated by thehorrible spectacle. The two assistants had borne Andrea tothe scaffold, and there, in spite of his struggles, hisbites, and his cries, had forced him to his knees. Duringthis time the executioner had raised his mace, and signed tothem to get out of the way; the criminal strove to rise,but, ere he had time, the mace fell on his left temple. Adull and heavy sound was heard, and the man dropped like anox on his face, and then turned over on his back. Theexecutioner let fall his mace, drew his knife, and with onestroke opened his throat, and mounting on his stomach,stamped violently on it with his feet. At every stroke a jetof blood sprang from the wound.
This time Franz could contain himself no longer, but sank,half fainting, into a seat. Albert, with his eyes closed,was standing grasping the window-curtains. The count waserect and triumphant, like the Avenging Angel!