基督山伯爵 英文版 The Count of Monte Cristo
大仲马 Alexandre Dumas père
Chapter 45 Page 2
"It unfortunately happened that our neighbor, Vasilio, wasat Bastia, leaving no person in his house but his wife; nohuman creature beside could hear or see anything that tookplace within our dwelling. Two held poor Assunta, who,unable to conceive that any harm was intended to her, smiledin the face of those who were soon to become herexecutioners. The third proceeded to barricade the doors andwindows, then returned, and the three united in stifling thecries of terror incited by the sight of these preparations,and then dragged Assunta feet foremost towards the brazier,expecting to wring from her an avowal of where her supposedtreasure was secreted. In the struggle her clothes caughtfire, and they were obliged to let go their hold in order topreserve themselves from sharing the same fate. Covered withflames, Assunta rushed wildly to the door, but it wasfastened; she flew to the windows, but they were alsosecured; then the neighbors heard frightful shrieks; it wasAssunta calling for help. The cries died away in groans, andnext morning, as soon as Vasilio's wife could muster upcourage to venture abroad, she caused the door of ourdwelling to be opened by the public authorities, whenAssunta, although dreadfully burnt, was found stillbreathing; every drawer and closet in the house had beenforced open, and the money stolen. Benedetto never againappeared at Rogliano, neither have I since that day eitherseen or heard anything concerning him.
"It was subsequently to these dreadful events that I waitedon your excellency, to whom it would have been folly to havementioned Benedetto, since all trace of him seemed entirelylost; or of my sister, since she was dead."
"And in what light did you view the occurrence?" inquiredMonte Cristo.
"As a punishment for the crime I had committed," answeredBertuccio. "Oh, those Villeforts are an accursed race!"
"Truly they are," murmured the count in a lugubrious tone.
"And now," resumed Bertuccio, "your excellency may, perhaps,be able to comprehend that this place, which I revisit forthe first time -- this garden, the actual scene of my crime-- must have given rise to reflections of no very agreeablenature, and produced that gloom and depression of spiritswhich excited the notice of your excellency, who was pleasedto express a desire to know the cause. At this instant ashudder passes over me as I reflect that possibly I am nowstanding on the very grave in which lies M. de Villefort, bywhose hand the ground was dug to receive the corpse of hischild."
"Everything is possible," said Monte Cristo, rising from thebench on which he had been sitting; "even," he added in aninaudible voice, "even that the procureur be not dead. TheAbbe Busoni did right to send you to me," he went on in hisordinary tone, "and you have done well in relating to me thewhole of your history, as it will prevent my forming anyerroneous opinions concerning you in future. As for thatBenedetto, who so grossly belied his name, have you nevermade any effort to trace out whither he has gone, or whathas become of him?"
"No; far from wishing to learn whither he has betakenhimself, I should shun the possibility of meeting him as Iwould a wild beast. Thank God, I have never heard his namementioned by any person, and I hope and believe he is dead."
"Do not think so, Bertuccio," replied the count; "for thewicked are not so easily disposed of, for God seems to havethem under his special watch-care to make of theminstruments of his vengeance."
"So be it," responded Bertuccio, "all I ask of heaven isthat I may never see him again. And now, your excellency,"he added, bowing his head, "you know everything -- you aremy judge on earth, as the Almighty is in heaven; have youfor me no words of consolation?"
"My good friend, I can only repeat the words addressed toyou by the Abbe Busoni. Villefort merited punishment forwhat he had done to you, and, perhaps, to others. Benedetto,if still living, will become the instrument of divineretribution in some way or other, and then be duly punishedin his turn. As far as you yourself are concerned, I see butone point in which you are really guilty. Ask yourself,wherefore, after rescuing the infant from its living grave,you did not restore it to its mother? There was the crime,Bertuccio -- that was where you became really culpable."
"True, excellency, that was the crime, the real crime, forin that I acted like a coward. My first duty, directly I hadsucceeded in recalling the babe to life, was to restore itto its mother; but, in order to do so, I must have madeclose and careful inquiry, which would, in all probability,have led to my own apprehension; and I clung to life, partlyon my sister's account, and partly from that feeling ofpride inborn in our hearts of desiring to come off untouchedand victorious in the execution of our vengeance. Perhaps,too, the natural and instinctive love of life made me wishto avoid endangering my own. And then, again, I am not asbrave and courageous as was my poor brother." Bertuccio hidhis face in his hands as he uttered these words, while MonteCristo fixed on him a look of inscrutable meaning. After abrief silence, rendered still more solemn by the time andplace, the count said, in a tone of melancholy wholly unlikehis usual manner, "In order to bring this conversation to afitting termination (the last we shall ever hold upon thissubject), I will repeat to you some words I have heard fromthe lips of the Abbe Busoni. For all evils there are tworemedies -- time and silence. And now leave me, MonsieurBertuccio, to walk alone here in the garden. The verycircumstances which inflict on you, as a principal in thetragic scene enacted here, such painful emotions, are to me,on the contrary, a source of something like contentment, andserve but to enhance the value of this dwelling in myestimation. The chief beauty of trees consists in the deepshadow of their umbrageous boughs, while fancy pictures amoving multitude of shapes and forms flitting and passingbeneath that shade. Here I have a garden laid out in such away as to afford the fullest scope for the imagination, andfurnished with thickly grown trees, beneath whose leafyscreen a visionary like myself may conjure up phantoms atwill. This to me, who expected but to find a blank enclosuresurrounded by a straight wall, is, I assure you, a mostagreeable surprise. I have no fear of ghosts, and I havenever heard it said that so much harm had been done by thedead during six thousand years as is wrought by the livingin a single day. Retire within, Bertuccio, and tranquillizeyour mind. Should your confessor be less indulgent to you inyour dying moments than you found the Abbe Busoni, send forme, if I am still on earth, and I will soothe your ears withwords that shall effectually calm and soothe your partingsoul ere it goes forth to traverse the ocean calledeternity."
Bertuccio bowed respectfully, and turned away, sighingheavily. Monte Cristo, left alone, took three or four stepsonwards, and murmured, "Here, beneath this plane-tree, musthave been where the infant's grave was dug. There is thelittle door opening into the garden. At this corner is theprivate staircase communicating with the sleeping apartment.There will be no necessity for me to make a note of theseparticulars, for there, before my eyes, beneath my feet, allaround me, I have the plan sketched with all the livingreality of truth." After making the tour of the garden asecond time, the count re-entered his carriage, whileBertuccio, who perceived the thoughtful expression of hismaster's features, took his seat beside the driver withoututtering a word. The carriage proceeded rapidly towardsParis.
That same evening, upon reaching his abode in the ChampsElysees, the Count of Monte Cristo went over the wholebuilding with the air of one long acquainted with each nookor corner. Nor, although preceding the party, did he oncemistake one door for another, or commit the smallest errorwhen choosing any particular corridor or staircase toconduct him to a place or suite of rooms he desired tovisit. Ali was his principal attendant during this nocturnalsurvey. Having given various orders to Bertuccio relative tothe improvements and alterations he desired to make in thehouse, the Count, drawing out his watch, said to theattentive Nubian, "It is half-past eleven o'clock; Haideewill soon he here. Have the French attendants been summonedto await her coming?" Ali extended his hands towards theapartments destined for the fair Greek, which were soeffectually concealed by means of a tapestried entrance,that it would have puzzled the most curious to have divinedtheir existence. Ali, having pointed to the apartments, heldup three fingers of his right hand, and then, placing itbeneath his head, shut his eyes, and feigned to sleep. "Iunderstand," said Monte Cristo, well acquainted with Ali'spantomime; "you mean to tell me that three female attendantsawait their new mistress in her sleeping-chamber." Ali, withconsiderable animation, made a sign in the affirmative.
"Madame will be tired to-night," continued Monte Cristo,"and will, no doubt, wish to rest. Desire the Frenchattendants not to weary her with questions, but merely topay their respectful duty and retire. You will also see thatthe Greek servants hold no communication with those of thiscountry." He bowed. Just at that moment voices were heardhailing the concierge. The gate opened, a carriage rolleddown the avenue, and stopped at the steps. The count hastilydescended, presented himself at the already opened carriagedoor, and held out his hand to a young woman, completelyenveloped in a green silk mantle heavily embroidered withgold. She raised the hand extended towards her to her lips,and kissed it with a mixture of love and respect. Some fewwords passed between them in that sonorous language in whichHomer makes his gods converse. The young woman spoke with anexpression of deep tenderness, while the count replied withan air of gentle gravity. Preceded by Ali, who carried arose-colored flambeau in his hand, the new-comer, who was noother than the lovely Greek who had been Monte Cristo'scompanion in Italy, was conducted to her apartments, whilethe count retired to the pavilion reserved for himself. Inanother hour every light in the house was extinguished, andit might have been thought that all its inmates slept.