a tale of two cities(双城记)-9

spin the rope, grind the axe, and hammer the nails into thescaffold.Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsA Tale of Two CitiesChapter IXA DISSAPOINTMENTMr. Attorney-General had to inform the jury, that theprisoner before them, though young in years, was old inthe treasonable practices which claimed the forfeit ofhis life. That this correspondence with the public enemy was not acorrespondence of today, or of yesterday, or even of last year, or ofthe year before. That, it was certain the prisoner had, for longerthan that, been in the habit of passing and re-passing betweenFrance and England, on secret business of which he could give nohonest account. That, if it were in the nature of traitorous ways tothrive (which happily it never was), the real wickedness and guiltof his business might have remained undiscovered. ThatProvidence, however, had put it into the heart of a person whowas beyond fear and beyond reproach, to ferret out the nature ofthe prisoner’s schemes, and, struck with horror, to disclose themto his Majesty’s Chief Secretary of State and most honourablePrivy Council. That, this patriot would be produced before them.That, his position and attitude were, on the whole, sublime. That,he had been the prisoner’s friend, but, at once in an auspiciousand an evil hour detecting his infamy, had resolved to immolatethe traitor he could no longer cherish in his bosom, on the sacredaltar of his country. That, if statues were decreed in Britain, as inancient Greece and Rome, to public benefactors, this shiningcitizen would assuredly have had one. That, as they were not sodecreed, he probably would not have one. That, Virtue, as hadCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsA Tale of Two Citiesbeen observed by the poets (in many passages which he well knewthe jury would have, word for word, at the tips of their tongues;whereat the jury’s countenances displayed a guilty consciousnessthat they knew nothing about the passages), was in a mannercontagious; more especially the bright virtue known as patriotism,or love of country. That, the lofty example of this immaculate andunimpeachable witness for the Crown to refer to whom howeverunworthily was an honour, had communicated itself to theprisoner’s servant, and had engendered in him a holydetermination to examine his master’s table-drawers and pockets,and secrete his papers. That, he (Mr. Attorney-General) wasprepared to hear some disparagement attempted of this admirableservant; but that, in a general way, he preferred him to his (Mr.Attorney-General’s) brothers and sisters, and honoured him morethan his (Mr. Attorney-General’s) father and mother. That, hecalled with confidence on the jury to come and do likewise. That,the evidence of these two witnesses, coupled with the documentsof their discovering that would be produced, would show theprisoner to have been furnished with lists of his Majesty’s forces,and of their disposition and preparation, both by sea and land, andwould leave no doubt that he had habitually conveyed suchinformation to a hostile power. That, these lists could not beproved to be in the prisoner’s handwriting; but that it was all thesame; that, indeed, it was rather the better for the prosecution, asshowing the prisoner to be artful in his precautions. That, theproof would go back five years, and would show the prisoneralready engaged in these pernicious missions within a few weeksbefore the date of the very first action fought between the Britishtroops and the Americans. That, for these reasons, the jury, beingCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsA Tale of Two Citiesa loyal jury (as he knew they were), and being a responsible jury(as they knew they were), must positively find the prisoner Guilty,and make an end of him, whether they liked it or not. That, theynever could lay their heads upon their pillows; that, they nevercould tolerate the idea of their wives laying their heads upon theirpillows; that, they could never endure the notion of their childrenlaying their heads upon their pillows; in short, that there nevermore could be, for them or theirs, any laying of heads upon pillowsat all, unless the prisoner’s head was taken off. That head Mr.Attorney-General concluded by demanding of them, in the nameof everything he could think of with a round turn in it, and on thefaith of his solemn asseveration that he already considered theprisoner as good as dead and gone.When the Attorney-General ceased, a buzz arose in the court asif a cloud of great blue-flies were swarming about the prisoner, inanticipation of what he was soon to become. When toned downagain, the unimpeachable patriot appeared in the witness-box.Mr. Solicitor-General then, following his leader’s lead,examined the patriot: John Barsad, gentleman, by name. Thestory of his pure soul was exactly what Mr. Attorney-General haddescribed it to be—perhaps, if it had a fault, a little too exactly.Having released his noble bosom of its burden, he would havemodestly withdrawn himself, but that the wigged gentleman withthe papers before him, sitting not far from Mr. Lorry, begged toask him a few questions. The wigged gentleman sitting opposite,still looking at the ceiling of the court.Had he ever been a spy himself? No, he scorned the baseinsinuation. What did he live upon? His property. Where was hisproperty? He didn’t precisely remember where it was. What wasCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsA Tale of Two Citiesit? No business of anybody’s. Had he inherited it? Yes, he had.From whom? Distant relatives. Very distant? Rather. Ever been inprison? Certainly not. Never in a debtor’s prison? Didn’t see whatthat had to do with it. Never in a debtor’s prison?—Come, onceagain. Never? Yes. How many times? Two or three times. Not fiveor six? Perhaps. Of what profession? Gentleman. Ever beenkicked? Might have been. Frequently? No. Ever kickeddownstairs? Decidedly not; once received a kick on the top of thestaircase and fell downstairs of his own accord. Kicked on thatoccasion for cheating at dice? Something to that effect was said bythe intoxicated liar who committed the assault, but it was not true.Swear it was not true? Positively. Ever live by cheating at play?Never. Ever live by play? Not more than other gentlemen do. Everborrow money of the prisoner? Yes. Ever pay him? No. Was notthis intimacy with the prisoner, in reality a very slight one, forcedupon the prisoner in coaches, inns, and packets? No. Sure he sawthe prisoner with these lists? Certain. Knew no more about thelists? No. Had not procured them himself, for instance? No.Expect to get anything by this evidence? No. Not in regulargovernment pay and employment, to lay traps? Oh dear no. Or todo anything? Oh dear no. Swear that? Over and again. No motivesbut motives of sheer patriotism? None whatever.The virtuous servant, Roger Cly, swore his way through thecase at a great rate. He had taken service with the prisoner, ingood faith and simplicity, four years ago. He had asked theprisoner, aboard the Calais packet, if he wanted a handy fellow,and the prisoner had engaged him. He had not asked the prisonerto take the handy fellow as an act of charity—never thought ofsuch a thing. He began to have suspicions of the prisoner, and toCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsA Tale of Two Citieskeep an eye upon him, soon afterwards. In arranging his clothes,while travelling, he had seen similar lists in the prisoner’s pockets,over and over again. He had taken these lists from the drawer ofthe prisoner’s desk. He had not put them there first. He had seenthe prisoner show these identical lists to French gentlemen atCalais, and similar lists to French gentlemen, both at Calais andBoulogne. He loved his country, and couldn’t bear it, and hadgiven information. He had never been suspected of stealing asilver teapot; he had been maligned respecting a mustard-pot, butit turned out to be only a plated one. He had known the lastwitness seven or eight years; that was merely a coincidence. Hedidn’t call it a particularly curious coincidence; most coincidenceswere curious. Neither did he call it a curious coincidence that truepatriotism was his only motive too. He was a true Briton, andhoped there were many like him.The blue-flies buzzed again, and Mr. Attorney-General calledMr. Jarvis Lorry.“Mr. Jarvis Lorry, are you a clerk in Tellson’s Bank?“I am.”“On a certain Friday night in November one thousand sevenhundred and seventy-five, did business occasion you to travelbetween London and Dover by the mail?”“It did.”“Were there any other passengers in the mail?”“Two.”“Did they alight on the road in the course of the night?”“They did.”“Mr. Lorry, look upon the prisoner. Was he one of those twopassengers?”Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsA Tale of Two Cities“I cannot undertake to say that he was.”“Does he resemble either of those two passengers?”“Both were so wrapped up, and the night was so dark, and wewere all so reserved, that I cannot undertake to say even that.”“Mr. Lorry, look again upon the prisoner. Supposing himwrapped up as those two passengers were, is there anything in hisbulk and stature to render it unlikely that he was one of them?”“No.”“You will not swear, Mr. Lorry, that he was not one of them?”“No.”“So at least you say that he may have been one of them?”“Yes. Except that I remember them both to have been—likemyself—timorous of highwaymen, and the prisoner has not atimorous air.”“Did you ever see a counterfeit of timidity, Mr. Lorry?”“I certainly have seen that.”“Mr. Lorry, look once more upon the prisoner. Have you seenhim, to your certain knowledge, before?”“I have.”“When?”“I was returning from France a few days afterwards, and, atCalais, the prisoner came on board the packet-ship in which Ireturned, and made the voyage with me.”“At what hour did he come on board?”“At a little after midnight.”“In the dead of the night. Was he the only passenger who cameon board at that untimely hour?”“He happened to be the only one.”“Never mind about ‘happening’, Mr. Lorry. He was the onlyCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsA Tale of Two Citiespassenger who came on board in the dead of the night?”“He was.”“Were you travelling alone, Mr. Lorry, or with anycompanion?”“With two companions. A gentleman and lady. They are here.”“They are here. Had you any conversation with the prisoner?”“Hardly any. The weather was stormy, and the passage longand rough, and I lay on a sofa, almost from shore to shore.”“Miss Manette!”The young lady, to whom all eyes had been turned before, andwere now turned again, stood up where she had sat. Her fatherrose with her, and kept her hand drawn through his arm.“Miss Manette, look upon the prisoner.”To be confronted with such pity, and such earnest youth andbeauty, was far more trying to the accused than to be confrontedwith all the crowd. Standing, as it were, apart with her on the edgeof his grave, not all the staring curiosity that looked on, could, forthe moment, nerve him to remain quite still. His hurried righthand parcelled out the herbs before him into imaginary beds offlowers in a garden; and his efforts to control and steady hisbreathing shook the lips from which the colour rushed to hisheart. The buzz of the great flies was loud again.“Miss Manette, have you seen the prisoner before?”“Yes, sir.”“Where?”“On board of the packet-ship just now referred to, sir, and onthe same occasion.”“You are the young lady just now referred to?”“O! most unhappily, I am!”Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsA Tale of Two CitiesThe plaintive tone of her compassion merged into the lessmusical voice of the Judge, as he said something fiercely: “Answerthe questions put to you, and make no remark upon them.”“Miss Manette, had you any conversation with the prisoner onthat passage across the Channel?”“Yes, sir.”“Recall it.”In the midst of a profound stillness, she faintly began: “Whenthe gentleman came on board—”“Do you mean the prisoner?” inquired the Judge, knitting hisbrows.“Yes, my Lord.”“Then say the prisoner.”“When the prisoner came on board, he noticed that my father,”turning her eyes lovingly to him as he stood beside her, “wasmuch fatigued and in a very weak state of health. My father was soreduced that I was afraid to take him out of the air, and I hadmade a bed for him on the deck near the cabin steps, and I sat onthe deck at his side to take care of him. There were no otherpassengers that night, but we four. The prisoner was so good as tobeg permission to advise me how I could shelter my father fromthe wind and weather, better than I had done. I had not knownhow to do it well, not understanding how the wind would set whenwe were out of the harbour. He did it for me. He expressed greatgentleness and kindness for my father’s state, and I am sure he feltit. That was the manner of our beginning to speak together.”“Let me interrupt you for a moment. Had he come on boardalone?”“No.”Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsA Tale of Two Cities“How many were with him?”“Two French gentlemen.”“Had they conferred together?”“They had conferred together until the last moment, when itwas necessary for the French gentlemen to be landed in theirboat.”“Had any papers been handed about among them, similar tothese lists?”“Some papers had been handed about among them, but I don’tknow what papers.”“Like these in shape and size?”“Possibly, but indeed I don’t know, although they stoodwhispering very near to me: because they stood at the top of thecabin steps to have the light of the lamp that was hanging there; itwas a dull lamp, and they spoke very low, and I did not hear whatthey said, and saw only that they looked at papers.”“Now, to the prisoner’s conversation, Miss Manette.”“The prisoner was as open in his confidence with me—whicharose out of my helpless situation—as he was kind, and good, anduseful to my father. I hope,” bursting into tears, “I may not repayhim by doing him harm today.”Buzzing from the blue-flies.“Miss Manette, if the prisoner does not perfectly understandthat you give the evidence which it is your duty to give—which youmust give—and which you cannot escape from giving—with greatunwillingness, he is the only person present in that condition.Please to go on.”“He told me that he was travelling on business of a delicate anddifficult nature, which might get people into trouble, and that heCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsA Tale of Two Citieswas therefore travelling under an assumed name. He said that thisbusiness had, within a few days, taken him to France, and might,at intervals, take him backwards and forwards between Franceand England for a long time to come.”“Did he say anything about America, Miss Manette? Beparticular.”“He tried to explain to me how that quarrel had arisen, and he