Chapter 42 Chapter 10 The Essence of Shadows

"I, the unfortunate doctor Alexandre Manette, of Povey, ex-Paris, wrote this tragic record from my dismal cell in the Bastille in the last month of 1767. I intend to make it Hidden in the chimney wall--It took me a long time and painstakingly to dig out this hiding-place. Maybe someone will feel pity here after I and my sorrows have been dusted find it. "I wrote this with painstaking effort in the last month of my tenth year of confinement, with a rusty iron point dipped in smoke and charcoal scraped from the chimney and mixed with my blood. I no longer have Hope. I see from my dire symptoms that my sanity will soon be destroyed. But I do solemnly declare that I am now absolutely sane, my memory is perfectly accurate, and that what I have written is true and that I may stand in the eternal judgment The seat is responsible for the last record I write, whether or not anyone will read it.

"On a cloudy, moonlit night in the third week of December, 1757 (I think it was the night of the twentieth), I was walking in a deserted spot by the quays of the Seine, in order to cool off from the frosty air." The place is an hour from where I live on Medical College Street.At this time, a speeding carriage came from behind me. I was afraid of being hit by it, so I hurried to the side of the road and let it pass, but a head stuck out from the window, and a voice ordered the driver to stop. "As soon as the coachman reined in the horse, the carriage stopped. The voice called my name just now, and I agreed. At that time, the carriage was already far ahead of me. When I got to the front of the carriage, two gentlemen had already opened the door and got out. Car. I observed that both were wrapped tightly in cloaks, as if they did not want to be recognized. They stood side by side by the door of the car. I observed that they were about my age, maybe a little younger, and their height, manner , sound, and look (as far as I can see) are very similar.

"'Are you Dr. Manette?' said one. "'yes.' "'Doctor Manette, who used to live in Povey,' said the other, 'is a young physician, originally a specialist in surgery, who has been gaining popularity in Paris in the past year or two, has he not?' "'Gentlemen,' replied I, 'I am Dr. Manette, and you are honored.' "'We were at your house,' said the first, 'by bad luck, we did not find you, but we heard that you might be going in this direction, and we followed, hoping to catch you. Aboard, please!' "Both of them were very airy, and while they were talking, they came up and put me between them and the door of the carriage. Both of them were armed, but I was not.

"'Gentlemen,' said I, 'I'm sorry, but I always want to know in advance who is paying me to see me, and what the status of the patient is.' "It was the second speaker who answered. 'Doctor, your patient is a person of high status. As for the patient's condition, we trust your medical skills. You don't need us to introduce it. You will know it yourself. All right, please go ahead. car!' "I had no choice but to obey, and got into the carriage without a word. Two people followed--the second jumped up with the pedals closed. The carriage turned around and galloped away at the same speed.

"I have recounted this conversation as it happened, and I have no doubt that every word was recorded as it was. I have controlled my thoughts so that they do not stray from my work. I have described everything truthfully and accurately. I am in Draw a pause number here, hide the document I wrote, and prepare to write it later." "Leaving the street behind, the carriages crossed the North Gate Pass into the country road. At two-thirds of a league from the pass--I did not estimate the distance then, but on the next pass--a carriage left the main road, at We stopped in front of an independent house. We got out of the car and walked along the damp and soft path in the garden. There was a hot spring water there, which had overflowed due to neglect and flowed to the gate of the house. We rang the doorbell but there was no response.人立即开门，等到门开了，引我来此的其中一人便用他那厚重的骑马手套揍了来开门的人一个耳光。

"This behavior didn't come to my attention much. I'm used to ordinary people being beaten like dogs. But another guy got angry too and stretched out his arm and hit the guy and the guy again. That's when I realized for the first time that they were twin brothers. "The door to the house was locked. One of the two brothers let us in and then locked it again. From the moment we got out of the car at the courtyard gate I heard cries from upstairs in the house. I was taken straight to Entering the house. As I went upstairs the screams grew louder and I found a sick man lying in bed with encephalitis and a high fever.

"The patient was a stunningly beautiful woman, very young, no doubt just over twenty. Her hair was disheveled, and her arms were bound at her sides with ribbons and handkerchiefs. I noticed that the bindings were all from men's clothing. One of them was a dress I used a lace scarf. On it I saw a coat of arms and the letter E. "I discovered all this in the first minute of my study of the patient, who, in the struggle, had rolled over and turned his face to the side of the bed, with the corner of the scarf caught in his mouth, in danger of suffocation. My first movement was to reach out to disarm her; as I pulled the scarf back, the embroidery on the corner fell into my eyes.

"I turned her over gently and put my hands on her chest to calm her down and lay her down while looking at her face. Her eyes were wide open and she was delirious and kept screaming sharply , repeatedly calling out: 'My husband, my father, my brother!' and then counting from one to twelve, and then saying, 'Shhh!' And so on and on, in the same order and in the same attitude. Except There was no silence beyond that fixed pause. "'How long has this been the case?' I asked. "In order to distinguish two brothers, I called them elder brother and younger brother respectively. I called the most authoritative one elder brother. The elder brother replied, 'Since about this time last night.'

"'Has she got a husband, father, and brother?' "'Have a younger brother.' "'I'm not talking to her brother, am I?' "He replied very contemptuously, 'No.' "'Has she been involved with the number twelve lately?' "My brother interrupted impatiently, 'Twelve o'clock!' "'You see, gentlemen,' said I, with my hand still on her bosom, 'that you have brought me here like this, and there is nothing I can do! If I had known what I was coming for, I could have brought the application. Medicines. It is a waste of time as it is now. How can there be medicines in such a remote place.'

"The elder brother glanced at the younger brother, and the younger brother said arrogantly, 'There's a medicine box.' He took it out from a small room and put it on the table." "I opened a few medicine bottles, sniffed them, and touched the corks with my lips. Except for the anesthetics, which are themselves poisons, there are no medicines I want to use. "'Are you worried about these medicines?' my brother asked. "'You see, sir, I will use it,' I answered, and said nothing more. "I spent a lot of energy and thought of many ways to feed her the medicine I wanted to use. Because I had to take the medicine later, and now I had to observe the curative effect, I sat down by the bed. There was a very The timid and timid woman serving (she was the man downstairs's wife) was now retreating into a corner. The house was very damp and decayed, and the furniture was ordinary--very recently improvised. The windows were nailed thick old curtains to block out the screaming. The screaming continued with regularity, 'My husband, my dad, my brother:' on the count of twelve, followed by 'Shh!' The patient was crazy , I did not dare to remove the straps that bound her arms, but I checked and tried to keep her from pain. The only spark that inspired me from the patient was the soothing effect of my hand on her chest. , sometimes calms the body a little, but not the screams: no pendulum is more punctual than it

"Because I thought my hands had this effect, I sat on the edge of the bed for half an hour, and the two brothers watched. Later my brother said: "One more patient." "I was taken aback and asked, 'Is it a critical illness?' "'You'd better see for yourself,' he answered nonchalantly, taking up a lamp as he spoke." "The other patient is in a room behind another staircase. That room is above the stables, or a sort of attic. It has a low ceiling, partly plastered, and the rest empty, The ridges and beams of the tiled roof were exposed. It was the place where the straw and hay were stacked, as well as firewood, and a pile of apples buried in the sand. I walked through it to the patient. My memory is accurate. I use these details to test my memory. At this moment, nearly ten years after my confinement, in my cell in the Bastille, I can vividly see all the scenes of that night before my eyes. "A handsome rural youth lying on the ground in the hay, with a pillow thrown on the ground under his head. He was no more than seventeen years old. He lay on the ground with his right hand on his chest, his teeth clenched, and his eyes wide open. The top of his head. I got down on one knee beside him and couldn't see where his wound was. I could see he was dying from a stab wound with a sharp object. "'I'm a doctor, poor friend,' said I, 'let me examine it.' "'I don't want to check,' he replied, 'let it go.' "The wound was where he was covering it, and I persuaded him to remove it. It was a sword wound, about twenty to twenty-four hours ago. But even if he had been treated right then, there was no cure. He was Died quickly. I turned to look at the older brother, and I saw him looking down at this handsome boy whose life was passing away. It was like looking at a wounded bird or rabbit, not at all like looking at his own. Humanity. - What's the matter, sir? 'I asked. "'A little mad dog! A serf! Make my brother draw a sword and kill him—like a nobleman.' "There was no trace of pity, pain, or human sympathy in that answer. The speaker seemed to admit that it was inconvenient for the lowly creature to die here, and that it would be better for him to die in obscurity like a worm. For the boy and his fate , it was impossible for him to express sympathy. "As he spoke, the boy's eyes slowly turned to him, and then slowly turned to me. "'Doctor, these nobles are very proud. But we low dogs are sometimes proud. They plunder us, insult us, beat us, kill us, and yet we sometimes have a little pride left. She—you see Is she sick, doctor?" "Although it was a long distance, the scream was still audible here. He was referring to the scream, as if she was lying next to us. "I said, 'I saw her.' She is my sister, doctor.For ages these nobles have had a shameful claim to the chastity and virtue of our sisters, but we have good girls too.I know it, and I've heard it from my dad.My sister is a good girl, and is engaged to a fine young man, of whom my brother-in-law is a tenant.We're all his tenants—that guy over there.The other was his brother, the worst of a bad family. ' "The young man gathered all his strength to speak out after overcoming the greatest difficulty, but his expression played a terrible emphasis. "'We low dogs are going to be robbed by the noble ones. That fellow over there, he robs us, makes us pay taxes, makes us work for them without pay, makes us go to his mill Grinding flour. His chickens, ducks and geese flocked to eat our meager crops, but we were not allowed to feed a single chicken or duck. He robbed us all, and if we had a small piece of meat, we had to bolt the door , close the window, and eat it in fear that his people will see it and take it away--I said, we were robbed, forced, and scraped too hard, and my father told us that having children is terrible, and we should pray more than anything It is all about keeping our women sterile and making us miserable genocides!' "I have never seen the pain of the oppressed burn like a fire. I thought it could only be hidden somewhere in the heart! But now I see it in this dying boy. "'But my sister was married. Her lover was sick, poor thing, and she married him. She wanted to take care of him in our farmhouse--the guy called it the kennel-- Comfort him. The fellow's brother saw her only a few weeks after she was married. He took a fancy to her beauty and asked the fellow to lend him my sister for his use--what's a husband among our kind! The fellow would love to, but my sister is kind and chaste, and has as much hatred for the fellow's brother as I do. To force my brother-in-law to influence my sister to agree, the brothers did something what a thing!' "The boy's eyes were looking at me, but now he turned slowly to the man next to me. From these two faces, I saw that the boy's words were all true. Even now in the Bastille, I can still see the truth." Seeing the confrontation between two kinds of tit-for-tat prides: one is noble pride, contempt, and indifference; the other is peasant pride, trampled feelings and strong revenge. "'You know, doctor, we're but low dogs by the rights of the nobles, and they can haw us around. That's how they hawsed my brother-in-law. You know, they have Let us bombard the frogs in the field all night, so that they do not disturb the gentlemen's noble sleep. They force my brother-in-law to work in the noxious fog at night, and order him back to harness the car during the day. But my brother-in-law still does not listen to them. No! He was let down from the yoke one noon to eat--if he could find something to eat--he whimpered a dozen times, each whimper was accompanied by a bell, and died in my sister's arms.' "If it weren't for the support of his determination to confide his grievances, there would be no power in the world to keep him alive. His right hand was still clenched tightly, covering the wound, pushing back the shadow of death that was gradually increasing. "'Then the brother got my sister here with the fellow's consent, even help, though she told him one thing--I know she'd tell him, if you don't know by now , will soon know. His brother took my sister away. He made fun of her for a few days. I saw her passing by on the road and brought the news home. My father died of a broken heart. He Full of grievances, but didn't say a word. I took my little sister (I have a sister) to a place where this guy can't find her, where she can at least not be his slave. Then I followed him My brother came here and carved into the yard last night—a mean dog with a sword in his hand. Where is the attic window? Is it right next to it?' "In his eyes, the whole house went dark, and the world around him shrunk. I looked around and saw that the straw and hay were trampled in a mess, as if there had been a struggle here. "'My sister heard my voice, and ran in. I told her not to come near me until I killed the fellow. The fellow came in, threw me some money, and whipped me. But I used The sword stabbed him to a duel with me—though I was a mean dog. He drew his sword to defend himself, and he did everything he could to save his life. I made him break his sword in pieces , for it is stained with my vile blood.' "I caught a glimpse of a broken sword in the hay just now. It was a nobleman's sword. In another place, there was an old-fashioned sword that seemed to be used by soldiers. "'Now, help me up, Doctor, help me up. Where is he?' "'He's not here.' I picked up the boy, thinking he meant the brother. "'He! Proud as these nobles are, he is afraid to see me. Where was the man who was here just now? Turn my face toward him.' "I did so, and raised the boy's head to rest on my lap. But the boy had extraordinary strength at this moment, and he stood up completely, forcing me to stand up too, otherwise I would not be able to support him . "The boy 'Marquis' opened his eyes wide and turned to him, raised his right hand, 'When the blood debt is settled, I want you and your whole family until the last person of your race bears all this responsibility Responsibility. I draw this bloody cross on you, and write down my demands. When the blood debt is settled, I want your brother, the worst fellow of your despicable race, to take responsibility for it alone. I Draw this bloody cross on him and write down my request.', "Twice he reached for the wound on his chest and crossed himself in the air with his index finger. He stood there for a while with his hand up, and when it came down he fell. I put him down and he was dead." "When I returned to the young woman, she was still screaming and screaming in the same order. I knew it could go on for many hours, and it would most likely end in the silence of the grave. "I put her back on the medicine I had just given, and sat beside her until late at night. Her cries were still piercing, her words were still clear, and the order never changed. It was always 'My husband, my Daddy, my brother! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Hush!' "She screamed for twenty-six hours from the time I first saw her. I left her twice during that time. When I sat next to her again, she began to weaken. I tried my best to help her, I wished there was some hope, but before long she fell into a coma and lay dead. "It was as if a long and terrible storm had passed at last, and the wind ceased, and the rain ceased. I lowered her arms, and called the woman to help me arrange her face and ripped dress. Then I It was then that I found out that she was showing the first signs of pregnancy, and that was when the little hope I had in her was finally dashed. is she dead ' asked the Marquis, and I shall call him brother.The brother had just dismounted and entered the house in his boots. "'Not dead,' said I, 'but it appears to be.' - How energetic these lowly fellows are! ' he said curiously, looking down at her. "'There is great power in pain and despair!' I answered him. "He smiled when he heard this, but immediately frowned. He pushed a chair in front of my chair with his foot, ordered the maid to go out, and said in a low voice: Doctor, after I found out my brother was having trouble with these rednecks, I recommended you to help.You are very famous, you are a young man with a bright future, and maybe you know how to care about your own future.Everything you see here can only be viewed and cannot be shared. ' "I just listened to the patient's breathing and avoided answering. "'You do me a favor, and you hear me, Doctor?' "'Sir,' said I, 'people in my profession keep secrets from patients.' I answered cautiously, for what I had seen and heard pained my heart. "Her breathing was hard to hear. I carefully felt the pulse and touched my chest. She was still alive, but only alive. I returned to my seat and looked back, and the two brothers were watching me." "I wrote very hard, the weather was cold, and I was terrified of being found out and locked up in a dark dungeon, so I had to compress my narrative. My memory was not confused or slipped. I can recall every word and every detail of the conversation between the two brothers., "She dragged on for a week, and as she was dying I put my ear to her lips and heard some syllables she said to me. She asked me where she was, and I answered; she asked who I was , I answered too. I asked what her last name was, but she didn't answer. She shook her head lightly on the pillow, keeping the secret like her brother. "I told the two brothers that her condition had deteriorated rapidly and that she had no more days to live. Only then did I have the opportunity to ask her questions. Before that, she was never made aware of anything other than the woman and I. Others were there. And whenever I was there, one of the two brothers always sat warily behind the curtain at the head of the bed. But after that, they didn't seem to care what I might say to her. A thought flashed I thought to myself: I'm probably dying too. "I've always felt ashamed of both brothers that my younger brother had dueled a farmer (and a boy at that). The only thing they seemed to care about was that it was very degrading and ridiculous. Every time I saw the brother's eyes, I felt that he was very angry. He hates me because I heard what the boy said and knew a lot of inside information. He was more tactful and polite to me than his brother, but I still saw this. I also knew that I was a sickness in that brother's heart. "My patient died two hours before midnight--by my watch, almost exactly the minute I first saw her. Her young, sad head tilted slightly to the side, ending her When the world suffers from grievances and sorrows, I am the only one by her side. "The two brothers waited impatiently in a room downstairs, anxious to go. I could hear them pacing up and down, beating their boots with riding whips, as I sat alone by the bed. "'Is she dead at last?' said my brother as soon as I entered the room. "'Dead,' I said. "'Congratulations, brother,' is what he said, turning around. "He had offered me money before, and I had put off taking it. Now he handed me a paper tube of gold coins, which I took from him and put on the table. receive. "'Excuse me,' said I, 'in the present circumstances I cannot accept it.' "The two brothers exchanged glances, but nodded to me because I was nodding to them. We parted and never spoke again." "I'm tired, tired, tired—the pain wears me down. I can't read what my bony hand writes. "Early in the morning, the tube of gold coins was put in a small box and placed at my door, with my name written on the outside. From the very beginning, I was anxious about what to do, so I decided to write a private letter to the minister that day. , told him the nature and place of the two patients I was treating. In fact, I told him all I knew. I understood the meaning of court power, and I knew the various immunities of nobles. No one will know, but I just want to clear my conscience. I kept it a secret, not even from my wife. I decided to write this in my letter too. I don't know the true Dangerous, but I realized that if others knew about it and got involved, they might be in danger too. "I was so busy that night that I didn't have time to finish the letter. The next day I got up much earlier than usual and finished it. It was the last day of the year. I finished the letter and it was still in front of me, so I listened to Said there was a lady waiting to see me." "I felt more and more powerless to accomplish the tasks I had set myself. It was too cold, the cell was too dark, my senses were too numb, and the cloud that hung over me was too frightening. "The lady was young, beautiful, and charming, but she seemed to have a short life. She was very excited and introduced herself to me as the Marchioness of Saint-Evremonde. It is not difficult to draw the conclusion that what I have seen recently is that nobleman. "My memory is still accurate, but I can't write down all my conversations with the Marchioness. I suspect that I have been under closer surveillance, and I don't know when I was under surveillance. The Marchioness understands half by discovery, half by speculation. The main plot of the atrocious event, her husband's part in it and my treatment. She did not know that the girl was dead. She said with great pain that she wished to express to the girl secretly a woman She hoped that the family had long been hated by many wronged sufferers and that this would not draw the wrath of Heaven. "She had reason to believe that there was a little sister alive in the family. Her greatest desire was to help that little sister. I couldn't say anything more than to tell her that there was such a sister, because I knew nothing else. Her motivation for coming to me was that I would trust her and tell her the name and location of the little sister. But until this tragic moment, I knew nothing about it." "The scraps of paper are not enough. They took one from me yesterday and warned me. I must finish my notes today. "She is a sympathetic and good wife, and her marriage is very unhappy. How can she be happy! My brother-in-law doesn't trust her, doesn't like her. Under his influence, everyone is against her. She is afraid of him, and she is also afraid of her." Her husband. When I walked her down to the door, she had a child in her carriage, a beautiful child, about two or three years old. "'For the child's sake, doctor,' she said, pointing to the child with tears, 'I will do my poorest part to make amends. Otherwise what he has inherited will never do him any good. I have a feeling that If no clean amend is made for this incident, the child will one day be held accountable. The only things I can claim to be personal are some jewellery. If the little sister can be found, I will The child's first mission in life is to present this bit of jewelry to this devastated family, along with the sympathy and condolences of her late mother.' "She kissed the child, fondling, and said, 'It's for your own good. Will you keep your word, little Charles?' The child answered bravely, 'Yes!' I kissed the lady's hand, and she held Remembered the child caressing him and left. I never saw her again. "Because she was convinced that I knew her husband's name, she mentioned it, and I did not mention it in the letter. I sealed the letter, unwilling to give it to anyone else, and went to pay the postage myself that day. "That night, at nine o'clock on the evening of that year's New Year's Eve, a man in black rang my doorbell and demanded to see me. He followed lightly behind my young servant, Ernest Defarge. Upstairs. My servant came into the house, and I was sitting with my wife—oh, my wife, the love of my heart! My young and beautiful English wife!—and she saw the man Standing silently behind him, when he should have stayed outside the gate. "He said that someone in the Rue Saint-Honoré was ill and that it would not take me long, and that he had a carriage waiting. "The carriage brought me here, into my grave. As soon as I went out, a black scarf closed my mouth from behind, and my hands were cut behind the back. The two brothers came from a dark He walked out of the corner and made a gesture to show that he was identified. The Marquis took out the letter I wrote from his pocket and let me read it. Without saying a word, he lit and burned it on the raised lantern, and then used his Stamped out the ashes. I was brought here. To my grave. "If God pleases, one of the hard-hearted brothers in these dreadful years has ever been reminded to give me a little news of my dearest wife--whether she is dead or alive--I can thought that God had not wholly abandoned them. But now, I believe that the Blood Cross sealed their fate, that God's mercy had no place for them. I, Alexander Manette', the unfortunate prisoner, in 17 On the last night of six or seven years, in my unbearable pain, I issue my indictment against them and their descendants, down to the last man of their family. I issue my indictment to the day when all sins will be accounted for. I to heaven and the earth against them." No sooner had the manuscript been read than a terrible uproar erupted.It is the clamor of longing and eagerness, and in the clamor other than the word "blood" cannot be heard clearly.The narrative evokes the most vengeful sentiments of the era.There is no head that will not fall to the head of this emotional sharpness. The souvenirs seized in the Bastille were carried in parades, but the Defarges hid the manuscript, kept it secret, and waited for the opportunity.Why is that?But such a court and such an audience do not want to pursue it.The name of this hated family has long been cursed by St. Antoine, and has been placed on the death list, which need not be pursued.No man in the world whose virtue and merit could, on that day and in that place, withstand the onslaught of such an indictment. To the peculiar misfortune of the doomed man, his accuser was a distinguished citizen, his own intimate friend, and the father of his wife.One of the wild ideals of the crowd is to follow a questionable ancient morality of self-sacrifice as an offering on the people's altar.The President therefore said (and his head would not have been kept on his shoulders if he had not said so) that the good doctor would be more honored by the republic for rooting out a repugnant noble family.No doubt he felt a divine honor and joy in making his daughter a widow and his grandson an orphan.The words evoked a wild excitement and a patriotic frenzy in which human sympathy was all but wiped out. "Isn't the Doctor very influential around him?" said Madame Defarge, smiling to the Furies. "Now come and save him, Doctor, come and save him!" Every time the jury casts a vote, there is an uproar.One vote, another vote; clamor, clamor. Unanimous vote.Aristocrats of heart and blood, enemies of the republic, notorious oppressors of the people, brought back to the attached prison for execution within twenty-four hours.