第38章

ChapterLVII:

Athos\'sVision。

WhenthisfaintingofAthoshadceased，thecomte，almostashamedofhavinggivenwaybeforethissuperiornaturalevent，dressedhimselfandorderedhishorse，determinedtoridetoBlois，toopenmorecertaincorrespondenceswitheitherAfrica，D\'Artagnan，orAramis。？Infact，thisletterfromAramisinformedtheComtedelaF鑢eofthebadsuccessoftheexpeditionofBelle—Isle。？ItgavehimsufficientdetailsofthedeathofPorthostomovethetenderanddevotedheartofAthostoitsinnermostfibers。？AthoswishedtogoandpayhisfriendPorthosalastvisit。？Torenderthishonortohiscompanioninarms，hemeanttosendtoD\'Artagnan，toprevailuponhimtorecommencethepainfulvoyagetoBelle—Isle，toaccomplishinhiscompanythatsadpilgrimagetothetombofthegianthehadsomuchloved，thentoreturntohisdwellingtoobeythatsecretinfluencewhichwasconductinghimtoeternitybyamysteriousroad。？Butscarcelyhadhisjoyousservantsdressedtheirmaster，whomtheysawwithpleasurepreparingforajourneywhichmightdissipatehismelancholy;scarcelyhadthecomte\'sgentlesthorsebeensaddledandbroughttothedoor，whenthefatherofRaoulfelthisheadbecomeconfused，hislegsgiveway，andheclearlyperceivedtheimpossibilityofgoingonestepfurther。？Heorderedhimselftobecarriedintothesun;theylaidhimuponhisbedofmosswherehepassedafullhourbeforehecouldrecoverhisspirits。？Nothingcouldbemorenaturalthanthisweaknessaftertheninertreposeofthelatterdays。？Athostookabouillon，togivehimstrength，andbathedhisdriedlipsinaglassfulofthewinehelovedthebest—thatoldAnjouwinementionedbyPorthosinhisadmirablewill。？Then，refreshed，freeinmind，hehadhishorsebroughtagain;butonlywiththeaidofhisservantswasheablepainfullytoclimbintothesaddle。？Hedidnotgoahundredpaces;ashiveringseizedhimagainattheturningoftheroad。

"Thisisverystrange！"saidhetohisvaletdechambre，whoaccompaniedhim。

"Letusstop，monsieur—Iconjureyou！"repliedthefaithfulservant;

"howpaleyouaregetting！"

"Thatwillnotpreventmypursuingmyroute，nowIhaveoncestarted，"repliedthecomte。？Andhegavehishorsehisheadagain。？Butsuddenly，theanimal，insteadofobeyingthethoughtofhismaster，stopped。？Amovement，ofwhichAthoswasunconscious，hadcheckedthebit。

"Something，"

saidAthos，"willsthatIshouldgonofurther。？Supportme，"addedhe，stretchingouthisarms;"quick！

comecloser！？Ifeelmymusclesrelax—

Ishallfallfrommyhorse。"

Thevalethadseenthemovementmadebyhismasteratthemomenthereceivedtheorder。？Hewentuptohimquickly，receivedthecomteinhisarms，andastheywerenotyetsufficientlydistantfromthehousefortheservants，whohadremainedatthedoortowatchtheirmaster\'sdeparture，nottoperceivethedisorderintheusuallyregularproceedingofthecomte，thevaletcalledhiscomradesbygesturesandvoice，andallhastenedtohisassistance。？Athoshadgonebutafewstepsonhisreturn，whenhefelthimselfbetteragain。？HisstrengthseemedtoreviveandwithitthedesiretogotoBlois。？Hemadehishorseturnround:but，attheanimal\'sfirststeps，hesunkagainintoastateoftorporandanguish。

"Well！

decidedly，"saidhe，"itiswilledthatIshouldstayathome。"？Hispeopleflockedaroundhim;theyliftedhimfromhishorse，andcarriedhimasquicklyaspossibleintothehouse。？Everythingwaspreparedinhischamber，andtheyputhimtobed。

"Youwillbesuretoremember，"saidhe，disposinghimselftosleep，"thatIexpectlettersfromAfricathisveryday。"

"MonsieurwillnodoubthearwithpleasurethatBlaisois\'ssonisgoneonhorseback，togainanhouroverthecourierofBlois，"repliedhisvaletdechambre。

"Thankyou，"repliedAthos，withhisplacidsmile。

Thecomtefellasleep，buthisdisturbedslumberresembledtortureratherthanrepose。？Theservantwhowatchedhimsawseveraltimestheexpressionofinternalsufferingshadowedonhisfeatures。？PerhapsAthoswasdreaming。

Thedaypassedaway。？Blaisois\'ssonreturned;thecourierhadbroughtnonews。？Thecomtereckonedtheminuteswithdespair;heshudderedwhenthoseminutesmadeanhour。？Theideathathewasforgottenseizedhimonce，andbroughtonafearfulpangoftheheart。？Everybodyinthehousehadgivenupallhopesofthecourier—hishourhadlongpassed。？FourtimestheexpresssenttoBloishadrepeatedhisjourney，andtherewasnothingtotheaddressofthecomte。？Athosknewthatthecourieronlyarrivedonceaweek。？Here，then，wasadelayofeightmortaldaystobeendured。？Hecommencedthenightinthispainfulpersuasion。？Allthatasickman，irritatedbysuffering，canaddofmelancholysuppositionstoprobabilitiesalreadygloomy，Athosheapedupduringtheearlyhoursofthisdismalnight。？Thefeverrose:itinvadedthechest，wherethefiresooncaught，accordingtotheexpressionofthephysician，whohadbeenbroughtbackfromBloisbyBlaisoisathislastjourney。？Soonitgainedthehead。？Thephysicianmadetwosuccessivebleedings，whichdislodgeditforthetime，butleftthepatientveryweak，andwithoutpowerofactioninanythingbuthisbrain。？Andyetthisredoubtablefeverhadceased。？Itbesiegedwithitslastpalpitationsthetenseextremities;itendedbyyieldingasmidnightstruck。

Thephysician，seeingtheincontestableimprovement，returnedtoBlois，afterhavingorderedsomeprescriptions，anddeclaredthatthecomtewassaved。？ThencommencedforAthosastrange，indefinablestate。？Freetothink，hismindturnedtowardsRaoul，thatbelovedson。？HisimaginationpenetratedthefieldsofAfricaintheenvironsofGigelli，whereM。deBeaufortmusthavelandedwithhisarmy。？Awasteofgrayrocks，renderedgreenincertainpartsbythewatersofthesea，whenitlashedtheshoreinstormsandtempest。？Beyond，theshore，strewedoverwiththeserockslikegravestones，ascended，informofanamphitheateramongmastic—treesandcactus，asortofsmalltown，fullofsmoke，confusednoises，andterrifiedmovements。？Allofasudden，fromthebosomofthissmokearoseaflame，whichsucceeded，creepingalongthehouses，incoveringtheentiresurfaceofthetown，andincreasedbydegrees，unitinginitsredandangryvorticestears，screams，andsupplicatingarmsoutstretchedtoHeaven。

Therewas，foramoment，afrightfulp阬e—m阬eoftimbersfallingtopieces，ofswordsbroken，ofstonescalcined，treesburntanddisappearing。？Itwasastrangethingthatinthischaos，inwhichAthosdistinguishedraisedarms，inwhichheheardcries，sobs，andgroans，hedidnotseeonehumanfigure。？Thecannonthunderedatadistance，musketrymadlybarked，theseamoaned，flocksmadetheirescape，boundingovertheverdantslope。？Butnotasoldiertoapplythematchtothebatteriesofcannon，notasailortoassistinmaneuveringthefleet，notashepherdinchargeoftheflocks。？Aftertheruinofthevillage，thedestructionofthefortswhichdominatedit，aruinanddestructionmagicallywroughtwithouttheco—operationofasinglehumanbeing，theflameswereextinguished，thesmokebegantosubside，thendiminishedinintensity，paledanddisappearedentirely。？Nightthencameoverthescene;nightdarkupontheearth，brilliantinthefirmament。？ThelargeblazingstarswhichspangledtheAfricanskyglitteredandgleamedwithoutilluminatinganything。

A

longsilenceensued，whichgave，foramoment，reposetothetroubledimaginationofAthos;andashefeltthatthatwhichhesawwasnotterminated，heappliedmoreattentivelytheeyesofhisunderstandingonthestrangespectaclewhichhisimaginationhadpresented。？Thisspectaclewassooncontinuedforhim。？A

mildpalemoonrosebehindthedeclivitiesofthecoast，streakingatfirsttheundulatingripplesofthesea，whichappearedtohavecalmedaftertheroaringithadsentforthduringthevisionofAthos—themoon，wesay，sheditsdiamondsandopalsuponthebriersandbushesofthehills。？Thegrayrocks，somanysilentandattentivephantoms，appearedtoraisetheirheadstoexaminelikewisethefieldofbattlebythelightofthemoon，andAthosperceivedthatthefield，emptyduringthecombat，wasnowstrewnwithfallenbodies。

AninexpressibleshudderoffearandhorrorseizedhissoulasherecognizedthewhiteandblueuniformsofthesoldiersofPicardy，withtheirlongpikesandbluehandles，andmusketsmarkedwiththefleur—de—lisonthebutts。？Whenhesawallthegapingwounds，lookinguptothebrightheavensasiftodemandbackofthemthesoulstowhichtheyhadopenedapassage，—whenhesawtheslaughteredhorses，stiff，theirtongueshangingoutatonesideoftheirmouths，sleepingintheshinybloodcongealedaroundthem，stainingtheirfurnitureandtheirmanes，—whenhesawthewhitehorseofM。deBeaufort，withhisheadbeatentopieces，inthefirstranksofthedead，Athospassedacoldhandoverhisbrow，whichhewasastonishednottofindburning。？Hewasconvincedbythistouchthathewaspresent，asaspectator，withoutdelirium\'sdreadfulaid，thedayafterthebattlefoughtupontheshoresofGigellibythearmyoftheexpedition，whichhehadseenleavethecoastofFranceanddisappearuponthedimhorizon，andofwhichhehadsalutedwiththoughtandgesturethelastcannon—shotfiredbythedukeasasignaloffarewelltohiscountry。

Whocanpaintthemortalagonywithwhichhissoulfollowed，likeavigilanteye，theseeffigiesofclay—coldsoldiers，andexaminedthem，oneaftertheother，toseeifRaoulsleptamongthem？？WhocanexpresstheintoxicationofjoywithwhichAthosbowedbeforeGod，andthankedHimfornothavingseenhimhesoughtwithsomuchfearamongthedead？？Infact，fallenintheirranks，stiff，icy，thedead，stillrecognizablewithease，seemedtoturnwithcomplacencytowardstheComtedelaF鑢e，tobethebetterseenbyhim，duringhissadreview。？Butyet，hewasastonished，whileviewingallthesebodies，nottoperceivethesurvivors。？Tosuchapointdidtheillusionextend，thatthisvisionwasforhimarealvoyagemadebythefatherintoAfrica，toobtainmoreexactinformationrespectinghisson。

Fatigued，therefore，withhavingtrav

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节