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The Black Tulip-Part1_Alexandre Dumas(1802-1870)_Translated Works(翻译文学)-第2页

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General caused, on the 16th of August, 1672, Cornelius de

Witt to be arrested; and the noble brother of John de Witt



had, like the vilest criminal, to undergo, in one of the

apartments of the town prison, the preparatory degrees of



torture, by means of which his judges expected to force from

him the confession of his alleged plot against William of



Orange.

But Cornelius was not only possessed of a great mind, but



also of a great heart. He belonged to that race of martyrs

who, indissolubly wedded to their political convictions as



their ancestors were to their faith, are able to smile on

pain: while being stretched on the rack, he recited with a



firm voice, and scanning the lines according to measure, the

first strophe of the "Justum ac tenacem" of Horace, and,



making no confession, tired not only the strength, but even

the fanaticism, of his executioners.



The judges, notwithstanding, acquitted Tyckelaer from every

charge; at the same time sentencing Cornelius to be deposed



from all his offices and dignities; to pay all the costs of

the trial; and to be banished from the soil of the Republic



for ever.

This judgment against not only an innocent, but also a great



man, was indeed some gratification to the passions of the

people, to whose interests Cornelius de Witt had always



devoted himself: but, as we shall soon see, it was not

enough.



The Athenians, who indeed have left behind them a pretty

tolerable reputation for ingratitude, have in this respect



to yield precedence to the Dutch. They, at least in the case

of Aristides, contented themselves with banishing him.



John de Witt, at the first intimation of the charge brought

against his brother, had resigned his office of Grand



Pensionary. He too received a noble recompense for his

devotedness to the best interests of his country, taking



with him into the retirement of private life the hatred of a

host of enemies, and the fresh scars of wounds inflicted by



assassins, only too often the sole guerdon obtained by

honest people, who are guilty of having worked for their



country, and of having forgotten their own private

interests.



In the meanwhile William of Orange urged on the course of

events by every means in his power, eagerlywaiting for the



time when the people, by whom he was idolised, should have

made of the bodies of the brothers the two steps over which



he might ascend to the chair of Stadtholder.

Thus, then, on the 20th of August, 1672, as we have already



stated in the beginning of this chapter, the whole town was

crowding towards the Buytenhof, to witness the departure of



Cornelius de Witt from prison, as he was going to exile; and

to see what traces the torture of the rack had left on the



noble frame of the man who knew his Horace so well.

Yet all this multitude was not crowding to the Buytenhof



with the innocent view of merely feasting their eyes with

the spectacle; there were many who went there to play an



active part in it, and to take upon themselves an office

which they conceived had been badly filled, -- that of the



executioner.

There were, indeed, others with less hostile intentions. All



that they cared for was the spectacle, always so attractive

to the mob, whose instinctive pride is flattered by it, --



the sight of greatness hurled down into the dust.

"Has not," they would say, "this Cornelius de Witt been



locked up and broken by the rack? Shall we not see him pale,

streaming with blood, covered with shame?" And was not this



a sweet triumph for the burghers of the Hague, whose envy

even beat that of the common rabble; a triumph in which



every honest citizen and townsman might be expected to

share?



"Moreover," hinted the Orange agitators interspersed through

the crowd, whom they hoped to manage like a sharp-edged and






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