酷兔英语
    当前位置:
  1. 首页
  2. 文章
  3. 娱乐英语
  4. 原版小说
  5. 正文

The Black Tulip-Part39_Alexandre Dumas(1802-1870)_Translated Works(翻译文学)-第2页

0 收藏 0 分享 0 赞

章节正文
文章总共2页


Haarlem, having placed on exhibition its favourite, having

advertised its love of flowers in general and of tulips in



particular, at a period when the souls of men were filled

with war and sedition, -- Haarlem, having enjoyed the



exquisite pleasure of admiring the very purest ideal of

tulips in full bloom, -- Haarlem, this tiny town, full of



trees and of sunshine, of light and shade, had determined

that the ceremony of bestowing the prize should be a fete



which should live for ever in the memory of men.

So much the more reason was there, too, in her



determination, in that Holland is the home of fetes; never

did sluggish natures manifest more eager energy of the



singing and dancing sort than those of the good republicans

of the Seven Provinces when amusement was the order of the



day.

Study the pictures of the two Teniers.



It is certain that sluggish folk are of all men the most

earnest in tiring themselves, not when they are at work, but



at play.

Thus Haarlem was thrice given over to rejoicing, for a



three-fold celebration was to take place.

In the first place, the black tulip had been produced;



secondly, the Prince William of Orange, as a true Hollander,

had promised to be present at the ceremony of its



inauguration; and, thirdly, it was a point of honour with

the States to show to the French, at the conclusion of such



a disastrous war as that of 1672, that the flooring of the

Batavian Republic was solid enough for its people to dance



on it, with the accompaniment of the cannon of their fleets.

The Horticultural Society of Haarlem had shown itself worthy



of its fame by giving a hundred thousand guilders for the

bulb of a tulip. The town, which did not wish to be outdone,



voted a like sum, which was placed in the hands of that

notable body to solemnise the auspicious event.



And indeed on the Sunday fixed for this ceremony there was

such a stir among the people, and such an enthusiasm among



the townsfolk, that even a Frenchman, who laughs at

everything at all times, could not have helped admiring the



character of those honest Hollanders, who were equally ready

to spend their money for the construction of a man-of-war --



that is to say, for the support of national honour -- as

they were to reward the growth of a new flower, destined to



bloom for one day, and to serve during that day to divert

the ladies, the learned, and the curious.



At the head of the notables and of the Horticultural

Committee shone Mynheer van Systens, dressed in his richest



habiliments.

The worthy man had done his best to imitate his favourite



flower in the sombre and stern elegance of his garments; and

we are bound to record, to his honour, that he had perfectly



succeeded in his object.

Dark crimsonvelvet, dark purple silk, and jet-black cloth,



with linen of dazzling whiteness, composed the festive dress

of the President, who marched at the head of his Committee



carrying an enormous nosegay, like that which a hundred and

twenty-one years later, Monsieur de Robespierre displayed at



the festival of "The Supreme Being."

There was, however, a little difference between the two;



very different from the French tribune, whose heart was so

full of hatred and ambitious vindictiveness, was the honest



President, who carried in his bosom a heart as innocent as

the flowers which he held in his hand.



Behind the Committee, who were as gay as a meadow, and as

fragrant as a garden in spring, marched the learned



societies of the town, the magistrates, the military, the

nobles and the boors.



The people, even among the respected republicans of the

Seven Provinces, had no place assigned to them in the



procession; they merely lined the streets.

This is the place for the multitude, which with true



philosophic spirit, waits until the triumphal pageants have

passed, to know what to say of them, and sometimes also to



know what to do.

This time, however, there was no question either of the






文章总共2页
文章标签:翻译  译文  翻译文  

章节正文
Copyright © 2023 Qeto All rights reserved.
商务合作 | 联系我们 | 关于我们 | 版权声明 | 隐私条款 | 如果智培

京ICP备05059198号-1 京公网安备 11011202003401号