repeated to him and he would avenge it. I have shamed you," she

continued, distressed by his silence, "I deserve your blame."



And she broke the vial by flinging it on the floor violently.

"Do not come," she said, "my husband sleeps lightly; my duty is to



wait for the help of Heaven--that will I do!"

She tried to leave the chapel.



"Ah!" cried the young man, "order me to do so and I will kill him. You

will see me to-night."



"I was wise to destroy that drug," she said in a voice that was faint

with the pleasure of finding herself so loved. "The fear of awakening



my husband will save us from ourselves."

"I pledge you my life," said the young man, pressing her hand.



"If the king is willing, the pope can annul my marriage. We will then

be united," she said, giving him a look that was full of delightful



hopes.

"Monseigneur comes!" cried the page, rushing in.



Instantly the young nobleman, surprised at the short time he had

gained with his mistress and wondering at the celerity of the count,



snatched a kiss, which was not refused.

"To-night!" he said, slipping hastily from the chapel.



Thanks to the darkness, he reached the great portalsafely, gliding

from column to column in the long shadows which they cast athwart the



nave. An old canon suddenly issued from the confessional, came to the

side of the countess and closed the iron railing before which the page



was marching gravely up and down with the air of a watchman.

A strong light now announced the coming of the count. Accompanied by



several friends and by servants bearing torches, he hurried forward, a

naked sword in hand. His gloomy eyes seemed to pierce the shadows and



to rake even the darkest corners of the cathedral.

"Monseigneur, madame is there," said the page, going forward to meet



him.

The Comte de Saint-Vallier found his wife kneeling on the steps of the



alter, the old prieststanding beside her and reading his breviary. At

that sight the count shook the iron railingviolently as if to give



vent to his rage.

"What do you want here, with a drawn sword in a church?" asked the



priest.

"Father, that is my husband," said the countess.



The priest took a key from his sleeve, and unlocked the railed door of

the chapel. The count, almost in spite of himself, cast a look into



the confessional, then he entered the chapel, and seemed to be

listening attentively to the sounds in the cathedral.



"Monsieur," said his wife, "you owe many thanks to this venerable

canon, who gave me a refuge here."



The count turned pale with anger; he dared not look at his friends,

who had come there more to laugh at him than to help him. Then he



answered curtly:

"Thank God, father, I shall find some way to repay you."



He took his wife by the arm and, without allowing her to finish her

curtsey to the canon, he signed to his servants and left the church



without a word to the others who had accompanied him. His silence had

something savage and sullen about it. Impatient to reach his home and



preoccupied in searching for means to discover the truth, he took his

way through the tortuous streets which at that time separated the



cathedral from the Chancellerie, a fine building recently erected by

the Chancellor Juvenal des Ursins, on the site of an old fortification



given by Charles VII. to that faithful servant as a reward for his

glorious labors.



The count reached at last the rue du Murier, in which his dwelling,

called the hotel de Poitiers, was situated. When his escort of



servants had entered the courtyard and the heavy gates were closed, a

deep silence fell on the narrow street, where other great seigneurs



had their houses, for this new quarter of the town was near to

Plessis, the usual residence of the king, to whom the courtiers, if



sent for, could go in a moment. The last house in this street was also

the last in the town. It belonged to Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst, an



old Brabantian merchant, to whom King Louis XI. gave his utmost

confidence in those financial transactions which his crafty policy



induced him to undertake outside of his own kingdom.

• waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)


• chapel [´tʃæpəl] n.小教堂 (初中英语单词)


• stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)


• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)


• multitude [´mʌltitju:d] n.大群(批)；众多 (初中英语单词)


• instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)


• mistress [´mistris] n.女主人；情妇；女能手 (初中英语单词)


• despair [di´speə] vi.&n.绝望 (初中英语单词)


• lightning [´laitniŋ] n.闪电 a.突然的 (初中英语单词)


• softly [´sɔftli] ad.软化地；柔和地 (初中英语单词)


• reckon [´rekən] v.计算；认为；估计 (初中英语单词)


• enthusiasm [in´θju:ziæzəm] n.热心；狂热；爱好 (初中英语单词)


• complain [kəm´plein] vi.抱怨，叫屈；控诉 (初中英语单词)


• guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)


• obtain [əb´tein] v.获得；买到；得到承认 (初中英语单词)


• priest [pri:st] n.教士；牧师；神父 (初中英语单词)


• deceive [di´si:v] vt.欺骗，欺诈 (初中英语单词)


• dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)


• exhaust [ig´zɔ:st] vt.用尽，使精疲力尽 (初中英语单词)


• throat [θrəut] n.咽喉；嗓子；出入口 (初中英语单词)


• admission [əd´miʃən] n.接纳；承认 (初中英语单词)


• apartment [ə´pɑ:tmənt] n.一套房间 (初中英语单词)


• horror [´hɔrə] n.恐怖；战栗 (初中英语单词)


• unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)


• betray [bi´trei] vt.背叛；辜负；暴露 (初中英语单词)


• victim [´viktim] n.牺牲者；受害者 (初中英语单词)


• gesture [´dʒestʃə] n.手势 v.打手势 (初中英语单词)


• preserve [pri´zə:v] v.保藏 n.保藏物 (初中英语单词)


• confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)


• wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)


• deserve [di´zə:v] v.应受；值得 (初中英语单词)


• lightly [´laitli] ad.轻微地，稍微 (初中英语单词)


• pledge [pledʒ] n.信物；誓约vt.使发誓 (初中英语单词)


• willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)


• hastily [´heistili] ad.急速地；草率地 (初中英语单词)


• safely [´seifli] ad.安全地；平安地 (初中英语单词)


• column [´kɔləm] n.柱；柱状物；纵队 (初中英语单词)


• gravely [´greivli] ad.庄重地，严肃地 (初中英语单词)


• pierce [piəs] v.刺穿；突破；洞察 (初中英语单词)


• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)


• reading [´ri:diŋ] n.(阅)读；朗读；读物 (初中英语单词)


• sleeve [sli:v] n.袖子；袖套 (初中英语单词)


• refuge [´refju:dʒ] v.&n.避难(所)；庇护 (初中英语单词)


• savage [´sævidʒ] a.野蛮的 n.蛮人 (初中英语单词)


• faithful [´feiθfəl] a.忠实的；可靠的 (初中英语单词)


• reward [ri´wɔ:d] n.&v.报答；报酬；奖赏 (初中英语单词)


• situated [´sitʃueitid] a.位于；处于….境地 (初中英语单词)


• residence [´rezidəns] n.居住(期间)；住宅 (初中英语单词)


• financial [fi´nænʃəl] a.金融的，财政的 (初中英语单词)


• undertake [,ʌndə´teik] vt.从事；承担；担保 (初中英语单词)


• treachery [´tretʃəri] n.背叛；背信弃义 (高中英语单词)


• torrent [´tɔrənt] n.奔流，激流，洪流；迸发 (高中英语单词)


• lantern [´læntən] n.灯笼；提灯 (高中英语单词)


• compact [´kɔmpækt] n.契约 a.挤满的 (高中英语单词)


• onward [´ɔnwəd] ad.&a.向前(的) (高中英语单词)


• strove [strəuv] strive的过去式 (高中英语单词)


• reproach [ri´prəutʃ] vt.&n.责备；指责；耻辱 (高中英语单词)


• perilous [´periləs] a.危险的；冒险的 (高中英语单词)


• hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)


• sadness [´sædnis] n.悲哀；悲痛；凄惨 (高中英语单词)


• recollection [,rekə´lekʃən] n.回忆；追想；记忆力 (高中英语单词)


• agitation [,ædʒi´teiʃən] n.鼓动；摇动；焦虑 (高中英语单词)


• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)


• virgin [´və:dʒin] a.处女(般)的 n.处女 (高中英语单词)


• silken [´silkən] a.丝制的；柔软光滑的 (高中英语单词)


• mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)


• combat [´kɔmbæt] v.&n.斗争；战斗；争斗 (高中英语单词)


• avenge [ə´vendʒ] vt.替…报仇 (高中英语单词)


• finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)


• bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)


• hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)


• gloomy [´glu:mi] a.昏暗的；忧郁的 (高中英语单词)


• violently [´vaiələntli] ad.强暴地；猛烈地 (高中英语单词)


• sullen [´sʌlən] a.不高兴的 (高中英语单词)


• impatient [im´peiʃənt] a.不耐烦的，急躁的 (高中英语单词)


• chancellor [´tʃɑ:nsələ] n.首相；大臣 (高中英语单词)


• escort [´eskɔ:t] n.伴随者；警卫(队) (高中英语单词)


• courtyard [´kɔ:tjɑ:d] n.院子，庭院 (高中英语单词)


• cloister [´klɔistə] n.修道院；隐居处 (英语四级单词)


• rapidity [rə´piditi] n.迅速；险峻；陡 (英语四级单词)


• audacity [ɔ:´dæsiti] n.大胆；卤莽；无礼 (英语四级单词)


• apprentice [ə´prentis] n.学徒 vt.使当学徒 (英语四级单词)


• dearly [´diəli] ad.深深地(爱等)；昂贵 (英语四级单词)


• cruelly [´kruəli] ad.残酷地；极，非常 (英语四级单词)


• nobleman [´nəublmən] n.贵族 (英语四级单词)


• portal [´pɔ:tl] n.(正)门；隧道 (英语四级单词)


• railing [´reiliŋ] n.栏杆 (英语四级单词)


• lateral [´lætərəl] a.横的，侧面的 (英语六级单词)


• countess [´kauntis] n.伯爵夫人；女伯爵 (英语六级单词)


• crafty [´krɑ:fti] a.狡猾的 (英语六级单词)