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Collected Works of Eugène Sue

Page 971

by Eugène Sue


  “Alas! alas! will it be always thus?”

  “No, no, my brother! and instead of weeping over your lost race, rejoice for them — since their death was needed for your redemption, and in redeeming you, heaven will redeem the artisan, cursed and feared by those — who have laid on him the iron yoke. Yes, my brother! the time draweth nigh — heaven’s mercy will not stop with us alone. Yes, I tell you; in us will be rescued both the WOMAN and the SLAVE of these modern ages. The trial has been hard, brother; it has lasted throughout eighteen centuries; but it will last no longer. Look, my brother! see that rosy light, there in the east, gradually spreading over the firmament! Thus will rise the sun of the new emancipation — peaceful, holy, great, salutary, fruitful, filling the world with light and vivifying heat, like the day-star that will soon appear in heaven!”

  “Yes, yes, my sister! I feel it. Your words are prophetic. We shall close our heavy eyes just as we see the aurora of the day of deliverance — a fair, a splendid day, like that which is about to dawn. Henceforth I will only shed tears of pride and glory for those of my race, who have died the martyrs of humanity, sacrificed by humanity’s eternal enemies — for the true ancestors of the sacrilegious wretches, who blaspheme the name of Jesus by giving it to their Company, were the false Scribes and Pharisees, whom the Saviour cursed! — Yes! glory to the descendants of my family, who have been the last martyrs offered up by the accomplices of all slavery and all despotism, the pitiless enemies of those who wish to think, and not to suffer in silence — of those that would feign enjoy, as children of heaven, the gifts which the Creator has bestowed upon all the human family. Yes, the day approaches — the end of the reign of our modern Pharisees — the false priests, who lend their sacrilegious aid to the merciless selfishness of the strong against the weak, by daring to maintain in the face of the exhaustless treasures of the creation, that God has made man for tears, and sorrow, and suffering — the false priests, who are the agents of all oppression, and would bow to the earth, in brutish and hopeless humiliation, the brow of every creature. No, no! let man lift his head proudly! God made him to be noble and intelligent free and happy.”

  “Oh, my brother! your words also are prophetic. Yes, yes! the dawn of that bright day approaches, even as the dawn of the natural day which, by the mercy of God, will be our last on earth.”

  “The last, my sister; for a strange weakness creeps over me, all matter seems dissolving in me, and my soul aspires to mount to heaven.”

  “Mine eyes are growing dim, brother; I can scarcely see that light in the east, which lately appeared so red.”

  “Sister! it is through a confused vapor that I now see the valley — the lake — the woods. My strength fails me.”

  “Blessed be God, brother! the moment of eternal rest is at hand.”

  “Yes, it comes, my sister! the sweetness of the everlasting sleep takes possession of my senses.”

  “Oh, happiness! I am dying—”

  “These eyes are closing, sister!”

  “We are then forgiven!”

  “Forgiven!”

  “Oh, my brother! may this Divine redemption extend to all those who suffer upon the earth!”

  “Die in peace, my sister! The great day has dawned — the sun is rising — behold!”

  “Blessed be God!”

  “Blessed be God!”

  And at the moment when those two voices ceased forever, the sun rose radiant and dazzling, and deluged the valley with its beams.

  To M. C — P — .

  To you, my friend, I dedicated this book. To inscribe it with your name, was to assume an engagement that, in the absence of talent, it should be at least conscientious, sincere, and of a salutary influence, however limited. My object is attained. Some select hearts, like yours, my friend, have put into practice the legitimate association of labor, capital, and intelligence, and have already granted to their workmen a proportionate share in the profits of their industry. Others have laid the foundations of Common Dwelling-houses, and one of the chief capitalists of Hamburg has favored me with his views respecting an establishment of this kind, on the most gigantic scale.

  As for the dispersion of the members of the Company of Jesus, I have taken less part in it than other enemies of the detestable doctrines of Loyola, whose influence and authority were far greater than mine.

  Adieu, my friend. I could have wished this work more worthy of you; but you are indulgent, and will at least give me credit for the intentions which dictated it.

  Believe me, Yours truly,

  EUGÈNE SUE.

  Paris, 25th August, 1845. Paris, 25th August, 1845.

  THE WANDERING JEW: DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS

  A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR OF THE WANDERING JEW: EUGÈNE SUE

  PART I. THE TRANSGRESSION.

  BOOK I. THE TRANSGRESSION.

  PROLOGUE. THE LAND’S END OF TWO WORLDS.

  CHAPTER I. MOROK.

  CHAPTER II. THE TRAVELLERS.

  CHAPTER III. THE ARRIVAL.

  CHAPTER IV. MOROK AND DAGOBERT

  CHAPTER V. ROSE AND BLANCHE.

  CHAPTER VI. THE SECRET.

  CHAPTER VII. THE TRAVELER.

  CHAPTER VIII. EXTRACTS FROM GENERAL SIMON’S DIARY.

  CHAPTER IX. THE CAGES.

  CHAPTER X. THE SURPRISE.

  CHAPTER XI. JOVIAL AND DEATH.

  CHAPTER XII. THE BURGOMASTER.

  CHAPTER XIII. THE JUDGEMENT.

  CHAPTER XIV. THE DECISION.

  CHAPTER XV. THE DESPATCHES.

  CHAPTER XVI. THE ORDERS.

  BOOK II. INTERVAL. — THE WANDERING JEW’S SENTENCE.

  CHAPTER XVII. THE AJOUPA.

  CHAPTER XVIII. THE TATTOOING

  CHAPTER XIX. THE SMUGGLER

  CHAPTER XX. M. JOSHUA VAN DAEL.

  CHAPTER XXI. THE RUINS OF TCHANDI.

  CHAPTER XXII. THE AMBUSCADE

  CHAPTER XXIII. M. RODIN.

  CHAPTER XXIV. THE TEMPEST

  CHAPTER XXV. THE SHIPWRECK.

  CHAPTER XXVI. THE DEPARTURE FOR PARIS.

  CHAPTER XXVII. DAGOBERT’S WIFE.

  CHAPTER XXVIII. THE SISTER OF THE BACCHANAL QUEEN.

  CHAPTER XXIX. AGRICOLA BAUDOIN.

  CHAPTER XXX. THE RETURN.

  CHAPTER XXXI. AGRICOLA AND MOTHER BUNCH.

  CHAPTER XXXII. THE AWAKENING.

  CHAPTER XXXIII. THE PAVILION.

  CHAPTER XXXIV. ADRIENNE AT HER TOILET.

  CHAPTER XXXV. THE INTERVIEW.

  BOOK III.

  CHAPTER XXXVI. A FEMALE JESUIT.

  CHAPTER XXXVII. THE PLOT.

  CHAPTER XXXVIII. ADRIENNE’S ENEMIES.

  CHAPTER XXXIX. THE SKIRMISH.

  CHAPTER XL. THE REVOLT

  CHAPTER XLI. TREACHERY.

  CHAPTER XLII. THE SNARE.

  CHAPTER XLIII. A FALSE FRIEND.

  CHAPTER XLIV. THE MINISTER’S CABINET.

  CHAPTER XLV. THE VISIT.

  CHAPTER XLVI. PRESENTIMENTS.

  CHAPTER XLVII. THE LETTER.

  CHAPTER XLVIII. THE CONFESSIONAL

  CHAPTER XLIX. MY LORD AND SPOIL-SPORT.

  CHAPTER L. APPEARANCES.

  CHAPTER LI. THE CONVENT.

  CHAPTER LII. THE INFLUENCE OF A CONFESSOR.

  CHAPTER LIII. THE EXAMINATION.

  BOOK IV.

  PART II. THE CHASTISEMENT.

  PROLOGUE. — THE BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF TWO WORLDS.

  CHAPTER I. THE MASQUERADE.

  CHAPTER II. THE CONTRAST.

  CHAPTER III. THE CAROUSE.

  CHAPTER IV. THE FAREWELL

  CHAPTER V. FLORINE.

  CHAPTER VI. MOTHER SAINTE-PERPETUE.

  CHAPTER VII. THE TEMPTATION.

  CHAPTER VIII. MOTHER BUNCH AND MDLLE. DE CARDOVILLE.

  CHAPTER IX. THE ENCOUNTERS.

  CHAPTER X. THE MEETING.

  CHAPTER XI. DISCOVERIES.

  CHAPTER XII. THE PENAL CODE.

  CHAPTER XIII. BURGLARY.

  BO
OK V.

  CHAPTER XIV. THE EVE OF A GREAT DAY.

  CHAPTER XV. THE THUG.

  CHAPTER XVI. THE TWO BROTHERS OF THE GOOD WORK.

  CHAPTER XVII. THE HOUSE IN THE RUE SAINT-FRANCOIS.

  CHAPTER XVIII. DEBIT AND CREDIT.

  CHAPTER XIX. THE HEIR

  CHAPTER XX. THE RUPTURE.

  CHAPTER XXI. THE CHANGE.

  CHAPTER XXII. THE RED ROOM.

  CHAPTER XXIII. THE TESTAMENT.

  CHAPTER XXIV. THE LAST STROKE OF NOON.

  CHAPTER XXV. THE DEED OF GIFT.

  BOOK VI.

  CHAPTER XXVI. A GOOD GENIUS.

  CHAPTER XXVII. THE FIRST LAST, AND THE LAST FIRST.

  CHAPTER XXVIII. THE STRANGER.

  CHAPTER XXIX. THE DEN.

  CHAPTER XXX. AN UNEXPECTED VISIT.

  CHAPTER XXXI. FRIENDLY SERVICES.

  CHAPTER XXXII. THE ADVICE.

  CHAPTER XXXIII. THE ACCUSER.

  CHAPTER XXXIV. FATHER D’AIGRIGNY’S SECRETARY.

  CHAPTER XXXV. SYMPATHY.

  CHAPTER XXXVI. SUSPICIONS.

  CHAPTER XXXVII. EXCUSES.

  CHAPTER XXXVIII. REVELATIONS.

  CHAPTER XXXIX. PIERRE SIMON.

  BOOK VII.

  CHAPTER XL. THE EAST INDIAN IN PARIS.

  CHAPTER XLI. RISING.

  CHAPTER XLII. DOUBTS.

  CHAPTER XLIII. THE LETTER.

  CHAPTER XLIV. ADRIENNE AND DJALMA.

  CHAPTER XLV. THE CONSULTATION.

  CHAPTER XLVI. MOTHER BUNCH’S DIARY.

  CHAPTER XLVII. THE DIARY CONTINUED.

  CHAPTER XLVIII. THE DISCOVERY.

  CHAPTER XLIX. THE TRYSTING-PLACE OF THE WOLVES.

  CHAPTER L. THE COMMON DWELLING-HOUSE

  CHAPTER LI. THE SECRET.

  CHAPTER LII. REVELATIONS.

  BOOK VIII.

  PART III. THE REDEMPTION.

  CHAPTER I. THE WANDERING JEW’S CHASTISEMENT.

  CHAPTER II. THE DESCENDANTS OF THE WANDERING JEW.

  CHAPTER III. THE ATTACK.

  CHAPTER IV. THE WOLVES AND THE DEVOURERS.

  CHAPTER V. THE RETURN.

  CHAPTER VI. THE GO-BETWEEN.

  CHAPTER VII. ANOTHER SECRET.

  CHAPTER VIII. THE CONFESSION.

  CHAPTER IX. LOVE.

  CHAPTER X. THE EXECUTION.

  CHAPTER XI. THE CHAMPS-ELYSEES

  CHAPTER XII. BEHIND THE SCENES.

  CHAPTER XIII. UP WITH THE CURTAIN.

  CHAPTER XIV. DEATH.

  BOOK IX.

  CHAPTER XV. THE CONSTANT WANDERER.

  CHAPTER XVI. THE LUNCHEON.

  CHAPTER XVII. RENDERING THE ACCOUNT.

  CHAPTER XVIII. THE SQUARE OF NOTRE DAME.

  CHAPTER XIX. THE CHOLERA MASQUERADE.(39)

  CHAPTER XX. THE DEFIANCE.

  CHAPTER XXI. BRANDY TO THE RESCUE.

  CHAPTER XXII. MEMORIES.

  CHAPTER XXIII. THE POISONER.

  CHAPTER XXIV. IN THE CATHEDRAL.

  CHAPTER XXV. THE MURDERERS.

  CHAPTER XXVI. THE PATIENT.

  CHAPTER XXVII. THE LURE.

  CHAPTER XXVIII. GOOD NEWS.

  CHAPTER XXIX. THE OPERATION.

  CHAPTER XXX. THE TORTURE.

  CHAPTER XXXI. VICE AND VIRTUE.

  CHAPTER XXXII. SUICIDE.

  BOOK X.

  CHAPTER XXXIII. CONFESSIONS.

  CHAPTER XXXIV. MORE CONFESSIONS.

  CHAPTER XXXV. THE RIVALS.

  CHAPTER XXXVI. THE INTERVIEW.

  CHAPTER XXXVII. SOOTHING WORDS.

  CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE TWO CARRIAGES.

  CHAPTER XXXIX. THE APPOINTMENT.

  CHAPTER XL. ANXIETY.

  CHAPTER XLI. ADRIENNE AND DJALMA.

  CHAPTER XLII. “THE IMITATION.”

  CHAPTER XLIII. PRAYER.

  CHAPTER XLIV. REMEMBRANCES.

  CHAPTER XLV. THE BLOCKHEAD

  CHAPTER XLVI. THE ANONYMOUS LETTERS.

  CHAPTER XLVII. THE GOLDEN CITY.

  CHAPTER XLVIII. THE STUNG LION.

  CHAPTER XLIX. THE TEST.

  BOOK XI. EPILOGUE.

  CHAPTER L. THE RUINS OF THE ABBEY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.

  CHAPTER LI. THE CALVARY.

  CHAPTER LII. THE COUNCIL.

  CHAPTER LIII. HAPPINESS.

  CHAPTER LIV. DUTY.

  CHAPTER LV. THE IMPROVISED HOSPITAL

  CHAPTER LVI. HYDROPHOBIA.

  CHAPTER LVII. THE GUARDIAN ANGEL.

  CHAPTER LVIII. RUIN.

  CHAPTER LIX. MEMORIES.

  CHAPTER LX. THE ORDEAL.

  CHAPTER LXI. AMBITION.

  CHAPTER LXII. TO A SOCIUS, A SOCIUS AND A HALF.

  CHAPTER LXIII. FARINGHEA’S AFFECTION.

  CHAPTER LXIV. AN EVENING AT SAINTE-COLOMBE’S.

  CHAPTER LXV. THE NUPTIAL BED.

  CHAPTER LXVI. A DUEL TO THE DEATH.

  CHAPTER LXVII. A MESSAGE.

  CHAPTER LXVIII. THE FIRST OF JUNE.

  EPILOGUE.

  CHAPTER I. FOUR YEARS AFTER.

  CHAPTER II. THE REDEMPTION.

  THE WANDERING JEW: DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS

  A Romance of the West Indies

  Translated by Marian Longfellow

  CONTENTS

  PART I.

  CHAPTER I.

  CHAPTER II.

  CHAPTER III.

  CHAPTER IV.

  CHAPTER V.

  CHAPTER VI.

  CHAPTER VII.

  CHAPTER VIII.

  CHAPTER IX.

  CHAPTER X.

  CHAPTER XI.

  PART II.

  CHAPTER XII.

  CHAPTER XIII.

  CHAPTER XIV.

  CHAPTER XV.

  CHAPTER XVI.

  CHAPTER XVII.

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  CHAPTER XIX.

  CHAPTER XX.

  CHAPTER XXI.

  PART THIRD.

  CHAPTER XXII.

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  CHAPTER XXIV.

  CHAPTER XXV.

  CHAPTER XXVI.

  CHAPTER XXVII.

  CHAPTER XXVIII.

  CHAPTER XXIX.

  PART IV.

  CHAPTER XXX.

  CHAPTER XXXI.

  CHAPTER XXXII.

  CHAPTER XXXIII.

  CHAPTER XXXIV.

  CHAPTER XXXV.

  EPILOGUE.

  CHAPTER XXXVI.

  CHAPTER XXXVII.

  TO THE MEMORY OF

  WILKIE COLLINS,

  AUTHOR AND ARTIST,

  WHO FIRST DIRECTED MY ATTENTION TO THIS

  WORK AND SUGGESTED ITS TRANSLATION

  INTO ENGLISH,

  I DEDICATE THIS BOOK IN KINDLY REMEMBRANCE.

  THE TRANSLATOR.

  PART I.

  CHAPTER I.

  THE PASSENGER.

  TOWARD THE LATTER part of May, 1690, the three-masted schooner the Unicorn sailed from Rochelle for the island of Martinique.

  A Captain Daniel commanded this vessel, which was armed with a dozen pieces of medium-sized ordnance, a defensive precaution necessary at that period. France was at that time at war with England, and the Spanish pirates would often cross to the windward of the Antilles, in spite of the frequent pursuit of filibusters.

  Among the passengers of the Unicorn, few in number, was the Reverend Father Griffen, of the Order of the Preaching Brothers. He was returning to Martinique to resume his parish duties at Macouba, where he had occupied the curacy for some years to the satisfaction of the inhabitants and the slaves of that locality.

  The exceptional life of the colonies, then almost continually in a state of open hostility against the English, the Spanish, and the natives of the Antilles, placed the priests of the latter in a peculiar position. They were called upon not only to preach, to hear confessions, to administer the sacraments to their flocks, but also to aid in defending themselves during the frequent inroads of their enemies of all nations and all colors.

&n
bsp; The priest’s house was, as other habitations, alike isolated and exposed to deadly surprises. More than once had Father Griffen, assisted by his two slaves, intrenched himself securely behind a large gateway of mahogany, after having repulsed their assailants by a lively fire.

  Formerly a professor of geometry and mathematics, and possessed of considerable theoretical knowledge of military architecture, Father Griffen had given most excellent advice to the successive governors of Martinique on the construction of works of defense.

  This priest knew thoroughly the stonecutter’s and carpenter’s trades; learned in agriculture, an excellent gardener, of an inventive spirit, full of resources, of rare energy, a determined courage, he was a valuable man to the colony, and, above all, to the quarter he inhabited.

  The word of the gospel had not, perhaps, in his mouth all the unction to be desired; his voice was rough, his exhortations were unpolished; but their moral quality was excellent; they abounded in charity. He said the mass as rapidly and as forcibly as if he were a buccaneer. One could pardon him when one knew that this holy office was often interrupted by a raid of the heretical English or the idolatrous Caribbeans; and that then Father Griffen, leaping from the pulpit from which he had preached “peace and concord,” was always one of the first to put himself at the head of his flock in order to defend it.

  As to the wounded and prisoners, once the engagement was ended, the worthy priest ameliorated their situation as far as he could, and with the greatest care dressed the wounds which he had himself made.

  We will not undertake to prove that the conduct of Father Griffen was in all points canonical, nor to solve the question so often debated, “Under what circumstances may the clergy go to war?” We do not claim for this subject either the authority of Saint Gregory nor that of Leo IV. We simply say that this worthy priest did good and combated evil with all his might.

  Of a loyal and generous character, frank and gay, Father Griffen was mischievously hostile and mocking where women were concerned. He was continually making jests upon the daughters of Eve; these temptresses, these diabolical allies of the Serpent. In justice to Father Griffen, we must say that he showed in his railleries, otherwise without malice, a little rancor and contempt; he jested lightly on the subject of a happiness that he regretted not being able to desire; for, in spite of the extreme license of Creole customs, the purity of Father Griffen’s life was never questioned.

 

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