X. The Substance of the Shadow
"I, Alexandre Manette, unfortunate physician, native of Beauvais, andafterwards resident in Paris, write this melancholy paper in my dolefulcell in the Bastille, during the last month of the year, 1767. I writeit at stolen intervals, under every difficulty. I design to secrete itin the wall of the chimney, where I have slowly and laboriously made aplace of concealment for it. Some pitying hand may find it there, when Iand my sorrows are dust.
"These words are formed by the rusty iron point with which I write withdifficulty in scrapings of soot and charcoal from the chimney, mixedwith blood, in the last month of the tenth year of my captivity. Hopehas quite departed from my breast. I know from terrible warnings I havenoted in myself that my reason will not long remain unimpaired, but Isolemnly declare that I am at this time in the possession of my rightmind--that my memory is exact and circumstantial--and that I write thetruth as I shall answer for these my last recorded words, whether theybe ever read by men or not, at the Eternal Judgment-seat.
"One cloudy moonlight night, in the third week of December (I think thetwenty-second of the month) in the year 1757, I was walking on a retiredpart of the quay by the Seine for the refreshment of the frosty air,at an hour's distance from my place of residence in the Street of theSchool of Medicine, when a carriage came along behind me, driven veryfast. As I stood aside to let that carriage pass, apprehensive that itmight otherwise run me down, a head was put out at the window, and avoice called to the driver to stop.
"The carriage stopped as soon as the driver could rein in his horses,and the same voice called to me by my name. I answered. The carriagewas then so far in advance of me that two gentlemen had time to open thedoor and alight before I came up with it.
"I observed that they were both wrapped in cloaks, and appeared toconceal themselves. As they stood side by side near the carriage door,I also observed that they both looked of about my own age, or ratheryounger, and that they were greatly alike, in stature, manner, voice,and (as far as I could see) face too.
"'You are Doctor Manette?' said one.
"I am."
"'Doctor Manette, formerly of Beauvais,' said the other; 'the youngphysician, originally an expert surgeon, who within the last year or twohas made a rising reputation in Paris?'
"'Gentlemen,' I returned, 'I am that Doctor Manette of whom you speak sograciously.'
"'We have been to your residence,' said the first, 'and not beingso fortunate as to find you there, and being informed that you wereprobably walking in this direction, we followed, in the hope ofovertaking you. Will you please to enter the carriage?'
"The manner of both was imperious, and they both moved, as these wordswere spoken, so as to place me between themselves and the carriage door.They were armed. I was not.
"'Gentlemen,' said I, 'pardon me; but I usually inquire who does methe honour to seek my assistance, and what is the nature of the case towhich I am summoned.'
"The reply to this was made by him who had spoken second. 'Doctor,your clients are people of condition. As to the nature of the case,our confidence in your skill assures us that you will ascertain it foryourself better than we can describe it. Enough. Will you please toenter the carriage?'
"I could do nothing but comply, and I entered it in silence. They bothentered after me--the last springing in, after putting up the steps. Thecarriage turned about, and drove on at its former speed.
"I repeat this conversation exactly as it occurred. I have no doubt thatit is, word for word, the same. I describe everything exactly as it tookplace, constraining my mind not to wander from the task. Where I makethe broken marks that follow here, I leave off for the time, and put mypaper in its hiding-place.
*****
"The carriage left the streets behind, passed the North Barrier, andemerged upon the country road. At two-thirds of a league from theBarrier--I did not estimate the distance at that time, but afterwardswhen I traversed it--it struck out of the main avenue, and presentlystopped at a solitary house, We all three alighted, and walked, bya damp soft footpath in a garden where a neglected fountain hadoverflowed, to the door of the house. It was not opened immediately, inanswer to the ringing of the bell, and one of my two conductors struckthe man who opened it, with his heavy riding glove, across the face.
"There was nothing in this action to attract my particular attention,for I had seen common people struck more commonly than dogs. But, theother of the two, being angry likewise, struck the man in like mannerwith his arm; the look and bearing of the brothers were then so exactlyalike, that I then first perceived them to be twin brothers.
"From the time of our alighting at the outer gate (which we foundlocked, and which one of the brothers had opened to admit us, and hadrelocked), I had heard cries proceeding from an upper chamber. I wasconducted to this chamber straight, the cries growing louder as weascended the stairs, and I found a patient in a high fever of the brain,lying on a bed.
"The patient was a woman of great beauty, and young; assuredly not muchpast twenty. Her hair was torn and ragged, and her arms were bound toher sides with sashes and handkerchiefs. I noticed that these bonds wereall portions of a gentleman's dress. On one of them, which was a fringedscarf for a dress of ceremony, I saw the armorial bearings of a Noble,and the letter E.
"I saw this, within the first minute of my contemplation of the patient;for, in her restless strivings she had turned over on her face on theedge of the bed, had drawn the end of the scarf into her mouth, and wasin danger of suffocation. My first act was to put out my hand to relieveher breathing; and in moving the scarf aside, the embroidery in thecorner caught my sight.
"I turned her gently over, placed my hands upon her breast to calm herand keep her down, and looked into her face. Her eyes were dilated andwild, and she constantly uttered piercing shrieks, and repeated thewords, 'My husband, my father, and my brother!' and then counted up totwelve, and said, 'Hush!' For an instant, and no more, she would pauseto listen, and then the piercing shrieks would begin again, and shewould repeat the cry, 'My husband, my father, and my brother!' andwould count up to twelve, and say, 'Hush!' There was no variation in theorder, or the manner. There was no cessation, but the regular moment'spause, in the utterance of these sounds.
"'How long,' I asked, 'has this lasted?'
"To distinguish the brothers, I will call them the elder and theyounger; by the elder, I mean him who exercised the most authority. Itwas the elder who replied, 'Since about this hour last night.'
"'She has a husband, a father, and a brother?'
"'A brother.'
"'I do not address her brother?'
"He answered with great contempt, 'No.'
"'She has some recent association with the number twelve?'
"The younger brother impatiently rejoined, 'With twelve o'clock?'
"'See, gentlemen,' said I, still keeping my hands upon her breast, 'howuseless I am, as you have brought me! If I had known what I was comingto see, I could have come provided. As it is, time must be lost. Thereare no medicines to be obtained in this lonely place.'
"The elder brother looked to the younger, who said haughtily, 'There isa case of medicines here;' and brought it from a closet, and put it onthe table.
*****
"I opened some of the bottles, smelt them, and put the stoppers to mylips. If I had wanted to use anything save narcotic medicines that werepoisons in themselves, I would not have administered any of those.
"'Do you doubt them?' asked the younger brother.
"'You see, monsieur, I am going to use them,' I replied, and said nomore.
"I made the patient swallow, with great difficulty, and after manyefforts, the dose that I desired to give. As I intended to repeat itafter a while, and as it was necessary to watch its influence, I thensat down by the side of the bed. There was a timid and suppressed womanin attendance (wife of the man down-stairs), who had retreated intoa corner. The house was damp and decayed, indifferentlyfurnished--evidently, rec
ently occupied and temporarily used. Some thickold hangings had been nailed up before the windows, to deaden thesound of the shrieks. They continued to be uttered in their regularsuccession, with the cry, 'My husband, my father, and my brother!' thecounting up to twelve, and 'Hush!' The frenzy was so violent, that I hadnot unfastened the bandages restraining the arms; but, I had looked tothem, to see that they were not painful. The only spark of encouragementin the case, was, that my hand upon the sufferer's breast had this muchsoothing influence, that for minutes at a time it tranquillised thefigure. It had no effect upon the cries; no pendulum could be moreregular.
"For the reason that my hand had this effect (I assume), I had sat bythe side of the bed for half an hour, with the two brothers looking on,before the elder said:
"'There is another patient.'
"I was startled, and asked, 'Is it a pressing case?'
"'You had better see,' he carelessly answered; and took up a light.
*****
"The other patient lay in a back room across a second staircase, whichwas a species of loft over a stable. There was a low plastered ceilingto a part of it; the rest was open, to the ridge of the tiled roof, andthere were beams across. Hay and straw were stored in that portion ofthe place, fagots for firing, and a heap of apples in sand. I had topass through that part, to get at the other. My memory is circumstantialand unshaken. I try it with these details, and I see them all, inthis my cell in the Bastille, near the close of the tenth year of mycaptivity, as I saw them all that night.
"On some hay on the ground, with a cushion thrown under his head, lay ahandsome peasant boy--a boy of not more than seventeen at the most.He lay on his back, with his teeth set, his right hand clenched on hisbreast, and his glaring eyes looking straight upward. I could not seewhere his wound was, as I kneeled on one knee over him; but, I could seethat he was dying of a wound from a sharp point.
"'I am a doctor, my poor fellow,' said I. 'Let me examine it.'
"'I do not want it examined,' he answered; 'let it be.'
"It was under his hand, and I soothed him to let me move his hand away.The wound was a sword-thrust, received from twenty to twenty-four hoursbefore, but no skill could have saved him if it had been looked towithout delay. He was then dying fast. As I turned my eyes to the elderbrother, I saw him looking down at this handsome boy whose life wasebbing out, as if he were a wounded bird, or hare, or rabbit; not at allas if he were a fellow-creature.
"'How has this been done, monsieur?' said I.
"'A crazed young common dog! A serf! Forced my brother to draw upon him,and has fallen by my brother's sword--like a gentleman.'
"There was no touch of pity, sorrow, or kindred humanity, in thisanswer. The speaker seemed to acknowledge that it was inconvenient tohave that different order of creature dying there, and that it wouldhave been better if he had died in the usual obscure routine of hisvermin kind. He was quite incapable of any compassionate feeling aboutthe boy, or about his fate.
"The boy's eyes had slowly moved to him as he had spoken, and they nowslowly moved to me.
"'Doctor, they are very proud, these Nobles; but we common dogs areproud too, sometimes. They plunder us, outrage us, beat us, kill us; butwe have a little pride left, sometimes. She--have you seen her, Doctor?'
"The shrieks and the cries were audible there, though subdued by thedistance. He referred to them, as if she were lying in our presence.
"I said, 'I have seen her.'
"'She is my sister, Doctor. They have had their shameful rights, theseNobles, in the modesty and virtue of our sisters, many years, but wehave had good girls among us. I know it, and have heard my father sayso. She was a good girl. She was betrothed to a good young man, too: atenant of his. We were all tenants of his--that man's who stands there.The other is his brother, the worst of a bad race.'
"It was with the greatest difficulty that the boy gathered bodily forceto speak; but, his spirit spoke with a dreadful emphasis.
"'We were so robbed by that man who stands there, as all we common dogsare by those superior Beings--taxed by him without mercy, obliged towork for him without pay, obliged to grind our corn at his mill, obligedto feed scores of his tame birds on our wretched crops, and forbiddenfor our lives to keep a single tame bird of our own, pillaged andplundered to that degree that when we chanced to have a bit of meat, weate it in fear, with the door barred and the shutters closed, that hispeople should not see it and take it from us--I say, we were so robbed,and hunted, and were made so poor, that our father told us it was adreadful thing to bring a child into the world, and that what we shouldmost pray for, was, that our women might be barren and our miserablerace die out!'
"I had never before seen the sense of being oppressed, bursting forthlike a fire. I had supposed that it must be latent in the peoplesomewhere; but, I had never seen it break out, until I saw it in thedying boy.
"'Nevertheless, Doctor, my sister married. He was ailing at that time,poor fellow, and she married her lover, that she might tend and comforthim in our cottage--our dog-hut, as that man would call it. She had notbeen married many weeks, when that man's brother saw her and admiredher, and asked that man to lend her to him--for what are husbands amongus! He was willing enough, but my sister was good and virtuous, andhated his brother with a hatred as strong as mine. What did the twothen, to persuade her husband to use his influence with her, to make herwilling?'
"The boy's eyes, which had been fixed on mine, slowly turned to thelooker-on, and I saw in the two faces that all he said was true. The twoopposing kinds of pride confronting one another, I can see, even in thisBastille; the gentleman's, all negligent indifference; the peasant's, alltrodden-down sentiment, and passionate revenge.
"'You know, Doctor, that it is among the Rights of these Nobles toharness us common dogs to carts, and drive us. They so harnessed him anddrove him. You know that it is among their Rights to keep us in theirgrounds all night, quieting the frogs, in order that their noble sleepmay not be disturbed. They kept him out in the unwholesome mists atnight, and ordered him back into his harness in the day. But he wasnot persuaded. No! Taken out of harness one day at noon, to feed--if hecould find food--he sobbed twelve times, once for every stroke of thebell, and died on her bosom.'
"Nothing human could have held life in the boy but his determination totell all his wrong. He forced back the gathering shadows of death, ashe forced his clenched right hand to remain clenched, and to cover hiswound.
"'Then, with that man's permission and even with his aid, hisbrother took her away; in spite of what I know she must have told hisbrother--and what that is, will not be long unknown to you, Doctor, ifit is now--his brother took her away--for his pleasure and diversion,for a little while. I saw her pass me on the road. When I took thetidings home, our father's heart burst; he never spoke one of the wordsthat filled it. I took my young sister (for I have another) to a placebeyond the reach of this man, and where, at least, she will never be_his_ vassal. Then, I tracked the brother here, and last night climbedin--a common dog, but sword in hand.--Where is the loft window? It wassomewhere here?'
"The room was darkening to his sight; the world was narrowing aroundhim. I glanced about me, and saw that the hay and straw were trampledover the floor, as if there had been a struggle.
"'She heard me, and ran in. I told her not to come near us till he wasdead. He came in and first tossed me some pieces of money; then struckat me with a whip. But I, though a common dog, so struck at him as tomake him draw. Let him break into as many pieces as he will, the swordthat he stained with my common blood; he drew to defend himself--thrustat me with all his skill for his life.'
"My glance had fallen, but a few moments before, on the fragments ofa broken sword, lying among the hay. That weapon was a gentleman's. Inanother place, lay an old sword that seemed to have been a soldier's.
"'Now, lift me up, Doctor; lift me up. Where is he?'
"'He is not here,' I said, supporting the boy, and thinking that hereferred to the b
rother.
"'He! Proud as these nobles are, he is afraid to see me. Where is theman who was here? Turn my face to him.'
"I did so, raising the boy's head against my knee. But, invested for themoment with extraordinary power, he raised himself completely: obligingme to rise too, or I could not have still supported him.
"'Marquis,' said the boy, turned to him with his eyes opened wide, andhis right hand raised, 'in the days when all these things are to beanswered for, I summon you and yours, to the last of your bad race, toanswer for them. I mark this cross of blood upon you, as a sign thatI do it. In the days when all these things are to be answered for,I summon your brother, the worst of the bad race, to answer for themseparately. I mark this cross of blood upon him, as a sign that I doit.'
"Twice, he put his hand to the wound in his breast, and with hisforefinger drew a cross in the air. He stood for an instant with thefinger yet raised, and as it dropped, he dropped with it, and I laid himdown dead.
*****
"When I returned to the bedside of the young woman, I found her ravingin precisely the same order of continuity. I knew that this might lastfor many hours, and that it would probably end in the silence of thegrave.
"I repeated the medicines I had given her, and I sat at the side ofthe bed until the night was far advanced. She never abated the piercingquality of her shrieks, never stumbled in the distinctness or the orderof her words. They were always 'My husband, my father, and my brother!One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven,twelve. Hush!'
"This lasted twenty-six hours from the time when I first saw her. I hadcome and gone twice, and was again sitting by her, when she began tofalter. I did what little could be done to assist that opportunity, andby-and-bye she sank into a lethargy, and lay like the dead.
"It was as if the wind and rain had lulled at last, after a long andfearful storm. I released her arms, and called the woman to assist me tocompose her figure and the dress she had torn. It was then that I knewher condition to be that of one in whom the first expectations of beinga mother have arisen; and it was then that I lost the little hope I hadhad of her.
"'Is she dead?' asked the Marquis, whom I will still describe as theelder brother, coming booted into the room from his horse.
"'Not dead,' said I; 'but like to die.'
"'What strength there is in these common bodies!' he said, looking downat her with some curiosity.
"'There is prodigious strength,' I answered him, 'in sorrow anddespair.'
"He first laughed at my words, and then frowned at them. He moved achair with his foot near to mine, ordered the woman away, and said in asubdued voice,
"'Doctor, finding my brother in this difficulty with these hinds, Irecommended that your aid should be invited. Your reputation is high,and, as a young man with your fortune to make, you are probably mindfulof your interest. The things that you see here, are things to be seen,and not spoken of.'
"I listened to the patient's breathing, and avoided answering.
"'Do you honour me with your attention, Doctor?'
"'Monsieur,' said I, 'in my profession, the communications of patientsare always received in confidence.' I was guarded in my answer, for Iwas troubled in my mind with what I had heard and seen.
"Her breathing was so difficult to trace, that I carefully tried thepulse and the heart. There was life, and no more. Looking round as Iresumed my seat, I found both the brothers intent upon me.
*****
"I write with so much difficulty, the cold is so severe, I am sofearful of being detected and consigned to an underground cell and totaldarkness, that I must abridge this narrative. There is no confusion orfailure in my memory; it can recall, and could detail, every word thatwas ever spoken between me and those brothers.
"She lingered for a week. Towards the last, I could understand some fewsyllables that she said to me, by placing my ear close to her lips. Sheasked me where she was, and I told her; who I was, and I told her. Itwas in vain that I asked her for her family name. She faintly shook herhead upon the pillow, and kept her secret, as the boy had done.
"I had no opportunity of asking her any question, until I had told thebrothers she was sinking fast, and could not live another day. Untilthen, though no one was ever presented to her consciousness save thewoman and myself, one or other of them had always jealously sat behindthe curtain at the head of the bed when I was there. But when it came tothat, they seemed careless what communication I might hold with her; asif--the thought passed through my mind--I were dying too.
"I always observed that their pride bitterly resented the youngerbrother's (as I call him) having crossed swords with a peasant, and thatpeasant a boy. The only consideration that appeared to affect the mindof either of them was the consideration that this was highly degradingto the family, and was ridiculous. As often as I caught the youngerbrother's eyes, their expression reminded me that he disliked me deeply,for knowing what I knew from the boy. He was smoother and more polite tome than the elder; but I saw this. I also saw that I was an incumbrancein the mind of the elder, too.
"My patient died, two hours before midnight--at a time, by my watch,answering almost to the minute when I had first seen her. I was alonewith her, when her forlorn young head drooped gently on one side, andall her earthly wrongs and sorrows ended.
"The brothers were waiting in a room down-stairs, impatient to rideaway. I had heard them, alone at the bedside, striking their boots withtheir riding-whips, and loitering up and down.
"'At last she is dead?' said the elder, when I went in.
"'She is dead,' said I.
"'I congratulate you, my brother,' were his words as he turned round.
"He had before offered me money, which I had postponed taking. He nowgave me a rouleau of gold. I took it from his hand, but laid it onthe table. I had considered the question, and had resolved to acceptnothing.
"'Pray excuse me,' said I. 'Under the circumstances, no.'
"They exchanged looks, but bent their heads to me as I bent mine tothem, and we parted without another word on either side.
*****
"I am weary, weary, weary--worn down by misery. I cannot read what Ihave written with this gaunt hand.
"Early in the morning, the rouleau of gold was left at my door in alittle box, with my name on the outside. From the first, I had anxiouslyconsidered what I ought to do. I decided, that day, to write privatelyto the Minister, stating the nature of the two cases to which I had beensummoned, and the place to which I had gone: in effect, stating all thecircumstances. I knew what Court influence was, and what the immunitiesof the Nobles were, and I expected that the matter would never beheard of; but, I wished to relieve my own mind. I had kept the matter aprofound secret, even from my wife; and this, too, I resolved to statein my letter. I had no apprehension whatever of my real danger; butI was conscious that there might be danger for others, if others werecompromised by possessing the knowledge that I possessed.
"I was much engaged that day, and could not complete my letter thatnight. I rose long before my usual time next morning to finish it.It was the last day of the year. The letter was lying before me justcompleted, when I was told that a lady waited, who wished to see me.
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"I am growing more and more unequal to the task I have set myself. It isso cold, so dark, my senses are so benumbed, and the gloom upon me is sodreadful.
"The lady was young, engaging, and handsome, but not marked for longlife. She was in great agitation. She presented herself to me as thewife of the Marquis St. Evremonde. I connected the title by which theboy had addressed the elder brother, with the initial letter embroideredon the scarf, and had no difficulty in arriving at the conclusion that Ihad seen that nobleman very lately.
"My memory is still accurate, but I cannot write the words of ourconversation. I suspect that I am watched more closely than I was, and Iknow not at what times I may be watched. She had in part suspected, andin part discov
ered, the main facts of the cruel story, of her husband'sshare in it, and my being resorted to. She did not know that the girlwas dead. Her hope had been, she said in great distress, to show her,in secret, a woman's sympathy. Her hope had been to avert the wrath ofHeaven from a House that had long been hateful to the suffering many.
"She had reasons for believing that there was a young sister living, andher greatest desire was, to help that sister. I could tell her nothingbut that there was such a sister; beyond that, I knew nothing. Herinducement to come to me, relying on my confidence, had been the hopethat I could tell her the name and place of abode. Whereas, to thiswretched hour I am ignorant of both.
*****
"These scraps of paper fail me. One was taken from me, with a warning,yesterday. I must finish my record to-day.
"She was a good, compassionate lady, and not happy in her marriage. Howcould she be! The brother distrusted and disliked her, and his influencewas all opposed to her; she stood in dread of him, and in dread of herhusband too. When I handed her down to the door, there was a child, apretty boy from two to three years old, in her carriage.
"'For his sake, Doctor,' she said, pointing to him in tears, 'I would doall I can to make what poor amends I can. He will never prosper in hisinheritance otherwise. I have a presentiment that if no other innocentatonement is made for this, it will one day be required of him. WhatI have left to call my own--it is little beyond the worth of a fewjewels--I will make it the first charge of his life to bestow, with thecompassion and lamenting of his dead mother, on this injured family, ifthe sister can be discovered.'
"She kissed the boy, and said, caressing him, 'It is for thine own dearsake. Thou wilt be faithful, little Charles?' The child answered herbravely, 'Yes!' I kissed her hand, and she took him in her arms, andwent away caressing him. I never saw her more.
"As she had mentioned her husband's name in the faith that I knew it,I added no mention of it to my letter. I sealed my letter, and, nottrusting it out of my own hands, delivered it myself that day.
"That night, the last night of the year, towards nine o'clock, a man ina black dress rang at my gate, demanded to see me, and softly followedmy servant, Ernest Defarge, a youth, up-stairs. When my servant cameinto the room where I sat with my wife--O my wife, beloved of my heart!My fair young English wife!--we saw the man, who was supposed to be atthe gate, standing silent behind him.
"An urgent case in the Rue St. Honore, he said. It would not detain me,he had a coach in waiting.
"It brought me here, it brought me to my grave. When I was clear of thehouse, a black muffler was drawn tightly over my mouth from behind, andmy arms were pinioned. The two brothers crossed the road from a darkcorner, and identified me with a single gesture. The Marquis took fromhis pocket the letter I had written, showed it me, burnt it in the lightof a lantern that was held, and extinguished the ashes with his foot.Not a word was spoken. I was brought here, I was brought to my livinggrave.
"If it had pleased _God_ to put it in the hard heart of either of thebrothers, in all these frightful years, to grant me any tidings ofmy dearest wife--so much as to let me know by a word whether alive ordead--I might have thought that He had not quite abandoned them. But,now I believe that the mark of the red cross is fatal to them, and thatthey have no part in His mercies. And them and their descendants, to thelast of their race, I, Alexandre Manette, unhappy prisoner, do this lastnight of the year 1767, in my unbearable agony, denounce to the timeswhen all these things shall be answered for. I denounce them to Heavenand to earth."
A terrible sound arose when the reading of this document was done. Asound of craving and eagerness that had nothing articulate in it butblood. The narrative called up the most revengeful passions of the time,and there was not a head in the nation but must have dropped before it.
Little need, in presence of that tribunal and that auditory, to showhow the Defarges had not made the paper public, with the other capturedBastille memorials borne in procession, and had kept it, biding theirtime. Little need to show that this detested family name had long beenanathematised by Saint Antoine, and was wrought into the fatal register.The man never trod ground whose virtues and services would havesustained him in that place that day, against such denunciation.
And all the worse for the doomed man, that the denouncer was awell-known citizen, his own attached friend, the father of his wife. Oneof the frenzied aspirations of the populace was, for imitations ofthe questionable public virtues of antiquity, and for sacrifices andself-immolations on the people's altar. Therefore when the Presidentsaid (else had his own head quivered on his shoulders), that the goodphysician of the Republic would deserve better still of the Republic byrooting out an obnoxious family of Aristocrats, and would doubtless feela sacred glow and joy in making his daughter a widow and her child anorphan, there was wild excitement, patriotic fervour, not a touch ofhuman sympathy.
"Much influence around him, has that Doctor?" murmured Madame Defarge,smiling to The Vengeance. "Save him now, my Doctor, save him!"
At every juryman's vote, there was a roar. Another and another. Roar androar.
Unanimously voted. At heart and by descent an Aristocrat, an enemyof the Republic, a notorious oppressor of the People. Back to theConciergerie, and Death within four-and-twenty hours!
A Tale of Two Cities Page 40
