第 32 节
作者:人生几何      更新:2021-02-19 17:02      字数:9322
  condition   in   which   she   had   found   him。   When   able   to   converse;   without
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  danger of a relapse; he told Clotelle of his fruitless efforts to obtain a clew
  to her whereabouts after old Mrs。 Miller had sold her to the slave…trader。 In
  answer to his daughter's inquiries about his family affairs up to the time
  that he left America; he said;
  〃I blamed my wife for your being sold and sent away; for I thought she
  and her mother were acting in collusion; But I afterwards found that I had
  blamed her wrongfully。 Poor woman! she knew that I loved your mother;
  and feeling herself forsaken; she grew  melancholy and died in a   decline
  three years ago。〃
  Here both father and daughter wept at the thought of other days。 When
  they had recovered their composure; Mr。 Linwood went on again:
  〃Old Mrs。 Miller;〃 said he; 〃after the death of Gertrude; aware that she
  had   contributed   much   toward   her   unhappiness;   took   to   the   free   use   of
  intoxicating drinks;   and   became   the   most   brutal creature   that   ever   lived。
  She whipped her slaves without the slightest provocation; and seemed to
  take   delight   in   inventing   new   tortures   with   which   to   punish   them。   One
  night last winter;  after having   flogged one of her slaves   nearly to   death;
  she returned to her room; and by some means the bedding took fire; and
  the house was in flames before any one was awakened。 There was no one
  in the building at the time but the old woman and the slaves; and although
  the latter might have saved their mistress; they made no attempt to do so。
  Thus; after a frightful career of many years; this hard…hearted woman died
  a most miserable death; unlamented by a single person。〃
  Clotelle wiped the tears from her eyes; as her father finished this story;
  for;   although   Mrs。   Miller   had   been   her   greatest   enemy;   she   regretted   to
  learn that her end had been such a sad one。
  〃My peace of mind destroyed;〃 resumed the father; 〃and broken down
  in health; my physician advised me to travel; with the hope of recruiting
  myself; and I sailed from New York two months ago。〃
  Being   brought   up   in   America;   and   having   all   the   prejudice   against
  color which characterizes his white fellow…countrymen; Mr。 Linwood very
  much regretted that his daughter; although herself tinctured with African
  blood; should have married a black man; and he did not fail to express to
  her his dislike of her husband's complexion。
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  〃I married him;〃 said Clotelle; 〃because I loved him。 Why should the
  white   man   be   esteemed   as   better   than   the   black?   I   find   no   difference   in
  men   on   account   of   their   complexion。   One   of   the   cardinal   principles   of
  Christianity and freedom is the equality and brotherhood of man。〃
  Every day Mr。 Linwood became more and more familiar with Jerome;
  and eventually they were on the most intimate terms。
  Fifteen     days   from    the   time   that   Clotelle    was    introduced     into   her
  father's   room;   they   left   Ferney   for   Geneva。   Many   were   the   excursions
  Clotelle   made   under   the   shadows   of   Mont   Blanc;   and   with   her   husband
  and   father   for   companions;   she   was   now   in   the   enjoyment   of   pleasures
  hitherto unknown。
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  CHAPTER XXXV
  THE FATHER'S RESOLVE
  AWARE that her father was still a slave…owner; Clotelle determined
  to use all her persuasive power to induce him to set them free; and in this
  effort she found a substantial supporter in her husband。
  〃I have always treated my slaves well;〃 said Mr。 Linwood to Jerome;
  as the latter expressed his abhorrence of the system; 〃and my neighbors;
  too; are generally good men; for slavery in Virginia is not like slavery in
  the   other   States;〃   continued   the   proud   son   of   the   Old   Dominion。   〃Their
  right to be free; Mr。 Linwood;〃 said Jerome; 〃is taken from them; and they
  have no security for their comfort; but the humanity and generosity of men;
  who     have   been    trained   to  regard   them    not  as  brethren;    but  as  mere
  property。     Humanity and generosity  are; at   best; but poor guaranties   for
  the protection of those who cannot assert their rights; and over whom law
  throws no protection。〃
  It was with pleasure that Clotelle obtained from her father a promise
  that   he   would   liberate   all   his   slaves   on   his   return   to  Richmond。   In   a
  beautiful little villa; situated in a pleasant spot; fringed with hoary rocks
  and thick dark woods; within sight of the deep blue waters of Lake Leman;
  Mr。 Linwood; his daughter; and her husband; took up their residence for a
  short time。 For more than three weeks; this little party spent their time in
  visiting   the   birth…place   of   Rousseau;   and   the   former   abodes   of   Byron;
  Gibbon; Voltaire; De Stael; Shelley; and other literary characters。
  We can scarcely contemplate a visit to a more historic and interesting
  place than Geneva and its vicinity。           Here; Calvin; that great luminary in
  the   Church;   lived   and   ruled   for   years;   here; Voltaire;  the   mighty  genius;
  who     laid  the  foundation     of  the  French    Revolution;     and   who    boasted;
  〃When   I   shake   my   wig;   I   powder   the   whole   republic;〃   governed   in   the
  higher walks of life。
  Fame is generally the recompense; not of the living; but of the dead;
  not always do they reap and gather in the harvest who sow the seed; the
  flame   of   its   altar   is   too   often   kindled   from   the   ashes   of   the   great。   A
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  distinguished critic has beautifully said; 〃The sound which the stream of
  high   thought;   carried   down   to   future   ages;   makes;   as   it   flows   deep;
  distant; murmuring ever   more; like the waters of the   mighty ocean。〃   No
  reputation      can   be   called    great   that   will   no   endure     this   test。  The
  distinguished men who had lived in Geneva transfused their spirit; by their
  writings;   into   the   spirit   of   other   lovers   of   literature   and   everything   that
  treated of great authors。        Jerome and Clotelle lingered long in and about
  the haunts of Geneva and Lake Leman。
  An autumn sun sent down her bright rays; and bathed every object in
  her glorious light; as Clotelle; accompanied by her husband and father set
  out one fine morning on her return home to France。 Throughout the whole
  route;   Mr。   Linwood   saw   by   the   deference   paid   to   Jerome;   whose   black
  complexion excited astonishment in those who met him; that there was no
  hatred to the man in Europe; on account of his color; that what is called
  prejudice against color is the offspring of the institution of slavery; and he
  felt ashamed of his own countrymen; when he thought of the complexion
  as   distinctions;   made   in   the   United   States;   and   resolved   to   dedicate   the
  remainder of his life to the eradication of this unrepublican and unchristian
  feeling from the land of his birth; on his return home。
  After a stay of four weeks at Dunkirk; the home of the Fletchers; Mr。
  Linwood   set   out   for America;   with   the   full   determination   of   freeing   his
  slaves; and settling them in one of the Northern States; and then to return
  to France to end his days in the society of his beloved daughter。
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  CHAPTER XXXVI
  THE RETURN HOME
  THE first gun fired at the American Flag; on the 12th of April; 1861;
  at Fort Sumter; reverberated all over Europe; and was hailed with joy by
  the   crowned   heads   of   the   Old   World;   who   hated   republican   institutions;
  and who thought they saw; in this act of treason; the downfall of the great
  American experiment。 Most citizens; however; of the United States; who
  were then sojourning abroad; hastened home to take part in the struggle;
  some to side with the rebels; others to take their stand with the friends of
  liberty。   Among the latter; none came with swifter steps or more zeal than
  Jerome and Clotelle F