英文全本典藏—茶花女

　　《英文全本典藏：茶花女（英文版）》：　　Half an hour later we were at Montmartre. The police inspector wasthere already. We walked slowly in the direction of Marguerite's grave.The inspector went in front； Armand and I followed a few steps behind.　　From time to time I felt my companion's arm tremble convulsively， asif he shivered from head to feet. I looked at him. He understood thelook， and smiled at me； we had not exchanged a word since leaving thehouse.　　Just before we reached the grave， Armand stopped to wipe his face，which was covered with great drops of sweat. I took advantage of thepause to draw in a long breath， for I， too， felt as if I had a weight on mychest.　　What is the origin of that mournful pleasure which we find in sights ofthis kind? When we reached the grave the gardener had removed all theflower-pots， the iron railing had been taken away， and two men wereturning up the soil.　　Armand leaned against a tree and watched. All his life seemed topass before his eyes. Suddenly one of the two pickaxes struck against astone. At the sound Armand recoiled， as at an electric shock， andseized my hand with such force as to give me pain.　　One of the grave-diggers took a shovel and began emptying out theearth ； then， when only the stones covering the coffin were left， he threwthem out one by one.　　I scrutinized Armand， for every moment I was afraid lest the emotionswhich he was visibly repressing should prove too much for him； but hestill watched， his eyes fixed and wide open， like the eyes of a madman，and a slight trembling of the cheeks and lips were the only signs of theviolent nervous crisis under which he was suffering.　　As for me， all I can say is that I regretted having come.　　When the coffin was uncovered the inspector said to the grave-dig-ger："Open it. " They obeyed， as if it were the most natural thing in theworld.　　The coffin was of oak， and they began to unscrew the lid. The humid-ity of the earth had rusted the screws， and it was not without some diffi-culty that the coffin was opened. A painful odour arose in spite of the ar-omatic plants with which it was covered.　　"0 my God， my God ！" murmured Armand， and turned paler than be-fore.　　Even the grave-digger drew back.　　A great white shroud covered the corpse， closely outlining some of itscontours. This shroud was almost completely eaten away at one end， andleft one of the feet visible.　　I was nearly fainting， and at the moment of writing these lines I seethe whole scene over again in all its imposing reality.　　"Quick，" said the inspector.　　Thereupon one of the men put out his hand， began to unsew theshroud， and taking hold of it by one end suddenly laid bare the face of Marguerite.　　……