Two Cities

Chapter 47 The Calm in the Storm
Dr. Manette did not return until the morning of the fourth day after his departure.He did not tell Lucy a word of much that happened during that period, which he did not want to recall, and it was much later that she heard that eleven hundred unarmed men, women and children had been killed by the crowd.The horror is chilling.Let her feel that there is a smell around her all the time.She only heard that the prison had been stormed, that all the political prisoners were in danger, and that some had been taken out by the mob and killed.

The doctor demanded that Mr. Lorry tell no one (for reasons which he did not need to elaborate), and told him that the crowd had led him past a massacre to La Force Prison.There is a self-proclaimed court sitting in the prison.The prisoners went to court one by one, and the court quickly ordered the collective death sentence or release.A few cases were also sent back to cells.He followed his guides to the courtroom, voluntarily told his situation, and said that he had been secretly imprisoned without trial in the Bastille for 18 years.A man in the bench arose to confirm what he had said, and that man was Defarge.

He looked at the roster on the table, was sure that his son-in-law was still on the list of living prisoners, and began to plead with the inquisitors—they had all kinds of gestures—to save his life and set him free.As he was the conspicuous victim of a system that had been overthrown, they treated him with great enthusiasm, and agreed to bring Charles Darnay immediately before this court of injustice.When Darnay's captivity was coming to an end, and the tide in his favor seemed to be held back by some unexplained (the doctor didn't understand it), a little secret meeting was held and a few words were exchanged with each other.The man in the chairman's seat then informed Dr. Manette that the prisoner would not be released, but would be held in safe custody for the doctor's sake, and would not be violated.Immediately after an order was given, the prisoner was taken away again and put in prison.The doctor then strongly demanded that he be allowed to stay, in order to be able to protect his son-in-law from being handed over to the mob through malice or accident. (The clamor of the mob outside the gates calling for the killing had repeatedly drowned out the speeches of the trial.) He was granted permission, and remained in the bloody hall until the time of safety.

He decided to hide from people what he saw there, including hasty meals and sleep, and he never mentioned it to anyone.When the prisoners were chopped into pieces, he could not have imagined such a massacre, and he was amazed at the crazy joy of the people when the prisoners were saved.He told of a prisoner who had been released and came out into the street, but was struck with a spear by a savage.The doctor was begged to go and bind the man's wound, and the doctor went out along the gate through which the prisoner had just come out, only to find the wounded lying on the arms of a group of Samaritans sitting on the heap of the bodies of those they had killed superior.It was with this incongruous attitude that this group of people helped the doctor in this nightmare, cared for the wounded with the kindest and tenderest care, made a stretcher for the wounded, and carefully lifted him away from the hospital. At the scene, another massacre soon followed.It was a very violent massacre. The doctor covered his eyes with his hands, but still passed out halfway.

Mr Lowry listened to the inner conversation and looked into the face of his friend, now 62, with a sudden sense of dread that the horrific experience would trigger his old illness.However, he has never seen his old friend like this, with such a personality.For the first time the doctor felt that the suffering he had experienced turned out to be a kind of strength and authority.For the first time, he felt that he had been tempered into steel in the raging fire, and now he could rescue his son-in-law. "All hard work is for a good end, my friends, and it's not all wasted and ruined. My beloved daughter helped me get back to health, and now I'm going to help her get back to her dearest one with her. Part. God bless me to finish this job!" That's where Dr. Manette is now.Jarvis Lowry saw his fiery eyes, determined face, calm expression and attitude.Nothing seemed to have changed in what he had thought the doctor's life was, but now he was sure he was rattling up again from the dormant strength he had accumulated from abandonment.

Even if the doctor faced more problems at that time, with his unremitting efforts, the difficulties would definitely be solved.While he persisted in his post as a physician, it was his duty to treat all classes of people: the free and the unfree, the rich and the poor, the bad and the good.As he made good use of his call, he soon became prison doctor of three prisons, including La Force.He reassured Lucy that her husband was no longer alone when he was imprisoned, but with other prisoners.He saw him once a week and brought her delightful news straight from his lips.Sometimes her husband himself sent her a letter in his own hand (although never delivered by a doctor), but she was not allowed to write to him, because in the environment of a prison there are all sorts of conjectures, the most whimsical suspicions. It refers to fugitives who have relatives or friends overseas or have long-term contacts overseas.

The doctor was not quite at ease with this new life, but shrewd Mr. Lorry saw that he was sustained by a new sense of pride.It was a natural and noble pride, without any other emotion.But he observed him as if he were observing a curiosity.The doctor knew that before, in the minds of his daughters and friends, his past life had been associated with his misery, difficulties, and weaknesses.It was different now, knowing that the trials of the past had given him strength, and that his daughter and friends were banking on Charles's eventual safe release.He rejoices in this.He took the lead, making those two like the weak depend on the strong.His old relationship with Lucy was now turned upside down.Such a relationship is a feeling of gratitude and love that he feels personally.She had done so much because of him, and now he could do something for her, and he was proud of that, for no other reason. "As rare as it may seem, it is natural and normal," thought Mr. Lorry, kindly and shrewdly. "Lead the way, my dear friend, and go on, for you are the right man."

Though the Doctor never gave up his fight for Charles Darnay's release, and possibly a trial, the social tide was too swift and violent for him to hold back.A new period began, kings were tried, sentenced to death, and beheaded, and the Republic of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death" proclaimed "Death to Victory" to the armed attacking world.Day and night black flags fly from the huge tower of Notre-Dame de Paris. An army of 30 men rose up from all parts of France in response to the call to fight the tyrants of the world, as if the seeds that had been sown in the fields bore fruit: both on the hills and on the plains.From rocks, but also from gravel and alluvial soils.Under the clear sky in the south, and under the cloud-covered sky in the north.From the hills, but also from the forest.From the vineyard, but also from the olive field.In the neatly cut grass, but also in the laid crops.Along the richly fruited embankments, and along the sandy beaches of the coast, the fruit of dragon's tooth grew everywhere.No personal misery can stand against the torrents of the First Year of Liberty--a flood that rises from below instead of falling from the sky, because the windows of heaven are shut!
There is no rest, no mercy, no peace, no time of rest, no counting of time.Although day and night always follow the regular cycle that existed in the first day and night of creation, no other algorithm is used anymore.

A nation is in a frenzy like a patient with a high fever, and no one can control the time.A fierce man held up the king's head for the people to see, breaking the unnatural silence of the city.At another moment, almost at the same time, the head of his good-looking wife was brought out again.The previous life and hardships had made her gray hair.

Still in this strange law of contradiction, time is long, although it passes by every minute and every second.The revolutionary tribunals in the capital city, so many revolutionary committees across the country, and the law of suspects who deprive liberty or life of all security and hand good innocents into the hands of evil criminals are stained with the souls of innocents who have nowhere to appeal This new prison, with its own characteristics, has become the norm for everyone to follow in a few weeks.The best among them is a ferocious image that is becoming more and more familiar to the world. ——That sharp lady, named Guillotine.

It's the subject of the quip: "An excellent cure for a headache". "The medicine will cure the disease and make your hair never gray." "Your skin will be clear and smooth." "National razor, all heads are guaranteed to be shaved." "Whoever wants to kiss Miss Duan should look at the small window, and a sneeze will fall into her pocket." It is a symbol of human revival, replacing the status of the cross.Its cast is worn on a chest thrown away from the cross.Wherever the cross denies people, many people believe in him.

It has shaved off too many heads, and the land it pollutes and itself is blood red.It can be dismantled into parts for young fiends to play with like a disassembly toy, yet offers considerable flexibility.It silences the eloquent, it makes the mighty fall to the ground, and what is discarded is not only beauty but also goodness. 22 famous friends, 21 alive, only one dead, it beheaded them all in one morning, but it only took 21 minutes. The name of the strongman in the "Bible Old Testament" fell on the head of the official who used that thing, but the official had this weapon and was stronger than his namesake, his eyes were even more blind, and he was dying every day. Demolishing the temple of God.

The doctor still struts among horrors and horrors.He knew his own strength well, and he was cautious and firm in his goal. He firmly believed that he could save Lucy's husband in the end.However, time passed in a hurry and swept away the time violently.The doctor still believes in himself, but Charles has spent a year and three months in prison.In December of that year, the revolution was gaining momentum.The rivers in the south were filled with bodies that had been violently drowned during the night.In the southern winter sun prisoners were shot in rows and rows and rows and rows.Doctors continue to walk in such an environment.At that time, no one in Paris was more famous than him, and no one was in a more difficult situation than him.In the hospital and in the prison he was taciturn, gentle, and indispensable.He used his medical skills to serve the murderer and the victim equally, but never indulged in it.While he was saving lives, the appearance and story of the Bastille prisoner made his social prestige decline.He was never suspected or summoned, as if he had indeed died some 18 years ago and was just now resurrected, or was simply a ghost walking among the living.

(End of this chapter)