Two Cities

Chapter 49 Victory
The dreaded court of five judges, a national prosecutor and a staunch jury sits daily.They distribute the list every night, and the wardens of each prison announce it to the prisoners.The warden has a standard quip, "People in the cell, come out and listen to the evening paper!"

"Charles Evermond, aka Darnay," began LaForce's evening paper as it did.Calling a name, that person will go to another place, which is specially prepared for this kind of people who are listed in the book of life and death.Charles Evermond, aka Darnay, was supposed to know the habit.Countless people just did this and never came back.

The bloated warden had to wear glasses to read the list, and while reading, he checked to see if the prisoner had arrived, and he had to pause after each name until he finished.Not all of them arrived.One was dead in prison, forgotten.The other two had been guillotined long ago and no one remembered.The place where the list was announced was in the room where the convict danced on the evening of Darnay's arrival--with the cupola.No one survived the Holocaust—he missed them after that, but never met again—all died on the guillotine.

There was a rush of farewell words and wishes, but it was over quickly-because it was a daily thing, and the people in La Force were busy preparing for a penalty game and a small concert that night.People related to it crowded to the iron gate to shed their tears, but there were [-] fewer people in the planned cultural and entertainment projects, so more people were needed, and the closing time was approaching.There is not enough time, and the common rooms and corridors will be occupied by mastiffs overnight.The prisoners were not unconscionable or lacking in compassion, but circumstances forced them to.In the same way, with slight differences, certain persons were doubtless driven by some sort of frenzy and excitement to fight needlessly against the scaffold, and to die on the scaffold.In fact, it is not as exaggerated as heard, but an uncontrollable disease contagious in the hearts of the public who has been shocked by madness.During the epidemic, some people will be affected by the strange disease and have a terrible accidental impulse. If they want to die from the plague, people have unpleasant thoughts in their hearts, but they just need to be induced by the environment.The passage leading to the prison attached to the court is not long, but it is very gloomy.The nights passed in his cell full of snakes and rats and ants seem to pass slowly because of the cold.Fifteen prisoners entered the courtroom the next day before Charles Darnay's name was called.None of the fifteen people was sentenced to death, and the entire interrogation took only one and a half hours.

"Charles Evermond, aka Darnay" was finally arraigned.

His judges sat at the bench in caps with feathers on their heads, and the others mainly wore red rough caps with tricolor badges.Looking at the jury and the chaotic audience, he thinks that this should not be the case, it is the criminals who are judging the honest people!The meanest, cruelest, most vile man in the city, and always was, was now the man who ruled the scene.They showed a variety of states, commented, applauded, yelled against, guessed and estimated, or contributed to the flames, and they were all free and free without any worries.Most of the men were carrying some kind of regular weapons, some of the women were carrying short knives, some were carrying daggers, some were watching the scene, eating and drinking, and many women were busy with weaving.Among the women knitting was a woman who was knitting thread in her hand and a ball of thread under her armpit, sitting next to a man.He had not seen the man since he left the gate, but he remembered at once that it was Defarge.He noticed that the woman whispered in his ear once or twice, so he guessed that she was his wife.But what bothered him the most was that they sat not far from him but never looked at him.They seemed to be waiting with dogged determination, and had their eyes on nothing but the jury.Dr. Manette sat on the bench below the President's bench, dressed in nothing special, and, so far as the prisoner could see, he and Mr. Lorry were the only ones who had nothing to do with the court, and wore everyday clothes instead of rough Carmani. Ola outfit.

The Public Prosecutor accused Charles Darnay of being a fugitive, punishable by death under the laws of the Republic which banish all fugitives and return to death.The date of publication of the decree, although after his return to France, is of no practical significance.He was at this time in France, and the decree had been issued, and he was arrested in France, whereupon the death penalty was demanded.

"Sentence him to death!" the audience shouted. "Enemies of the Republic!" the President rang the bell for silence, and then asked the prisoner if he had lived in England for many years.

of course.

So he's not an exile, is he?What should he call himself?

He hoped that according to the meaning and spirit of the law, this item was not included in the fugitives.

Why, the President demanded to know what the reasons were.For he had voluntarily renounced a title he hated, and the social position which was rightfully his, and left his country to live in England on his own industry, and not on that of the overburdened French people. .When he gave up, the term fugitive, currently accepted by the courts, was not used at all.What about the evidence?

He proposed the names of two witnesses: Théophile Garber and Alexandre Manette.

But he got married in England, didn't he?the President asked him.Yes, but the woman is not British.

Are you a French citizen?By nationality of birth Yes.what is her name?family?

"It's Lucy Manette, Dr. Manette's only daughter. The good doctor is sitting over there."

This answer had a welcome effect on the audience.The shouts of praise for the famous and good doctor affected everyone.The people who were touched were extremely capricious, and tears immediately filled their ferocious faces, but just now they were staring at him angrily, as if they were about to kill him.

Charles Darnay followed every step of the dangerous road as Dr. Manette had told him.The doctor's cautious advice guided his steps and prepared him for all problems.

The president asked him why he did not return to France until then, why did he come back so late?

The reason he hadn't come back earlier was simple, he replied, because he had given up his property and had no means of living in France, while in England he lived his life teaching French and French literature.His return at that time was due to the urging and a letter of request of a French citizen who stated that his life was in danger if he did not return.He came back to save the life of a citizen, and he sacrificed his ego to maintain the truth.Is this still a crime?

The crowd enthusiastically shouted, "Not counting!" The judge rang the bell to make everyone quiet, but no one listened to what the judge said, and still shouted "Not counting!"

The president asked who the citizen was.The defendant said that the citizen was his first witness.He spoke confidently of the man's letter, which had been taken from him at the gate of the city, and which he believed to be found in the files of the presiding judge.

The letter was in the file—it was all part of the doctor's plan, and had promised him that it would be found.The trial reached this stage, the letter was found and read, and Citizen Garber was sent to testify.Garber proved to be indeed true.Citizen Garber, with considerable tact and civility, hints that the pressure which has been caused by the numerous enemies of the republic to cause trouble for the courts which punish them, that he has been somewhat neglected in the monastery prison, has in fact been in some respects Seemingly forgotten by the memory of the court's loyalty to the country, he was not arraigned until three days ago.At his trial, the jury declared that since Citizen Evremonde (also known as Darnay) voluntarily surrendered and answered the charges against him, the jury was satisfied with his answers and released him.

Then Dr. Manette interrogated.His lofty reputation and clear answers made people very impressed with him.He went on to point out that the accused was his first friend after his release from long prison terms, and that he remained in the UK when he and his daughter lived overseas, and that he was sincere and caring towards them.He added that the aristocracy there disliked the defendant so much that they had actually tried him as an enemy of England and a friend of the United States, and intended to kill him.The doctor, relying on the force of immediate facts and his own sincerity, coherently presented the above, and the jury agreed with the public.Finally he asked that an Englishman, Mr. Lorry, who was present at the time, be allowed to testify.Mr. Lowry had been a witness at that trial in England as he had, and so could equally prove.At this time, the jury announced that the materials they had heard were complete, and if the president had no objections, they could vote immediately.

The jury voted by name one by one, and the crowd applauded and cheered every time they cast a vote, and everyone unanimously supported the defendant.The President acquitted the accused.

A strange situation appeared.That is what the masses sometimes use to satisfy their changing psychology, or to show that they are tolerant and compassionate, or to eliminate their violence and blood debt.No one can tell exactly which of the above-mentioned motives this extremely unusual scene originated from. It may be a combination of the three motives, and perhaps the second one is the main one!As soon as the decision was announced, people burst into tears, just as they do on other occasions.As long as the people around him, regardless of gender, they all rush forward to hug him.Faced with the fact that he was imprisoned for a long time, he was almost exhausted and passed out.He knew in his heart that if the same group of people were involved in another trend, they would rush at him with the same intensity, tear him into pieces, and throw them everywhere.

Because the trial was still going on, he had to leave the venue and make room, which freed him from all kinds of caresses.Here are five more who are to be tried simultaneously as enemies of the Republic, because they have not supported it with actual deeds.What the court and the state lost on Darnay were quickly made up for.Darnay was still there, and the five men, who had been sentenced to death, were brought to him within twenty-four hours.One of them held up a finger—the code word for “death”—used in prisons—to make him understand, at which point they all went on to say, “Long live the Republic!”

Indeed, the five had no audience to accompany them any more, for people crowded the gates when Darnay went out with Dr. Manette.Everyone in the crowd looked familiar.Only two faces were missing, and he looked around for them, but couldn't find them.As soon as he went out, the crowd flocked to him again, weeping, embracing, and shouting, sometimes in shifts, sometimes all at once.Such enthusiasm seemed to make the river beside the feet go crazy like the people.

They stuffed him into the courtroom or carried a big chair from some room or passage.They unfurled a red flag on the chair, tied a spear to the back of the chair with a red cap on it, and carried him home on their shoulders in the victory car, and the doctor tried in vain. block.All around him were red hats, and from the depths of the storm, there were many figures who died in the shipwreck, which made him wonder for many times where he was, and was heading to the guillotine in a death row cart.

The crowd carried him along like a procession in a ridiculous dream.They kept hugging and pointing him out for people to watch.They went about the streets, illuminating the snow-covered streets with the popular colors of the Republic—and they had painted the snow-covered streets red with deeper colors.They carried him all the way to the building where Lucy lived.Her father had notified Lucy in advance.When her husband got out of the station and straightened up, she immediately passed out in his arms.

He held her to his chest, turning her beautiful head to him, away from the tumultuous crowd, so that they would not see her lips merge with his tears.People started dancing.The courtyard echoed to the tune of Carmagnola.Then they found a young woman and stuffed it into an empty chair and lifted it high as the Statue of Liberty.The crowd was again unrestrained, flooding the adjacent streets, embankment paths and bridges, and the Carmagnola songs attracted everyone.

Darnay held tightly to the doctor's hand, and the doctor stood before him triumphantly and proudly.He squeezed Mr. Lorry's hand again, and Mr. Lorry squeezed through the rushing Carmagnola, out of breath.Darnay kissed little Lucy, who was picked up and put her little arms around his neck.He embraced the ever-fiery loyal Pross, who had picked up little Lucy and kissed him.Then he took his wife into his arms and took him upstairs to the room.

"My dear, my Lucy, I am safe." "Oh, dearest Charles, let me give you devout gratitude!"

The whole family bowed their heads devoutly and paid tribute in their hearts.When she threw herself into his arms again, he said to her:
"Now tell your father, dearest, only he can help me."

She rested her head on her father's chest, exactly as he had rested his head on her chest a long time ago.The father is happy to be able to repay his daughter, their troubles are over, and he is proud of his strength. "Be strong, my dear," he suggested. "Don't be afraid. I've got him out."

(End of this chapter)